'Clean Green'-labeled marijuana is pesticide-free, environmentally friendlier

ADDY, Wash. – Chris Van Hook bent over a shrub-sized marijuana plant at Mountain High Farm with a magnifying glass last month, looking for imperfections in the fan-shaped leaves.

A few of the fronds were “chewed on,” which is what Van Hook expects in a pesticide-free crop.

Pot grown at the state-licensed operation can’t be certified as organic because the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t recognize marijuana as a legal crop. Advertising it as organic would be a federal labeling violation, inviting hefty fines.

But if Mountain High passes Van Hook’s inspection, the Stevens County farm can advertise its product under the “Clean Green” label, an alternate certification Van Hook developed for pot growers touting the naturalness of their product.

It puts growers through the same process “as if they were getting certified for organically grown broccoli or tomatoes,” said Van Hook, an attorney from Crescent City, California, who also runs a third-party organic...

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URL: 
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/jun/01/clean-green-labeled-marijuana-is-pesticide-free/