Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission approved temporary rule changes Dec. 19 that take effect Sunday for recreational marijuana businesses.
In one change, growers who accept responsibility for illegally applying pesticides will receive a warning for a first violation, according to an OLCC news release Wednesday. Subsequent violations could result in harsher penalties, including loss of an OLCC-issued license to grow marijuana.
The change is in keeping with regulations set by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said OLCC spokesman Mark Pettinger on Thursday. Another change allows makers of edible products with cannabis butter, a concentrate, to produce that concentrate in the same commercial kitchen where the edible product is also made.
Cannabis businesses may share commercial kitchen space with other cannabis businesses, but not with unrelated businesses, such as caterers or other food producers, Pettinger said.
The problem in Bend, said Cameron Yee, founder of Lunchbox Alchemy, a marijuana processor, is finding a commercial kitchen at all.
The few in existence are leased to food businesses already or committed to other marijuana businesses. Yee said he's purchased a lot in Bend on which to build a new facility to replace the one his company leases in northeast Bend.
He said an inspector has visited the facility. Yee said he expects to have a license by early January and that would allow his company to produce extracts, concentrates and infused edibles to fill a shortage of those products in Oregon. While dried marijuana flower remained relatively abundant, processed forms of cannabis dried up after the Health Authority imposed new rules regulating testing labs and product testing that took effect Oct. 1. The shortage ensued because relatively few labs were certified and licensed to test for pesticides, which created a product bottleneck. All marijuana products must be tested for pesticides, potency, water content and biological contaminants such as mold.
"I think we'll have our challenges, but we're working hard to make it happen," Yee said Thursday. "Licensing and testing are still two of the biggest issues."
Finally, the OLCC announced it will tighten up its oversight of permits required of marijuana workers. The agency gave some leeway to licensees after the requirement came into effect this year, Pettinger said. Workers in most marijuana businesses were required after Sept. 1 to apply for permits, similar to server permits required of employees who handle alcoholic beverages.
The license holder is required to ensure that all employees have worker permits. Starting Sunday, OLCC inspectors will begin checking employee rosters against the employee permits.
Beginning Sunday, marijuana retailers must have an OLCC license in order to sell recreational marijuana to adults age 21 and over. Dispensaries without an OLCC license but registered by the Health Authority may sell only to cardholders in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program.
As of Dec. 23, seven retailers in Bend had OLCC licenses to sell marijuana to adults. Six others were approved for licenses but had not paid the fee and taken possession of them, according to the OLCC.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Warnings For First-Time Marijuana Pesticide Use
Author: Joseph Ditzler
Contact: 541-382-1811
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: The Bulletin
In one change, growers who accept responsibility for illegally applying pesticides will receive a warning for a first violation, according to an OLCC news release Wednesday. Subsequent violations could result in harsher penalties, including loss of an OLCC-issued license to grow marijuana.
The change is in keeping with regulations set by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said OLCC spokesman Mark Pettinger on Thursday. Another change allows makers of edible products with cannabis butter, a concentrate, to produce that concentrate in the same commercial kitchen where the edible product is also made.
Cannabis businesses may share commercial kitchen space with other cannabis businesses, but not with unrelated businesses, such as caterers or other food producers, Pettinger said.
The problem in Bend, said Cameron Yee, founder of Lunchbox Alchemy, a marijuana processor, is finding a commercial kitchen at all.
The few in existence are leased to food businesses already or committed to other marijuana businesses. Yee said he's purchased a lot in Bend on which to build a new facility to replace the one his company leases in northeast Bend.
He said an inspector has visited the facility. Yee said he expects to have a license by early January and that would allow his company to produce extracts, concentrates and infused edibles to fill a shortage of those products in Oregon. While dried marijuana flower remained relatively abundant, processed forms of cannabis dried up after the Health Authority imposed new rules regulating testing labs and product testing that took effect Oct. 1. The shortage ensued because relatively few labs were certified and licensed to test for pesticides, which created a product bottleneck. All marijuana products must be tested for pesticides, potency, water content and biological contaminants such as mold.
"I think we'll have our challenges, but we're working hard to make it happen," Yee said Thursday. "Licensing and testing are still two of the biggest issues."
Finally, the OLCC announced it will tighten up its oversight of permits required of marijuana workers. The agency gave some leeway to licensees after the requirement came into effect this year, Pettinger said. Workers in most marijuana businesses were required after Sept. 1 to apply for permits, similar to server permits required of employees who handle alcoholic beverages.
The license holder is required to ensure that all employees have worker permits. Starting Sunday, OLCC inspectors will begin checking employee rosters against the employee permits.
Beginning Sunday, marijuana retailers must have an OLCC license in order to sell recreational marijuana to adults age 21 and over. Dispensaries without an OLCC license but registered by the Health Authority may sell only to cardholders in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program.
As of Dec. 23, seven retailers in Bend had OLCC licenses to sell marijuana to adults. Six others were approved for licenses but had not paid the fee and taken possession of them, according to the OLCC.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Warnings For First-Time Marijuana Pesticide Use
Author: Joseph Ditzler
Contact: 541-382-1811
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: The Bulletin
