When Oregon voters approved Measure 91 in 2014, it set off a massive, coordinated effort by the state to get a newly legalized cannabis industry up and running.
There have been plenty of growing pains, but state agencies have worked together to provide a regulatory framework designed to facilitate a new industry while protecting consumers. While the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) are the lead agencies for the implementation of both medical and recreational marijuana laws and rules, a handful of other state agencies are also busy applying their own programs to all things cannabis.
For the Oregon Department of Agriculture, those efforts include industrial hemp testing and regulation, the licensing of facilities that produce edible cannabis products, pesticide use regulation and investigations, and licensing and inspection of scales that weigh cannabis products. Other ODA programs and services may intersect with cannabis production, including water quality; pest, noxious weed, and disease identification; and certification. Specific handouts are available for commercial scale licensing and food safety licenses. Those and other resources can be found online.
In administering its programs, ODA treats cannabis like other agricultural products. The programs and services that touch cannabis producers and processors have long been in place for other commodities.
