Maine Medical Cannabis Business Achieves National Certification
June 30, 2016 | Melissa Wilcox
Auburn, ME – Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is pleased to announce that Remedy Compassion Center of Auburn, Maine has been certified for cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution of medical cannabis products under ASA’s Patient Focused Certification(PFC) program. PFC is a project of ASA, and the only nonprofit, third-party certification for the medical cannabis industry based on quality standards issued by the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and theAmerican Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP).
The AHP Cannabis Monograph and the AHPA cannabis guidelines offer the most comprehensive regulatory and product safety guidance as well as Best Business Practices for the production of cannabis and cannabis products. Since the release of AHPA’s guidelines in 2012 and the Cannabis Monograph in 2013, components of these guidance documents have been included in several states’ regulations. Recently, ASA announced a joint collaboration with the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) to expand the PFC program by offering a new accreditation program based on the requirements of both ISO/IEC 17025 and the PFC program.
“This tremendous achievement demonstrates Remedy Compassion Center’s commitment to producing and distributing cannabis medicines of the highest quality, purity, and safety for their patients”, said Kristin Nevedal, PFC Program Director. “Remedy Compassion Center has become a model for other cannabis operations and regulators in Maine,” added Nevedal.
Remedy Compassion Center is the first business to be awarded certification for Cultivation, Manufacturing, and Dispensing in the country and is the first New England medical cannabis operation to engage in the PFC program. Maine’s overall product safety rating in ASA’s 2016 State of the States Report was an ‘F’, andRemedy Compassion Center has made great strides towards improving the state’s rating by implementing the best practices outlined under PFC certification and their commitment to producing high quality cannabis products.
“Going through the process of PFC certification has brought numerous benefits to our business and our patient consumers,” said Tim Smale, Owner and Director ofRemedy Compassion Center. “The PFC program has helped us attain the highest levels of quality and consistency in our products, which has given caregivers and practitioners confidence in recommending cannabis therapies. As a result, our business has increased by 40% over the past year. The program has also saved us potentially thousands of dollars by ensuring we were prepared for regulatory inspections,” added Smale.
Remedy Compassion Center joins a growing list of PFC certified cannabis businesses since the program was officially launched in 2015, including Harvest of Tempe in Arizona, Sonoma Lab Works, Berkeley Patients Group, Humboldt Green Farms, Humboldt Hills Farms and Peace in Medicine in California, New Mexicann in New Mexico, and The Werc Shop and Dockside Co-op in Washington.
Further information:
AHP Cannabis Monograph (Abridged version)
PFC Certification Training Event - July 11-15
State Advocacy Resources
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