Craft beer and slow-roasted coffee are thought to have an elevated flavour and higher quality when compared to ‘regular’ versions of those same products, and that is due to the amount of TLC put into these products from the very start to the finishing touches. Craft cannabis, while newer in the legal market than beer or coffee, is no exception to these thoughts.

The legalization of marijuana has prompted rising interest in craft and organically grown products within the industry, and that curiosity has snowballed in recent times. So, what does it mean to be craft cannabis? And how does craft cannabis differ from organic cannabis?

Most people believe that Craft and Organic can be used interchangeably, but that’s not true. While many craft growers in the cannabis sector will utilize organic growing practices and techniques, they don’t always meet all the requirements to be labelled as such.

‘Craft’ refers to products created with more attention and care than regular versions. The value of craft products is derived from the work put into them instead of from the product on its own. Craft cannabis is, according to the OCS, “…hang-dried, hand-trimmed, hand-packaged, and grown in a small-batch facility that produces less than 10,000 kg in a year”. The craft designation is not impacted by soil, sunlight, irradiation, or water – all things specified under organic rules. This definition also means that almost all micro growers are craft growers.

When it comes to organic cannabis, things are a little murkier. Cannabis is not overseen by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) as it doesn’t fit into the Food, Seed, or Animal Feed categories, meaning that cannabis cannot be certified under the Canada Organic Regime and can’t bear the Canada Organic Logo.

Despite lacking rules for the official certification of cannabis products, organic cannabis is weed without any harmful synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, sewage sludge, or GMOs being introduced during or after the growing process. It will typically be sun-grown or grown using a combination of sunlight and LEDs’ and will use living soil or other organic soils.

In Canada, hydroponic growing can’t be considered organic since it doesn’t meet the minimum soil requirements.

Organic weed producers use various third-party certifiers, including the Fraser Valley Organic Producers Association (FVOPA), Pro-Cert, Clean Green Certified, and the Pacific Agricultural Certification Society (PACS). While they’re all well-known for organic certification in other sectors, these certifiers are likely to have differing standards for marijuana certification due to the absence of federal regulations that apply to weed.

Even without strict guidelines for the classification of cannabis, craft or organic weed will always be highly recommended by consumers. And, just like craft beer or slow-roasted coffee, you’ll have people who are more than happy to spend the extra few dollars for something considered premium.