Ventura, California — September 16, 2020 — Green Flower for Business, the Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards (FOCUS), and the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) have entered into a ground-breaking partnership to provide regulators with standardized health and safety-focused cannabis training across the country.
As the Authorized Training Provider for FOCUS, Green Flower will work alongside AFDO, who represents governmental regulatory agencies, to create a suite of on-demand training courses that cover all aspects of cannabis business operations for local, state, and tribal regulators. Each course produced through this partnership leverages regulatory-focused public health training incorporating cannabis-focused information based on the FOCUS standards.
“This is an important milestone for the cannabis industry as we are now working with the local, state, and tribal regulators who are taking a proactive interest in how the industry is best served through a sound and effective regulatory framework,” said Green Flower CEO Max Simon.
“The patchwork of US cannabis regulations at the state level creates enormous challenges for operators and regulators alike, ultimately increasing risks to public health and safety,” said Lezli Engelking, FOCUS’ founder. “This standardized regulatory education is a critical step forward on the path to developing a cohesive regulatory structure for cannabis in the United States and ultimately building better protections for the health and safety of Americans.”
The courses will be available to regulators free of charge through AFDO’s learning management portal as part of AFDO’s on-going initiative to train food and drug officials on regulatory issues to ensure the successful performance of their oversight responsibilities. All courses will be available for industry through Green Flower’s enterprise learning solutions platform.
“This partnership is a significant step toward consistent and clear regulation in the cannabis area,” said Steven Mandernach, AFDO’s executive director. “By training regulators through this nation-wide program, we will be able to help the cannabis industry continue its growth through consistent training about cannabis regulations and safety.”
The partners believe that in order for cannabis to develop into a federally legal, sustainable industry, there must be a clear understanding of the issues related to safety, quality, and consistency, in conjunction with the importance of effective quality management systems.
Visit green-flower.com/compliance-solutions to find out more about standards training. This page will be continuously updated with the latest offerings.
About the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO)
Since 1986, AFDO unites high-level regulatory officials, industry representatives, trade associations, academia and consumer organizations. AFDO members strive to foster uniformity in the adoption and enforcement of science-based food, drug, medical device and cosmetic products safety laws and regulation for improved public health.
About the Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards (FOCUS)
Established in 2014 as The Cannabis Health and Safety Organization, FOCUS is an independent, unbiased, 501c3 non-profit that addresses the many shortcomings in quality, safety, and consistency that have become evident with the explosive growth of the global cannabis industry. FOCUS exists to help assure the rapidly growing global cannabis industry has the necessary protections in place for the health, safety, success, and welfare of everyone. Our autonomy fosters a principled, objective organization that protects end-users, and acts as the much-needed neutral, nonpartisan bridge between industry and regulatory. Since 2016, FOCUS has partnered with AFDO to educate regulators about challenges in the cannabis industry and has served on the AFDO cannabis committee for 3 years.
About Green Flower for Business
Founded in 2014, Green Flower is the undisputed global leader in cannabis education and training to help professionals and enterprises succeed in the industry. From medical to patient care, to growing, extraction, compliance, legal, and so much more – Green Flower collaborates with the top cannabis minds in the world to create the best training, education tools, and content for those who need it most.