Setting the Gold Leaf Standard

The Gold Leaf Standard for Marijuana Horticulture has been developed by industry experts to ensure rigorous and detailed, yet easy to understand, operational controls are available to manage product integrity, quality, safety and legality. First published in 2016 it is now in its 3rd. issue and well established as defined by many leading marijuana producers.

It provides a framework to manage operational controls and criteria in the marijuana growing, manufacturing, processing and packing industry.

Welcome to The Gold Leaf Standard in Cannabis Consulting

Protocols, Security, Compliance, Education, Facility Design

What is The Gold Leaf Standard ?

A framework of internationally recognized protocols developed by industry experts to offer the ultimate in risk management for your facility and crop

Safety and Compliance

Operational and auditing controls to manage product safety, integrity, legality and quality. CHA and FDA accredited products with international acceptance in horticultural production facilities

Why engage with The Gold Leaf Standard ?

Worldwide expertise providing the highest standards of operation to give the ultimate in customer and market confidence

Welcome to The Gold Leaf Standard in Cannabis Consulting

Why Use Our Standard?

Independent, Unbiased, Validification

Customer Confidence

The Gold Leaf Standard will ensure your customers have confidence in your production programs and supply chain management.

Worldwide Expertise

All our audits are carried out by a global network of highly trained certification bodies and training partners.

Achievable And Cost Effective

Global recognition reduces the need for duplicate audits.

Support

We have an established, highly experienced Gold Leaf Standard Technical Team that provides support and is available to answer any technical questions and provide on site training for your staff.

Welcome to The Gold Leaf Standard in Cannabis Consulting

Standards of Performance

Certification and Verification

The Gold Leaf Standard third party certification and validation is the highest quality system to ensure your facility and operational services have been reviewed and evaluated by our experienced team of independent industry experts to meet with and exceed current federal legislative requirements.

Site Validation

Our team works with government approved methodologies and protocols to assist you in maintaining the highest possible standards of operation and safety requirements for Licensed Producers under the current ACMPR.

Security of Process

Having the Gold Leaf Standard enables you to position your brand should it need to defend itself against potential testing issues and product recall. Assisting in compliance of the most stringent laboratory requirements, your brand will be recognized by the consumer as having been cultivated and harvested with the utmost of care and attention given to providing a vibrant ,active, product that is clear of harmful pesticides, residues and bio-burden.

The Gold Leaf Standard Focuses On:

The importance of management commitment

Hazard Analysis based safety programs

Quality Management systems

Auditing good manufacturing processes – it is not just a paperwork audit!

Developing systems to reduce exposure to contamination

Auditing areas which often have the highest rate of product recalls and withdrawals, such as pesticides, chemical residues, labeling and packing

Ensuring consistency of the audit process

Providing a “Gold Leaf Standard” that is portable enough to allow Additional Modules to be added to reduce audit burden.

Promoting greater resilience, transparency, and traceability in the supply chain

Prescribers, patients, consumers, and producers need to be assured their product is free from pesticide residues, chemical contaminants, and bioburden

In a recent report from a leading legal company, one of the latest Government Task Force recommendations focused on the establishment of safe and responsible production systems for Licensed Producers under the CTLS in Canada and internationally recognized requirements for those clients outside of Canada.

The recommendations stipulated that the government’s principal interest should be to establish an “effective, accountable, and transparent system” for regulatory oversight of the cannabis supply chain emphasizing the protection of health and safety.

In a market that is growing exponentially, Standards of Production have to be maintained at the highest level to ensure that not just the product quality is at its highest but also, in order to provide that quality, the cleanliness and quality of growing environment and worker safety is also addressed.

Necessary training, instruction, education, and levels of performance in all aspects of the cultivation process should be observed.

The Gold Leaf Standard offers guidance and direction from achieving the best building maintenance practices to protective equipment usage, prevention of workplace injury, chemical usage and beyond.

By incorporating the Gold Leaf Standard into your Standards of Operation, you provide an extra layer of quality assurance and security, allowing your consumers to be assured of your commitment to provide the purest product possible.

The Gold Leaf Standard

is Divided into Seven Sections

SENIOR MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT AND CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT

Consistent product safety is the responsibility of everyone within the company, however, the starting point for an effective marijuana safety plan is the commitment of senior management to the implementation of the Gold Leaf Standard and continual development. This includes providing adequate resources, effective communication, system reviews, actions taken and opportunities for improvement.

FEDERAL PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL LAW AND POLICY COMPLIANCE

With the implementation of legalizing recreational marijuana, a new standard of production has to be implemented in the license producers in the ACMPR to ensure product purity and consistent quality.

GROW OPERATION SAFETY AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

This section sets out the requirements for the management of plant safety and quality. This includes requirements for product specifications, supplier approval, traceability, and the management of incidents and product recalls.

SITE STANDARDS

This section sets out expectations for the production environment including the layout and maintenance of the buildings and equipment, cleaning, pest control, waste management and foreign body controls.

PRODUCT CONTROL

The requirements for product design and development stage including allergen management, product and ingredient provenance, product packaging and product inspection and testing.

PROCESS CONTROL

The establishment and maintenance of safe process controls, weight/volume control and equipment calibration, and ensures the documented “Gold Leaf Standard “plan is put into practice.

PERSONNEL

This section sets out the standards needed for staff training, protective clothing, and personal hygiene

Our Leadership Team

Stephanie

Wilmott

PCQI/IRCA

VIEW CV

Stephanie was trained as a podiatrist, graduating from University of Manchester in 1985 (DPodM, MCh S, member CPSM). She served as an assistant medical provider in the Third World for three years, developing a keen sense of the importance of practical impacts on people’s lives and well-being.

After returning to the UK, Stephanie embarked on a career in retail marketing management, working with grocery retail, fine brands with Verve Clicquot, and personal care products marketing with Aveda. With Aveda, Stephanie was responsible for retail business development, new accounts, and brand management in the South of England. The eventual sale of Aveda to Estee Lauder netted over $400 million. Having created her own complimentary therapy center, she continued her professional development studying surgery through Matthew Boulton College and Cannock Orthopedic Hospital.

Arriving in Victoria BC in 2005 with her then young family, she utilized her knowledge base to create a range of eco friendly, paraben and chemical free skin care products and then through an association with Natureworks LLC , created a range of fully compostable baby diapers and feminine hygiene products as the basis for “Broody Chick Natural Products”. Working to reduce carbon footprint and protection of eco system and environment played a pivotal role in Stephanie’s interest in medicinal use and application of Cannabis.

As a company still in its infant stage, it is rapidly developing with associates across Canada, North America, and Europe to meet the emerging medical and recreational market. Stephanie is currently studying, Plant science and GMP Pharma and GDP training with Hygiene and Microbiology through “Concept Heidelberg” at the European Compliance Academy, Europe’s leading provider for advanced training in pharmaceutical QA and drug safety. Stephanie recently attained her GMP Pharmaceutical Quality Systems (GMP PQS )Auditor/Lead Auditor certificate and is a member of IRCA. Stephanie has also working directly with a number of licensed producers in South America, South Africa, Canada and Europe to ensure that facilities and growing practices and procedures are compliant with European standards for Good manufacturing and distribution (GMP, GDP) and Good agricultural and collection practices (GACP) are in place.

In 2015, an association with multiple recreational growing operations in Washington State whilst establishing “green” cleaning protocols and studying the effects of measurable bio-burden and ATP levels to predict potential contamination risk, the concept of affording predesigned Standards of Operation for licensed producers was established. Following a course in Plant Production and Facility Management specific to the cannabis vertical through KPU in Vancouver, the provision of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) Quality Control (QC) and Good Documentation Practices (GDP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to European standard aligned to the ACMPR requirement under Heath Canada, formed the base for Gold Leaf Standard certification.

Our Leadership Team

Kostadin

Dukovski

Ph.D Juris D.

Kostadin has extensive experience in: Financial crime, Fraud Investigation, Money Laundering, Taxes, Court Expertise, Forensic Accounts, Medical Cannabis regulations, Financial Due Diligence, Medical Treatment with Cannabis & Regulatory Compliance and Cannabis Extraction & Cultivation

Kostadin is the current president of the association for medical cannabis cultivation at Association Makkanabis Cannabis Cultivators in North Macedonia, President of EndoCanna & Next Level Consulting in Macedonia. Kostadin brings a unique perspective to Analysis, Risk Management and Policy Standards. Kostadin’s extensive experience in Auditing and Inspection are invaluable assets to The Gold Leaf Standard Team

Achieve The Gold Leaf Standard for your facility

Gold Leaf Standard Certification

1061 Joan Crescent

Victoria, British Columbia

Canada

V8S 3L3

+1 250 508 5455

steph@goldleafstandard.ca