In the absence of federal guidance on the use of pesticides, the nine states that have legalized cannabis for commercial use are building a patchwork of regulatory polices in an effort to ensure that the end product is safe for consumers, reports the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Cannabis plants are susceptible to mold and mites, especially when grown indoors. So growers have traditionally used large quantities of pesticides to protect their valuable crop. That hasn’t changed in the legal-weed era.
“Pesticide use in agriculture is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and overseen by state and local governments. Yet because the federal government still considers cannabis an illegal drug, the EPA has not approved any pesticides for use on the plant, nor has the agency provided any indication of the level of residues on cannabis products—if any—that could be considered safe.”
So states have no standards to guide them in regulating the use of potentially harmful chemicals on this crop.
Each state’s approach is different, with California leading the way with it’s recently formed Bureau of Cannabis Control, which draws on the expertise in toxicology and human-health risk assessment at the state Department of Pesticide Regulation. Oregon, meanwhile, ” requires testing for a different set of pesticides and enforces different limits for residue levels on cannabis products. In some cases, Oregon’s limits are tighter than California’s; in others, they are more lenient. Cross another border into Washington, where recreational cannabis sales began in 2014, and pesticide testing is not required at all.”
This leaves the consumer to rely on the assurances of sellers. “Most consumers have this general assumption that if something is on a shelf and for sale, and they are paying sales tax, then it is safe,” says Jill Lamoureux, a Colorado-based cannabis consultant, grower, and entrepreneur. “But the way states are doing this is very arbitrary, and it is not backed by science at all.”
“Buyers may feel some consolation that any pesticide regulations are better than none—and that in even the least-rigorous regimes, cannabis users likely have access to cleaner pot today than ever before. However, is it clean enough? What is truly safe? In addition, and just as important, how can governments entice consumers and growers to participate in the legal market rather than the cheaper black market, which lacks safety protections entirely? There are no easy answers. Therefore, states continue to experiment with policy, as public health hangs in the balance.”
For more on the problem of pesticide use in the cannabis industry, check out FERN’s piece from 2015.