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Study Found That 92% of Illegal Cannabis Samples Contained Pesticides
Researchers analyzed samples of legal and illegal cannabis in Canada and found that illegal cannabis contained an average of 3.7 different pesticides.
A recent study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research found shocking evidence of the presence of pesticides in illegal versus legal cannabis from Canada.
In “High levels of pesticides found in illicit cannabis inflorescence compared to licensed samples in Canadian study using expanded 327 pesticides multiresidue method,” researchers compared 36 cannabis samples gathered from licensed dispensaries and 24 from illegal business (which was seized by law enforcement and submitted to Health Canada and lab tested in 2021).
Researchers tested the samples for traces of 327 different pesticides and found that many of the illegal cannabis samples contained harmful chemicals. “Pesticides were detected in 92% of Canadian illicit cannabis inflorescence samples with 23 unique pesticide active ingredients quantified,” research explained. “Four pesticides and synergists: myclobutanil, paclobutrazol, piperonyl butoxide, and pyrethrins, were detected at a high sample frequency rate, eight to 17 times in a total 24 illicit samples.”
They also noted that one illegal sample contained nine pesticide ingredients, but on average the illegal samples contained 3.7 different pesticides, with 87% containing more than one pesticide.
Researchers provided a table showing which pesticides were found between the licensed and illicit samples. Only 6% of the licensed samples tested positive for pesticides, which included just dichlobenil and myclobutanil.
The researchers discussed that the main objective of their study was to “streamline and expand our existing cannabis inflorescence method.” The process included the cannabis flower being homogenized in a laboratory blender, combined with a solvent called acetonitrile, and then is extracted with a device called a Geno-Grinder, centrifuged, and more, in order to obtain an inflorescence sample in a vial for testing. “This study demonstrates a new streamlined and expanded method for the detection of 327 pesticides in cannabis inflorescence via gas chromatography—triple quadruple mass spectroscopy and liquid chromatography—triple quadruple mass spectroscopy.”
Ultimately, they noted that studies of this nature are not yet common. “To the authors’ knowledge, this study is the only extensive pesticide multiresidue analysis that compares pesticides in the licensed and illicit cannabis markets in a nation-wide jurisdiction where cannabis has been legalized,” the study concluded. “Albeit being a small study, our results do support the Government of Canada messaging where ‘Consuming illegal products could lead to adverse effects and other serious harms. Testing of illegal cannabis has found contaminants like pesticides and unacceptable levels of bacteria, lead, and arsenic.’”
The stark differences between the safety of legal cannabis products and dangers of illicit cannabis in this study prove the efficacy of Canada’s cannabis industry.
Back in October 2019, a nonprofit organization called Beyond Pesticides sent a letter to congress calling representatives to protect the public from harmful pesticides in cannabis. “Pesticide use on marijuana is illegal. Because marijuana is not a legal agricultural crop under relevant federal law (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act) and hemp has only recently been legalized, EPA has not evaluated the safety of any pesticide on marijuana plants. EPA has established no allowances for pesticide use in cannabis production, and no tolerances, nor any exemptions from tolerances, for pesticide residues on cannabis,” Beyond Pesticides wrote. “In the absence of federal regulations governing pesticides in cannabis production, the use of pesticides not registered by EPA is illegal.”
Beyond Pesticides also published a more recent article about the past and modern pesticide issues with cannabis, recommending that a precautionary approach be adopted by states in order to protect consumers. “Given the absence of federal testing for pesticide effects on cannabis consumers, producers, and the environment, states should establish rules for sustainable production practices that safeguard public health and the environment,” the organization said. “Beyond Pesticides recommends a systems-level approach to cannabis production, mandating compliance with national organic standards.”
Back in September 2019, 1,000 people became sick and 18 people died of a then-mysterious vaping illness. Ultimately the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the culprit to be Vitamin E Acetate in e-cigarette and vaping products, which EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product-use associated lung injury). Although Vitamin E Acetate is considered to be safe when taken orally or topically, inhaling it can coat the lungs and lead to issues with breathing among other concerns. The events of this crisis greatly increased awareness regarding ingredients for inhaled products (both cannabis and non-cannabis related).
Cannabis products have also previously been recalled due to unsafe levels of mold. In November 2022, Colorado regulators issued a safety advisory regarding tainted product batches. Earlier this year in January, the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board issued a public safety announcement regarding the use of an unapproved pesticide called Ethephon on cannabis products. The affected products included an estimated 117 edibles, 41 pre-rolls, and more than 200 concentrates were sold at 104 dispensaries.
Earlier this year in February, Vermont legislators announced a recall for cannabis grown with Eagle 20, which was reportedly causing headaches and nausea in consumers.
As policy around pesticides continues to develop, these examples stress the importance of education about pesticides and other substances used in the growth or production of cannabis products. It’s always a safe bet to obtain a certification of analysis from a cannabis company or business to verify that your product has been properly tested.
Source: https://hightimes.com/news/study-found-that-92-of-illegal-cannabis-samples-contained-pesticides/
New Mexico regulators fined a cannabis operator nearly $300,000 and revoked its license after the company allegedly created fake reports in the state’s traceability software.
The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) accused marijuana manufacturer and retailer Golden Roots of 11 violations, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Golden Roots operates the The Cannabis Revolution Dispensary.
The majority of the violations are related to the Albuquerque company’s improper use of BioTrack, which has been New Mexico’s track-and-trace vendor since 2015.
The CCD alleges Golden Roots reported marijuana production only two months after it had received its vertically integrated license, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Because cannabis takes longer than two months to be cultivated, the CCD was suspicious of the report.
After inspecting the company’s premises, the CCD alleged Golden Roots reported cultivation, transportation and sales in BioTrack but wasn’t able to provide officers who inspected the site evidence that the operator was cultivating cannabis.
In April, the CCD revoked Golden Roots’ license and issued a $10,000 fine, according to the news outlet.
The company requested a hearing, which the regulator scheduled for Sept. 1.
At the hearing, the CCD testified that the company’s dried-cannabis weights in BioTrack were suspicious because they didn’t seem to accurately reflect how much weight marijuana loses as it dries.
Company employees also poorly accounted for why they were making adjustments in the system of up to 24 pounds of cannabis, making comments such as “bad” or “mistake” in the software, Albuquerque Business First reported.
Golden Roots was fined $298,972.05 – the amount regulators allege the company made selling products that weren’t properly accounted for in BioTrack.
The CCD has been cracking down on cannabis operators accused of selling products procured from out-of-state or not grown legally:
- Regulators alleged in August that Albuquerque dispensary Sawmill Sweet Leaf sold out-of-state products and didn’t have a license for extraction.
- Paradise Exotics Distro lost its license in July after regulators alleged the company sold products made in California.
Golden Roots was the first alleged rulebreaker in New Mexico to be asked to pay a large fine.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/new-mexico-cannabis-operator-fined-loses-license-for-alleged-biotrack-fraud/
Four marijuana companies, including a multistate operator, have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in which they allege the federal MJ prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act is no longer constitutional.
According to the complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, retailer Canna Provisions, Treevit delivery service CEO Gyasi Sellers, cultivator Wiseacre Farm and MSO Verano Holdings Corp. are all harmed by “the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana.”
Verano is headquartered in Chicago but has operations in Massachusetts; the other three operators are based in Massachusetts.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling that the “Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of marijuana pursuant to state law.”
The companies want the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.
They hired prominent law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to represent them.
The New York-based firm’s principal is David Boies, whose former clients include Microsoft, former presidential candidate Al Gore and Elizabeth Holmes’ disgraced startup Theranos.
Similar challenges to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have failed.
One such challenge led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2005.
In Gonzalez vs. Raich, the highest court in the United States ruled in a 6-3 decision that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to outlaw marijuana federally, even though state laws allow the cultivation and sale of cannabis.
In the 18 years since that ruling, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana and the federal government has allowed a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry to thrive.
Since both Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice, currently headed by Garland, have declined to intervene in state-licensed marijuana markets, the key facts that led to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling “no longer apply,” Boies said in a statement Thursday.
“The Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce,” Boies said.
“Moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”
Verano President Darren Weiss said in a statement the company is “prepared to bring this case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to align federal law with how Congress has acted for years.”
While the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana would help solve marijuana operators’ federal tax woes, neither rescheduling nor modest Congressional reforms such as the SAFER Banking Act “solve the fundamental issue,” Weiss added.
“The application of the CSA to lawful state-run cannabis business is an unconstitutional overreach on state sovereignty that has led to decades of harm, failed businesses, lost jobs, and unsafe working conditions.”
Alabama regulators are targeting Dec. 1 to award the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses after the agency’s first two attempts were scrapped because of scoring errors and litigation.
The first licenses will be awarded to individual cultivators, delivery providers, processors, dispensaries and state testing labs, according to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC).
Then, on Dec. 12, the AMCC will award licenses for vertically integrated operations, a designation set primarily for multistate operators.
Licenses are expected to be handed out 28 days after they have been awarded, so MMJ production could begin in early January, according to the Alabama Daily News.
That means MMJ products could be available for patients around early March, an AMCC spokesperson told the media outlet.
Regulators initially awarded 21 business licenses in June, only to void them after applicants alleged inconsistencies with how the applications were scored.
Then, in August, the state awarded 24 different licenses – 19 went to June recipients – only to reverse themselves again and scratch those licenses after spurned applicants filed lawsuits.
A state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chicago-based MSO Verano Holdings Corp., but another lawsuit is pending.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/alabama-plans-to-award-medical-cannabis-licenses-dec-1/
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