The three state agencies that share oversight of marijuana production in Oregon made a public request Thursday for information on growers use of two common pesticides.
The aim, according to spokespeople at two of those agencies, is to gather information on what practices work best to keep levels of pesticides below limits set by the state. Without guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on appropriate use of pesticides on cannabis, state regulators are left to figure out best practices on their own.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture, which regulates the types and application of pesticides on crops in the state, faced a steep learning curve with cannabis, said Sunny Jones, department cannabis policy coordinator.
Off the charts, and were still on that learning curve, she said Friday, which is why were asking for help.
Specifically, the state seeks information from growers who use pesticides containing pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide, two pesticides not unlawful for use on marijuana, according to the agriculture department. The department hedges on its pesticide advice to cannabis growers because little is known about its effects on those plants and what happens once those plants are smoked by consumers or processed into other products.
Normally, the department, absent guidance from the EPA, would rely on research by the Oregon State University Extension Service.
But because the extension service receives federal funding, and cannabis is an illicit drug under federal law, the service does not research the plant characteristics, Jones said.
That leaves state agencies to gather information directly from growers whose crops pass the pesticide screenings.
We want to know their application rates, and where in the growing season did they apply, she said, so we can compare that to those who didnt pass.
Although the agriculture department has a long list of pesticides approved for crops in Oregon, the Oregon Health Authority only recognizes pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide in tolerable amounts on marijuana.
The health authority has responsibility for setting action levels, which simply indicate the presence of pesticides, and accrediting the laboratories that test for pesticides and other contaminants on all marijuana sold in Oregon. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission licenses those laboratories for testing recreational marijuana, as well as licensing cannabis growers, processors, wholesalers and retailers.
If the system works, cannabis with higher-than-permitted levels of pesticides should be identified before it reaches the shelves at medical marijuana dispensaries or recreational shops. On separate occasions in October and November, however, the Health Authority issued warnings that dispensaries in McMinnville, North Bend, Salem and Eugene had sold dried marijuana flower with high levels of pesticides. More than 400 customers were affected and the health authority advised returning or destroying the affected flower.
The health department undertook to discover how the marijuana, which had failed the pesticide tests, found its way onto retail shelves. Results of that investigation were unavailable Friday. Jones and a health authority spokesman attributed the fact that contaminated cannabis found its way into consumer hands to an early failure in a new regulatory system.
The testing system is working, Jonathan Modie, health authority spokesman, said Friday. In the situations we posted the alerts for, we learned the producer and dispensary had learned of the testing result, (but the marijuana) had been transferred illegally to the consumer.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: State Seeks Cannabis Grower Input
Author: Joseph Ditzler
Contact: 541-382-1811
Photo Credit: Creative Commons
Website: The Bulletin
