Put that in Your Pipe and Smoke It: Insecticides and Banned Chemicals Found in Dispensary Pot

The recent crackdown on marijuana dispensaries in LA has activists howling.  But after hearing about the amounts of insecticides found on some of the confiscated weed, patients should be howling for the blood of some of those pot shop owners.  The medicine that people need for illnesses that range from Aids to Cancer to Multiple Sclerosis can be laced with extremely high levels of insecticide.

According to laboratory tests, pot purchased at Hemp Factory V, a dispensary in LA, had “170 times the ‘tolerable’ guidelines” that allowed for human consumption.  In addition, some of the pot had traces of products the DA claimed were banned here in the United States.  These products can be purchased in Mexico so he claims that the pot was grown there and smuggled across the border financing the violent drug cartels that have ravaged parts of that country for years.

Although many dispensaries claim their marijuana is organic, how many do anything to test or certify that their products are safe?  There is a Clean Green movement that is attempting to change this.  This was developed by a Chris Van Hook who is an attorney and a certifier for USDA Organic.  Because the federal government doesn’t recognize the legality of medical marijuana, he is not allowed to certify marijuana as organic.  However, he applies standards based on the USDA Organic standards to the marijuana industry.  Some dispensaries are beginning to use his certifications to make sure that the weed they sell is safe medicine for their clients.  Putting that type of weed in your pipe is bound to give you a safer smoke.

Growers here in Humboldt and the North Coast should be thinking about providing the people that smoke their product with a certification of safety.  This will help the buyer but, in addition, it will help Humboldt maintain a reputation as a place where the finest cannabis can be purchased.

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Mark W
Guest
14 years ago

Humboldt has a lot of housecleaning to do before anyone can claim with a straight face that even most of the herb grown there is clean and safe. There’s too much money involved, and too many people who don’t care what they have to do to cash in on this, sorry to say.

Not only that, but customers need to demand it, and be willing to pay a premium for it. Last I heard, the premium was NOT being paid for OG, but for uniform, commercial indoor instead, the stuff most likely to have been sprayed with something unsavory.

People need to get their priorities straight…

unanonymous
Guest
unanonymous
14 years ago

I like how they always blame the Mexicans.

unanonymous
Guest
unanonymous
14 years ago

I like how they always blame the Mexicans.

Mr. Nice
Guest
Mr. Nice
14 years ago

Folks need education. It is hard to tell people how to do stuff correctly when you are talking about something that is illegal.

Like mold. Moron growers like to spray anti fungal chemicals on mold when they should have boosted those girls up with silica way before that happened.

Or powdery mildew. There are hella essential oil products that will control powdery mildew. Don’t do that mess of spraying it with “high pH” water unless you actually measure what the pH is. If it burns like lye on your skin, it’s prolly too strong for some freakin 2mm thick leaves, doncha think?

Mites… I mean goddamn people, there is this thing called neem. That General Hydro kind is good. You don’t have to use Avid or Permethrin or whatever the hell people use.

It kills me when folks are like Jah Clean and claim that dirt is all natural and good while hydro and or perlite or ozone or any mined fertilizer stuff is Babylon… and then they go and spray a gang of “organic pesticide” all over their budding plants so the end user gets to smoke some crazy botanicals they didn’t sign up for. For serious, you guys need to go to school and stop emulating some island black folk culture. Just stop spraying shit on the plants all the time, thanks.

Eric Sligh
Guest
Eric Sligh
14 years ago
Reply to  Mr. Nice

Cheers mr. Nice, couldn’t agree with you more. I’ll take it a step further and talk about the regular field trips made to Oregon to pick up illegal pesticides like tetrasan and avid. I had a buddy you could say was the “jah” type, who had a very large green house in a very warm part of Mendocino county. All that heat caused the plants to weaken and became infested with mites at the very end of the season. What did he do? He sprayed Avid on 150 lbs of Greenhouse within 10 days of harvest! WTF! This is a likely scenario with the m.j. from Hemp Factory, the worst dispensary in L.A. The same guy is also the owner of Absolute Herbal which is still open.

This is one of the main reasons m.j. needs to be legalized; because so many people consume it. If millions of people consume marijuana on a daily basis and a lot of it is tainted with illegal/inappropriately applied pesticides, isn’t this a serious public health issue?

Mr. Nice
Guest
Mr. Nice
14 years ago
Reply to  Eric Sligh

Avid takes 5-6 weeks to fully break down. Ten days would surely leave residue on the finished product. If an orange farmer sprayed Avid 10 days before harvest, they’d run the risk of prison. Problem is, cannabis farmers run the same risk of prison for using any pesticide, so they are not concerned with what they use.

I’ve found that in the medical marijuana scene, the quality considerations are usually stupid tests like how it tastes or how it burns. The acutely toxic pesticides are tasteless and do not affect pyrolysis while natural pesticides will affect both. What ends up happening is slow burning, neem tasting product is returned as being “chemmy,” while toxic bud passes inspection.

The pot tester labs that got raided by the DEA in Colorado use a technique called negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry which can quickly and cheaply ascertain the levels of broad classes of pesticide and fungicide present in cannabis samples. It is shameful that there is no licensed laboratory to perform these tests. Of course, the same government who raids testing laboratories also sprayed paraquat on cannabis crops, so…

Mr. Nice
Guest
Mr. Nice
14 years ago
Reply to  Eric Sligh

The home tester might also be interested in the Avermectin bioassay kits. They only cost like $725.

Mr. Nice
Guest
Mr. Nice
14 years ago

Folks need education. It is hard to tell people how to do stuff correctly when you are talking about something that is illegal.

Like mold. Moron growers like to spray anti fungal chemicals on mold when they should have boosted those girls up with silica way before that happened.

Or powdery mildew. There are hella essential oil products that will control powdery mildew. Don’t do that mess of spraying it with “high pH” water unless you actually measure what the pH is. If it burns like lye on your skin, it’s prolly too strong for some freakin 2mm thick leaves, doncha think?

Mites… I mean goddamn people, there is this thing called neem. That General Hydro kind is good. You don’t have to use Avid or Permethrin or whatever the hell people use.

It kills me when folks are like Jah Clean and claim that dirt is all natural and good while hydro and or perlite or ozone or any mined fertilizer stuff is Babylon… and then they go and spray a gang of “organic pesticide” all over their budding plants so the end user gets to smoke some crazy botanicals they didn’t sign up for. For serious, you guys need to go to school and stop emulating some island black folk culture. Just stop spraying shit on the plants all the time, thanks.

Eric Sligh
Guest
Eric Sligh
14 years ago
Reply to  Mr. Nice

Cheers mr. Nice, couldn’t agree with you more. I’ll take it a step further and talk about the regular field trips made to Oregon to pick up illegal pesticides like tetrasan and avid. I had a buddy you could say was the “jah” type, who had a very large green house in a very warm part of Mendocino county. All that heat caused the plants to weaken and became infested with mites at the very end of the season. What did he do? He sprayed Avid on 150 lbs of Greenhouse within 10 days of harvest! WTF! This is a likely scenario with the m.j. from Hemp Factory, the worst dispensary in L.A. The same guy is also the owner of Absolute Herbal which is still open.

This is one of the main reasons m.j. needs to be legalized; because so many people consume it. If millions of people consume marijuana on a daily basis and a lot of it is tainted with illegal/inappropriately applied pesticides, isn’t this a serious public health issue?

Mr. Nice
Guest
Mr. Nice
14 years ago
Reply to  Eric Sligh

Avid takes 5-6 weeks to fully break down. Ten days would surely leave residue on the finished product. If an orange farmer sprayed Avid 10 days before harvest, they’d run the risk of prison. Problem is, cannabis farmers run the same risk of prison for using any pesticide, so they are not concerned with what they use.

I’ve found that in the medical marijuana scene, the quality considerations are usually stupid tests like how it tastes or how it burns. The acutely toxic pesticides are tasteless and do not affect pyrolysis while natural pesticides will affect both. What ends up happening is slow burning, neem tasting product is returned as being “chemmy,” while toxic bud passes inspection.

The pot tester labs that got raided by the DEA in Colorado use a technique called negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry which can quickly and cheaply ascertain the levels of broad classes of pesticide and fungicide present in cannabis samples. It is shameful that there is no licensed laboratory to perform these tests. Of course, the same government who raids testing laboratories also sprayed paraquat on cannabis crops, so…

Mr. Nice
Guest
Mr. Nice
14 years ago
Reply to  Eric Sligh

The home tester might also be interested in the Avermectin bioassay kits. They only cost like $725.

j2bad
Guest
14 years ago

“Growers here in Humboldt and the North Coast should be thinking about providing the people that smoke their product with a certification of safety. This will help the buyer but, in addition, it will help Humboldt maintain a reputation as a place where the finest cannabis can be purchased.”

Thanks, Kym, for your efforts at raising awareness on this issues. As we know, the Emerald Triangle is also home to some of the best organic fertilizers and plant food around. HSU already offers courses in organic gardening, and should be well positioned to support organic testing if that becomes legally or financially viable. Pushing for organics stands to help the local economy in lots of ways, in addition to what it does for the health of the consumer.

Staff
Member
14 years ago

I think testing can happen now. I’m not up on all the possibilities but Harbor Light in Oakland tests post harvest on buds. Why can’t our local dispensaries? Even better is the idea getting a Clean Green certification program going here on the North Coast.

Staff
Member
14 years ago

I think testing can happen now. I’m not up on all the possibilities but Harbor Light in Oakland tests post harvest on buds. Why can’t our local dispensaries? Even better is the idea getting a Clean Green certification program going here on the North Coast.

bobbi
Guest
bobbi
14 years ago

For California growers think CCOF
For Oregon growers think Oregon Tilth

way better organics standards the the UsDA

bobbi
Guest
bobbi
14 years ago

For California growers think CCOF
For Oregon growers think Oregon Tilth

way better organics standards the the UsDA

Staff
Member
14 years ago

Bobbi, thanks I think the Emerald Triangle should be thinking about how to certify its cannabis as organic and healthful. I didn’t know about those other organizations. Now that you’ve posted them, I know there are other methods that should be looked into. I appreciate the pointer.

Staff
Member
14 years ago

Bobbi, thanks I think the Emerald Triangle should be thinking about how to certify its cannabis as organic and healthful. I didn’t know about those other organizations. Now that you’ve posted them, I know there are other methods that should be looked into. I appreciate the pointer.