Pubdate: Wed, 02 Sep 2015
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Authors: David Migoya and Ricardo Baca

PESTICIDES WORRY DENVER

Listed Chemicals Not Approved for Use on Pot Prompt Probes.

Denver health officials Tuesday began inspecting and quarantining 
hundreds of marijuana products because their labels listed pesticides 
not approved for use on cannabis.

The move comes about six months after the city quarantined 100,000 
plants at 11 grow facilities over concerns about pesticides.

Although pesticides are widely used on crops, their use on cannabis 
remains problematic because no safety standards exist. Marijuana is 
illegal under federal law, so the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, which regulates pesticides, has never established any limits.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture, however, has created a list 
of pesticides it says can be used.

The holds at Mountain High Suckers on South Lipan Street and MMJ 
America on Arapahoe Street come after Denver's Department of 
Environmental Health late Monday warned businesses that products with 
labels that reflect the use of unapproved pesticides should be 
removed from shelves and destroyed or returned to the manufacturer.

State law requires all marijuana product labels list the pesticides, 
contaminants, fungicides and herbicides that were used at any point 
of the production process, from germination to packaging.

Several hundred lozenges at Mountain High were quarantined after 
inspectors found their labels listed the pesticide spinosad, an 
insecticide that is slightly toxic to humans, according to Dan 
Rowland, spokesman for Denver's office of marijuana policy.

An undisclosed amount of raw marijuana - shake and flower - at MMJ 
America also was put on hold over labels that disclosed spinosad, Rowland said.

Representatives of Mountain High and MMJ could not be reached for 
comment immediately. Mountain High's website says it manufactures 
marijuana-infused edibles such as the lozenges and suckers. MMJ grows 
and sells its own marijuana.

An industry trade group said its members are "committed to complying 
with Denver's new guidance."

"Safety of our customers and employees is a top concern for our 
members," said Mike Elliott, executive director of the Marijuana 
Industry Group. "This process demonstrates yet again that the 
regulated industry is always safer than the black market."

State law says "it is unlawful for someone to use pesticides in a 
manner inconsistent with labeling directions or requirements," said 
Mitch Yergert, director of the Colorado Department of Agriculture's 
division of plant industry.

However, some labels are so broadly written that the state has 
decided the pesticide can be used on marijuana because it doesn't 
violate the label warnings.

Denver health inspectors will continue to make spot checks of 
marijuana businesses and respond to referrals, officials said.

Inspectors who find products that appear to contain an unapproved 
pesticide will file a complaint to have them tested, Rowland said.

"They'll be removed from shelves contingent on the test results," 
Rowland said, "and a product recall could be issued."

Inspectors also will investigate the source of plants that had the 
pesticide to determine whether a supplier sold to other 
manufacturers, Rowland said. They also will determine whether a 
manufacturer, such as Mountain High, sold its products to other retailers.

Although product labels might reflect pesticides not allowed for use 
on marijuana, it's unclear how much pesticide residue actually 
remains on the pot or on infused products. And a different state law 
requiring businesses to test for them has not yet been enforced.

That issue surfaced after Denver quarantined plants in March and April.

"While everyone wants safe marijuana, Denver has no science to show 
the presence of residual amounts of pesticides are a danger to public 
health," said attorney Sean McAllister, who sued the city over the 
holds last spring.

Nearly every test CDA did on the quarantined plants found some level 
of a banned pesticide, some several times the limit allowed on other 
crops. In some cases, more than one barred pesticide was found on the 
same batches.

Two marijuana-grow businesses chose to have their quarantined plants 
destroyed rather than tested, while nine others chose to wait for 
residue levels to drop to trace amounts, enough to have them released for sale.

Four of the nine businesses sued in Denver District Court to stop the 
city from quarantining their pot plants.

"Experts testified that residual amounts of pesticides not on the CDA 
list did not pose a public health threat," McAllister said. "Denver's 
actions are adding unneeded costs to the marijuana industry with no 
benefit to public health."

The city eventually settled with the businesses, establishing a level 
of pesticide residue those plants could not exceed. The businesses 
were entitled to sell products that listed the pesticides among their 
ingredients, officials said.

Two of the pesticides most broadly found, according to test results 
obtained by The Denver Post, were myclobutanil and imidacloprid.

Myclobutanil is a powerful fungicide whose label warns it may be 
harmful if inhaled and could impact the central nervous system.

Imidacloprid is an insecticide that, according to its label, is 
harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin - three 
ways that marijuana is consumed.

Yet, both products are allowed for use on certain fruits and vegetables.

The Post in August found that marijuana products at two stores listed 
barred pesticides, often buried within a list of ingredients that 
included water, seaweed extract and guano from bats and seabirds.

One shop, LivWell in Denver, said the products were being phased out.

"Any compliant company that uses any non-organic pesticides, 
fungicides or herbicides is obligated to list the fact that they were 
used," LivWell executive director and chief legal strategist Dean 
Heizer said Tuesday. "Until March of 2015, our facility was using 
some of those products. We do not use any non-organic, listable 
pesticides anymore."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom