Pubdate: Thu, 15 Oct 2015
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: David Migoya

RECALL COVERS MANY LABELS

Cultivators Pull Back Products Voluntarily Over Possible Residue.

Two Denver marijuana cultivation facilities voluntarily recalled a 
wide-ranging group of products Wednesday over concerns they contained 
residues of pesticides that have not been approved for use on marijuana.

The recall by TruCannabis and Colorado Care Facility, a subsidiary, 
was the third announced by the Denver Department of Environmental 
Health since it began cracking down on pesticides last spring, 
quarantining 100,000 plants.

Company officials said they were conducting tests at the city's 
request related to an earlier recall of infused products produced by 
Mahatma when they found their own products had three disallowed pesticides.

All the products were produced from marijuana harvested before June 
2. The scope of the recall was not provided but involves dozens of 
product names.

"As soon as those results came in, we quarantined it all," 
TruCannabis CEO Bruce Nassau said. "We're not happy about this at 
all, and it's an embarrassment, not at all indicative of our business 
practices."

Noting there is a lack of testing to determine what pesticides are 
unsafe, Nassau said, "We opt with the city to say that if there's any 
concern, the health of our patients, clients and employees is paramount to us."

He said no problems were found with anything produced after June 2.

The recalled products include flower, trim and shake, as well as an 
assortment of concentrates such as wax, shatter, budder and hash 
oils, according to an announcement by the Department of Environmental 
Health. Many of the recalled products carry labels from different 
businesses that made marijuana-infused products from pot grown by TruCannabis.

Those businesses then sent the product back to be sold at one of 
TruCannabis' five locations, four of them in Denver and one in Aurora.

Recalled concentrate product labels will show a cultivation facility 
number of 403R-00053, 403R-00057 or 403-00612.

Recalled dried marijuana will show either of those three cultivation 
facility numbers or 403-00149.

A list of impacted products includes Venom, CCC, Lab 710, Mahatma, 
White Mousse, Top Shelf, Zuni Wellness (The Lab), The Growing 
Kitchen, THChocolate, Stay Con, TC Labs, The Lab, Better 
Concentrates, CWD and TR Scientific.

Consumers are urged to return recalled products to the place of 
purchase or destroy it.

The issue of pesticides on marijuana has been a problem since retail 
sales began in January 2014, mostly because there have been no 
regulations about which chemicals could or should not be used and no 
testing to determine what pesticides are safe for marijuana.

The state therefore has chosen to OK those chemicals it says have 
warning labels so broadly written that using the pesticide on 
marijuana would not violate those restrictions. The Colorado 
Department of Agriculture in April issued a list of pesticides it 
says are allowed for use on marijuana, although it had circulated 
drafts of the list a year earlier.

The department recently said it was creating a new rule governing 
pesticide use on marijuana, one more restrictive than the current list.

The rule, if approved, also would allow pesticide manufacturers to 
test their product on marijuana and apply for a special exemption if 
they can prove the product is safe for ingestion, by eating and smoking.

Marijuana growers have said they cannot battle the kinds of pests 
they encounter - from molds and fungi to insects - with the limited 
number of pesticides the state allows.

"Much of the problem, because marijuana is federally illegal, is 
there has been no testing on these (pesticides). And while they might 
be perfectly fine, we need to determine what is acceptable and what 
is not," Nassau said. "It's a tiresome gray area, and more clarity is 
necessary."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom