"Pesticides in Marijuana"
California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana.
When labs started reporting they were finding high levels of pesticide residues,
the LA city government covertly acquired and then tested three samples
from dispensaries and found that two of the three samples
did have exceedingly high pesticide levels,
up to a thousand times the legal limit.
Yeah, but how much ends up inside the consumer?
Only about 10 percent or so of pesticides in tobacco
makes it through a filtered cigarette which was found to be comparable
to using cannabis in water pipe with filters attached.
But use a regular bong and about half the pesticides end up in your lungs,
and a glass pipe is even worse.
Because most users don’t attach a carbon filter to their bongs
with seven and a half grams of activated charcoal,
“in general the portion of pesticide recovery [from cannabis would be]
alarmingly high and is a serious concern.”
Although we don’t know precisely how damaging these chemicals are,
the fact that they are present in smoke at such high levels should be concerning.
“Considering these results, high pesticide exposure through cannabis smoking
is a significant possibility, which may lead to further health complications
in cannabis consumers,” especially if we’re talking about medical marijuana.
Sick vulnerable people potentially making things worse.
“The potential of pesticide and chemical residue exposures to cannabis users
is substantial and may pose a significant toxicological threat
in the absence of adequate regulatory frameworks.”
Okay, so what are states doing about it?
Colorado recently suffered some high profile recalls of marijuana batches
contaminated with harmful pesticides that made it into some of the edibles.
Evidently growers sometimes find themselves overwhelmed by pest issues
and resort to “nuclear tactics,” trying anything to protect their crop.
This has created a public health threat, with “intensified toxicity
in concentrated products of particular concern.”
“Pesticide levels were found to be approximately 10x higher
in concentrated cannabis products” like the oils and waxes
sometimes used in edibles or dabbed as concentrates.
A study of pesticide use on cannabis crops in Oregon found a similar problem.
A survey of samples off store shelves in Washington state found five out of six
contaminated, including with potentially neurotoxic and carcinogenic agents.
Many samples harbored multiple contaminants, attaining levels
basically off the chart, including 24 distinct pesticide agents,
insecticides, fungicides, none of which are approved for use on cannabis.
But it’s not their fault—the EPA hasn’t approved any because
it’s still a federally illegal crop.
In fact, testing labs in California have “become hesitant to publicize
their service or list agents for which they could [test],
as they suspected that such information” might just be used as an instruction
manual by unscrupulous growers to seek out even more toxic agents.
Okay, so just regulate it.
They’ve tried, but guess what was the biggest barrier they came up against?
Surprise, surprise, the cannabis industry— the multi-billion-dollar cannabis industry.
Like the tobacco industry before it,
the cannabis industry is attempting to weaken pesticide regulations.
Reportedly, the Colorado Department of Agriculture “initially hoped
to limit permissible pesticides to the most nontoxic,”
but this proposal was quashed by industry pushback,
just like the tobacco industry was able to do.
Big Tobacco has provided a detailed road map for King Cannabis:
“deny addiction potential, downplaying any adverse health effects,
create as large a market as quickly as possible,
and protect that market through lobbying [and campaign contributions.]”
Bolstered by enormous profits, the tobacco industry was able
to get itself exempted from every major piece of consumer protection legislation.
So that should be a cautionary tale for us now
given that public health advocates have definitely fewer billions to work with.
Big Tobacco may not just be providing the roadmap
but waiting in the wings to own the road.
“As a result of [lawsuits] against the tobacco industry,
more than 80 million pages of internal company documents became available.”
And what they reveal is that “since at least 1970, despite fervent denials,
major multinational tobacco companies” like Philip Morris
have been scheming, willing, and prepared to enter
the legalized marijuana market to become Big Blunt.
“Because of the tobacco industry’s demonstrated ability and willingness
to modify its products to increase addictiveness, obfuscate information,
deceive the public, and target vulnerable groups to increase demand,
the industry has the power to dramatically [change the game.]”