Last March, the Colorado Department of Environmental Health (DEH) ordered quarantines on several thousand cannabis plants due to the presence of unapproved pesticides. DEH targeted some of the largest grow operations in the state, blocking the distribution and sale of millions of dollars worth of product. Industry pointed its finger at the state, while the state laid blame on the industry.
Who’s to blame? First, some facts.
The pesticide getting the most attention is myclobuntanil, sold under the brand name Eagle 20 by Dow Chemical. It can be found on a number of fruits and vegetables we eat everyday: strawberries, eggplants, and hops, to name a few.
Myclobutanil is a fungicide that prevents the spread of powdery mildew (PM) and aspergillus. Both molds can produce highly toxic compounds, triggering allergies or cancer in otherwise healthy people. For medical patients with compromised immune systems, moldy weed can mean a trip to the emergency room – or the morgue.
Currently, myclobutanil isn’t approved for use on cannabis in Colorado. But here’s the kicker: when DEH ordered its holds, myclobutanil wasn’t specifically banned, either. It gets more complicated. Technically, no pesticide is approved for use on cannabis according to the U.S. EPA, the final arbiter on all things related to pesticide.
That’s because marijuana is still a Schedule I substance. Organic Greens v. DEH: In May, Organic Greens, the parent company of Natural Remedies, filed a preliminary injunction against DEH.
They claimed the city of Denver overstepped its authority by ordering the holds on several pounds of Organic Greens’s product. The DEH maintained it could order such a hold, just as they could shut down a restaurant for selling spoiled food.
The hearing took a total of three days. Organic Greens had two toxicologists testify on its behalf. Both toxicologists stated they believed the amounts of Eagle 20 found on Organic Greens’s flowers were well below acceptable amounts for most crops, and therefore were safe for consumption. The city and state attorneys disagreed.
They argued that there’s no science determining whether Eagle 20 is safe to use on marijuana. Additionally, there’s virtually no studies on whether Eagle 20 can be safely inhaled through smoking or vaporization. But most surprising was how the state picked its approved pesticides. The ultimate authority on this issue is the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA).
Despite the complete lack of any scientific basis for banning Eagle 20 (or approving the list of allowed pesticides), the court ruled on the side of DEH. Judge
“They admitted they didn’t rely on any tested science regarding the risks for pesticides on marijuana. Rather, they approved pesticides by reading the chemicals’ labels, which were written by the EPA.”
John Madden III concluded that the DEH has the right to halt the sale or production of any cannabis it believes is unsafe for consumption.
What the Science Says: Before delving into what’s known about myclobutanil, it’s probably a good idea to start with what we don’t know.
First, we don’t know how myclobutanil interacts with cannabis. It’s never been formally studied, and all preliminary data hasn’t been peer-reviewed. We don’t know what’s an acceptable amount of residue for consumption, especially when burning the stuff in a pipe or a joint.
Furthermore, we don’t know how safe it is to smoke or if it’s even safe to smoke at all. In the U.S., myclobutanil isn’t approved for use on tobacco. As to why it’s not approved for tobacco isn’t clear; the EPA didn’t respond to comment to Kurple Magazine regarding why.
Additionally, the EPA never performed risk assessments for pesticides on marijuana. No one has ever requested such studies, a protocol usually initiated by members of industry.
However, some independent analysis for myclobutanil is underway. Colin Gordon of Ethos Collective, a consulting firm, is investigating how cannabis metabolizes myclobutanil. Although some of Ethos’s early data hasn’t been peer reviewed, he claims myclobutanil, if used correctly, disappears by the time the treated marijuana is cured and packaged for sale. “Eagle 20 has been mistreated, abused, and really misunderstood,” Gordon said. “It should be regulated thoroughly. On its own, it’s very toxic, but it’s approved for consumables.” He suggested strict protocols for its use in order to protect not only patients and consumers, but also dispensary growers and other employees, too.
Holds Released: As of this writing, at least three dispensaries – The Green Solution, Sweet Leaf, and LivWell – have had partial or complete releases on their quarantined product. After testing samples, the DEH found negligible or nonexistent residues of Eagle 20 on all released flower.
Despite these releases, some Coloradans remain concerned about the off-label use of pesticides. On May 30, the Cannabis Consumers Coalition, a watchdog group, staged a protest at one of LivWell’s locations. Loudspeakers claimed LivWell did not care about its consumers’ safety. The protesters received a mixed response from the public: some cars honked their horns in support, while some customers confronted the protesters to defend the dispensary.
Larisa Bolivar, the CEO of the Coalition, said she chose to protest LivWell first because it was the largest dispensary to be placed into holds. She also claims the Coalition has been left out of meetings between industry and the state regulators regarding the pesticide issue.
“I want to ensure that there’s transparency in the process for placing pesticides on the approved list,” she said. “The industry has hundreds of thousands of dollars for lobbyists. The consumers don’t have as much of a voice as the industry does. I want to ensure consumers are included in this process.”
Bolivar took the side of caution when discussing pesticides on marijuana. Although most consumers may not suffer from adverse effects of Eagle 20, she noted some patients don’t have that luxury. She said she knew of one patient who “has a neurological disease. He can’t have petrochemicals – these cause neurological problems. He has to be 100 percent that everything he consumes is organic. It’s a life or death thing for him.”
Dean Heizer, an attorney for LivWell, countered the Coalition’s claim that LivWell did not care about the health of its customers. “That is a misinformed and completely inappropriate position,” he said. He added that John Lord, the owner of LivWell, used to design child safety seats before entering the cannabis business. “The first thing John thinks about when he wakes up each morning is the safety of his customers.”
Heizer also said LivWell stopped applying Eagle 20 back in January, and they haven’t used it on their crops since then. Instead, they’ve relied on approved, non-synthetic methods to control molds on their products. In addition to discontinuing the use of Eagle 20, LivWell plans to transition over to entirely organic methods of growing marijuana in the near future.
“We care about public health and safety just as much as Denver does,” Heizer said. “We just think that there ought to be a scientific basis for their enforcement, and there isn’t one.” Although he wouldn’t cite a specific number, he claimed the city’s holds cost LivWell millions of dollars in damages.
Put This in Your Pipe and Smoke It: Right now, Colorado is still undergoing growing pains. The recreational cannabis industry will face further obstacles as the state, its regulatory agencies, industries, and consumers all work together to streamline safety protocols.
So, what have we learned? We’ve learned that federal prohibition of cannabis continues to haunt consumers and patients, even in a state with legal marijuana. Because the federal government considers cannabis to be Schedule I, getting federal approval for anything regarding marijuana will be difficult. Furthermore, states are entirely on their own when determining which pesticides to use on cannabis.
We’ve learned that the cannabis industry, if given a gray area, will take advantage of that gray area if it benefits them and their bottom line, whether that be profits or public safety. In this regard, the weed business is no different than any other business.
We’ve also learned Colorado and city of Denver doesn’t mind contradicting itself. During Organic Greens’s injunction hearing, the city’s attorneys claimed approved pesticides were allowed because of the science behind the pesticides’ labels. Then they turned around and said there’s no science for pesticides on cannabis. They demanded scientific data to prove Eagle 20 was safe for cannabis, yet they admitted there’s no science that shows any pesticides are safe on cannabis.
At this rate, the pesticide controversy may not go away any time soon, especially without federal oversight. The EPA has emergency powers to temporarily approve pesticides, on a local level, if there’s a need. The EPA hasn’t granted this to any tate with legal cannabis, but they may have to if states can’t get a hold on their own regulations.
