Colorado’s Mandatory Pesticide Testing Poses a Problem for Cannabis Growers
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]N[/dropcap]ew mandatory cannabis pesticide testing in Colorado is costing growers thousands of dollars in additional costs.
In Colorado, the added cost amounts to $100-$120 to test each strain. Because each strain has to be individually tested, industry insiders fear there will be less diversity in products on the marketplace as cultivators reduce the amount of unique strains they produce. Time Cullen, CEO of Colorado Harvest Company said the new lab tests are costing him an additional $2,500 per week for each grow facility, but agrees that the mandatory tests are necessary to keep cannabis consumers safe.
Until recently, cannabis cultivators weren’t required to test their crop for pesticides. Under new rules that took effect Aug. 1, Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division requires mandatory pesticide testing for 15 pesticides for all cannabis flower and trim.
“It has not been a mandatory test,” said Ryan Randolph, lab director for AgriScience Labs’ Western Slope location. “Some of the labs have been offering pesticide testing as a voluntary test that producers could do. The volume on the tests on a voluntary basis has been pretty low because if you do fail that test, you will have to deal with potentially destroying that batch of product.”
The added expense is another blow to the state’s cultivators, which are already struggling with falling wholesale prices and an excess of product, even as sales continue to rise each year. The state-licensed testing labs, however, have seen an increase in business as cultivators try to get their product tested and ready to sell. There are only five state-licensed testing facilities in Colorado.
Kima Mahmoodi, owner of Denver-based Nordic Analytical Laboratories, has purchased more equipment and hired more staffers to try to keep her promise to her clients that they will receive results in two to three days. Her lab charges $120 per test for a two-gram sample, but she says she hasn’t had to reject that much cannabis for unacceptable pesticide levels.
