Pesticide Testing Fail

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]W[/dropcap]hen you buy cannabis at a dispensary, you usually see a label displaying that the cannabis was tested for pesticides. It may even say who tested the product and what the results were. But who is responsible for the oversight of these tests? And who makes sure the ones doing the testing are being honest?

One of the biggest problems that have arisen in Oregon’s cannabis industry is that pesticide testing isn’t what it should be. Testing rules don’t make sense and can’t be followed easily. Even worse for consumers, products are deceiving and may not be tested at all. There are plenty of facilities to test for pesticides for cannabis businesses, but they all have different standards, and many of them aren’t as ethical as one would hope.  For now, it’s an honor system, and one that doesn’t make cannabis consumers feel very comfortable. Pesticides are generally used to control mildew or flies, but the problem is that many growers are using illegal pesticides, which they were warned against doing by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The Cannabis Safety Institute released a report last June stating that illegal pesticides could be found in almost half of the cannabis on Oregon shelves.

However, recently, the rules for pesticide testing got some improvements—radically different than the way Oregon did it before. Sellers now have to do a detailed screening for particular pesticides, but the problem remains with holding distributors and testing facilities accountable. The industry will continue to operate this way until someone takes the reigns and starts to legitimize Oregon’s pesticide testing process.

Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) doesn’t view cannabis as an official agricultural crop, we know that no cannabis can be labeled as “organic.” Although there have been some regulations set in place since Oregon’s legalization, growers have many ways to get around following those rules. Scientists have started to press the state for steeper testing requirements now. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has new rules set in place to begin testing for almost 60 pesticides in June 2016, but this isn’t soon enough for some researchers, or consumers.

When a cannabis testing facility wants to open for business, they need to first be accredited by the state. This is where the OHA will start inspection. Each testing facility needs to be inspected to make sure they have the appropriate equipment, along with being able to prove that the correct scientific method is being used. The OHA has stated that they are willing to put some temporary rules in place to keep things under control until the new system begins this spring. They are feeling the pressure from the public, as well as from a company called Phylos Bioscience, a leader in genetic cannabis research.

Mowgli Holmes, a scientist who owns a Phylos Bioscience, a Portland-based company that does genetic research on cannabis, pushed the health authority to ditch its current requirement that cannabis be tested for four broad classes of chemicals and instead require testing for 10 or 12 of the most commonly used pesticides, according to The Oregonian.

“The problem is these pesticide testing rules don’t make any sense and can’t be followed,” said Holmes. “Stuff is going onto the shelves and it looks like they have been testing for pesticides and it hasn’t been tested for pesticides.”

The Organic Cannabis Association is helping to set the industry standard for pesticide testing, as well as setting up a structure for independently reviewing products for quality and test-result accuracy. We can look to Colorado, who has already developed their “Pesticide Free Certification Program” in Denver, making cannabis much safer for consumers. Oregon has always been a leader in producing safe, organic foods and products for local consumers, and tightening up our cannabis industry’s pesticide testing laws is just another way for Oregonians to show that we also want clean and safe cannabis.