Colorado’s agricultural agencies are in panic mode after several independent studies found dangerous levels of pesticides in marijuana products.
A CNN report published Wednesday found that at least one over-the-counter product tested positive for illegally high levels of the neurotoxin imidacloprid. CNN commissioned tests by an independent lab, and the report ultimately led to a recall of 2,362 pot products. A similar Denver Post study in September yielded similar findings — some of the cannabis products tested had as much as six times the federally allowed limit on pesticides in consumable products.
If the pesticides had been found on, say, avocados, the products would have been taken off the shelves immediately. But Colorado’s oversight of pesticides on marijuana has been limited, other than a handful of recalls and plant quarantines.
Colorado and other states that recently legalized marijuana are just beginning to grapple with the pesticide issue. An absence of federal regulation has left the states struggling to figure out how to pass pesticide legislation, how to enforce it and which agencies should be doing the enforcing.
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