Yo, remember that article on Cannabis.net called “Legal Cannabis is More Expensive But It is Lab-Tested and Safe, NOT!”? Man, Colorado be seeing mad people tryna cheat and find loopholes in the cannabis testing labs to get their products approved as safe. And it ain’t just the legal growers, even the underground market be doin’ the same sh*t.
So check this out, a study just dropped in the Journal of Cannabis Research showin’ that Canadian cannabis got some serious pesticide issues goin’ on. They compared the legal and illegal markets, but honestly, it ain’t even that big of a contrast. Legal weed gotta deal with all them heavy regulations and taxes, so they tryna squeeze out more profit by usin’ chemicals to boost their yields. If they can get away with it, why not, right?
The study looked at 36 cannabis samples from licensed dispensaries and 24 samples seized from the black market. They tested these samples for a whopping 327 different pesticides. And you know what they found? The illicit cannabis samples had some straight-up nasty chemical residues. I’m talkin’ 92% of them had pesticides in ’em, with 23 different types of pesticides poppin’ up. Four particular ones, myclobutanil, paclobutrazol, piperonyl butoxide, and pyrethrins, were found a bunch of times in them 24 illegal samples.
But wait, it gets worse. One of the illegal samples had nine different pesticides in it! On average, each underground sample had 3.7 pesticides in ’em, and a crazy 87% had multiple pesticides.
Now here’s where it gets interesting. Only 6% of the legal samples tested positive for pesticides. And even then, it was only dichlobenil and myclobutanil showin’ up. Now, I gotta admit, the numbers in the US be higher, like the Colorado story I mentioned earlier.
The researchers came up with a fancy way to test all them pesticides in the weed. They blended the cannabis flower in a lab blender, mixed it with acetonitrile (whatever the f*ck that is), and then used a Geno-Grinder to extract it. After some more steps, they had their samples ready for testing. It’s some high-tech sh*t, man.
Now, this kind of study ain’t that common, ya know? The researchers even said it themselves. They ain’t seen nobody compare legal and illegal cannabis like this on such a big scale before. But they made it clear that illegal weed is risky as hell to smoke. They found all sorts of contaminants in those samples, like bacteria, lead, and arsenic. The Canadian government been warnin’ people about this sh*t for a while now.
So what’s the solution? Well, there’s this nonprofit called Beyond Pesticides that be fightin’ for safer cannabis. They wrote a letter to Congress back in 2019 sayin’ that pesticide use on weed is illegal since it ain’t considered an agricultural crop under federal law. Plus, the EPA ain’t even tested any pesticides for use on marijuana plants. So basically, usin’ unregistered pesticides is a big no-no.
Beyond Pesticides got an article talkin’ ’bout all the pesticide concerns with cannabis. They say states need to step up and make regulations to protect consumers. They want organic standards to be followed and sustainable production practices to be enforced. Sounds good to me.
Oh yeah, remember that vape crisis back in 2019? Like a thousand people got sick and 18 died from it. Turns out it was Vitamin E Acetate messin’ people up. Now, that sh*t might be safe for other uses, but when you inhale it, it can f*ck up your lungs real bad. It made everyone realize that we gotta be careful ’bout what we put in our lungs, whether it’s weed or not.
And it ain’t just pesticides, man. There have been recalls in the past ’cause of mold and unsafe pesticide use. Colorado had to issue a safety warning ’cause some batches were contaminated. Nevada had to do the same ’cause they found this pesticide called Ethephon in a bunch of products. Vermont even had a recall ’cause of weed grown with Eagle 20, which gave people headaches and nausea.
So listen up, y’all. The cannabis industry, legal or not, be tryna make that money. Using pesticides is an easy way to increase yields and make more profit. But this study showed that illegal weed got mad pesticides in it compared to the legal stuff. It proves that there needs to be strict regulation and testing in the cannabis industry. Beyond Pesticides be callin’ for organic standards to be followed to keep us safe. And with all them recalls and health crises happenin’, it’s important to know where your weed comes from and if it meets safety standards.
So stay woke, my friends. Make sure your stash is clean and enjoy your high without worryin’ ’bout chemical residues messin’ you up. Peace out!
