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New tests find hidden pesticides are in California cannabis products
More than half of cannabis smoking products in California’s legal market contain chemicals that are not being monitored for public safety, my colleague Paige St. John reports in a new Times investigation that looked at hundreds of product tests and industry surveys.
The investigation raises significant questions about health threats to consumers and the state’s ability to monitor cannabis products, issues that have emerged as California’s $5-billion legal cannabis market struggles to overcome a resilient black market and growing competition from other states.
Here are three big findings from Paige’s investigation. You can also find a searchable database of pesticide testing reports in this link.
(Photo illustration by Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times; Photos via Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
1. An insecticide used to disinfect hospitals and dog kennels was found in the testing of vapes
The insecticide, pymetrozine, is a carcinogen banned in Europe and was once used in Lysol.
It’s illegal to treat cannabis crops in California with pymetrozine. But some farms list the chemical in their monthly pesticide use reports to the state without any apparent consequence, Paige reports.
Pymetrozine was present in 13 out of 14 vaping products by Stiiizy, the state’s top-selling vape brand, according to Times analysis of tests.
2. Tests of more than 370 legal cannabis products identified the presence of 45 pesticides that California does not track in cannabis…