That Dizzy Feeling Isn’t the Weed: Chinese Pesticides Used on Cannabis Farms Linked to Nausea, Memory Loss and Even Cancer
Cannabis users who get headaches from their weed may need to look at their supply more carefully.
New research shows that some of the most popular brands on California pharmacy shelves contain alarmingly high levels of pesticides.
They can irritate the lungs, eyes and throat and cause rashes, headaches, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
Even worse, pollutants can include chemicals linked to cancer, liver failure, thyroid disease, and genetic and neurological damage to users and unborn children.
Some of the chemicals have been smuggled in from China — a sign of the growing involvement of Chinese gangs in legal and smuggled marijuana cultivation in the US in the wake of legalization.
A deputy takes an employee of an illegal marijuana farm into custody in Phelan, California
Cops collect large bags of weed after busting an illegal grow in Mount Shasta Vista, California
An LA Times and WeedWeek research examined some of the most popular brands of vapes and pre-rolled weed in the Golden State.
About 25 of 42 legal marijuana products purchased in stores and tested in private labs showed pesticide concentrations above state or federal safety levels.
Most of the pesticides found were at low concentrations that could be harmful to people who used them regularly.
The full extent of the health threat may not be known for years, researchers warned.
Vapes were among the worst offenders.
Researchers found that five major brands had pesticide loads above federal risk thresholds for harm from a single exposure
Some products contain as many as twenty pesticides.
The alarming findings mirror the results of other studies over the past eight months.
It is believed that cannabis farmers are overusing pesticides to increase profits in a tight market.
The high-quality crop needs protection against the insect pests that thrive in greenhouses.
Meanwhile, the rising popularity of vaping has increased demand for vape oil made from lower-quality cannabis, which is often grown illegally.
The potential of pesticides on some farms is now so strong that state investigators are being urged to wear respirators and take blood poisoning tests if they encounter them.
Investigators have highlighted bags of illegal Chinese-brand disinfectants found in a cannabis greenhouse in Siskiyou County, northern California.
Tests showed the unbranded product contained ten pesticides, two of which could be fatal if inhaled.
The loot contained isoprocarb, a Chinese disinfectant not approved for use in the US.
Customers purchasing cannabis products from high-end dispensaries have no idea that their precious product has been grown with dangerous levels of pesticides
The study focused on California, but raises concerns among marijuana users across the country who could inhale similar chemicals.
Marijuana is fully legal – for recreational and medicinal use by adults – in 29 states. It is completely illegal in four states.
The laws in the remaining states are mixed, meaning the drug may be allowed for medicinal use, only allowed in the form of CBD oil, decriminalized, or a combination of these.
According to Pew Research, half of American adults say they have used marijuana, and nearly a quarter say they have used it in the past year.
There has been a notable increase in the number of crops associated with Chinese nationals in recent years.
Some of these have recently cropped up in states like Maine and Oklahoma, with their looser rules and lax enforcement.
Fifty members of Congress wrote a letter to the Justice Department in February asking for more information about illegal marijuana cultivation linked to Chinese nationals.
The pesticide report is not the first fear for cannabis users.
Dozens of cannabis products, including buds and rollups, were recalled last month following the discovery of a toxic fungus linked to lung infections.
California’s Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) reported that the products may be filled with aspergillus – a fungus that grows on plants if they are not stored or dried properly.
Inhaling aspergillus can cause a wide range of health problems, including coughing up blood, asthma attacks, headaches, weight loss, and in extreme cases, death.
There were a total of 13 products subject to mandatory recalls, including Tyson Undisputed Cannabis Flower from Northern Emerald, a brand promoted by professional boxer Mike Tyson.