Pesticides in Cannabis
What are pesticides?
Pesticides are substances put on cannabis plants to keep pests and other organisms from destroying the plant. Pesticides are either natural or synthetic, but both can be toxic when consumed.
Note: Most research on pesticides has been conducted on the effects of eating them, and we lack data on the long-term effects of inhaling residual pesticides on cannabis.
What pesticides are allowed in cannabis?
In California, a pesticide product can legally be applied to cannabis if the active ingredients found in the product is exempt from residue tolerance requirements, and the product is either exempt from registration requirements or registered for a use that is broad enough to include use on cannabis.
The EPA sets residue tolerance requirements for each pesticide on each food crop, including cannabis. However, the EPA has not set any tolerances for pesticides used on cannabis because it’s still not federally recognized as a legal crop.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has approved the following pesticides for use on cannabis:
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1. Azadirachtin
2. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain D747
3. Bacillus subtillus QST
4. Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki
5. Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. Israeliensis
6. Beauveria bassiana
7. Burkholderia spp. Strain A396
8. Capsaicin (=Capsicum oleoresin)
9. Castor oil
10. Cinnamon and cinnamon oil
11. Citric acid
12. Cloves and clove oil
13. Corn oil
14. Cottonseed oil
15. Garlic and garlic oil
16. Geraniol
17. Gliocladium virens
18. Horticultural oils (petroleum oil)
19. Insecticidal soaps (potassium salts of fatty acids)
20. Iron phosphate, sodium ferric EDTA 22
21. Isaria fumosurosea
22. Neem oil
23. Peppermint, peppermint oil
24. Potassium bicarbonate; sodium bicarbonate
25. Potassium silicate
26. Potassium sorbate
27. Predatory nematodes
28. Putrescent whole egg solids
29. Rosemary, rosemary oil
30. Sesame and sesame oil
31. Sodium chloride
32. Soybean oil
33. Reynutria sachalinensis
34. Sulfur
35. Trichoderma harzianium
36. Thyme oil
Can pesticide residue on cannabis make it into the bloodstream?
Yes. While research on the inhalation of residual pesticides in cannabis is still sparse, we do know that pesticides in cannabis end up in the bloodstream.
A study on pesticide residues in cannabis smoke tested contaminated batches of flower with four common pesticides – diazinon, paclobutrazol, bifenthrin, and permethrin. Researchers measured how much came through in the mainstream smoke of a glass pipe and a bong. With the glass pipe, smokers inhaled about 65% of the pesticide on the leaf and 50% from the bong.
The researchers behind the study wrote, “the portion of pesticide recovery is alarmingly high and is a serious concern.” But nobody knows precisely how toxic these pesticides are. We cannot say, “if you inhale X amount of permethrin, it will harm your liver exactly this way.” It is woefully under-researched.
Which form of cannabis poses the biggest risk concerning pesticides?
Concentrates come with a more considerable pesticide risk than flower because the processes used to concentrate cannabinoids also concentrate pesticides. A 2015 study found roughly ten times more pesticides in concentrates than in flower.
While concentrates pose a higher pesticide risk, some ways to extract concentrates provide a cleaner cannabis consumption experience.
Are there pesticide-free cannabis products? How can I find them?
With the lack of regulation, pesticide-free cannabis is something you have to seek out rather than being the norm. We recommend asking your local budtender, or you can buy from Clearly California.
Clearly California follows the philosophy “the cleaner the soil, the cleaner the oil.” All of Clearly California’s products – including concentrates – test non-detect in every category of pesticide, chemical, micro-toxin, and heavy metal tested in California.
If you need some help choosing a product to get started,we can help.