Washington Enacts MJ Product Recall Process

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Washington State marijuana businesses are now subject to new rules under which various products can be recalled and even destroyed due to pesticide use.

The Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board adopted emergency rules this week to address pesticides in cannabis cultivation, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

The agency declared that the new rules “provide the ability to identify and remove products that have been found to pose a risk to public health in a fast and efficient manner.”

The new rules, outlined in a 129-page document, are quite extensive. A few highlights:
  • “Marijuana and marijuana products exposed to unauthorized soil amendments or fertilizers, or marijuana with detectable levels of unauthorized pesticides or plant growth regulators are subject to seizure and destruction.”
  • “Failure to address monetary penalties for two or more violation notices in a three year period will result in license cancellation.”
  • Some of the banned pesticides include ancymidol, chlormequat chloride, clofencet, colchicine, colloidal silver, daminozide, dikegulac-sodium, flumetralin, flurprimidol and paclobutrazol.

Pesticide use has become an increasingly hot topic in the cannabis industry, with thousands of products having been recalled in Colorado over the past year.

California also included pesticide rules in new MMJ industry regulations approved by the legislature last year. At the same time, product shortages and price spikes are expected in at least two states because of new pesticide regulations.