Washington State Scrutinizing Cannabis Pesticide Use

Did you miss the webinar “Women Leaders in Cannabis: Shattering the Grass Ceiling?” Head to MJBiz YouTube to watch it now!


Washington State’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) is cracking down on illegal pesticide use in the marijuana industry, but it has yet to issue product recalls against offending cultivators.

In December, the LCB slapped “stop sales orders” against BMF Washington and New Leaf Industries, two of the state’s biggest marijuana growers, pending investigations into their use of prohibited pesticides, according to The Stranger. The LCB did not announce the stop sales orders to the public.

The stop sale orders have since been lifted, but the LCB did fine the cultivators $2,500 apiece for the violations. The board also mandated that New Leaf destroy all mother plants propagated before Nov. 12, and products made from those plants, The Stranger reported.

Despite the fines, pesticide experts like Professor Allan Felsot of Washington State University and Professor Dave Stone of Oregon State University say there is not enough data to ring alarm bells, but that consumers should at least know they could be taking a risk, according to the Seattle Times. For that reason, at least two rec shops in Seattle are pulling New Leaf and BMF products off their shelves, the Times reported.

New Leaf Enterprises makes the Dama line of products, while BMF’s marijuana is used by JuJu Joints, Liberty Reach, and other brands.