Two Denver marijuana cultivation facilities voluntarily recalled a wide-ranging group of products Wednesday over concerns they contained residues of disallowed pesticides.
TruCannabis and Colorado Care Facility, a subsidiary, issued the recall after its products tested positive for three pesticides the state says cannot be used to grow marijuana.
All the products were produced from marijuana harvested before June 2, 2015, by TruCannabis and Colorado Care. The scope of the recall was not provided, but involves dozens of product names.
RECALL: Complete list of all products being recalled
The during tests performed on products tied to an earlier recall from a different establishment, TruCannabis CEO Bruce Nassau said.
“As soon as those results came in, we quarantined it all,” Nassau said. “We’re not happy about this at all and itap an embarrassment, not at all indicative of our business practices.”
The in Denver and which were being sold by a number of retail outlets, including TruCannabis.
Pot pesticides
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The Colorado Department of Agriculture in April issued a list of pesticides it says are allowed for use on marijuana, but because they say there is no information about their safety to consumers.
The — the only agency to issue a marijuana-related recall of any kind — since it quarantined 100,000 plants in March and April.
“We agree with the city,” said Nassau, who is also a partner in the business. “While itap not been proven safe or not, we opt with the city to say that if there’s any concern, the health of our patients, clients and employees is paramount to us.”
The recalled products include flower, trim, shake, as well as an assortment of concentrates such as wax, shatter, budder and hash oils, according to an announcement by DEH. Many of the recalled products carry labels from different businesses that made marijuana-infused products from pot grown by TruCannabis. Those MIP businesses then sent the product back to be sold at one of TruCannabis’ five locations, four of them in Denver and one in Aurora.
Recalled concentrate product labels will show a cultivation facility number of 403R-00053, 403R-00057 or 403-00612.
Recalled dried marijuana will show either of those three cultivation facility numbers or 403-00149.
A list of impacted MIP products include Venom, CCC, Lab 710, Mahatma, White Mousse, Top Shelf, Zuni Wellness (The Lab), The Growing Kitchen, THChocolate, Stay Con, TC Labs, The Lab, Better Concentrates, CWD and TR Scientific.
Consumers are urged to return recalled product to the place of purchase or destroy it.
The issue of pesticides on marijuana has been a problem since retail sales began in January 2014, mostly because there have been no regulations about which products could or should not be used.
over the alleged impact pesticides have had on consumers who unknowingly purchased marijuana grown with pesticides.
Though pesticides are regulated by the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency, marijuana is illegal under federal law and, as a result, no pesticide can be certified for use on the plant.
Additionally, state agriculture officials who enforce EPA laws in Colorado have been unable to say which pesticides are safe for use on marijuana because no science exists to bear that out. Instead, CDA has chosen those chemicals it says have warning labels so broadly written that using the pesticide on marijuana would not violate those restrictions.
— from molds and fungi to insects — with the limited number of pesticides the state allows.
“Much of the problem, because marijuana is federally illegal, is there has been no testing on these (pesticides) and while they might be perfectly fine, we need to determine what is acceptable and what is not,” Nassau said. “Itap a tiresome grey area and more clarity is necessary.”
governing pesticide use on marijuana, one more restrictive to only products allowed on food and tobacco, as well as those so non-toxic as not to require any tolerance levels establishing their safety for ingestion.
The rule, if approved, would also allow pesticide manufacturers to test their product on marijuana and apply for a special exemption if they can prove the product is safe for ingestion, both by eating and smoking.
David Migoya: 303-954-1506, dmigoya@denverpost.com or @davidmigoya
