Three Oregon dispensaries, including Flowr of Life in Eugene, sold pesticide-tainted strains of marijuana during October, according to a notice from the Oregon Health Authority.
“The Oregon Health Authority is advising customers of three medical marijuana dispensaries that certain products contain high levels of pesticides,” the notice read.
At Flowr of Life, the contaminated strain was called “Dutch Treat” and was sold to about 30 customers between Oct. 15 and Oct. 26. The strain tested above the OHA standard for the pesticide spinosad.
OHA is investigating “why the batches were transferred from grower to dispensary” after testing positive in state labs. According to OHA, “effects of smoking marijuana containing spinosad … are not known.”
Morgan Glenn, the co-founder of Flowr of Life, says that industry inconsistencies and a lack of research makes life frustrating for dispensaries.
Glenn says that in the past, labs would let growers know if their cannabis passed or failed a test as soon as the results came in. But lately, growers have not been getting the lab results, according to Glenn.
“The grower assumed everything was fine, and sold it to four dispensaries. OHA did not call until after the cannabis had been sold,” he said.
Glenn said it doesn’t make sense why OHA wouldn’t tell the grower that the strain was tainted before it was sold. He also says that spinosad, which the Dutch Treat strain tested positive for, is an “organic pesticide” commonly used on tomatoes.
According to Glenn, because of the lack of research done on cannabis due to the federal ban, OHA sets low trigger levels for dozens of different pesticides commonly used in the food industry.
“No one knows what’s dangerous and what’s not,” Glenn said. “It’s a liability issue — labs are scared of being held liable if someone gets sick off a strain, so they set extremely low levels for all kinds of substances.”
According to Mark Pettinger, a public affairs specialist with Oregon Liquor Control Commission, it is normal protocol for labs to report test results to the grower.
“When a lab gets a test result, they report it to the grower,” Pettinger said. “They also report results to the OHA, if there’s a failure.”
Pettinger says the OHA is investigating why the grower was not notified of the failure, and how the strain made it to store shelves. He says it’s possible it could have been a misinterpretation of results or breakdown of communication.
“Test result reports don’t just have a simple ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ written on them,” Pettinger said. “Just glancing at the results, you almost need a code book to interpret them.”
OHA could not immediately be reached for comment.