Cannabis Pesticide Testing
It is imperative to test cannabis for pesticides and give consumers assurance that the cannabis product is safe to consume. Testing for pesticide residue ensures that a cannabis product does not pose any additional health risks.
What are pesticides?
Pesticides can be commonly used in farming and agriculture, including cannabis cultivation, and are substances meant to control pests, including insects and other organisms harmful to plants. Pesticides are also potentially dangerous and present serious health hazards. Many states have banned the use of pesticides in cannabis, or have severely limited their use.
Some broad categories of chemicals that could be used in cannabis, but are rare to use due to regulations prohibiting use, include:
Insecticides: These pesticides kill one or more species of insect. They may also kill their larvae and eggs, depending on the pesticide. Organophosphates, pyrethroids and carbamates are among the most common pesticides applied to plants.
Fungicides: These pesticides ward off fungi development, killing both fungi growth and their spores. This is especially important for cannabis, as the plant is highly susceptible to mold and mildew development.
Rodenticides: These keeps away mice and rats, and also extends to squirrells, woodchucks, chipmunks, and other small critters that may try to eat plants. These animals can seriously damage cannabis plants, making it imperative for cultivators to keep them away from grow areas.
Acaricides: This type of pesticide kills ticks and mites. Spider mites are among the most common cannabis pests; they can be a danger because they, among many other mites, suck the nutrients from cannabis leaves.
Plant growth regulator (PGR): These pesticide types increase the size and density of cannabis flower. Many PGRs have been banned from other consumable food crops since the 1970s, with many regulatory agencies, including New Jersey’s, regarding them as pesticides.
These pesticides, and their respective range of acceptable levels (maximum residue limit, or MRL), are regulated differently from state to state, and even from country to country. As an example, Oregon regulates 59 pesticide compounds, while California regulates 66, and Canada regulates 96 pesticides with lower acceptable levels than the two U.S. states mentioned. Some states apply additional restrictions, such as only allowing organic pesticides or certain non-toxic pesticides, further limiting what growers can apply to their cannabis plants.
Why pesticide use is especially risky for cannabis
Cannabis is a bioaccumulator or phytoremediator. This means cannabis is highly effective at absorbing and retaining chemicals and elements like heavy metals from its environment. These contaminants make their way into cannabis through direct application to the plant, or through water and nutrient uptake from soil. This can make pesticides especially difficult to remove from the plant once used.
Some pesticides can be absorbed straight through the cannabis leaves, stalk, and buds directly into the plant. Others settle on the leaves like a film that can be rinsed off.
Both cannabis and industrial hemp pick up on contaminants in the soil, so much so that industrial hemp is used to remediate contaminated soil. For cultivators, this means that they have to be very conscientious before applying anything to cannabis plants that can be harmful when ingested or inhaled. Human exposure to many different pesticides has been shown to have adverse effects on health when ingested or inhaled.
Does New Jersey regulate pesticide use in cannabis?
The State of New Jersey currently prohibits all pesticide use on marijuana. New Jersey currently follows test standards developed by Maryland, which requires testing for pesticides before cannabis products get to the dispensary. Cultivators inside and outside New Jersey have discovered ways to control pests without using pesticides, including one New York cultivator that deploys ladybugs to eat aphids and other pests.
Even though hemp is the same cannabis plant, with a much lower level of THC, New Jersey does not require industrial hemp growers in its program to test for pesticides because the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees industrial hemp programs on a federal level, does not require it.
How True Labs for Cannabis tests for cannabis pesticides
True Labs for Cannabis uses scientifically validated and comprehensive testing methods to detect, identify and quantify a significant number of pesticides, as regulated by the State of New Jersey. We use best in class procedures and techniques to ensure accurate results and certify cannabis products as clean and safe to consume.
Our process to test for pesticides involves high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). This testing method, which is considered state of the art, is a super-sensitive process that does not require extensive sample preparation before lab testing. This produces faster and more accurate results.
The True Labs for Cannabis difference
At True Labs for Cannabis, care and compassion are at the core of what we do. We are driven by our mission to ensure consumers have access to safe and reliable cannabis free of pesticide residue and other harmful contaminants.
Women-owned: True Labs for Cannabis is the only women-owned cannabis-focused analytical laboratory in New Jersey, and is one of only a few in the entire United States. We take great pride in the small role we play to close the gender gap in the cannabis industry, both in the Garden State and nationwide.
Our lab is solely dedicated to cannabis. True Labs for Cannabis is one of the only analytical laboratories in New Jersey built from the ground-up to only work with -- and grow with -- the cannabis industry. This allows us to solely focus on the specialized needs of the cannabis market and continue to be front of the line when it comes to bringing the most innovative breakthrough testing technologies to the table.
We are growth oriented: In our view, it’s not enough to test for the bare minimum requirements set out by regulatory bodies. We constantly strive to evolve our methods and embrace new innovations that ensure not only that the base standards are being met, but that our clients have the ability to verify the quality and safety of their products to patients and customers.
Our lab does not compromise. When you partner with True Labs for Cannabis, you’re pairing with an analytical laboratory you can trust to not deviate from the high standards set for ourselves, for your product and for our industry.