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More than half of cannabis smoking products in California's legal market contain chemicals that are not being monitored for public safety, my colleague Paige St. John reports in a new Times investigation that looked at hundreds of product tests and industry surveys.
The investigation raises significant questions about health threats to consumers and the state's ability to monitor cannabis products, issues that have emerged as California's $5-billion legal cannabis market struggles to overcome a resilient black market and growing competition from other states.
Here are three big findings from Paige's investigation. You can also find a searchable database of pesticide testing reports in this link.
1. An insecticide used to disinfect hospitals and dog kennels was found in the testing of vapes
The insecticide, pymetrozine, is a carcinogen banned in Europe and was once used in Lysol.
It's illegal to treat cannabis crops in California with pymetrozine. But some farms list the chemical in their monthly pesticide use reports to the state without any apparent consequence, Paige reports.
Pymetrozine was present in 13 out of 14 vaping products by Stiiizy, the state's top-selling vape brand, according to Times analysis of tests.
2. Tests of more than 370 legal cannabis products identified the presence of 45 pesticides that California does not track in cannabis
California does not mandate testing for pymetrozine and many other pesticides. The state requires screening cannabis products for 66 chemicals, a list that hasn't changed since the guidelines were created in 2017.
Paige's investigation, which drew from tests done independently for The Times and others that came from a private market survey, checked for more than 290 pesticides beyond the ones required by the state.
An analysis of the testing data also showed the presence of potentially dangerous chemicals used to dilute products.
3. It's unclear what changes or improvements the state will make in the testing of pesticides
Regulators told Paige that they believe the majority of legal products meet state standards, and they minimized the extent of contamination in the supply chain.
Responsibility for regulating pesticides in cannabis falls under a startup agency, the Department of Cannabis Control. The department, however, is still setting up a lab fully capable of testing for compounds and creating enforcement mechanisms.
Facing a perceived regulatory void, some industry leaders have come up with their own solutions, such as expanding internal testing of products.
There's also a group that offers certification for cannabis goods that go through more rigorous testing. It comes from the Environmental & Consumer Compliance Organization, which awards its ECCO label to brands that meet its requirements.
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