This is the Daily Mail so sometimes they do overplay and give it the UK tabloid spin but the simple fact is.. if illegal chinese pesticides are getting into the supply chain that is not a good thing.
Cannabis users who get headaches from their pot may need to look more carefully at their supply.
New research shows how some of the most popular brands on California’s dispensary shelves contain alarmingly high levels of pesticides.
They can irritate the lungs, eyes, and throat and cause rashes, headaches, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
Worse still, contaminants can include chemicals linked to cancer, liver failure, thyroid disease and genetic and neurologic harm to users and unborn children.
Some chemicals have been smuggled in from China — a sign of the growing involvement of Chinese gangs in legal and contraband pot farming in the US in the wake of legalization.
An LA Times and WeedWeek investigation probed some of the most popular brands of vapes and pre-rolled weed in the Golden State.
Some 25 of 42 legal pot products bought from stores and tested at private labs showed concentrations of pesticides above state or federal safety levels.
Most of the pesticides found were in low concentrations that could harm people who used them regularly.
The full extent of the health threat may not be known for years, researchers warned.
Vapes were among the worst offender.
Researchers found that five well-known brands had pesticide loads above federal risk thresholds for harm from a single exposure
Some products contained as many as two dozen pesticides.
The alarming findings echo the results of other surveys these past eight months.
Cannabis farmers are understood to overuse pesticides to boost profits in a tight market.
The high-value crop needs protection from the insect infestations that thrive in greenhouses.
Meanwhile, the surging popularity of vaping has driven demand for vape oils that are made from lower-quality weed, often grown illegally.
The potency of pesticides on some farms is so strong now that state investigators are urged to wear respirators and take blood poisoning tests when they come across them.
Researchers highlighted bags of illegal Chinese-label fumigants found at a cannabis greenhouse in Siskiyou County, in northern California.
Tests revealed 10 pesticides in the unbranded product, two that can kill if inhaled.
The haul included isoprocarb, a Chinese fumigant that’s not approved for use in the US.
Read the full report at
