Pesticides use in marijuana grows addressed in Colorado Legislature

Bill would create a list of acceptable products for growers to use

By Peter Marcus

JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald file photo On Thursday, lawmakers in the Colorado General Assembly began debate on a bill that would address allowable pesticides for use in the state’s legal marijuana industry.

DENVER – Colorado lawmakers on Thursday began addressing a growing marijuana pesticides problem, with legislation that would identify acceptable products to use.

The issue became a public concern in March 2015 after more than 100,000 plants were quarantined by the city of Denver because of pesticide concerns. Since then, the issue has proliferated, much like the budding industry itself.

Lawmakers equate the issue to “growing pains,” suggesting that there is still much to address in terms of the unintended results of legalization, which voters approved in 2012.

Mitch Yergert, the director of the Division of Plant Industry, part of the Department of Agriculture, pointed out that there are more than 12,000 pesticides registered in Colorado, yet only 200 have been identified for use with marijuana.

“It’s better for everyone, including the industry, to be able to use the list, just to identify and develop the criteria for those pesticides in rule, and put it on our website so the industry can go there and determine what can be used,” Yergert said.

Senate Bill 15 would require the state to enact rules to identify pesticides that can be used in the cultivation of marijuana. The measure passed unanimously Thursday through the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee. It now heads to the Senate floor for debate, before it can move to the House for consideration.

In the meantime, a list of acceptable products is available to growers. The legislation would simply allow for official rule-making on the subject.

Other cannabis pesticide bills are expected this legislative session, including a measure that would create a state program to help consumers easily identify marijuana that has been grown and processed without pesticides. Product labels would include a pesticide-free notification, similar to a federal program that allows for “organic” labeling.