Illegal Fumigant Pesticides in the Cannabis Industry: Unmitigated Exposure Risks & Unknown Health Effects

Illegal pesticides have been found at licensed and unlicensed cannabis grow sites in states ranging from California to Maine. These pesticides contain prohibited and uncharacterized chemicals posing risks to consumers of marijuana products. Seizures conducted at illicit marijuana grow sites throughout the state of California have revealed a pervasive use of illegal pesticides with a common recurrence of pesticide fumigants. These products violate multiple laws and statutes regarding their labelling, chemical contents, and directions for use. This work discusses the current landscape of illegal pesticides in cannabis cultivation, and the unmitigated exposure risks they pose to consumers of cannabis products.
The contents of unused seized illegal pesticide fumigants have been analyzed by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (GC-MS), pyrolysis-GC-MS (Py-GC-MS), two-dimensional-GC-MS (GCxGC-MS), and liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to characterize their chemical compositions. Targeted analyses were subsequently developed using LC-triple quadrupole (QQQ)-MS/MS and GC-QQQ-MS/MS. Multiple techniques were undertaken to provide information beyond pesticidal composition, including insights into safe handling and production practices, and to generate an in-depth chemical fingerprinting of these products. This presentation highlights continuing progress in our work toward mitigating public exposure to these chemicals. This work also identifies vulnerabilities in the current regulatory requirements for residual pesticides testing, as set forth by the California Department of Cannabis Control. Subsequent analyses will investigate the direct relationship between seized pesticide composition, their use as fumigants, and the detectable pesticides present on marijuana plants.