People who consume marijuana medically or recreationally may be exposing themselves to unknown health risks from toxic pesticides.
 
The EPA would ordinarily evaluate pesticide safety but has never done so for marijuana because the plant is illegal under federal law. So, states with legalized marijuana industries have been tasking newly created cannabis regulators, health officials and others with setting testing standards for pesticide residues present on the plant.
 
Now, state pesticide officials, who normally assure that EPA guidance is followed, as well as former career EPA staff, academics and environmental groups, say that without the federal guidance, marijuana users could be exposed to unknown harms.
 
“Frankly, we don’t know,” said Rose Kachadoorian, president of the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials and pesticide program manager for the Oregon Department of Agriculture. “We don’t have the data. That’s why you have to have pesticide regulators step back and find out what might be a level that is not constituting risk.”
 
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