• Home
  • MJNews | PRNewswire
  • CBDNews | BusinessWire
  • MJBA.net
  • MJHeadlineNews
  • MJChannelOne
  • MJADNET
  • MJBA PR
  • Subscribe

MJNews Network

"The Voice of Legal Cannabis Since 2013"

  • MJNews | PRNewswire
  • CBDNews | BusinessWire
  • MJ Business
  • MJ Legal
  • MJ Events
  • BlPOC in Cannabis
You are here: Home / Business / Putting Pesticides In Their Place

Putting Pesticides In Their Place

March 11, 2016 by MJ News Network 1 Comment

By Richard Freeman

Pesticide use in the Cannabis industry has received some bad press lately.  In Colorado, producers have recalled several large batches of edibles over the last year due to pesticide contamination. In 2015, consumers in the same state sued a producer for selling organically-labeled products tainted with pesticides. Denver health officials quarantined 60,000 plants from the same producer, and Colorado’s governor has promised a robust regulatory response.  Change is coming.

Of course, farmers have used pesticides in one form or another for well over a century – on food, tobacco, and non-consumables like hemp. That use has sewn controversy for decades, so the basic arguments are well known.  Proponents assert that pesticide use can and does increase production and avert risk of disaster.  The underlying assumption is that the products are safe if used correctly (strictly within guidelines of the label).

Opponents assert that residual pesticides pose health risks to consumers. The case is especially poignant with Cannabis farming, since pesticide companies have yet to test pesticides in marijuana and CBD Cannabis production. (Federal prohibition has thwarted such testing.)  Opponents also assert that through unintended contamination, pesticide use affects people, pets and wildlife, reduces biodiversity of non-target organisms, and ultimately selects for pesticide-resistant pest strains.  From this perspective, unintended contamination is common, and farmers routinely use pesticides outside the label guidelines. (By definition, applying pesticides on Cannabis will violate labels until the Environmental Protection Agency updates them to include use with marijuana and CDB cultivation.)

Aside from their differences, however, both sides will agree that if farmers do use pesticides, they should use them sensibly, effectively and efficiently.  In this regard, any pesticide use should be part of a larger, comprehensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy.

IPM is a pest management framework that emphasizes maximizing net value (profit) – the spread between expected benefits (income) and expected costs.  When considering pesticide use – or any other cultural practice – the farmer compares the expected costs from pest-induced damage to the expected management costs for labor, equipment and materials – in addition to the risk of decreased product value due to pesticide contamination.  The farmer avoids cultural practices that don’t show a return.

IPM includes a large set of cultural practices – of which pesticide application is only one.  These practices fall into four groups. Environmental/ecological practices create a low-risk growing environment that’s healthy for plants and isn’t vulnerable to pest outbreaks.  Monitoring is key to catching problems early, before serious infection or infestation.  Indirect controls involved adjusting growing environments (lighting, atmosphere and soil) to thwart pests.  Direct controls follow or accompany indirect controls.  Direct controls include mechanical, biological and chemical controls.

In IPM, chemical controls function as a direct control of last resort.  They vary significantly in mode of action and toxicity from product to product, and the intensity and scale of their use depends upon the growth stage of the crop and the type and scope of the pest problem.

IPM offers several benefits to commercial Cannabis cultivation, small-scale as well as large-scale.  Aside from maximizing value, the farmer routinizes pest management, thereby avoiding crisis responses (which are expensive).  Budgeting and scheduling become more reliable and costs are more predictable.

Equally important, IPM benefits the consumer and minimizes costs borne by people and critters who might suffer the effects of pesticide exposure, and farmers get mimimal exposure, as well.  It’s a win-win scenario. The farmer benefits in many ways, and society and the environment benefits.  And, well-designed IPM puts a much better face on our industry than headlines featuring pesticide-caused calamities.

 

Filed Under: Business, Growers, Homepage Tagged With: cannabis contaminants, cannabis cultivation, eco-sustainability, growing techniques, legal cannabis, pest contamination, pesticides, producers

About MJ News Network

Trackbacks

  1. Dr. Rick Freeman: The Big Eco Squeeze says:
    April 12, 2016 at 12:46 PM

    […] large-scale recalls of edibles, while in Washington, private researchers have identified forbidden pesticides in a variety of […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Connect with Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Top Stories

New WHO Study Shows Tobacco, Alcohol and Cannabis Use Among French Adolescents Went Down During COVID-19 pandemic

FRANCE: Tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use among French adolescents has decreased in the last decade, particularly between 2018 and 2021 and following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, finds WHO/Europe’s collaborative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study.  In France, as across the WHO European Region, measures taken to control the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the lives Read the full article…

OPINION: The Medical Community Must Embrace Standard Cannabis Education

By Timothy Byars, Director of Cannabis Programs, Pacific College of Health and Science On July 21, 2022, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) filed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), a bill that ends federal cannabis prohibition, establishes federal cannabis tax rates, expunges some cannabis convictions, and enables the Read the full article…

Oregon State Research Shows Hemp Compounds Prevent Coronavirus from Entering Human Cells

OREGON: Hemp compounds identified by Oregon State University research via a chemical screening technique invented at OSU show the ability to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells. Findings of the study led by Richard van Breemen, a researcher with Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, College of Pharmacy and Linus Pauling Institute, Read the full article…

Curt’s Cannabis Corner: Cannabis for Inflammation

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 3 in the multi-media educational series Curt’s Cannabis Corner from technical writer Curt Robbins at Higher Learning LV and MJNews Network. This series is intended for cannabis and hemp professionals—and the enterprise organizations that employ them—who wish to gain a better understanding of the nuanced biochemistry, volatile business environment, and Read the full article…

Curt’s Cannabis Corner: CBD For Epilepsy

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 2 of Curt’s Cannabis Corner, an education series from technical writer Curt Robbins at Higher Learning LV and MJNews Network intended for cannabis and hemp professionals—and the enterprise organizations that employ them—who wish to gain a better understanding of the nuanced biochemistry, volatile business environment, and detailed regulatory oversight of Read the full article…

More Posts from this Category

Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Compounds: Quality Considerations for Clinical Research Guidance for Industry

Switzerland Cannabis Markets Report 2023: Comprehensive Guide to the Size and Shape of this Emerging Market – Forecasts to 2027 – ResearchAndMarkets.com

Global Cannabis Brand Cookies Celebrates Opening of Grand Rapids Flagship Dispensary With Michigan’s NOXX

Tags

CA California Canada cannabis cannabis news CBD changing attitudes CO Colorado DC decriminalization dispensary District of Columbia end failed war on drugs end of failed war on drugs failed war on drugs Hemp I-502 legal cannabis legalization legal marijuana marijuana marijuana business medical cannabis medical marijuana mjlegal MJ Legal News mjnews MJNews Network mjnewsnetwork.com mmj New York NORML NY Ohio OLCC OR Oregon politicians on pot recreational marijuana the business of cannabis the business of marijuana WA Washington WSLCB

Search By State:

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

© Copyright 2014 MJBA Publishing · MJ News Network · All Rights Reserved ·