[openthc]

Another thing that happens to outdoor grown cannabis is pesticide contamination. Even if your farm is a good distance from some commercial agriculture, if they spray it can, and does, contaminate your crop -- which for regulated cannabis requires destruction. Literally burning (or composting) thousands of dollars of product.

And if the pesticides test are hot on the cross-contaminated cannabis; how much is on those apples three fields over?

[snypher]

Residue levels are researched and regulated, along with drift trespass lawsuits and crop damage insurance.

I guess my answer to cannabis is that if the zero-tolerance remains a factor then it's a business risk decision to grow outdoors vs indoors.

[to11mtm]

Wouldn't composting risk having the pesticides go into the next crop further contaminating?

Although, to your point, they can just sell it to the nearby farms growing stuff we eat that isn't tested the same way...

[openthc]

Typically, and USA specific, the rules are to grind it up, mix with equal parts existing dirt/compost and then it's OK. So that dilutes it by half; then this compost is spread around and, like you said, can be used for other crops. Also, as the material sits in the compost pile, which should be agitated, the pesticides will leach out/break down.

I just got a message from WA-LCB today with updated pesticide information, working with WSU, so here's some details -- https://agr.wa.gov/departments/cannabis/pesticide-use

And here's the Action Limits defined in WA law: https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=314-55-108

[waldothedog]

Many asterisks here but there are methods for remediating herbicide and pesticide contamination. Not saying it’s universally solved, but its not universally unsolvable either.

Edit: I meant to speak specifically in terms of compost production.

[ajross]

> which for regulated cannabis requires destruction

Which regulation is this that requires destroying a nearby crop... instead of the one the pesticide was actually applied to? I'm confused here. Pesticides don't "contaminate" crops in that way, they're literally intended to be use on the food.

[schwartzworld]

In fairness you can’t wash a dried pot flower like you would an apple.

[InvertedRhodium]

I live in NZ where there are medical standards applied to legal cannabis - only recently have I seen dispensaries advertising non irradiated cannabis, presumably because the manufacturing facilities have progressed to no longer require it.

It might be something similar?

[anamexis]

I’d imagine that there are different standards applied to things intended to be eaten vs things intended to be inhaled.

[dzink]

Big nope - pesticides are there to repel or kill bugs. A lot of times the recommendation is to wash fruit before eating it to remove pesticides or lead from fuel burned by cars in the vicinity, etc.

[wahnfrieden]

cannabis aint food

[lm28469]

How bad is smoking pesticide vs eating pesticides?

[dzink]

The eaten one goes through your stomach acid and can be flushed out naturally through the system. The inhaled particles may get stuck in your lungs or worse: absorbed. Lungs are not a through channel. Things absorbed there go to the brain, blood stream, a lot faster. The stuff you spray on plants is usually meant to kill or repel bugs and critters. So won’t be friendly to lung or brain tissue. Possible cancerous too.

[rolph]

some chemistry occurs as a result of burning. dependent on substance it can be worse, or more immediate.

e.g. benomyl [fungicide] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benomyl

will produce cyanide as combustion product.