March 24, 2017
CapitalPress.com
9
Oregon
High pesticide level prompts pot recall
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
The Oregon Liquor Con-
trol Commission issued its
first recall of recreational mar-
ijuana after testing of a brand
sold at a Mapleton, Ore., store
showed it contained a level of
pesticide residue that exceeds
the state limit.
The OLCC, which over-
sees retail sales of recreation-
al cannabis, said samples of
Blue Magoo marijuana failed
a test for pyrethin levels. Py-
rethins are a mixture of six
chemicals that are toxic to
insects, according to the Na-
tional Pesticide Information
Center based at Oregon State
University. Pyrethins are
found in some chrysanthe-
mum flowers, and in some
cases can be used on organic
products.
The recall points out some
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
Oregon issued a recall for cannabis buds sold at a Mapleton, Ore.,
retailer after testing showed it had a higher level of a pesticide
than the state standard. The cannabis pictured was on display at a
February industry conference in Portland.
of the complications that ac-
company the legalization of
recreational cannabis. Grow-
ers, like all other agricultural
producers, now face a regu-
latory structure they may not
have dealt with before.
Pesticide use has been
particularly thorny, because
the federal government still
considers cannabis illegal and
has not established allowable
tolerances of pesticides in pot.
As a result, states that have
legalized cannabis are figur-
ing it out themselves. Oregon
tests cannabis for 59 active
ingredients.
“It’s a big struggle, for
sure,” said Sunny Jones, can-
nabis policy coordinator for
the Oregon Department of
Agriculture.
The Oregon Health Au-
thority oversees medical mar-
ijuana, OLCC oversees recre-
ational marijuana, and ODA
regulates aspects that range
from food safety regarding
cannabis edibles to pesticides,
water quality issues and com-
mercial scales used to weigh
the product. The recalled pot
was grown by Emerald Wave
Estate, based in Creswell,
Ore., and sold at Buds 4 U in
Mapleton, a small town west
of Eugene. The OLCC said
people who bought the pot
should dispose of it or return it
to the retailer.
Mark Pettinger, spokes-
man for OLCC, said the re-
tailer has fully cooperated in
the recall. It sold 82.5 grams
of Blue Magoo to 31 custom-
ers from March 8 through
March 10. The store noticed
the failed pesticide reading
in the state’s Cannabis Track-
ing System on March 10 and
immediately notified OLCC,
Pettinger said.
“The retailer was great,” he
said. “They get the gold star.”
Pesticide
application
would have been done at the
grower level, which is the
province of ODA. Pettinger
said the distribution system
breakdown occurred when a
wholesaler, Cascade Canna-
bis Distributing, of Eugene,
shipped the pot to the Maple-
ton store before pesticide test
results were entered in the
state’s tracking system. The
testing was done by Green-
Haus Analytical Labs, of
Portland, which is certified
by the state to test cannabis
for potency, water content and
pesticide residue.
The mistake might qualify
as a violation under Oregon
administrative rules, Pettinger
said. Failure to keep proper
records is a Class III violation;
the first offense is punishable
by up to 10 days of business
closure and a $1,650 fine. Four
violations within a two-year
period can lead to license re-
vocation.
The rest of the grower’s
nine-pound batch of Blue
Magoo marijuana flower has
been placed on administrative
hold, meaning it cannot be
lawfully sold pending the out-
come of additional pesticide
testing. Pettinger said the pot
is in the grower’s possession.
Producers transitioning to organic say they need help to succeed
By ERIC MORTENSON
Online
Capital Press
It’s one of the conundrums
of U.S. agriculture. Demand
for organic products continues
to surge — sales grew by 11
percent in 2015 — but produc-
tion is flat.
Researchers at Oregon
State University and at Oregon
Tilth, which certifies organ-
ic producers, tried to find out
why.
Glimmers of answers came
in a survey returned by 615
farmers nationally. Among
other things, they identified
obstacles that are holding
back organic production.
Chief among them, many said
they would welcome farm-
er-to-farmer help, need help
with weed and pest manage-
ment and believe the cost of
certification and required pa-
perwork are major obstacles.
Farmers transitioning to
organic said they would wel-
come mentoring from experi-
enced producers and one-on-
on technical help. Surprisingly,
“yield drag” — reduced crop
production from fields that no
longer are treated with synthet-
ic pesticides or fertilizers —
The report, “Breaking New
Ground: Farmer Perspectives
on Organic Transition”
https://tilth.org/resources/
breakingground/
was not an issue with survey
respondents. Only 17 percent
listed it as a major obstacle;
32 percent said it was a minor
obstacle and 51 percent said it
was not an obstacle at all.
Beyond technical issues,
organic producers have pas-
sion on their side.
In the survey, 91 percent
of respondents said organic
production fits their personal
or family values and nearly
87 percent it matches up with
their environmental concern.
More than 86 percent said
organic production enhances
farm sustainability and coin-
cides with their concerns about
human health.
“It’s an interesting market-
place thing,” said Garry Ste-
phenson, director of Oregon
State University’s Center for
Small Farms & Communi-
ty Food Systems. “Demand
for certified organic products
has continued to grow in the
U.S., and yet the businesses
involved are having a prob-
lem sourcing organic crops —
food, cotton, or whatever. For
some reason, U.S. farmers are
not responding to the demands
of the marketplace.”
Stephenson said the report
may shape the university’s ap-
proach to transitioning farm-
ers.
“There has not been an or-
ganized OSU initiative to ed-
ucate farmers on transitioning
to organic certification,” he
said by email. “Hopefully, this
report may have some influ-
ence.”
Sarah Brown, education
director for Oregon Tilth,
said the certification agency
is developing a mentorship
program that will match be-
ginners with producers who
have successfully transitioned
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to organic. The survey results
also provide justification for
weed management research,
she agreed.
Stephenson, of OSU, said
the consistent identification
of weed management as a ma-
jor obstacle will motivate the
university to adjust the focus
of some of its programming
and applied research. OSU is
researching innovative “de-
gree day” modeling as a weed
management approach for
12 month waiver
Stephenson said the data
gave researchers access to pro-
ducers they don’t often talk to:
farmers who are in the process
of transitioning. Research-
ers broke respondents into
four groups: Those who have
transitioned; those who have
started but not finished; those
whose operations are split be-
tween conventional and organ-
ic; and those who began the
organic certification process
but quit.
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vegetable crops, he said.
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