The Washington State Liquor and Hashish Board (WSLCB) issued a bulletin Monday, July 7 stating that its enforcement efforts associated to the April DDE contamination alert had been wrapped up. Earlier this yr, in April, a slew of Okanogan county licensees’ hashish merchandise examined “scorching” through the Washington Division of Agriculture’s (WSDA) random testing for dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (“DDE”). DDE is a spinoff chemical that varieties following the breakdown of the notorious “DDT” (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) that was extensively used within the U.S. as a pesticide till it was banned in 1972.
Pesticide testing outcomes
Initially, the WSLCB positioned administrative holds on 18 licensees and carried out extra testing on their hashish merchandise in addition to on soil and water within the space. Finally, 5 licensees had administrative holds remaining on their licenses, which have now been eliminated. In keeping with the WSLCB, additional testing resulted in 61 of 108 merchandise testing optimistic for DDE above the motion limits. These merchandise have been recognized, holds positioned on them, and the WSLCB will work with the licensees to destroy them. In case you are within the state’s interactive map displaying pesticide testing outcomes, it’s here.
Pesticide and heavy metals testing regime for hashish
Washington enacted a pesticide and heavy metals testing regime for hashish in March of 2022. The pesticide motion degree rule lists 59 allowable pesticide compounds and their acceptable thresholds that hashish merchandise have to be screened for earlier than they are often bought. DDT and its spinoff DDE usually are not on the record of compounds which are screened for. The WSLCB acknowledged this in its alert that “state-certified cannabis-testing labs usually are not required to display screen for DDE among the many 59 pesticides included in obligatory testing as a result of DDE contamination above actionable ranges has not emerged elsewhere”.
After I wrote about this on the time, I criticized the state for not having positioned DDT/DDE on the record of 59 compounds which all hashish merchandise are screened for. Which will seem to be Monday morning quarterbacking, however I discovered it justified due to the widespread historic utilization of DDT in Washington. The compound’s prolonged half-life provides it a propensity to sit down latent in soil and reemerge years after use makes that significantly true.
As talked about above, the WSDA was chargeable for catching the DDE contamination, not a licensed lab. That’s as a result of the obligatory screening process for all hashish doesn’t embody DDT/DDE testing. The WSLCB has not stated whether or not DDT/DDE will likely be added to the obligatory chemical screening. From the tone of the WSLCB’s bulletin, it appears like licensed testing labs within the state simply don’t have the tools to check for DDT/DDE contamination. Including it to the record could also be out of the query right now. We all know that there’s a shortage of testing labs within the state which are geared up to deal with obligatory testing as it’s.
That’s trigger for concern. Because it stands now, the WSDA often is the solely company able to testing hashish for DDE and using DDT within the state was not restricted to Okanogan county. It looks like the same scenario involving DDE or one other legacy contaminant may absolutely occur and go unnoticed after the product is in the marketplace. It might be good to know that every one hashish merchandise had been being screened appropriately for contaminants, as an alternative of hoping the WSDA catches it earlier than too many individuals use contaminated hashish. Points like this are nearly unimaginable to keep away from totally, however catching the issue early by obligatory screening looks like the one sensible resolution.
I stand by my earlier criticism, however the WSLCB deserves some credit score for doing its finest right here. Mounting an effort to check all the probably contaminated hashish, soil, and water as mandatory to make sure shopper security was no small process. The truth that preliminary outcomes appear to have resulted in 2/3 of the licensees’ administrative holds being eliminated pretty shortly and all remaining administrative holds now being lifted, is spectacular. Most significantly, it doesn’t sound like anybody was significantly injured and the WSLCB seems to have carried out a very good job of mitigating any harm.