Growing

Unregulated Pesticide Use Concerns Cannabis Consumers, Source: http://static.ladepeche.fr/content/media/image/zoom/2015/06/24/shutterstock-66-0df67125040-original.jpgWell, cannabis has unofficially become a major crop in America. How do I know? NPR put out an article decrying the unregulated pesticide use that some cannabis growers are employing. It’s the word “unregulated” that makes me feel like cannabis is a major crop. Regulation denotes structure and management, which denotes a fairly prominent marketshare.

Also, I’m just happy that someone or some agency is actually considering these things. That was a definite downside to black market bud; you just never knew how it was grown or what was sprayed on it. Granted, we still don’t really know, but the wheels are rolling toward some kind of framework.

The problem could be solved by federal legalization, or possibly even rescheduling. The feds are the ones who dictate which pesticides are safe but, due to the federally illicit nature of the plant, they are paying scant attention to its oversight. Without this stewarding hand, growers are basically just using their own trial and error to discern what they use.

Farmers of conventional crops (tobacco, wheat, corn, etc.) have a large bevy of choices when it comes to pesticides, along with government assurances that they aren’t hurting anyone. I personally haven’t heard any stories about cannabis harming someone due to pesticides, but I have smoked some awful weed and I’m not certain that it I didn’t smoke some nasty chemicals.

My only wishes are that whatever pest control measures end up getting used on cannabis  are ones that don’t harm people or the planet. Specifically, I hope the growers will opt for methods that don’t involve poisons or bee-murdering neonicontinoids.