Colorado marijuana industry pushes back against pesticides crackdown
The Colorado marijuana industry is stepping up its fight against the states efforts to regulate the application of pesticides on cannabis.
After passing in the state House, a bill that would have codified Gov. John Hickenloopers November executive order telling state agencies that any marijuana grown with unapproved pesticides is a threat to public safety and should be removed from commerce and destroyed died in a state Senate committee last week.
Those who successfully voted the bill down in the state Senate Veterans & Military Affairs committee described Hickenloopers vision as unreasonable and unconstitutional.
It is my position that government should not take someones private property and destroy it, said Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling. The property owner should be able to see if there are other avenues to dispose of the plants, and it should be their responsibility to destroy their own property. I also think that it is unreasonable to have a zero limit rather than an acceptable limit according to like plants and uses.
Added Sen. Owen Hill, R-Colorado Springs: Government is abusing and overstepping its power when they are destroying agricultural crops. This bill would have furthered unconstitutional government destruction of private property.
Hickenloopers top cannabis official called the bills failure disappointing and said the state will continue with its enforcement actions, including its more than 20 pesticide-based recalls of marijuana in less than 10 weeks.
Pesticide use is a public health issue, and we wanted clear enforcement penalties and due process provided by the legislature, said Andrew Freedman, Colorados director of marijuana coordination. Well continue to enforce proper pesticide use to protect consumer and worker safety under the Pesticide Applicators Act and other existing statutory authority.
Absent this legislation, the governors (executive order) remains in place.
Cannabis industry insiders have said the existing law offers them no due process, allowing the government to come into their cultivations and destroy their valuable crops and giving the industry no leeway to challenge the testing and ruling.
Marijuana businesses EdiPure and Organa Labs are appealing their recalls by the city of Denvers Department of Environmental Health, which has also recalled cannabis on more than 20 different occasions over pesticide concerns. In such cases, businesses and their attorneys make their case in front of the Board of Environmental Health.
Neither city appeal has yet concluded.
A representative with the state Department of Revenue, which houses the Marijuana Enforcement Division, said theres a similar appeals process on the state level but could not comment on businesses that might be appealing their recalls because they are ongoing investigations.
A determination that there was a pesticide violation can be appealed to the Colorado Department of Agriculture, said DOR communications director Lynn Granger.
Several industry officials celebrated the bills demise last week.
We are continuing to work for responsible, fair regulation. That is a win for us and consumers, said Michael Elliott, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group. Responsible regulation ...
