Pesticide Finding Prompts Oregon’s First Recreational Marijuana Recall

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission issued its first recall of recreational marijuana after samples of a type of pot were found to contain a level of pesticide residue above the state limit.

The Blue Magoo marijuana was sold at Buds 4 U in Mapleton, a community 45 miles west of Eugene, The Capital Press reported. The commission, which oversees retail sales of recreational pot, said people who bought the drug should return it to the retailer or throw it out.

The retailer notified the agency immediately after spotting the failed pesticide reading in the state’s cannabis tracking system, commission spokesman Mark Pettinger said. The shop sold the brand to 31 customers March 8-10.

Pettinger said a wholesaler shipped the pot to the Mapleton store before the test results were entered in the tracking system.

“The retailer was great,” he said. “They get the gold star.”

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission said the samples failed a test for pyrethin levels. They are a mixture of six chemicals that are toxic to insects, according to the National Pesticide Information Center based at Oregon State University.

Pyrethins are found in some chrysanthemum flowers and can be used on organic products in some cases.

With the legalization of recreational marijuana, growers are facing a new regulatory structure. Because the federal government still considers the drug illegal, states had to establish their own rules for pesticides and pot. Oregon tests for 59 active ingredients.

The testing was done by GreenHaus Analytical Labs, which is certified by the state to test cannabis for potency, water content and pesticide residue.

The rest of grower Emerald Wave Estate’s 9-pound batch of Blue Magoo marijuana flower can’t be sold until additional testing is complet