The recent crackdown on marijuana dispensaries in LA has activists howling.  But after hearing about the amounts of insecticides found on some of the confiscated weed, patients should be howling for the blood of some of those pot shop owners.  The medicine that people need for illnesses that range from Aids to Cancer to Multiple Sclerosis can be laced with extremely high levels of insecticide.

According to laboratory tests, pot purchased at Hemp Factory V, a dispensary in LA, had “170 times the ‘tolerable’ guidelines” that allowed for human consumption.  In addition, some of the pot had traces of products the DA claimed were banned here in the United States.  These products can be purchased in Mexico so he claims that the pot was grown there and smuggled across the border financing the violent drug cartels that have ravaged parts of that country for years.

Although many dispensaries claim their marijuana is organic, how many do anything to test or certify that their products are safe?  There is a Clean Green movement that is attempting to change this.  This was developed by a Chris Van Hook who is an attorney and a certifier for USDA Organic.  Because the federal government doesn’t recognize the legality of medical marijuana, he is not allowed to certify marijuana as organic.  However, he applies standards based on the USDA Organic standards to the marijuana industry.  Some dispensaries are beginning to use his certifications to make sure that the weed they sell is safe medicine for their clients.  Putting that type of weed in your pipe is bound to give you a safer smoke.

Growers here in Humboldt and the North Coast should be thinking about providing the people that smoke their product with a certification of safety.  This will help the buyer but, in addition, it will help Humboldt maintain a reputation as a place where the finest cannabis can be purchased.