Kohl-Welles: Liquor and Cannabis Board responds to call for testing of legal marijuana for pesticides

Metropolitan King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles released this statement after the announcement September 15 from the Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) on the testing of pesticides in legal marijuana: 

“I applaud the good work of the Liquor and Cannabis Board responding to my calls for the testing of pesticides in legal marijuana sold at licensed I-502 stores in our state. As I stated in my guest column in the Seattle Times on March 27th and as part of a June 16th King County Board of Health presentation, I have concerns about the presence of pesticides in legal marijuana and the need to protect public health and safety. 

“Because of my concerns, I introduced legislation at the County that would require testing of marijuana products for prohibited pesticides. 

“The LCB’s plan to work with the Washington State Department of Agriculture to randomly test products and to test samples after consumer complaints appears to help this new industry begin to provide safer cannabis products. However, I believe testing could be conducted more readily by independent labs that already have the capacity and experience. 

“I plan to continue my efforts in working with producer/processors, retailers, and labs to determine if the County should have a role in ensuring product safety. I will work with these groups and the state to ensure that marijuana consumers in King County can have confidence in safe and tested products.”