The list for pesticides that can be used on cannabis without being a violation of the Pesticide Applicators' Act has been updated. Please note the following products have been added:

• Axxe Broad Specrum Herbicide
• BrandT Organic Aleo
• Deadzone
• BigShot Maxim

To view the updated list, click here for a pdf or click here for an Excel form. For questions regarding this change, contact Laura Quakenbush at (303) 869-9060 or email Laura.Quakenbush@state.co.us.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is currently reviewing pesticide labels upon request and maintaining a list of products whose label it has reviewed that it believes could be used on marijuana without violating 35-10-117(1)(i), as long as the applicator follows the label directions.

Please be sure to review the list; pesticide products may be removed from the allowed products list if the registrant has not renewed their pesticide product with the department. Use of unregistered pesticides on cannabis would be a violation of the Pesticide Applicators' Act.

Stay Informed

For the latest information on CDA's Pesticides Program, visit these important webpages:

• Main Pesticides Page
• Pesticide use in Marijuana Production

The Alaska Marijuana Control Board is seeking public comment on proposed rules that would allow limited investment in cannabis testing facilities from outside the state, reversing an earlier policy that prohibited such investments.

Testing is currently a bottleneck for the state’s cannabis industry, according to an Alaska Journal of Commerce report. All cannabis products must pass through one of the state’s three operating testing facilities before ending up on retail shelves. The labs are located in Anchorage, Wasilla and Ketchikan, with a fourth facility approved to open in Juneau, pending final inspection, according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce.

High costs have been a barrier to entry for testing facilities, the news outlet reported; on top of the $2,000 license application fee, labs must employ a scientific director with very specific qualifications, and the fee to renew a testing facility license is currently $2,000 with a separate proposed regulation pending that would raise the cost to $5,000 for renewals.

The Marijuana Control Board originally stipulated that only Alaska residents could own or invest in testing facilities, in part to keep the state’s cannabis industry in the hands of Alaskans, according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce. Now, however, the state’s small population and the industry’s lack of banking and loan services have limited the capital available for testing facilities, prompting a change in rules.

The Marijuana Control Board voted to gather public comment on its proposed rules to allow new cannabis testing facility license applicants to seek funding from investors outside the state, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed banning adult-use cannabis sales in most of the downtown area as part of a new zoning plan.

The rest of the city would be split into seven “cannabis zones,” where licensed dispensaries could set up shop when adult-use sales launch on Jan. 1, according to a CBS Chicago report.

Illinois’ adult-use cannabis law caps the number of dispensaries in Chicago, and Lightfoot’s proposal aims to ensure the shops are distributed evenly across the city, CBS Chicago reports. Lightfoot said her plan would also give areas impacted by the war on drugs an opportunity to participate in the market.

Lightfoot’s proposal includes an exclusion zone in the Central Business District, according to CBS Chicago, where adult-use cannabis sales would be prohibited, and dispensaries would not be able to locate within 500 feet of a school or within any designated residential zoning district.

Existing medical cannabis dispensaries in Chicago would be allowed to transition to the adult-use market under the plan, CBS Chicago reports.

Lightfoot introduced the proposed rules at a City Council meeting Sept. 18 and faced opposition from several aldermen, according to an ABC 7 Chicago report. Some argued that the Central Business District is a prime area to generate revenue from cannabis sales to tourists and visitors, ABC 7 reported, while Lightfoot maintained that her plan would keep the area “family friendly.”

Lightfoot’s proposal requires approval from the City Council before it can be enacted, and some alderman hope a compromise can be reached before the next meeting in October, ABC 7 reports.

September 19, 2019, Frederick, MD – PRESS RELEASE – A2LA has announced the creation of a sampling field of accreditation. Laboratories currently accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for testing will be able to establish an additional scope of accreditation in the sampling field. In addition, A2LA will be able to accredit stand-alone sampling organizations (SASOs) to ISO/IEC 17025:2017. A2LA is the first Accreditation Body in the United States to offer accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for SASOs, as well as the option for laboratories to get accredited in the sampling field of accreditation in addition to their respective field(s) of testing. 

In addition to other changes made in the 2017 version of ISO/IEC 17025, the definition of a laboratory was expanded to cover organizations that sample for subsequent testing.  Accreditation Bodies throughout the world have been looking into accreditation of SASOs, and A2LA decided to put together this program in order to fill several needs in the various industries that they work in.   

“A2LA has been contemplating a standalone sampling program for a number of years and we felt the time was right to put this together to aid those markets in need of standalone sampling.” said Trace McInturff, A2LA Vice President, Accreditation Services.