A federally licensed medical marijuana company whose products tested positive for a dangerous banned pesticide says it has determined the main source of the problem – an employee who sprayed the chemical on plants without authorization.
The announcement by Hydropothecary Corp. comes after a month-long investigation that began when Health Canada conducted a random spot check at the company’s Gatineau facility and turned up evidence of myclobutanil. The pesticide, which is used to kill mildew, is not permitted for use on cannabis because it can cause serious health issues when inhaled.
Hydropothecary chief executive Sébastien St-Louis said the employee used the pesticide on three mother plants at the facility. Clippings are taken from the mothers to create broader crops for harvest, and the pesticide was passed to subsequent generations of plants.
The company conducted further testing and discovered some starter plants bought from the so-called grey market in 2014, a process that was approved by Health Canada, also came contaminated with myclobutanil.
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