State regulators are investigating allegations that a politically connected medical marijuana grower in Maryland illegally used pesticides in growing cannabis plants that were later harvested for sale to patients.
Three former employees at the Anne Arundel County growing center of the cannabis producer ForwardGro made the charges in sworn allegations sent to the General Assembly last week by a newly formed association of companies in the medical marijuana business that oppose pesticide use in growing the plants.
Ashley Colen, president of the Maryland Ethical Cannabis Association and the holder of a dispensary license, said she stopped selling products from ForwardGro’s plants after learning of the allegations. Colen, co-owner of the Ash+Ember dispensary in Centreville on the Eastern Shore, said some of her customers reported side effects such as burning eyes and throats.
