The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) issued a bulletin Monday, July 7 stating that its enforcement efforts related to the April DDE contamination alert had been wrapped up. Earlier this year, in April, a slew of Okanogan county licensees’ cannabis products tested “hot” during the Washington Department of Agriculture’s (WSDA) random testing for dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (“DDE”). DDE is a derivative chemical that forms following the breakdown of the infamous “DDT” (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) that was widely used in the U.S. as a pesticide until it was banned in 1972.
Initially the WSLCB placed administrative holds on 18 licensees and performed additional testing on their cannabis products as well as on soil and water in the area. Ultimately, five licensees had administrative holds remain on their licenses, which have now been removed. According to the WSLCB, the further testing resulted in 61 of 108 products testing positive for DDE above the action limits. Those products have been identified, holds placed on them, and the WSLCB will work with the licensees to destroy them. If you are interested in the state’s interactive map showing pesticide testing results, it’s here.
Washington enacted a pesticide and heavy metals testing regime for cannabis in March of
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