Pot pests

Knowing that you were a judge at The Emerald Cup, I thought you might find this interesting: A story from The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa says multiple winners from the cup were disqualified for pesticide use. Can you comment on the use of pesticides in the current industry and whether the new pot law offers any new protections against pesticides?

—Michael

Yeah, it’s a drag. The Emerald Cup is supposed to be for organically grown cannabis products and it’s a shame that some people try to sneak in samples that aren’t up to snuff.

Fortunately, there really weren’t that many. According to the article, only about 5 percent of the flower entries (40 out of 735) tested positive for nonorganic pesticides. We definitely did our best to remove not just the pesticide-laden cannabis, but also the “black ash” samples. When you burn cannabis, say, in a joint, the ash should be a nice gray color. Super-dark or black ash indicates cannabis that hasn’t been properly flushed and probably contains an unacceptable amount of the chemicals and nutrients used to create giant, monster plants.

Keeping pesticide use to a minimum is especially important when making concentrates. As the name implies, concentrating the chemicals in cannabis, like when someone makes hash or wax or shatter, will also concentrate the pesticides and chemicals that are on or in the plant matter.

But, like the story says, the offenders were caught and removed, proving once again that stoners may take extra time, but they usually get it right.

No one wants to smoke pesticide-laden weed, which is why most clubs these days go out of their way to ensure that the products on the shelves have been tested for pesticides, mold, fungi and all sorts of things. Many clubs will either post the test results online or have the results available for you to see while you shop. If you are unsure, talk to your budtender.

We have come a long way from worrying about the government spraying outdoor grows with Paraquat, but we still need to make sure that we are only putting the finest cannabis (and cannabis concentrates) into our lungs. Happy smoking!

I’m pretty much new to pens and cartridges. I enjoy them for many reasons, and I want to ensure I’m getting the very best quality for my money. Can you recommend a dispensary that has a wide variety and the best quality vape cartridges and pens? I like flavored vapes. My favorite so far is pineapple.

—M.C.

I try not to recommend specific dispensaries too often because I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, so I will just talk about flavored vapes. As someone that really likes the taste of weed, I am surprised at the popularity of all these flavored vape pens. I like the pens made by Dark Heart called Alchemy (www.darkheartalchemy.com). They have great flavors and good effects. I have never seen a pineapple flavored pen. Try Weedmaps or Leafly if you want to learn more about dispensaries. They usually know where the good stuff is.