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(AP)
The Oregon Department of Agriculture plans to hire a cannabis policy coordinator who would help answer questions from the industry about everything from pesticides to food safety.
The staffer would answer to the director's office and would stay on top of marijuana-related issues for the agency, said Lauren Henderson, assistant director of the Department of Agriculture.
Henderson told the Oregon Liquor Control Commission this week that the cannabis coordinator would be involved in discussions around sanitation, food safety, worker safety and pesticides. Funding for the post will come from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission's budget.
"Cannabis affects almost every part of our agency to some degree," said Henderson. "We really want to put our arms around this industry and support them they best we can all the way from food safety to pesticides."
Pesticides have emerged as a major issue for the marijuana industry in Oregon and in other states where marijuana is regulated. With no guidance from the federal government, which regulates pesticides, cannabis producers rely on their own experience and each other to decide what products to use on their crops.
Henderson said the agency is looking at crafting a "set of criteria" around pesticide use by year's end. He stressed that the state does not plan to issue a list of approved products, but will issue guidelines on the types of chemicals that could be allowed on the crop.
"We really want people to follow the label," he said.
Washington and Colorado have issued guidelines for pesticide use in the marijuana industry. Washington marijuana growers, for instance, can use some products approved for organic agriculture and others that pose minimum risk to human health.
Colorado growers can use pesticides with labels that allow broad agricultural uses, but they can't use pesticides explicitly banned on crops people consume.
Both states depend largely on state inspections, instead of lab tests, to keep growers' pesticide use in check.
In Washington, officials review marijuana producers' pesticide use, storage and record keeping as part of their annual inspections. Colorado has similar record-keeping rules and requires any pesticides used in cannabis production be included on products labels.
-- Noelle Crombie