A Second Test, Two Years Later: The Same Blind Spot
A new Los Angeles Times investigation, published Sunday, November 8, 2026, and reported by Paige St. John and colleagues, retested California legal cannabis two years after the newspaper's 2024 "Dirty Weed" series. According to the Los Angeles Times investigation, the new testing found hazardous pesticides the state does not screen for in about a quarter of the products tested.
The Los Angeles Times investigation obtained 49 inhalable cannabis products between August and October 2026, primarily through licensed California dispensaries and delivery services. The sample also included one Reno purchase, vapes packaged for New York and unlabeled promotional pre-rolls. Some products were selected because their brands had previously tested positive for pesticides, while others were chosen randomly. The findings therefore cannot be used to estimate contamination across California's entire legal cannabis market.
The labels were obscured, and the products were tested by three labs: Anresco Laboratories in San Francisco, Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs in San Diego, and Excelbis Labs in Santa Ana. Together, the labs screened for a combined 376 pesticides.
California's official screening panel still has 66 pesticides, the same panel in place since 2017/2018, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. The investigation found hazardous off-list chemicals in about 1 in 4 products tested. Most products were clean of the 66 monitored pesticides.
Pymetrozine Kept Showing Up — in Products the State Would Have Cleared
Pymetrozine, which is not on the state list, was found in five Green Vibe Inc. products, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. "Super Boof" Quiet Kings flower contained pymetrozine at 2 times the future state limit. "Chocolatina" Wave Rider pre-rolls contained it at 3 times the future limit. "Blood Orange" Chico Verde vapes contained it at more than 6 times the future limit.
That future limit comes from DCC rule DCC-2025-03-R Phase II, operative April 1, 2028, which sets a limit of 1.0 micrograms per gram for inhalable products.
Green Vibe head grower and co-founder Aldo Juarez told the Los Angeles Times investigation that the company was not using insecticides containing pymetrozine and suspected that the chemical drifted from neighboring farms.
Monterey County records show 710 pounds of pymetrozine applied to food crops — lettuce, broccoli, and celery — in the Salinas-area belt this year and last, with at least 52 other licensed cannabis grows nearby, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation.
125 Times the Tobacco Threshold: The KushCompany Finding
Etridiazole, a soil fungicide, was found in five brands, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. The highest level was in KushCompany flower, owned by One Up Montebello, at 125 times the amount that would trigger safety testing under federal tobacco standards.
Anresco also found the growth regulator chlormequat chloride in KushCompany products above the tobacco threshold, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. One Up's officers and lawyer did not respond to the Times' repeated calls and emails.
Three more novel pesticides — dinotefuran, fenazaquin, and oxamyl — appeared in two brands, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. Of the three, the state screens only for oxamyl.
35 Shelf Tests, One Recall: The Enforcement Gap
Through late August 2026, the Department of Cannabis Control had shelf-tested only 35 products statewide and issued one pesticide-related recall in 2026, as reported by the Times. No recall has been issued for the newly named products, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation.
The DCC gave the Times a written statement through spokesperson Jordan Traverso: "California takes cannabis product safety seriously," citing a "comprehensive system for testing, surveillance, recalls, investigations, and enforcement." The agency declined interviews and detailed answers.
DCC Director Clint Kellum has said growers have "a natural incentive" to game the system, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. The agency has written that it cannot test for every substance because potential chemicals "number in the thousands."
Anresco president Zachary Eisenberg told the Times that pesticide lists "need to be living lists, so that people aren't incentivized to choose non-listed pesticides."
What the 2024 Fallout Changed — and What It Didn't
The Times' 2024 series found 25 of 42 products above state allowances or federal tobacco standards, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. Its December 2024 database of 538 tests found 45 off-list pesticides, with pymetrozine in 31% of samples.
In the five months after the June 2024 report, the DCC ordered 266 products off store shelves, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. Some tainted brands exited the market, and the industry formed the ECCO safety-certification nonprofit, now with 30+ brands screening about 140 pesticides.
Stiiizy showed improvement in the Los Angeles Times' latest testing: five of eight products had no detectable pesticides, after pymetrozine appeared in 13 of 14 Stiiizy vapes tested in 2024. President Tak Soto credited "seed to sale" changes in sourcing and quality control.
West Coast Cure was within permitted levels this year after exceeding state limits for eight chemicals in 2024, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. Co-founder Logan Wasserman declined to comment.
New Pesticide Screening Requirements Won't Arrive Until 2028
California revised numerical action levels for existing monitored pesticides effective October 1, 2026. However, its mandatory screening panel remains at 66 pesticides until April 1, 2028, when 14 additional analytes, including pymetrozine, are scheduled to be added under DCC-2025-03-R.
The DCC's Richmond lab can screen for fewer than half the pesticides the Times detected in 2026, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1965 on September 27, 2026. The legislation establishes requirements for cannabis retailers to provide certificates of analysis upon request and authorizes additional off-the-shelf testing and laboratory performance checks.
Two years after "Dirty Weed," the Los Angeles Times investigation found that California's legal cannabis market had changed in visible ways — and that its testing system had not kept pace. The investigation found progress in some brands and a new industry safety effort, but it also found hazardous off-list chemicals in about a quarter of the products tested.
Although California updated pesticide action levels in October 2026, the expansion of its mandatory screening panel from 66 to 80 analytes is not scheduled until April 2028. The DCC's Richmond lab can screen for fewer than half the pesticides the Times detected in 2026, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. Until the panel itself changes, the Los Angeles Times investigation suggests, the gap between what is tested and what is in the products will remain.
Sources
Los Angeles Times. “California's Losing Quest for Clean Weed” — investigation and testing methodology/product database. November 8, 2026. Link
California Department of Cannabis Control. Pesticide Testing Rulemaking DCC-2025-03-R — Phase I effective October 1, 2026; Phase II operative April 1, 2028. Link
California Legislature. AB 1965 — signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, September 27, 2026. Link
Los Angeles Times. “The Dirty Secret of California's Legal Weed.” June 14, 2024; and December 19, 2024 follow-up and 538-test database. Link
0 comments