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March 6, 2023

Bugs in Buds? As CT’s marijuana industry preps for growth, cannabis quality comes into sharper focus

HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER A sea of cannabis flowers shown in Curaleaf’s Simsbury grow facility.
HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER A sea of cannabis flowers shown in Curaleaf’s Simsbury grow facility.
By Skyler Frazer

Medical marijuana customers over the years have raised numerous concerns over the quality of products they’ve purchased.

Since the medical cannabis program’s 2012 inception, 72 consumer complaints have been filed with the state Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), which regulates the industry. Many involved pricing and packaging issues, but several highlighted product inconsistency and quality concerns, according to regulatory filings obtained by the Hartford Business Journal through a Freedom of Information request.

In more recent years, from August 2020 to August 2022, 16 complaints were filed against the state’s four marijuana growers.

One from December 2020 stood out. It detailed a medical cannabis customer who found small black bugs, later identified as rove beetles, in a flower container produced by Curaleaf, which operates a Simsbury grow facility.

DCP investigated, records show, and concluded that Curaleaf introduced rove beetles to a cultivation room to mitigate fungus growth and gnats that pose a threat to cannabis crops. It’s a pest management tactic not totally unfamiliar to the agriculture community, experts said, but the bugs should not end up in the final product purchased by consumers.

Curaleaf responded at the time by immediately sequestering the remaining flower batch and notifying dispensaries to stop selling it, DCP records show.

The company also analyzed all product returned by cannabis retailers and found only one additional rove beetle, records show.

DCP in July 2021 fined Curaleaf $1,500 for the beetles ending up in the customer’s flower container.

That was the only monetary penalty issued against a Connecticut cannabis grower between August 2020 and August 2022, records show.

While not a widespread issue, cannabis quality has been a conversation topic and area of concern for some consumers and state lawmakers, especially as the state’s marijuana industry preps for a major growth spurt following the January launch of recreational sales.

As the state’s existing growers ramp-up production — and new cultivators enter the market — some want tighter quality controls and/or more transparency around the growing process.

State Rep. Robin E. Comey (D-Branford) has introduced a bill this legislative session that aims to address quality control and safety issues stemming from the amounts of mold and bacteria that may be present in marijuana.

Robin Comey

It’s an issue that drew attention last year, when Connecticut adjusted the allowable amount of mold and yeast in medical cannabis to 100,000 colony-forming units per gram.

Comey’s bill would also address the mold and bacteria remediation methods currently allowed under state law. She said she’s spoken to constituents who want more transparency from cannabis growers about how they prepare and test products.

Another bill, backed by House Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D-East Hartford), would create a cannabis ombudsman who would serve as a liaison between regulators and the state’s more than 48,000 medical marijuana patients, with the goal of improving product quality and safety, among other things.

“That’s why I supported the legalization of both recreational and medical cannabis — because I do think that we need some quality control,” Comey said. “There are some concerns about how Connecticut has been testing for yeast and mold, and we’ve been watching the testing standards change over the past several years.”

While Curaleaf was the only company fined during the two-year period ending last August, the state’s three other growers — Rocky Hill-based CTPharma, Advanced Grow Labs in West Haven and Watertown-based Theraplant — each faced at least one consumer complaint during that time period.

Concerns were raised over loose plastic scraps and excess seeds, mold or mildew found in cannabis flower, and hair pressed into tablets, DCP records show.

For example, two complaints were filed against Theraplant from customers who said they found mold and mildew in their cannabis flower, DCP records show. A Theraplant official responded by telling DCP that the company discontinued growing strains susceptible to mildew, records show.

Protecting the crop

Bugs found in cannabis flower could be alarming, but it’s not a unique case in agriculture, experts said.

Many crop growers use an “integrated pest management” program to control and manage bugs and insects in an environment, said Gerald Berkowitz, a plant science professor at UConn who teaches a cannabis grow course.

Gerald Berkowitz

One method, known as biological control, introduces beneficial insects to naturally prevent the destruction of crops from more dangerous bugs.

This method is often used in lieu of chemicals or pesticides, and is a common practice across many levels of agriculture, from growing fruits and vegetables to marijuana, Berkowitz said.

“It’s a very important component of agriculture,” said Berkowitz, who for years has conducted cannabis research. “All of the big cannabis companies do employ integrated pest management. … There are very few fungicides or any pesticides approved for use on cannabis.”

Following the December 2020 complaint, Curaleaf explained to regulators, records show, that rove beetles were introduced late in the vegetative stage, which could have allowed the bugs to climb up stalks and get stuck in the cannabis buds.

In response, Curaleaf told regulators it modified its practices to release the beetles earlier in the grow process.

Curaleaf didn’t respond to requests for comment on this story.

CTPharma in a statement said it also uses a form of integrated pest management based on “a set of agriculture best practices.”

CTPharma’s techniques “are strictly monitored by internal experts to ensure our products continue to be of the highest quality,” the company said.

The state’s two other growers didn’t respond to HBJ’s requests for comments.

Cannabis remediation

Connecticut has two laboratories — New Britain-based AltaSci Laboratories and Northeast Laboratories in Berlin — that test medical marijuana quality.

Before going to market, cannabis products must pass tests that detect mold, yeast, pesticides, heavy metals, microbial pathogens and cannabinoid content, or the amount of THC, CBD and other compounds found in marijuana.

To ensure products pass these quality-control measures, some cultivators expose their cannabis flower to various means of remediation — including radiation, ozone gas, hydrogen peroxide or chlorine dioxide — that eliminate contaminants found in the plant, according to Matthew DeBacco, another plant science professor at UConn who teaches a cannabis horticulture course.

Matt DeBacco

Some consumer advocates have taken issue with remediation efforts, arguing they offer growers a way to cover up mistakes.

Cannabis advocate Duncan Markovich, who owns CBD store Better Ways in Branford, said companies don’t make it clear to customers what type of remediation happens to their flower before it’s tested and goes on shelves.

“People don’t have a clue,” Markovich said.

He also said he’s “dumbfounded” that state officials would opt to increase the allowable limits of mold and bacteria.

But DeBacco said he doesn’t think remediation reduces plant quality.

He also noted there are acceptable mold levels and a certain class of microbes called mycotoxins found in legal cannabis. As part of its approved changes last year, Connecticut no longer allows traceable levels of a mold breed called Aspergillus, which has been linked to lung infections.

“Most of the issues you might be having that would be remediated or controlled by anything external, are going to be mostly your external fungal spores, diseases, whatever else is going to be on the actual flower,” DeBacco said. “You want to know that you’re consuming or purchasing a clean product versus having the unknown if you don’t want anything applied to it.”

All four cannabis cultivators were asked by HBJ whether or not they use remediation techniques on their cannabis crops. By deadline, only CTPharma responded.

“Due to the stringent processes we have in place, CTPharma has never utilized any remediation measures at any point in its history,” the company said.

"According to information from the DCP, the state doesn't allow remediation in medical cannabis products after lab testing. The state's adult-use program allows a pathway to remediation of products, pending approval by the commissioner on a case-by-case basis, but so far no cannabis producer has asked for this exception."

Still, some policymakers said they’d like more information on how remediation and other quality-control measures work.

“Overall, I feel like my conversations with advocates is that they believe that Connecticut can do better with our transparency effort,” said Comey, the state lawmaker.

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