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Why should I care if my medicine has been tested for pesticides?
While most of us go to great lengths to know whether our food is contaminated by harmful pesticides, we know very little of what is in our medicine. Currently no pesticides have been tested and approved for use on cannabis. However, many cannabis producers still use a variety of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides on their cannabis. This is potentially a very dangerous practice. When a pesticide is approved for use on a food product, regulators are assuming the food will be washed then eaten. Cannabis, on the other hand, is never washed and it's main means of consumption is not through eating.
When plant material is smoked or vaporized, whatever pesticides are in that smoke are absorbed directly into the lungs rather than potentially destroyed by stomach acids or excluded from the body by the digestive system. Cannabis acts like a chemical sponge and tends to absorb and concentrate chemicals in it's tissue. For example, hemp plants have been planted around Chernobyl because the plant absorbs even radioactive elements from the soil. Therefore, smoking contaminated cannabis can be much more harmful than eating contaminated food.
Why should I care if my medicine has been tested for pathogens?
Even cannabis grown by experienced and conscientious cultivators can become infested with dangerous molds and bacteria. Problems with the growing environment or improper drying and curing can lead to fungal contamination of the plant material. Some of these pathogens such as aspergillus, botrytis, etc. can be very dangerous to some patients, while others can wreak havoc for patients with allergies. Ecoli and other dangerous bacteria can hitch a ride in contaminated grow nutrients and additives, or can infest an unclean growing area. Organically grown medicine is just as susceptible to these dangers as medicine grown with conventional methods and in some instances can be even more likely to carry some pathogens.
Why should I care if my medicine has been tested for potency?
If you went to the doctor for back pain and she handed you a bottle of different colored pills with no label and told you to go home and take a few to see how they affected you, would you do it? Cannabis has many active ingredients which have different effects on the body. To effectively treat any conditions you have, or just to know what you are putting into your body, why not choose cannabis with a properly labeled dosage.
