Key takeaways
Tests commissioned by the Los Angeles Times on 49 legal inhalable products found hazardous chemicals never seen in its earlier testing in about 1 in 4 of them (published Nov. 8, 2026).
California screens for 66 pesticides; 14 more, including pymetrozine, join the list on April 1, 2028 under DCC rule DCC-2025-03-R.
Through late August, the DCC had tested only 35 products pulled from shelves in 2026, and its lab can screen for fewer than half the pesticides the Times found.
Since 2024 the DCC has suspended, revoked or denied eight licenses over pesticide-adulterated products, the Times reports, while seven other operators are still open.
California cannabis pesticide testing has a blind spot, and a new round of independent lab work shows it. Many big brands cleaned up after 2024, but some products now carry chemicals the state doesn’t screen for at all.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Nov. 8, 2026 that it bought 49 pre-rolls, vapes and flower products from licensed dispensaries and delivery services between August and October. Three state-licensed labs (Anresco, Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs and Excelbis) tested them blind, screening for a combined 376 pesticides.
What the LA Times pesticide tests found
Brands that were contaminated two years ago, including Stiiizy and West Coast Cure, came back largely clean. But hazardous chemicals not seen in the earlier testing showed up in a quarter of the products.
Pymetrozine turned up at high levels in five Green Vibe Inc. products, including ones at two, three and more than six times the limit California will apply in 2028. Green Vibe’s co-founder told the Times the farm doesn’t use it and suspects drift from neighboring Salinas Valley farms.
Etridiazole, a soil fungicide, appeared in one product at 125 times the level that would trigger safety testing under federal tobacco standards.
Chlormequat chloride, a growth regulator, showed up above the tobacco threshold. The Times also found dinotefuran, fenazaquin and oxamyl; of those three, the state tests only for oxamyl.
Where no state limit existed, the Times used the EPA threshold for pesticide residue testing on tobacco, per its methodology.
California’s cannabis pesticide screening list and the 2028 update
Licensed labs must screen each batch for 66 pesticides today. The DCC’s pesticide rulemaking, DCC-2025-03-R, was filed July 27, 2026 and took effect Oct. 1, 2026 with updated action levels. A second table takes over on April 1, 2028, adding 14 pesticides; pymetrozine’s limit for inhalable products will be 1.0 µg/g.
Date | What changes |
|---|---|
Oct. 1, 2026 | Revised pesticide action levels take effect (Table 1) |
April 1, 2028 | 14 more pesticides added, including pymetrozine (Table 2) |
"If the sample fails residual pesticide testing, then the batch from which the sample was collected fails residual pesticide testing and may not be released for retail sale."
Enforcement gaps the investigation describes
The Times reports that DCC lab results typically take three to five months and that the agency recalled one product for pesticides this year, compared with 266 in the five months after its 2024 reports. A DCC spokesperson said the state has a comprehensive system for testing, recalls and enforcement; DCC Director Clint Kellum said the agency is building capacity to test for more pesticides.
In July, the DCC changed its sanitation rules so that a pesticide with a foreign-language label on a farm makes everything grown there unsanitary and subject to destruction, the Times reports.
What this means for operators
Ask suppliers for COAs with expanded pesticide panels, not just the 66-chemical state minimum. Retailers carry the brand risk when a product makes the news.
Validate against the April 1, 2028 table now. Labs and cultivators who wait will find out about pymetrozine and the other 13 additions with no time to adjust.
Map your drift risk if you grow near conventional farms, and document it. The Times found at least 52 licensed grows clustered in the Salinas Valley pymetrozine hot spot.
Audit every chemical on site against your pest management plan, and remove anything with a foreign-language label. Under the July sanitation rules, one container can put a whole harvest at risk.
What this means for cannabis workers
Pesticides are a workplace safety issue first. The Times reports a Lake County farmworker died in August from suspected pesticide poisoning, and federal OSHA opened an investigation Sept. 2. DCC inspectors have also fallen ill at a contaminated site.
If you see unlabeled, foreign-labeled or banned products where you work, you can report it to the DCC through its complaint form. Budtenders should expect more customer questions about testing; pointing people to a product’s COA is a solid answer.
The bigger picture
Industry is moving faster than the state in places. A lab and manufacturer group called ECCO has more than 30 brands screening for 140 pesticides with surprise shelf tests, and at least three major dispensary chains now do their own testing, according to the Times.
Related on The Weekly Joint: California’s new COA and shelf-testing laws for 2027 · Colorado audit finds testing gaps · Archive
Sources
This article is general information, not legal or medical advice. Testing findings are the Los Angeles Times’ and were not independently verified by The Weekly Joint. DCC complaints: cannabis.ca.gov file a complaint.
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