Carbofuran, an extremely toxic and illegal pesticide, has become more and more common for illegal cannabis operations to use in their grow areas. This increasing usage has prompted an unlikely partnership between the state of California and the U.S. federal government. As reported by the San Diego Times-Union, the United States Attorney McGregor Scott will appropriate $2.5 million in federal dollars to target black market operations primarily in public lands across Northern California.

While black market businesses continue to flourish, despite the best efforts by the state and local governments to curb their activities, the prevalence of Carbofuran is troubling on an entirely different scale as it poses an immediate threat to not only wildlife within the Golden State’s many recreation areas, but also because of the potential for the potent toxin to leech into California’s water table and poison citizens. With approximately 60% of California’s water going through public lands all should be alarmed by the fact that 40% of downstream test sites from illegal grow operations tested positively for Carbofuran.

With the usage of the pesticide being illegal on all levels within the United States, and with the illegal grow sites on federal and state lands, the federal government and the state formed the improbable tag-team to hopefully eliminate the problem. Despite the awkwardness implicit in the legal cannabis industry still being illegal on the federal level, as Scott explained to the Times-Union: “For right now, our priorities are to focus on what have been historically our federal law enforcement priorities: interstate trafficking, organized crime and the federal public lands,”

Additionally, the rampant usage of the substance should serve as a stern but noteworthy “teachable moment” as to why it is imperative for compliance and regulation within the legal cannabis industry. Crucial to the compliance and licensing process has been the invaluable utility of certified laboratories that test for not only dangerous chemicals such as Carbofuran but also heavy metals, quality of CBD and THC levels, and much more.