By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times
Saying he doesn’t trust the industry, a top Senate Republican wants an outright ban on the use of certain chemicals on the marijuana that Arizonans smoke, eat or drink.\
Majority Whip Sonny Borrelli said he appreciates that lawmakers last session finally approved a plan he has been pushing to require that there be testing of medical marijuana for pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals before the product can be sold to patients. That testing is supposed to start no later than Nov. 1, 2020.
But the Lake Havasu City lawmaker said there’s a flaw of sorts in the whole plan: how the standards for acceptable levels will be set by a special panel.
“The people that are involved in that board, they’re all in the industry,” he told Capitol Media Services. “So, basically, it’s the fox watching the hen house.”
That’s not exactly true. Half of the 12-member panel are industry representatives, with a seventh being the owner of an Arizona-based cannabis testing laboratory. But there also is a patient, a caregiver for a medical marijuana patient, a laboratory scientist, a health care provider and a representative of the Department of Public Safety.
Still, Borrelli said an outright ban on certain chemicals makes better sense than subjecting medical marijuana patients to a risk.
