Comments

1
Glad to hear he's being proactive on this - it's a good thing and to do otherwise would be unethical.

Shifting topics: could someone at the Stranger please ask him his stance on same sex marriage, and report the results?
2
Pro, but feel free to hit me up for marriage or relationship advice anytime. I am a 25 year expert. ian at uncleikespotshop.com. Stay happy and come to Ike's for Cheap Pot. (It really helps. marriage is hard work).
3
A lab recently closed itself down, emailing its customers to admit the testing had been done incorrectly and sometimes numbers pulled from thin air. The state did not contact the growers to tell them the facility was closed, didn't ask stores to pull the products, didn't tell the growers to halt sales until discovery had been made. What is the point of testing when it is admitted to have been falsified and there's no attempt to stop the products that received questionable testing?
4
@2 thanks for your support, that's great to hear!
5
If you trust Trace, make the results public Ian... obviously risking lawsuits by consumers on one end and growers on the other if you're wrong. Otherwise this is largely a good PR move *slow clap*
6
Bold move by Ike's. Interesting that while his neighboring marijuana stores on Capitol Hill (Ponder and Ruckus) have been busy adding organic, sustainable producers, Ike's shelves are stocked with industrial grade pot. Not a single Clean Green Certified or Certified Kind producer. Not a big shock, I guess, the results he obtained.
7
GreenBarn Nice try. Not sure what you think some kind of made up certifications really means. We vet all our producers extremely carefully and feel they are the best in the market. I guess you're saying your pot is better and we buy from crappy growers. Sorry if we past on selling your products but please don't lie about our products. -ike
8
Ian--Not saying our pot is better, but these "made up certifications" are indeed very real and effective. Our farm is inspected onsite by Clean Green Certified annually and samples are tested for traces of over 150 pesticides, fungicides (including Eagle 20) and chemical fertilizers/PGRs/bud modifiers...the same standards as for USDA's Organic standards and then some. Clean Green Certified has been certifing organic produce in CA for 13+ years. Sounds like a good place to start in lieu of USDA and state support, no? Look them up...you may be surprised.

As for the better pot, I'd say for some people smoking clean, sustainable weed takes priority over pretty industrial grade weed with an unknown background. As you've discovered, that background is pretty scary.
9
50 PPB is a total made up limit! 200ppb is the limit in Oregon and Co for myco. So only 2 of those results would have failed in Oregon or Colorado.

Time for everyone to take a breath and for the industry to start organizing and the WSDA to put out acceptable action limits. Tobias, you should do some investigation into the issues the industry is facing rather than just publishing it's problems.

There is 1 lab in the state that does pesticide testing, it just started in January. There are no set limits for pesticides. This lab is testing for 207 out of 10's of thousands of pesticides and isn't even screening for levels of "allowed" pesticides. Think about that. This lab is basically setup to find "bad" pesticides, but will completely certify "good" pesticides at any level. A clean test DOES NOT mean the product is pesticide free. It just means it wasn't found to have pesticides of the 207 they test for.
10
GreenBarn - Uncle Ike's has always been a strong supporter of sustainably sun grown weed. I have no clue what you mean by "industrial grade weed." Farming is an industry. We have not seen any difference in pesticide use between small growers or large growers. I would suspect outdoor growers need to use less pesticides than indoor outfits but I am not an expert. I have been to some indoor growers that are sloppy and dirty and others that are super high tech and clean. We individually vet all of them and choose only the best.

Take_A_Breath really gets it. Washington State need acceptable levels of pesticides like Oregon. People freak out and say there should be zero but that is reactionary. Testing is beyond accurate. 50 parts per billion is minuscule. Again, I am no expert but I suspect an outdoor grower could have pesticides floating onto their crop in the air and the testing is so precise it would register.

Another possible scenario is soil and fertilizer companies putting pesticides in their mix and not disclosing them. I am especially suspect of the small "pot" specific soil and nutrient outfits that have specialized in the illicit and medical cannabis communities that have no oversight whatsoever.

-Ike
11
@9 Totally agree, the industry has some crazy issues. As a journalist, the best thing I can do is highlight the most egregious problems. It's triage at this point.

Also, the very first article I wrote on pot was one discussing which pesticides from the PICOL database were concerning. So it's not like I've given a complete pass to "good" pesticides. Pyrethrin/PBO is a serious issue, and Trace found PBO on one of the samples, meaning most likely that that sample was exposed to a fogger bomb during flower. Again, lots of issues, just trying to highlight the biggest ones.

Also, you're dead on about the 200 ppb. Fagras said 50 ppb was the level at which he would be concerned, which is still a relevant fact. If able, I will add in the info about the Oregon limit to the section about the various myclo test results, so as to clearly indicate that two of them would pass. I'm also very on board with thresholds. The pass/fail system ultimately incentivizes cheating, especially when it's paired with lax enforcement. A better system would be to run random, unannounced residue tests on samples collected by WSDA personnel and check for residue. But I don't make policy, I write about it, and I find it very newsworthy to call out existing failures of policy. That said, thanks for being a well-informed, constructive commenter. The discussion that comes out of an article is, in the absence of trolls, often more interesting than the original topic.
12
If the WSLCB fails to mandate that all products sold in a State Store must be tested for pesticides, then we will file a class action suite against the WSLCB for reckless endangerment when it comes to Consumer Protection.

And remember folks, Prohibition is not over until everyone of us 21+ has gained the "legal" right to grow this beautiful flower at home. And just like the hearty tomato, home grown always tastes better. So write in today to your favorite politician and let them know that WE WANT A HOME GROW PROVISION, and don't forget to say please!
13
@11 Fagras opinion is completely irrelevant. Who is he to set standards? He has a vested interest in creating fear around pesticides because he is the only lab testing for them! And I call bullshit on BMF passing their test. 15 pesticides found in their grow and not 1 on their flower. Bullshit. Sounds like Peter has been dropping off some payments to Spokane.

@12 The WSLCB is not a consumer protection agency. They are a distribution control agency. They don't regulate the levels of pesticides in beer, why do you expect them to regulate the levels on weed? This is the job of the WSDA and DOH.... But oh yeah, Marijuana isn't considered agriculture so the department of agriculture has no oversight... and the DOH is falling behind. There are no mandatory testings of any agricultural products in the state, its spot checks and industry groups who self police themselves.
14
@Take_a_breath Good Point. How about this one then: we file a class action lawsuit against Washington State for passing a law that lacks a home grow provision for recreational users, systematically squashes the rights of small-scale Medical Growers, while binding us, by law, to support a highly regulated closed-market system that can’t even manage to regulate itself to ensure consumer protection.

And once again folks we must all remember that Prohibition is not over until everyone of us 21+ has gained the "legal" right to grow this beautiful flower at home. And just like the hearty tomato, home grown always tastes better. So write in today to your favorite politician and let them know that WE WANT A HOME GROW PROVISION, and don't forget to say please!
Brian Blake (D): brian.blake@leg.wa.gov
Cary Condotta (R): cary.condotta@leg.wa.gov
Reuven Carlyle (D): reuven.carlyle@leg.wa.gov
Luis Moscoso (D): luis.moscoso@leg.wa.gov
Sherry Appleton (D): appleton.sherry@leg.wa.gov
Dean Takko (D): dean.takko@leg.wa.gov
Hans Dunshee (D): hans.dunshee@leg.wa.gov
Maureen Walsh (R): maureen.walsh@leg.wa.gov
Chris Reykdal (D): chris.reykdal@leg.wa.gov
15
@14 Grow some plants at your house, who GAF. stop complaining you have legal weed and no one give a shit if you grow a plant at your house, we don't need a new law that allows home grows. It's a smoke screen for black market growing. "Medical" growers for the most part are a joke too... Yeah, I had my medical recommendation for years and got home deliveries for me and all my friends. gauranteed that shit wasn't pesticide free and those "medical" growers flying around in their private helicopters don't give a shit about "patients". Stop the bullshit and get real.
16
@15 Those medical grower's you speak of, they are the ones who the state has licensed. Who else knows the industry better than the ones who helped develop it. Investment came through venture capital aroused by the black market and on contract this union became everybody's clean friend. All else is history.

I Love Legal Weed!

Back to the story, this is what we know for sure: Myclobutanil, when heated to a mere 205 celsius turns into Hydrogen Cyanide. This should be a concern to anyone that has smoked Cannabis grown with Myclobutanil; especially if your dabbin’ yo. The Recreational Cannabis Industry is young and we are all learning to grow bigger, better, faster, stronger females, however, that being said, we can’t just expect everyone to make the right decisions when the stakes are this high. We need mandatory testing BECAUSE the Industry is so young. If we allow farmers, that are now licensed by the state, to self-regulate their pest management profile then we might possibly find that we are confronted with another Health Crisis, like the one we are continuing to fight with Big Tobacco and its link to Lung Cancer.

... and this is just another reason why we are not done fighting yet. Until we have a Home Grow Amendment signed into Law that gives me, you, and everyone else 21+ the "LEGAL" right to grow this plant at home, prohibition is not over. Get it!

17
News alert! This just in: House Bill 2629 dated March 10th, 2016 was reintroduced and retained in present status. This is the Bill we want. It calls for a recreational Home Grow Provision for everyone to have the "legal" right to grow up to six plants. Read it:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.…

Let's get busy and send the message: We Want a Home Grow!
Brian Blake (D): brian.blake@leg.wa.gov
Cary Condotta (R): cary.condotta@leg.wa.gov
Reuven Carlyle (D): reuven.carlyle@leg.wa.gov
Luis Moscoso (D): luis.moscoso@leg.wa.gov
Sherry Appleton (D): appleton.sherry@leg.wa.gov
Dean Takko (D): dean.takko@leg.wa.gov
Hans Dunshee (D): hans.dunshee@leg.wa.gov
Maureen Walsh (R): maureen.walsh@leg.wa.gov
Chris Reykdal (D): chris.reykdal@leg.wa.gov
18
HI You don't know that for sure. 200 parts per billion is nothing. Cyanide is bad. But not at ONE BILLIONTH of a gram, This is the lamest and laziest excuse for why pesticides should be managed in the weed industry, it's all hypothetical and based on fear of the word "cyanide". There are far greater health risks which are proven from other pesticides. Like say cancer from PBO, which is totally allowed at any level.

Cyanide is all around you. That 200 parts per billion BHO your dabbing yo, is the least of your worries. Be reasonable and stop fear mongering.
19
@take_a_breath - your ignorance serves you well, if you think fear mongering is n play because people don't want to support a rigged structure of legal weed grown by closet growers who now have hit the big time, keep spinning that news that smoking a little cyanide is ok for you. You can be the guinea pig. For the record if your a grower and use Avid, Eagle 20, Floramite, or anything like this....time to realize your weed is NO good for anyone. Never trust anyone who does not smoke what they grow, greed is one hell of a drug. Homegrow for everyone! this plant is sooooo easy to grow and so much better for the environment when you get to grow it at home. And you don't have to pay 47% taxes on it also.
20
Take-a-breath, take a hit! Why you so mad bro? Let the people grow. You sound like an insider who has something at stake... I've never known a medical grower who rolls a copter! That's another level - people just want to put a couple plants in a closet. Chill baby.
21
SeattleIan: please be transparent and let us know which brands tested for poisons at Uncle Ike's? I appreciate that you've done due diligence but it sounds like a total PR stunt. Being honest and ethical is "hard work".
22
@19 I totally agree - ALL pesticides are bad at a certain level of toxicity, not just 1 which everyone is focused on (which is what I was calling out as being lazy). I want to see results for ALL pesticides on products. In no way am I trying to say smoking pesticides is good. but there are safe levels, just like in food. There are safe levels of "allowed" pesticides too which need to be tested for.

@20 I totally agree with you too. People should grow if they want to.. Just do it.
23
Tobias - thank you for enlightening us in your investigations. This is a well written article, as are all of your articles.
24
HI - you seem to be the advocate for home grows, that is necessary to make progressive changes to this monopoly. Hope you have big money, high powered connections and lobbyists to bring this to light to the powers that be. You've got it right on. Best luck! And thank you for the list of politicians. Though I suspect they are all bought and paid for already. Right Ike??🤑
25
SeattleIan - the key to marriage isn't cheap weed... It's really really good weed and that ain't cheap! Remember, the customer is always right!😘
26
@25 We sell really good weed! We work really hard when we make a purchase. We have three tiers - budget, mid and top. You can go online and compare our prices on the exact same products with other stores and you'll see - Ike's is cheap and great!
28
#27 - I don't know where you get your info but Uncle Ike's is not a member of WACA. I was, but quit some time ago. We did the initial pesticide testing to get the issue under the spotlight, at which we have been successful. It is my understanding the LCB is going to be taking action soon. We have also sent a lot more products out for testing. Some of the products are currently in the store now and others we are evaluating. I chose not to disclose the results because they are proprietary to our purchasing decision. We shared the results with the processors and let them decide how they are going to handle. I am not sure what you think I lied about but I am sorry you have chosen not to patronize Uncle Ike's and hope you give us another chance. To date, we are the only store in the state that hands out the required pesticide sheet with every purchase and does independent lab testing on our products.
30
#29 Sorry you aren't making much sense. BMF was on the list we tested as well as Mobley's list. BMF makes juju's. It's not a secret. You seem to be uncovering the blatantly obvious - good on you.
33
No one ever said BMF was the only one that came back clean. I never said I wasn't part of WACA. I wasn't a part of WACA's formation, but I joined last year, got elected to the board and resigned a few months ago. You seem to have issues and spin bizarre conspiracies to suit your weirdo narrative.
36
@ JakeGrows14. I totally agree with you. Look who is on the WACA board - BMF and other retail stores that still carry Liberty Reach...and remmeber Uncle Ike is a big advertiser in the Stranger...

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