When state regulators ordered Triple M and Good Chemistry to temporarily close their marijuana dispensaries due to pesticide use last year, both companies had a similar response: Everyone is doing it.

Jim Smith, an attorney who represented Good Chemistry, said the company was using organic compounds that are legal on other crops in Massachusetts, and on marijuana in Colorado.

“The compounds we want to use are pesticides that are on your blueberries, strawberries, raspberries with your morning breakfast,” Smith said.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has banned the use of almost all pesticides on marijuana crops. Now that Massachusetts’ legal marijuana industry is ramping up, and the first companies are starting to grow outdoors, the pesticide ban is emerging as a controversial issue. While some say it is required for public safety, others say marijuana is being unfairly subjected to a standard that does not apply to other crops.

“The cannabis industry is just held to a different standard than all the other industries generally,” said Jonathan Napoli, president of CannAssist Consulting Group, which advises marijuana growers. “The testing we have to go through on our product is a lot more stringent than the food you’re going to eat, even organic food.”

In September 2018, the state Department of Agricultural Resources ruled that pesticides cannot be used on marijuana and hemp. The decision relies on the fact that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not allow it, since marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

Their reasoning, laid out in an October 2018 bulletin, is that the EPA researches the effects of pesticides and approves product labels that prescribe safe uses. Without any EPA research, the agency would not be able to clarify confusing labels or determine a safe use.

The department does allow the use of a certain category of products the EPA does not regulate because they are considered “minimum risk.” These include things like essential oils.

Katie Gronendyke, a spokeswoman for the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said in a statement, “In an effort to protect Massachusetts’ environmental resources and public health, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is committed to ensuring that all pesticides used in the Commonwealth undergo rigorous testing, and as a result requires that all pesticides be registered with the federal Environmental Protection Agency before being considered for approved use, and mandates that all pesticides be used in accordance with their EPA registration.”

Derek Ross is president and CEO of BCWC, one of the first Massachusetts marijuana companies to get a license to grow outdoors. Ross said he thinks the pesticide prohibition is necessary until more scientific research is done. “There’s not enough studies done on the pesticides that are in the market right now on cannabis,” Ross said.

Ross said even if pesticides are used on other crops, those plants are not necessarily being smoked. “Those pesticides under combustion and high levels of heat could turn into harmful chemicals to the user,” Ross said.

Ross said BCWC brought in specialized consultants to develop a pest management program that includes strategies like bringing in predatory mites. “We’re going to learn a lot this year,” he said.

Theory Wellness also hopes to grow its first outdoor marijuana crop this year. CEO Brandon Pollock said at the company’s indoor cultivation facility, growers can tightly control the air and environmental conditions to avoid mold. Outdoors, there are mold spores in the air.

“Without any pesticides to protect plants against mold spores, it puts the farmer in a tough place where they won’t be able to pass the test,” Pollock said.

Pollock said he doubts his outdoor crop will pass the strict tests needed to sell marijuana for flower. He anticipates that marijuana grown outdoors will need to be extracted, a process that kills mold spores and bacteria. Then, the oil could be used for vaporizers, edibles or topicals. That would make the crop less valuable.

Ted Dobson, a Sheffield organic farmer who plans to grow for Theory Wellness, said types of outdoor cannabis can be resistant to pests, and pesticides should be used only as a last resort.

But at the same time, he accused state regulators of being “incredibly hypocritical.”

“They allow ... a slew of herbicides and pesticides to be used on the food we eat,” Dobson said. “Why they singled out cannabis is interesting morally and philosophically for myself as an organic grower. ... Why don’t we hold tobacco to those standards?”

Smith said he understands MDAR typically relies on EPA guidance, but in this case, Massachusetts already legalized a crop that is federally illegal. Smith said crops will be healthier if growers can eliminate mold and mildew. Crops that get mold or mildew may have to be discarded.

Smith said a healthy crop will be needed to eliminate the illicit marijuana market, which follows no regulations. “We just need to update (the rules), given the new reality of this new crop in Massachusetts,” Smith said.

Theory Wellness in Bridgewater grows and sells marijuana.Shira Schoenberg / The Republican file

Peter Bernard, president of the Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council, said while there are natural steps growers can take to mitigate pests, such as introducing ladybugs or building huts over crops to keep moisture out, “They’re going to need some sort of pest control or the outdoor growers aren’t going to make it. They’re rolling the dice every year to see if they’re going to have a viable crop.”

Bernard said while the problems are more acute outdoors, even indoor growers have difficulty keeping out mold and mildew. The mild pesticides that are allowed are more effective as a preventive measure than to fix a problem.

Bernard said pesticides can be safe. “If it was stuff you can put on food, it shouldn’t be a problem to put it on cannabis,” he said.

The ban could also disadvantage smaller growers. Amanda Rositano, director of operational compliance at NETA, said her company put a “tremendous amount of resources” into developing an integrated pest management plan, to control the indoor growing environment and identify potential problems.

“It is very, very expensive and very time consuming to be able to manage this plant without having approved tools at your disposal for addressing pests in your facilities,” Rositano said.

Guidance from the Cannabis Control Commission on integrated pest management suggests indoor growers take steps like controlling humidity levels, quarantining new plants and placing traps to detect insects. It suggests outdoor growers use methods like placing traps, improving air flow, adjusting irrigation, introducing healthy bugs, or planting companion plants before turning to the limited chemical options that are allowed.

Several other states that legalized marijuana allow pesticides.

John Scott, chief of the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s pesticide program, spoke at a State House News forum in Boston about how Colorado developed pesticide regulations.

In an interview, Scott said state officials never discussed banning pesticides, but focused on figuring out the legal status of different products. “Regardless of the industry, we had an obligation to look at what pesticide products are on the market and determine can those products be used legally, or would it be a violation,” Scott said.

“We came out of the gate with the mindset that we cannot treat the marijuana industry any different than we treat the conventional industry,” Scott said during his talk.

Scott said officials wanted to give the industry a legal path to manage a high-dollar crop, to avoid growers turning to illegal, toxic products. After meeting with the EPA, Colorado officials initially allowed all pesticides that are “tolerance-exempt,” meaning they have no maximum permissible level of residue, and that have broad label language, which does not restrict which crops they can be used on.

Around 250 to 300 products fit those requirements. Scott said the department did not make a determination that these products were “safe,” but simply that they were legal.

An updated version of the rule adopted in 2017 added the requirements that pesticides be expressly permitted for plants intended for human consumption and that the active ingredient be allowed for use on tobacco.

Colorado officials can ban any product that they judge poses a threat to public health. Their list of allowed products is updated regularly.

Scott said if Massachusetts changes its law, his advice would be to maintain good communication with the industry.

“There were a lot of folks in the industry that didn’t necessarily like the approach that our department took as far as the restrictions that we put in place,” Scott said. “Once we were able to explain and talk with industry and really connect the dots on the regulatory requirements, once they understood it, they got it.”