The Cannabis Control Board has prevented further sales of all cannabis produced by a grower called Holland Cannabis, board chair James Pepper told VTDigger Thursday evening, after someone reported becoming sick after consuming it.
The person who smoked cannabis flower bought at The High Country in Derby reported a headache, a stomach ache and some nausea, all symptoms of a fungicide, Pepper said.
After the person provided a sample of the cannabis, testing revealed that it came from Holland Cannabis in the Orleans County town of Holland, Pepper said.
Pepper said the board used its inventory tracking system to trace the cannabis to five stores. He said the cannabis was not registered with the Cannabis Control Board, and the board is trying to determine how it made its way onto store shelves. The board has contacted the five stores, Pepper said, and they have all stopped selling the cannabis.
“We have stopped sale of all Holland Cannabis flower at all retail establishments until we can confirm the safety of the company’s flower,” the board said in a consumer protection warning posted on its website. “Customers who have bought flower grown by this cultivator should return it to the store where they bought it.”
VTDigger could not reach representatives for Holland Cannabis on Thursday evening. An email to the company was not immediately returned.
Pepper said the board would oversee the destruction of all the cannabis from Holland Cannabis in stores and most likely would destroy all the cannabis left at the farm. He said the board is still trying to get more facts from the grower.
Holland Cannabis sells eight strains of cannabis flower, Pepper said. As of Thursday evening, he said the board had been able to test five of the strains, and all five tested positive for myclobutanil, the active ingredient in the prohibited fungicide.
“It’s a very common black market (fungicide) that almost every black market cultivator has used at one point in their life,” Pepper said. “If you’ve ever used this in your sprayer, the residuals will show up, even if you’re not using it today. Anyone who is using their equipment from when they used to be a black-market grower is likely to test positive for this.”
Pepper said testing has caught the prohibited fungicide “quite a bit of times” in products that never made it to market.
“This is the first time that we’re hearing about it for products (that) hit the market,” Pepper said. The cannabis had not been tested and should not have made it to store shelves, he said.
Pepper said the cannabis was sold at Zenbarn Farms in Waterbury, The High Country Cannabis in Derby, The Green Man in St. Johnsbury, Lamoille County Cannabis in Morrisville and Capital Cannabis Company in Montpelier.
Noah Fishman, co-owner of Zenbarn Farms, said in an email to VTDigger that all the cannabis the store bought from Holland Cannabis came with documentation showing that it had been tested for pesticides.
Brian Fish, one of the owners of The High Country, and Lauren Andrews, owner of Capital Cannabis, declined to comment. VTDigger could not reach representatives at The Green Man or Lamoille County Cannabis on Thursday evening.
This story was updated with a statement from Noah Fishman.