Pesticide-Free Pot

A pair of medical marijuana growers in California's Mendocino County want their crop certified as "organic," but local authorities don't know quite what to do with them:

Mendocino County Agricultural Commissioner Dave Bengston wrote to the state department of food and agriculture last month, asking if the county can certify pot as organic and if employees should be inspecting marijuana nurseries to check for pests and other problems as they do with other crops…

The first time someone brought in a pot plant for a health check, was "awkward," said [Tony Linegar, assistant agricultural commissioner for Mendocino County].

Whole thing here.

Comments

[joe]

God bless California.

[SPD]

There are times such as this when, speaking as an East-coaster, I wish the continent could be harmlessly accordioned upon itself, like the old Mad magazine fold-ins on the back cover, just so I could be that much closer to places like Mendocino County.

Yes, I'm sober right now. Why do you ask?

[smacky]

I thought that roaches in pot was a desirable thing ...har har har

[Patrick D]

Hilarious! I love that place!

We're heading up there again next weekend for my wife's 40th b-day. Beautiful valleys, amazing redwood forests, rugged coastline and a population of aging hippies and libertarians sharing great food, great wine and, apparently, sustainably-farmed pot.

[Agammamon]

If its *organically* its not sutainable - at least not enough to fee - I mean stone 6 billion people.

[Josh]

Why does organic imply unustainable Agammamnon? Surely nature itself is sustainable without the need for pesticides or fertilizer. If its a matter of scale, Mendocino doesnt need to supply the entire world with Pot. If its a matter of money, surely you arent suggesting it costs more than $40 to grow a quarter of an ounce of the stuff.

[joe]

Because, Josh, organic farming requires more land to produce the same amount of food as chemical farming.

And if you ignore all of the other inputs that go into farming, and only consider the land area used, you can conclude that chemical farming does less environmental harm than organic farming.

[SPD]

$40 for a quarter-ounce?!? Man, am I getting ripped off! But like my dealer always says, "It's what the market will bear, my friend."

Then he says, "Check out the new tats on my guy in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."

[JSM]

Good for Mendo growers. The law is on the book, now its time to use it or lose it. Now if we can only get the CHP to actually abide by the law.

[combustable]

$40 for a quarter seems high, I pay $55 for half.

[pococurante]

$110 US for an ounce?! Daaayum, combust, where do you live that you're not on the [Acapulco] gold standard? ("GS" meaning costing roughly the same per weight, until gold's recent hike.) More importantly: 's good stuff?