"New Marijuana Industry Wrestles With Pesticides and Safety"

"Microscopic bugs and mildew can destroy a marijuana operation faster than any police raid. And because the crop has been illegal for so long, neither growers nor scientists have any reliable research to help fight the infestations.

As legal marijuana moves from basements and backwoods to warehouses and commercial fields, the mold and spider mites that once ruined only a few plants at a time can now quickly create a multimillion-dollar crisis for growers. Some are turning to industrial-strength chemicals, raising concerns about safety.

Pesticides and herbicides are regulated by the federal government, which still regards almost all marijuana as an illicit crop, so there's no roadmap to help pot farmers. Chemists and horticulturalists can't offer much assistance either. They sometimes disagree about how to combat the problem, largely because the plant is used in many different ways — smoked, eaten and sometimes rubbed on the skin."

Kristen Wyatt reports for the Associated Press July 20, 2015.