Pesticide use during cannabis cultivation has led LivWell to face a consumer lawsuit. LivWell currently stands as one of Colorado’s biggest cannabis cultivation and retail businesses. Depending on the outcome of the suit, this may be the first instance where a cannabis production company has been held accountable for pesticide use.
Brandan Flores and Brandie Larrabee filed the class-action lawsuit with the Denver District Court. In the suit, Flores and Larrabee state that LivWell uses Eagle 20 on their cannabis. Eagle 20 is a fungicide that fights powdery mildew as plants grow. The controversy is that Eagle 20 is comprised of myclobutinal, an ingredient that has the ability to release hydrogen cyanide gas if it is heated.
While neither party involved in the suit got sick after using any cannabis from LivWell, they both state that they would have thought twice about using LivWell products if they knew Eagle 20 was used as the pesticide. How much damages the plaintiffs are seeking has not yet been disclosed.
LivWell previously admitted to using pesticides and Denver quarantined 60,000 plants because of alleged Eagle 20 use. However, LivWell spoke with Marijuana Business Daily and said they began growing cannabis organically before their product was quarantined. Currently, LivWell has 11 cannabis stores across Colorado—both in recreational and medicinal shops.