Unsafe pesticides found in Denver dispensary sales
- State tests found marijuana sold at one or more Denver dispensaries was flagged for unsafe pesticide residues. - The state reported the contamination and listed affected products and retailers in a public advisory. - Consumers are urged to check purchase records and return flagged products; regulators say investigations continue (patch.com).
Colorado regulators warned on April 14 that marijuana flower sold by Levels IV Inc. was contaminated with pesticides above state action limits. (med.colorado.gov) The Colorado Department of Revenue and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued the advisory for Levels IV’s flower, including bud, shake and trim. The state said consumers should not use affected products and should return them to the store or dispose of them. (med.colorado.gov) Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division posts these notices as Health and Safety Advisories when it finds contaminants in regulated marijuana or other risks to consumers. Stores are also asked to print and display an advisory flyer with a QR code at the point of sale. (med.colorado.gov) In Colorado’s system, pesticide findings are measured against action limits in Marijuana Rule 4-215. If a batch tests above those limits, regulators can flag the tested batch and related batches made from the same inputs as potentially contaminated. (med.colorado.gov; med.colorado.gov) The April 14 notice landed in a year that has already brought a string of marijuana safety advisories in Colorado. The Marijuana Enforcement Division’s public list shows 13 advisories dated from January 8 through April 14, 2026, including notices involving Higher Grade, High Octane, Timberline Extracts and Juicy Concentrates. (med.colorado.gov) Colorado tightened and revised its marijuana rules in a formal rulemaking process that produced a new official rule set effective January 5, 2026. The division also issued Industry Bulletin 26:01 on January 23, 2026, focused on pesticide testing compliance. (med.colorado.gov; med.colorado.gov) The state’s marijuana dashboard draws from the METRC inventory tracking system and other public data, which is how regulators trace products from cultivation through retail sale. That tracking is what lets advisories identify specific businesses, license numbers and batches instead of issuing a broad market-wide warning. (med.colorado.gov) A January 31, 2025 advisory shows how specific those notices can get. In that case, Colorado named chlorfenapyr as the pesticide, listed three production batches, gave a sales window from November 15 to December 4, 2024, and identified two Levels stores in Denver and Lakewood that sold the concentrate. (med.colorado.gov) Colorado Public Radio reported in January 2024 that the Marijuana Enforcement Division issued 17 health and safety advisories in 2023, up from three in 2019. Industry groups told CPR that contamination thresholds were too low, while regulators said the risks from contaminants such as fungus and pesticides outweighed the burden on growers and stores. (cpr.org) For buyers, the practical step is to check the product label and any purchase records against the state advisory, then stop using any matching product. Colorado also asks anyone who had an adverse reaction to file a Marijuana Enforcement Division reporting form so investigators can follow up. (med.colorado.gov; med.colorado.gov)
