Backpack Boys, Stiiizy And Many Others Busted For Pesticides
Contaminated vapes were being sold by Backpack Boys, Stiiizy, West Coast Coast Cure, Flavorade, and MANY more. (photo credit: LA Times)
If you think legal cannabis means you're safe from dangerous chemicals and pesticides, think again! A new investigation reveals that shocking levels of pesticides are present in legal products from big brands like Backpack Boys, Stiiizy, and many others. The findings raise serious concerns about the safety of products in the legal market.
I didn’t know it was this bad
For a while now, I've been aware of pesticides slipping through the cracks of legal cannabis testing, but I didn't realize it was ever this bad. The LA Times recently published an investigation with WeedWeek.com that tested products from several major cannabis brands and the results were horrible.
Out of 42 products tested, 25 had pesticide levels above the state’s legal limits or higher than the federal standards for tobacco.
More than half of the legal products tested were found to have too many pesticides to be considered safe! But it gets worse: 5 of the brands tested had pesticide levels so high that the EPA says they could cause harm from just one exposure. Yeah, just one session could do some real damage.
The LAme Times
The LA Times articles are now mostly all behind a pay-wall (which is really weak), but I guess they care more about that subscription money than keeping people safe.
The Dangers of These Pesticides
Some of the chemicals found can cause minor problems like irritation, headaches, or cramps. But others are much more serious, tied to cancer, thyroid disease, liver failure, and even genetic or neurological damage.
One product alone contained 24 different pesticides!
The Worst Brands: Backpack Boys and West Coast Cure
The investigation named two major brands: Backpack Boys and West Coast Cure. These brands had some of the worst results in the testing. Backpack Boys products were the biggest offenders, with vapes containing more than 2,000x the legal pesticide levels.
The chemicals found in their products include some that aren’t even supposed to be on cannabis plants at all, like Pymetrozine, which is banned in several countries because it’s a known carcinogen and can cause reproductive issues. One product from Stiiizy, their Pink Acai vape, had 60x the maximum allowed amount of Pymetrozine (that is allowed to be in cigarettes).
And while it might be tempting to think this is a problem only for California, that’s not the case. These same issues are showing up across the country. Something very similar was just exposed in New Mexico as well.
Backpack Bullshit
Some Backpack Boys products had more than 2,000x the legal pesticide levels, and the owner doesn’t seem to care at all.
california sucks at taking action
One of the biggest problems here is that even when the state is made aware of these contaminated products, they aren’t acting quickly enough. The LA Times revealed that the state took 7 months to issue a recall on West Coast Cure’s contaminated “Orange Cookies” vape, but that’s just one product.
The labs involved said that “the results suggest some level of contamination in more than 250,000 Vapes and pre-rolled joints on store shelves” - and that is just in California.
coward brands deny responsibility
One of the most shocking parts of this whole situation is how the brands involved are responding. Instead of acknowledging the dangers and taking steps to fix the problem, many are just denying responsibility altogether. Let's take a look at some of their stupid statements.
West Coast Cure said:
“We’ve invested millions of dollars to build our business in compliance with California’s laws and regulations. We firmly advocate for the stringent testing mandated by the state to guarantee the safety and excellence of our products.”
Logan Wasserman, CEO of West Coast Cure's parent company, Shield Management Group, also claimed that the responsibility for ensuring product safety lies with the labs that declared his vapes pesticide-free.
Stiiizy, another brand mentioned in the investigation, had this to say:
“We adhere to all standards and limits set by the State of California, which has some of the strictest testing requirements and pesticide limits in the country,” said Tak Sato, President of the company behind Stiiizy products.
These statements show a clear pattern—these brands are hiding behind the state’s outdated testing rules instead of taking real action. They’re saying that since the state gave their products the green light, they aren’t technically doing anything wrong. But that completely ignores the fact that the state’s testing doesn’t catch many of the dangerous chemicals found in these products.
Wackpack Boys
Backpack Boys was the star of this story, but not in a good way.
backpack boys owner lies about carts
Backpack Boys, the worst offender in this investigation, took it a step further. Owner and former MMA fighter, Juan Quesada posted a video where he denied that the contaminated carts tested by WeedWeek and the LA Times were even real. He claimed they were testing black market products, not the legitimate ones sold in licensed dispensaries.
But that’s just not true. The journalist who led the investigation, Alex Halperin from WeedWeek, personally confirmed to me that he bought several Backpack Boys products from a licensed BPB-branded dispensary in Long Beach, and even received certificates of analysis from a licensed lab showing the products met California standards.
This is the message I got from Alex. Trust who you want, but I know who I believe...
These brands aren't accepting responsibility, even after being caught red-handed. Instead of addressing the contamination issue, they’re pointing fingers, which raises even more concerns about how much they actually care about the safety of their customers.
More Than Just California’s Problem
As I mentioned earlier, this problem isn’t limited to California. In New Mexico, a contaminated batch of flower from Maggie’s Farm was recently recalled after it was found to contain illegal levels of a pesticide called pyrethrins. This contaminated flower made its way to over 30 dispensaries across the state, and it took months for regulators to act. This is the second recall in New Mexico this year, showing that testing failures are a nationwide issue.
Your Favorite brands Aren't Necessarily Safe
Just because your favorite brand or product wasn’t mentioned in this investigation doesn’t mean it’s safe. Many products from popular brands weren’t tested in this report, and with outdated state testing protocols, it’s possible they could be contaminated too. And if you are buying products from an online vendor that doesn’t follow any testing requirements, you are at even more risk. Always be cautious and do your research when buying cannabis products.
So, What Can You Do?
These investigations are shedding light on a problem that’s been lurking in the legal cannabis industry for too long. While we wait for better regulations and stricter enforcement, there are things you can do to protect yourself.
Grow your own cannabis if you can. It’s the only way to know exactly what’s going into your plants.
Make sure the products you buy have current testing showing they are free of contaminants and pesticides.
Support brands that have transparent testing practices and use independent labs to verify their products.
Join my mailing list for updates, including easy-to-understand breakdowns of these kinds of stories.
At the end of the day, these findings are scary, but they’re also a step toward improving the industry. Now that these issues are coming to light, we can push for changes that will keep us all safer. Stay informed and stay cautious - because even the brands you trust the most could be hiding dangerous chemicals in plain sight.
Watch my Youtube video below if you want to hear more about this - including a loophole I see here in Colorado’s legal cannabis industry where plants aren’t tested for pesticides AT ALL.
Watch my video about this for more
