Potentially fatal levels of toxic chemical pesticides and fertilizers were found in several strains of cannabis grown by alleged illicit grow houses that have received legal caregiver licenses.
The tainted cannabis flower is being shopped in bulk to legal medical dispensaries by suspected grow house owners, officials and dispensary workers say.
The Office of Cannabis Policy confirmed giving medical marijuana caregiver licenses to several suspected grow houses. Agency records indicate there may be more than 120 licensed grow houses statewide.
Clandestine, illegal cannabis grow houses have become a pervasive problem in rural Maine, with authorities estimating between 100 to 700 single-family homes have been gutted and converted into industrial-scale marijuana farms operated by Chinese transnational criminal groups. About 50 such operations have been raided so far this year.
Read more at centralmaine.com