White Paper: Pesticide Detection and Identification at Illegal Marijuana Grows

With pesticides posing an imminent danger for wildlife in the area, responding law enforcement also find themselves potentially exposed to the hazardous chemicals

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Despite the global trend of marijuana legalization, the illegal marijuana market continues to thrive, with criminal operations becoming more efficient. Many illegal growers are setting up “trespass grows” on public lands, bypassing regulations that ensure consumer safety and causing severe environmental damage. These grow operations often involve the use of toxic cannabis pesticides that harm wildlife, contaminate water supplies, and pose health risks to law enforcement and cleanup workers. In the U.S., the Forest Service has dismantled over 1,000 grow sites between 2017 and 2020, finding significant amounts of trash, hazardous chemicals, and illegal pesticides. Traditional detection methods for these chemicals, like colorimetric tests or lab-based mass spectrometry, are either imprecise or slow. To address this, the MX908 handheld mass spectrometer was developed, allowing for rapid and accurate identification of cannabis pesticides at illegal grow sites, enabling safer and more efficient cleanup operations.