You may have heard that the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution urging local businesses to stop selling rodenticides. (The poisonous chemicals, which are often used in outdoor marijuana grows, have been killing Pacific Fishers and poisoning dozens of other wildlife species locally.)
But did you see this? A man by the name of Hal Ambuter, who represents multinational pharmaceutical company Reckitt Benckiser LLC, makers of d-CON rodent poisons, wrote a letter to the board expressing his deep, heartfelt and not-at-all self-serving concerns about the resolution.
Out of the pristine goodness of his heart, Mr. Ambuter urged the board to “consider the serious unintended consequences” of discouraging sales of the poisons his company makes. This foolish resolution, he writes, “could have a profound impact on Humboldt County consumers by forcing them to choose from inferior, potentially more expensive, and possibly more dangerous pest management approaches.”
The Board of Supervisors and various environmental groups have pointed out that a good way to keep rodents off of your marijuana stalks is to put a bowl of fresh water out, since that’s what the rodents are looking for. But as we all know, bowls of water are incredibly dangerous and prohibitively expensive. How many kids must drown in outdoor water bowls before we say “enough”? It’s far safer to keep using rodenticides, which only poison about 17,000 kids per year, according to a letter sent to Mr. Ambuter last year by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA, in its shortsightedness, has moved to ban 12 d-CON mouse and rat control products because they fail to comply with safety measures aimed at protecting children, pets and wildlife. Meanwhile bowls of fresh water (sometimes known as “aquatic death traps”) go completely unregulated.
Cynics might suspect that Mr. Ambuter only cares about money, since he referred to us as “consumers.” But that’s ridiculous. Certainly if he cared about the profits of his employer (which reached more than $10 billion last year) he would have mentioned it in his letter.
Let us not make the mistake of ignoring the altruistic warnings of Mr. Ambuter, who has been accused by naysayers of “scare mongering,” “obfuscation,” “false heroics” and spreading “misinformation.” Alas, such is the plight of the truth-teller. Thank you, Mr. Ambuter, for looking out for us vulnerable consumers.
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This article appears in The Disappearing Railroad Blues.
“Ambuter”? Sounds like an ingredient in rat poison.
Did anyone really think that Reckitt Benckiser would want to give up any of their 10 Billion dollars in profits without a fight? BTW, the wood rats which pot growers fear at this time of the year when young plants are starting, are herbivores and are not looking for water, but they do love some tender leafy greens. Traps, not poisons are super effective and no one dies except the unfortunate rat who lives next to the garden. Toss the dead wood rat out into the bush because Nature wastes nothing and it will feed predators and scavengers.
Actually they are a $37.5 billion dollar multi-national corporation. (from Raptors Are The Solution)
It would seem that a ban would have been a better opinion. You can ban Raw Milk sales in Humboldt County but only “urge” people and businesses “not” to sell or purchase products that contain Rodenticides. Now you have created another black market/underground product, with no teeth, enforcement or accountability. So much for thinking outside the box and doing something about it. What a waist of time and money.
I agree Ed. A ban would have been better.
However, the way the pesticide laws are written under FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act) if a pesticide is registered with the EPA, local governments and municipalities are powerless to ban it! Federal law trumps all. Resolutions, which are voluntary is the only avenue that can be pursued legally. That along with education.
FIFRA is the reason it is so difficult to get a product off the market once declared dangerous. The laws that govern the registration and cancellation of pesticides were written by the pesticide lobby.
Reads like this Ambuter guy got high on his own d-con crack
Dollars speak louder than words. Stop shopping at places that sell rodenticides and it’ll disappear from the shelves pretty quick.
It is really important to protect the young children at large marijuana grows….by making sure there are no containers of standing water deeper than 5″, so they don’t drown accidentally.
Thank you for your public service, good sir. The aquatically-unskilled toddler marijuana farmers of Humboldt extend our deepest gratitude. You are growing a new generation of loyal D-con customers, and as soon as my mom unstraps this g-damn carseat, I’m going to go buy a bunch of your fine products to protect my OG clones!