Recent tests have uncovered alarming levels of dangerous moulds, which can sicken or kill, in cannabis products, an investigation has revealed.
The analysis, which analyzed more than two million mold test results in nine states, suggests that contaminated samples are being authorized for sale and that the tracking system currently in use is inadequate.
As marijuana sales have increased in states where the drug has been legalized, the dark side of the industry is beginning to emerge.
Because the humid growing conditions of marijuana make the plant susceptible to developing potentially deadly molds.States where the drug is legal require testing for dangerous contaminants.
However, due to unreliable monitoring, laboratories in many states appear to be underestimating contaminant concentrations and allegedly selling the contaminated product anyway, according to the Wall Street Journal, which conducted the investigation.
Little research has been done on growing marijuana, which also means that growers lack an accurate model for determining the “safe” limit of mold content.
Recent state-mandated testing has uncovered alarming levels of dangerous molds in cannabis.
Mold samples extracted from marijuana plants. The Petri dishes on the left show evidence of Fusarium, a large genus of filamentous fungi linked to the cannabis plant, as well as the toxins they produce.
The existing regulation, set at just 10,000 “colony-forming units” per gram, was modeled using other crops.
“Growers, labs and regulators appear to be exposing people who use legal marijuana to dangerous contaminants,” Tess Eidem, senior research associate in the Environmental Engineering Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told the conference. Wall Street Journal.
“There’s no way to know what happens when you have a system that doesn’t follow the rules,” Eidem added.
“We’re doing a big experiment without enough knowledge,” said David Miller, a professor who studies fungal toxins at Carleton University in Canada.
“Discrepancies between what companies report on packaging and the contents of those products are an example of inaccuracy and fraud in the cannabis testing market,” the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine said in a September report.
Because marijuana’s humid growing conditions make the plant susceptible to developing potentially deadly molds, states where the drug is legalized require testing.
Marijuana users are almost four times more likely than non-users to become infected with fungi, as potentially toxic molds are known to cause infections, dangerous immune responses, and even death. Pictured: A man exhales smoke while legally smoking marijuana with a vaporizer
Molds such as Aspergillus and Fusarium have been linked to the cannabis plant, as well as the toxins they produce. When ingested, these mushrooms can pose serious health risks, especially for those with weakened immune systems.
Marijuana users are almost four times more likely than non-users to become infected with fungi, as potentially toxic molds are known to cause infections, dangerous immune responses, and even death.