CA: Insanely High Percentage of Medical Marijuana Tested Positive for Mold Recently

[Ron Strider]

The marijuana industry in the United States is still in its infancy, and companies are learning how to ensure the industry is both profitable and safe. In California, for instance, there's a lack of regulation and testing of marijuana products grown in the state, and that can result in consumers ingesting things they're not aware of. But according to a new report, Californians may be consuming a lot more than they thought.

After a recent marijuana conference in San Francisco, a Bay Area laboratory found that 80 percent of marijuana produced by California growers tested positive for mold, fungus, bacteria, pesticides and other harmful solvents. A doctor from the lab said it's common for 20 to 30 percent of samples to contain contaminants, but this was by far a larger percentage than expected. Not only was a greater percentage of marijuana contaminated than normal plants, but it was also contaminated at higher concentrations. The marijuana sample tested positive for 1,000 times the level of concentrations of toxic substances than typically found in food.

The lack of testing on marijuana crops is a concerning part of the industry that's slowly being addressed. It's unknown just how bad toxic cannabis can be on a consumer's health. Earlier this year, a California university traced a collection of infections in cancer patients back to fungal-infested medical marijuana, which ultimately led to the death of one of the patients. Another chemical found in the California marijuana was myclobutanil, a chemical which recently caused many Canadian cannabis users to develop various ailments.

As the marijuana industry grows, regulation and oversight will need to increase as well to ensure that cannabis products meet necessary health requirements. Obviously this would be easier if the federal government legalized the drug and the Food and Drug Administration could offer a set of guidelines, but until then states and the industry will need to work together to figure out how to ensure marijuana products are as healthy as possible.

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Full Article: An Insanely High Percentage of Medical Marijuana at a Recent California Conference Tested Positive for Mold
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[TorturedSoul]

Re: CA: Insanely High Percentage of Medical Marijuana Tested Positive for Mold Recent

In California, for instance, there's a lack of regulation and testing of marijuana products grown in the state, and that can result in consumers ingesting things they're not aware of. But according to a new report, Californians may be consuming a lot more than they thought.

After a recent marijuana conference in San Francisco, a Bay Area laboratory found that 80 percent of marijuana produced by California growers tested positive for mold, fungus, bacteria, pesticides and other harmful solvents.

Wow. The most regulation-happy state in the union... does not have sufficient regulation/oversight in its cannabis industry? That paints a scary picture for all the other states.

Once upon a time, I thought that cannabis ought to be completely legal - and completely unregulated. Yeah, lol, I must have been like twelve. Because this:

A doctor from the lab said it's common for 20 to 30 percent of samples to contain contaminants, but this was by far a larger percentage than expected. Not only was a greater percentage of marijuana contaminated than normal plants, but it was also contaminated at higher concentrations. The marijuana sample tested positive for 1,000 times the level of concentrations of toxic substances than typically found in food.

And this:

Earlier this year, a California university traced a collection of infections in cancer patients back to fungal-infested medical marijuana, which ultimately led to the death of one of the patients. Another chemical found in the California marijuana was myclobutanil, a chemical which recently caused many Canadian cannabis users to develop various ailments.

Shows how wrong I was. I recently read a comment in another thread about governments "protecting us from ourselves." And while I generally agree with the sentiment of the poster in this regard... We do not live in a pure capitalism environment. Therefore, occasionally, we do seem to have a need for such protection. (In a pure capitalist society, of course, the sellers of such unhealthy products would soon go out of business and starve to death - or just end up getting shot, lol - but in a hybrid welfare/corporate nation such as we live in, such things seem unlikely.)

The short-term effect of the above is obvious - people get sick. The long-term ramifications are, perhaps, less obvious - at least where pesticides on/in products are concerned. It has been a while, back in the 1990s, IIRC, but I once read that every man, woman, and child in this country had a "scientifically measurable amount" of DDT. And DDT has been banned in the United States since 1972. Some things tend to stick around :icon_roll ....

 

[Ian Bastage]

Re: CA: Insanely High Percentage of Medical Marijuana Tested Positive for Mold Recent

Pretty shocking news but not surprising as well. Any consumables industry needs a watchdog with the power to enforce minimum quality assurance. Otherwise, the dark side of the free market — greed - runs rampant. I guess the 'pro' forces are staying quiet because they are afraid of a negative overreaction when they are making gains in so many states.