| NetHorse |
01-13-2010 11:35 PM |
I just googled this for you damn potheads.
Quote:
How bad is bad?
Here we look at how bad an infection can get from mold, and the most probable results are.
First, the "bad" part in molds are something called mycotoxins, and seem to be (usually) only bad if someone is exposed to them a lot over long periods of time. It seems most molds contain mycotoxins, so there's not much chance in avoiding them. *8.
Most effects seem to be allergic reactions or asthma, which usually occur "in sensitive individuals. About 15 million Americans are allergic to mold. The most common reactions are flu-like symptoms and asthma. Those with chronic lung or immune problems, are at risk for more serious reactions like fever, lung infections and a pneumonia-like illness." *8. Most actual sicknesses (like the one from aspergillus), bronchitus, mold "growing" in your lungs, is not a problem for healthy individuals and is not a prominent factor in the most common molds.
Surprisingly most research indicates that if a strain is particularly bad, it is MUCH worse when digested than when inhaled. Thus, with certain strains it's actually better to smoke the weed than to cook it, as some (notice, it's not all) strains will not die when exposed to extremely high temperatures. Anaerobic Bacteria for example is one of these, while very harmful if inhaled, it is FAR more devestating when ingested.
Molds:
Here we answer, what are the most common molds and how bad are they?
The only "deadly" mold seems to be one named Stachybotrys, and it is rather rare. So it's not a general concern (as in, I wouldn't worry if you have this one, you most likely don't). As well it seems more deadly (or perhaps higher infection rate) to infants and elder people, or people with generally bad immune systems.
The most common mold is Aspergillus, and it occurs literally everywhere, from the soil to the trees.. you have definitely inhaled it before if you've ever been outside, and it is not a problem for people with regular immune systems. The problem with this mold arises with people with extremely low immune systems (AIDS, marrow transplants, etc..), where it may cause problems. To further emphasize this point, "Aspergillus is a group of moulds which is found everywhere world-wide, especially in the autumn and winter in the Northern hemisphere. Only a few of these moulds can cause illness in humans and animals. Most people are naturally immune and do not develop disease caused by Aspergillus. However, when disease does occur, it takes several forms." *6. As well, "The simplest may be contaminating pot with fungi like Aspergillosis, which is still toxic when smoked. Healthy people can inhale the spores and not get sick, but medical marijuana users can contract skin disorders, pneumonia and other pulmonary infections, some of them fatal." *4. Basically, I'd say that this mold, although bad, is not really a concern. Most healthy people should have no problem with it.
Next is Anaerobic Bacteria, which only grows in dark and air tight (ie. sealed jar) situations.. Anaerobic specifically means that it does not require oxygen to grow. This one is easy to identify (brown & slimey, plus you had your stash air tight), and is rather bad. That is to say, it's easy to avoid, and thus you should never run into it, but if you do it's best to just throw it out. The most common of these is a mold known as Clostridium botulinum, and everything you could want to know about it is here: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap2.html.
Aspergillosis is a fungal infection that usually affects the lungs, but can also settle in the ear canal or the sinuses. Sometimes the infection causes no symptoms and is discovered only with a chest x-ray. But the disease can cause alarming symptoms such as coughing up blood, fever, chest pain and difficulty breathing. The fungus that causes the disease is very common and is associated with decaying organic matter - it is found in compost heaps, air vents and airborne dust; it has even been isolated in swimming pools and saunas - but it doesn't usually affect healthy people. You are more vulnerable to aspergillosis if you have a weakened immune system. Infections can be quite serious and hard to treat, even fatal. However, if the infection is localized to a single spot in the lung, it usually progresses slowly. Because pulmonary aspergillosis can be a very serious infection, you should be treated by a pulmonologist, a doctor who specializes in lung diseases.
Penicillium is another common one. From what I've read, it seems that it is a concern. It's usually rather sickning, and is most common from refridgerating (seems to prefer cold), but i'll get into that later. Your only real worry here is from contamination from putting something with the weed that can get Penicillium (ie. for re-hydration purposes), as we can see here: "Adding peels to pot imparts a "pleasant bouquet" (Frank & Rosenthal). In my case, the peel imparted a nidus of infection. _P italicum_, the "blue citrus mold," is notorious for its ability to spread by contact (i.e., "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch")." *2.
The last one i'll talk about is the one that people often cite reference to when burying their weed to "increase the potency". To describe this more specifically: "More recently, Margolis & Clorfene describe a mold that _increases_ potency in marijuana. Their "black weblike fungus" sounds like an _Aspergillus_ species" *2. This is kind of interesting, in that people will bury their weed in hopes of securing this specific one to increase potency.. but in my opinion it's not worth it, as it seems other strains come up a lot more often and just ruin the entire stash.
Identification:
How do you identify if you have a mold or not? I'll try to outline the main ways..
It seems that "Infested marijuana often darkens in color and becomes crumbly. Anaerobic bacteria turn marijuana into brown slime. Marijuana undergoing rapid decay may feel warm to touch. ... Tufts of fungi are often visible in mold material. In marijuana stored in darkness, strands look white to light grey. Exposed to light, storage molds spawn millions of colored spores in velvet clumps. A slight tap sends these spores into great billowing clouds. Generally, _Rhizopus_ and _Mucor_ produce grey-black spores; _Penicillium_ species are light blue-green; and _Aspergillus_ species are dark green-black." *2, which provides identification for penicillium, aspergillus, rhizopus, mucor, anaerobic, and generally what to look for (colour change, warmth, tufts, spores).
It also seems that it is possible to check for aflatoxins using a black light *2. It seems "Material contaminated with aflatoxin-producing _A. flavus_ will fluoresce to a green hue under ultraviolet light." *2.
Prevention & Ways around:
Fungal pneumonia is caused by overgrowth of the fungi in the lungs. Fungal lung infections are usually seen in those with a poorly functioning immune system, such as those with AIDS, and heavy smoker of tobacco or marijuana. Fungi are plant-like organisms that do not make chlorophyll. Common examples include mushrooms, yeasts, and molds. Fungi are normally present on the skin. Examples of infections that are caused by fungi include histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, cryptococcal pneumonia, coccidioidomycosis, and aspergillosis. Symptoms of a fungal lung infection depend on the underlying cause. Fungal lung infection can cause cough, fatigue, and fever. Other symptoms include joint pains, muscle aches, and loss of appetite. The fungus can spread from the lungs to the skin, where it causes a rash and forms ulcers.
How do we go about preventing these strains from forming on my marijuana, seeing as any mold is unwanted?
First, the "fridging" or "freezing" your pot doesn't seem to hold any merit, as penicillium thrives in these situations *2. As well as these, we know of the "contact" spread of penicillium which was referrenced above in the penicillium section from things which can easily get contaminated by it.
There's no surprise here, the MAJOR factor is (ya, you guessed it) moisture. "Moisture control is the key to mold control. Molds need both food and water to survive; since molds can digest most things, water is the factor that limits mold growth." *3.
So you might be wondering how much moisture is too much, and how dry is too dry?
Well, "Living cannabis plants are about 80% water. Perfectly dried marijuana contains about 10%-15% water or moisture content (MC). Material below 10% MC becomes too brittle and disintegrates. Fungi cannot grow below 15% MC. Unfortunately, many growers market their crop _above_ 15% MC." *2.
For people with Aspergillus infected marijuana, it is recommended that one bakes it for 90 minutes at 400 degrees, as this apparantly does the trick in removing it *7.
There's also been a lot of theories that "using a waterpipe will filter the spores out" or something of that sort. That seems to be untrue however, as "Moody et al. evaluated waterpipes for smoking _Aspergillus_-contaminated marijuana. Unfortunately, they found only a 5% reduction in transmission of fungal spores, and contaminates the pipe." *2.
Conclusions:
It seems that there are quite a few risks with moldy weed, mostly respitory/immune problems. And these are actually rather high in their infection rates, and the most common are the permant allergy/asthma problems. . As well, the strains most probable to develop on marijuana don't seem to be of particular deadliness, sometimes, the more rare ones on the other hand do pose some very serious risks.
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