Mouldy Weed can kill you

Gryphonn

Well-Known Member
Hi all
Rather than rewrite everything on my blog post, I'll copy/paste the relevant bits here. If you want to read the full post, head over to my blog.
This has also been posted in the Medical Marijuana forum.

The original post is here.

This is a warning for cannabis users and growers of the dangers of burying, or incorrectly drying/curing of your buds. This post is not intended to teach you the details of how to dry or cure, it'll just point out the fungi that can grow on badly processed marijuana and the dangers of these fungal growths, especially Aspergillus. It will also offer advice on how to prevent your weed becoming a host for these nasty fungi.

Most people will have heard stories about buying moldy weed, or buried weed that is supposed to be wicked smoke. Anecdotal evidence suggests there is only one fungus that will make you higher when it grows on weed. Unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases, the fungus that does grow on badly cured or stored weed can not only ruin your stash or make you sick, but in some cases, it can kill you.

The reason I'm making this post is because many people use cannabis to treat a variety of diseases that lower the bodies immune systems, which makes them more vulnerable to infections from these fungi.


The Dangers of Aspergillus

Aspergillus fungus is found almost everywhere; compost, soil, other plants etc. In normal circumstances, the body can compete with this fungus and people suffer no ill effects. However, if you are susceptible to, or suffer from resperatory conditions such as asthma, or you have a disease that lowers you bodies immunity like Hepatitus or HIV, the risks of contracting an Aspergoillosis affliction increase dramatically.

Cases have been reported of deaths and near deaths of people who have smoked aspergillus contaminated cannabis.

The Lycaeum website has an excellent article that goes into more detail and I recommend you check it out.

One of the reasons why Timothy Garon has had problems obtaining a Liver transplant is due to many hospitals rejecting patients based on their past drug use. Timothy was prescribed Marijuana by his GP, but it still made no difference to the advisory boards of two hospitals. One of the reasons for the rejection was:
Many doctors agree that using marijuana — smoking it, especially — is out of the question post-transplant.
The drugs patients take to help their bodies accept a new organ increase the risk of aspergillosis, a frequently fatal infection caused by a common mold found in marijuana and tobacco.
More information on Aspergillus can found at The Aspergillus/Aspergillosis web site.

I have only covered one dangerous fungus that can found on badly cured cannabis. There are many more. The sites below can offer more information on both the fungi that attacks cannabis, and more detailed information about successful drying and curing...

A Pro medical cannabis submission to the NSW Govt.

Drying Marijuana Plants
 

BlessAmerica

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info. Many people need to read this. I had a funky blue mold grow on some bud once, and was told its okay. It wasn't, nothing too severe, but I did have some breathing issues days after. Again thanks for informing people!
 

Gryphonn

Well-Known Member
Thanks BlessAmerica. Yeah, too many people are told that mouldy weed is 'killer weeed'. I guess they're right in one way, but not the way 'killer weeed' usually means.
I hope people get to read it.
 

Seamaiden

Well-Known Member
Gryphonn, excellent information! May I request that you add some tags?
-- immune system compromised poor lowered response -- these are the ones that I think may help folks with searching.
 

pandabear

Well-Known Member
yea the shits nasty, i find a lot of the shwag floatin around taste so mouldy, if it taste like an old abondoned house, dont smoke it:spew:
 

raeman1990

Well-Known Member
this is good to know, i have been told taht mold makes the weed stronger... i never believed it but one of my friends swore by it....

fuck that shit..... i aint smokin to mold
 

BlessAmerica

Well-Known Member
Yeah the person who told me said exactly that "it makes it stronger." And this guy has been smoking since the '70s. I look at it like this, do you eat moldy bread? Then don't smoke moldy weed.
 

Argentum

Active Member
Perhaps you could just as easily have some penicillin and cure the chlamydia the cheap hooker who sold you the moldy bud gave you?
 

DesertSativa

Well-Known Member
in 2006 there were two or so reported deaths from Marijuana, both happened to be in Detroit. The DEA and media jumped on it that grass is bad and it is so strong now-a-days, and that bull shit but the truth was it was super moldy mexi-brick. That part didn't make it to the news.
 

Gryphonn

Well-Known Member
in 2006 there were two or so reported deaths from Marijuana, both happened to be in Detroit. The DEA and media jumped on it that grass is bad and it is so strong now-a-days, and that bull shit but the truth was it was super moldy mexi-brick. That part didn't make it to the news.
Ahh, there you go. I'll have to hunt down an article somewhere. I did a post about what it would take to OD on weed on my blog. A reference to mouldy weed deaths would be cool.
 

Argentum

Active Member
If it came straight from the media and you believe it...I'd check your sources. Death by aspergillus is not and should not be categorized as a death from marijuana. Am I correct?
 

Gryphonn

Well-Known Member
If it came straight from the media and you believe it...I'd check your sources. Death by aspergillus is not and should not be categorized as a death from marijuana. Am I correct?
Yep, you are correct. The death would be attributed to Aspergillus fungus, not the cannabis. However, knowing the way the anti-pot czars and the anti-pot media are, they would jump on the chance to attribute it directly to the weed and not the mold, giving them another poor excuse to perpetuate their 'marijuana kills' propaganda.

Another analogy would be, if you ate fried rice contaminated with bacteria and died, it wouldn't have been the rice that killed you.
 

tommo9090

Well-Known Member
this is good to know, i have been told taht mold makes the weed stronger... i never believed it but one of my friends swore by it....

fuck that shit..... i aint smokin to mold
no mould wrecks it.
not just the flavour, but depletes its potency if anything.
 

AlphaNoN

Well-Known Member
I think "can kill you" is a little alarmist, Aspergillus might cause your death if you were really young, really old, had a pre-existing respiratory condition, and lived in a house full of it for extended periods of time. Burning it would destroy most spore/fruiting bodies before they ever reached your lungs.

Not saying you should smoke moldy pot, but the dangers are greatly exaggerated. We live in a sea of mold, it's in the air we breath every day, and nearly every home has at least a small amount.

Found this chart showing the ppb (1ppm = 1000ppb) of the mycotoxin found in the dangerous varieties of aspergillus (aflatoxin) needed to be unsafe.

Aflatoxin – 20 ppb (Upper limit)
Marginally safe
1-15 ppb
Potentially unsafe
16-20 ppb
High levels/unsafe
20 ppb or more
 
Smoking moldy weed can kill you, and so can riding the Airbus to France. I have been researching this and I am finding that a lot of people are claiming smoking moldy week will kill you, as if there is some high chance it will. Compounding this is a lack of references or citations of medical articles, journals and reports to proove this.

It seems like a lot of heresy is going around, with no facts to back this.

The CDC states "A link between other adverse health effects, such as acute idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage among infants, memory loss, or lethargy, and molds, including the mold Stachybotrys chartarum (Stachybotrys atra), has not been proven. http://www.cdc.gov/MOLD/dampness_facts.htm

A study was done on cigarettes where they found these deadly molds in tobaccco and NONE in marijuanna! In fact in tests done, no harful molds were found in pot!
http://no-smoking.org/sept00/09-22-00-1.html

I'm not saying to go smoke moldy weed. I am also not suggesting you go board an Airbus either. Or smoke a nasty cigarette loaded with deadly chemicals and harmful molds right out of the factory. I think the people who are posting that moldy weed will kill you are going a bit far, and need to site where they get this info.

I would suggest for anyone worried about this subject to talk to a doctor before talking to an uneducated stoner. I should know, I am of the latter and it took a me a while to understand this issue. Just cuz someone told you it will kill you doens't mean squat. Site your references if you are going to make wild claims!
 
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