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Colorado Study Shows Need For Regulation and Marijuana Testing

marijuana mold spores

As the election season continues we are pretty much ensured that the political conversation will remain within the narrow scope of only a handful of issues being discussed until January.  While healthcare will be part of the next two months, it will only likely find its way in the campaign through the lens of Obamacare vs. Romneycare.

For many patients who only find relief with marijuana, this will be yet another election where their concerns will not be addressed.  Ignoring and tolerating medical marijuana to some extent is no longer going to be acceptable.  Medication needs to be safe and with a far less rate of addiction and side effects in comparison to opiates and other medication, cannabis already satisfies much of the criteria for useful medicine.  However, with it’s legal status constantly in limbo, cannabis has suffered from a lack of regulation and required testing as many elected officials hope that 75% of the country soon changes its mind and stops supporting medical marijuana.  That seems highly unlikely and our elected officials have chosen to ignore the safety of Americans in favor of outdated talking points and rhetoric.  Simply put, marijuana is here to stay, and providing safe medicine must be a concern.

Shedding more light on the problem is a recent study conducted in Colorado.  Dr. John Martyny of the National Jewish Health studied the findings from 30 grow operations in the Larimer and Denver areas.  The research indicated that certain grows had mold levels about 100 times higher than what is considered safe.  In some growing operations, the mold levels were too high to for their instruments to properly measure.  Dr. Martyny said “These are extremely high levels that we would consider dangerous.”  Fortunately, none of the growing operations studied were legal, giving at least some hope that Colorado medical marijuana patients are not breathing in high levels of mold.

However, there is evidence that even legal growers are not taking the proper precautions in preventing high levels of mold.  The Werc Shop also finds similar problems when conducting laboratory analysis, but unlike Dr. Martyny they DO test cannabis from legal dispensaries.  In a recent conversation with marijuana.net, Dr. Jeffrey C. Raber of the Los Angeles area lab said “We have had numerous secret shoppers find instances of mold and bacteria present at unacceptable, sometimes alarmingly high levels.”  The Werc Shop is one of the most well regarded testing laboratories and was responsible for much of the screening for the 2012 High Times Los Angeles Cannabis Cup.

Research shows that we may only be hitting the tip of the iceberg in regards to just how much potential medical marijuana holds.  However, as with any consumable product, improper testing and screening invites devastating side effects.  The high levels of mold found by both Dr. Martyny and Dr. Raber only highlight the need for regulation and testing.  The products created by large Pharmaceutical companies have to abide by FDA standards and a lack of regulation would not be accepted even for over the counter medicines.  As the national campaigns ignores this problem, it is up to patients and activists to demand for regulation, testing, and safety.

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