Recently there’s been some patients complaining on social media about mold in the Medical Cannabis and while this might sound like something hard believe, it is more common than you think.
Despite growers and MMTC’s trying to avoid this issue by doing mostly indoor crops, keeping their humidity and nutrients at the perfect ratio, it happens. It happens in Colorado, California, Oregon, and of course here in Florida. Most likely each and every dispensary here in Florida has gone through it at some point so it’s not just isolated to one or two of them but, how they handle that problem is what sets them apart.
During the growth process, the MMTC’s might realize it ahead of releasing that batch and not sell it to patients. You would hope that that’s the case since we are dealing with sick patients, some of them so sick that their immune system couldn’t handle a fungal infection. This is why 3rd party testing is a necessary step and recently became mandated here in Florida.
If they don’t see that it is already colonized by mold, don’t test it, the product will get to the patient, and it will be up to the patient to identify the issue so always pay close attention to your buds and if you see anything abnormal don’t use it, the combustion process of smoking it will not kill the spores nor turning that weed into edibles. Contact the dispensary immediately, they will take it back, give you a different product or a refund and sometimes give you an extra discount for the inconvenience. What you don’t want to do is use the moldy product or be afraid to return it. It is extremely important that the dispensary is made aware of the issue so they can take the necessary steps, remove that batch, and notify patients.
How can I tell if your medicine is Moldy?
You can pretty much tell if there are Mold issues just by looking at it. Especially if you have a 10x magnifying glass and a black light. Mold spores will have a distinctive green hue when put under a blacklight.
- smells moldy, urine-ish, like ammonia
- white, grayish, dark green or black spots
- black light test – mold glows green
In reality, we come in contact we fungal spores every day and inhale many different types but it’s the same inhaling hundreds of thousands of spores at the same time. If you think you think you smoked weed that had mold don’t panic, most patients will be able to handle it without issues but some can get sick and some really sick.
Symptoms may include:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
- Fever (in rare cases)
- Stuffiness
- Runny nose
- Diarrhea
- Reduced ability to smell
- Weight loss
- Headache
If you have used contaminated weed and have these symptoms, contact your physician.
You can also create a formal complaint with the Florida Department of Health using the link below.
Have you had any issues with Mold in your medicine? What happened with it, returned without issues? Comment below.
5 Responses
I may have gotten some molded flower about 2 wks ago because I was coughing alot. And that has never happened before.
You didn’t notice anything about the buds when grinding? Or was it ground? No odors? Anything look strange? Just curious about the “might have” part of the post.
I’ve noticed alot of mold.When I grew my own. The problem is with over watering. I was able
to decrease watering. Do not spray water onto the plants. That’s the problem. Only water the roots by pouring the water into the soil. Let the roots do there job.Spraying the plant causes mold because the flowers absorb moisture into the inside of the buds causing mold. I can’t emphasize enough not to spray water on the plant!Show some love to your plants and water the roots only!
they won’t take it back at some places. I see it so frequently here
I purchased some yesterday at Sunnyside Dispensary in Orlando, it was my first time visiting this company. I could taste it when I smoked it and the taste lingered. I tried to take it back but the manager Savannah looked at it and said, “I don’t see any mold” They would not refund me or make an exchange. She didn’t even care that she is making patients sick.