sanatizing cannabis at harvest.

[Jhhnn]

I'd be curious as well, but from a point of self-preservation rather than that of emulation....

just be careful that what may become "industry standard" does not neccessarily become what people consider to be "a good way to do it".

my point is that IF herb NEEDS irradiating (or the like), it probably should not be smoked or extracted from at all.

I think it depends on where the line is drawn. What seems fine to you or me may or may not pass muster when subjected to rigorous standards & scientific analysis. If limits are set low enough, it'll all have to be treated one way or another. And, let's face it, we've both read here accounts of people salvaging what they can from a moldy grow when the truth is that it's probably all moldy- some areas are merely not as advanced & undetectable to the human eye.

I also think that as legalization progresses that both providers & regulators will want to find ways to assure customers that the product is healthful. So they'll have it tested for a variety of issues, and may well heat treat all of it so that the issue of mold spores simply disappears entirely. The public is already leery of irradiated food whether that's rational or not, so I think heat treatment will be the standard provided it does not interfere with other valuable qualities that buyers appreciate.

And why not? We'll know for sure that there are no living mold spores, whether the product had significant numbers before treatment or not. Yeh, sure, I trust my own stuff, but OTOH I don't have more than my eye to tell me that I can.

 

[wordtree]

heat treatment is a terrible idea. quite a few terpenes start evaporating at very low temperatures...
as far as spores go-- if there are spores on your herb, it's already too late. sure, there are spores everywhere in the air in mass quantities but remember that spores are the rough equivalent of a 'seed' (comparing plant function to fungi here). by and large its not the spores themselves which are toxic, but the toxins/exuded metabolites produced by the fungi which has already colonized a substrate. (note--yes, some fungi can germinate spores in in body as well but how can this process be relative-ized or regulated when most people live in quite moldy houses anyways)
do you know how much aflatoxin is 'allowed' in your food supply by regulatory agencies? pretty much all grain crops (especially that which is meant for the feeding of suffering cattle intended to feed the carnivores of this planet; this creates issues of increased bioaccumulation and hidden chains of chronic disease) have a heavy toxic load. peanuts as well especially.
just saying

 

[Mate Dave]

Sanitising before planting, then keep the grow clean will be all that is needed.

 

[Jhhnn]

heat treatment is a terrible idea. quite a few terpenes start evaporating at very low temperatures...
as far as spores go-- if there are spores on your herb, it's already too late. sure, there are spores everywhere in the air in mass quantities but remember that spores are the rough equivalent of a 'seed' (comparing plant function to fungi here). by and large its not the spores themselves which are toxic, but the toxins/exuded metabolites produced by the fungi which has already colonized a substrate. (note--yes, some fungi can germinate spores in in body as well but how can this process be relative-ized or regulated when most people live in quite moldy houses anyways)
do you know how much aflatoxin is 'allowed' in your food supply by regulatory agencies? pretty much all grain crops (especially that which is meant for the feeding of suffering cattle intended to feed the carnivores of this planet; this creates issues of increased bioaccumulation and hidden chains of chronic disease) have a heavy toxic load. peanuts as well especially.
just saying

I understand what you're saying about mold & food. The issue never is about mold/ no mold, but rather about how much mold. Some low level must be acceptable by necessity. It's the same w/ cannabis.

The whole thing about heat treating would require some testing to say anything definitive. I wonder what would happen using fresh material in a turkey bag in a pressure cooker, raise the temp to 150F for a few minutes, let it cool, proceed from there. If the terpenes can't escape, they'll just achieve saturation in the bag, same as they do in curing jars. They might go right back into the material like dew as it's cooled. Dunno.

With licensed producers, the State can get right in the middle of it any time they choose, so the smart ones, the ones in it for the long haul will want to stay ahead of that curve so that they don't end up with a lot of condemned product.

Personal growers don't have to deal with that, but we do want a product that's as healthful as we can reasonably make it.

I suspect that mold is more of an issue in high humidity sealed rooms. Once it gets much of a start, spore concentration can explode & actual mold colonies right along with it. OTOH, using air exchange as part of cooling basically won't let the concentration go much higher than it is in the intake air.

 

[RetroGrow]

& fwiw
water curing cannabis really does leach out shit in the plant matter
not viable for commercial applications, BUT it actually will "clean" your herb before smoking it. There are a couple good threads about water curing on icmag...

Been trying to tell folks that. Leaches out the shit from spraying with toxins and from over feeding, and not flushing properly or at all. If I get herb from an unknown source (meaning, I didn't grow it), I go with the water cure for really clean herb. Also useful for a quick cure...only one week. Gets the chlorophyll out.

 

[Eighths-n-Aces]

maybe it's just me but "IRRADIATING" something to make sure it is "SAFE" sounds a bit oxymoronish to me

i get why, but it is some scary shit

 

[JointOperation]

my point is that IF the industry chooses to grow a product that needs to be CLEANED before going to market....
THEN
the industry has failed us on a broad scale.

this concept is the single greatest reason for EVERYONE to grow your own or have your cannabis grown for you by someone you know well and trust is growing in a responsible manner.

& fwiw
water curing cannabis really does leach out shit in the plant matter
not viable for commercial applications, BUT it actually will "clean" your herb before smoking it. There are a couple good threads about water curing on icmag...

agree 100%...

the only thing I dislike about water curing is I seem to lose half my smell no matter wat.. which im guessing because some terpenes are dissolved into the water? or ? but either way.. its cool..

the best thing ive ever done to make for a clean smoke.. was I had a fucking plant.. fall over.. into some dirt dust that was on the ground.. so like half the plant had dust in the buds.. I took the plant hole.. not chopped in the pot.. and dunked that motherfucker upside down.. and stirred with the plant.. did 3 dunks clean water every time.. then shook to get most water off.. and tossed back into the room.. and put the fan directly on that plant for a few hours.. ended up cutting 10 days later.. that 1 plant.. was very smooth.. tasty.. I believe a nice rain storm does wonders for cleaning buds.. I wonder if maybe we find a way to avoid mold.. but allow plants to be dunked or sprayed clean before the flush .

 

[JointOperation]

if we could figure out how to clean the buds before harvesting.. we can preserve the flavor and shit.. maybe do before the flush.. but.. maybe we need to start breeding strains to be SUPER mold resistent.. i think a cleaned plant like what i had to do to save that plant.. could be a great way to get the dust.. and crap off the plant material.. before the chop..

i know that if anyone runs a room with dirt.. or soilless... the dust.. can get everywere.. even if you keep it clean..

 

[jd4083]

I'm just waiting to find out what kind of super powers I get from smoking some radioactive weed, mon

 

[Kyanite393]

Problem solved, you wash your apples right?
http://instagramia.com/Detail/doyouevenwashyourbudsbro/857679455195094783_1386390886

Mandatory tests for microscopic amounts of spores that are on everything and everywhere is kinda silly imo where is this mandatory?

Sounds like legislation to keep the small guy out of the industry to me.