"Strong" and "Dirty" : Whats Really In Legal Weed?

[Boyd Crowder]

File Under : Interesting?

This is not your father's weed.

Colorado marijuana is nearly twice as potent as illegal pot of past decades, and some modern cannabis packs triple the punch of vintage ganja, lab tests reveal for the first time.

In old-school dope, levels of THC — the psychoactive chemical that makes people high — were typically well below 10 percent. But in Colorado's legal bud, the average THC level is 18.7 percent, and some retail pot contains 30 percent THC or more, according to research released Monday.

"That was higher than expected," said Andy LaFrate, president of Charas Scientific. His Denver lab is licensed by the state and paid by marijuana businesses to measure the THC strength in their products before they go to market. "It's common to see samples in the high 20s."

What's really in — and not in — Colorado's retail weed surprised LaFrate. After analyzing more than 600 samples of bud provided by certified growers and sellers, LaFrate said he detected little medical value and lots of contamination. He presents those findings Monday to a national meeting of the American Chemical Society, a nonprofit scientific group chartered by Congress.

"We don't want to be alarmists and freak people out, but at the same time we have been finding some really dirty marijuana," LaFrate told NBC News.

Some green buds he viewed were covered in funghi — and he estimated that several marijuana flowers were "crawling" with up to 1 million fungal spores.

"It's a natural product. There's going to be microbial growth on it no matter what you do," LaFrate said. "So the questions become: What's a safe threshold? And which contaminants do we need to be concerned about?"

Read More:
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/legal-pot/legal-weed-surprisingly-strong-dirty-tests-find-n327811

 

[Wendull C.]

Thc too high, smoke less.

Mildew, mold? Get a better supplier.

 

[vostok]

Its these high lab numbers that the extreme right(world over) are using to keep cannabis illegal, in places like England, Russia, Bulgaria, Australia, Estonia, Mexico, even Ireland and New Zealand, as these countries are so close to going bust ...its there tax loss not ours ..?

 

[HUGE]

Go read that whole article. It is the biggest pile of shit I have seen in awhile
Some green buds he viewed were covered in funghi — and he estimated that several marijuana flowers were "crawling" with up to 1 million fungal spores.

What type of fungi? EM or other bennificial? We will never know.
What LaFrate didn't see, however, also astonished him. The 600-plus weed samples generally carried little or no cannabidiol, or CBD — the compound that makes medical marijuana "medical." The average CBD amount: 0.1 percent, his study reports.

So why all the patents and white papers on the medical aspects of THC?

It's disturbing to me because there are people out there who think they're giving their kids Charlotte's Web. And you could be giving them no CBD — or even worse, you could be giving them a THC-rich product which might actually increase seizures," LaFrate said. "So, it's pretty scary on the medical side."

The majority of samples tested came from recreational-pot merchants. Under Colorado law, recreational weed must be tested for potency.

If you wanted to see CBD then maybe you should have sampled the CBD shelf at the med store. Just a suggestion.

 

[HUGE]

"This study is further evidence that Colorado legalization is not working. It proves that even under government control, there's no way to ensure marijuana is free of bacteria and chemicals," said Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM).

"This shows that marijuana is a GMO product just like other products sold by big business. And just like other industries, now you have a big marijuana industry determined to hide these findings from the public. Where is their outcry? Where are the promises to change the way they do business?" Sabet said. "I won't hold my breath.

 

[armedoldhippy]

"This study is further evidence that Colorado legalization is not working. It proves that even under government control, there's no way to ensure marijuana is free of bacteria and chemicals," said Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM).

"This shows that marijuana is a GMO product just like other products sold by big business. And just like other industries, now you have a big marijuana industry determined to hide these findings from the public. Where is their outcry? Where are the promises to change the way they do business?" Sabet said. "I won't hold my breath.

good points, Huge. Sabet is preaching to the choir, no one else listens to him, and why would they? anyone of ANY intelligence whatsoever already knows that ANY living plant will have bacteria on it. for that matter, nearly everything on the PLANET has bacteria on it, but no one worries about it. as far as chemicals? unless someone sprayed it (possible) not too likely. just his normal POS alarmist trolling...

 

[vostok]

I had mold on my plants once so hit them with neem oil....then I had pubic lice(crabs) and hit them with Neem Oil too ...so who died first ..?
Not me, but they all died about the same time(3 days), now the smell of that neem reminds me of bonking a wharf rat whore older than my granny ..but it was worth it ...lol

now I don't mind the taste either, the taste of Neem !!!

 

[Gry]

Nice advertizing and promotion. I would imagine that[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] the people behind Charas were pleased
by it . [/FONT]

 

[xavier7995]

The benefits of publishing something like this far outweigh the consequences. The initial claim is what will get a response, not the retraction printed a week later. It's like the former Dr. who started the anti-vaccine movement, or when they gave lab rats meth and said it was MDMA, or anything that James O'Keefe did. Misleading the public is one of the most harmful things that can be done, yet I don't think there is really any sort of punishment for it.

edit: And what weed is testing at 30+%????

 

[Beta Test Team]

Go read that whole article. It is the biggest pile of shit I have seen in awhile
Some green buds he viewed were covered in funghi — and he estimated that several marijuana flowers were "crawling" with up to 1 million fungal spores.

What type of fungi? EM or other bennificial? We will never know.
What LaFrate didn't see, however, also astonished him. The 600-plus weed samples generally carried little or no cannabidiol, or CBD — the compound that makes medical marijuana "medical." The average CBD amount: 0.1 percent, his study reports.

So why all the patents and white papers on the medical aspects of THC?

It's disturbing to me because there are people out there who think they're giving their kids Charlotte's Web. And you could be giving them no CBD — or even worse, you could be giving them a THC-rich product which might actually increase seizures," LaFrate said. "So, it's pretty scary on the medical side."

The majority of samples tested came from recreational-pot merchants. Under Colorado law, recreational weed must be tested for potency.

If you wanted to see CBD then maybe you should have sampled the CBD shelf at the med store. Just a suggestion.

I didn't read the article yet but seems to be a bit questionable in terms of results.

I would suspect something wrong with his testing protocols if all the samples showed around 0.1% CBD. As most of the same genetics grown by rec. growers are grown by medical growers, with 'high CBD' cultivars being an exception. Non-'high CBD' cultivars I've seen tested tend to have 0.1% to 5% CBD, nothing to write home about, but more than he found, that's for sure.

 

[Beta Test Team]

The benefits of publishing something like this far outweigh the consequences. The initial claim is what will get a response, not the retraction printed a week later. It's like the former Dr. who started the anti-vaccine movement, or when they gave lab rats meth and said it was MDMA, or anything that James O'Keefe did. Misleading the public is one of the most harmful things that can be done, yet I don't think there is really any sort of punishment for it.

edit: And what weed is testing at 30+%????

I've started to see this more and more, greater than 30% (w/w) THC, normally via. HPLC analysis from labs that don't seem to have their act together, like, say, Analytical 360 out here in WA. Color me very suspicious about such high THC values...

 

[Beta Test Team]

Just read the article, that was good for a few laughs.

After analyzing more than 600 samples of bud provided by certified growers and sellers, LaFrate said he detected little medical value and lots of contamination.

What LaFrate didn't see, however, also astonished him. The 600-plus weed samples generally carried little or no cannabidiol, or CBD — the compound that makes medical marijuana "medical." The average CBD amount: 0.1 percent, his study reports.

Whaaat? So in his mind THC, THC-V, CBG, etc., have no medicinal value?! Okay, sure.

Some green buds he viewed were covered in funghi — and he estimated that several marijuana flowers were "crawling" with up to 1 million fungal spores.

How, pray tell, do spores "crawl"? This guy seems to be a few short of a full deck.

"These samples are representational, I think, of what's happening here in the state and, probably, across the country," LaFrate said. "Because most of the new states coming online with medical or retail marijuana have people from Colorado coming in to set up those markets.

This guy is cuckoo for cocoa puffs. If he wants to make such a bold statement, he should have said people came from Cali to CO, which is much more true than his statement.

"This shows that marijuana is a GMO product just like other products sold by big business. And just like other industries, now you have a big marijuana industry determined to hide these findings from the public. Where is their outcry? Where are the promises to change the way they do business?" Sabet said. "I won't hold my breath. For years, the tobacco industry did the same thing. Welcome, America, to Big Tobacco 2.0 — Big Pot."

Obviously someone needs to explain to him what GMO means, and that there are no GM Cannabis cultivars in the general population, at least not yet.

 

[Limeygreen]

The only good thing about this 'study' is the need for quality control. This is a valuable discussion, for instance you could spray bacteria such as bt or bs (bacillius subtilis) on your plants and still have a high bacterial concentration but is it safe or not?

 

[waveguide]

I had mold on my plants once so hit them with neem oil....then I had pubic lice(crabs) and hit them with Neem Oil too ...so who died first ..?
Not me, but they all died about the same time(3 days), now the smell of that neem reminds me of bonking a wharf rat whore older than my granny ..but it was worth it ...lol

now I don't mind the taste either, the taste of Neem !!!

unable to visualise your proposed sea front dwelling human-rat hybrid
sex worker, only getting master splinter in a tube top. pics or it didn't happen.

sorry folks, closest thing to news in the thread.

 

[mingmen]

what about phospholoading? would that be detectable to these tests?
I remember someone saying on adam dunn that the vast majority of og in cali (socal?) is grown with this. Just wondered about the veracity and if other strains too, how common in commercial grows. It wouldn't be visible, correct?
If it packs on weight...

 

[bugman52]

Alot of grower selling to denspencery,sell weed with less than a week cure/dry, more moister, more weight,more $$, hench the mold.
i wouldent want to smoke any fungi,mold good or bad.

 

[Beta Test Team]

what about phospholoading? would that be detectable to these tests?
I remember someone saying on adam dunn that the vast majority of og in cali (socal?) is grown with this. Just wondered about the veracity and if other strains too, how common in commercial grows. It wouldn't be visible, correct?
If it packs on weight...

Do you mean testing for paclobutrazol and daminozide?

They're probably good to test for, indeed. People should look at WA's rules for I-502 quality assurance (QA) testing. This is what other states should use as a model to improve upon, for example, to include various pesticides and fungicides testing (as conventional, conventional reduced risk, minimum risk, and biological):
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=314-55-102

I think WA's QA rules are a great start, but they don't go nearly far enough. They should require testing for various pesticides/fungicides of most concern. But right now they're not, and I have only heard it suggested to the LCB and that the LCB may update QA testing rules to include them, but I'm not holding my breath. A big complaint and one reason the LCB didn't make tougher QA testing was the cost to the producer, because each batch (5 pounds or flowers or 15 pounds of leaves) must be tested - to that I say too damn bad, pay for the testing:
http://liq.wa.gov/publications/Marijuana/BOTEC%20reports/1a-Testing-for-Contaminants-Final-Revised.pdf

My worry is for too long growers have been using whatever the hell they want to use, and most are totally ignorant (or don't care) about possible health issues for them and the consumers. That is why I don't buy products from growers I don't know, and why I prefer my own products to anyone else's.

I also feel growers should not be spraying anything on the flowers if they're not washing the flowers post-harvest to remove said contaminants (be it biopesticides, biofungicides, reduced risk pesticides/fungicides, minimum risk pesticides/fungicides, or compost tea). And washing only removes (most of) surface contamination, that doesn't even touch systemic products.

I wouldn't trust most companies as far as I can throw them.

So yes, adding plant growth retardants like paclobutrazol, daminozide, and chlormequat chloride to QA testing would be a great idea. And besides, any grower using them is a terrible person anyway.

 

[Beta Test Team]

EPA conventional reduced risk pesticide list (may not be fully up to date); none of these are allowed for Cannabis production:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pi224

EPA minimum risk pesticide list (may not be fully up to date):
http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/biopesticides/regtools/25b_list.htm

Criteria for pesticides used for the production of recreational Cannabis in Washington:
http://agr.wa.gov/FP/Pubs/docs/398-WSDACriteriaForPesticideUseOnMarijuana.pdf

Most recent list of allowed pesticides from WA state for cannabis production:
https://csrg.info/wp-content/upload...icides-and-fungicides-WA-State-3-23-2015.xlsx

NOTE: Those lists include fungicides as well as pesticides.

 

[Beta Test Team]

I'm emailing Charas Scientific the link to this thread.
http://charasscientific.com/

 

[mingmen]

Do you mean testing for paclobutrazol and daminozide?

Honestly I don't know. I heard about "phospholoading" and see that the products are still available but sounds like you have to ask for them under the counter at the grow shop. Threads here made it sound like it was kind of a thing of the past - but I wouldn't be surprised if it was widespread in commercial grows and not talked about.
edit: yes indeed it is
Bushmaster: 271ppm Paclobutrazol
Gravity: 516ppm Paclobutrazol
Flower Dragon: 18,400-18,650ppm Daminozide, 30-46.3ppm Paclobutrazol
Phosphoload: 17,800ppm Daminozide, 20.6ppm Paclobutrazol
TopLoad: 3,467ppm Daminozide\