2023-09-04 18:12:13
Millions of mold and their spores surround us every day in the air we breathe. Most of them are harmless. Our immune system can usually fight even the potentially disease-causing ones. However, with medicinal cannabis in this context, there is a dangerous constellation for risk groups. Many patients who use medicinal cannabis are severely and chronically ill. As a result, their immune system is often only partially functional and, precisely for this reason, more susceptible to fungal infections.
Numerous molds can develop on hemp that has not been properly dried and processed or stored. A particularly dangerous genus of these are fungi of the Aspergillus group. Spores of this mold can lead to so-called aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients, which can be fatal. Aside from being a potential health hazard, mold infestation also leads to increasing decomposition of the desired active ingredients and thus to reduced medical effectiveness.
Smoking temperature does not eliminate spores
A big problem is the enormous heat resistance of Aspergillus. Cannabis is often smoked, but the resulting temperature is not sufficient to reliably kill the spores. This means that the spores deliberately get into the lungs, the organ from which aspergillosis can spread most strongly into the body. While there is a high probability that a healthy person will not develop it, it can be life-threatening for an HIV patient or chemotherapy patient with a weakened immune system.
Medicinal Genomics, a renowned US medicinal cannabis platform, has over 20 documented cases of contaminated smoke causing aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients. It is important to know that this problem only exists with smoking. If you suffer from a restricted immune system and you are not sure whether your own product has been tested for Aspergillus, you should switch to other forms of consumption if possible. This fungus cannot be transmitted through oral consumption, for example through baked goods. Even pharmacologically pure cannabis products, such as dronabinol, naturally contain no fungal spores.
Testing and irradiation as a countermeasure
This problem has been known to manufacturers of medicinal cannabis for several years. Almost all states that offer medicinal cannabis test their products for Aspergillus. The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) names the so-called qPCR method as the safest standardized method for detecting this dangerous mold. This PCR test covers all Aspergillus genetic subtypes. To date, there is no simple quick test that can be used at home. In Germany, attempts are being made to get this problem under control by irradiating the harvest. Just over half of the cannabis harvested in Germany is irradiated to kill mold and other microbes.
A distinction is made between two different methods. Gamma-ray irradiation and electron irradiation. In particular, the decontamination using gamma radiation causes controversial discussions. One argument of the critics is that gamma radiation creates radioactive isotopes and also changes the active ingredient profile. According to the current state of science, however, this fear is unfounded. The germicidal dose of gamma radiation is so low that it is well below the intensity at which substances such as cannabinoids would break down.
Chromatographic analysis of cannabis samples before and after gamma-ray decontamination failed to detect changes in the cannabinoid profile. There were only slight fluctuations in the composition of the terpenes. At this radiation intensity, no health-threatening concentration of radioactive isotopes could be detected. Food sterilization using gamma radiation has been recognized as safe by the FDA and WHO, and is common practice for many other foods.
Prohibition amplifies problem
Away from medicinal cannabis, where this issue is already on the horizon, Aspergillus contamination naturally occurs, particularly in street weed. A patient who resorts to readily available street weed due to the seemingly endless bureaucracy required for medically prescribed cannabis can fall into a fatal trap. Depending on the medical condition he is in and the underlying disease he uses cannabis against, this can lead to fatal aspergillosis. This danger is yet another reason to finally legalize cannabis completely. This is the only way to ensure that a minimum level of quality is available across the board.
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