Mold and cannabis is an unfavourable combination that you never want to see, but unfortunately, moldy weed occurs more often than you might think. And smoking moldy weed is never an option.
If you’ve ever come across moldy weed, you know how alarming it can be. These harmful growths are known to cause a variety of different health complications from a mild sore throat to more severe respiratory issues.
Whether you enjoy cannabis for recreational purposes or its medicinal benefits, moldy weed isn’t exclusive to black or grey market weed. In fact, mold can sometimes be found even in legal industry-grade medical marijuana.
That said, it’s important to know how to identify whether your weed has grown mold to prevent chances for future complications.
So, how do you know if you have moldy weed? Are there specific indicators? How do you prevent it?
In this article, we will address each and every one of these legitimate concerns.
What is Moldy Weed? Why is it bad for you?
Like how you shouldn’t consume any household items that have grown mold on them, such as bread or fruit, you should never smoke moldy weed either.
Moldy weed typically develops in cannabis plants that have either been grown or stored in moist conditions. These environments are an ideal breeding ground for mold and mildew growth.
That said, mold-resistant cannabis strains do exist, however they do not completely eliminate the possibility of mold forming.
While it should hopefully be common sense, consuming mold is not the greatest thing you can do for your body. Although not every single type of mold is harmful, there are a handful that can cause a series of health complications, including coughing, sneezing, sore throat, and even respiratory issues if consumed.
How to Tell if You Have Moldy Weed
Prior to ingesting any form of cannabis, either recreationally or for medical purposes, it is essential to perform a quick analysis to determine whether it is safe to consume to avoid smoking moldy weed.
Below are examples of efficient and effective methods to help determine whether your cannabis is mold-free or not.
Use Your Eyes
A quick and reliable way to identify if mold is growing on anything is to use your eyes. Visual cues are a key indicator when it comes to spotting moldy weed.
That said, mold comes in all types of shapes and sizes, so there are still a few significant elements to look out for.
To the untrained eye, mold can take on the appearance of white powdered sugar or sawdust. In fact, powdery mildew is known to form on the surface of cannabis buds and camouflage itself to look like kief.
However, upon closer inspection, you’ll find that these particles are actually mold spores as the trichomes of the cannabis plant have a mushroom shape with a bulbous crystalline tip.
In other cases, mold can sometimes produce discolouration in particular regions of the cannabis plant. Dark spots and light white grey or yellow fuzz may be indicative of moldy cannabis.
As well, in some odd instances, slimy cannabis can serve as a crucial sign of mold spores on the plant. Needless to say, if you find slime on your cannabis, it’s best to discard it.
Use Your Nose
The second most reliable method of identifying moldy weed is to use your sense of smell. Cannabis has a very distinctive smell, and so does mold.
The difference lies in that cannabis is pleasing to the senses even though certain strains are known for a more skunky odour, whereas moldy weed emits a specific foul odour that is extremely off-putting.
If you notice that your marijuana smells of sweat or urine, there’s a high probability that it has been infected with mold.
Of course, relying on scent alone is not always the most trustworthy method of identification. Using both senses of smell and sight in tandem will help increase your odds of successfully spotting and disposing of moldy weed.
Purchase A Microscope
These days, certain types of mold have adapted to be virtually invisible to the naked eye. While not everyone will have access to a black light, most individuals have access to cheap and reliable equipment with just the click of a mouse, thanks to the internet.
If you suspect something is wrong with your cannabis, you can always purchase a microscope to get a closer look to determine whether you have moldy weed.
It’s crucial to note that it will take some practice before becoming adept at spotting mold growths on your cannabis. However, an affecting starting point would be to educate yourself on identifying the trichomes of the cannabis plant accurately.
When analyzing your marijuana through a microscope, pay attention to the mushroom-like structures with bulbous tips on them. Those are the trichomes of the plant and are what carry a majority of the terpenes and cannabinoids.
Mold, on the other hand, produces Hyphae, tiny filaments that do not resemble trichomes at all.
What to do if You Have Moldy Weed
Under no circumstances should you smoke moldy weed. If you’ve discovered mold spores on your cannabis, the only thing to do is to throw it away.
Although certain types of mold are used to create medicines such as penicillin, others can cause irritation in the throat, coughing and wheezing, and even more severe respiratory problems.
This sentiment is particularly pertinent for those with already compromised immune systems. The risk of smoking moldy weed, in this case, is simply not worth the potential benefits.
How to Prevent Moldy Weed
It’s one thing to buy moldy weed from a dispensary, but to have mold grow while the weed is in your hands is an easily preventable issue.
Mold growth is attributed to one main factor, moisture. In order to reduce the chance of any type of mold growing on your cannabis, it is vital to learn how to store weed in the proper conditions. To achieve the best results, we recommend storing your marijuana in an air-tight glass container or secure jar where there is minimal leakage of air.
Additionally, it would be beneficial to store that container in a cool and dark location as exposure to light and heat may prematurely decarboxylate your cannabis and cause it to lose some of its THC.
Sometimes, mold growth can be out of your control. There is a chance that you could have purchased bad weed that already had mold growing on it before it came into your possession.
Whatever the case may be, it is always important to inspect your weed before consuming it and avoid smoking moldy weed.
Moldy Weed – Better to be Safe than Sorry
Whether you’re purchasing medical marijuana from a government-operated dispensary or a reputable online dispensary, moldy weed is becoming a larger and larger problem that should not be ignored.
Smoking moldy weed is congruent to a variety of health complications, including compromised immune systems, coughing, wheezing, and respiratory issues.
It is essential to do everything possible to circumvent these issues and keep yourself and others safe by knowing the warning signs of moldy weed. However, the most effective precaution to ensure safety is to forego smoking altogether and seek a separate alternative outlet for consuming cannabis, such as opting for regulated concentrate products such as vape cartridges and tinctures.
Using a vaporizer pen presents a safer, more convenient option for ingesting cannabis on the go as they are more portable and discreet.
More importantly, in terms of health benefits, vaping weed does not involve the combustion of plant matter as smoking does. Instead, the cannabis concentrate within the vaporizer cartridge heats to the optimal temperature and converts into vapour rather than smoke, which the user then inhales.
In this way, you are avoiding inhaling smoke and other plant matter as well as the potentially harmful toxins and carcinogens that result from smoking your cannabis.
Alternatively, if you would rather opt for a more direct, potent ingestion method that doesn’t involve inhaling anything at all, tinctures present a viable alternative. Tinctures can be ingested sublingually or used as an ingredient in edibles to introduce THC or CBD into your bloodstream directly. However, it is crucial to clarify that these two ingestion methods have significantly different onset times, with edibles taking longer to feel the effects.
Hooti Extracts tinctures contain a potent concentration of premium THC suspended in premium MCT oil available in a wide variety of delectable fruity flavours. They present an efficient yet delicious cannabis experience that allows for convenience and increased versatility with an accurate drop-by-drop dosing method.
Both options present a plausible solution for avoiding moldy weed entirely.
Whichever method you choose, it is critical that you ensure that your cannabis comes from a reliable and reputable dispensary.
As always, be safe and enjoy.
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