🚀 go-pugleaf

"kbotinseattle" <iinvilid@innvalid.comm> wrote in message 
news:43d5a22173855643$892e7fe2@smart.net...


> Microflora of marijuana
>
> Most of these organisms infect people via the respiratory tract, or by 
> oral-mucosal contact with contaminated material. Inhaling a marijuana 
> cigarette contaminated with any of these organisms poses a risk.  Smoking 
> shit? Well, yea....
>
> Rotting marijuana produces a spectrum of odors, from stale to musty to 
> moldy. P. italicum perfumes a lavender bouquet, while A. flavus smells 
> like a locker room. Clostridium bacteria stink like carrion.
>
> Infested marijuana often darkens in color and becomes crumbly. Anaerobic 
> bacteria turn marijuana into brown slime. Marijuana undergoing rapid decay 
> may feel warm to touch. (At this stage your stash is ready for the compost 
> heap.) Tufts of fungi are often visible in mold material. In marijuana 
> stored in darkness, strands look white to light grey. Exposed to light, 
> storage molds spawn millions of colored spores in velvet clumps. A slight 
> tap sends these spores into great billowing clouds. Generally, Rhizopus 
> and Mucor produce grey-black spores; Penicillium species are light 
> blue-green; and Aspergillus species are dark green-black.
>
> To screen for insects, simply shake samples in a No. 10 steel sieve. Of 
> course, not all bugs found in marijuana cause damage. Some are simply 
> "innocent bystanders" caught during harvesting and die right away. Live 
> (and chewing) insects are more suspicious.
>
> Viruses and protozoans => Cates & Warren (1975) associated marijuana use 
> with an epidemic of hepatitis B in Germany, but did  isolate the virus 
> from plant material. An outbreak of Hepatitis A in Washington state was 
> linked to consumption of Mexican marijuana, fertilized with human 
> excrement (Alexander 1987). No protozoans are reported from marijuana in 
> the literature.
>
> Bacteria => Several bacteria species cited as present on marijuana are 
> human pathogens, and produce toxins: Taylor et al. (1982) isolated 
> Salmonella muenchen from illicit marijuana. Ungerlerder et al. (1982) 
> cultivated Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, E. agglomerans, 
> group D Streptococcus, and Bacillus sp. from marijuana supplied by the 
> National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Kurup et al. (1983) isolated 
> several thermophilic actinomycetes from marijuana cigarettes, including 
> Thermoactinomyces candidus, T. vulgaris, and Micropolyspora faeni. These 
> organisms, while infectious, cause allergic pneumonitis in hypersensitive 
> individuals.
>
> Marijuana and its active ingredient THC has been shown in some studies to 
> suppress immune function.
>
> Smoked marijuana increases the risk of lung infections and complications.
>
> Marijuana may be contaminated with insecticides, pesticides, fungus and/or 
> bacteria. Ingesting these could have mild-to-severe health consequences. 
> (Some claim that microwaving marijuana for ten seconds on high may 
> decrease risks associated with fungus contamination.)
>
> Marijuana/THC has short-term impact on mental status. Long-term effects 
> are less clear.
>
> Some studies suggest that marijuana/THC may decrease testosterone levels.
>
>
> Fungi => In the popular press, Margolis and Clorfene (1975) and DuToit 
> (1980) describe molds colonizing marijuana in the United States and South 
> Africa, respectively. The "black weblike fungus" described by Margolis & 
> Clorfene (1975) suggests an Aspergillus species. Chusid et al. (1975) cite 
> A. fumigatus causing pneumonitis in a patient who buried his marijuana in 
> the ground for "aging." Llamas et al. (1978) recovered A. fumigatus from 
> marijuana owned by a patient suffering allergic bronchopulmonary 
> aspergillosis. Kagen (1981) isolated several Aspergillus species from 
> moldy marijuana, including A. fumigatus, A. niger and A. flavus. Babu et 
> al. (1977) cultured A. niger, A. flavus, A. tamarii, A. sulphureus, and A. 
> repens from seeds in marijuana. Schwartz (1985) isolated A. niger from the 
> sinuses of a marijuana smoker who suffered severe headaches. Llewellyn & 
> O'Rear (1977) demonstrated aflatoxin production in marijuana contaminated 
> with A. flavus and A. parasiticus.
>
> Penicillium species have been isolated from marijuana cigarettes by Kagen 
> et al. (1983) and Kurup et al. (1983). Babu et al. (1977) cultured P. 
> chrysogenum from Cannabis seeds. Bush Doctor (1993) reports isolating P. 
> italicum from marijuana stored with an orange peel at 0o C.
> Mucor species have been recovered from marijuana by Kagen et al. (1983) 
> and Kurup et al. (1983). A related zygomycete, Rhizopus stolonifer, was 
> isolated from damp marijuana by Bush Doctor (1993).
>
> Babu et al. (1977) cultured several other fungi from Cannabis seeds that, 
> according to Bossche et al. (1990), may cause opportunistic infections in 
> AIDS patients. These include Alternaria alternata and Curvularia lunata. 
> McPartland (1983, 1991, 1992) recovered these fungi from Cannabis in the 
> field, plus a Fusarium spp. All these fungi produce toxins. Ram�rez (1990) 
> reports four policeman contracting histoplasmosis, caused by Histoplasma 
> capsulatum, after destroying a Cannabis field in Puerto Rico.
>