Are you smoking moldy bud?

What’s that you say? You didn’t know that there could be mold in the pot you’re smoking in trace amounts? Or that some specific types of mold are really toxic and particularly dangerous for medical marijuana patients seeking to use cannabis to relieve their pain and suffering? Yes, that’s right, the mold Aspergillus could be present and could be doing exactly the opposite of what people are hoping for. From a fascinating article on a lab in Oakland that tests pot comes this information and more:

A 2008 guidebook, “The Marijuana Medical Handbook,” warns of Aspergillus, a mold that can appear in marijuana and numerous other agricultural products. It can be dangerous for seriously ill people, such as AIDS and cancer patients using pot to treat nausea or other side effects.

“There have been reports of aspergillosis, a lung infection caused by inhalation of spores from the Aspergillus fungus,” wrote California marijuana researchers Dale Gieringer and Ed Rosenthal and Washington physician Gregory Carter.

Something to be aware of folks! Be safe out there.