February 8, 2010
Killer Fungus Festers On Marijuana Plants
In a recent interview with KQED Public Media radio host Michael Krasny, highly regarded attorney and lobbyist John Lovell brought up a most interesting and quite frankly frightening reality which we have confirmed. While Lovell pointed out the fact that marijuana has cancer causing agents, he also confirmed marijuana carried Aspergillus, a toxic fungus with fatal consequences.
When mold inspectors go to inspect a home contaminated with toxic mold that has fatal consequences, they look for two types of mold spores. One is Stachybotrys (details here) also present in decomposing marijuana and the other is Aspargillus. Both have carcinogenic components i.e. they cause cancer and both can and will kill a small to mid-size animal within three to five days of exposure when the fungus turns into an aflatoxin and reaches its pathogenic state. (Example of Aspergillus exposure to corn http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/FS907.pdf )
Once in the pathogenic state Aspergillus is fatal, especially to persons with weakened immune systems. (Lauren Anne Burwell, MD, and Mary E. Brandt, PhD Aspergillosis: Is the mold infection hospital- or community-acquired?, CDC link: http://www2.cdc.gov/spectrum/vol1no4/aspergillosis_lecture.htm
Harmful effects of Aspergillus exposure include:
(photo used by permission only www.aspergillus.org.uk)
Liver Cancer
Lung Cancer and serious lung infection
DNA damage
Interaction with Hepatitis B
Stunting of growth
More photos here
(See the serious effects on lung tissue)
Sinus infection and fungal population- surgical removal of fungus growth – video http://www.aspergillus.org.uk/indexhome.htm?education/teachingvideos.htm~main
(Some may not find suitable for viewing)
Experts and doctors agree there are many more illnesses associated with this deadly fungus.
Aspergillus mycotoxins:
A devastating risk to the health of our communities
We cannot allow amateur gardeners cultivating his or her marijuana at home for private use and allow dispensaries go unregulated without mycotoxin testing.
Aspergillus is always present. It is in the air and naturally exists in the soil. It does not care about heat or moisture, when it grows it grows. According to the CDC, detection to aflatoxin exposure is very difficult and will cause a detrimental state before detection is possible.
Lifespan of Aspergillus:
It is impossible to destroy with heat, cold or any other method and once Aspergillus is populated, it cannot be baked out of marijuana or any other food product. In other words, humans, animals and plants will perish, however the Aspergillus fungus will survive.
No findings or tests of Aspergillus have been requested as a mandatory practice by law. Not even the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 suggests such testing, even though persons most harmed by Aspergillus are patients with cancer and AIDS for whom Proposition 215 was intended in the first place, even if not exclusively.
In conclusion, the Opposition to the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative of 2010 calls for an investigation into the drying processes of all cultivators as the heaviest growths of Aspergillus aflatoxins populate in mild temperatures and humidity. (Richard, J., PhD, 2008, Discovery of Aflatoxins and significant Historical Features, Romer Labs, Union Missouri / USDA)
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