Heather Miller Coyle, a botanist at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, has found mold contaminants on marijuana leaves.
Heather Miller Coyle, a botanist at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, has found mold contaminants on marijuana leaves.
Previously, she’s identified other potentially dangerous particles on the plants including salmonella, mildew and E. coli.
In an effort to establish more accurate and efficient means of testing, she and her students are working to perfect a DNA sequencing technique that could make it easier for labs to identify compromised product.
As more states legalize the use of the drug for both medical and recreational uses, the demand for quality control methods technologies is rising.
Whether or not marijuana laden with mold or bacteria poses significant health risks to those who consume it remains largely unknown.
To date, there have been no deaths in which the plant was the primary cause, but it is suspected as a secondary in nearly 300 reported cases.
Current testing methods vary from state to state and lab to lab.
Said Coyle, "If there's no certification, ... it's like saying we don't check our meat for mad cow disease. That's our goal as a private university, to develop the tools to address or mediate this issue."
