{"id":29721,"date":"2024-01-16T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/recalls-increase-for-tainted-marijuana-as-the-industry-calls-for-a-study\/"},"modified":"2024-01-16T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T17:00:00","slug":"recalls-increase-for-tainted-marijuana-as-the-industry-calls-for-a-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/recalls-increase-for-tainted-marijuana-as-the-industry-calls-for-a-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Recalls increase for tainted marijuana, as the industry calls for a study"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Leaves
Leaves of a Cannabis plant seen on display at the first ever Cannabis Exhibit at the California State Fair and Food Festival in Sacramento, Calif., on July 14, 2022. Last year, there was a sharp increase in health and safety advisories from the State of Colorado\u2019s Marijuana Enforcement Division. (Rich Pedroncelli\/AP file photo)<\/span>Rich Pedroncelli<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Colorado still doesn\u2019t want it in cannabis.<\/p>\n

Last year, there was a sharp increase in health and safety advisories from the state\u2019s Marijuana Enforcement Division. The sweeping recall of products over the last year has led to frustration in an industry that has fallen on difficult economic times, as sales and prices have fallen. Growers believe the contamination thresholds are too low.<\/p>\n

Recalls were rising before last year, but expanded when the state began testing for a fungus called Aspergillus, which in rare cases can lead to death in immunocompromised marijuana users. Regulators said they were unaware of any deaths in Colorado.<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s regulators believe the danger of these contaminants outweigh the inconvenience to growers and stores.<\/p>\n

Aspergillus can cause a serious lung infection called Aspergillosis, which has been linked to a \u201cfew fatalities\u201d outside the state related to cannabis, said Brandon Jeffery, director of Marijuana Sciences at the Marijuana Enforcement Division.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a known risk with Aspergillus,\u201d Jeffery said.<\/p>\n

The new testing requirements were part of an extensive public process, but Jeffery said they can potentially be adjusted. \u201cThe question as to whether our limits for Aspergillus are correct, and what we\u2019re testing for is correct, is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The controversy over the limits and testing points out the challenges of state regulation of a drug that remains unlawful at the federal level. The Federal Food and Drug Administration has a more than $7 billion budget to write rules, do research and perform tests to keep consumer products safe.<\/p>\n

When it comes to marijuana safety, Colorado, and other states where it is legal, are on their own with few of the resources the federal government could bring to bear on health and safety questions.<\/p>\n

Recalls were already rising before the state began catching Aspergillus in testing, but last year was especially busy. The MED issued 17 health and safety advisories, the most in seven years \u2013 up from just three in 2019. The advisories affect products sold at dozens of dispensaries across Colorado, and stretch back in some cases to marijuana that was sold in 2020.<\/p>\n

The question for the industry is not whether a fungus like Aspergillus can potentially be dangerous, but at what level it can be present, but still safe for consumers. The current standard in Colorado, which applies to all forms of marijuana products, is too low, they argue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s almost an impossible standard, and I think it would be worth it to take a step back,\u201d said Kevin Gallagher, executive director of the Colorado Cannabis Manufacturers Association. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly easy to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scientists sympathize with the frustrations of industry, it\u2019s not easy to eliminate microbes that are ubiquitous, but there are proven ways to manage things like Aspergillus. And the health implications are serious, especially for people using marijuana for legitimate medical reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese folks are likely to be more vulnerable populations, meaning they have compromised immune systems,\u201d Tess Eidem, a microbiologist and senior research scientist at CU Boulder, said. Eidem owns a company called Rogue Micro, which consults on microbial contamination for cannabis companies.<\/p>\n

In a large analysis of insurance data, the CDC found a greater incidence of fungal infections in cannabis consumers. The number of infections was still small, just 0.08% of marijuana users. \u201cAlthough these infections were uncommon, they can result in substantial illness and even death, particularly in immunocompromised persons,\u201d reads the report.<\/p>\n

Eidem supports Colorado setting strict standards for molds, yeasts and Aspergillus, but she said the state should also regulate the design of facilities to control the growth of these contaminants in the first place.<\/p>\n

Currently, growers just have to pass the testing at the end of the grow process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich means you can do kind of whatever you want upstream in your garden, in cultivation,\u201d Eidem said. \u201cAre they proactively addressing diseased plants or bad air quality or mold on the walls? Are they cleaning? Would the facility pass a basic health inspection that any restaurant has to pass? The answer is probably not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eidem is also concerned about the abuse of ozone and irradiation treatments by some marijuana cultivators to recover cannabis that would otherwise fail testing. Colorado\u2019s regulations allow this, but she said that isn\u2019t permitted for other consumed goods.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t take leafy greens that are spoiled or have E. coli on them and blast them with ozone or radiate them and then sell them to consumers. That\u2019s not allowed. But in cannabis it is, in many states you can do it indefinitely,\u201d Eidem said. \u201cSo you can just treat and treat and treat until you pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the most recent state recalls was late last year for marijuana grown at Boone Farms and Angel Farms, both owned by Cary Carpenter. The contaminated product was found to have been sold as far back as 2020, before Aspergillus standards were set.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came in and retested 10 samples,\u201d Carpenter said in a brief phone interview. \u201cMost of it was Aspergillus, which we didn\u2019t test during that period at all for. And then they went back all the way through our product.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carpenter said that 72 pounds of product was recalled, which he said was not a lot for him. He cut the interview short, however, and did not respond to subsequent attempts to contact him.<\/p>\n

While Carpenter doesn\u2019t believe the recall is significant for him, it did come at a difficult time for his business, and for the broader marijuana industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough right now,\u201d Gallagher said about the general economic declines in the industry. \u201cAnd every business is honestly just trying to hold their necks up and trying to breathe here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Add to that tough new testing standards for contaminants. But experts say that doesn\u2019t mean safety standards should be relaxed, and the state should make an effort to regulate the design of grow facilities for safety, rather than just testing the end product.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, the industry is hurting,\u201d Eidem said. \u201cBut adopting these principles actually saves you money in the long run \u2013 your quality is better, your plants are healthier.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

of a Cannabis plant seen on display at the first ever Cannabis Exhibit at the California State Fair and Food Festival in Sacramento, Calif., on July 14, 2022. Last year, there was a sharp increase in health and safety advisories from the State of Colorado\u2019s Marijuana Enforcement Division. (Rich Pedroncelli\/AP file photo)Rich Pedroncelli But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[431,120,28,135],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-29721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-business-general","tag-colorado","tag-headlines","tag-marijuana"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29721"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=29721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}