Is Smoking Moldy Weed Bad for You?

The molds and poisonous substances they’re producing are attracting more attention in the health communities just recently. Any wet environment can be the hotbed for dangerous bacteria and fungi. Thick cannabis buds are the ideal hideout for molds and mildew, mainly if the mold is a little damp or wet. Smoking moldy weed straight to your lungs can cause medical problems for anyone, but mainly worrying for health cannabis patients.

How to spot mode on your cheese or bread is very easy but on your cannabis? It’s a different story. 

In this guide, we’re going to discuss everything you learn about how to spot molds, if smoking moldy weed is safe, and how to keep your cannabis mold-free.

How to Spot Mold on your Weed

Weed plants are available in different colors, so it is much easier for untrained eyes not to see the distinction among typical average buds and those infected with molds. If you’re not an experienced grower or consumer, you can easily mistake trichomes as they sometimes look moldy. They are sticky, glistening crystals on leaves and buds that deliver cannabis its fragrance.

In contrast to the trichomes, which resemble two little hairs that glitter, mold possesses a white or gray powdery look.

The ideal way to detect more is to put your weed plant under the black light. If you see spores, they will give off a unique green color. However, you can also detect mold if you spot any unusual black spots or dark green ones or identify gray or white-colored strands falling off the weed plant. Also, molds will affect the odor of the weed plant and produce that moldy or rotten smell.

What Triggers Moldy Weed?

Moisture is the leading cause of moldy weed plants. Many consumers sin of storing their weed in containers or jars without first ensuring that the buds are free of moisture. This is a formula for mold as they live in a wet environment. Most growers who provide dispensaries are truthful and will do whatever measures to lessen the possibility of mold. But some dishonest sellers will add a little moisture to their buds to increase the weight so they can earn more money. 

If you grow your weed plants, you may be familiar with burying the buds in the garden to promote the growth of a specific kind of mold that will make it more effective. This is a mistake for numerous reasons, the most crucial it would be impossible to make sure that the particular kind of mold would breed on the weed plant.

Also, burying cannabis buds will ensure that the THC (psychedelic compound in cannabis) in the plant is destroyed.

Why is smoking moldy weed terrible?

There are various reasons why smoking moldy weed is detrimental to one’s health. Mold spores can surprisingly thrive in harsh environment settings, like being smoked, just to adopt habitat in the damp and warm location inside the body. 

If your defense system isn’t robust, then you will likely suffer from lung irritation.

Because moldy weed contains properties such as endotoxins and mycotoxins, it can make you ill. The mycotoxins are the properties sitting on the exterior of mold spores and are in little particles of mold. 

They are known as toxins since they are dangerous to the body, and can provoke inflammation and ailments. This is true if you’re always prone to them and in massive amounts. 

Paired with mycotoxins are properties referred to endotoxins. They are particles discharged by bacteria as they perish. Molds and endotoxins go together well, which makes exposure very troubling. 

Endotoxins are well-known to aggravate the signs of asthma and add to lung infection.

Sniffing a group of endotoxins and mycotoxins together irritates. Severe exposure to unhealthy mildews and molds can trigger your possibility of getting an infection. 

At the worst, this irritation can cause pneumonia and chances of spreading the other body parts. Symptoms of chronic mold and mildews vulnerability include: 

  • Fatigue
  • Migraines
  • Cough
  • Lethargy
  • Memory gap or brain fog
  • Light sensitivity
  • Chest pain
  • Allergy attack or asthma
  • Dizziness
  • Mood swings

Sniffing the weed’s smoke with particular mold types can have dangerous health problems in consumers with fragile defense systems or a lung infection. 

The Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, and Mucor are fungi that can cause chronic and even harmful infections in the brain, central nervous system, and lungs in consumers with weakened immune systems.

It was UC David research that discovered these and some other kinds of possible deadly fungi on cannabis samples from dispensaries and breeders in Northern California.

What Types of Molds are in Weed?

There are numerous types of mildews and molds that affect a weed plant. Most of them vary by location. Hence, there are plenty of different possibilities for both human and plant infection.

Keeping your weed plant in a clean, dry, and roomy place with good air. It’s the best protection from mold and mildews. The following are the three common weed problems and how they can significantly affect you and your plant.

1. Aspergillus

This is the fungus that creates mycotoxins, as well as some that are considered to be lethal. Aspergillus can induce lung irritations, which is quite chronic for people with weak immune systems.

They were too major case studies of therapeutic cannabis consumers in 2011. They created a condition referred to as CPA or “chronic pulmonary aspergillosis” after suspected vulnerability to weed that was affected with Aspergillus.

It triggered signs of emphysema and increased after people were cured for Aspergillus inflammation and prevented from weed consumption.

2. Botrytis

This is the posh name for the gray mold and among the most popular weed pathogens. When inhaling Botrytis, it can cause allergic irritation and chronic respiratory illness.

If people have weak immune systems, are sensitive to environmental matters, or are susceptible to immune diseases, this problem may worsen.

3. Cladosporium

This is a typical plant fungus that usually grows on spongy materials like paper and wood. Cladosporium Triggers signs of hayfever and can cause asthma attacks, but this kind of mold doesn’t create mycotoxins. Inhaling Cladosporium raises your possibilities of getting pneumonia if you have dangerous exposure.

Are there ways to eliminate the mold?

The answer is not really. As a consumer, you might want to break the moldy parts and smoke the remaining right parts. However, this is not a lovely thought. Life is too short for a wicked weed. 

If you see molds or mildews in your buds, it’s better to throw it away. It is not going to taste or smell good, and maybe it could make you feel ill.

How To Protect Your Bud Against Mold

The most important thing towards avoiding mold is your storage. Exposing your bud to the lousy temperature, humidity, oxygen, and light can induce breeding of mold and mildew.

What you need to consider:

1. Avoid the freezer or fridge

Disregard what you’ve been instructed of storing your weed in the freezer or fridge. The temperature in that location is too low, and the risk of moisture can lead to mold. The best temperature to stash your weed is below 77 degrees Fahrenheit or 25 degrees Celsius.

2. Use the Right Jar

Masons and glass jars with tight lids are the ideal storage of your cannabis buds. It helps control the risk of moisture and oxygen, which avoid mold and keep your buds fresh for a long time.

Most dispensaries are selling containers for the exact purpose, and you can buy them if you want a little posher than the usual mason jar.

3. Store in a Dry, dark Place

Moisture and direct light are the formulae for disaster towards keeping your weed fresh. The sunlight rays can warm things up and suppress moisture. A wet environment can also trigger excessive moisture to accumulate if your jar is not sealed correctly.  

Store your jar in a dry, dark place or cabinet that does not get very hot.

4. Check the Humidity

Weed is best stored at a proper humidity of 59% to 63%. Going higher is risking your buds from getting moisture and breeding mold. Including moisture packs to your jar is helpful because these small packets contain a mix of salts and water that regulate the moisture in the jar. These are affordable and will last you several months.

If you have the budget and want to get fancy, Humidors is another excellent option for your cannabis. 

Final Thoughts

Moldy weed looks, tastes, and smells off always. 

Always check your weed before smoking and enjoying it. This is very true, particularly if you are suffering from lung problems, including asthma, or has a weakened immune system.

Or even if you don’t have any health problems, it’s better to throw away anything that feels and smells quite not right instead of smoking moldy weed.