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The Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) of the Colorado Department of Revenue has issued a health and safety advisory warning consumers about unsafe levels of yeast and mold in retail marijuana flower produced by Beddor Claude LLC dba Chronic Therapy.
The advisory, issued Nov. 23, warned that products derived from Harvest Batches produced by Beddor Claude contained levels above acceptable limits for total yeast and mold or were potentially contaminated.
The contaminated or potentially contaminated packages bear the Harvest Batch number Silver Mountain 9.14.22. and were sold between Sept. 2 and Oct. 1 from Beddor Claude’s facility at 10030 W. 27th Ave., Wheat Ridge, the advisory says. They also bear the Retail Marijuana Cultivation License 403R-00287.
The regulators advise consumers who bought any affected product to destroy it or return it to the retail marijuana store from which they purchased it.
Anyone who experiences adverse health effects from consuming these products should seek medical attention immediately and report the issue to the Marijuana Enforcement Division by submitting an MED Reporting Form found at sbg.colorado.gov/marijuana-enforcement.
Symptoms could include coughing, nausea, vomiting, congestion, or sinus pain and drainage. According to Healthline, these symptoms generally are mild, but people who are allergic to mold or those with weakened immune systems could suffer more serious health consequences.
The state advisory lists more than 250 specific products that are potentially contaminated. To view the list, visit sbg.colorado.gov/marijuana-enforcement and click on Health and Safety Advisories.
Legal pot and crime
Increase in crime rates has been commonly cited by opponents of marijuana legalization. It was a point frequently raised during the recent campaign against Colorado Springs Ballot Issue 300. The measure, which sought to legalize recreational marijuana, was defeated in the Nov. 9 election.
A study by researchers from UCCS and Boise State University, however, concludes that legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington was not associated with variations in index crime rates.
Drs. Alexis Harper of UCCS and Cody Jorgensen of Boise State University compared crime data in the two states from 2010 to 2019 using synthetic control analysis, a statistical method used to evaluate the effect of an intervention using a synthetic control group for comparison.
In the study, published Nov. 2, 2022, in the Journal of Drug Issues, the researchers looked at rates of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and burglary.
“Rats are tiny animals and they have no fear of the police.”
They conclude that legalization in the two states “was generally not associated with variations in index crime rates.
“These findings substantiate prior research,” the authors state. “Increased crime rates should not be a primary concern as more states move to adopt recreational marijuana use legislation.
“Instead, the benefits to states via harm reduction, increased tax revenue, and a more efficient allocation of policing resources ought to be more of a consideration for states when passing recreational marijuana legislation.”
Ripped rats
Rats in India apparently have an appetite for pot, according to statements from police submitted to a judge in the Mathura district.
An edible cannabis extract called bhang is used in Hindu practices, but recreational weed is illegal in India. Pot seized in raids is commonly stored in police stations.
During one case involving marijuana seizure, Judge Sanjay Chaudhary stated in an order that when the court asked police to produce the seized evidence, it was told that 195 kilos (about 430 pounds) had been destroyed by rats.
The police filed a report in another case involving 386 kilos (about 811 pounds) stating that some of the cannabis “was eaten up by the rats,” according to a Nov. 24 report by BBC News.
“Rats are tiny animals and they have no fear of the police,” a statement read in court said. “It’s difficult to protect the drug from them.”
The judge said about 700 kilos (1,543 pounds) of marijuana that has been confiscated by police is being held in police stations in the district, and “all of it was under danger of infestation by rats.”
Chaudhary said the police don’t know how to deal with the problem and that the only way they can cope with “such fearless mice” was to auction off the drugs to research labs and medical firms. The proceeds would go to the government, he stated.
Not everyone is convinced that daring vermin are responsible for the disappearance of the contraband.
Senior Police Official MP Singh told reporters that some of the marijuana had been damaged by heavy rain.
This wasn’t the first time ravenous rodents have been accused of consuming large quantities of cannabis.
Eight police officers in Argentina were fired in 2018 after they blamed mice for the disappearance of 1,000 pounds of cannabis from a police warehouse, the BBC reports.
Experts disputed the claim, stating that “if a large group of mice had eaten it a lot of corpses would have been found in the warehouse.”