Pubdate: Sun, 08 Dec 2013
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2013 The Arizona Republic
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Author: Dave Collins, Associated Press
Page: A28

PROCEDURES CREATED TO SEE WHAT POT IS SAFE TO SMOKE

University Develops Quality Control Tests for the New Industry

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - The microscope at the University of New
Haven, set at 10-times magnification, shows a marijuana leaf covered
with dozens of tiny bumps. It's mold, and someone, somewhere could be
smoking similarly contaminated pot and not have a clue.

Heather Miller Coyle, a forensic botanist and associate professor at
the university, says many things not visible to the naked eye have
been found in marijuana, mold, mildew, insect parts, salmonella and E.
coli, to name a few.

That's why Coyle and her students earlier this year began developing a
new process to detect contaminants in marijuana through DNA profiling
and analysis. The aim is to be able to identify potentially harmful
substances through a testing method that could make the analysis
easier and quicker for labs across the country in the developing
industry of marijuana quality control testing.

Twenty states and Washington, D.C., now allow medical marijuana with a
doctor's recommendation, and Washington state and Colorado have
legalized recreational pot use. Connecticut and Washington state
already require testing and other states are doing the same, spawning
a testing industry.

"If there's no certification ... it's like saying we don't check our
meat for mad cow disease," Coyle said. "That's our goal as a private
university, to develop the tools to address or mediate this issue."

Effects still not clear

A number of labs around the country are testing marijuana for
contaminants using different methods, many of which have been around
for decades and used to test other plants, including food crops, for
harmful substances.

The health effects of marijuana tainted with mold, pesticides and
other contaminants aren't clear, said Mason Tvert, a Colorado based
spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. The
project was founded in 1995 to lobby for the reduction or elimination
of penalties for marijuana use.

"Although we have not seen significant problems with tainted marijuana
in the past, we should certainly be taking steps to make sure it's not
a problem in the future," Tvert said. "We have never seen a death
solely associated with marijuana use. The same certainly can't be said
of alcohol and other drugs."

Food and Drug Administration records from 1997-2005 show no cases in
which marijuana was the primary suspected cause of death, but the drug
was listed as a secondary suspected cause contributing to 279 deaths.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in July that
an "epidemic" of synthetic drug use has caused rising numbers of
deaths and emergency room visits.

One study released earlier this year, however, found that pesticide
residues on cannabis are transferred to inhaled marijuana smoke,
possibly posing a "significant toxicological threat." The study was
done by The Werc Shop, an independent testing lab for medical cannabis
in Pasadena, and published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Toxicology.

Some of it can be tainted

Marijuana can develop mold from an inadequate drying process or poor
storage conditions after harvesting. It can also become tainted with
E. coli and other dangerous substances by being near farm animals.

Coyle will be developing a new method for creating DNA profiles of
biological contaminants found in marijuana including mold, viruses,
fungi and bacteria. The profiles could then be compared with DNA
profiles of organisms kept in a database maintained by the National
Center for Biotechnology Information - a division of the National
Institutes of Health.

"What we're trying to do is put the information together in a user
friendly format," Coyle said. "Having some better technology in place
is a good thing."

The University of New Haven's work is an extension of the law
enforcement-related marijuana DNA profiling the school has done under
a $100,000 federal grant. The school created a marijuana DNA profile
database that has helped federal authorities determine where illegal
pot growers and dealers got their product.
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