Pubdate: Mon, 02 Dec 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Dave Collins, The Associated Press

MARIJUANA UNDER MICROSCOPE

Testing Can ID Contaminants

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 all sorts of nasty 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 this year began developing a 
process to detect contaminants in marijuana through DNA profiling and analysis.

The aim is 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.

She will be developing a 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 by the National Center for Biotechnology 
Information- a division of the National Institutes of Health.

Twenty states and Washington, D.C., allow medical marijuana with a 
doctor's recommendation, and Colorado and Washington state have 
legalized recreational pot use. Connecticut and Washington state 
require testing.

"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."

Labs across 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.

"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.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom