Re: Time magazine special issue- the year in medicine

December 3, 2005

In a message dated 12/3/2005 11:24:14 AM Pacific Standard Time,

tigerpaw2c@... writes:

Material contaminated with aflatoxin-

producing _A. flavus_ will fluoresce to a green hue under

ultraviolet light.

I have never heard this before. Has anyone else?

Sharon

December 3, 2005

Bob and Members, you might want to think twice before attempting the

use of this and do some further research. Beside it just being

illegal, unless prescribed.

KC

Moldy Marijuana, The Straight Dope

http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_writings3.shtml

Fungi destroy more bud than bacteria and insects combined. Bacteria

in marijuana may be more dangerous to humans, but they are rare.

Molds are common, and can be nasty: reports four policeman

developing pulmonary histoplasmosis after pulling up a 5,000-square-

meter plot of marijuana in Puerto Rico. Some fungi won't rot pot,

but they will put you in the hospital.

Many fungi causing disease in plants die off after their host is

harvested. Exceptions include _Botrytis cinerea_ (the cause of gray

mold) and _Alternaria alternata_ (brown blight). After harvest, your

competition becomes _Aspergillus_, _Penicillium_, _Rhizopus_, and

_Mucor_, the baddest actors on the planet. Each genus causes disease

under different conditions:

Ubiquitous _Aspergillus_ grows on anything from rocket fuel to

astronauts. The genus is millions of years old; while _Home sapiens_

may come and go, _Aspergillus_ will remain. Westendorp first found

an _Aspergillus_ species attacking _Cannabis_ in 1854. More

recently, Margolis & Clorfene describe a mold that _increases_

potency in marijuana. Their " black weblike fungus " sounds like an

_Aspergillus_ species. _What_ species, I'd like to know....

Schwartz scraped _Aspergillus niger_ from the skull of a marijuana

smoker experiencing sinus headaches. I frequently encounter _A.

niger_ growing in ganja stored at room temperature. It does _not_

increase potency. Kagen also reports _A. niger_ growing in moldy

marijuana, along with two _even nastier_ Aspergilli: _A. fumigatus_

and _A. flavus._

Chusid et al. blame _A. fumigatus_ for causing near-fatal

pneumonitis in a 17-year-old. They note the patient buried his

marijuana underground for " aging. " No doubt the patient was looking

for Margolis & Clorfene's fungus, but _A. fumigatus_ found him

instead. _A. flavus_, on the other hand, kills slowly. It oozes

carcinogenic metabolites called aflatoxins. Llewellyn & O'Rear found

aflatoxins contaminating Virginian marijuana.

_Aspergillus_ species grow better in warmer climates, _Penicillium_

in cooler climates. Refrigerator storage encourages _Penicillium_

infestation. Kagen et al. isolated _Penicillium_ from marijuana

cigarettes. Babu et al. identified _P. chrysogenum_ attacking

marijuana. (_P. chrysogenum_ occurs abundantly in nature, and was

Fleming's source of penicillin.) I isolated _P. italicum_

from marijuana stored with an orange peel at 0 degrees Centigrade.

Adding peels to pot imparts a " pleasant bouquet " ( &

Rosenthal). In my case, the peel imparted a nidus of infection. _P

italicum_, the " blue citrus mold, " is notorious for its ability to

spread by contact (i.e., " one bad apple spoils the whole bunch " ).

Five _Mucor_ species have been described on _Cannabis._ Members of

this genus grow fast and die young. One of them, _M. hiemalis_,

regrettably bioconcentrates (and cannot metabolize) the herbicide

paraquat from tainted substrates (Domsch et al.). _Mucor's_ first

cousin, _Rhizopus,_ occurs in soil, ripe foodstuffs, and

occasionally on people (especially diabetics). Grebeniuk isolated

_R. stolonifer_ from hemp stems. In an inoculation experiment, I

quickly rotted some damp marijuana with a colony of _R. stolonifer_

found growing on bread.

DIAGNOSIS Rotting marijuana produces a spectrum of odors, from stale

to musty to moldy. _P. italicum_ perfumes a lavender bouquet, while

_A. flavus_ smells like a locker room. _Clostridium_ bacteria stink

like carrion.

Infested marijuana often darkens in color and becomes crumbly.

Anaerobic bacteria turn marijuana into brown slime. Marijuana

undergoing rapid decay may feel warm to touch. (At this stage your

stash is ready for the compost heap.) Tufts of fungi are often

visible in mold material. In marijuana stored in darkness, strands

look white to light grey. Exposed to light, storage molds spawn

millions of colored spores in velvet clumps. A slight tap sends

these spores into great billowing clouds. Generally, _Rhizopus_ and

_Mucor_ produce grey-black spores; _Penicillium_ species are light

blue-green; and _Aspergillus_ species are dark green-black.

To check for aflatoxins, inspect your stash under a black light (in

medicalese, a " Wood's Lamp " ). Material contaminated with aflatoxin-

producing _A. flavus_ will fluoresce to a green hue under

ultraviolet light.

CONSUMER CAVEATS

Immunosuppressed individuals and asthmatics should never be exposed

to molds, especially _Aspergillus._ People using medical marijuana

should take extra precautions:

Ungerlerder et al. sterilized marijuana with ethylene oxide,

reporting no loss of THC from fumigation. These researchers also

irradiated their dope with high-dose Cobalt 60 (15,000 to 20,000

Gray Units!) with no loss of THC. _This method is not recommended

for novices._

Moody et al. evaluated waterpipes for smoking _Aspergillus_-

contaminated marijuana. Unfortunately, they found only a 15%

reduction in transmission of fungal spores.

In Chicago, goofy dudes spray their marijuana with formaldehyde.

This kills insects and fungi, but at a price. The treated weed,

known as AMP, causes anoxia and psychomotor retardation when smoked

(Spector). According to _Newsweek_ (Jan. 20, 1986), a few ill-

intentioned dealers dipped marijuana in rat poison or insecticides

like Black Flag or Raid. They called this product " WAC. " Indeed.

Have a nice day.

>

> It is at the newsstands now. Of special interest to me:

>

> 1. studies on marijuana showed it contains extract named

Sativex, which lessens the pain of RA and actually suppressed the

disease. it has anti-inflammatory effects and is said to reduce

brain inflammation. Most all of the " new " illnesses such as CFS,

have inflammation.

>

> 2. There were four new types of housing discussed and it looked

to me that three of them would work for people with mold problems.

>

> Much more of interest

>

> ---------------------------------

> Personals

> Single? There's someone we'd like you to meet.

> Lots of someones, actually. Personals

>

December 9, 2005

Bob,

I do not think you are stupid but that it was a " stupid " idea to even

entertain the idea of using the stuff when mold is a major issue. The mold in

that will really send a persom with CFS or mold illness over the edge health

wise.

Take care,

Marcie

Bob <blue74730@...> wrote:

Marcie McGovern <marcie1029@...> wrote: Bob and members,

KC is so correct.......especially if you state that you have Chronic Fatigue ,

the last thing you need is " pot " .

KC & Marcie,

I went back and reread my post about what " Time " printed about pot and

inflammation. I did not suggest that people try it. Saying that I did is like

saying that Time magazine told people to use it. I found it interesting that

there is an extract in pot which is anti-inflammatory. someone just posted about

an alkaloid in some mold which is also in LSD. Reporting reseearch findings is

not the same as saying let's do it. I am not stupid, though I do stupid things

at times. I think KC posted studies which showed that marijuana could add to our

mold problems. We need to see different studies and all make up our OWN minds

about what we think is right for us.

I have seen recent posts talking about people leaving from where they are.

That reminds me of what some people were saying about the poor who just didn't

jump into their SUV's and fill up with $50 worth of gas, drive far away and pull

out a visa to pay for a motel room. The New Orleans fiasco made me deeply aware

of just how trapped the poor are. I saw a 60 minute's show and they were asking

a poor back woman with three poor sons if they thoughtshould move from their

mold-infested homes. The wise old woman, about 90, said they probably should but

where would they go and how would they pay for it.

Bob

---------------------------------

Personals

Let fate take it's course directly to your email.

See who's waiting for you Personals

December 11, 2005

I read it is good for asthma, and it helps some people sleep and eat

I have heard from sick people.

Bob,

>

> I do not think you are stupid but that it was a " stupid " idea to

even entertain the idea of using the stuff when mold is a major

issue.

>

> Marcia, since little is known about mold, I do not see how you

could say what is good or bad concerning mold. well we know some

things are bad but we have never seen studies about pot and mold/mcs.

I will say the name but a very longtime PWC backchanneled me and said

that he/she knows of quite a few older people who would never

consider breaking law, have been smoking pot for both CFS and mold. I

am not promoting the use of pot on this list. It is an individual

decision we each have to make but the time magazine article was fact

and yours is just a personal opinion. There is no proof one way or

the other of the effects of pot on mold suffers. I would bet money

though that if I were in one of the eleven states which doctors can

give prescriptions for pot to patients, that I could get one. In the

many years on CFS goups, I have beconme aware that there are many

people who complain but are not willing to look at different things.

I know of two things which are helping people with CFS

> now. I will probably try them. I know one woman who was negative

about everything that we tried yet the name of the list is

, which means to me that we are experimenting. when

several of started to have success with B-12 shots, she said that

sounded stupid. guess what, she now says she is at 90% and gives much

of the credit to B-12 shots..lol

>

> People should be informed and the time magazine article just

proved that pot reduces inflammation. Now do we have inflammation? It

has been proven that people with CFS/FM/RA have a lot of

inflammation. There is no medicine which can be taken for

inflammation for very long. You say that long term pot use leads to

laziness is something I know is not true. I know many successful

people in the business world of Dallas who smoke pot almost every

night. someone of them are in their 50's. I value you opinion on

things but I must disagree with the things you said about pot.

>

> To make it very clear, I am in know way emdorsing the use of pot

for people on this list. I will say that if I were in a state which

permittted it for medical use, I would be right there trying it! some

of the medicine I take are much worse that pot! I am addicted to

SSRI's and I would have to go through withdrawal even if I got well

and didn't need them anymore.

>

> your friend, Bob

>

> ---------------------------------

>

> Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at

>

December 12, 2005

Yes, especially if the aflatoxins have been hit with a dilute acid solution,

they show up very well. You can sometimes use a black light to find hidden

mold. (not always but it helps)

Commercial food processors use machine vision coupled with industrial

blacklights to perform realtime analysis of food grains in the processing

chain. This helps them minimize the impact of contaminated grains when they

are found.

Trichothecene mycotoxins I think also flouresce under some UV wavelengths. I

wouldn;t rely on this, and it may not always apply (for example, i don't

know if/which living molds floresce) but I do know that in my home I have

had luck in finding mold by using a big blacklight. And typically, the mold

will glow a very faint but noticable blue or green.

On 12/3/05, snk1955@... <snk1955@...> wrote:

>

> In a message dated 12/3/2005 11:24:14 AM Pacific Standard Time,

> tigerpaw2c@... writes:

>

> Material contaminated with aflatoxin-

> producing _A. flavus_ will fluoresce to a green hue under

> ultraviolet light.

>

> I have never heard this before. Has anyone else?

>

> Sharon

>

December 12, 2005

I think one of the things that mold does, in my experience, is that it

PROFOUNDLY upsets my ability to sleep soundly.

When the mold is flaring up, nothing I do will let me sleep. I think that

treating the mold exposure with something like CSM would be preferable to

anything else..but that is oly for removing the biotoxins that are

circulating in your system from old exposures, it wont protect you from

something you are getting at that moment.

I've read somewhere - I think at mycotoxicosis.com's listing of mycotoxin

refs, that some mycotoxins upset neurotransmitter balance.

With serotonin, this could result in depression, anxiety, poor impulse

control, and an inability to sleep soundly. With dopamine, this could result

in attention problems.. (in addition to the mycotoxins cytotoxic activity

quite possibly making long-term potentiation of memories and new skills- i.e.

learning, less effective)

Taking precursors of neurotransmitters like 5HTP (in the evening) and

phenylalanine (in the morning) might help.. Just an idea..

December 12, 2005

" SAM-E " has also seemed to help my sleep patterns.. Especially if I take it

late in the day..

Its pricey, but worth it for that reason..

December 12, 2005

Overdosing on Tylenol (acetominophen) can easily KILL you. Watch out with

that! Seriously!

It is one of the worst OTC drugs for LIVER TOXICITY.. I think..

>

December 12, 2005

TRUE.

V.

Re: [] Re: Time magazine special issue- the year in

medicine

> Overdosing on Tylenol (acetominophen) can easily KILL you. Watch out with

> that! Seriously!

>

> It is one of the worst OTC drugs for LIVER TOXICITY.. I think..

>

>>

>

December 12, 2005

Since leaving my school and under Dr. Shoemaker's care I hardly ever have

to take Tylenol! No headaches ( which were daily) or sleeping problems.

Overdosing on Tylenol (acetominophen) can easily KILL you. Watch out with

that! Seriously!

It is one of the worst OTC drugs for LIVER TOXICITY.. I think..

December 12, 2005

ssr3351@... wrote: Before I began seeing Dr. Shoemaker and was so sick I

hardly ever slept!

IN what other area's has he helped your symptoms?

Bob

---------------------------------

Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at

December 12, 2005

Everything has improved!! Still get a little tired by early evening and have

some short term memory loss but I can live with that!!

IN what other area's has he helped your symptoms?

December 12, 2005

,

You said it..... " you have heard from sick people. " How long have they been

using pot and I bet they are still sick!!!!

There are toooooo many chemicals in pot that can do serious harm to unhealthy.

Now some patients that have chemo or glaucoma do use it for stopping nausea and

the stopping of the progress of glaucoma.Some people hallucinate on pot and have

other bad reactions.

My daughter has asthma and she tried to smoke as a teen and she ended up in

the emergency room.

You need to talk to a doctor and find out what he thinks. Give someone a

placebo and they think they are getting better. Smoking pot does not make you

better it just makes you feel like you don't care about the pain or your health

symptoms.

To each his own...anyone can do what they want but I say " no thanks " , I am

confused enough, I don't need the mind numbing effects of pot to make me more

confused. I want to try to remain in control of my mind and body. I have MS also

and it's hard enough without pot in my system.

Peace,

Marcie

PS* Bob...I know enough about the mold that is killing me to say what I did. I

have done hundreds of hours of research about mold , so let's leave it at that.

:-)

ldelp84227 <ldelp84227@...> wrote: