How paranoid should I be after moldy weed

[.GrassISgreener]

Hi all - long time lurker first time poster. Unfortunately not under the best circumstances.

I recently moved to a new area. I have no connections for bud here. I use mj medically and even a few days without at the wrong time is pure hell...Which is why I ended up with $65 worth of dank, but exremely moldy bud. I was already medicated when I first tried it in my extreme q vaporizer - I didn't vape much because I started to feel ill and went to sleep. The next day, early into a vape session, I started to feel ill again. This time it was quite strong - i had a terrible headache and a bit of anxiety (not normal reactions to weed for me at all) as well as intense nausea. In fact, just a moment after registering that the thing i use to combat severe nausea was causing me nausea, i ran to the bathroom and hurled.

Soooo moldy weed tossed. A friend gave me a bit to tide me over, except by the next day it was moldy too. Obviously cross contamination. I used a new grinder but...well I dont know what happened honestly. But the point is - MOLD. I fucking hate mold.

I'm getting a fresh sack tonight. I am absolutely terrified of contaminating it. Obviously I will not use the same jar. I have soaked all my vape parts (except the hose) in rubbing alcohol - several times. I soaked my grinder in iso as well. Is this enough? Is it overkill? My fear is contaminating my new stash...I would seriously fucking cry until I drowned in my own tears if that happened.

FYI - i seriously hate mold. I went through hell living in a horrible rental for over a year that was practically made of mold. Though I already had PTSD, this experience provided me with another layer of triggers. Mold is a big one. So in case you're wondering why the thought of mold spreading fucking terrifies me, that's why.

TL;DR I vaped moldy bud in my extreme q. How obsessive do I need to be about cleaning it (and the area my vape is in) to avoid contaminating my new stash?

thanks in advance

 

[CarolKing]

Cleaning everything with ISO you should be good to go. Good luck with your new stash.

If you are still feeling paranoid you could buy the Boveda packages to use in your cannabis container. If you go through your product quickly you wouldn't need that. The Boveda packages keeps your cannabis fresh. I buy a months maybe more at a time. I also have a Cvault container.

 

[herbivore21]

Hi, I am so sorry to hear of your experience, this sounds like it has been a tough time!

I would strongly advise that you get your hands on a UVC light source to test more conclusively for mold when you see material. Many jeweller's loupes come with these included (bubbleman sells some at fresh headies site). Mold or Mold spores will glow a bright green under UVC light.

Use this to check your items too to confirm that they are not still contaminated after you clean them.

All the best to you, I hope this helps

 

[.GrassISgreener]

Thank you both for your response. I really appreciate it. There's nothing worse than becoming afraid of the thing you use to beat down your incredibly overactive fear response.

I will look into getting a small black light to test my stuff - thanks for the advice. Is this something I can get cheaply, though? Money is tight - even worse since having to toss $65 worth of product.

Also, regarding the tubing - how can I safely clean this? Or would it be best just to toss it and buy a new one? I thought maybe it would be okay but according to my air quality sensing air purifier (which, btw, never registers a drop in air quality when I'm vaping) it isn't. I tested this by simply shaking the tube near the purifier (air quality sensor flashed directly to red) then again by blowing through it (same result). I'm terrified of the contaminated tube somehow contaminating my new stash, my clean vape parts, me...Yeah, mold literally makes me fucking cry.

I guess I'll be combusting tonight, wasting weed I can't afford to waste. Fuck my life.

 

[howie105]

You could consider some silicone tubing, it cleans well with alcohol and the good stuff lasts a long time.

 

[420engineer]

sounds like a growers issue tbh. make sure let air at it, don't let it sit in the same stale air for too long when storing.

mould is already in the air, everywhere, so you need to focus on not letting the conditions it requires to grow to occur in the first place. damp weed with no fresh air = mould

 

[Seek]

If I want to prevent mold, I dry the hell out of the herbs. Things that are dry cannot mold.
The most extreme way to do that is to dry it with silicagel.
IMO the easiest and cheapest way to get silicagel is to buy 100% silicagel cat litter. I could cet a big bag (about 10 liters) for 10$.
First, bake the silicagel in the over to "charge" its drying power. Then close it is an airtight jar so it holds that dryness.
Fill a teabag with some of the baked silicagel and put it into an airtight container with your herbs.
You will need about third-to-half of yours herbs volume in silicagel to make it work (1/3 jar of silicagel and 2/3 herbs).
Don't use those tiny silicagel packet that you can find everywhere because they are too small to do any work and they often contain carcinogenic dryness indicator colorings.
In few hours-days, it should be completele cracker-dry.
Drying it that much will probably leech out most of the aroma and taste, but if you're medical, the taste is probably the last thing you need.
Used silicagel can be "recharged" by baking it again in the oven.

 

[420engineer]

or just buy some 62% Bovida packs that will keep your gear at 62% humidity, which is too low for mould. this is how I store lbs of the stuff with no issues

 

[Vapenvy]

I will look into getting a small black light to test my stuff - thanks for the advice. Is this something I can get cheaply, though? Money is tight - even worse since having to toss $65 worth of product.

There's one in my daughter's Dr Who sonic screwdriver, which seems to be about $25 US. Soooo, check kiddies toys if there are any around, ha ha. Especially ones that have 'secret writing'. It may use uv light to reveal the message.

I assume, therefore, that a dedicated uv light bulb should be pretty cheap.

Good luck

 

[420engineer]

this is for UK Amazon, but just search 'black light' in your local, and you'll find them for about $2;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultra-Viole...&qid=1451640741&sr=8-6&keywords=blacklight+uv

 

[HomeFree]

Plenty of people have smoked and consumed moldy cannabis and lived to tell the tale. Personally I would not do it if I spotted any visible mold at all. If your immune system is not good I definitely do not recommend it. maybe get some cannabis that is not as dense/moist. Once it is jarred be sure to check the buds the next day to make sure they aren't soggy.

It's sad that moldy buds are even sold, but they probably are on the black market. I take it you are in a banned state? I think it will be legal nationwide within the next decade. Can't wait!

Clean all your glass and you should be fine. Get some new tubing if that bothers you.

I don't know that you wrote how you store your cannabis though? Jar too wet and you can get mold, jar too dry and lose flavor. Both things vapor connoisseurs do not enjoy. What about where you store it? Is it dark? How is the temperature range?

If you are nervous about the tubing, purchase some more. You will end up needing more anyways. So clean your glass and use some new tubing.

Good luck!

 

[FlyingLow]

I'm scared to death of all molds, having just had 5 extremely invasive procedures in all 8 sinus cavities.
I'd run, dump everything in a tub of bleach. If it can't be bleached toss it.

 

[UnidenWallet]

or just buy some 62% Bovida packs that will keep your gear at 62% humidity, which is too low for mould. this is how I store lbs of the stuff with no issues

I'm just going to chime in here and say that the 62% humidity packs are not foolproof to prevent mold. Now they are damn good and the humidpacks work. But, like in life: All organic things eventually must decompose. My buds were good for the first 15 months after cropout. The smell was so much nice because it was cured-as-fuck.

But eventually they got too old and started to break down.

I could've opened the jar a more times (I rarely opened after the first 3 months). Maybe if I aired out the jar more often, then the mold wouldn't have developed? But like I said, this was over 15 months old; it couldnt go on forever.

Maybe if I had let the weed get bone-dry (much lower than 62%) then maybe it would've lasted longer?

(It was CBD weed, if you're wondering why I rarely opened it.)