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Botrytis, the Noble Mold. Is it safe to smoke?

Mick

Member
Veteran
In the wine industry it's called the Noble Rot because of the flavour it imparts to wine and is encouraged, https://winefolly.com/tutorial/they-call-it-noble-rot-botrytis/
Years ago we had some very moldy weed and cut it out, dried it, and put in a bag and then promptly forgot about it, until we ran out of weed. It dried dark and hard and looked a bit like hash so we ended up smoking it. Everyone loved it and thought it was much better than the unaffected weed. Who knows whether that was in our heads or not, but that was some damn fine smoke and nobody got sick. Done a bit of research and I've come to the conclusion that it's probably safe, if you're healthy with a good immune system. If you smoke, then you've unknowingly smoked moldy weed, maybe a lot of it, because you can't always see it.
 

Mick

Member
Veteran
Hey, I took your advice and did a bit of research on FL and it looks like from the quick check that I did, that the molds causing Farmers lung and Botryis are different molds. I'm not suggesting anyone smoke moldy weed, just that it may not be as bad as we've been led to believe.
 
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Dropped Cat

Six Gummi Bears and Some Scotch
Veteran
Know your mold:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3779096/

Botrytis is the fancy name for gray mold, and it’s one of the most
common cannabis pathogens. When inhaled, this fungus can cause
an allergic reaction and acute respiratory problems.

These problems may be worse in those who have weakened immune
systems, are prone to autoimmune diseases, or are generally sensitive
to environmental allergens.

I toss any harvest with the mold, clean up. and grow better next time.
 

kaochiu

Well-known member
Veteran
2005, coming back on visit to my hometown in the north of Spain with my nice cured weed from the south, so sure I was going to impress my pals with my acquired growing skills while away.
Everybody liked it, great success, but most complained about the same thing when rolling up "it's not dried yet, still wet". I told them it was six months old, but they were so used to buds dissolving into powder, both from their own growing it and from buying it in the streets that thought it was the standard. My suggestion of Bacyllus Turginensis didn't convince them, they thought i was bragging my latins.
Nowadays, same people are choosy and fancy themselves as great connoisseurs, but still there's plenty unhealthy weed for sale, not just from brotytys. Chemicals are a bigger danger, and the buds look fine. Dealers go for the spiders with nuclear warfare if needed, but also many growers of 1sqm use pyretrines and what not.
Smoking in general it's not safe, combustion of anything produces CO2. But safety is an illusion, anyway.
 
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