One of the reasons why marijuana-based medicinal products have been introduced in the world of medicine is to curb opiate-related health complications and death risks. With the introduction of medical cannabis, deaths linked to opiate medication have significantly reduced. There are no reports of anyone who has died out of the direct use of marijuana. However, this doesn’t mean that taking marijuana medical products is always safe.
The quality and safety of medical weed can be compromised at times and cause health complications instead of serving the purpose for which it was intended.
Marijuana products span different markets and this includes environmental or agricultural, food safety, especially for beverages and edibles and then finally medicine. Without the proper testing for quality control, heavy metals, aflatoxins, dangerous pesticides, micro-organisms and residuals solvents can find their way into medical cannabis products. Therefore, it is important to adhere to nationally set standards and regulations to prevent this problem.
The solution to this is through the use of an analytical instrument and applying it in the way it is recommended in order to get the desired results.
Taking Care of your Marijuana and Marijuana-related Products
New strategies in customized cannabinomics provide opportunities to enhance the efficacy and safety of your medical marijuana. The requirements for ensuring the health and safety of marijuana may be different from one state jurisdiction to the other. However, there are standard procedures that make cannabis safe for use. They cut across all procedures regardless of the unique way in which they are defined by different groups.
Preventing Mildew Formation
One of the common attacks on marijuana is mildew formation on the plant. Therefore, it is very important to make sure that weed seedlings are free from powdery filaments, rot, wilt or discolored leaves. That is a list of signs to prove that your marijuana is already affected by mildew. If you let it to grow this way, you will end up not getting healthy marijuana in the end.
To prevent mildew, adjust environmental conditions. Track the humidity around your plants and maintain it between 45%-55%. You can also consider spreading out your cannabis plants to prevent the accumulation of moisture that encourages the growth of fungi. The air quality surrounding your plants is also important. Powdery mildew can travel through air. Therefore, an air purification system will help you cleanse the air around your plants from mildew along with other pathogens that protect your marijuana harvest.
Your marijuana can also get contaminated during the drying process. To support the initial efforts of tracking your plant’s health, make sure you follow through after the product has been harvested. Every stage of production is very important as lingering spores on your already harvested weed can cause some infection with powdery mildew, leaving the weed with a moldy scent. The air purification system will also be good for use at this stage.
Contamination During Manufacturing
Contaminants can also come in during the manufacturing process. When extracting oils from your cannabis, it is important to ensure high quality hygiene for the machinery being used. The presence of dirt inside the machines may pose a danger to the quality of cannabis oil extract. Therefore, make sure you are using the right tools and equipment.
In most cases, plastics have toxicity levels when used in a manufacturing process even though the degree of toxicity differs. Therefore, your final cannabis products may in the end have plastic toxins in them. Metal tubes are mostly recommended because they are safe to use during manufacturing. However, make sure you get the right metals especially those without chemical coatings. This will prevent the infiltration of some toxins into your medical marijuana product. Glass materials can be used but you should be able to establish its properties against temperature and pressure. Should the glass shatter in the production process, the final product may end up getting contaminated.
Storage of Cannabis Products
There are three important factors to consider while storing your cannabis products: humidity in the surrounding; Light settings and Air Control. If your weed is stored in incorrect settings for these factors, it will probably go bad and become a health hazard. Therefore, make sure that your marijuana is stored in a cool and dry place out of direct sunlight.
Most importantly, make sure that your storage is in a neutral charge such as a glass jar. Use hygrometers to track and control relative humidity levels and minimize oxygen exposure by using vacuum seal containers and jars. Again, it is important to separate your weed strains in order to maintain their specific flavor profiles. There are many exciting ways of storing your weed and you would do best if you store each one of them according to the stipulated instructions. Handling marijuana in the recommended way during cultivation, manufacturing and storage are the main secrets to having healthy products.
This post is from our friends in Pot Valet. They are one of the reputable medical marijuana delivery services, providing 45 mins -overnight deliveries for Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Solano counties. Check them out.
Do you know of other ways to keep your cannabis safe and free of contamination?
Share it with us in the comments below.
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