If you’re not in the legal cannabis trade, you may not be aware of the latest way in which commercial growers have been hosed to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Perhaps even millions. Growing cannabis is definitely not a get rich quick scheme. The obstacles are numerous and treacherous — theft, bugs, over regulation, and mold, just to name a few. We already are familiar with powdery mildew and Botrytis, and now Aspergillus is becoming a problem! And what happens when you cross mold with overregulation? This is the nightmare now costing commercial cultivators tons of money and time, and forcing many to find back door distribution alternatives just to stay afloat.
Now Batting — Aspergillus
Aspergillus is a type of mold. It’s common both indoors and outdoors, so the mold spores are all over the place and people breathe it in everyday. Most of the time, people breathe it in without any problems. The Center for Disease Control’s webpage on Aspergillus says “Most people breathe in Aspergillus spores every day without getting sick.” So why would states like California, Colorado, Oregon, and others implement mandatory aspergillosis testing? The problem is that Aspergillus outside is generally ok, but inside, in a grow environment, it can get out of hand quickly and that is where it can be dangerous.
Stop. Don’t freak out. I said CAN be dangerous and perhaps only in super high quantities. That is, unless you’re a person with a compromised immune system or some other health problem that makes you sensitive to molds. That said, mold and fungus is disgusting and its presence is certainly affecting your plants’ health and the terpene profile, nose, and taste of your finished product, even in small amounts. And in serious quantities Aspergillus niger is known to cause lung infections. Another species, Aspergillus flavus, produces a carcinogenic mycotoxin, aflatoxin.
Pass/Fail v. Percentages
Remember, Aspergillus is everywhere. Healthy people can coexist with it, so it shouldn’t be a “pass/fail,” “present or not present” scenario with regards to cannabis. About a year ago, states panicked and implemented Aspergillus testing as a mandatory standard. This was a simple pass/fail, PCR-style test. Since we now understand that Aspergillus is present on almost all things, cultivators immediately began to suffer by failing tests and taking losses on entire harvests or scrambling for back-door outlets to save face on failed batches. It seems the farmers most affected by the legislation were the organic soil, craft cultivators that are already enduring the heavy financial bombardment from all angles. Oregon has since repealed its Aspergillus regulations in the face of heated protest and legal challenges and by the time this issue goes to press I’m sure Cali and Colorado will have changed their policy as well.
Despite policies, Aspergillus will always be undesirable in the garden. And besides, we still don’t have consistent viable solutions to powdery mildew and Botrytis. With respect to testing, we believe that regulatory bodies and the marketplace will eventually need to settle on an affordable test which allows each of the aforementioned to exist at a tolerable percentage that is agreeable and appropriate.
The DARPA Foundation
At the beginning of 2023, I got a call from an old friend in Colorado, Tri Nguyen (pronounced “Tree When”). He is an entrepreneur and one of the smartest technical minds I know in the cannabis space. He’s someone I’ve successfully collaborated with in the past and someone I feel is always a step ahead of the curve. He’s earned every bit of my respect, trust, and friendship over the years and I don’t say this about many people these days. Tri is a real OG and part of my trusted inner circle, my canna fam if you will, and an amazing consultant amongst a lifetime of other incredible accomplishments — I encourage you to google him! He was the first to inform me of the Aspergillus problem facing Colorado growers — and this was actually the first I had ever heard about the fungi. I remember saying “Asperwhatus?”
He was excited because he had found a potential solution before I had even heard of the problem. He explained how he met the folks at TOMI Environmental Solutions, who purchased technology previously developed by DARPA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense) to neutralize chemical and biological agents such as anthrax and other issues facing governmental agencies. SteraMist’s ionized Hydrogen Peroxide (iHP) technology has since been commercialized to disinfect hospitals, pharmaceutical facilities, and commercial entities . . . any space you can imagine. With many issues facing the world and with proven efficacy against Aspergillus and even potentially all mold and powdery mildew, this technology can address these issues, but they needed someone in the industry to test their solution/preventative.
Bruce Banner To The Rescue
Over the next few weeks, calls and emails started coming in from Oregon, California, and Colorado growers. People were pissed, desperate for a solution, and voicing their frustrations. Meanwhile, back in Colorado, ol’ Tri and his colleague, Jason Holck, founder of Colorado’s Dark Horse Genetics, were already on it like The Wolf in Pulp Fiction. Jason has been cultivating and breeding for years. You’ve probably unknowingly blazed one of his world famous Bruce Banner cultivars at some point in your hazy past. Jason currently runs Dark Horse and was eager to hear more about the SteraMist “iHP solution.” Jason is a humble and very well-respected breeder who has certainly earned his spot as an industry leader nationwide. He was one of the first victims of the asper test legislation.
On a visit to Jason’s grow, Tri explained SteraMist’s solution to the problem and Jason agreed to a six-month test trial to investigate whether SteraMist would be a solution for remediation of Aspergillus and powdery mildew in infected cannabis flower that had already been dried and cured, and also as a preventative solution to Aspergillus and powdery mildew in a commercial cultivation facility. Turns out the experiment was a complete success. Not only were they able to quell the onset of mold in the grow, they were also able to revitalize already-cured dried infected nug. This is a game-changer for the cultivation space and even more so for the unpredictable future with respect to testing and regulations. And I forgot the most important discovery: THC and terp levels were not reduced or affected at all in this experiment.
Nature’s Radicals v. Photon Radiation
The SteraMist tech is simple and easy from an application standpoint. One SteraMist system is a ghostbuster-like proton pack, the SteraPak, powered by low-percentage hydrogen peroxide solution passed through a cold plasma arc. “It’s like lighting in the palm of your hands,” explains Nguyen, with genuine excitement. The plasma arc breaks the molecular bond of H2 O2 and creates hydroxyl radicals. These radicals attach themselves to mold and viruses, breaking down the protein of mold and viruses,deactivating it. The reason it doesn’t harm humans or plants and their cannabinoids, terps, and valuable polyphenols is because within nature we have evolved to withstand hydroxyl radicals! Gotta love evolution! Forgot to mention, the byproduct of this reaction is water and oxygen released in the form of humidity within the space. Harmless.
Until now, the only other tech to come forward as a combatant to the issue at hand is a photon radiation machine which claims (until now) to be the only tech to safely inactivate powdery mildew, Aspergillus, and a long list of other ruiners, but who can afford to spend $150,000 to 400,000 for a machine, and furthermore, one that uses radiation as a solution? I’m no radiologist, but I’m not trying to intentionally “radiate” anything I plan to ingest or consume except microwave popcorn, LOL!
This is a dark and moldy tale, but this is also exciting news from a trustworthy ally, and he is smart enough to have licensed the tech from TOMI for the cannabis industry. DARPA tech is in the hands of the home team — a new day has dawned. No, I wasn’t paid to write this piece nor am I a paid spokesperson for TOMI or SteraMist. I’m just a grateful friend who is happy to see such a powerful solution in the hands of such a trustworthy and responsible ally, a wonderful person who does the right thing and with contagious enthusiasm. Congratulations brother Tri on another amazing accomplishment in the cannabis space. Here’s to you! And here’s to all of our Grow community and our family of readers Tri stands to help with this amazing discovery.