Editing Effects of cannabis (section)

===Pathogens and microtoxins===
Most [[microorganism]]s found in cannabis affect only plants, not humans, but some, especially those that proliferate when the herb is not correctly dried and stored, can be harmful to humans. Some users store cannabis in an airtight bag or jar in a refrigerator to prevent fungal and bacterial growth.<ref name="mojo">{{cite web
|url=http://www.hempfood.com/IHA/iha01205.html
|title=Microbiological contaminants of marijuana
|publisher=www.hempfood.com
|access-date=22 June 2008
|archive-date=11 July 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711162446/http://www.hempfood.com/IHA/iha01205.html
|url-status=dead
}}{{unreliable source?|date=July 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Aspergillus.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Aspergillus fumigatus]]'']]

The fungi ''[[Aspergillus flavus]]'',<ref name="mj">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kagen SL, Kurup VP, Sohnle PG, Fink JN | title = Marijuana smoking and fungal sensitization | journal = The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology | volume = 71 | issue = 4 | pages = 389–93 | date = April 1983 | pmid = 6833678 | doi = 10.1016/0091-6749(83)90067-2 }}</ref> ''[[Aspergillus fumigatus]]'',<ref name="mj"/> ''[[Aspergillus niger]]'',<ref name="mj"/> ''[[Aspergillus parasiticus]]'', ''[[Aspergillus tamarii]]'', ''[[Aspergillus sulphureus]]'', ''[[Aspergillus repens]]'', ''[[Mucor hiemalis]]'' (not a human pathogen), ''[[Penicillium chrysogenum]]'', ''[[Penicillium italicum]]'', and ''[[Rhizopus nigricans]]'' have been found in moldy cannabis.<ref name="mojo"/> ''[[Aspergillus]]'' mold species can infect the lungs via smoking or handling of infected cannabis and cause opportunistic and sometimes deadly [[aspergillosis]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Remington TL, Fuller J, Chiu I | title = Chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis in a patient with diabetes and marijuana use | journal = CMAJ | volume = 187 | issue = 17 | pages = 1305–8 | date = November 2015 | pmid = 26100839 | pmc = 4646751 | doi = 10.1503/cmaj.141412 }}</ref> Some of the microorganisms found create [[aflatoxin]]s, which are toxic and carcinogenic. Mold is also found in smoke from mold-infected cannabis,<ref name="mojo"/><ref name="mj"/> and the lungs and nasal passages are a major means of contracting fungal infections. Levitz and Diamond (1991) suggest baking cannabis in home ovens at 150&nbsp;°C [302&nbsp;°F], for five minutes before smoking. Oven treatment killed [[conidia]] of ''A. fumigatus'', ''A. flavus'' and ''A. niger'', and did not lower THC levels.<ref name="mojo"/> Cannabis contaminated with ''Salmonella muenchen'' was correlated with dozens of cases of [[salmonellosis]] in 1981.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Taylor DN, Wachsmuth IK, Shangkuan YH, Schmidt EV, Barrett TJ, Schrader JS, Scherach CS, McGee HB, Feldman RA, Brenner DJ | title = Salmonellosis associated with marijuana: a multistate outbreak traced by plasmid fingerprinting | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 306 | issue = 21 | pages = 1249–53 | date = May 1982 | pmid = 7070444 | doi = 10.1056/NEJM198205273062101 }}</ref> Thermophilic [[actinomycete]]s were also found in cannabis.<ref name="mj"/>