Researcher: Cannabis cleared for sale can still be tainted by mold connected to ‘scromiting’

Cannabis products compliant with state-mandated testing regulations aren’t screened for contaminants common in food such as harmful compounds created by mold, a Colorado University researcher warned last week.

That’s a critical health and safety gap that could help explain the rise in cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, a rare but serious ailment that includes symptoms such as extreme vomiting, scientist Tess Eidem recently told Denver-based NBC affiliate KUSA-9.

The oldest adult-use cannabis marketplace in the U.S., Colorado has drawn criticism from operators for its failure to detect and eradicate hemp-derived cannabinoids that have been illegally smuggled into regulated cannabis channels, a practice called “inversion.”

More recently, critics such as the New York Times editorial board have broadly blamed the $32 billion U.S. cannabis industry for a spate of new health problems. These include youth use, psychosis and the rise in cannabis hyperemesis syndrome.

Sufferers sometimes complain of “scromiting,” a combination of screaming and vomiting, according to medical journals.

Is a mold behind cannabis ‘scromiting’ entering regulated cannabis after remediation?

Currently, state testing regulations that establish thresholds for dangerous contaminants such as pesticides and mold do not account for all of the potential health hazards that may lurk in cannabis, Eidem warned, according to KUSA.

These include certain mycotoxins, or harmful compounds produced by mold like Fusarium, Eidem told the news station.

That could be a critical oversight.

Neither Canada nor any U.S. state requires cannabis to be tested for Fusarium, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives last year.

That same study found that vaporizers are “not powerful enough” to kill harmful microbes.

What’s more, cannabis hyperemesis syndrome “appears to have symptoms similar to those of (Fusarium) poisoning,” the Arizona researchers wrote.

Health risk could lurk in remediated cannabis

Moldy cannabis can later be sold after undergoing remediation.

But cannabis that failed initial screening for mold, later remediated via a means such as irradiation, may not be free from Fusarium, Eidem added, according to WUSA.

“One of those Fusarium mycotoxins is called Vomitoxin because when it’s eaten, it makes people throw up,” she said, according to WUSA.

“It has been found in Canadian cannabis at two times the level that is allowed in human food, and we’re also seeing an increased incidence in vomiting associated with cannabis use, and so there’s a correlation there.”

“We do not know if it’s causing some of this cyclical vomiting or cannabis hyperemesis syndrome that we’re seeing in cannabis users, but there’s enough evidence now to show that these mycotoxins produced by Fusarium could be a consumer safety risk,” she told WUSA.

Colorado state law does not require cannabis that failed initial testing for mold but was allowed to be sold after remediation to be labeled as such.

The state Marijuana Enforcement Division recalled a record number of products in 2025. As of September 2025, 465 Colorado marijuana stores sold products that were later recalled after further investigation found contaminants – including mold.

Colorado cannabis regulators downplayed mold connection

Regulators have cracked down on packaging companies that market products using claims of mold prevention.

A spokesperson for MED told WUSA that current scientific evidence does not suggest Fusarium contamination is a “widespread issue” in cannabis.

Eidem pushed back on that in a subsequent post on LinkedIn.

“There are currently no published data looking at regulated cannabis products in the U.S. for Fusarium mycotoxins,” she wrote.

“Of course, the literature won’t show a widespread issue if no one is looking for it, and no U.S. state tests for Fusarium mycotoxins.

Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.