I told you earlier this year the story of the German weed that had been found laced with lead particles to give it extra weight. A far more insidious contaminant has popped up over in Europe – tiny glass particles to add weight. They look like shiny resin glands and if you smoke them, well, you can probably figure out that glass + lungs = health problems. The UK’s National Health Service issued this warning:
The Department of Health has recently received information suggesting that batches of herbal and ‘skunk-type’ cannabis have been contaminated with microscopic glass-like beads (or possibly ground glass). Laboratory testing has since confirmed a number of cases from a number of different parts of the country, in which cannabis appears to contain microscopic particles of glass. We have no information on other types of cannabis such as resin.
Now we’re receiving emails warning of the same danger being found in the Northeastern United States:
Unfortunately this is not a hoax!!! There is someone putting ground up glass shards in the bud to make it weigh more. I’ve seen it first hand and have even viewed it through a microscope. BE CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU BUY AND KNOW WHERE IT’S COMING FROM!!!
After doing some research online, it seems this has been a recent epidemic in the UK. People have been going to the hospital coughing up blood and numerous other adverse health effects.
Contaminated Marijuana Characteristics
The first noticeable thing is the size of the bag, a 1/4 oz. looks like an 1/8, as the glass adds a lot of weight.
Secondly, after handling the bud there’s a sandy or gritty feeling on your fingers.
Besides that there’s almost no way to detect it by eye. Even held under a light and carefully inspected, the glass particles appear to be resin glands, they’re even the same color.
The best way to detect it is to put everything through a grinder. When opening there’s a strange puff cloud of glass dust that goes into the air. The glass will immediately sift through the screen as it is granular and dry, not sticky. When sifted the glass moves strangely, like sand in an hour glass.
The massive amount of glass in the photo was collected in only 2 grams of pot.
The contaminated pot turned up just this week in Wolfeboro, NH.
You know what you never hear of? A distillery spiking their alcohol with contaminants in order to make a higher profit. In a taxed and regulated alcohol market, there are inspections and quality control and strict penalties for violations. In the legal market, there isn’t enough risk-added profit to motivate sellers to break the rules.
But the more I think of it, the less I think dealers grinding up glass to pump up profits by adding weight makes sense. According to the Drug Czar’s 2008 Marijuana Sourcebook, 81% of the people who buy weed buy it from a friend or relative, and usually at a home, dorm, or apartment – your friend isn’t adding the glass, or he ain’t a friend. Your friend gets it from “a Guy”. Guy makes his living selling bulk weed to a few such friends – he can’t really risk blowing his distribution setup once his few dealers start getting complaints and losing business. And if one of these dealers finds out Guy is selling them jacked-up weed? Stoner, please! And if your big-time mover or cartel is adding glass, we’d see a whole lot more of it on the streets than we’ve seen so far.
So maybe a few anonymous dime-bag park deals might be the place to turn your $20 of weed into $40 by adding glass, but where are these street hustlers finding the time to grind up a bunch of glass into itty-bitty particles? And how many times are they getting away with it before some savvy cannabis consumer feels grit in the bag and kicks their ass?
Suppose for a moment, though, that you’re a renegade county sheriff or frustrated drug war bureaucrat, realizing you’re losing the public perception battle on marijuana, because nobody really sees that much harm in it. Maybe you believe marijuana smokers are just losers and animals anyway, and you’re just the guy to teach those dopers a lesson. Maybe when one of those potheads has a friend coughing up blood, that scare the young kids away from it, and you’ll have finally saved another parent’s child from the reefers! Maybe a pound or two disappears from an evidence locker and somehow makes it back onto the streets chock full o’ glass.
I’m just saying that this is another predictable harm of prohibition, not marijuana.
BOSTON, MA
Same thing here. Bought what looked like some nice KB (haven’t seen kb in 2 years just exotic and regs) I ground up the buds and noticed a ton of yellow keefe and figured the buds were old or it was pollen. I smoked half the 8th and noticed the keefe didnt burn it just turned black when put to a flame. i felt the keefe, it was a sandy texture. I did research online and put the “keefe” to the CD test and it put big scratches in it. I investigated the remaining buds. Under a common 75 Watt bulb you can not notice any contaminant, I had to look at the buds under sun light to notice what appeared to be a clear coat on some of the leaves- shiny spots have the reflective shine of a fake decorative fruit. I was able to peal some of the shiny coating off of a leaf and it was clear but milky green as well. The piece was very hard though i was able to break it while scratching a cd with it. I called the person I Got it from and informed him of the deal, had to actually go to his house and show him because he didnt know. I’ve spread the word and apparently a lot of people i know have been smoking this shit for a while. There is a ton of this bud around, its all the same strain from what ive seen. its heavy thick kb. BEWARE OF ALL MARIJUANA IN THE MASSACHUSETTS AREA!
I’m in Keene, New Hampshire (southern NH) and just came across a bag of Grit. I tried the cd scratch test and it definitely left a mark. Been smoking it all day and my chest feels heavy and tight. I shouldn’t have bought it from a creepy coke head. I’m just pissed I wasted $40. LEGALIZE AND TAX IT.
you speak the truth! its in Halifax/Dartmouth, NS as well.
hahah sexy weed. I’ve refered to a bud like that once
no its not buddy. I’m from Halifax….this shits been showing up here as well. last month my guy was giving me shit that fits this discription to a T. My buddy over in PEI says he got some too. Canada is not A-OK
this stuff is all over atlantic canada now too! i’ve run into it in newfoundland and prince edward island, both in the last month
I’m in Virginia and this “grit weed” is everywhere. I’ve seen it all too, glass, sand, and the newest one has some small white pieces on it. If you touch the ash after it has been smoked it is this strange oily ash. This crap is all over the place, it never used to be this way i can’t even find any non-contaminated pot anywhere. This is complete crap, legalize pot already the weed being laced with these contaminants is much more harmful than the actual drug! Haven’t found any straight nugs since summertime.
This shit is all over the united stats across the west and east coast. Only buy your pot if you know where it comes from! I’m pissed at this crap it needs to stop whoever the hell its comin from
i got a gram of weed it was definitely this “grit weed” i smoked it anyway not knowing at the time , i thought something was up with this weed but i convinced myself i was just trippin out ………
I’m in Foxboro Mass and here I’ve been forced to waste SO much extra cash on headies these last few months, as its the only shit thats not been contaminated. Literraly havent found strait KB nugs since early summer…someones gotta find whose behind this BS and castrate their sorry A$$..for real
i found a video about gritweed on youtube from a u.k. user last week. i didn’t think much of it, i thought it was a u.k. problem, i bought a bag a few days ago that i now am for certain is giritweed.
everytime i would take a bong hit i noticed my chest would feel tight, i brushed it off until today (3 grams into the bag), having a feeling something just wasn’t right, gave it a couple days and something IS NOT right. small, hard buds that appear to be coated in resin, analyzed them for 3 days and it’s impossible to spot with the naked eye. you’ll notice a chalky sand paper feeling in the back of your throat.
i am in WARWICK, RI. this is not just a U.K. problem.
I live near Boston, Massachusetts and there is grit weed circulating around all over the place. Different types of it too. Ive seen two seperate dealers with seperate types of buds in seperate towns and counties that both have grit weed. It really SUCKS! This infuriates me. Part of me wants to annonymously send a sample to the police.
heay my name is jimmy and i live in mass 2o minuts north of boston i got an lb of this shit man and it sucks i no it is grit weed and am stuck with it we need to find out were the fuck this shitty shit is comming from and do something about it i have been smoking for years and years and have never seen aneything like this at first i thought it was crazey headdy weed but it tasts like kind bud it ic covered in a yellowish white powder it does not burn good also it sparkles when it burns and is oily the ash is hard this shit si going around so every one do the test b4 bying pleas. i dont no why thees asshols are contaminating weed but we need to stop this do not buy grit weed bewere thanks jimmy
unfortunately this so-called grit weed has made its way down south. its pretty easy to detect if you know what your looking for. really dry, heavy, sexy, light colored beast that literally sparks like sparklers when smoked. PLEASE DO NOT SMOKE THIS POT! if you get some, send it back to your dude. i did.
I live in Southern NH and I got a bag recently that just didn’t look right and came across this site, turns out, been getting ripped off. Wicked bummer. Beware.
Sand weed here in Florida.
anyone know if this has turned up in california?
canada is still A-OK.
this is in fact true. i had an entire half pound of this, and didn’t even realize it was harmful grit weed until it was all gone!! I read this article recently and was soo distraught. At first, i just thought it was really nice bud, untill i read this article. Everytime i ground it up, i got that unusual cloud when opening the grinder. everytime i excalimed “wow, look at all the kief!!!” only to realize it wasn’t keif. I live in southern RI right now, but got this batch from warwick… at least now i know what to look for, i will never buy this crap again; i can’t beleive anybody would do this; only crackheads should have to deal with this kind of nonsense… weed should be nothing but weed. legalize it already! the only harm thats ever been caused has been caused by its legal status!
Outside of Europe, I’ve been reading reports about this “grit weed” bullshit being in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Denver. Unfortunately, it is now also in RHODE ISLAND. There seems to be a pretty heavy amount of going around at least Warwick and South County, but I’m sure it is probably all over the state if not New England in general.
If you’re in this area (or anywhere for that matter) and have recently seen/smoked/purchased anything that seems overly kiefy and gritty, stop smoking immediately! DON’T SMOKE IT! DON’T BUY IT! DON’T SELL IT! Google/myspace/youtube search grit weed if you don’t know what it is… I hoped it would stay isolated to Europe and never get here, but sadly that doesn’t seem to be true. Soon enough it will probably be in many more places if not already… EDUCATE yourselves and smoke safe.
peace.
[...] i found and article that talks about it being in new hampshire (that’s where i live). check it out: Beware the “Grit Weed” | NORML’s Daily Audio Stash i haven’t gotten any but i know people who have, and this is much harder to see [...]