Colorado town awaits test results of pot ingredient in water

Residents of Hugo, Colorado have been asked to not drink tap water after one of the town’s wells was contaminated with THC – the chemical that causes the physiological effects of marijuana.

“We are checking to make sure this isn’t because of the field test kit- that it isn’t a false positive”, said Capt. Michael Yowell of Lincoln County Sheriff’s office.

The Lincoln County Sherriff’s Office said the public works department detected “evidence of THC” in the local water supply but residents did not exhibit any symptoms.

‘At this time, investigators are assessing the situation with state and federal authorities, ‘ the sheriff’s office said.

Drinking water containing THC would be similar to eating marijuana-infused food, meaning the effect would depend entirely on how much was consumed and the strength of the tainted water. Of course, such amount of product is more “than any of us could afford”, said Fox. In this case, by nature I mean weed, which has infiltrated Hugo’s water supply, despite their feeble human attempts to keep the ganja out.

The problem first came to authorities’ attention after a company in Hugo turned up inconsistent results in quick “field tests” it used to check employees for drug use, the Post said. “I might have to go drink some water”, former Hugo Mayor Patsie Smith said. A tester sampled tap water, assuming it would be negative, but it was positive. ‘Fresh water will be coming into town for the public as soon as possible’.

“The one thing that bothers me about this story from a scientific perspective is that THC is so insoluble in water”, Evans told the Post.

Yet, officials are saying that the possibility of a THC contamination is serious enough to take precautions.

“If it is inactive THC, this is a huge scare for no reason”, says Max Montrose, president of Trichome Institute, a national cannabis education company based in Colorado.

Recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado, but individual communities have their own laws, CNN said.

It has not been confirmed that the potential contamination was deliberate, Yowell said.