A St. Charles County microbiologist’s test results for mold in cannabis, which he has shared on social media, are drawing questions from cannabis consumers and legal threats from members of the state’s cannabis industry.
Kirk Hartwein, the owner of Missouri Mold LLC of O’Fallon, has posted dozens of close-up photos of petri dishes, many covered in mold colonies, to his Facebook page this year.
The colonies represent mold spores present in one gram of cannabis flower purchased from licensed Missouri dispensaries, Hartwein said.
“I test consumer products,” he said. “I think there are certain medicinal patients who are underserved by not having a full amount of information about what they’re buying.”
But while a growing audience is taking stock of Hartwein’s findings, critics have questioned his results. Three legal cultivators featured on his page have sent Hartwein cease-and-desist letters in recent months. Hartwein is standing by his tests. Hartwein, who earned a biology degree in 1993 from Missouri State University, started his Missouri Mold business in December, according to state records. He publicizes cannabis testing services on his website.
Read more at stltoday.com