Residents of Hugo, Colorado have been told not to drink running water after the sheriff’s office found THC, the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana, running through the city pipes.
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Based on the information released so far, Montrose says he suspects the testing company likely tested for “residual, non-active THC”.
Although recreational cannabis use is legal in Colorado, it is unclear how the substance found its way into the water. Only one well seems to be contaminated and officials said that the well might have been deliberately tampered with. Officials told residents of the small Colorado community not to drink or shower in tap water Thursd.
“The one thing that bothers me about this story from a scientific perspective is that THC is so insoluble in water”, Evans said. Colorado began allowing the sale of recreational marijuana on January 1, 2014.
Hugo is a tiny town of about 750 people, located roughly 90 miles east of Colorado Springs and 15 miles southeast of Limon.
The problem was discovered after a local company was testing its own water supply and found the chemicals presence, according to ABC News.
The effects of drinking THC-laced water 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, Salley said.
Lincoln County officials first discovered the issue when an employee used tap water to demonstrate a clean drug test.
“We are going to investigate this till the end”, Yowell said, adding that officials are taking it “very serious”.
Residents can still bathe, wash clothing and water lawns until test results come in. There are only 62 registered medical marijuana patients in all of Lincoln County. Moreover, it’s extremely unlikely that the town’s water supply could have been contaminated with THC-at least, in concentrations high enough to produce even the slightest buzz.
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Hugo Public Works notified the sheriff’s office of the potential contamination earlier Thursday after discovering signs of tampering, Yowell said.
