On Wednesday, the 700-strong town of Hugo, located roughly 100 miles from Denver in eastern Colorado, advised residents not to drink, bathe, or cook with the tap water, after multiple field tests came back positive for THC. State health officials are now running Broad Spectrum tests on the water and the Sheriff’s Office says it expects conclusive test results by 1 or 2 p.m. this afternoon.
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Lincoln County Public Health Director Susan Kelly said no illnesses have been reported in Hugo – a town of about 730 people – but THC was detected in field tests on the water.
Dr. Fox also recommended that until the department received the additional test results, it is “reasonable [for residents] to avoid drinking or cooking with town water” but that “washing hands, toileting, bathing and showering” with town water are acceptable, according to the Facebook post.
Authorities are establishing screening stations for anxious residents and water is being trucked in, according to the Post.
Peter Perrone, who owns Wheat Ridge cannabis testing facility Gobi Analytical, said cannabinoids such as THC or CBD “are in no way soluble in water…”
Investigators said during a press conference Wednesday evening that six of the ten water samples taken had tested positive for THC.
“We want to know too”, the sheriff’s office said in a tweet.
When the well was investigated, officials found signs of forced entry into the well.
Prosecuting attorneys from the local 18th Judicial District, FBI, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation have been called in. “THC-COOH is what they look for in urine for drug tests, urine is water-based, and THC-COOH can be detectable for more than a month”.
Yowell tells KRDO NewsChannel 13 that it’s not possible to spike water with marijuana.
Yowell says that while they are aware of these facts, they’re still being careful.
“This causes real concern, because if it happens in Hugo, Colorado, it can happen any place”, said resident Maye Gene Lee.
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The effects of drinking THC-laced water would depend on the concentration, the amount consumed and how quickly it was consumed, all information officials don’t yet know, Salley said.
