THC, the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana, was discovered in the water supply in the town of Hugo, located less than 100 miles (160km) southeast of Denver.
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In the meantime, authorities in Hugo have warned residents not to bathe, cook or drink any public water, as well as to keep their pets away from the water supply.
One of the town’s water wells had been tampered with, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, which added there was evidence of forced entry. An advisement against drinking the water began Thursday after tests confirmed THC in the water. Since authorities on the whole know very little about cannabis and the way it works, the positive results triggered a panic, lest anyone in charge be accused of not caring about the well-being of the citizens of Hugo.
He said: ‘I wouldn’t be doing my job for the community if we just wrote this off’.
Yowell said a company that administers employee drug tests was the first to detect THC in Hugo’s water. It is now thought that the tests had all provided false positives.
“The criminal investigation into damage on well #1 structure will continue”, the sheriff’s department said Saturday on Twitter.
But for a small town in Colorado it’s been a real public health nightmare after field tests showed that a public well was testing positive for THC. The police say, however, that other field tests have been negative.
Peter Perrone, owner of a marijuana testing facility in the Denver area, expressed doubt that THC could be in the water.
Some have claimed it is impossible for THC to be found in the water, let alone a unsafe level of it. THC is relatively insoluble in water, and therefore would not mix with the water.
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The town is now shipping water in and has set up screening stations for residents, according to The Denver Post. The old “it’s not me; it’s the water” routine never fails. Captain Mike Yowell with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department says more tests were done and an independent chemist tested the water and all the initial tests showed the presence of THC.
