State issues health advisory for weed sold at five Colorado dispensaries

One of the Silver Stem dispensaries in Denver that the state says sold contaminated or potentially contaminated marijuana flower.Photo byGoogle Maps

The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement division this week issued a health and safety advisory for dozens of batches of marijuana sold in five dispensaries throughout the state.

Silver Stem Fine Cannabis, which operates dispensaries in Colorado and Oregon, sold marijuana flower five six harvest batches that exceeded acceptable limits for aspergillus, a genus of mold species that according to the National Library of Medicine can cause infections, fatal diseases and allergic responses.

Two additional harvest batches tested high for yeast and mold, and more than 100 batches that the MED said were potentially contaminated.

All of the sales occurred between April 1, 2022, and July 10, 2023, at Silver Stem dispensaries in Denver, Colorado Springs and Littleton. A full list of batch numbers and dispensary locations can be found here.

The MED said Silver Stem worked with the division to initiate a voluntary recall of the affected batches.

"We have conducted a thorough review of these issues and taken appropriate steps to ensure that all of our products meet high standards of safety and quality," said Adam Foster, Silver Stem's chief legal officer.

The health and safety advisory comes as state marijuana regulators have ramped up enforcement actions.

So far this year, the Lakewood-based Marijuana Enforcement Division has issued 19 health and safety advisories, compared with 11 for all of 2022.

This story has been updated to include a response from Silver Stem.