Introduction
Thirty-eight states and Washington, D.C. have legalized the medical or recreational use ofcannabis.1 However, illicit markets in the U.S. – including unlicensed production (i.e., black-market cannabis) within a legalized state and products that failed compliance testing in the graymarket – accounted for 76 billion dollars as compared to the 30 billion dollar legal market in2022.2 The contaminant exposure from illicit cannabis is largely unknown. Fungal contaminantsand mycotoxins are a common group of contaminants in cannabis, 3 accounting for severalreported incidents of contaminated cannabis outbreaks and have been linked to opportunisticinfection and vomiting.3,4 Here, we conducted a selective screen of 23 mycotoxins and fungalmetabolites based on prevalence and toxicity – including aflatoxin, deoxynivalenol (i.e.,vomitoxin), fumonisin, ochratoxin, zearalenone, and T-2 toxins – in illicit cannabis seized by lawenforcement in Arizona and California.
