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Officials told residents of a small Colorado community [Hugo, CO] not to drink or shower in tap water Thursday because one of the town's wells may have been contaminated with THC, marijuana's intoxicating chemical.
[...] Investigators found signs that one of Hugo's five wells had been tampered with, but they hadn't determined whether someone deliberately tainted the water.
Hugo prohibits marijuana cultivation, product manufacturing, testing facilities and retail marijuana stores, although those activities are legal elsewhere in the state.
Peter Perrone, owner of a marijuana testing facility in the Denver area, expressed doubt that THC could be in the water. The chemical isn't water-soluble, he told The Denver Post.
It's unlikely that consuming pot-tainted water would cause lasting health effects, said Mark Salley, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Health and Environment.
(Score: 2) by Ellis D. Tripp on Sunday July 24 2016, @08:23PM
From TFA:
He said a company that administers employee drug tests was the first to detect THC in Hugo's water. A tester sampled tap water, assuming it would be negative, but it was positive.
Apparently the cops followed up with field test (presumably looking for actual THC, not metabolites) that gave mixed results:
THC was detected in tests conducted with field kits, although other field tests were negative, sheriff's Capt. Michael Yowell said.
So apparently whatever is in the town's water, can trigger false positives on both the metabolite immunoassays AND at least some of the police field substance ID tests.
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