I was thinking the same thing, maybe a water cure to be safe.
"IF" the bud does have some mercury contamination, putting it in water will only give you contaminated bud in now contaminated water.
As mercury is a liquid normally, as a liquid it can evaporate into vapor. LOTS AND LOTS of air flow over it with the air being expelled OUTSIDE will clear it over time. A proper cure, if your worried about the contamination, is not possible now. Just air flow dry the fuck out of it and your room..
There is very little mercury in the bulbs, but enough to require safe clean up if they break. That amount on your skin and then quickly washed off has very low risk...but that amount or less entering the body via vapors or ingestion? I am not a DR., but I don't think that is good for you...And yes, there is an amount of mercury in sea food. If you eat a lot of that on top of contaminated bud, the exposure can add up.
I am not a fan of CFLs even for normal house lighting. Not because of the mercury, but I just don't like the visual look of the light and the split second delay/flicker when you switch one on. Our ceiling fan uses an odd ball based CFL. Using the largest watt it still doesn't produce enough light to illuminate the living room without additional lights. I'll probably rewire it so it will use standard incandescent bulbs. I have even stocked up on 100W home bulbs before they are no longer available in the USA.