As cannabis sales soar, state regulators are investing in a new government-run laboratory that will check the safety and strength of cannabis products.
I only buy flower and I buy it legally in Illinois and it tastes normal, so I am guessing adulteration isn’t a likely issue.
That said, I just ignore the information they give. I’m not confident they’ll actually get it right whether it’s a sativa, an indica or a hybrid and I think the idea that they accurately test the percentage of THC in everything they get to be silly. Also, does it even matter much if it’s 19% THC or 23% THC? They actually go into the decimals in the place I order from. So it will be like:
DumbName ForWeed - Indica - THC 18.3%
I have no idea what to do with the last bit of that information beyond ‘that may get me marginally less high.’
So I just get whatever is cheapest and I don’t worry about it. It’s not like I had a choice of any of it when I couldn’t buy it legally.
In all honesty it’s all bullshit at this point. Generally they test the top colas for their THC% so it’s gonna be less in general than whatever the jar says. On top of that. Everything has been so cross bred it’s rare to find sativa/indicas effects based on the genetics. Unless it’s a land race/popular strain I just assume it’s all hybrids
It all seems to serve my needs anyway, which are medical and pain-related. But I started trying different strains once I was able to and it didn’t seem to make a difference. I lived in L.A. when you had to have a prescription and they still had a lot of strains available at the dispensary I went to, but they basically only told you the name and the price.
Luckily for me, the owners and I bonded because we were all Midwesterners in L.A. so they were always telling me things like, “don’t get Pineapple Express. We charge more for it because people buy it due to the movie.” They did always want me to smell it before I bought it though. I’m not sure what that was supposed to tell me either and I was too embarrassed to ask because the way they did it with both me and all other customers, it was like I should have already known why and I felt stupid.
Legit, we’re still trying to figure out through genetics if cannabis even has species, or if it’s all just cultivars of C. Sativa. We still don’t know where to draw the lines scientifically. Literature is all over the place! The classic 2, adding in ruderalis for a 3rd, differentiating hemp vs weed, differentiating wild or landraces from cultivated populations.
All really interesting work on this has been done in the last 4 years! Super exciting time.
They’re not so much worried about adulteration as they are about pesticides. Pesticides, heavy metals, and some spore can be really dangerous in cannabis not only cause you inhale it, but because extraction and concentration into oils (for everything from edibles to vape pens) also concentrates any of the bad stuff that was sprayed onto a plant or worked it’s way up from the growing medium.
As far as THC%, the results of your high are going to rely on the other chemicals almost as much as the thc. No one is doing the genetic testing to separate cultivars, so the provenance of a plant is a guess. Good, well grown/cured weed will have a ton of different cannibanoids and terpenes that make up the chemotype. It will have the consistency of kinetic sand, not like dried oregano, immediately after you grind it. If you are used to the taste, you should pick up the different flavors of the terpenes.
If your weed doesn’t taste or look like that, you’re likely buying bulk lows or mids. Plants that were poorly grown, or had spider mites or thrips, still need to get sold. You’ll either get it in shitty distillate or bulk weed that tastes like nothing and doesn’t have any unique or interesting characteristics. They mixed the strains from a dozen grow houses, most is white labeled.
If you aren’t growing it or have access to gray market for bulk, the retail shop highs or exotics (the really good stuff) are priced waaaaaaayyyy too high to justify buying it, imo.
Adulteration was mentioned in the article, which is why I brought it up.
Also, I am paying significantly less at the dispensary where I buy from legally in Illinois than I was paying illegally in Indiana. I have to buy it less often because I’m limited to 14g since I’m from out-of-state, but it’s a lot cheaper.
They also have really good sales on top of that, and when you’re just buying whatever is cheapest, you can get a decent deal.
Yeah I feel you, I stepped in to a dispensary over here the other day and the just offered me a mixed oz of eights and some other shit for stupid cheap! Some of the shit was really good.
The gray market, not necessarily the black market anymore. That’s retail growers who can’t easily sell all their harvest, especially in Cali where bulk prices are very low, sell either direct to consumer or mail/drive pounds of product to resellers. Since it’s being fed by the retail market, the quality can be exceptional.
Can be hard to differentiate gray market product from black market product, but gray market means purchases in ounces/lbs at sub retail prices because supply is plentiful and risk is nil. THCA is also a technically legal market nationality, although a few states closed the loophole, but you can still buy well priced highs and get them delivered via usps.
Farm Bill is the best thing to happen to weed! I’ve been getting an ounce a month on subscription from Hoku Seed Co. since they started it in early 2023. Shows up in my mailbox in Texas. Occasionally i buy something a little hotter from flow gardens, eight horses hemp, and a few others. Couple of years ago I bought 5 pounds - some cbd, some cbd/thc mix (Franklin). Was in 2 boxes on my porch when i got home. Glad the neighborhood kids didn’t get it!
I’ve seen a lot of complaints about 8hh but everything I’ve gotten had been good. Franklin was terrible and we were happy to have it. I think i still have a bag somewhere.
Yeah agreed, most of the thca gets picked so early that it can lack some of the character of really good stock standard thc (if they let the trichomes mature too much the natural coversion of thca into thc starts), but I can’t argue with how easy it is to get really good shit. Plus there’s so much competition it’s really driving down prices and up quality in retail too.
I ate a gummy a few times. Same brand, same kind. The variance in individual pieces is wild. Sometimes it’s a buzz, sometimes I end up unable to remain coherent.
That doesn’t exactly shock me. It’s like cooking with anything else- sometimes you’re going to get a piece with a chocolate chip and sometimes you’re going to get a piece with half a chocolate chip and sometimes two. You’ll always get at least a LITTLE chocolate chip because there’s a ton of chocolate chips per cookie, but you’re never going to get a uniform amount.
I’m not even sure how you would achieve it. A centrifuge?
But also, I doubt they’re working with the exact same strain every single time and I also wouldn’t be shocked if the amount of THC in any strain was actually pretty variable per-plant or maybe even per-bud. There are probably a lot of factors involved they are probably super-simplifying things at best and just outright lying at worst.
I mean, for gunmies I’d imagine it’s like making jello. In which case, ensure the mixture is mixed thoroughly and not by some dude named Ben who is using a wooden spoon. I’m not in the business so maybe it’s easier said than done.
And this is how I realized you could take a cannabis tour down the entire length of the North American Pacific coast. It would make a fun documentary. If I still had my entertainment industry contacts… but oh well.
What is interesting is you’ll find a live rosin/resin edible vs a distillate edible offers a vastly different high imo. Distillate is almost soulless in comparison
It’s still at the mercy of how much total stuff was pulled out of their harvest, so yeah. If the harvest sucks, the resulting concentrates will also suck. But still more consistent the whole batch through even if they only test 1% of it since it’s all one big soup instead of a bunch of varying plants.
At least, assuming they test the concentrate itself and not the plants before processing… 🤔
I only buy flower and I buy it legally in Illinois and it tastes normal, so I am guessing adulteration isn’t a likely issue.
That said, I just ignore the information they give. I’m not confident they’ll actually get it right whether it’s a sativa, an indica or a hybrid and I think the idea that they accurately test the percentage of THC in everything they get to be silly. Also, does it even matter much if it’s 19% THC or 23% THC? They actually go into the decimals in the place I order from. So it will be like:
DumbName ForWeed - Indica - THC 18.3%
I have no idea what to do with the last bit of that information beyond ‘that may get me marginally less high.’
So I just get whatever is cheapest and I don’t worry about it. It’s not like I had a choice of any of it when I couldn’t buy it legally.
In all honesty it’s all bullshit at this point. Generally they test the top colas for their THC% so it’s gonna be less in general than whatever the jar says. On top of that. Everything has been so cross bred it’s rare to find sativa/indicas effects based on the genetics. Unless it’s a land race/popular strain I just assume it’s all hybrids
It all seems to serve my needs anyway, which are medical and pain-related. But I started trying different strains once I was able to and it didn’t seem to make a difference. I lived in L.A. when you had to have a prescription and they still had a lot of strains available at the dispensary I went to, but they basically only told you the name and the price.
Luckily for me, the owners and I bonded because we were all Midwesterners in L.A. so they were always telling me things like, “don’t get Pineapple Express. We charge more for it because people buy it due to the movie.” They did always want me to smell it before I bought it though. I’m not sure what that was supposed to tell me either and I was too embarrassed to ask because the way they did it with both me and all other customers, it was like I should have already known why and I felt stupid.
Legit, we’re still trying to figure out through genetics if cannabis even has species, or if it’s all just cultivars of C. Sativa. We still don’t know where to draw the lines scientifically. Literature is all over the place! The classic 2, adding in ruderalis for a 3rd, differentiating hemp vs weed, differentiating wild or landraces from cultivated populations.
All really interesting work on this has been done in the last 4 years! Super exciting time.
I think the existence of brassica oleracea is pretty damned good evidence it’s all just cultivars.
Yup. I prefer the type classification. Aka type I high THC low or no CBD. Type II even CBD to THC. Type III high CBD low or no THC
They’re not so much worried about adulteration as they are about pesticides. Pesticides, heavy metals, and some spore can be really dangerous in cannabis not only cause you inhale it, but because extraction and concentration into oils (for everything from edibles to vape pens) also concentrates any of the bad stuff that was sprayed onto a plant or worked it’s way up from the growing medium.
As far as THC%, the results of your high are going to rely on the other chemicals almost as much as the thc. No one is doing the genetic testing to separate cultivars, so the provenance of a plant is a guess. Good, well grown/cured weed will have a ton of different cannibanoids and terpenes that make up the chemotype. It will have the consistency of kinetic sand, not like dried oregano, immediately after you grind it. If you are used to the taste, you should pick up the different flavors of the terpenes.
If your weed doesn’t taste or look like that, you’re likely buying bulk lows or mids. Plants that were poorly grown, or had spider mites or thrips, still need to get sold. You’ll either get it in shitty distillate or bulk weed that tastes like nothing and doesn’t have any unique or interesting characteristics. They mixed the strains from a dozen grow houses, most is white labeled.
If you aren’t growing it or have access to gray market for bulk, the retail shop highs or exotics (the really good stuff) are priced waaaaaaayyyy too high to justify buying it, imo.
Adulteration was mentioned in the article, which is why I brought it up.
Also, I am paying significantly less at the dispensary where I buy from legally in Illinois than I was paying illegally in Indiana. I have to buy it less often because I’m limited to 14g since I’m from out-of-state, but it’s a lot cheaper.
They also have really good sales on top of that, and when you’re just buying whatever is cheapest, you can get a decent deal.
Right but I can find a good ounce of live resin for 160. A good ounce of flower for 120.
I haven’t found anywhere near that pricing in dispos. But then again. I’m probably a fringe case on my pricing cause of my friends connections lol
Yeah I feel you, I stepped in to a dispensary over here the other day and the just offered me a mixed oz of eights and some other shit for stupid cheap! Some of the shit was really good.
The gray market, not necessarily the black market anymore. That’s retail growers who can’t easily sell all their harvest, especially in Cali where bulk prices are very low, sell either direct to consumer or mail/drive pounds of product to resellers. Since it’s being fed by the retail market, the quality can be exceptional.
Can be hard to differentiate gray market product from black market product, but gray market means purchases in ounces/lbs at sub retail prices because supply is plentiful and risk is nil. THCA is also a technically legal market nationality, although a few states closed the loophole, but you can still buy well priced highs and get them delivered via usps.
Farm Bill is the best thing to happen to weed! I’ve been getting an ounce a month on subscription from Hoku Seed Co. since they started it in early 2023. Shows up in my mailbox in Texas. Occasionally i buy something a little hotter from flow gardens, eight horses hemp, and a few others. Couple of years ago I bought 5 pounds - some cbd, some cbd/thc mix (Franklin). Was in 2 boxes on my porch when i got home. Glad the neighborhood kids didn’t get it!
Eight horses hemp oooof. They have some of the worst bud I’ve gotten 😆. Based on what I’ve seen of “Franklin” though it’s probably incredible.
I’ve seen a lot of complaints about 8hh but everything I’ve gotten had been good. Franklin was terrible and we were happy to have it. I think i still have a bag somewhere.
Hello fellow Hoku member 💜
Got my 3.10 today but still working on 3.9.
Yeah agreed, most of the thca gets picked so early that it can lack some of the character of really good stock standard thc (if they let the trichomes mature too much the natural coversion of thca into thc starts), but I can’t argue with how easy it is to get really good shit. Plus there’s so much competition it’s really driving down prices and up quality in retail too.
I ate a gummy a few times. Same brand, same kind. The variance in individual pieces is wild. Sometimes it’s a buzz, sometimes I end up unable to remain coherent.
Sometimes it varies what else you’ve have to eat.
That doesn’t exactly shock me. It’s like cooking with anything else- sometimes you’re going to get a piece with a chocolate chip and sometimes you’re going to get a piece with half a chocolate chip and sometimes two. You’ll always get at least a LITTLE chocolate chip because there’s a ton of chocolate chips per cookie, but you’re never going to get a uniform amount.
I’m not even sure how you would achieve it. A centrifuge?
But also, I doubt they’re working with the exact same strain every single time and I also wouldn’t be shocked if the amount of THC in any strain was actually pretty variable per-plant or maybe even per-bud. There are probably a lot of factors involved they are probably super-simplifying things at best and just outright lying at worst.
I mean, for gunmies I’d imagine it’s like making jello. In which case, ensure the mixture is mixed thoroughly and not by some dude named Ben who is using a wooden spoon. I’m not in the business so maybe it’s easier said than done.
That’s basically what concentrates are. Turn all the good stuff into liquid and then smoke that.
That would probably deliver a much more consistent high, but even then I would not be surprised if it varied by batch.
I think a lot more research needs to be done on cannabis botany, THC strength, etc. But it won’t happen until more countries legalize it.
Edit: It’s shameful in terms of legality how narrow that is…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis#/media/File:Map-of-world-cannabis-laws.svg
And this is how I realized you could take a cannabis tour down the entire length of the North American Pacific coast. It would make a fun documentary. If I still had my entertainment industry contacts… but oh well.
What is interesting is you’ll find a live rosin/resin edible vs a distillate edible offers a vastly different high imo. Distillate is almost soulless in comparison
It’s still at the mercy of how much total stuff was pulled out of their harvest, so yeah. If the harvest sucks, the resulting concentrates will also suck. But still more consistent the whole batch through even if they only test 1% of it since it’s all one big soup instead of a bunch of varying plants.
At least, assuming they test the concentrate itself and not the plants before processing… 🤔
How many milligrams are they? We’ve been legal for nearly 10 years now and I’ve never really noticed any difference from the stated dosage.
5mg