Have you ever chanced upon a pack of weed that tasted weird, burnt with a foul smell and ended up giving you no buzz? If yes, I feel your disappointment, my friend.
Every weed smoker looks for a smooth and potent high. Yet, sometimes they chance upon the inferior quality of weed which does not deliver such an experience. Moreover, they leave a bad taste in the mouth, both literally and figuratively.
As a young smoker, I have laid my hands upon such weed. I remember the frustration to this date; Not to mention the loss of money.
I would often wonder how to identify before that the cannabis I am buying is potent and of good quality.
Multiple factors impact the potency and quality of Cannabis. How the cannabis plant is taken care of while growing, how it is harvested and cured, and how it is stored play a major role.
In this quick guide, I will discuss all these factors and enable you to identify potent cannabis. Even if you are a grower, you will know what makes your buds potent.
Let’s Go.
Look For The Seeds
If your pack of weed is filled with seeds, don’t buy it. Cannabis with many seeds means that the female cannabis plant has concentrated on producing seeds rather than releasing the psychoactive compounds. Moreover, if you buy your cannabis by weight, seeds would make you pay for the weight you will not need. Also, seeds might blow up while burning and damage the glassware if you smoke in one. Burning seeds also leave a bitter aftertaste.
Discard Weed With a Lot Of Stems
Like the seeds, stems also add weight to the cannabis you buy and make it difficult to crush the weed. But that is not why I am advising you to reject such weed. The smokable flower of the cannabis plant grows on one branch. Therefore, high-quality weed should have only a branch or two holding the bud. However, be extra cautious about sieving out the stems as they do more harm than good.
Pay Heed To The Aroma
That distinct smell that lets you identify that weed is being smoked nearby? You know it, right? That pungent, strong cannabis smell speaks volumes about the quality. You should be able to smell it even before you open the sealed packet of cannabis.
Cannabis without any smell or has a damp, grass or haylike scent is bad weed. If cannabis buds are overexposed to oxygen, it breaks down the psychoactive compounds, which also lends the weed its scent.
You might also come across moldy weed that has a damp smell. Smoking it might be harmful to your health.
Often the dealers pass on some other herb claiming them to be cannabis. These won’t carry a distinct smell.
Check The Color
Though some weed might contain tinges of purple, red, blue or orange in them, quality cannabis should mostly be in shades of green.
If you get brown cannabis, know that they are aged. Oxidised cannabis buds turn brown. Oxidation breaks the high-inducing chemical compounds like terpenes and cannabinoids. This weed will make you sleepy and is incapable of producing a buzz. They also burn super fast with harsh smoke.
While inspecting the color of the weed, make sure to look for patches of mold.
Top Quality Weed Has Orange Hairs
If you notice orange hair in your weed, they are a good sign. These orange hairs are a female cannabis plant’s reproductive system called stigma. Stigmas gather pollen from the male plants for producing seeds. Only non-pollinated female cannabis plants produce high-quality buds. Orange stigmas are a sign that the bud was harvested at the correct time. Delayed harvest turns the stigmas brown.
Inspect for Mold
Patches of mold can be a variety of colors, black, green, grey or white. If you spot such unusual spots on your weed, don’t smoke them. They will cause damage to your throat and lungs. You will have severe bouts of cough if you smoke them. Molded weed also has an odd taste and nasty smell. Exposure to a lot of moisture causes the bud to develop mold.
Know Through Touch
Good quality weed should not crumble but come apart when its buds are pressed lightly between fingers.
The storage of cannabis has a great impact on quality. The buds should neither dry out nor get damp to keep it pleasant to smoke. Over-dried marijuana will burn faster and make you cough heavily. If the stored weed catches a lot of moisture, it will develop mold or fungus.
Scan For Trichomes
Trichomes are white resinous crystalline substances you will find on the surface of quality buds. You would be able to observe the trichomes with a magnifying glass. They appear like shiny, dewy, milky white crystals. A thick layer of these would let you know that your weed is good stuff.
Trichomes have almost all the psychoactive compounds that induce high, like cannabinoids or terpenes. If the buds are touched too much after harvest, they fall off. You won’t find trichomes in a prematurely harvested bud.
If you see that the trichomes have turned amber, it means that the weed has been harvested too late. As a result, THC is disintegrating, and cannabis has lost its potency. Some dubious dealers might also lather the buds with chemical or soap water to make them look resinous.
If Possible, Taste it
Fresh and pleasant taste speaks of good quality marijuana. If you taste a chemical or metallic taste in it, know that it might be a sign of contamination. Mold or mildew growth will lend an unpleasant bitter taste to the weed.
Additional Factors You Should Check For
Marijuana buds need to be trimmed off excess fan leaves. Hand trimming is always better than trimming with machines. The machine might damage the layer of the trichome as opposed to trimming by hand. If you find that your cannabis is cut haphazardly and has many fan leaves, do not trust them.
Most weed is grown organically without pesticides. However, this leaves them susceptible to pest attacks. Check for white or yellow specks on the leaves or white hairs that appear like spider webs. These are the signs of these pests.
If you see long yellow banana-like pods, these are cannabis bananas which show that your weed is filled with seeds and not that good.
Lab Tests and Certification
Whether you are a buyer or a cannabis grower who wants to test your weed for potency, take heart. Many laboratories offer cannabinoid tests. You can check most marijuana products from buds, oils, concentrates, topical products, to edibles for potency there. However, this process can take a lot of time and might be expensive.
Several small electronic devices are available these days to provide you with an accurate reading of the CBD and THC present in your weed. They have a small insertable tray where you can put the samples to test. In a minute, they will ascertain the potency of your weed-infused butter, oil or alcohol-based tincture.
At home test kits can also be bought for the same purpose. They, too, give clear reports in minutes.
If you buy cannabis from good and reliable dispensaries, they provide you tested and certified weed, with the amount of THC present mentioned to indicate the potency.
Signing Off
Another way to make certain that the cannabis you are smoking is pure and potent is to grow them. Like the idea? Check out the trusted seed bank i49 for some amazing strains curated for beginners like you.
With all the information listed here, you must easily identify the potency of your weed. However, do remember that this is a skill that needs time to develop. With that thought, it’s time for me to bid goodbye!
