Buying Quality Cannabis: A How-To Guide

You’ve been smoking your weed wrong. Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but you have been misled in what you believe good weed is. Much of cannabis advertising promotes the strong stuff as being the moniker of good weed. You know, those hard-hitting, high-as-you-can-get THC percentage strains that promise to send you to the seventh ring of Saturn off of a single bowl-rip. But as those of us who have partaken in doing shots of Everclear before going to the local skip hop and whatever on a Friday night know, the strong stuff doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have a good night. Terpenes, flavor profiles, bud structure, minor cannabinoids, and smokeability all play a vital role in truly enjoying your cannabis product, so quit ignoring them!

 

Terpenes in Quality Cannabis

All the cool kids are looking at terpene percentages before they buy their flower. As a simple reminder for those who don’t know, terpenes are the little compounds in your cannabis plant, and in essentially all living plants, that provide the particular aromas and flavors of your flower, as well as contribute to some of the effects they may give you. Have you ever been smoking a particular strain and you’re thinking to yourself, “Wow, I love that this tastes a little bit like a wild berry” or, “Holy cow, this smells just like the dank, skunky stuff I used to smoke all those years ago?” Well, those flavors and aromas you love come from a particular terpene, or combination of terpenes, that are often primarily present in that particular strain.

So, if a strain is extra tasty and smooth, it would stand to reason that it likely has a higher terpene percentage (of your favorite terpenes, of course). Now here’s a dirty little secret: some cannabis producers cure their flower extra long, drying out the buds and therefore condensing the amount of THC in the bud, raising the final test results. This process, however, allows terpenes to dissipate, leaving a tasteless, harsh smoke in your lungs. That’s not to say high-THC bud is all cheated, dried-out product – THC content range often depends on its genetics and can be slightly improved by quality growing techniques. But again, the type of the experience should be valued more than the height of the experience. Terpenes, working with THC and other minor cannabinoids, help shape the feeling you get from your product. Furthermore, some terpenes are being studied for their potential benefits, like reduced inflammation, relaxation, and pain relief. We could talk about terpenes forever, so if you want to learn more about specific terpenes, check out our Terpenes 101 blog. Want to know what terpenes are in your favorite Pass strains? Check out our Strain Library.

Bud Appeal in Quality Cannabis

Sometimes – not always, but sometimes – you can just tell the flower you’re about to smoke is going to be dyn-o-mite. The pear-shaped mecca hosting crystalline dark green and purple fibers with interspersed orange hairs, a shade of nature you’ve never seen before, looks something like a sugary candy you can take a bite right out of – grinding it into a flaky consortium of green instead of shelving it behind bulletproof glass on your mantel might even seem like a crime. THAT’s a pretty good sign that your weed is going to be dank. While bud appeal is not always a definite indicator of stellar cannabis, it is usually a sign that it was grown correctly. Fully formed buds, trichome density (the shiny sugary crystals that carry all the cannabinoids and terpenes), and feel of the bud in relation to its moisture level, will all give some indication of how it was grown and how it was cured.

Minor Cannabinoids in Quality Cannabis

While cannabis flower does have minor cannabinoids in it, let’s talk edibles. Edibles present far more options of purposeful and precise amounts of minor cannabinoids. As another quick refresher, minor cannabinoids are molecules in the cannabis plant other than THC and CBD, that each potentially present their own benefits when consumed. These cannabinoids work with THC and each other to create something called the entourage effect, which essentially means the benefits of each cannabinoid are heightened because of their relationship with each other, making them greater than the sum of their parts. By isolating these cannabinoids, edibles producers are able to craft ratios of cannabinoids like CBN, CBG, CBC, and more, to alter the effects you are getting from your edible. There’s nothing wrong with a pure THC gummy, but maybe you’re looking to get a particular effect out of your high, like sleeping better or pain reduction. These particular ratios can really help you dial in what you’re trying to achieve when you consume cannabis. For more information on specific cannabinoids and how they interact with your body, read our Ultimate Guide to the Endocannabinoid System. 

Final Advice on Buying Good Weed

We can throw all these fancy-shmancy cannabis words at you and tell you all the benefits of analyzing your cannabis on the most microscopic level, but when it comes down to it, you know your body best, and you know what makes you feel good. The way you can find your favorite cannabis product is to try something out and use your new-found intelligence and your own preferences to give you a clue as to where to go next. We’ll be here to help you along the way.