Highest THC Doesn’t Mean Highest Effect
When looking for the best cannabis experience, it is important to not get stuck in the numbers game. Always picking the product with the highest percentage will not always give you the best experience. I have smoked many great products in my time at Locals and some of my most favorite flower experiences read 15%-20% on the jar. There are many important reasons to ignore the THC percentage.
Testing is inaccurate.
When cannabis testing is done, a handful of nugs are picked out from a room of plants and are sent in for testing. Just think about that statement a little. When you have a room of 20 – 90 plants of the same strain and you only grab a handful of nugs, how can that paint an accurate picture? Not every plant will test the same nor will every section of the plant. The top cola’s are the most packed with trichomes meanwhile the lower branches won’t be quite as good.
My Experience
In my short time working at a farm, I heard rumors amongst employees about other farms who learned how to get around testing. Since many customers were judging a book by its cover and only buying products that tested very high, farmers would feel pressure to have high testing cannabis. Since testing regulations aren’t too strict, farmers learned that they could send in a high testing strain saying it was one that it was not. Like sending in a Sour Diesel saying it was a Gorilla Glue #4. Or if they grew a batch that did test high, they would save it and only send in that batch for testing for every future batch to ensure the label had the high testing numbers that customers desired.
Even If Testing Was Accurate, It’s Still Not.
Yup, you read that right. Even if testing were accurate AND even if a strain was a high tester, it still does not mean it will get you higher than a lower testing strain.
The world of cannabis is a vast and unique one, filled with many different cannabinoids and terpenes, both of which contribute to the high. The human body is just as unique, and each person has a different body chemistry. What makes Cannabis so fun is with everyone’s unique body chemistry’s, everyone gets a different high from different terpenes and cannabinoids. Many people can get the same high from a strain, while many could get similar but slightly different effects, and a smaller group of people could get completely different effects. Some terpenes will affect some people stronger than others.
Different Users, Different Effects
One example I always like to use is there is one regular user of an AM 1000mg CBD tincture from Green Revolution. I asked him one day how he liked it and he explained he loved it, perfect for putting him to bed! I looked at him a little confused and he explained, he had tried the PM tincture and it would keep him up all night but it would put his wife right to sleep. However, this AM tincture knocks him right out. Interesting right? Even though many people can get similar effects from products, with people’s bodies being so unique, you never know who will have a unique reaction to which type of product.
What To Search For
When looking to achieve the best high for yourself, best advice is to ask your Local budtender. Tell them the effect you are seeking and ask for suggestions. Once you start trying strains, try to remember if you can the names of strains and the common terpenes found in them. Remembering the strains or terpenes that affect you very well will be helpful in finding more strains just like them. Either you can find a strain with a similar lineage to your favorite strains, or maybe find your favorite strain crossed into a new strain, or your budtender can recommend other strains that are similar to your favorites.
Important Factors
Not only is the type of strain important, but also who you buy it from. Who grows it, how its grown, and how it looks are all very important factors into the type and strength of the high that you will achieve. Anything that is densely covered with white trichomes is always a good place to start. And when in doubt between a few strains, ask your budtender what they would take home!
