Was Marijuana Really Less Potent in the 1960s?

originally posted by: pl3bscheese
Top strains may have likely increased minimally in the last generation or so. Access to top strains has increased tremendously in the last generation. Even this, would depend on location. Some areas having access to local grown awesome strains, other areas depending heavily on imported schwag.

In the last 20 years you've seen in my state a huge change from the majority of purchases being mexican schwag, to local and imported sensi. That's something else which needs be mentioned. If you don't select for the ladies, and throw out the males, you'll have a bunch of lower grade hermaphrodites. How many knew and cared to take this step 30+ years ago? A lot of the higher quality comes down to cultivating it sensi, not as much down to the strain.

So it depends on how you're qualifying the question, to a large degree. In a general sense, most definitely, in specific senses, perhaps not so much.

My little bro works in a grow warehouse in Denver and grows awsome medical grade himself. He enlightened me to the fact strain means almost nothing. It's all about the grow process. He claims he can take any garbage Reggie seed and turn it into medical grade.

originally posted by: jude11
a reply to: Krazysh0t

If you smoked in the sixties or seventies and still smoke today the answer is quite clear.

Yes, it is more potent today.

When skunk first appeared it was the beginning of the game change.

Peace

It's not about the top strains though. It's about the common strains. What you are likely to find commonly available. The fear people come up with is always that someone (usually a kid) smokes marijuana for the first time, but the guy who sold it to him sold him super potent weed without his knowledge and the person has a freakout. I am dispelling such ridiculous notions.

Even the article agrees that much better stuff exists, but the argument is for the norm not the best.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

2013......20% 2014........23% THC. It is a FACT strains are getting stronger not a myth or truth.



This is threshold levels.

a reply to: Entreri06

Your little bro is half correct. You can take any (non-ruderalis) strain, nurture it well, and grow it sensi. It will be a fine product. It won't be like any other strain going through the same process. Genetics count for the proportions of all the psychoactive components. Different strains will wind up giving you a different effect.

I had such a good post typed out with some of the more powerful names from the seventies but I figured I really did not want to get a PM from a Mod so I deleted it myself.

a reply to: SubTruth

I do think that today's pruduct seems stronger because of the high quality of testing they use now, the people I know now use uhplc for their meds and they say that it is more precise.


www.chromatographytoday.com...

originally posted by: thesaneone
a reply to: SubTruth

I do think that today's pruduct seems stronger because of the high quality of testing they use now, the people I know now use uhplc for their meds and they say that it is more precise.


www.chromatographytoday.com...[/quo te]




Each year strains are getting stronger and the cut off thresholds are rising. Eventually we will see 30-40% THC levels.

a reply to: SubTruth

I think marketing has something to do with some of these alleged higher percentages, but that's just my opinion.

Yes.

The transition to outdoor varying climates to new crossbreeds and indoor simulated perfect growing conditions have naturally lead to an increase. However there's always been bad, good and amazing smoke around so I hear. Plus it's basic business sense to pack as much active ingredient to as little a space as possible for maximum efficiency. There's also brand new BHO type extracts which are fair higher purity than traditional oils.

I completely agree with the poster and the articles though highlighting that the current speculation model is based on flawed data and sample sizes that have no representation of the market.

The worrying trend is THC over CBD as THC can trigger underlying mental health issues while CBD is a natural anti-psychotive - lowering CBD/CBN will obviously cause a spike in short-term minor cases of 'cannabis psychosis'. HOwever nothing like on the scale the press would have you believe.

originally posted by: thesaneone
It is true that potency has increased some due to hydroponics but we have to remember that back in the 60's & 70's about 70-75% of marijuana came from other countries and the bricks of product were mixed with everything from male, stems and seeds and only a small percentage of said brick contained what most of us smoke today.


www.leafly.com...

I agree with your assessment of the marijuana back then. Those damn seeds were always popping.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Higher potency doesn't mean better. Unless you're just really into going to freak out city.
If you can't get high any more, it means you should probably back off a little. Not up the dosage. Damn drug addicts.

originally posted by: InTheLight
I agree with your assessment of the marijuana back then. Those damn seeds were always popping.

Less danger than the Hot Knife Boogie!

Or so I'm told.

a reply to: ItCameFromOuterSpace

I have yet to meet a single person who has "freaked out" on marijuana regardless of the potency and let's say I've met quite a few people who use.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

I have seen people freak out from eating it but not from smoking well maybe a bit parinoid from smoking but not full blown freak.

originally posted by: thesaneone
a reply to: Krazysh0t
I have seen people freak out from eating it but not from smoking well maybe a bit parinoid from smoking but not full blown freak.

While I've seen folks get a little paranoid, the worst freakout I've ever witnessed is...
"Ummm...too ripped...gotta go. Um...yah"

a reply to: thesaneone

Ya I can't think of a single time I've witnessed such an event.

All depends where it comes from.

If it's home grown from a modern strain then it is stronger in THC. If it's a Thai import or similar it will be the same as it has always been.

At the risk of this post being deleted... I am not at all knowledgeable in the strains, growing processes, blah, blah, blah, but I am certainly knowledgeable in the use and potency of the final average product. While I am a little bit young to know about what went around in the 60's, I am familiar with the 70's through current day and, in my experienced participatory Washington state opinion - it most definitely is more potent nowadays! In the 70's you would buy a "lid" and pretty much have to smoke your own joint to get any kind of buzz whatsoever. Today, the average stuff on the street only takes around half as much to get the same effect.

I am not some expert with nifty testing machines or anything though, so this is only my personal opinion from my personal experience. And my comment on the whole "freak out" thing is that I have been around people who just can't handle their sh!t and legitimately seem to be freaking out... but I never saw anything like that back in the day.

Edibles, on the other hand, take a while to feel the effect and one may be tempted to eat some more before the full effect is felt...let's just say that I once spent a day sleeping it off because it was a bit too much.

To the mods - I apologize if this post is against the T&C and completely understand if it gets deleted. I was only trying to add to the conversation though, not meaning to promote drug use or anything.

originally posted by: and14263
All depends where it comes from.

If it's home grown from a modern strain then it is stronger in THC. If it's a Thai import or similar it will be the same as it has always been.

Actually it has a lot to do with the care the grower put into it while growing, picking, and drying it. You can buy Jack Herer (a notoriously potent strain) and with a mediocre or crappy grower would get an average potency harvest. Or you can take the average strain of Blue Dream and pair it with an exceptionally talented grower and get some blaze. It all depends. The thing is that there are quite a bit more slightly below average, average, and slightly above average growers out there thanks to the law of averages (you know that pesky bell curve?) so naturally you will see more of the average stuff. Hence my claim in the OP.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

It happened to my grandpa, but i think he just had some really good stuff, and wasn't quite used to it yet.