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Higher potency marijuana not delivering more THC

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cainnabelspawn

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The medical marijuana popularly used in cannabis patients' clubs is several times more potent than that commonly provided to researchers by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, according to a survey by NORML and MAPS. However, the Australian study found that higher potency marijuana does not always deliver more THC, apparently because THC output is highly sensitive to variations in the burning properties of different samples.
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http://www.torontohemp.com/mapsnorml.htm

What do you make of this? It sounds to me like it is saying that how well the bud burns is proportionate to how much of it's THC is given off. Does anyone have any firsthand experience with this concept? I wonder what properties of the bud give off the most THC?
 
are they talking about a vaporizer or smoking? i couldn't tell. it certainly feels like higher potency marijuana gets you more stoned but an exception can be if the marijuana isnt properly dried or cured.
 
well im assuming it must have something to do with a vaporizer because i KNOW that better weed makes a difference when you smoke it. however, i tended to notice less of a difference when i vaporized.
 
I always thought that if you torch your weed then you lose a lot of thc, but if you cherry it and only use a flame when you have to then you get the most out of it..
 
However, the Australian study found that higher potency marijuana does not always deliver more THC, apparently because THC output is highly sensitive to variations in the burning properties of different samples.
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This sentence leads me to believe that what they're saying is that it's not just THC content that affects the amount of THC delivered to the user; since pyrolysis destroys a good portion of the THC in smoked cannabis, the physical properties of the bud itself affect how much of the THC ends up in the correct conditions to be released in smoke rather than destroyed. For example, if one sample has 20% THC but has physical properties that lead to a much higher proportion of the THC being destroyed and another has 15% THC but has physical properties more suited to THC delivery, the 15% THC sample might deliver more THC to the user.

As to how this affects "good bud" for smokers - unless you determine the quality of your bud by testing the amount of THC present in the sample, this shouldn't matter much. When someone says their bud is potent, they mean it gets you more stoned, not that it has a higher proportion of THC by mass or valume than others.
 
solistus said:
When someone says their bud is potent, they mean it gets you more stoned, not that it has a higher proportion of THC by mass or valume than others.
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Well said.
 
When someone says their bud is potent, they mean it gets you more stoned, not that it has a higher proportion of THC by mass or valume than others.
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I always took it to mean that it was really pretty. I've never had someone sell me marijuana by its potency; it's by the condition of the bud.
 
solistus said:
This sentence leads me to believe that what they're saying is that it's not just THC content that affects the amount of THC delivered to the user; since pyrolysis destroys a good portion of the THC in smoked cannabis, the physical properties of the bud itself affect how much of the THC ends up in the correct conditions to be released in smoke rather than destroyed. For example, if one sample has 20% THC but has physical properties that lead to a much higher proportion of the THC being destroyed and another has 15% THC but has physical properties more suited to THC delivery, the 15% THC sample might deliver more THC to the user.
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Yep, that's what I was thinking, but I couldn't word it like that. That's why you should always mix some tobacco with your high grade marijuana or hash, kids %)
 
http://www.dassa.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/MONOGRAPH8.pdf

This is the study that is spoken of, I believe.

Apparently they mixed the samples of cannabis with tobacco in some tests, 50-50.


The data also show that smoking cannabis with a high THC content will not ensure the production of smoke that is also high in THC. The finding of a significant, positive correlation between THC yield and water content of the smoke from pure cannabis indicates that other factors are important in determining the release of THC.

It would seem logical that the THC content of smoke would reflect the THC content of the plant material. The results of this study suggest that the THC content of the original plant material is only one factor contributing to the amount of THC inhaled.

As THC is not water soluble, the correlation between yield of THC in the smoke and water content of the smoke suggests that there is a factor influencing both THC and water release. One possibility is the burning properties of the cannabis samples. A sample that burns more readily would be expected to achieve a higher temperature, thereby possibly vaporising more water and THC
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Here we go:

The increased THC levels seen in the three samples (of 50% tobacco mix) smoked as cigarettes was somewhat unexpected.

Three samples all had low yield of THC when smoked as pure cannabis cigarettes. We suspect these samples were not burning well [simply] as pure cannabis, that the burning temperature was increased by the addition of tobacco (which contains additive to improve burning properties.), thereby increasing the release of THC. The yield also increased when these samples were smoked as pure cannabis in a water pipe, with the shorter puff interval probably also increasing the burning temperature. However, as burning temperature was not measured, this remains speculation on our part.
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So, smoking fresh (hydroponically grown) weed in a cigarette is ineffective, as the plant matter does not light and sustain itself enough to give a lot of THC as, say, adding tobacco to aid or smoking it alone in a water pipe.

Overall, I applaud this study for its excellent methodology (pure street samples, even) and speculations. Thanks Australia!
 
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