Have you ever sparked up your favorite strain of weed only to find that it hits you totally different than last time? Chances are you didn’t imagine it – there’s a reason why two separate batches of supposed strains can have wildly different effects. It all comes down to genetics.
The legalization of marijuana in various nations of the world has created a multi-billion-dollar business worldwide. Decriminalization of weed has become the commercialization of weed. Commercialization has developed various online and brick and mortar dispensaries.
Recreational cannabis is typically limited to patients over 21 years of age and comes with strict possession limits. Green Health Docs mentions that as a medical marijuana patient, you face fewer restrictions and have more freedom to access your medication in greater quantities. If you live in states where medicinal cannabis is legal, such as West Virginia, for example, you can get a WV medical marijuana card in order to treat your condition naturally.
Many people believe that products available in the market are just similar or not according to the information mentioned on the label. According to a report on Ted Talks, a speaker said that many cannabis farmers and manufacturers are using pesticides and other chemicals to alter the genetics of the plant.
The report says that THC is the main source of income these days so while farming, farmers add chemicals to increase the ratio of THC in comparison to CBD. So, what is with this naming the strain? Well, some genuine companies that want to provide a high-product are not compromising with their product for profit but most of the other greedy manufacturers are striving hard to make money by selling THC only.
Over the past century, scientists have mapped out the genetic lineages of practically every plant, but because marijuana is federally illegal, cannabis hasn’t been studied in the same way. Now that weed has been legalized in many states, biotech startups have finally taken steps to crack marijuana genetic code. Surprisingly, there’s much genetic difference between two strains of weed as there’s between chimpanzees and humans. Although pot is often sold as specific strains like Sour Diesel, Alaskan Thunder Fuck, or blue dream, researchers have discovered there’s not much to a name.
Phylos Bioscience found that twenty to thirty percent of the time, samples of specific pot strains aren’t even remotely related to other samples sold under the same name. Every stoner knows that Sativa strains are supposed to boost your creative energy, while indica leaves you with a couch lock. Yet Phylos says that this distinction is actually a big myth because cannabis plants have been cross-bred so often that they can’t be divided into two simple categories. This research has great significance for the medical marijuana industry which relies on particular strains having specific amounts of CBD or THC.
In 2014, for example, Verda Bio analyzed samples of Harlequin, a strain supposedly high in CBD, and found that 23% of their samples had almost no CBD at all. These companies are working hard to establish certification systems that allow producers to document their plants’ genetics, so consumers can use stable cannabis hybrids with predictability. Yet official research remains hampered by the federal prohibition of marijuana. The cannabis that the National Institute of drug abuse makes available for testing at formal research institutions is quite different than the cannabis available commercially and it contains significantly lower levels of THC and CBD. Until prohibition ends, accredited scientists will struggle to collect enough research to fully understand the genetics of pot
