Density vs potency

[GuitboxTom]

Yo Bootsy, great info! I love learning about these things. You have helped by sharing your ideas, thanks. I’m thinking your test method “done for scientific reasons” is still subjective... ‘till you’ve tried it a few thousand times and had the presence of mind to document. But seriously, is there more resin inside a hard bud that has not seen light for weeks, than a slightly looser one who’s exterior surface area, responding to light energy, produces more resin glands?

[Ckbrew]

I think a big part of this is simple marketing and greed. People have had it pounded into them, hard dense buds are better. So people want hard dense buds. What better way to retail a product that is sold by weight?

[Gingerbeard]

How about this, then?
A gram of wax has, say, 80% THC. I understand that. 80% of the product in front of me is 80% THC and other cannabananas, and 20% mystery ingredients.
When weed says it's 20% THC, I know that 20% of what is in front of me is not THC, nor could .2 grams be extracted from a gram. What do the percentages mean with flower?

[Ckbrew]

As much as possible if one person is trying to sell it to another person.

[Smallgrow]

Snipped from the Ontario Cannabis store info section:
…..If you are like most people, you want to understand the cannabinoid content in the products you consider. Every product is different in its variations and levels of cannabinoids, so it’s a good thing that every product label must state its THC and CBD contents.

However, cannabis product labels can be difficult to understand because they list THC and CBD contents in two ways and use different units of measure depending on the product format.

So, how do you know what’s in what you are buying? Read on to learn how to demystify cannabis product contents and labeling.

Every product label lists cannabinoid content levels two ways.

Image of a product label displaying cannabinoid content and product name(sorry no pic)

THC and CBD active content levels are expressed on labels in two ways and it’s important to know the difference. The first reference is a base number, and the second is shown as a percentage. These are listed as “THC” and/or “CBD” and “Total THC” and/or “Total CBD” respectively.

What’s the difference?

“THC” and “CBD” refer to the quantity of active cannabinoids contained in the product as purchased.

“Total THC” and “Total CBD” refer to the levels of active cannabinoids when the cannabis is prepared for consumption. The “Total” cannabinoid content numbers are most helpful in predicting the potential potency that the product may have when consumed.

When buying dried cannabis formats, there will be a difference between these two content numbers, but when purchasing oil or capsule products, the numbers will be the same. Read on to learn why.

Not all cannabis has fully activated cannabinoid content.

The cannabinoids in cannabis products are only activated through a process called decarboxylation. This is the process of heating the cannabis to a temperature of 150 degrees Celsius or more in order to “activate” the cannabinoids. Dried flower products are not fully activated when purchased, because they are heated in time for consumption. This means there will be a difference in the two numbers on the label for each listed cannabinoid, and typically, the first number will be considerably lower than the “total” number because it represents the inactive state of the purchased product.

In oil and capsule products, the cannabinoids have been activated through processing, and are ready for consumption. Therefore, the two numbers listing cannabinoid content on their packages will be exactly the same.

Every format has its own unit of measure for cannabinoid content.

All of the label content information is intended to be helpful and clear to consumers. To be precise about the cannabinoid content within each product, it is measured differently by format. Dried flower products list cannabinoid content in percentage relative to the total cannabis purchased. Pre-rolls and capsule content is measured in totals per unit, and oil content is listed in milligrams per milliliter.

To understand and compare the information on the different product formats, use the chart below. Understanding product labels and cannabinoid content will help you understand and compare products. Use our chart below as a quick reference guide.


DRIED FLOWER

Cannabinoid Unit of Measure
% - Percentage of total weight

Example:
Image of full packaging for dried flower displaying warning label and all other required content on the outside of the box.

THC 0.7%
Total THC 14.3%
CBD 0.0%
Total CBD 0.3%

Consumption Information
Sold before decarboxylation so the two stated levels of cannabinoid content will be different

“Total” cannabinoid numbers are the best way to determine the potency potential of the product


PRE-ROLLS

Cannabinoid Unit of Measure
mg/unit - Milligrams per individual pre-roll unit

Example:

Image of a pre-roll package

THC 4.1 mg/unit
Total THC 146 mg/unit
CBD 0.43 mg/unit
Total CBD 26.8 mg/unit
Consumption Information
Sold before decarboxylation so the two stated levels of cannabinoid content will be different

“Total” cannabinoid numbers are the best way to determine the potency potential of the product

Did that make sense ?? Maybe read it twice it took me a minute 😁

Eg. 146 mg/1000mg (1-gram pre-roll) = 14.6%

[Smallgrow]

Here the missing label pic from above post for example

[GuitboxTom]

Hey Smallgrow your delving into this topic is much appreciated my friend! I’ve only been to one dispensary and they didn’t have any product out to view because they said that the STATE had not yet fixed the rate of taxation etc...
Great info. I’m sure that each bud or sample is not tested but perhaps they have to do it in batches or something. Or perhaps the regulations allow for one test per strain. IDK. But back to my original Q, Do solid hard buds necessarily contain more cannabinoids than a nice big slightly looser one? I’ve got some CBD Cream+Cheese (23%thc, 18%cbd) just about ready to chop in the next week or so. I’ll try some dissecting and testing after it is dry, to see if the inside of the bud contains more than the outside. Thanks for all the input from all!

[Cali]

Dispensary logo are as good as bottled nutrients logo. Just there to fool you into buying their product. I know my buddy works in a dispensary. He don’t even smoke that shit that let’s you know and he gets it free. I regret ever buying from dispensary’s don’t even want to think what nasty shit that is in my system thanks to their trash.

[Going2fast]

I can't answer that and I don't think anyone really can. All I can tell ya is the denser my bud feels the more my lady likes it. And in no way was that meant to be sexual.......I think.

[Puglover1]

Unfortunately I've dropped some dough at the dispos in the past 3-4 months. I have 4 or 5 newer jars of different strain 1/8ths here right now. Some are water cured, hand trimmed, some look machined. All are hard even if not round little 'rocks'. I could take pics tmrw and break some buds open to photograph. The pics: The bud is hard but trimmed around its natural-growing shape. I break off a smallll piece to load into a glass one-hitter with air around it, smoke parts of the piece with each hit, I don't smoke 'black' anything. It's high % weed, doesn't take much, I've been getting high for 50 years. Pics are from a few months ago, Gelato and South Beach. I could see amber trichs smiling at me from a foot away, with the bud sitting on my nightstand and me laying in bed. You can see trichs on most surfaces, Gelato bud I had broken open, South Beach is untouched and the pic isn't very clear.

[GuitboxTom]

Puglover1, thanks much for your input. On point as usual! Yes I do see some Trichs in the first pic. And they seem to be on the inside of the bud. Good to know. Sorry about your expenses at the dispo tax collector.

[Puglover1]

GuitboxTom Now we just have to figure out how to grow bud that hard. My goal. Even with my last South Beach purchase that I opened last night I could see trichs sparkling inside. Not as many with the Face Mints but some, that one is sticky on my rolling tray or my fingers. I have to start growing again, looking for seeds to replace the WW fasts that I lost.

[Puglover1]

GuitboxTom I accidentally ran across this pic, the 1st time I bought Mag Landrace, then called Mag Mile (an Illinois/Chicago thing), in 2016. Several cameras or phones ago. I've been a Mag smoker ever since but this one was the most purple pure indica I had smoked in a long time. Haven't bought any this purple since but I did grow 3 big plants from bag seed. The pic below, it isn't trimmed as close and doesn't look as hard/tight as what I posted last but if I magnify it on my laptop I see trichs throughout. About potency and hard bud, I obviously don't weigh the pieces I break off to put into glass one-hitters or Chillums but if I have an 1/8th of three favorite potent strains here and only smoke them alternately at night/bedtime I run out of each jar just about at the same time - two strains have harder nugs than the third one.

[GuitboxTom]

Oh Puglover1 , those look real nice! I did go dissect and view the insides of some of the looser stuff in my jars and the trichomes were clearly visible all the way in.
Also today I took many photos of trichs because they are close and I don’t want to let the CBD 1:1 go much into amber and loose some CBD. Got to go through them today some time and upload a few. Only a few though cause the photo upload on this forum is “slooow as dial up” on this iPad.