Editor’s note: This is part two of a seven-part series on what readers should know about adult-use, or recreational, cannabis in Connecticut.
For part two of this series, we set out to fill in what we (naïvely) thought would be an easy template of a statement: If I’d like to feel X, I should purchase Y.
Genetically, all cannabis strains consist of two things: Cannabinoids (think THC vs. CBD) and terpenes, both of which contribute to the scent, taste and, in some cases, physiological effects of a strain. The environmental conditions in which a strain was grown also affect those traits.
If cannabis was handled like wine or apples, one could pick up a pinot noir or a Granny Smith and have a pretty good idea of what to expect. But in part because it has been illegal for so long, cannabis is not handled that way at all.
Some key points:
- No agency formally tracks parent plants, their offspring or any changes observed throughout reproduction, which means there’s no genetic baseline for any given strain.
- Even if a mother plant is cloned rather than grown from seed, differences in growing, harvesting and storage conditions can change its physical traits — and that’s not tracked, either.
- Unlike the USDA’s Plant Variety Protection Office, there isn’t a federally-sponsored cannabis registration/certification system for people who create new strains and want to ensure their genetic identity going forward.
The result?
You can go back to the same store you visited last month, buy a package with the same strain name (e.g., Purple Kush) and get a genetically different product. There’s just no way for suppliers (or growers) to verify what they’re selling.
“It’s not terrible, awful, the sky is falling,” said Anna Schwabe, a researcher and adjunct faculty member at the University of Northern Colorado. “With a lot of strains (in our study) … eight of nine were genetically really similar.”
But if you happened to get the outlier and you’re trying to find it again, well … good luck.
Schwabe’s study was published in the Journal of Cannabis Research in 2019. In short, it found that “strain inconsistency is evident and is not limited to a single source, but rather exists among dispensaries across cities in multiple states.”
It found similar issues with two labels that are popular in cannabis culture: Sativa and indica.
DENVER, CO – April 25, 2016: Selections of sativa and indica dominant cannabis strains on display at The Colfax Pot Shop, an adult-use marijuana dispensary on Colfax Ave in Denver. (Photo by Vince Chandler / The Denver Post)
Vince Chandler/Denver Post via Getty Images
Two popular labels
Products labeled “sativa” are supposed to be uplifting and energizing, while those with the moniker “indica” should be relaxing. (“In da couch” is an easy way to remember the latter.)
“Hybrid” products, unsurprisingly, claim to be a mixture of both.
Like Schwabe, Sean Myles and a team of researchers found that those terms often aren’t great predictors of what’s in a package.
Myles is an associate professor on the faculty of agriculture at Dalhousie University in Canada. He and three others from the university analyzed nearly 300 samples provided by Bedrocan International, a pharmaceutical-grade supplier based in the Netherlands.
Remember those terpenes we mentioned above? There are so many of them that the potential genetic makeup of any given strain seems endless.
With that in mind, when Myles and company looked for overall genetic similarity, “sativa” and “indica” didn’t hold up. Some samples characterized as sativa more closely matched traditional indicas — and vice versa.
But when researchers zeroed in on key terpenes, they found more consistency.
The terpene myrcene, for example, is known for its earthy aroma and is associated with a sedative effect — two things people generally expect of an indica.
On average, Myles explained, samples labeled as indica had more myrcene, while those labeled as sativa had more bergamotene and farnesene — both of which have the sweet and herbal characteristics users expect of sativa strains.
In other words, growers may be choosing labels based on terpenes whose aromas overpower those of their counterparts in any given strain.
“So while things are muddied, and labels may not be reliable and definitive indicators of the chemical content in the package, there is a relationship there,” Myles said.
When I spoke to him via Google Meet, Myles suggested labels might be more useful if they focused on the percentage of THC plus a description of the product.
“Just like a wine label, you know?” he said. “‘Pairs well with cedar plank salmon and has aromas of grapefruit and roses.’”
Practical advice
We’ll chat more about dispensary visits in Day 3, but both Myles and Schwabe cautioned against asking budtenders or friends how a strain might make you feel. Even when the genetic composition is reliable, strains affect different people differently.
It’s not unlike going to a brewery: The best way to find out what you like is to sample different things, preferably without the person behind the bar tainting your expectations.
Myles said budtenders have a “slightly above random” chance of accurately describing how something might make you feel.
“The best bet is to sample diversely and consume blind,” he said. “That’s the way we do things in science.”
Pro tip from Schwabe: If you find something you like, go back to the same store and buy more of it ASAP — it might be different next month.
More from this series
Day 1 – A primer
Day 3 – A trip to the dispensary
Day 4 – Inside the law
Day 5 – Inside the law, pt. 2
Day 6 – Medical marijuana
Day 7 – Growing at home
To read the latest stories about cannabis in Connecticut, visit ctinsider.com/cannabis.
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An important note: We aren’t lawyers and what’s written above and elsewhere in this series isn’t legal advice — it’s our best interpretation based on analysis of the lengthy law and conversations with experts.
Recreational cannabis is a new area of law in Connecticut. If you have questions, talk to a lawyer.