We're an international team of cannabis researchers from 16 countries studying patterns and practices of small-scale cannabis cultivation. Ask Us Anything about cannabis!

From your data, how do you predict the future of American (USA) consumption being supplied? Large corporate distributors or will home growery continue to grow and diminish the market? Seems like in Canada both have flourished.

This is a tough question. What we’ve seen in Canada is that large companies jumped into the mix early on and tried to produce cannabis at scale. Due to a number of factors this cannabis often didn’t meet the expectations of consumers, and the difficulty in accessing it kept many tied to their longtime legacy suppliers. But perhaps the US will be different. Given that each legal state is essentially isolated right now, perhaps that’ll be an incubator for companies in each state so that when the market opens nationwide there are already firmly established smaller firms that can produce what consumers want. I hope that there is an option for home grow, and regulations to support micro-growers like we have in Canada. Finally, I really hope we see Cannabis Social Clubs allowed to operate in the US, and in Canada. They offer a great balance of small grows for their membership and are non-profit. No matter what, home growing will flourish, just as it has under prohibition, so we might as well allow it and put appropriate regulations in place.

Daniel

We are seeing conflicts on this point in some US states already. In CA, for instance, small growers are feeling over-regulated to the point they cannot compete with large-scale industrial growers. Many small-scale growers are therefore choosing to remain ‘illegal,’ so these types of market forces will continue to disrupt supply systems. Where they end up will largely depend on the regulatory environment in each state. Eric

and the difficulty in accessing it kept many tied to their longtime legacy suppliers

So their dealer?

To be fair, when people say dealer, i imagine a dude on a street corner asking if i want what appears to be a tenner bag for 20.

Some of these guy are real pros. Quicker and higher quality delivery than most takeaways. Quality product and recommendations. It's hard to really put those dudes in the same category as a street slinger, outside of the fact they both sell illicit things, they're nothing alike.

Totally agree, mine was delivered by my daughters friends mother last night. lol

Haha. For so long 'dealer' was this shady figure supposedly looking to ensnare you into addiction. Turns out that often what we're seeing is a lot of 'normal' people sharing their cannabis or selling to cover their costs. That's what we found from our sample of growers in the first round of this survey. Cheers. Daniel

Yeah, but that term has been used to stigmatize people who use drugs and people who sell drugs. I like this term a bit better. Daniel

What is your take on end-of-life “flushing” of copious amounts of water to induce senescence? Lots of growers claim this practice removes the harshness from the end product and leaves a cleaner burn, but does this have any basis in science?

Unfortunately we didn't study that in our past survey and don't have good data on it yet. We'd be interested to see what other growers think in response to your comment. Daniel

My opinion: salt based nutrition, one should flush. Non salt based, not needed.

Reasoning: looking at growing containers you can see the white stains when using salt based fertilizer.

Interesting answer and thanks for sharing. Have you taken the survey at www.worldwideweed.nl? We'd love your insights.

Horticulture graduate here. There's no scientific basis for the flushing. What's going on is the majority of growers are way over fertilizing their plants and when they start flushing the plants senesce because they don't have the proper nutrients and start turning pretty colors (because of deficiencies).

The proper way is to not insanely over-fertilize and let the plants genetics take care of senescence.

If you want to flush, by all means flush, but there is no scientific basis and you might lose some yield.

E: added a word

Thanks for your insights. Are you a grower? If so, www.worldwideweed.nl to take our survey!

Is it true that Dave's cousin knows a guy who can get, like, the best weed?

Dave talks a lot of crap, so I dunno. I mean the last time Dave said he had the hookup we were in the last row of the stadium for Red Hot Chili Peppers, even though Dave swore he and Flea were old friends.

If someone who has been a long time user, but develops chronic anxiety which seems to be exacerbated every time they get high, what strains would you recommend to ease back into it?

In general the data suggest that high CBD and low THC strains may be a good bet in your situation. Some Dutch research also suggests that what they call ‘pharmaceutical grade’ cannabis might be more effective for medical conditions.

There’s a great writeup of this topic that might give you some pretty thorough answers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2018.00730/full

There’s also a good article on this topic, but it is behind a pay wall. Hopefully you or someone you know can get access to it. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.07.030

We’re not medical doctors and so can’t give medical advice, but this question seems to come up a lot and there’s good info in the cannabis community.

The Team

What results have you gotten in Portugal so far?

Also, what do you think about cannabis being decriminalized instead of completely legal?

There's 62 responses from Portugal so far!

Decriminalization of personal cannabis cultivation is one policy option that allows individuals to grow in the privacy of their own homes without criminal repercussions. Legalization, as you know, is another ball of wax that opens things up to commercialization, even industrialization, advertising, etc. Each jurisdiction considering liberalization needs to weigh these, and other, pros and cons.

Eric

Eric's points are spot on, but I'd just add that my concern with cannabis decrim is that it leaves the illicit market in place without creating the oversights that can help protect consumers. This is especially so when we talk decrim in the case of opioids. Daniel

Do you consider Australia Bastard or humboldt freakshow to be birth defects or new branches off the cannabis sativa species?

Developing new species or sub-species (speciation) is a slow evolutionary process, but it starts with defects or mutations from the ‘normal’ species. Human interaction (I.e., selective breeding) can speed the process of speciation up – but it still takes generations to develop entirely distinct species. Australia Bastard and Humboldt Freakshow are particular strains. They may well be characterised by some new mutations to the genetic makeup of cannabis. They may even be early forms of what ends up to be a new species – only time (a LOT of time) will tell! Gary

Why do some plants end up with hermed buds? Almost ALL of the dry leaf in our state MMJ program have these little like, herm holes, and it makes smoking them very harsh and can give a bad headache as well.

When you say ‘state program’ that makes it sound like you’re getting buds from a government grower? Also, small holes don’t just mean it went hermaphrodite. Our understanding is that it means pollination took place at some point in the process. (Please correct me if this is wrong). In either case, producing quality cannabis at scale is a rather difficult thing to do. Many times the legalization of cannabis (rec or med) comes with strict safety guidelines. These typically look for mold or chemicals used in the growing process, and are less focused on some of the attributes that consumers might want. In short, the regs aim to protect consumers, not necessarily give them the product they want. It sounds like this is what you’re experiencing. Daniel

What do you think of the UK being the biggest exporter of medicinal marijuana, while the sale and consumption of it in the same country is sooooo totally illegal?

IN a word: hypocritical! It is possible to get legal medical cannabis in the UK through the NHS, but it is very, very hard and only a handful of people get prescriptions cannabis this way. Most people who use cannabis for medical purposes in the UK are either dependent on the illegal market, or grow it themselves or get given it by other growers – all of which involve more serious criminal activity than simple possession of cannabis. And yet the UK does export a lot of medical cannabis to other countries for legal medical use. It does seem crazy! Gary

Is there any practices you found to be dangerous to our health?

One area of concern is the use of Plant Growth Regulators. We found that many growers were using these chemicals to get denser buds, but these often contain elements that are carcinogenic. There needs to be further research into PGRs, but for now the data suggest avoiding them. Here’s a link to a paper some of our team members wrote about this issue.

In Australia there's some concern about labelling PGRs as being 'natural' and in the US there's been concerns about mislabeling PGRs.

https://worldwideweed.nl/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Final-PDF-6.pdf

Daniel and Jodie

When can you develop a strain that will let me pass a drug test while still getting higher than a kite?

Well, they’re testing for cannabinoids, and if we got rid of those cannabis wouldn’t be nearly as much fun. Sorry. Daniel

What benefits does the consumption of CBD have? Can it help against my migraines and can it help against mentall illness?

Research suggests that CBD does have anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) properties. It may well help with migraines and it may have some benefits for a range of mental illnesses. However, there is a HUGE range of conditions under the general heading ‘mental illness’ and migraines can have many different causes. We would recommend consultation with a doctor before relying on CBD to treat any condition. You will also find a lot of information and accounts of personal experiences in the various online (and offline) cannabis communities. Gary

Is it true that smoking cannabis regularly leads to short term memory loss? What are the impacts of cannabis on memory cells?

I’m sure I answered this question just a few moments ago....!

Seriously, cannabis can definitely impair short term memory in the sense of forming memories when you’re high. Longer term effects are still being researched. In general, it seems that most people find their memory recovers if and when they cut back on their cannabis use. But very heavy use over an extended number of years may lead to some longer term problems. Gary

I spent some time in another state sampling wares from dispensaries. I then arrived back to my home state to find a local store with product that looked like buds, smelled like buds, and was a mild smoke. Since I'd actually started just using cbd oil, my question is are cbd buds legal now in unregulated states, or could it just have been some type of fluke? It's not recreationally legal in my home state.

This is a good question. What you are seeing is cannabis that is 0.3% THC or lower. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp production in the US, defined as cannabis with 0.3% THC or less. Individuals or businesses in nonlegal states might be selling these products for human consumption in a quasi-legal manner. Lots of uncertainty here depending on specific state laws, how the product is being marketed (e.g., medicine, food, dietary supplement), and whether federal and state authorities are even interested in regulating these products.  Eric

I've grown everything from a garage full to over an acre since the year 2000...got any questions?

Plenty! We'd love if you go take our survey at www.worldwideweed.nl where we've gathered all our questions together. The real question is, 'what question didn't we ask that you think we should have'? Daniel

Hi there thank you for your work!

I live in Queensland and would hope to talk to Dr Jodie Grigg. How do you find the medicinal and recreational legalization work in Australia?

Also do you know of, or have you possibly researched synthetic marijuana here? That stuff is a little scary and I have no idea what it actually is.

Thank you.

Thanks for your question. Dr. Grigg has had to step away for the night but she'll be back in the morning (Australia time) and we've flagged this for her to answer.

I'm in my first grow at the moment and just took the survey!

What areas of the world that don't currently allow recreational use or cultivation do you expect to be the most difficult or easiest when it comes to the the legalization movement? Have have the local attitudes towards cannabis use in any area come as a surprise to you either as being very tolerant or very strict?

What do you see as the biggest hurdle in general on the path to more widespread legalization?

Great question! For sure China and Russia are very set against legalization and are a big part of why we’ve not seen developments in the international drugs treaties so far. I think the US will also be difficult to get into full legalization as there are a lot of anti-cannabis forces in place and a big ol’ chunk of racism holding back a lot of progress.

Gary says the UK is quite behind in this area.

Aili thinks a lot of the old Soviet bloc countries are going to be hard get into legalization, but that said the Czech Republic went with decriminalization.

Eric points out South America is ripe for legalization with Uruguay taking the lead and the idea that the increasing movement toward indigenous control of traditional psychoactive plant substances could lead to further openness.

We’re all always surprised at the tight controls in Scandinavian countries, but their policies on drugs aren’t anything particularly new, and this is largely anchored by Sweden’s approach.

Thanks for taking the survey! We couldn't do this research without help from folks like you.

The Team

I live in a medical state in the US, and there's definitely some debate as to whether or not hydroponics is the way to go, or if sticking to old-fashioned dirt is better...does growing a specific strain with hydroponics result in less or altered terpene profiles than the same strain being grown in dirt? Has there also been any sort of significant cannabinoid level changes between hydroponics and old-fashioned dirt with the same strain? Are hydroponics really the "way of the future"?

Current scientific consensus suggests that yields and potency do not significantly differ between hydroponics and soil. But, there are lots more variables in that equation, as you know. You can read more about all this in an open access review article if you are interested: DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2019.106067 https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=93052

Eric

First, there's a difference between hydroponics, soil using store bought fertilizer, and "living soil".

Hydro will give you faster growth and more responsibility.

Most that claim better terps from soil are talking about living soils with complex soil life webs.

I can see where the idea comes from but I dont think its proven one way or the other.

Great answer. We'd love to hear more from you on the survey at www.worldwideweed.nl

What are the more unknown long-term effect of Cannabis-use?

Do you think the minumum age should be 18 or 21 (I'm using Quebec's changing the legal age as an example).

Why do some researches say that Cannabis use could lead to memory loss & decrease in IQ?

The minimum age should not be 21. We know from longstanding research that most people begin their cannabis consumption around age 16 and age out or slow down their consumption considerably by about 25. Waiting until people are 21 to let them buy legal cannabis is a bad idea because it means they form their cannabis consuming practices in an illicit market and aren’t as engaged by public health and public education efforts. Cannabis isn’t harmless, but it is minimally harmful, and there are easy to implement policies that can reduce that harm and still allow for safe and widespread access. But all that is undercut if you make people wait until they’re 21 to buy legally. Sure, should we encourage people to start consuming cannabis later rather than earlier, of course, but setting the legal age at 21 doesn’t do that for most people. Quebec is wrong in their approach, and it is very disappointing.

There is some evidence that long-term use of cannabis, especially when started at an early age, can have some issues with neurological functioning. I haven’t seen anything about loss of IQ points, but generally we want to see people start low and go slow, and not consume very frequently at an early age. Same advice you’d probably give to people about alcohol.
Daniel

Thank you so much for your response. It brings me to the following question: What age would you recommend for someone who wants to start consumption?

The best available evidence suggest waiting until about age 25 for regular consumption. But there is not a lot of evidence that infrequent consumption before that age has serious detrimental impacts. Cannabis isn't harmless, but it is minimally harmful, and basic precautions can help reduce the small risks that exist.

Daniel

https://www.camh.ca/-/media/files/pdfs---reports-and-books---research/canadas-lower-risk-guidelines-cannabis-pdf.pdf

Any good job recommendations to look into for cannabis related career paths?

I’d say that in Canada there’s so many avenues to take. Find what you’re interested, botany, logistics, social sciences, and do that with cannabis. Of course, that’s coming from a Canadian perspective where the industry is legal. If you’re looking to get into cannabis policy areas, the same ideas apply. Find the aspects you’re interested in and study those areas. The cannabis field is so dynamic and changing so rapidly, you can find the niche that works for you.
Daniel

In the world of academia, people research the biology, botany and biochemistry of the plant, the history, sociology and culture of cannabis use, the effects of cannabis on human behaviour, the impacts of cannabis policy, and a whole range of other things. There are non-academic career options available in each of these fields as well. Gary

HUNIDITY, how do you control this shit?

Good airflow/ventilation. But that does lead to the problem of controlling the smell... The Team

Legal greenhouse grow. Smell is not a problem. If there was a GOD of air flow I WOULD BE IT. what else?

That's the best we got for ya. Hopefully others can solve it. Good luck!

Could you explain the major differences between indoor and outdoor grown cannabis? Is there a change in quality or are they generally the same? Why is indoor more dense?

As an aside, favourite strain?

In a nutshell, indoor growing allows you to control growing conditions which, in theory, helps you maximise yield (in both quantity and quality terms). But getting it wrong can backfire – too much light, not enough light, too much food, not enough food, too much humidity, not enough humidity – all of these things can lead to impairment of whatever you’re trying to grow! Our previous research shows that more people grow indoors than outdoors – but many people report that they would prefer to grow outdoors because it is more natural (and because you can, potentially, grow bigger plants...).

Gary says: Not sure about a favourite strain, but somebody introduced me to Orange Sherbert last week and it’s being interesting finding out more about it... Gary.

u/Slyvaky

Its my belief that indoors is often producing denser buds because indoor growers tend to focus on getting light to all the buds they plan to harvest.

Florescent growers lack density because floros can't penetrate as well.

If you let a plant grow naturally, without topping and pinning back branches, the top buds will be much denser than the bottom ones fighting for light.

Great answer. Have you taken our survey yet? Seems like you're just the kind of person we're hoping to engage. www.worldwideweed.nl

I just finished. Pretty through survey. Only lacking in one aspect and only off on one idea imo. Still a great overall grasp of things it seemed.

Cheers. What do you think was lacking or needs fixing? We're always keen to learn. Thanks for taking the survey!

First off, I love ppl that say cheers.

While it was very in depth, it didn't account for previous growing experience...maybe that's intentional though. For example, right now I worm farm and make my own soil, only using dry amendments, no ph testing, and use leds. But when I started I used florescent bulbs and bottled nutrients. Again, not sure if that'd be important for you to know ut seeing that the survey was so in depth it just seemed that it was a piece that was missing.

My pet peeve is that belief that yield equates to how many plants one has. I believe that a 4x2 @400 watts will produce 8oz dry no matter if its one big plant, 2 plants, 3 plants, or buch of little ones.

The one or two questions seemed to perpetuate that idea imo.

I feel I know why people believe that but I still believe it to be wrong. (If you're interested in what I feel leads to that misunderstanding im happy to share my ideas).

Happy to hear your ideas. Thanks for the inputs.

Long term smoking of cannabis leads to seizure and tremors, how to cope up with that?

It depends on the exact nature of the seizures and tremors... if these are serious, then best stop using cannabis for a while and talk to a doctor! Experimenting with different strains and different THC:CBD ratios may help identify what you can use without triggering these unwanted side-effects. Gary

Any thoughts on whether "Boosters" are effective or just a gimmick? Is a standard Ph'd 3-part system enough(Grow/Bloom/Micro)? Anything to avoid outright as a waste?

That’s not something our data can show. What we might be able to look into if enough people complete the survey is how widely spread the use of ‘Boosters’ is, and whether people using Boosters are getting greater yield per crop than those who aren’t. But even then we must recognise that there may be lots of other factors at play.

Ideally, you’d do a controlled experiment here – try growing with and without Boosters, but with all other factors across the two grows being as similar as possible and then see for yourself! And we'd love to hear your results! Gary

i’m completely uneducated on the topic so i have a few:

can you overdose on weed ? if so how much is the definitive too much

how addictive is it ? i never have gotten much of a solid answer for that one

and is it actually a gateway to worse drugs like so many people say? i’m extremely skeptical on that being true

No, you can’t overdose in the sense of dying. But you can certainly have a bad experience if you have too much, and these types of experiences are more common with oral products (e.g., edibles, tinctures). This is typically because of the slower onset of effect, meaning people sometimes take too much because they think they haven’t taken enough when in fact it just hasn’t begun to be felt yet. It’s hard to say at what level it becomes unpleasant as each person is different. Oral product effects typically last longer than inhaled product so if you’re having an unpleasant experience, it will take longer for the high to diminish.

We’re talked about addiction elsewhere in the AMA, but in general we wouldn’t talk about addiction as being a large concern for cannabis. People can misuse cannabis, and have issues with withdrawal if they stop, but these are rather infrequent and often only seen in very high levels of use.

The gateway theory does not hold true in the way it has been portrayed, but it is true that many people that use drugs have started with cannabis as their first illicit drug. But in most cases it was other drugs like alcohol and tobacco first, and there is no causal mechanism by which cannabis use leads to other illicit substances. Many times cannabis is the easiest to get hold of. I had someone in a recent focus group point out that when they tried cannabis they liked it, but then they thought, ‘hey, if the government lied to me about this, were they lying about other drugs too?’.

Some suggest that mother’s milk is a gateway drug. Haha

Joshua and Daniel

What is better for growing out doors, or in doors?

Hard to say one is better than the other, and we’ve seen good arguments for both. In Canada much of the initial wave of legal cannabis has been grown indoors (greenhouses or under lights) and it is only now that we’re seeing the outdoor grows increasing rapidly in hectares. From our last survey we found that for our respondents:

49% of people grew indoors

20% grew outdoors

21% grew both indoor and out in the same grow period

10% Grew seedlings indoors and then their plants were grown outdoors.

What do other growers think about this question? Daniel and Jodie

Is there weed that doesn't make me want to eat my fridge?

Unfortunately not. That said, this property of cannabis has proven to be very important for its medical use. Both in preventing AIDS wasting syndrome and for people undergoing chemo therapy, stimulating the desire to eat is very important.

Daniel

I have chronic low back pain from degenerative disc disease. I've had one surgery already but its help didn't last long.

I have tried CBD, CBC, CBG, CBN, Delta-8 and Delta-9, even in high concentrations AND all at the same time, and every combination in between you can think of, including all different kinds of delivery methods (vaping (dry herb & oil cartridge), edibles, tinctures, creams, patches etc.)

None of it helps my pain. The THC can get me high but that's the only positive effect I feel. Only hard to acquire narcotic drugs seem to help.

What do you suggest?

That sounds a bit horrible – we feel for you. Again, we are not medical doctors so we can’t advise on the best use of cannabis for medical reasons. But trawl the medical cannabis discussion forums and you might find suggestions for things you haven’t already tried. Gary

What can we do, policy wise, to push for legalization in our communities? Is there particular language we need to use when contacting our representatives, or is there some form of grassroots org we can join (or even form) that may sway policy?

Research shows that language about legalization works less well than language about ‘regulating cannabis’. There’s lots of great organizations working on this area and getting involved with them can help push things forward. NORML, Drug Policy Alliance, and others are doing great work. More importantly though, I think that we need to reduce the stigma around cannabis and that comes from discussing cannabis and cannabis issues. Daniel

So why did you guys get into cannabis research?

Daniel: I grew up in the US during the crack wars and then had to use cannabis for medical reasons, and both experiences made me feel like something was wrong with the way things were being handled. The more I looked into it the more I saw that I’d never get to know everything about the topics I was studying, and that seemed like an interesting way to spend a career.

Aili: I was starting my academic career in British Columbia, Canada at a time when BC Bud was big. The organized crime connection to the industry was large and incredibly interesting to a budding criminologist. I focused my PhD on the police response to illegal cultivation in BC, and realized that the only way to get in front of the organized crime was legalization. Plus, I had family connections to the industry.

Why does it seem so difficult to obtain an acmpr license in canada? Do you have any information on reputable doctors in ontario that would help with ovtaining this license?

Great question. I went to my doctor a few years ago, and mind you I’m a researcher in this area and came in with a stack of journal articles, and my doctor hemmed and hawed about it. I think the issue is twofold. First, they’re not trained in the potential medical benefits of cannabis, and taught that medicine comes in strictly controlled and accurately dosed forms. Most cannabis that is smoked doesn’t hit that muscle memory for doctors trained in past decades, so they’re uncomfortable with it. The other issue is the oversight bodies in Canada that doctors belong to haven’t been very clear on their support for medical cannabis. So without a clear blessing from above, and cannabis being outside their wheelhouse, it ends up with a bad situation for people trying to access medical cannabis. I don’t have the name of a good doc for this, but I’m sure others who chime in to this post might have docs in mind. Good luck!

Daniel

Have there been any clinical trials for exploring the effects of recreational use?

And what would a median dose of thc be? I read somewhere it would be the same as heroin and cocaine at 2mg per kilo of body weight but that seems a bit off.

We think you might be asking what the optimal dose of THC would be – to which the answer would be ‘that depends on what effect you want from it’!

There have been hundreds of clinical trials on different aspects of the effects of cannabis, but by their very nature clinical trials focus on the medical efficacy of the substance being trialled. Recreational clinical trials would be something of a contradiction!

Gary & Monica

Are tinctures/edibles safer for our body than smoking?

Edibles are beneficial in that you avoid inhalation of burning vegetable matter. While there is not a strong correlation between cannabis consumption and lung cancer or COPD, there are other potential lung issues to consider, like chronic bronchitis from heavy use. Vaping alleviates much of this potential concern, as do edibles. But edibles come with their own concerns. The cannabis you ingest metabolizes differently than when it is inhaled, and in an unregulated market you may get very potent edibles that you weren't ready for. Overall edibles are a good option, provided you can dose them appropriately.

Daniel

What are the main pros and cons between smoking and vaping where in both cases pure weed is being used i.e. no vape capsules, but weed?

So vaping dried flower seems to be the best method for inhalation. You avoid burning vegetable matter, and while we haven’t seen data suggesting a correlation between smoking and lung cancer or COPD, there are concerns about things like chronic bronchitis and other lung issues related to heavy smoking. Vaping is a lower temp than combustion and seems to get all the cannabinoids out of the cannabis. As a cannabis researcher and educator, I’d suggest vaping over smoking any day, but smoking cannabis isn’t the same level of risk as tobacco and we need to push reasonable consumption and education over fear in how we discuss health risks.
Daniel

What strains you growing?

Nothing right now. You? We'd love to hear about your strains and other aspects of your growing at www.worldwideweed.nl.

As demand for THC increases and with the recent popularity in none (low) THC CBD strains, what is the future of hemp and industrial hemp. I’m a small grower in New Mexico and have been growing a variety of CBD strains but have recently ventured into CBG. We see the crush of overregulation because our state is trying to model their cannabis program after California. Do you think with legalizing THC cannabis that CBD and CBG will be as big as deal as it is now?

With full legalization, we would expect that products with different cannabinoid profiles, including CBG, would continue to be attractive to consumers, especially if those specific products alleviate certain conditions or provide varied user experiences. Care would need to be taken with making and medical claims for specific products. Eric

Are there any animals(other than humans) that intentionally eat cannabis plants to get high?

I am sure outdoor growers can come up with anecdotes of deer and other animals nibbling their plants, but generally cannabis is not naturally eaten by mammals. However, domesticated animals such as cats and dogs will readily chow down your edibles because of the other tasty ingredients, so keep those out of the way! Eric.

Do plants actually react in any way to being put in the dark, close to cropping? I've seen it mentioned many times as a way to boost amber trichomes, but never seen any evidence.

On a wider note — is the effect/presence of amber trichomes on potency actually a real phenomenon? It seems like gospel at this point, but again little hard evidence from what I've seen.

Thanks!

Unfortunately this is outside of what we studied in our last survey and don't have a good answer for that. What do other growers think? We've heard this idea of a final dark phase right before cropping many times lately, and so at the very least it seems like a widespread assumption. Daniel

What are the reasons you don't have representatives from South or East Asia? In particular India, Pakistan, and Nepal. This region is historically home of indica and to this day have cannabis growing naturally and being cultuvated by rural natives. South Korea recently legalized medicinal cbd and other Asian countries are reconsidering their marijuana policies. Do you have any plans to bridge this gap?

This is a great question. We’d love to bring people from this region onto the team. We had a few people from different parts of Asia express interest but they weren’t able to get up and running in their country. While we don’t have a representative from those countries, we do have a version of the survey open to people from around the world if their country isn’t specifically represented on the project. What you’re pointing out is part of a broader problem in drugs policy, where there is less representation from those communities in drug policy discussions and projects.
Daniel

Living in an illegal state, once things become legal what are some of the first steps one needs to accomplish to start some cultivation? Is there association's i need to seek out licensure from?

It depends on whether the state allows personal home cultivation, whether it officially licenses growers, or adopts some combination thereof. If the state allows personal cultivation, the state may require a personal cultivation license or just allow users to grow a certain number of plants without prequalification. In the latter case, you could begin growing once the law becomes effective. Larger scale cultivation, especially that intended to supply dispensaries, usually involves a permitting process that requires substantial investment, fees, etc. So, it will depend on what the law actually says and what your growing intent is. Check out r/spacebuckets or r/nanogrow for ideas on small first grow options. Eric

Does Durban Poison really play such an important and significant role in the cannabis industry?

Durban poison is a popular and well-known strain, and is influential in that respect. But we’re not sure it has any particular claim to being anymore important than some other popular, well-known and influential strains out there! Think about the widespread use of OG Kush in many popular current cultivars. One thing we hope to be able to tell from our survey is how popular different strains really are. Gary and Daniel

Have you come across any data on a ratio of NPK outperforming other ratios? What lights and distances from the canopy are most effective?

Great question. It's a bit our of our wheelhouse, but there's a great article that covers this question and other similar questions, and it is open access. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=93052

Any possible cure for CHS?

Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome is a very debilitating issue, and hopefully you’re doing okay. There’s widespread belief that a hot shower will deal with acute CHS, but right now there’s no known cure other than not partaking. Some research has suggested that haloperidol worked well to control nausea and vomiting in CHS patients. I conducted some focus groups recently where a CHS sufferer pointed out they have been able to continue using their cannabis in much lower doses and with less THC, which is important as they are a medical cannabis user and don’t have the option of not consuming cannabis. There’s a good paper you might want to read that covers both acute and long-term treatments. http://www.egms.de/static/en/journals/gms/2017-15/000247.shtml Daniel

Is there a best way to decarbolise cannabis for making cannabutter?

I've been mucking about with various temperatures and length of time for a bit and wondered if you guys had experimented with it

I was always taught that four hours at a low simmer in a double-boiler was the best approach, but that’s not a good scientific answer... We don’t have a good answer for you on that, but I’m sure others do. There's a few good cookbooks out there now that'll help you guide this. Daniel

Hi, not a consumer so it might be a dumb question.

Is it addictive?

see our response to u/7shikhar

May cannabis cause physical dependence and withdrawals for certain people? If yes, so who is vulnerable?

see our response to u/7shikhar

Is it addictive? I have never used it but my friends can't get enough of it. I fear that being high will decrease normal life things. I mean normal satisfactions that you have in day to day lives will get reduced. You have to have that (when high) much level of fun to actually have fun. It will decrease the level of fun/satisfaction. I will want to be high a the time to actually have fun

Addiction is a contested concept. Can cannabis be habit forming? Yes. Do some people feel they have to keep using it? Yes. Do some people get negative experiences – e.g., withdrawal symptoms – when they stop using cannabis? Yes. But this can all be true for a whole range of things – ‘addiction’ can develop in relation to legal and illegal drugs, gambling, chocolate, sex, shopping, extreme sports... A lot of sociological research into addiction suggests that it is related as much to individual characteristics and social and cultural contexts as to the drug (or activity) itself. See Norman Zinberg’s book ‘Drug, Set and Setting’ for a good introduction to this way of understanding addiction.

All that being said, the vast majority of cannabis consumers who consume a moderate amount of cannabis don’t ever have any sort of addiction or dependency issues.

The Team

What are your expectations for the industrial side of the house concerning regulations in the US? Currently there are regulations in place that if a plant has over 0.3% THC, by testing, then the crop is summarily destroyed. In instances for things like fiber crops, where the practice is to harvest before flowering, do you think any meaningful change will occur to consider the end use of the plant material rather than an umbrella policy concerning all of the plant's sub-species?

The 0.3% hemp-cannabis demarcation is legal and somewhat arbitrary. And it is such a waste of resources for growers to destroy these crops or face legal consequences. Meaningful change on this point will likely occur only with federal legalization.
Eric

In the UK and elsewhere in Europe, a similar 0.3% rule exists and it doesn’t seem to lead to problems in terms of large scale crop destruction. Maybe the US can learn from other approaches around the world?
Gary

Is there evidence for the use of CBD bud (over oils or tinctures) in the treatment of anxiety disorders or sleep issues?

And is there much demand in the industry for geneticists or biochemists? Particularly in Australia?

I don’t have data on efficacy of plant vs oil consumption of CBD for anxiety, but there are issues that go more to the method of ingestion rather than the cannabinioid profile. With inhalation you can self-titrate, or regulate, your dose more easily and onset is quicker. For that reason many people prefer the inhalation route for acute situations. But plants can have mold or other issues. Oils aren’t perfect, and take time to kick in, but may have fewer issues with mold. Daniel Our Australia team members are asleep right now, but we’ve tagged this for them to respond to when they come online in a few hours.

To the second part of your comments, Australia's cannabis industry is definitely growing (pardon the pun!). While I work in the academic sector, I’ve seen a few people transition into the industry as scientists in that space. It seems there is demand – especially since Australians are projecting that we will open up to more medicinal use over the coming years. This is just my sense of it though – I'm in the social sciences, not geneticists/biochemists! - Monica