Why you should smell your weed before you buy it

Trusting the olfactory lobes’ ability to identify cannabis – and the quality of – strains is a very important factor before making a purchase.

This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and has been republished with permission.

When it comes to purchasing weed that is suited to the specific needs of the user, be it recreational, relaxation or medicinal, there are a number of things to consider. Buying the right weed is a lot more than just knowing the name of the strain you are buying and getting it from a trusted dealer.

While both of these factors play a large role in your cannabis purchase, there are still some fundamental factors that go a long way in ensuring you get exactly what you expected. One of those fundamental factors is the ability to smell your weed before you buy it.

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Terpenes and their importance in weed

Before we get into why it’s important to smell your weed, we first need to address a class of phytochemicals found in cannabis plants known as terpenes. Simply put, terpenes are aromatic molecules found in cannabis plants that give different strains of cannabis bud their distinctive scent. Examples of terpenes found in cannabis plants are limonene, myrcene, linalool, caryophyllene, terpineol. These are just a few of the numerous types of terpenes found in cannabis plants. The concentration of some of these terpenes in cannabis buds helps with both identification and quality assessment.

Terpenes also do more than just add flavor to cannabis buds. Medical marijuana is based on the medicinal properties of cannabis, of which terpenes are one of the major contributors. Cannabis contains cannabinoids like THC, CBD, and CBG that have medicinal and recreational effects.

Terpenes work in synergy with these cannabinoids in what is known as the entourage effect to enhance the various medicinal effects of cannabinoids. Myrcene has antipsychotic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and sedative properties, while caryophyllene has analgesic, anticarcinogenic, and antidepressant effects. This gives the understanding that the more terpenes present, the better the medicinal properties of the weed.

This relationship helps determine the importance of these aromatic compounds in weed quality. Now let’s go back to see how this can help when buying weed.

Benefits of smelling your weed before you buy it

Now that we’ve looked at what terpenes are and their role in the medicinal properties and distinctive scents of different cannabis strains, how does this help when buying weed?

It’s common knowledge that there are different strains of cannabis, and while many know it’s possible to differentiate between strains of cannabis, they still don’t know how. This is where terpenes and smelling cannabis strains before you buy them come in. It’s easy to know the name of the strain you’re looking to buy, but when you’re dealing with an untrustworthy retailer, you’re at a loss if you can’t identify the strain you’re looking to buy. This is where the smell of your weed comes into play.

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Terpenes give cannabis strains a specific smell, and the aroma of a strain can help determine whether or not it is the desired strain. This is where smelling your weed before you buy it becomes an advantage to avoid getting the wrong weed. Some cannabis strains can only be distinguished from others by their taste and smell due to similarities in appearance. This is the main reason why some cannabis dispensaries allow buyers to smell reference samples of weed they have in bottles before purchasing it.

The downside of not smelling your weed and not identifying it is therapeutic failure for those using it for medicinal reasons and adverse effects for those using it recreationally.

For those who are new to cannabis, they may not know that when it comes to quality, cannabis comes in different grades. Cannabis can be classified into three basic spectrums, namely low, medium and premium quality bud. The quality of the buds largely depends on the producers and how much care and experience the grower puts into arriving at the final product. Inferior buds are predominantly grown by inexperienced growers or growers who are primarily for-profit. They are usually dry with a tart or bitter taste and tend to have lower THC levels.

Medium quality buds have a better look and taste as growers put more into them to ensure a good product. Mostly produced by local growers, medium quality buds are very common. Premium quality cannabis is what you know as premium products with high quality in terms of content and physical properties. It is made by experienced farmers and special breeders.

These obvious differences in cannabis bud quality can be spotted simply by smelling your weed before you buy it. Due to the lack of a high concentration of terpenes, low-grade terpenes usually don’t have a distinct smell. This lack of smell can also be due to the breakdown of the terpenes, resulting in such strains having a harsh taste and less than ideal effects.

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Medium quality cannabis strains have pleasant and characteristic scents. Smelling such strains before buying gives a pleasant feeling and is easily reproducible in different samples of the strain. Premium quality buds have a skunky and pungent smell due to a complex network of terpenes.

bottom line

It is very possible that cannabis plants are mislabeled with the intention of promoting sales. Low-quality cannabis can be marketed as top-of-the-line, and in such situations, you may have nothing to rely on other than smelling your weed. Trusting the ability of the olfactory lobes to identify cannabis strains and discern the quality of strains is a very important trait that every cannabis buyer must possess. This is because the cannabis market is a market that requires proper intuition and knowledge in every respect.

With the right knowledge you can get what you bargained for and more, and with the wrong knowledge you could wish you never bought the weed. So before you light the bong or pull out the rolling papers, let your nose do the talking.

This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and has been republished with permission.