What does good weed look like?

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

When you first walk into a dispensary, it can be difficult to know what good weed looks like. Many novice cannabis users make the mistake of spending too much money on low-quality cannabis because they don’t know what good weed looks like.

After reading this article, you will be able to visually identify quality cannabis, allowing you to get the most out of your dispensary visits.

What do weeds look like?

Before we answer the question “What does good weed look like?”, let’s dive into the basics: “What does weed look like?”

When the cannabis flower bud is ground up, it looks a bit like dried oregano.

According to the DEA: “Marijuana is a dry, crushed green/brown mixture of the flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves of the cannabis sativa plant. The blend is typically green, brown, or gray in color and may resemble tobacco.”

In general, cannabis has varying shades of green and brown, and visual variations include the absence or presence of amber, orange, red, and bluish-purple hairs. Additionally, you can see trichomes that can shine clear to milky white and sometimes even red.

Photo by Zummolo/Getty Images

What does good weed look like?

Now that you know what weed looks like, let’s answer the main question: “What does good weed look like?”

Good weed is cannabis that has been properly grown and harvested. It has been well cured and trimmed and has no mold, mildew or impurities.

Cannabis sold in a legal dispensary must pass a mold and mildew lab test. Unfortunately, moisture, airflow, light, temperature changes, and/or poor packaging can all cause approved cannabis to develop mold or mildew before you receive it. Make sure you visually inspect your cannabis before smoking it.

RELATED: What Makes Weed So Sticky? And is it a good thing?

Buying mold-infested cannabis is not only a waste of money, but also dangerous. Both mold and mildew can cause health problems if ingested.

To ensure you buy good weed that isn’t infested with mildew or mold, avoid weed with the following characteristics:

• A thick spider web structure on the flower (powdery mildew)
• Cotton candy-like gray or white tissue around the bud (mold)
• Fine gray or white powder resembling powdered sugar, this texture differs from desired trichome/pine dust (powdery mildew)
• Gray spots that can hide inside a bud and only become visible when a bud breaks open (mold)
• Sawdust-like powder distinct from kief dust (powdery mildew).
• slime (mildew)
• Unusual dark spots (powdery mildew)
• Yellow or gray down (powdery mildew)

Now that you’ve learned visual cues to identify weed that isn’t good, let’s look at what good weed looks like.

What does good weed look like? How to pick prime flowers

Good weed is like fresh produce. Fresh romaine lettuce has rich green colors, is not wilted, and looks good. Similarly, healthy, brightly colored cannabis will likely “look good” to you. Quality cannabis usually has:

• Rich shades of green
• Brightly colored hair (may be green, orange, red, amber, or purple)
• White or amber frosty trichomes
• Packaging detailing how it was grown
• Packaging with harvest time info so you know how fresh it is.

Photo by Christina Hempfling/EyeEm/Getty Images

Is colorful weed stronger?

There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that variegated weed (ie weed with amber-orange, red or bluish-purple hues) has higher cannabinoid levels than weed with only green hues. But decades of cannabis users have felt that colored weed is often stronger and of higher quality than brown weed. Of course, that’s not always the case.

RELATED: Why is Weed Giving You the Munchies?

The color in cannabis flowers comes primarily from anthocyanins, which are the same compounds that give blackberries and blueberries their color. The temperature at which the cannabis is grown and cured has a major impact on whether anthocyanins are produced and retained. (Want to know how to grow purple weed?)

While there is no definitive rule, colorful weed often indicates careful growing and curing, which often means the cannabis is of high quality.

Is Brown Grass Bad For You?

If you’re wondering, “Why is my grass brown?” or if brown grass is bad for you, we can put your mind at ease. There is no evidence that brown grass is bad for you.

However, brown weed is often of lower quality than green or purple weed and has a reputation for being harder and tastes worse than colored weed. Some cannabis strains are naturally brown, others will turn brown due to growing conditions.

What should good weed look like?

Now when you walk into a dispensary you know how to visually identify quality cannabis flowers.

Good weed has rich shades of green. It can have shades of orange, red, blue and purple. And good weed should have a white icing of trichomes where the cannabinoids are stored.

Start your cannabis wellness journey

Have you started your cannabis wellness journey? Jointly is a new cannabis wellness app designed to help you discover purposeful cannabis use so you can achieve your wellness goals with cannabis and CBD. In the Jointly app, you can find new cannabis products, rate products based on how well they’ve helped you achieve your goals, and track and optimize 15 factors that can impact your cannabis experience. These 15 factors include your dose, the environment you use cannabis in, who you are with when you take it, how hydrated you are, the quality of your diet, how much sleep you got last night, and more. Download the Jointly app on the App Store or Google Play Store to start your cannabis wellness journey.