It’s no myth that the THC content of the cannabis we smoke has gotten considerably higher over the last four decades. Cannabis in the 80s had around 2 to 5 % THC. The THC content of cannabis available today is routinely four to five times as high. Today cannabis has an average of 20% THC content.
This has raised a lot of questions about the quality of the weed we consume on a regular basis. There’s a myth going around that says the more THC is in your cannabis, the better it is. However, the research seems to suggest that we have gone overboard with developing strains that are high in THC, but low in quality.
Here’s why more THC isn’t necessarily making weed any better.
THC Content Has Risen In Europe As Well
The cannabis scene has changed a lot since the 80s. You’ve got more people looking for specialized strains and asking can you hit a cartridge with a lighter? These trends are also true across the pond.
The majority of cannabis products available in Europe are produced in Morocco. Moroccan cannabis growers have been increasingly moving away from traditional strains of cannabis and then to high THC varieties. This is to meet a market demand that is looking for the most THC it can get for its dollar, or in this case Euro.
This trend is true across Europe. A study of French police seizure of cannabis found that the weed had also gotten about 20 times stronger than it was 80 years ago.
This leads us to one big question. Why is the THC content of our cannabis getting so high?
Why is THC Going Up?
There’s actually a really simple explanation for why the THC content of our cannabis products has gotten so high over the last few decades. It has to do with a public misconception of how cannabis works on the body and cannabis sellers capitalize on that lack of information.
Here’s how it works.
Over the years, a myth has developed. This myth is suggested that higher THC strains of cannabis are capable of having a larger psychoactive effect. This means that consumers are looking to get the most THC they can for their money.
This also means that cannabis retailers have an interest in selling strains that have much higher THC content than cannabis a few decades ago. Retailers can even sell premium for cannabis strains that have greater than 25% THC.
Both of these factors come together to create a positive feedback loop. Customers, fueled by misinformation, continue to seek higher and higher concentrations of THC. Retailers, on the other hand, are responding to this Demand by marketing and selling high THC strains of cannabis.
Let’s take a closer look at the myth of high THC cannabis.
Why More THC Doesn’t Mean Better Cannabis
There are a lot of questions around cannabis. Now that legalization has spread throughout the country, more people are looking to learn how to remove oil from prefilled cartridge and find out how much THC they need to get high.
Researchers at the University of Colorado tried to get some answers to this question. They did a study on individuals using two different concentrations of THC oil. One was a 70% concentration and the other was a 90% concentration. This study also used cannabis flower with a concentration of 16% THC and another cannabis flower with a concentration of 24% THC.
The results of the study were interesting. Individuals reported relatively the same psychoactive effects regardless of the strain, or concentration of oil, that they used. While the amount of THC in these individuals’ blood streams did test higher, it didn’t appear that the greater amount of THC was having a noticeable impact on their biology.
Combating the THC Fallacy
Whether you’re trying to find out what to do if the bottom of cart came off or if you are looking for lower THC strains of cannabis, there’s a lot of information out there.
Herein lies the problem. That feedback loop we talked about earlier with consumers looking for higher THC strains and suppliers being willing to meet that demand is hard to combat.
It’s going to take effort on behalf of the greater cannabis community to balance out the craze for higher THC levels with what the science has to say.
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