The cannabis that we have today is strong. In fact, it’s more potent than it was even four decades ago. If you look at the industry, you’ve probably heard someone say that, and the THC levels used to be 5% but is now on average about 20%, which makes this about four to five times more potent, ten times in some cases.
In order to confirm this, we do need to take a bit to look at the market that’s currently happening, and the numbers used for this. According to a study from the university of Colorado at Boulder, cannabis has definitely changed, with about 25% THC being what it is now, and yes, it was found that the THC levels are now closer to that than the 5% it was before. It’s not something that was just verified by studies though. According to almost 40,000 different samples, it was found that the cannabis potency ended up tripling. The cannabis flowers are now reaching higher levels, about 30% in a few variants.
The rise of European Cannabis
According to a report from Europe, it was found that the THC spike in cannabis is higher than ever, and it has spiked in home areas because of the pandemic, with more varieties of this being as potent as they can be. The production of hashish that’s Moroccan is something that has mainly dominated the market, and it helped move this away from kif types of indigenous crops, in order to focus on varieties with higher THC, which makes them so much higher. There were also some changes to the French market too, and it was found that the THC content in those that were seized ended up being about 20% higher than other varieties.
Why the increase
The biggest reason is because they’ve managed to perfect it in a way that improves the psychoactive elements of this in order to hit the consumer demand for the highest potency out there. Some varieties are offering about 30% THC in this, and it’s something that’s managed to grow as well due to the new concentrates that are starting to boost in the market.
A lot of cultivators are also looking at boosting the THC because people want that. They want something that gives them the most bang for their buck, and in the recreational market, the THC content is indeed what truly matters at the end of the day.
The problem
The problem with that though is the THC content. That’s because THC doesn’t determine how good or how bad the weed is for a person, and it’s something that also does impact the potency levels of such too in a lot of different instances. For a lot of researchers, it was found that the THC in this is something that isn’t always the main focus of this, but rather the other terpenes and cannabinoids that play a major role.
It just helps with the high, but it’s not just what it’s based off of. It also may benefit from the other terpenes, including cognitive levels, the mood of the person, and also the intoxication levels.
Some noticed as well that they weren’t as stoned in some cases, even with high levels of THC, and the self-reported psychoactive aspects were the same, and the concentration didn’t play a role. So while yes, we’re getting more from this, it’s not everything, and the other terpenes and cannabinoids play a larger role in the results associated with the cannabis experience, and also may help with other beneficial aspects of this as well.