Jun
Cannabis seeds are regularly marketed by companies, both seedbanks and breeders on their THC percent. This is a standard practice in the industry, but does it hold any weight? Is the 30% THC pack going to be stronger than the potentially cheaper 25% pack? The truth is something many growers are oblivious to. If you’re one of them, we hope this article helps you better understand THC in cannabis seeds and how to purchase for potency.
How Seeds Get Their THC Estimates
Unlike cannabis flower, which is regulated in the US market and requires the values of cannabinoids to be based on lab results, breeders don’t have any restrictions on how they apply their THC values to their packs or descriptions. While some breeders do aim to use this metric as a way to guide the user, most use it as an opportunity to hype their product. Some breeders even apply THC percentages without ever testing any of the seeds, either guessing the potency based on the parents or simply making it up.
Even in the cases where the breeder does grow the seeds out and get the resulting plants tested, in some cases, they will list their highest testing plant instead of providing an average of the whole population.
Some of the best breeders tend to avoid specifying THC, and at most may reference particular strains as ‘very strong’, but without giving the customer a specific number.
Why We Can’t Sensibly Use THC As a Reference in Cannabis Seeds
The idea of being able to tell how potent your plant is going to be based on the numbers on the pack is a great concept, but it’s not true to how breeding is done, nor how growing cannabis works. Here’s why we shouldn’t take these numbers too seriously:
Chemotype Variance
Phenotype is used to describe the physical expressions of a plant, while chemotype refers to the similarly variable array of terpenes and cannabinoids in the plant (among other things like flavonoids too). Every time a seed is made, a metaphorical dice are rolled on a number of different traits a plant has embedded in its DNA, ranging from colours and smells to effects and vigor. This is also true for its chemotype traits, like THC.
That means that in general, if you pop 10 different seeds from a breeder, you’re going to end up with a range of different traits, and each plant will test differently. Very few breeders do line work these days, a process whereby they work their selections until they narrow the gene pool. A line with extensive funneling of specific traits can give a better guide to the THC. There will still be some variability, but less so than most strains which aren’t typically worked for more than a couple of generations.
The Grower’s Influence On THC
Chemotype refers more to a plant’s potential, as the growing conditions will have a big impact on whether it reaches that potential or not. Similar to how we can be born with great genetics and still overeat and not express the full potential of our physique, plants can have the potential to test really high, but through less-than-ideal growing conditions, never reach that potential.
This is something I encourage every grower to consider. Before chasing the highest THC, perfect your craft to the point where you feel like you can get the most out of it. Even then, there are limitations that most growers face, such as limitations on environmental control, which can result in excess cold or excess heat, which again – limits that potential.
Of course, a 30% seed grown to 50% potential will still be ‘stronger’ than a 15% strain grown to 50%, but even then you’re banking on your THC percent being a legitimately tested and aggregated rating, which it may not be.
How Potency Really Works (It’s Not Just About THC)
Perhaps greater than the shenanigans of the cannabis market is the fact that THC has in recent times been shown not to be the be-all and end-all of potency. In fact, the more research that comes out, the more we’re starting to realize that it’s just one small part of a much larger puzzle. This puzzle, is, of course, the entourage effect.
The entourage effect is a term used to describe the way terpenes, cannabinoids, flavonoids, and more, all work together to impact our highs. When we smoke, these compounds interact with our brain chemistry and create an effect that can sometimes even be unique to us. This is why you may feel a certain strain hits you harder than your friend or partner.
In essence, the more we research the plant, the more we notice that THC values aren’t quite as helpful as they’re made out to be. This then becomes even less important when talking about seeds, which are also random and mostly unpredictable.
So, How Does One Accurately Pick The Strong Strains?
The most effective way to find strong cannabis strains is not to rely on THC percents, but rather to spend some time finding what works for you and your brain chemistry. Start off by growing a variety of trusted strains with lineages you can trust. You’ll need to side-step the white label options, and perhaps spend a bit more from higher-end trusted breeders – but this will let you find which types of profiles works well with your body.
For instance, I find strains with lots of limonene to be particularly potent, especially those with lots of myrcene content. So if I want something potent to grow, I don’t really look for THC, but rather at the lineage of the strains and what types of terpenes are in the genetics. I also look for strains that have a near-universally agreed potency.
Many strains that are well-known for their potency, such as Chem 91 and Chem D for instance, are both considered very potent strains (clones in this case, as they are clone-only cuts) and have long-lasting highs that can go on for hours, but these strains don’t actually test very high at all, usually between 18-23%.
Trialing all different types of flavours (fruity, sweet, gassy, citrus, etc) is not only a really fun way to learn about what strains you like, but it also lets you find those that you don’t like, so you can narrow the risk of buying seeds you aren’t really going to love.
Conclusion
We often get queries asking for the strains with the highest THC, and while there is sometimes merit to this approach, there are better ways to find the most potent cannabis seeds for you. It takes a little understanding and some trials to find what works for your chemistry, but once you have that knowledge, you can use it indefinitely.
