Is This Good Weed?
How to Tell If Your Weed is High Quality in Five Easy Steps
Everyone likes to be an expert in something. Some people know whiskey, some people know synchronized swimming. Some people know a lot about a bunch of stuff. We here at Agate Dreams know cannabis. While we will never lead you astray, we think you should learn to know and love it, too. Sure, the true connoisseurs spend years honing their craft. That’s not what we are shooting for here. You have other passions like the Theremin that take up some of your time. You want to know if your weed is good, and if you follow these steps you should have a pretty good idea that what you got is some quality buds. So grab your stash and play along! Or pretend! We aren’t watching you, do what you like, friend!
Nose: Grab that weed and take a whiff! Good weed should have a distinct, pungent smell. The louder, the better. When it comes to weed, your nose knows. A good smell indicates a high terpene content which likely means it is higher in potency. If your weed doesn’t smell (or worse) smells like hay, it’s time to go to Agate Dreams because you didn’t get that here. If it smells like hay, stay away.
Cut and Care Quality: Quickly examine your cannabis. You should see whole, non-mangled buds[1] and very little else. If you are seeing a lot of stems and seeds, that’s a bad thing. Likewise, you shouldn’t be seeing a lot of leaves or loose “shake” which indicates poor cut, transportation, and cultivation. Also, if you see any mold or bugs on your weed uh… eww gross. Don’t smoke that.
Color Inspection: Ok, now check the color of your buds. Good weed is green and not brown or bile colored. While different strains vary in hue (some can even be purple!) The color is an indicator of the quality and health of the plant. Are you also seeing orange hairs/flecks or other accent colors? That’s good too and also indicates a healthy plant.
Hunt for Crystals: You should see little crystals all over your cannabis. Those are trichomes. They give your buds a “frosty” look and indicate potency. While some weed has large crystals and some have small, the size of the trichomes does not matter. You may need to inspect your buds with a magnifying glass or by rolling the buds between your fingers to see all the trichomes. That being said, the more crystals the stronger your weed is generally speaking.
Stickiness: Good weed is dense and not dry. It isn’t wet either. The resin combined with SLIGHT moisture results in a sticky feeling that indicates your marijuana is of good quality and has been cultivated and cared for properly. Dry will burn too quickly and if there is too much moisture your cannabis is susceptible to moldy and mustiness.
BONUS: Taste/Experience. Obviously the first five are done before you ever enjoy your herb. When you inhale, the taste should be fresh and clean. Strains have differences in taste, but if your weed tastes like old socks or tastes like garbage that’s a red flag the size of the Agate Pass Bridge. Put that down. The experience will depend on your tolerance and potency. If you are getting headaches, you probably have some bad weed, but solid advice is to talk to someone knowledgeable like an Agate Dreams Budtender to help get the weed that is right for you.
That’s all folks! Toke on Dreamers!
[1] Mangled buds indicate machine-trimmed versus hand-trimmed buds. You want some robot cutting your weed? What do robots know about pot?
