In the world of weed, it can almost feel as though the list of knockout cannabis strains available on today's market is never-ending. And with all the new and exciting weed strains hitting the shelves every day, it's hard to keep track of what's good, what isn't, and, to be honest, what's what! From classic, world-renowned cannabis strain names like Blue Dream to the more unusual and unappealing strain names like Cat Piss, there's no shortage of new cannabis experiences to be had. If you really wanted to, you could even smoke a new strain every day and it would take years to try them all! But how accurate are cannabis strain names and can you ever be sure that what you're smoking is actually the strain it's labeled as?
Leafbuyer is here to answer all of your questions (and possibly more) when it comes to cannabis strain names. That's right — the good, the bad, and the downright dank facts and figures are here for the taking! All you need to do is kick back, light up, and get ready to learn the truth about cannabis strain names.
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The Basics of Cannabis Strain Names
Before hopping straight into the details of cannabis strain names, let's take some time to cover the basics. After all, there's no use jumping into the more complex stuff if you don't first understand the simple facts surrounding cannabis strain names. So, what's in a cannabis strain name and does a bud, by any other name, still smell (and smoke) as sweet? Let's find out!
What is Cannabis?
Depending on your level of expertise with weed, you may or may not know exactly what cannabis is. For the uninitiated or rusty cannabis consumer, let's start with the basics! Cannabis is a plant with a long history of human cultivation, primarily as hemp in early years which has a plethora of industrial uses. These days, weed is mostly used for its recreational and medicinal value! Cannabis can be separated into three separate groups: cannabis indica, cannabis sativa, and cannabis ruderalis. These classifications can easily get confusing but the important part to remember is, no matter what strain of weed you're smoking, you're still smoking cannabis!
To sum it all up, cannabis is a plant which has been specifically bred over the course of several thousand years into the strains we know and love today. The past few decades have seen huge leaps and bounds when it comes to the advancement of cannabis strains, and new names are popping up everywhere. But, no matter how much weed is grown and how many strains are created, it's all cannabis in the end!
What are Cannabis Strains?
If cannabis strains aren't different plants, then what exactly are they? Well, cannabis strains are specifically and specially bred variants of the cannabis plant! Whether you're smoking Green Crack, Blue Dream, or Granddaddy Purple, you're still smoking cannabis. The difference in strains is largely due to the difference in the THC potency and the terpenes in the strain. As an example, citrusy weed strains typically contain more limonene, a terpene which (aside from tasting like lemons) is reportedly known for its energizing effects. The potency is another important factor which helps categorize cannabis strains since most consumers care about the level of the high they're looking to achieve. In short, strains are how we identify and categorize cannabis and they are bred over time to enhance certain attributes of the main cannabis plant.
Cannabis strains come as either a sativa, indica, or hybrid. The effects of these three categories are considerably different, especially to the experienced cannabis connoisseur. While most beginners who are new to cannabis consumption can smoke any ol' weed and experience somewhat of the same high, the more cannabis you consume, the more discerning your palate will become. Not only will the effects of cannabis become easier to differentiate, but the tastes will also become more noticeable and nuanced. It is when you reach this stage of cannabis consumption that strain accuracy becomes most important since you'll actually be able to tell if a strain isn't what it says it is. After all, the overall effect of a lemony sativa strain just isn't the same as a piney indica! Cannabis strains are real branches of the same plant, but not all of those branches are accurate to their name.
How are Cannabis Strains Named?
Cannabis strains are known for having some truly funky names, which comes as no surprise considering the average stoner's sense of humor. From Alaskan Thunderfuck to God's Gift to Obama Kush, there's really no restrictions on what you can and cannot name a strain of weed. But how are cannabis strains named and why are they usually named in such a bizarre fashion? To answer that question, you need to ask the cannabis breeders who are responsible for bringing these new and intriguing strains to life! In the meantime, just remember that most strains are named after their parents. Blue Dream, for example, is bred from combining Blueberry and Haze. Other than that, there's no real rhyme or reason to a cannabis strain name like Big Buddha Cheese. So in short, cannabis strains are named at the whim of the person who created the strain, though often that name is an homage to the parent strains.
The Truth About Cannabis Strain Names
Now that you have a basic understanding of cannabis, strains, and how they're named, it's time to bring out our main question: what is the truth about cannabis strain names? This is a tricky topic to tackle, especially since the laws and regulations surrounding everyone's favorite herb are relatively new due to just recently cannabis was decriminalized and legalized. Now that weed has a little more regulation under its belt (and a lot more scientific observation), we can tackle the burning question on everyone's minds — am I really smoking the cannabis strain I think I am? So, without further ado, let's talk about the truth about weed strain names.
How Accurate are Cannabis Strain Names?
Just a few years ago, before cannabis legalization swept the nation, it was almost impossible to tell whether or not the strain you bought from that guy in the alleyway was actually the strain he said it was. Unless you had a lab, there was no way of testing the weed strains at home, so most people involved in the cannabis culture came to accept that strain names, while fun, weren't ever really 100 percent accurate. Though much less so than it was a decade ago, this is still true today. With the upsurge in the cannabis market, laws, regulations, and science have made the industry more transparent and a lot more reliable than any black market weed deals from before.
Nowadays, many of the strains on the cannabis market are true to their name. The Super Lemon Haze you bought at your local dispensary is very likely to be lemony and hazy — but that's still not a guarantee! So, in short, cannabis strain names are often inaccurate though recent strides and studies are definitely helping clear the air when it comes to counterfeit cannabis strain names. Hopefully, in the near future, we'll have enough time and energy put into ensuring each and every weed strain on the market matches its label and no stoner will end up smoking a strain that isn't what it claims to be.
Can You Trust the Strains You Smoke?
Even with the recent improvements in regulating the cannabis industry and its products, it's still possible to be on the receiving end of a counterfeit cannabis strain. And the worst part of buying counterfeit weed is you have no real way of knowing for sure whether or not what you bought is the real deal. Unless you're a verified cannabis connoisseur, the naked eye of the average stoner will see a dank nug of flower and be satisfied because it's green, sticky, and smells like weed. And hey, for some people that's enough! But not every cannabis consumer can or will be happy smoking anything so long as it's weed — and that's when the question of trusting the strains you smoke comes into play.
So, can you trust that the strains you're buying from a dispensary are actually the strains they say they are? As a general rule, the answer is no — it's very hard to know for sure if you're consuming the weed you want to consume. The best way to circumvent this is to find reliable cannabis companies and brands with transparent business models who you trust to provide the weed they claim to be providing. At the end of the day, reputable sources are the best way to know the truth about your personal-use cannabis strains.
Buying the Right Cannabis Strains
So, now that you're armed with the truth about cannabis strain names, there's one last problem to tackle. How can you personally make sure you're buying the right cannabis strains? Short of growing your own weed from seed, it can be hard to find a source of cannabis you know is guaranteed to match its name and description. That's why it's important to spend some time researching the products available online so you can make an informed decision when purchasing your personal pot supply. Find a product you love made by people you trust, and you'll never have to worry about buying the right kind of cannabis strain ever again. After all, reliable weed is the name of the game for the legal cannabis industry!
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