What's new
  • ICMag with help from Phlizon, Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest for Christmas! You can check it here. Prizes are: full spectrum led light, seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!

Potency, what is considered potent weed today?

funkyhorse

Well-known member
After 4 pages of reading about potency, the only clear thing is this:
hard to say, so besides the scientifical definition of potency there's an abstract definition for many different individuals apparently.
hard/soft, light/heavy, dull/accentuated, narcotic/energizing,
i lost my train of thought haha...

Wine consumers and wine industry all over the world have have better standards than the canna industry
This is a disaster
Everything is mixed up

We have 2 different things being mixed up: potency and quality

You are talking about the speed of onset, unrelated to potency.

And @funkyhorse is talking about duration of effect.
Speed of onset belongs to quality
Strength and duration of effects belongs to potency

We clearly lack standards as cannabis consumers
Please look at the third entry at this pharmacological dictionary

po·ten·cy​

(pō'tĕnt-sē),
1. Power, force, or strength; the condition or quality of being potent.
2. Specifically, sexual potency.
3. In therapeutics, the relative pharmacologic activity of a dose of a compound compared with the dose of a different agent producing the same effects (for example, aspirin and acetaminophen are of equal potency in alleviating headache [same dose required], but ketorolac exhibits greater potency than ibuprofen, given that 20 mg of the former is as effective as 400 mg of the latter).
[L. potentia, power]
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
This is a good start in order to get some standards on potency
So for me a OCB/Rizla paper size #1 a thin spliff/pinner is enough for 12 tokes
6 tokes of a pinner should get me 2 hours high minimum. This was standard all my life.

You get more potent and less potent but this is the basis for potency for me. I am finding in the canna world all kind of legendary weed being marketed for their super special marvelous effects and when i try this weed is 30 min high with a strong munchies coming right after this 30 min. And this is the case of the first spliff. Second spliff of modern weed gets you high 15 min and the third spliff of the day of this modern weed has no more effects.
I call this tolerance and it belongs to quality.

If it is creeper weed or smack on your face weed belongs to quality. The minimum potency of creeper weed consumed as described above is 2 hours.

The only people I can understand when they talk about weed are the ones who smoked the same weed in real life as me. I smoked charas for more than 20 years, so what Baba Karuna posted makes sense to me.
@Baba Karuna
The one you describe as your favourite sounds like charas, I really miss it. It seems all along the other side of the Red Sea coast grow the desert weed. Did you find locally grown weed in the Kingdom?
Love is practiced with different organs depending on culture. Some love with the liver, other with the heart, there are people that love with the brain and people that love with the rectum organ.
Results will be different according to the way you love. This thread is not about breeding

Potency and quality of weed is not related to love.

Character
In the 20th century and until not so long ago weed had character
Character belongs to quality
It means that every single batch of weed have their unique type of effects
Modern weed lacks character. All of it hits almost the same

@Raco
I miss laughing grass very much. Is there any strain left like that? Or those marvelous effects are gone from cannabis today? Laughing for at least 2 hours non stop is an amazing medicine.

Standards for potency and quality should be set up by the industry urgently.
What are they judging at the canna cups? 30 min weed?
Is 30 min weed with strong munchies the standard for potency and quality at the canna world?
 

Raco

secretion engineer
Moderator
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I feel you ...
Novak again,1980 :)

IMG_20240415_091935.jpg

"Day-to-day survival"
I love this book (y)
 

zaprjaques

da boveda kid
After 4 pages of reading about potency, the only clear thing is this:


Wine consumers and wine industry all over the world have have better standards than the canna industry
This is a disaster
Everything is mixed up

We have 2 different things being mixed up: potency and quality


Speed of onset belongs to quality
Strength and duration of effects belongs to potency

We clearly lack standards as cannabis consumers
Please look at the third entry at this pharmacological dictionary

This is a good start in order to get some standards on potency
So for me a OCB/Rizla paper size #1 a thin spliff/pinner is enough for 12 tokes
6 tokes of a pinner should get me 2 hours high minimum. This was standard all my life.

You get more potent and less potent but this is the basis for potency for me. I am finding in the canna world all kind of legendary weed being marketed for their super special marvelous effects and when i try this weed is 30 min high with a strong munchies coming right after this 30 min. And this is the case of the first spliff. Second spliff of modern weed gets you high 15 min and the third spliff of the day of this modern weed has no more effects.
I call this tolerance and it belongs to quality.

If it is creeper weed or smack on your face weed belongs to quality. The minimum potency of creeper weed consumed as described above is 2 hours.

The only people I can understand when they talk about weed are the ones who smoked the same weed in real life as me. I smoked charas for more than 20 years, so what Baba Karuna posted makes sense to me.
@Baba Karuna
The one you describe as your favourite sounds like charas, I really miss it. It seems all along the other side of the Red Sea coast grow the desert weed. Did you find locally grown weed in the Kingdom?
Love is practiced with different organs depending on culture. Some love with the liver, other with the heart, there are people that love with the brain and people that love with the rectum organ.
Results will be different according to the way you love. This thread is not about breeding

Potency and quality of weed is not related to love.

Character
In the 20th century and until not so long ago weed had character
Character belongs to quality
It means that every single batch of weed have their unique type of effects
Modern weed lacks character. All of it hits almost the same

@Raco
I miss laughing grass very much. Is there any strain left like that? Or those marvelous effects are gone from cannabis today? Laughing for at least 2 hours non stop is an amazing medicine.

Standards for potency and quality should be set up by the industry urgently.
What are they judging at the canna cups? 30 min weed?
Is 30 min weed with strong munchies the standard for potency and quality at the canna world?
since apparently i can't access that dj short sticky thread from 2009 anymore....
 

HempKat

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer
Veteran
Well my personal opinion is that things lke potency, quality and whatever other ways people tryto classify or judge cannabis is all subjective. In reflecting bak on my experiences of 64 yrars on this earth and comparing those experiences with friends and aquaintences I might share a smoke with I can't recall a single strain that everyone came to the same conclusion about. This has led me to the opinion that not only is what well call potency or quality about the chemical make up of the plant but equally about the chemical make up of the individual smoking it. To me this is why you can have two or more people smoke the exact same amount of the exact same strain and each come up with a completely different evaluation of the potency and/or quality of that strain.

For a good portion of my life spanning the late 60's thru the early 90's most people, myself included, had no idea of the percent of THC or any other compenent of what was available. It was all just that you really liked it, you kind of like it, it was okay or it was low grade dirt weed. Even under those very basic parameters you would get different reactions from different people. Some might agree that the strain you really liked, they also really liked while other might be more impressed by strains you considered as just okay. What i found kind of interesting later in life when strains started to be tested and rated for their THC content was that al lot of those old school favorites of yester year were comparitively weak if you judged just by THC percentages. Yet despite that comparative weakness I find myself prefering quite fondly many of those older strains over the newer high THC content strains. Among my favorite were the old school Columbian Reds and Golds as well as Panama Red and Acapulo Gold. That's not to say that the more modern high THC content strains are bad but many of them lack something that the old school favorites gave me. What it is exactly I can't say as I no longer have access to those old school favorites nor do i have the equipment and ability to test them to singl out what made one preferable over an other to me.

I think a lot also depends on what you expect out of a particular strain. I personally feel that if a strain checks all the boxes for you or scratches all o you itches, then it deserves to be considered potent but it's likely just going to be potent for you and maybe a random selection of your friends. I would also say that a lot depends on how you go about evaluating a strain. I guess for me the best test of potency was rating it by how many hits it took you to gt all your boxes checked or itches scratched. It seems pretty clear to me that anything that I only need one or two bong hits or one or twwo hits off of a bowl or joint to be willing to stop smoking any more would qualify as potent. Still, what if 3 out of 4 other people who smoked the same exact strain felt that one or two hits wasn't nearly enough for them to feel satisfied? Now of course some or maybe even all of that could be dismissed to tolerance levels but is that really an objective evaluation? I mean in my own experiences the people I smoked with has pretty much the same habits of smoking as far as frequency so in theory we all should have had very similar tolerance levels. Yet inevitably there would always be at least one or two who would want to keep smoking well after everyone else felt satidfied.

I would also say a lot depends on how you go about testing a strain. As an example of what i mean, i remember one time in high school when I was selling what was considered back then just average Mexican that went for $15 an ounce. I sold an ounce one time to a group of other kids from my high school, during lunch period, who happened to be buying for a friend of mine that didn't know I had anything for sale (otherwise he would have just come to me). They went off to sample what they had bought and by the end of the lunch period (half an hour later) they came back to me and wanted their money back because the group of them (I believe was six if memory serves me) didn't feel sufficiently stoned off a relatively small joint. I asked them how they tested it and they told me that they share one joint. i said to them, "look i told you this was just average Mexican and in no way should you have expected one small joint to make all six of you stoned. If it was that good i would have been selling it for $35 an ounce." Of course I refused to give them their money back and they weren't willing to take things to the next level and so went on their way with the ounce they bought. Later on I ran into my friend who they bought it for and mentioned about the whole sale and how I felt about it. That's when he let me know they were buying for him and he told me not to worry because he was very pleased with what he got for $15. Now that's kind of an extreme example and what I really meant as far as testing was did you smoke it out of a bong, a bowl, or a pipe (and in more modern times a vaporizor)? For me I always found bongs to hit me much harder even though I would end up smoking less volume then if I did two hits off a joint of a pipe and for me vapes always left me feeling like something got left out. Yet others would tell me they would feel more of an effect off of a joint or pipe or even a vape because they couldn't handle bong hits. So again to me this is just another example of how what we call potency is all just a subjective thing to each individual.

For me in the final analysis I would have to say it all depends on if the strain delivers the desired effects that you are looking for after smoking a reasonable amount. if it does then in my book for you it's potent. it might not be potent for everyone else but to me that doesn't matter because i'm not smoking for everyone else, I'm smoking for me. That's one of the things I love about cannabis, there are enough different strains and flavors out there to where virtually anyone can find a strain that will be just right for them.

Also as a side note, in the discussion of quality and potency you can't exclude the role peer pressure can play. What I mean by that is some people want to fit in so much to a group they feel part of that they will just go along with the majority of that group even if deep down they don't agree and even more amazingly over time they might come to truly agree with the group because that what they become used to. Also peer pressure can have a big effect on someone first trying out cannabis. Since they have nothing else to base their experience on other then what the people thy hang with tell them, they're likely to adopt the same subjuctive opinions as their friends. They may refine their views and tastes later on as they move on in life and find other friends and/or lose old ones but I can't help but feel those people who first introduce you to cannabis play a key role in shaping what you think of and expect from cannabis.
 

CharlesU Farley

Well-known member
;) I feel you ...
Novak again,1980 :)

View attachment 18987910
"Day-to-day survival"
I love this book (y)
Now reading that was just absolutely hilarious, especially for one who is back there in the '60s/70s. As with everything in life, it's all about perspective. Some of the first mind blowing cannabis I ever was called "meshmacon".

Guess what that was?

To illustrate the word perspective, I've been holding these pics back for when a Millennial stumbles in here and makes fun of what the classic strains of cannabis used to look like back in the day. For those of us who were there and remember, this was what the "commoners" usually purchased. Originally from Mexico and starting in the early to mid-70s on the east coast, Columbian:

1000010995.jpg



While a select, lucky few we're consuming this:

1000011587.png


Those Millennials just don't understand those of us who've been around a while. ;)

Great post!
 
Last edited:

PadawanWarrior

Well-known member
Now reading that was just absolutely hilarious, especially for one who is back there in the '60s/70s. As with everything in life, it's all about perspective. Some of the first mind blowing cannabis I ever was called "meshmacon".

Guess what that was?

To illustrate the word perspective, I've been holding these pics back for when a Millennial stumbles in here and makes fun of what the classic strains of cannabis used to look like back in the day. For those of us who were there and remember, this was what the "commoners" usually purchased. Originally from Mexico and starting in the early to mid-70s on the east coast, Columbian:

View attachment 18988038


While a select, lucky few we're consuming this:

View attachment 18988039

Those Millennials just don't understand those of us who've been around a while. ;)

Great post!
Not as old as you but I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and started smoking in 1986. I only saw Chronic until I moved to Tahoe and was like WTF. They had good weed too, but lots of shwag around. I earned a few season passes there selling that shit.
 

goingrey

Well-known member
Brickweed is still around, I just had some a couple months ago:

 

CharlesU Farley

Well-known member
Now reading that was just absolutely hilarious, especially for one who is back there in the '60s/70s. As with everything in life, it's all about perspective. Some of the first mind blowing cannabis I ever had was 8n 1970 and was called "meshmacon", The very first "brand name" I ever heard.

Guess what that was? :cool:

To illustrate the word perspective, I've been holding these pics back for when a Millennial stumbles in here and makes fun of what the classic strains of cannabis used to look like back in the day.
For those of us who were there and remember, this was what the "commoners" usually purchased. Originally from Mexico and starting in the early to mid-70s on the east coast, Columbian:

View attachment 18988038


While I select, lucky few we're consuming this:

View attachment 18988039

Those millennials just don't understand tho

Well my personal opinion is that things lke potency, quality and whatever other ways people tryto classify or judge cannabis is all subjective. In reflecting bak on my experiences of 64 yrars on this earth and comparing those experiences with friends and aquaintences I might share a smoke with I can't recall a single strain that everyone came to the same conclusion about. This has led me to the opinion that not only is what well call potency or quality about the chemical make up of the plant but equally about the chemical make up of the individual smoking it. To me this is why you can have two or more people smoke the exact same amount of the exact same strain and each come up with a completely different evaluation of the potency and/or quality of that strain.

For a good portion of my life spanning the late 60's thru the early 90's most people, myself included, had no idea of the percent of THC or any other compenent of what was available. It was all just that you really liked it, you kind of like it, it was okay or it was low grade dirt weed. Even under those very basic parameters you would get different reactions from different people. Some might agree that the strain you really liked, they also really liked while other might be more impressed by strains you considered as just okay. What i found kind of interesting later in life when strains started to be tested and rated for their THC content was that al lot of those old school favorites of yester year were comparitively weak if you judged just by THC percentages. Yet despite that comparative weakness I find myself prefering quite fondly many of those older strains over the newer high THC content strains. Among my favorite were the old school Columbian Reds and Golds as well as Panama Red and Acapulo Gold. That's not to say that the more modern high THC content strains are bad but many of them lack something that the old school favorites gave me. What it is exactly I can't say as I no longer have access to those old school favorites nor do i have the equipment and ability to test them to singl out what made one preferable over an other to me.

I think a lot also depends on what you expect out of a particular strain. I personally feel that if a strain checks all the boxes for you or scratches all o you itches, then it deserves to be considered potent but it's likely just going to be potent for you and maybe a random selection of your friends. I would also say that a lot depends on how you go about evaluating a strain. I guess for me the best test of potency was rating it by how many hits it took you to gt all your boxes checked or itches scratched. It seems pretty clear to me that anything that I only need one or two bong hits or one or twwo hits off of a bowl or joint to be willing to stop smoking any more would qualify as potent. Still, what if 3 out of 4 other people who smoked the same exact strain felt that one or two hits wasn't nearly enough for them to feel satisfied? Now of course some or maybe even all of that could be dismissed to tolerance levels but is that really an objective evaluation? I mean in my own experiences the people I smoked with has pretty much the same habits of smoking as far as frequency so in theory we all should have had very similar tolerance levels. Yet inevitably there would always be at least one or two who would want to keep smoking well after everyone else felt satidfied.

I would also say a lot depends on how you go about testing a strain. As an example of what i mean, i remember one time in high school when I was selling what was considered back then just average Mexican that went for $15 an ounce. I sold an ounce one time to a group of other kids from my high school, during lunch period, who happened to be buying for a friend of mine that didn't know I had anything for sale (otherwise he would have just come to me). They went off to sample what they had bought and by the end of the lunch period (half an hour later) they came back to me and wanted their money back because the group of them (I believe was six if memory serves me) didn't feel sufficiently stoned off a relatively small joint. I asked them how they tested it and they told me that they share one joint. i said to them, "look i told you this was just average Mexican and in no way should you have expected one small joint to make all six of you stoned. If it was that good i would have been selling it for $35 an ounce." Of course I refused to give them their money back and they weren't willing to take things to the next level and so went on their way with the ounce they bought. Later on I ran into my friend who they bought it for and mentioned about the whole sale and how I felt about it. That's when he let me know they were buying for him and he told me not to worry because he was very pleased with what he got for $15. Now that's kind of an extreme example and what I really meant as far as testing was did you smoke it out of a bong, a bowl, or a pipe (and in more modern times a vaporizor)? For me I always found bongs to hit me much harder even though I would end up smoking less volume then if I did two hits off a joint of a pipe and for me vapes always left me feeling like something got left out. Yet others would tell me they would feel more of an effect off of a joint or pipe or even a vape because they couldn't handle bong hits. So again to me this is just another example of how what we call potency is all just a subjective thing to each individual.

For me in the final analysis I would have to say it all depends on if the strain delivers the desired effects that you are looking for after smoking a reasonable amount. if it does then in my book for you it's potent. it might not be potent for everyone else but to me that doesn't matter because i'm not smoking for everyone else, I'm smoking for me. That's one of the things I love about cannabis, there are enough different strains and flavors out there to where virtually anyone can find a strain that will be just right for them.

Also as a side note, in the discussion of quality and potency you can't exclude the role peer pressure can play. What I mean by that is some people want to fit in so much to a group they feel part of that they will just go along with the majority of that group even if deep down they don't agree and even more amazingly over time they might come to truly agree with the group because that what they become used to. Also peer pressure can have a big effect on someone first trying out cannabis. Since they have nothing else to base their experience on other then what the people thy hang with tell them, they're likely to adopt the same subjuctive opinions as their friends. They may refine their views and tastes later on as they move on in life and find other friends and/or lose old ones but I can't help but feel those people who first introduce you to cannabis play a key role in shaping what you think of and expect from cannabis.
... in his best AOL'er voice... "Me too!!!!" ;)

Well written, with thoughts and insights I totally agree with, which is exceedingly rare. But my actual real world experience is exceedingly narrow and focused. I've only done my version of Sensi'snNorthern Lights for the last 24 years now. o_O

From one Wall of Words guy to another, well done. 👏
 

CharlesU Farley

Well-known member
Brickweed is still around, I just had some a couple months ago:

If it was anything like brickweed was back in the day, I got to ask the un-answerable question, in my best Chris Farley voice... for the love of God and all that's holy, why would you ever associate with anything like that?😂

Gg, hopefully you know by now I've got a sick fuck sense of humor and you'll understand the twisted, distorted nature of some of my posts.(y)
 
Last edited:

goingrey

Well-known member
If it was anything like brickweed was back in the day, I got to ask the un-answerable question, in my best Chris Farley voice... for the love of God and all that's holy, why would you ever associate with anything like that?😂

Gg, hopefully you know by now I've got a sick fuck sense of humor and you'll understand the twisted, distorted nature of some of my posts.(y)
It was a curiosity/novelty for me.

I've got the, lets call it high potency weed in honor of this thread, at home..

I did enjoy the brickweed too, though.
 
Top