What's new
  • ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here. Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!

Potency, what is considered potent weed today?

zaprjaques

da boveda kid

CharlesU Farley

Well-known member
sold tons of this in New York 1970's not very pretty but it did stone you :)
I connected up surfers I knew in Miami with people who worked for this guy, (if you dealt large quantities in NYC, you probably know who he is:

1000011566.jpg


...who was staying at the hotel I worked at and it didn't look nothing like that shit. :cool:

It was a very valuable connection that I profited from, even though I never sold a fucking thing. When ever I needed to score, I got it at cost.;)

Edit: Dequilo, didn't mean to sound like a holier than thou dick about emphasizing that I didn't sell anything, no disrespect towards you whatsoever. Hopefully, you know me well enough by now in this forum that I ain't like that.

I made the decision never to sell anything cuz I didn't want to go to jail. Got hammered into my brain by my old man, "if you can't do the time, don't commit the crime". He was an abusive asshole but he was so correct on that point.

That's why I'm kind of proud of that point, considering how much I was involved and how much knowledge I had of smugglers back in the late '60s early '70s in Miami.

I could have been a very rich man, but just as easily I could have been in jail for 30+ years or deader than a motherfucker. I'm pretty happy where I am now. :)

Again, no disrespect. :)
 
Last edited:

dogzter

Drapetomaniac

IMG_20240412_095937_5.jpg

I load a bowl and do one giant hit of dense vapor.
If that doesnt satisfy me it gets culled.
If I can do three hits in a row and stay awake it gets culled.
That is how I define potency.
 

HempKat

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer
Veteran
I did enjoy the brickweed too, though.
I would have to jump on this bandwagon as well. Sure some "brickweed" deserved the memory most people have of it but not all of it was bad. Sure, it wasn't as pretty as what most people expect their weed to look like now but a lot of it was pretty decent for what it was. I think a lot of people confuse "brickweed" with what many used to call "dirt weed" and to be fair there was "brickweed" that deserved to be look at as "dirt weed" but people need to remember "brickweed" was just the result of what the cartels did in order to smuggle it into other countries. Back then you didn't have as many of the "Pot Snobs" that are around now. Back then the "Pot Snobs" mostly existed in just California and Hawaii. The rest of us had to deal with a lot of "brickweed" but if your connections were good it wasn't something you dreaded.
 

*GROWHIGH*

Well-known member
Veteran
I connected up surfers I knew in Miami with people who worked for this guy, (if you dealt large quantities in NYC, you probably know who he is:

View attachment 18988115

...who was staying at the hotel I worked at and it didn't look nothing like that shit. :cool:

It was a very valuable connection that I profited from, even though I never sold a fucking thing. When ever I needed to score, I got it at cost.;)

Edit: Dequilo, didn't mean to sound like a holier than thou dick about emphasizing that I didn't sell anything, no disrespect towards you whatsoever. Hopefully, you know me well enough by now in this forum that I ain't like that.

I made the decision never to sell anything cuz I didn't want to go to jail. Got hammered into my brain by my old man, "if you can't do the time, don't commit the crime". He was an abusive asshole but he was so correct on that point.

That's why I'm kind of proud of that point, considering how much I was involved and how much knowledge I had of smugglers back in the late '60s early '70s in Miami.

I could have been a very rich man, but just as easily I could have been in jail for 30+ years or deader than a motherfucker. I'm pretty happy where I am now. :)

Again, no disrespect. :)
If that guy asked you to 'do a hit'...... he wouldn't be handing you a bong 💀
 

Finepointcanon

Well-known member
Veteran
S
I wondered about having links to "borrowed" /pirated books on ICM. I'm like a OG internet pirate and have been _stealing_ highly _overpriced_ software and media since the mid-90s.

Sorry, I wasn't going to pay for a copy of a CSNY tune in mp3 format when I've already paid for the LP, 8-track, and cassette. Fuck a lot of paying for a CD and/or streaming just to hear the _same_ tunes in non-scratchy vinyl format.

I digress. (One of Owsley Stanley's sayings to break up _his_ Wall of Words on thebear.org)

If there's ever any cannabis books that you all can't find, or that are overpriced, or you just plain don't want to pay for, let me know and I can hook you up :cool:
Same homie, if my library were analog I would need those dope rolling library ladders. All for everyone if anyone needs anything, shoot me a pm. This one is available at the library of congress website for free, so idk if it's pirated or not tbh.

Here's the archive.org link: https://archive.org/details/howplantsaretrai07burbrich
 

PoweredByLove

Most Loved
One of the things that surprise me at the canna world is how different the concept of potency is for everyone
It seems there are many different concepts for potency


I am realizing potency is viewed differently by most people and we lack standards. It seems standards for quality vary as well
Would you mind explaining how do you see americans view potency? How potency is viewed where you grew up?


For me what is interesting in your view is you consider potency regardless of lenght of high and amount of tokes needed to get high
I think this is the way europeans view potency? Or are there variations in how potency is viewed?

I always considered potency the weed that gets you high the longest amount of time with the least amount of tokes.
Then you have better and worse potent weed. Potency and quality is not the same
But I find lack of clear standards regarding potency and what is considered potent today in this world. And the same applies for quality
I see no clear standards on what quality is. For me quality is only regarding to the quality of the effects and for others quality is something regarding to smells and tastes and emphasis is put just on taste and smell
To me potency is how long the high lasts. That's it. Different weed gets you different kind of high. The important part is will I need to smoke again in 30 minutes or 4 hours?
 

PoweredByLove

Most Loved
Interesting topic...growing up, anything that could get you high with just one or two hits would have been considered potent. We called it 1 hitter quitter. To me though that stuff was never a quality high, just potent. There was a lot of Mexican weed in the early 2000's here in New England that people would regard as week because it was a creeper but in reality that stuff would get you high for hours and hours. It would take a good 10 minutes to come on but would leave you unbelievably stoned for the rest of the night. In hindsight that stuff was the real potent stuff but unfortunately that weed , whatever it was , is extinct over here now
I'll tell you the secret but don't tell cookie fam...


You ready? Here it comes.


Short flowering plants have a shorter high. Long flowering plants have a longer high. That's why Gelato strains are a 30 minute high and the sativa lasts hours.

56 days is hardly enough time for the plants to develop any meaningful... chemicals.

I am of the opinion those thc numbers are meaningless. Case in point...32% thc weed is a short high whereas you're not gone be smoking too. Many bowls of diesel before you're done.
 

Nextgeneration73

Well-known member
Since legalisation in Canada, I learned that potency is NOT about THC %.

Here the market is determined by the numbers. All popular products test around 25%, often more. I tried a lot (25+) of those flowers and most were a disappointment. Short duration "head rush" kind of high without complexity. Fades away quickly and leaves you tired.

Strangely, the best high I got from flower I buyed on the legal market was from a NL5 × Haze tested at 18% thc (what is considered low here).

Potency is all about the chemotype of the plant. The different terpenes and the multitude of minor cannabinoids have a major impact on the overall effect. We call that the "entourage" effect.
Would using odor eliminators or air refresherners in any way hinder those developing terpenes and cannabinoids in the plant or would it keep them the same meaning untouched?
I wrote a whole nother article here about the different strain types here in my own country but I erased it because it was just too long....
 
Last edited:

Finepointcanon

Well-known member
Veteran
Would using odor eliminators or air refresherners in any way hinder those developing terpenes and cannabinoids in the plant or would it keep them the same meaning untouched?
I wrote a whole nother article here about the different strain types here in my own country but I erased it because it was just too long....
Are you talking about like Glades air fresheners that you place in an area and they release aromatic fragrance chemicals? I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't place them in the flower room for the simple fact that in order for you to smell that, it means that not-small amounts of compounds are being released into the air and make contact with your nose. They'll make contact with your buds too, and stick there.

Now this is just stoned spitballing, but these hydrocarbons should be in the general shape as the aromatic hydrocarbons present in ganja just due to the fact that we can smell them. I know nothing about olfactory science mostly so please correct me if this makes no sense. Now as to whether that would cause them to interfere with the processes which produce them in the plant. No idea.
 

Finepointcanon

Well-known member
Veteran
Would using odor eliminators or air refresherners in any way hinder those developing terpenes and cannabinoids in the plant or would it keep them the same meaning untouched?
I wrote a whole nother article here about the different strain types here in my own country but I erased it because it was just too long....
What's your home country? I'd be interesting in reading what you've compiled if you still have it. I love that kinda stuff.
 

Budshine

Active member
Great thread and very interesting to consider potency and quality and also our reasons and expectations in consuming the herb.

🙏:ying:

I supose nowadays potency is mainly thc% cbg cbd on a printout with a pie chart :ROFLMAO:

it's like top trumps :LOL::rolleyes:

Potency and quality is hard to define as we all partake for different reasons. Maybe one person wants a strong painkiller, another a sleep aid, another something to help workout.

i personally define potency as if it changes my perception markedly and does it in one spliff.

it also has to build nicely and have no limit :geek::smoke:

i'm impatient so it has to start doing all of this before i finish the spliff :D

Quality is more the nuances within that potency. Is it good, bad, does it make me more chatty, more philosophical more spiritual or more argumentative, does it give me energy or make me want to lie down?
Top Trumps!! Love a bit of top trumps …currently seeing if Wizard Tree Zoap will trump “The” Candy Rain both cards are colourful 🤣🤣
 

Nextgeneration73

Well-known member
What's your home country? I'd be interesting in reading what you've compiled if you still have it. I love that kinda stuff.
I have a thread but where I live it's still under strict laws, with half of the people (both in power, and citizens) all for legalization and the other half conservatives (again older ones in power and older citizens) who do a lot in their power to take down any potheads or used to years back, I'd rather not say the country, but for just one joint it used to be more than several years in horrendous prisons if anyone was caught.... Now CBD products are legal with minimal THC which is a big step forward l... But the conservatives in power (the older ones) still are heavily against the herb because they know that it'll destroy their illegal businesses, meanwhile there are those who just simply believe that it's worse than alcohol and cigarettes who still live in the stone age era, but drink a s**t ton (usually folk who are in their 50's and up and are normally very materialistic people... It's actually really tragic .... Anyways yeah I do have a thread... I sometimes spray but away from the plant and I do hang those things you talked about, with an open window blowing in lots of fresh air and all of them being fruit like or floral smells, some have real essential oils, others I'm not sure.... I don't know what it does to my Killer a5 Haze plant, it's actually my first grow of ganja or even any plant ever.... Even though I worked long long years in gardens before.... This is my first project with actually looking after a living being starting from a seed....
 
Last edited:

HempKat

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer
Veteran
I have a thread but where I live it's still under strict laws, with half of the people (both in power, and citizens) all for legalization and the other half conservatives (again in power but others being older citizens) who do a lot in their power to take down any potheads or used to years back, I'd rather not say the country, but for just one joint it used to be more than several years in horrendous prisons if anyone was caught.... Now CBD products are legal with minimal THC which is a big step forward l... But the conservatives in power (the older ones) still are heavily against the herb because they know that it'll destroy their illegal businesses, meanwhile there are those who just simply believe that it's worse than alcohol and cigarettes who still live in the stone age era, but drink a s**t ton (usually folk who are in their 50's and up and are normally very materialistic people... It's actually really tragic .... Anyways yeah I do have a thread... I sometimes spray but away from the plant and I do hang those things you talked about, with an open window blowing in lots of fresh air and all of them being fruit like or floral smells, some have real essential oils, others I'm not sure.... I don't know what it does to my Killer a5 Haze plant, it's actually my first grow of ganja or even any plant ever.... Even though I worked long long years in gardens before.... This is my first project with actually looking after a living being starting from a seed....
That really is tragic, one because a group of people perhaps a minority (if you factor in those who've yet to reach voting age) are blocking what a similar size group of people once and who won't be around much longer. Two because there's probably a large portion of them who could beneit from it medicinally. Oh well hopefully in time things will change as it has in mmany other countries.
 

laszlokovacs

Well-known member
I dont have half the wealth of experience most of you do but in my eyes its roughly that potency is a function of duration and intensity. And yes these are in many ways subjective.

Who are you concerned with? This post and others suggest a desire to create more uniform standards for cannabis. Totally worthwhile in my opinion but how do you gauge a baseline? Is the user/consumer your average person or your average icmag user? Because for a lot of people in the USA anything beyond the lowest of the low tier weed in a dispensary is gonna be considered potent, maybe even too much so.

I view potency as the extent to which something makes it impossible for me to function high. If I'm constantly telling myself holy shit im high, eyelids getting like lead, vision getting all warm with more saturation of colors that gleen subtly, constant sensations of heavy body, and I'm suspiciously comfortable to the extent thats all I'm noticing, I would say I'm too high to operate normally. Yes these are largely hallmarks of worked modern hybrids and indicas, but that is also what dictates much of the modern recreational markets. So back to my point about your question: Today, potency is dictated by the lowest common denominator smoker/user. In the eyes of the many potency is simply the degree to which a lot of these indica effects are felt.

I know a lot of you preach the gospel of the pure sativa and I understand the appeal. But across all potent weed that I've encountered the common factor I notice is how long and noticeable the feeling in and around my eyes is. Maybe others will know what I mean but under the influence of "high-potency" weed, things just look different, more golden and softer to me. The more I'm constantly aware of this, the higher I find the potency.

Whenever I find stuff thats truly special in my opinion its almost all in my eyes (no pun intended). But again the issue of tolerance can never be discounted. The more you use cannabis the more exacting your criteria. I dont mean to be a downer but youre never going to be able to recreate the effects or intensity of the first few times you smoked or used real potent weed. This site is filled with posts about peoples nostalgia about the weed they smoked 20+ years ago and theyve been chasing that variety ever since. Again no disrespect to those of you who are old enough to be my grandparents and who have forgotten more about growing than I will ever know, but how do you figure potency into this equation? The weed you smoke now is undoubtedly "more potent" however you define it so what does one make of attmepts to reach these same highs that inevitably is asymptotic?

I dont think this post is meant to ask for a specific cut or genetics as an answer to the question. Moreso about qualities that relate to a high. I think the dj short video is pretty great as to personal opinons and how to evaluate flower yourself.

Again, how does potency begin to be quantified and standardized? Are we only concerned about smoking or edibles too. I've been doing sublingual oils exclusively for a little bit now but the quality of high and psychoactivity is vastly different. I'd hesitate to say its worse, but it is the same exact material that produces a different effect so whats real? If you read the threads of people who love chewing on fermented cobs you can hear them discuss a change in effects, but you also see some discussing an adjustment peoriod before they are able to really feel the effects. Im of the opinion that your preffered ROA does a fair amount to shape your perceptions of potency. But I get higher off .25g THC inhaled vs .25g ingested which is not at all normal.


TL;DR: Its subjective, good weed makes my eyes feel funny
 

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top