I looked at this thread many months ago and wanted to comment at the time, but didn’t… but here goes!
A couple of times earlier in the thread it was stated that Hydro pot has higher THC levels than “naturally” grown or “organic” pot… this is not true!...
THC content is genetic, and given good growing conditions, both hydro and soil grown plants of the same strain will attain the same THC strength.If you read seed catalogues or websites you will see that there are strains suited to indoor growing, indoor/outdoor growing, and those suited to outdoor growing. Their maximum THC content is given in percent, and the
high THC strains aren’t restricted to the indoor varieties.
Just as an example, I had this same discussion with someone a few years back who believed that only hydro’s had high THC content, and I used these examples from a seed company’s website. (read the couple of paragraphs below the links before clicking on them)
http://www.dutch-passion.nl/en/cannabis-seeds/outdoor/http://www.dutch-passion.nl/en/cannabis-seeds/indoor/The “bush” or “outdoories” that most people smoked in the sixties, seventies and early eighties, probably had a THC content of about 5%... maybe 7% if they got onto some “really good sh-t!”... If you open the first link above, you will see the second plant on the “Outdoor” strains page, called “Passion #1”, will produce up to nearly 19% THC…
Then if you open the second link, the eleventh plant down the page is “Skunk”… The “demon” plant that every uneducated health official and Police commissioner being interviewed on TV believes is responsible for sending people to the “funny farm”… There are a number of “Skunk” varieties, most suitable for both indoor and outdoor cultivation. “Skunk #1” and “Skunk #11, the two most popular, are both indoor/outdoor varieties, suitable for both indoor hydroponic cultivation and outdoor cultivation, their maximum THC level… ONLY 8.1%...
I saw a high ranking British Police official on TV a while back state something along the lines of:
“In recent years there has been a marked increase in the cultivation of the highly potent “Skunk” variety by indoor, clandestine growers, this has a much higher THC content than other varieties, and is leading to increased mental health issues among users!”… He is either very uneducated on the matter, or it is pure propaganda and scare mongering. Skunk is only one of hundreds and hundreds of varieties, and is by no means the most potent… far from it.
If you scroll further down the page there are “indoor” strains that only produce 5% THC, then there are other indoor varieties like “Blueberry” that produce 19.5%, you will find the same THC range in the “outdoor” varieties. So the strength has nothing to do with whether it’s grown indoors hydroponically, or outdoors in soil, it has to do with the strain and the growing conditions.
This brings me to another point I’d like to clarify… It’s been mentioned in this thread, and is always thrown up when people not educated on this topic start debating hydro v soil grown pot. Hydro pot is no more full of “chemicals” than outdoor grown pot.
What do people mean by "Chemicals" when referring to hydroponics?
If by “chemicals”, people are referring to the nutrients used in hydroponics, these are just that… Nutrients… it doesn’t matter in what form they are presented to the plants, synthetic or organic, they all end up in the same form in the plant.
If by “chemicals”, people are referring to plant hormones used to enhance growth rates and yields…
Don’t fool yourself, many growers, both hydro and soil, will use hormones, especially if the growers goal is purely “commercial” production. However, used correctly, there should be no trace of the plant hormones left in the plant by harvest, in fact most of the hormones used are also commonly used in food crops. It’s only when applied incorrectly that these products become a health issue. Those growing for themselves, indoor or out, tend not to use the plant hormones, so as to eliminate the risk of any residual hormones being in the product at harvest. On the other hand, a lot of “commercial” pot growers also choose not to use plant hormones, because although they can increase yields, they can also decrease the potency, especially if used incorrectly... it all depends on the grower.
Also, It was mentioned earlier in the thread that hydro growers increase the amount of Phosphorus and Potassium in the plants during flowering to increase the THC content, this is also incorrect. The increase in P and K during flowering is to maximise yield, not potency. In fact, if the amount of nutrients supplied (the EC level) is too high during flowering, it will dramatically decrease the potency (THC/resin content).
Someone earlier in the thread mentioned that hydro grown weed probably contained less nutrients and was better for your health than naturally grown stuff, this is possibly true, but there are variables on both sides, the biggest being the grower. In hydroponics, a good grower will precisely monitor and maintain the nutrient levels within an optimum range during flowering using an EC meter, so as to maximise yield and reduce the risk of over fertilising, which would reduce the THC content.
Hydro growers can also “flush” their plants prior to harvesting, and run the plants on fresh water for a week or so. This forces the plant into using all the nutrients stored within it prior to harvest, especially the P and K. This “flushing” is not possible in soil grown plants, so they will tend to have MORE nutrients in the end product than properly grown hydros.
There are a lot of misconceptions out there regarding hydro v soil grown plants, yes, hydroponic weed from an uneducated hydro grower may still contain high levels of nutrients, including P and K, but well grown and properly flushed hydro product in my opinion, is probably better for your health than soil grown weed of the same variety because of the ability to “flush” prior to harvest.
Hydro or soil grown pot that has had too much nutrient supplied, or has had hormones added too late in the flowering stage, will have very little, if any resin (THC) content, and a pot smoker that knows what they are looking at, normally wouldn’t buy this product.
The use of, or more importantly, the incorrect use of hormones is an issue for both indoor and outdoor grown plants if bought from an unscrupulous grower, so a distinction can’t be drawn between the two on that front.
In regards to legislation, in WA it used to be that two plants, grown outdoors, non-hydroponically, without the use of artificial lighting, while still illegal, wasn’t a criminal offence. They have just changed the laws here in WA, it is now a criminal offence again. Pot is basically seen in the same light by this government, as harder drugs such as amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine, herion etc… what message does this send to the youth of today (who are going to experiment, no matter how deep you stick your head in the sand mum and dad)…
“You may as well be on speed or ecstasy, it’s no different!”... that’s the message I believe they’ll get.
I believe they should relax the laws on cannabis users, and possibly even sell and tax the stuff, thus removing the criminal element, and therefore not exposing our youth to dealers of harder drugs. At the same time, I believe they should make the laws tougher on both users and dealers of harder drugs, therefore drawing a definite distinction between the two ends of the scale.
I keep hearing the Police minister and others stating that pot is a gateway drug… only because they’ve made it such. Many dealers sell a cross section of drugs from cannabis, to speed and ecstasy, to heroin. If the government made a clear distinction between the harder drugs and pot, and imposed MUCH heavier penalties for the dealing and consumption of harder drugs, then dealers and users alike would be less inclined to make that leap from pot to harder drugs IMO.
The vast majority of people I knew that smoked pot in their late teens, early twenties, grew out of it by their mid twenties… how do you grow out of a drug of physical dependence such as amphetamines or heroin?... pot is not a drug of physical dependence, it’s a proven fact, some people believe they are addicted, but it is a psychological dependency… it’s all in their head.
As far as putting people in the “funny farm”… over the years I’ve known hundreds of people that have smoked pot, including dozens of close friends, many of them have even smoked daily over a number of years… of them all, I only know of
two that have developed “mental issues”, and both of them were considered slightly “unhinged” to begin with.
I watched a show on TV a while back, SBS from memory, that covered this issue. Those undertaking the study were only able to show something along the lines of a 2% increase in mental health issues between regular pot smokers and non-smokers, and there was evidence that suggested, as mentioned earlier in this thread, that a good percentage of those people had mental issues prior to taking up smoking pot. They were either drawn to it, or found that upon trying it, that it provided “self medication”.
Alcohol is a much, much bigger demon than weed will ever be… but it’s socially acceptable, and the government generates a lot of revenue from it’s sale… This coming from someone that doesn’t mind the odd beer or glass of red.
These are just my views and opinions… from someone that smoked a fair bit in my late teens, grew out of it in my twenties, grew my own both hydroponically and naturally, and had many friends and acquaintances that grew and smoked regularly. I also have over 15 years experience in the hydroponic industry. I haven’t smoked for over twelve years, but don’t look down on those that do so in moderation, in private.
Cheers.
Backyard Aquaponics
