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Dear Stoner: I want to grow high-CBD strains in my basement to save money, but would it be cheaper from an electricity and heat perspective to wait until summer to start?
Loris
Dear Loris: How are you planning to use your high-CBD plants? Making homemade CBD oral tinctures or other forms of oil requires knowledge of cannabinoid extraction. But if you plan to smoke that CBD weed or already know how to make your form of desired extract, go for it — because the price of hemp-derived CBD is a fucking joke. Commercial hemp’s regulations aren’t as tight as marijuana’s, and much of the CBD-rich hemp we consume is grown in fields measured by acres, not warehouses and square footage. Remember that next time there’s a “sale” on 100 milligrams of CBD for $25.
CBD’s prices are likely to remain high until the market is regulated and mature, so you have more than enough justification to start growing no matter the season — but you should have started yesterday if the goal was a cheaper trial run. Cannabis doesn’t like extreme heat, and growing lights emit so much heat that keeping plants cool with an air conditioner during the summer is actually more expensive than keeping them warm during the winter — and that’s if you have air-conditioning.
Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.
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