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Dear Stoner: What is the industry doing to mitigate the strain sprawl that forces consumers to ask for oversimplified “nighttime” or “daytime” strains? I’ll buy the same strain at the same store at a later time, and they’ll be completely different.
Frank
Dear Frank: You could switch to concentrates, which extractors can manipulate by changing cannabinoid and terpene levels to garner more consistent effects. If not, you’ll have to be patient and flexible, according to Chuck Blackton, founder of Verde Natural dispensary and cultivation. “Horticulture can be so difficult. There are so many variables to this; it’s not a McDonald’s hamburger, where it’s the same all the time,” he says, adding that electrical surges, inconsistent water quality and new staff members can all result in one batch of Lemon Skunk tasting different from another and having a different impact.
Jacqueline Collins
Other causes of inconsistency include strict growing schedules for high-scale commercial operations that stunt a strain’s flavor and effects, as well as laws allowing dispensaries to buy the same strain from a number of different growers. “At the end of the day, we all have different phenotypes, and some people don’t even know what they have,” Blackton explains. “We take notes on our yields, potency and results so we can go back and see what we did differently in terms of water, heat and feeding. You need that human interaction.”
Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.
