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Adding terpenes to buds. Good, bad, cheating?

Discussion in 'Harvesting and Processing Marijuana' started by Allan421, Oct 18, 2022.

  1. I tried to locate a thread with this topic but found none so I apologize if this is redundant but here it is.

    For the last year or so I've noticed a lot of buddies have bought bagged buds with supposedly different genetics but very close to the same, very strong, smell and flavor.

    I've been hearing more and more of terpenes being added to bud to boost flavor and scent to help with sales. This would seem to put an "honest" hard working grower at a disadvantage in the marketplace.

    My personal view on this is mixed. I'm not sure if I trust terpene vendors have a pure and safe product. The adulterated flower may or may not be safe but surely is not "pure" cannabis. Maybe if the terps being added are 'clean' there is an added positive benefit? I don't know.

    I do know my friends have mentioned my flower is lacking in smell and taste by comparison even though it's been grown and cured well.

    They have said my flower doesn't have much color. That happens when the chlorophyll cures away. It seems there is a lot of fast dried (to keep it bright green), super tight (compressed for transport), strong smelling (added terps) buds going around and a hard working old timer can't compete with that.

    Thoughts from the gallery?
     
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  2. The whole idea is for them to do what they can to sell as much of their moldy, contaminated weed as possible, while driving the prices cheaper and cheaper until they are hemorrhaging money just to put everyone else out of business. Any shady practice you can think of is fair game to them, including adding botanical terpenes to their flowers and concentrates.
     
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  3. On topic with regards to adding terps:
    Personally I feel like adding terps to cannabis bud is the equivalent to the hot sauce packet they used to give us in every MRE in the military, its there to make the food just taste hot, and not bad.
    upload_2022-10-18_8-50-19.png
    How much is to "enhance flavor" vs how much is to "hide some funky quick dried smell" like anything else, depends on the grower, although I'm generally against it, learned to grow my own just to be safe and avoid such clowning.
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    Like, many things, the larger growers will use their scale and size to try and push smaller growers out. I think for the growers who adapt though, there will still be a market. Much like how Mcdonalds makes way more money, most towns have at least 1-2 quality local restaurants that manage to survive and even thrive by properly segmenting the market. One thing that is very hard to leverage at scale for most businesses is quality, thats typically the small growers angle.

    Long ass rant on how small growers (in my area) survive and thrive in the face of giant out of state commercial or medical growers.
    I live in smallish town with a big college (city is about 50,000, university has about 22,000 kids, surrounding county maybe another 25,000 people.)

    Mostly Broke ass college kids, they are looking for weed, with an emphasis on strength and especially cheapness, generally not the group a small grower sells to, they will often buy the cheapest stuff they can as long as it gets them high.
    upload_2022-10-18_9-2-2.png
    The market for small growers in my area generally forgets the kids, if they want good stuff they will find you eventually, you want to increase awareness of "upscale" weed, you have to look for the proper clientele.

    Here is what my town does have, a disproportionate amount of upper middle class and lower level wealthy people, university faculty and administrators, a lot of scientists and administrators at the nearby Merck pharma plant and various other large institutions A whole lot of surgeons, and other doctors from the nearby university and private medical center.
    [​IMG]

    These people (and I count myself among them, they are my friends and neighbors) all have something in common, they all have some money, some things, are invested to some degree in the community. they have a lot to lose when the economy goes bad, people are nervous about upcoming elections, or school violence. While my area is predominantly White and Christian, I count people of various races, creeds, and other factors among my friends, cannabis brings these people in contact with each other, where they learn they have far more socioeconomic shared interests than cultural or other divisions.
    upload_2022-10-18_9-16-20.png

    A lot of working and stay at home parents with a lot of anxiety about sending kids to school, the price of groceries even though they drive 7 series BMWs, etc. A lot of people putting in 40-60 hours a week tired of dealing with the stress of their job, plus the added bullshit of post pandemic life.
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    I've noticed, that these are also usually people who may have tried cannabis in the past, so they know its not some horrible life ruining thing, but just don't travel regularly in the circles where weed is available. I've known plenty of people who would never buy unknown quality dispensary weed, but after seeing my gardens and grow area, will happily try out a bowl. I send some crops out for testing (heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, THC and terp profile), so people don't have to take my word for it.

    Disclaimer, where I live private non-medical sales are currently illegal, although you can "gift" up to an ounce of cannabis to another adult over 21. However, I can tell you even in a small college town like mine, there is no shortage of people who would be willing to pay $500 an ounce, or $15 a gram for top shelf cannabis grown locally and with 3rd party testing certs to prove its the real deal. (this is an area where you could drive 1.5 hours to DC and just buy whatever shitty rec weed you want for $250 / ounce as well, or 30 minutes to the nearest big medical place if you have a medical card)
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    Every town is different, but if you can understand the demographics of where you live, and who is likely to be the kind of patron you want, you can be successful.

    In many ways its a depressing time for small growers as the business develops around more legal states, but at the same time the potential opportunities abound for those who are willing to work towards distinction in the market.

    While I only grow cannabis for adult sharing and personal / research use, I have some extended family out west that grows independently and profitably for almost 15 years now (they deal with a way different market out west though)

    Nevertheless, I'm a firm believer that for small growers, there is definitely a market segment in most areas for high quality cannabis locally sourced (maybe in your area you want to push heavily into organic marketing, or low impact weed where your grow op is powered in part by solar or wind). Here is how I describe my operation to people unsure about the safety / price / quality of cannabis.
    upload_2022-10-18_9-5-27.png
    "Let me tell you man, this gealto-33 is excellent genetics, been breeding them for years. Its strong stuff, maybe a bit too much for beginners (throw this line in if the other person is a male, go for the pride angle). Its a good balanced high, about 60% indica 40% sativa here, also makes a good base if you want to grind in some more indica or sativa dom strain with it to enhance those particular effects.

    By the way, I'm sure you've heard all the crazy stuff on the news about fentnyl and bunk weed, thats why I grow my own, but don't take my word for it, would you like to see the 3rd party lab sheets verifying this? Check out these burettes, graduated cylinders, all lab grade setup (helps to really look professional even if your grow methods look sloppy to the novice in practice maybe here is where I mention the well water used for the plants before filtration comes stright from the cool crisp streams running down from Shenandoah National Park, while I gesture to the nearby mountains, to show where Hawksbill creek comes off near the highest point on skyline drive).

    I know right, the world is going to hell in a handbasket, and while we all should be actively participating and voting for our interests, no one has time to be personally involved in every evil plaguing society right now, so when you need a break from the world, the kids, your spouse, or just want to celebrate a well mowed lawn, or make laundry day more interesting, its really no different from having a beer or a few glasses of wine in the evening, just no hangover."

    upload_2022-10-18_9-5-48.png

    If you have a mental picture of a person I'm talking to in the above lines, thats what I'm talking about, while everyone is different, there are certain segments of every population that may be more inclined to use cannabis regularly, provided they are introduced to it by someone they can feel trustworthy, and more important, is viewed as "one of them", and I absolutely mean that in a socioeconomic way, people have greater community bonds I feel between neighbors than race, religion or other factors. I am also aware of how "drug dealer" like it sounds to describe a target market, but trust me amazon, google, and most of the other companies you buy from these days have a "profile" created to advertise to you, so fuck em.

    I could go on for much longer about the opportunities for experienced growers to start "weed adjacent" businesses, (classes on teaching people to grow their own at home, renting spaces in a grow op to private individuals who can't grow their own in their residences, selling dirt etc)
    upload_2022-10-18_9-29-37.png

    Find your people, and supply them, I guess is the short version, but I'm on call today just killing time hoping nothing breaks.

    Sorry for the length, but I have a disproportionate amount of caring for small growers trying to make it work in an increasingly corporate cannabis market. Sincerely hoping it works out for you, or that you find a segment that appreciates the product you grow.
    [​IMG]
     
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  4. That has been my thought for quite some time. On the few occasions where the green for green trade occurs, it is always to someone (most often senior) who would never have tried it on their own due to not wanting to be associated with "drug dealer" types. Like you said, people are typically more than happy to try some good weed from a small private garden grown by someone they know rather than chance a dispensary or the street. Plus it bothers me when I see people suffering with some ailment that I know for a fact cannabis can help with.
     
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  5. I've watched it happen, my 80 year old Dad has some arthritis and other issues it helps a lot with, that man, let me tell you, has probably done more to spread awareness among the 65+ crowd in his city.

    People can see him walk and work with tools again, and he makes it no secret down at the farm co-op why hes feeling better. Hell, at 78 my brother and I flew Dad to Alaska to check off his bucket list item of catching a wild salmon, he would not have made it without a few gummies at the airport in DC, and the good folks at great northern cannabis dispensary in anchorage hooking us up once we were in Alaska. (look at his knuckles, they are about half the size they are without cannabis)
    upload_2022-10-18_10-33-48.png

    So many of his 70+ friends, people I remember from childhood who were full on "reefer madness" against cannabis, now gladly will try out a joint, provided it came from him, someone they trusted and knew, and that he is vouching for it, and that the grower is his son.

    To be honest, I think he gets a big kick out of being the "weed man" among his friends who still have enough health to get out and about, and I know he has made a few visits to some of his friends who are more or less housebound or in assisted living to do what I can only assume is a "hot box house call".

    For his birthday, I got him a raw six shooter and a box of 100 pre rolled cones, and plenty of flower to fill it with (hand rolling is something he can't do anymore), 2 weeks later, he bought his own king size loader, because the other J's were "too small to share".

    While I respect those who choose not to use cannabis for any reason, I've found that having the right "ambassador" can make massive in-roads into any community provided they are respected and trusted by said community. People helping people, and while you can't sell it here yet legally, you can make it available for those who are curious (just gotta not let them become total bums while I'm limited in the number of plants I can grow).
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    I do wish I could recoup more of the growing costs by being able to legally sell, but for now I grow what I grow, hold back my stash for personal use, then sling that awareness far and wide till the shelf is bare and the next crop comes.

    Thats how I try to do things, but to each their own.
     
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  6. Thanks for investing the time and sharing the knowledge! Very informative and somewhat reassuring. Peace and Good Health.
     
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  7. Cheating :thumbsdown:
     
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  8. It's gonna end up like the normal food industry eventually with everything pumped with artificial flavors and additives until the point where the "real ingredients" no longer exists in the product.
    And the mainstream of people will get used to it an accept it as normal and good.
    The vape oils are the beginning of it, it's gonna be 100% lab made soon if it's not already.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  9. #9 akkeosflomdis, Jun 16, 2023
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2023
    I understand your concerns, and it's definitely something that many people worry about. The food industry has seen some significant changes over the years, with the rise of artificial flavors and additives. It's true that there's a risk of losing sight of the "real ingredients" in processed foods. However, it's important to note that there is also a growing movement towards healthier and more natural food options. Many consumers are becoming more conscious of what they eat and are demanding transparency from food manufacturers https://blog.williams-sonoma.com/

    As for vape oils, it's true that they have faced scrutiny regarding their ingredients and potential health risks. Regulations and standards are constantly evolving to ensure product safety. While there may be concerns about the future of food and the potential for everything to become lab-made, it's also important to recognize the ongoing efforts to promote organic and locally sourced ingredients.
     

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