What Strains Have the Most THC?
With the advent of marijuana legalization, cannabis has seen an overall increase in quality. Gone are the days when one would ring up The Weed Man and wait for him to roll up to your house with the “goods.” Thinking back though, how good were these “goods” really? When you have no frame of reference and all your weed came from the same guy, you probably thought it was all pretty good. Knowing what we know now though, chances are there were a lot of problems with the bulk of it. Maybe it had seeds, maybe it was kind of dry, and maybe it wasn’t the prettiest color. As it turns out THC levels were also pretty low, a far cry from today, where you can go to the corner dispensary and find cannabis flower with THC levels at or around the 30% mark. In fact, in a 15 year long study conducted using confiscated cannabis from the DEA, researchers were able to determine that THC levels in cannabis rose about 8% from 1995 to 2014. On average, cannabis strains contained 4% THC in ‘95 and 12% in 2014. A lot has changed, that’s for sure, but is THC the best indicator of quality and a superior high? Today we’ll get to the bottom of THC, talk about the strains with the highest levels, and what it means for your cannabis experience.
WHAT AFFECT THC LEVELS
There are two things that affect the level of THC found in your cannabis: growing methods and genetics. As the commercial availability and general acceptance of cannabis has increased, both of these things have improved and thus given us cannabis with THC percentages that at one point might have seemed impossible. It is important to note that high THC levels are a result of BOTH of these two components. Even though a strain is available that usually has high THC levels, how it was grown will greatly affect its potency. That being said, the opposite is true, a strain that is not known for exceedingly high levels might have been grown just right to tip the scales. Keeping this in mind, we want to pose that finding the highest THC strain is often relative to your area.Strains are of course derived from genetic lineages and it can pay to know what strains have historically shown high levels of THC. While we can’t comb through every strain ever tested, we can give you an idea of strains that on average have historically high THC levels. Ultimately, you will need to reference your dispensaries and the testing results they have on each of their strains. It is also necessary to keep in mind what THC content really means and how it isn’t necessarily an indicator of the best strain to buy, but we’ll dive into that soon.
STRAINS WITH HIGHEST THC
When considering THC levels across the board, we want to make sure we are getting our information from a reputable source. High Times Magazine is famous for its annual Cannabis Cup where cannabis products from across all categories come together to vye for the approval of expert cannabis judges. While the Cup is judged on more than just THC content, it is something that is taken note of, with flower samples being sent to labs for rigorous testing from independent labs. After looking at the historical data, we have compiled this list of the 5 strains with the highest THC level ever tested by High Times at a Cannabis Cup.
Godfather OG - 34.04%
Super Glue - 32.14%
Strawberry Banana - 31.62%
Venom OG Kush - 31.04%
Redeye OG - 29.69%
Related to THC levels is an ongoing conversation about the feasibility of strains over 35% THC. There is reason to believe, given scientific lab data, that it is unlikely for a cannabis plant to exceed a certain level of THC. Percentages of THC are essentially a measure of what part of the plant is THC after removing everything else it is made up of. One idea posits that if a plant exhibits more than 35% THC it wouldn’t have enough of everything else to survive. This may or not be true, only time will tell. In the news just last year is a strain called Future #1 out of Portland, Oregon. After 4 lab tests (from the same lab), the strain clocked in at a little over 37% THC. While not verified by the High Times folks, it is an impressive feat that sparked waves of awe and disbelief.
NOTES ON THC LEVELS
As mentioned before, there is much more than just THC levels when it comes to assessing the quality and satisfaction of your cannabis flower. THC is only one component of many that dictates how exactly your flower will affect you. It could even be dangerous to confuse THC level as in indicator of good quality, especially as a new consumer. High THC levels for a newbie, or for someone with a low tolerance could make for an uncomfortable high. Given that THC levels have steadily risen over the years, it can sometimes be tricky to find something that you know won’t give you adverse effects. It’s already hard to know exactly how to select your cannabis, which is probably why THC levels have for some become a go to method for selection. The truth is that it is all different types of cannabinoids, terpenes, growing methods and combinations of these things are going to affect your high. It is wise to do your research on how cannabinoids interact together, what terpenes give off what effects, and how growing methods insert potential psychoactive reactions to your experience. This can seem like a chore, and in reality, it certainly can turn into one. At Cannacopia, we do that hard work for you. Our app allows you to simply enter your desired effects and consumption criteria, and within seconds we present you with a personalized, nearby result. Find us in the App and GooglePlay Stores today! We hope that you learned a bit on THC levels today and we’ll be back soon with more answers to your cannabis queries. Until then, stay high!
