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THC to CBD balance

Posted: Mon 9th Feb 2009 02:06 pm
by matty
I'm looking to find som nice Indica-Sativa hybrids with a good 'natural' THC to CBD balance. I am aware that a lot of the 'artificial' super-strong strains have a very high THC level but at the expense of CBD. Does anyone know of any strains with a good natural balance?

Posted: Mon 9th Feb 2009 02:45 pm
by Sir Niall of Essex-sire
smart idea, CBD is the anti pyschotic chemical right?

Posted: Mon 9th Feb 2009 02:56 pm
by lampshade
Sir Niall of Essex-sire wrote:smart idea, CBD is the anti pyschotic chemical right?
Yep according to that BBC documentary last week.

Posted: Mon 9th Feb 2009 08:06 pm
by murphyscafe
ghs do this check on there stuff!!!

check there site out!

example:

TrainWreck ®

THC: 19.34%
CBD: 0.94%
CBG: 1.01%

http://www.greenhouseseeds.nl/shop

Posted: Tue 10th Feb 2009 12:52 pm
by sh@dy
this always depends on how you grow....has little to do with the strain. I am not an expert, but this I know ;)

Posted: Wed 11th Feb 2009 08:10 am
by Ingwey Gooblebogger
this always depends on how you grow....has little to do with the strain. I am not an expert, but this I know
Well, yes, but it also depends on the genetics.

The harvest part of the above, means how amber/cloudy/clear the trichomes are when the bud is harvested. Many folks use handheld mircoscopes to determine if a certain percentage are amber, then harvest, if so. (Some folks might only want cloudy, but it might be impossible to have no amber trichomes. I used to harvest when about half were amber, but that "half" was an eyeball estimate.)

I would experiment with harvesting at different amber/cloudy/clear percentages to find the optimal value (the best suited MY preferances) for a particular strain.

Genetics also play a part as different strains will have different cannabinoid profiles. A "50% amber" strain and another "50% amber" different strain will, likely, have different canabinoid profiles, due to their different genetics.

CBD (which is simply an isomer of THC) has been shown to be as effective as some of the "atypical anti-psychotic" medications, in treating schizophrenia. I am a big fan of cannabis, but I would recommend that anyone with schizophrenia should consult their physician before dropping their pharmaceuticals in favour of cannabis.

HOWEVER, to be clear, there is NOTHING in cannabis to cause pyschosis. The pyschosis-cannabis link is pure bullshit!! (Dreamt up by prohibitionists.)

Posted: Wed 11th Feb 2009 01:02 pm
by Sir Niall of Essex-sire
Ingwey Gooblebogger wrote:
this always depends on how you grow....has little to do with the strain. I am not an expert, but this I know
Well, yes, but it also depends on the genetics.

The harvest part of the above, means how amber/cloudy/clear the trichomes are when the bud is harvested. Many folks use handheld mircoscopes to determine if a certain percentage are amber, then harvest, if so. (Some folks might only want cloudy, but it might be impossible to have no amber trichomes. I used to harvest when about half were amber, but that "half" was an eyeball estimate.)

I would experiment with harvesting at different amber/cloudy/clear percentages to find the optimal value (the best suited MY preferances) for a particular strain.

Genetics also play a part as different strains will have different cannabinoid profiles. A "50% amber" strain and another "50% amber" different strain will, likely, have different canabinoid profiles, due to their different genetics.

CBD (which is simply an isomer of THC) has been shown to be as effective as some of the "atypical anti-psychotic" medications, in treating schizophrenia. I am a big fan of cannabis, but I would recommend that anyone with schizophrenia should consult their physician before dropping their pharmaceuticals in favour of cannabis.

HOWEVER, to be clear, there is NOTHING in cannabis to cause pyschosis. The pyschosis-cannabis link is pure bullshit!! (Dreamt up by prohibitionists.)
Right on man, although cannabis does not cause pyschosis, it can encourage its development in those who have the condition already. Cannabis is neither the evil weed or the solution to all problems and completely harmless, it is in fact most likely to be the middle way. Like our friend the Buddha would of said. Something those who wish to see it remain illegal ' forget ' to mention. Get out there campaigning man!

Posted: Wed 11th Feb 2009 02:12 pm
by geoffk
I'd agree with the genetics statement. Harvested some White Russian early, and yes it have a slightly clearer head high, but I thought at the expense of being somewhat weaker. It really didn't' change the buzz that much.

Posted: Wed 11th Feb 2009 07:22 pm
by Lemming
Glad to see this topic appear. I had been intending to ask you guy’s opinions about this for some time but hadn’t got around to it.

Like many in the UK in days gone by, I started out smoking hash from places like Morocco, Lebanon and Pakistan. These probably contained a fair amount of CBD and CBN and I came to associate hash with a soporific effect. Compared with these hashes, some of the modern hybrids are almost like stimulants.

It does make sense to me that very high doses of THC without the moderating influence of CBD would bring on heightened self-consciousness and could lead to feelings of paranoia.

We hear a lot of bollocks in the media about organised criminals increasing the amount of THC in cannabis. This makes no sense because high THC varieties are more expensive to produce. It is true, however, that some enthusiasts have sought to produce varieties with very high levels of THC and virtually no CBD. Whilst there is undoubtedly a market for such varieties, it would be interesting to debate the virtues of varieties with a more "natural" THC-CBD balance as Matty suggests.

Posted: Wed 11th Feb 2009 07:59 pm
by doobydave
Agreed.

The media (even the sensible outlets) seem to be years behind the hobbyists. They've only just cottoned on to one of the other chemicals responsible for the effect of the 'high'.

It made me smile on the Panorama the other day when they were talking about breeding the plant to vary the amount of CBD as though it was an original idea.

Still no mention of THCV or CBG. Or the numerous others.


Tbh, there is so much more scope for being a pretentious pot enthusiast (pot-bore?) than there is for alcohol. Enough even to eclipse Jilly Cooper's descriptions.

Posted: Wed 11th Feb 2009 09:41 pm
by Sir Niall of Essex-sire
Im in agreement with Lemming. The high THC varities do no doubt have a market, but the more natural high i prefer in many ways. Strains like Thai and i also find the same with the Easy Sativa and Purple Power are not only easy to grow and resonably productive. The high to me is closer to the high from grass should be, the knock out highs are nice and occansionaly good. But to me sitting back on a sunny day with some outdoor organic in a big doobie is what smoking buds is all about, the high is noticable but not devastating and for me more enjoyable. It promotes more conversation for me when i smoke the outdoor grown varities. It as with most things each for their own, but when it comes to a plant of which the full long lasting effects are still not yet known, messing around to much with mother natures chemical balance does not make to much sense.

Posted: Thu 12th Feb 2009 05:22 pm
by matty
messing around to much with mother natures chemical balance does not make to much sense.

totally agree with this which is why next week i want to try some 'balanced' natural smokes. Anybody got any good reccomendations?

Posted: Thu 12th Feb 2009 05:29 pm
by geoffk
Sounds like imported hash might be your thing.

Posted: Thu 12th Feb 2009 08:01 pm
by Ingwey Gooblebogger
IMO, the problem is that the media, prohibitionists, and many others fail to notice re: the, supposedly, higher THC levels is the following:

Dosage titration.

That is, the stories go on about the supposedly higher THC levels and then lead into the scare stories. However, IF the THC levels were going up, then we smoke less quantity of grass/hash for the same effect. (i.e we titrate, or set, our dosages accordingly.) Since the only health problems associated with cannabis are due to the effects on the lungs from the smoking (and these effects have not really been demonstrated scientifically) then the, supposedly, higher THC level strains actually become a more healthy option.

So, we smoke a pin joint, instead of a hugh fatty, to get high. Or if it is a lad's night out, instead of smoking 30 joints, in an evening, we only smoke 5.

As an aside: To see the ridiculous nature of the "Strong THC skunk = scary problem" media horror stories, consider this. Beer is generally about 5% alcohol, and, if all of a sudden, spirits (i.e whiskey, vodka, etc, which are generally about 40% alcohol), were invented would the media be shouting about this 8 times stronger "Killer" booze....NO.

Again, we titrate our dosages. I might drink one or two pints of beer, but I wouldn't dream of trying to drink that much whiskey in one sitting!!

Posted: Thu 12th Feb 2009 08:10 pm
by USbongLord
murphyscafe wrote:ghs do this check on there stuff!!!

check there site out!

example:

TrainWreck ®

THC: 19.34%
CBD: 0.94%
CBG: 1.01%

http://www.greenhouseseeds.nl/shop
ill let ya know in 4 weeks