What Makes A Good Cannabis Strain?

[420 Warrior]

The San Francisco Examiner

Any seasoned cannabis user knows that the effects you feel after consuming your preferred products have to do with the strain of cannabis you are using. From an uplifting, energetic experience to a calm night on the couch (that’s the essence of indica vs. sativa), the strain you choose to enjoy can offer a specific feeling to match your needs. But what makes a good cannabis strain?

It’s in the Genes
The strain of any particular cannabis plant is determined through selective breeding that has taken place over recent years and decades. Just as humans have bred other common crops to better suit our needs, cannabis has been molded and nurtured by human hands and technologies into the potent and diverse crops grown around the world today. We have manipulated these plants on a genetic level to use them for our advantage – and we’ve done the same with cannabis.

This selective breeding results in a plant that is bred to display specific characteristics over others. And in the world of cannabis, this comes down to breeding plants with particular chemical profiles in the form of certain cannabinoids and terpenes that provide the bulk of how the effects are experienced when consumed. Over many years, plants have been bred with these desired characteristics in mind, and this led to the immense amount of strains available today.

Today, you can get your hands on a particular strain at any step of the production line—from an online seed bank to buying flower in a dispensary. These options allow for a diverse choice of effects that a consumer can enjoy recreationally or use for a particular medical condition.

If you intend to grow your own plants, knowing the strain of your seeds is important. If you know the type of feel you are looking for (i.e., the kind of high), you can ask a budtender, and they will direct you towards strains that can deliver just that.

But the question remains…

What Makes a Good Strain?
A good strain is a somewhat subjective description. When you find a particular variety of cannabis that you enjoy and meets your desired effects, that’s always good. But there are other factors to consider when choosing a strain. High-quality is a better way to think of it than merely ‘good.’

Several important factors come into play during a cannabis plant’s life cycle with quality of strain in mind. These can range from the conditions that the plants are grown alongside what types of fertilizers and nutrients were used during the process. Generally, you want to avoid pesticides and other toxic chemicals when looking for a quality strain.

Another common qualifier for a good cannabis strain is potency. Again, this can vary from person to person as some people like a potent strain, while others only wish to experience slight effects.

All things considered, the ultimate deciding factor in a good cannabis strain is you. If you find an option that makes you feel your desired effects and you’re sure that it has been grown without the use of any toxic chemicals, you have a strain worth keeping.

The San Francisco Examiner
Emily Kind
Oct. 22, 2020

 

[Jackalope]

I have to agree with you. My recent harvest gave me some great Purple Afghani. What is funny is I am the only person that see's anything wrong with it. I have other extremely strong strains to smoke. Compared head to head the Purple Afghani would loose. Some of these stronger strains don't have near as a enjoyable high.

The effects of the Purple Afghani sure make up for any strength issues. For a mostly pure indica the head high from this strain is a surprise. In ways it kind of identifies as a sativa. That is till you smoke more. Then the body starts coming into play as you smoke more and as the high lasts.

If I only had this weed I would be happy. That in itself make it a good strain. I am basing this on all the females combined. Some plants are better than others. As a "Whole" it is a good strain. Each strain has to be judged on its own merit. You can not take into consideration that other strains might be stronger. Stronger does not mean better in lots of case's

 

[420 Warrior]

I have to agree with you. My recent harvest gave me some great Purple Afghani. What is funny is I am the only person that see's anything wrong with it. I have other extremely strong strains to smoke. Compared head to head the Purple Afghani would loose. Some of these stronger strains don't have near as a enjoyable high.

The effects of the Purple Afghani sure make up for any strength issues. For a mostly pure indica the head high from this strain is a surprise. In ways it kind of identifies as a sativa. That is till you smoke more. Then the body starts coming into play as you smoke more and as the high lasts.

If I only had this weed I would be happy. That in itself make it a good strain. I am basing this on all the females combined. Some plants are better than others. As a "Whole" it is a good strain. Each strain has to be judged on its own merit. You can not take into consideration that other strains might be stronger. Stronger does not mean better in lots of case's

I agree 100% with you. The effects and ones personal preference is what dictates what each of us as individuals consider to be a "good Cannabis strain" or not.

Personally, I like a good 18-20% THC strength, energetic, creative and focus inducing strain, but other people may like a super potent (in the 30%+ range), couch lock inducing strain...Again, it's all up to an individual preference.

Here's the real question...Is there a "Bad" Cannabis strain? IMO, there's no such thing as "Bad" Cannabis...It's ALL good!

 

[Jackalope]

420 Warrior. The Purple Afghani I was talking about was a test for Grimm. If they release it you may want to look into it. Lots of head to it to start for a mostly indica. I would call it a thinking mans indica. Its strong but not brutally.

 

[Jackalope]

I just grew out D.J. Shorts Flo F-5. Yes there is such things as a bad strain! I found NO redeemable value to it at all. I threw out 5 oz's because it was so weak I wouldn't even give it away.

With all the flavor Blueberry has added to hybrids over the years. I expected to find it in a strain bred by D.J. Short himself. Most plants were male, Only 2 females to look at. They were different and neither pheno had anything worth keeping. No flavor and a weak body high.

 

[Dwight Monk]

I just grew out D.J. Shorts Flo F-5. Yes there is such things as a bad strain! I found NO redeemable value to it at all. I threw out 5 oz's because it was so weak I wouldn't even give it away.

With all the flavor Blueberry has added to hybrids over the years. I expected to find it in a strain bred by D.J. Short himself. Most plants were male, Only 2 females to look at. They were different and neither pheno had anything worth keeping. No flavor and a weak body high.

That's a bummer, not sure if ones I got are the F5 or not but sounds like I will be trying something else in my collection before those

 

[Jackalope]

Dwight. I feel the same way. I have 3 more strains from D.J. Short that I don't know what to do with. Paid to much to throw them away. After this trial of his genetics I don't know if I want to grow them anytime soon. I grew out 5 Flo seeds when I did the Flo F-5. They were all males so I never got a chance to check the females.