In some areas they are tracking seed to producer to the store you buy it at. The cannabis is grown in large warehouses under grow lights. Some growers use soil but some use hydroponic.
The cannabis is sealed in small amounts or ounce sizes, we buy prepackaged. I love the strain GrapeApe sometimes I get a real pungent berry taste and sometimes not as much. I agree it depends how long the cannabis sits before it's sold. It will degrade smell and taste wise.
I noticed too in WA state some processor sell in jars which seems like a better idea to me, like for 1/8, 1/4 oz amounts on up to an ounce. I have recently bought some Gorilla Glue and it was in a jar with a small Beveda package inside.
I don't know anything about growing or what goes along with that. I don't know a lot about all the strains out there but I know the strains that I like. I can tell if I'm getting something different but yes they sure do vary depending upon where and who you get your cannabis from.
The THC level is different say from a GrapeApe grower or a different batch. Different plant too I would assume. I bought some GrapeApe by the same company say Artizen then a different week I will buy the same name the same brand and the THC levels will be different.
I bought some Gorilla Glue @16% THC levels and a strain called Pinapple Moonshine @27% THC a different company. The 16% was stronger to me the way it hit me. I don't know if it was because of the Beveda package that the company put inside or if the THC levels don't always give the true strength of the cannabis. Maybe other factors at play. Both strains had the same CBD levels of .5. The Gorilla Glue had the older harvest date by 4 months.