Are chemicals used on most herb?

[vapeguy]

I eat as much organic as possible to reduce exposure to proven cancer causing pesticides/herbicides/etc. but of course there's no such thing as organic labeling on weed.

In general, is most of the weed sold on the street grown with herbicides, pesticides, etc? Or are most grown chemical free/organically?

I'd like to have an idea of how many cancer causing chemicals, if any, are sprayed on weed.

If there are pesticides or other chemicals, does anyone know if they get vaporized or do they remain on the herb and don't vaporize?

Thanks

 

[J.R.R.Tokin']

Wow aab1, you just asked a question like 'How long is a piece of string'.

To help people answer you, it would help to know what country and area you live in? The reason I ask is that we have quite a different array of nutes and ferts in Europe compared to what is available over in the US or Canada.

A lot of the weed in the UK that is commercially grown is pretty shite, mainly due to bad curing and early picking - all to maximise profits by squeezing in an extra grow cycle each year. However, most growers use established nutrient and fertilizer brands like Canna, Gold, Atami and Vitalink. Though they aren't organic they are usually quite minimal on chemical additives and rely more on plant matter to create their mix. Also, as most of it is grown indoors there is not really much necessity for pesticides.

BUT...because there is always a but...for the last 10 years there has been a trend in 'spraying' weed. This is done to add extra weight. The worst thing is that they can use some pretty terrible stuff. One friend of mine had weed that was sprayed with ground glass dust! Imagine inhaling that shit!

So, I would say, it's best to know where your weed comes from regardless, or your playing with your health.

 

[vapeguy]

Thanks, that is helpful. I'm in Canada by the way, how does it tend to be around here?

Thanks

 

[WatTyler]

Here's a scary read on black market weed in the US. Not sure how that might apply to Canada.

http://northernlabservices.com/uploads/The_Schwag_Report.pdf

I would like to see better studies.

 

[charliedontsurf]

America gets alot of horrible garbage from Mexico, or from unscrupulous illegals tending plots on American national forest land.

I imagine Canada is better off, with the majority of it being grown in country, with a small portion coming from the US... I imagine.

 

[Smokey]

Street weed will always be a "?", no matter what.
The only way to be sure is to live in a medical state, or even better, start to grow your own, and apply the right flushing tecniques using only bio fertilizer, and natural pesticides against bad insects, like piretrum, stay away from chemical shizzle.

 

[Magic9]

Most herbs are going to have chemicals added somewhere. In the med states, there is some type of organic certification, although not recognized by federal govt. etc. Not sure how all that plays out.

A lot is produced using chemical nutrients. Ever smoked some that crackled? Chemical nutes are generally regarded as being safe (relative), as long as it is flushed properly to remove them. The advantage is a larger yield and more convienient. Downside is a reported decrease in flavor and, well, they are chemicals.

Some use dangerous pesticides and fungicides. Alot of organic solutions available, but when it's all about profit, dangerous is usually cheaper.

Therein lies the danger. When we have unregulated product hitting the market, who knows what's in there. The cheap mexican "brick" is usually sprayed with all types of nasty shit. They have no concern for safety. Only producing as much as they can as fast as they can. Full of chemicals, pesticides, dirty water, bugs, mold, and who knows what else? I wouldn't be brave enough to look at some through a scope. They then harvest (probably no sinks out there), and smash between large steel plates left in the sun to dry quickly. Baled up in probably a real shithole. Ready to be shipped and sold to countless others before finally hitting the street. As far as homegrown, that's a toss up for sure. Most aren't organic I would guess.

I would google "hempy bucket" and start weighing the risk vs. benefit.

 

[Smokey]

Forgot to mention a simple way to tell if our herb has chemicals residue left in it due to poor flushing:

Pack an old fashioned joint, pure weed. Light it up and take some puffs, if the ashes are whitey, it is "clean", if ashes are mostly blacky...chemicals are left in it.

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

If you worried about stuff in your herb , better check water cure. Water cured weed leaves always white ashes. I do that with my nuts too ,called water leech. I am on the same boat with food as you.. and i always picky to the herbs i use.. I prefer not to use rather than poison myself.. Now that i've done numerous cleansings i get sick even of the lightest impurity,byproduct.. whatever crap they add.
If i am in a desperate need and there is no good herb i ussualy buy some cheap outdoor (which is grown guerilla round here) and make extracts.
Also dont get fooled by that organic crap..
Organic or inorganic fertilizers have the same chemicals.. N/P/K and micro elements..
Organic fertilizers ,expecially home made fertilizers and compost have variating N/P/K Ratio.
Which can easily lead to overfeed.. So common shit can posion you as much as inorganic if not worse..
Some people are puting blood and meat in their pot... That can produce a lot of bacteria that you are going to inhale...
Essential to healty pot is first of all .. Last weeks flush , better grown on the edge of starvation then overfeed, Fine curing, intime harvest, strain (GMO is no healthy) .
Hydroponics and some other soilless techs offer easier flush which can result in less chemicaly loaded pot.But not all hydroponic ferts are healthy .
I've read that pot should be fertilized only when it show symptoms of underfeed.. Yellowing, purpling,burns etc..

 

[Nycdeisel]

A very good question, and the asnwer, as others have already posted, is that you will never know. You just cant, not in an unregulated black market such as this.

growing your own would be the easiest and safest method but the whole thing may not be so easy for everybody.

 

[aesthyrian]

Unfortunately I would always assume the worst when it comes to what is on the herb we smoke. Since it is an illegal commodity, it is seen as a simple product to sell. These people don't care what they put on it, as long as it "works" and makes the plant look healthier and such.

Dispensaries that treat the herb like medicine do testing, and that hopefully will be the norm some day. Until federal legalization though, there will always be herb that has more dangerous shit on it than anything that occurs naturally in the plant itself.

 

[djonkoman]

I guess most indoor weed is grown with chemical nutes, but my own harvest is cmpletely organic outdoor, only fertilizer I've used so far is homemade fertilizer from nettles. also my growspot in the garden is also a place where a lot of nettles grow, so already nitrogenrich soil. and last year I bought white clover seed, so I can upgrade the soil a bit more each season.

 

[Mathair Naduir]

I forgot what it was like to have to depend on "the streets" to get my cannabis. I take living in California for granted. Luckily where I live in CA, there are a couple medical clubs that really emphasize high quality, organic, outdoor buds at the lowest exchange rate.

I'm worried though because there is talk of all store front clubs shutting down, leaving us to either Medical Delivery service or low quality "street" bud. I hate having to worry about getting a plant of healthy quality. Outrageous...

 

[Elluzion]

I really wish there was a way to tell what is in the cannabis we are consuming, but it is kind of impossible unless you grow it yourself. I think that if you aren't happy with what you are getting, etc, then grow your own and you will know for sure. If it isn't convenient for you or it just isn't going to happen, then you just have to accept it I guess :/

I would love to do some vape comparisons between full organic stuff and non-organic pesticide grown stuff.

 

[AGBeer]

Well, one thing that would help maximize your 'comfort level' of what you are ingesting would be a water cure.

Water curing over the prescribed amount of time will flush flush your herb.
Chemicals - Check. Salts - Check. Chlorophyll - Check.

This would be the ONLY (only) way to be more certain (unless of course you grow it yourself)

 

[Beezleb]

The only way to know what is in your herb, is for you to grow your herb.

I would not worry about anything given to help grow a plant would be harmful though I have seen an article about something called gravity that is being banned but only saw a headline.

I would worry about pesticides, that would be my biggest concern and I have no idea how prevalent something like would be but I am sure if it means getting a crop done they will do what they got to do.

 

[Johnny]

We get stuff laced with gun powder sometimes over here and now you know id never dob on a dealer , BUT JESUS CHRIST ID DOB ON THIS DEALER ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.

 

[crawdad]

know your farmer, its the only way.