How Much Do You Know About the Flower Going Into Your Vape?

Community Lounge
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There’s been a lot of discussion lately about dry herb vaporizer safety… airpaths, exposed materials, electronics, fibreglass concerns, and what we’re actually inhaling through these devices.

But honestly, I’ve started wondering if people sometimes overlook another big part of the equation… the actual cannabis going into the vape.

How many people really know how their flower was grown, what nutrients or pesticides were used, what kind of grow medium it came from, how it was cured, or even how old it is?

I’m in Canada, where recreational cannabis has been legal since 2018, and the early rollout definitely had its share of problems. People were finding mould, spider mites, badly cured flower, sketchy storage conditions, and all sorts of issues with some licensed producers. But one good thing that came out of it was that consumers got way more informed and a lot pickier about quality.

These days it’s pretty common to see detailed packaging info like harvest dates, package dates, terpene percentages, grow methods, irradiation status, and sometimes even what mediums or inputs were used during cultivation. People here have gotten pretty vocal about quality, and companies are definitely being held more accountable than they were a few years ago.

It kind of makes me wonder if we should be paying just as much attention to the cannabis itself as we do to whether a vape has isolated airpaths or medical-grade materials.

Don’t get me wrong… device safety absolutely matters, and I’m glad people are asking questions about it. But even the cleanest, safest vaporizer in the world still depends on the quality of the flower being loaded into it.

Curious what other people here think.

Do you pay much attention to where your flower comes from and how it’s grown, or are you mostly focused on the device side of things?

And for people outside legal markets, how much transparency do you actually have about the cannabis you’re consuming?

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I’m a PA medical patient, so I have to trust the rules that DOH sets. That said, I pull my buds apart to inspect. Mold is what I look for, but I’ve never found it. I know it happens, but this stuff is usually on the dry side.

The only devices I use anymore are Venty, Volcano Hybrid, and 2 ball vapes. I think they’re safe. I live in Pittsburgh. I look at the air quality index every day. I’m one of the “certain groups” that should avoid outdoor activities on certain days because of pollution. That concerns me more than the latest topic.

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Yeah thankfully word gets around which companies to avoid, mostly multi-state operators, but there’s at least one local where a disgruntled employee posted pictures of the grow and all the foliage covered in PM. I mainly stick to a handful of smaller in-state companies that have a good reputation.

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That’s a very smart idea to inspect your buds. I have been surprised at what some people have been finding here when they take a closer look. It appears that some companies just want to rush the process to get product to market as quick as possible, and they skip very crucial steps along the way, so it is better to be cautious and check.

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Yes, I do the same here, and I have been lucky enough to find some very well priced flower that has been organically grown, and would be considered craft cannabis. Growers who will actually produce testing results and share their growing methods.

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What is “PM”? It is too short to generate results, although I did try searching.

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Sorry, powdery mildew. It’s not considered a human pathogen and not included on many state-mandated microbial panels, but it is a widespread plant pest and it’s mostly what we see when there’s white cobweb-looking mold in buds. Big problem in my state with some of the bigger growers.

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Not much. Legal state so the weed from the dispensary is supposedly tested. I say supposedly because they still keep siting folks for bad tests.

The THCa weed I get is from a farmers market, so my only real guaranty is that the dude I’m buying from obviously smokes it.

In both cases I visually look at my weed, but I don’t worry about it. For years I bought bricks smuggled in from Mexico, much of it with a very real risk of Paraquat poisoning by the US government. At least the government isn’t actively and publicly trying to poison me.

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You know, Charles, some of your responses really do make me smile and laugh out loud haha… love it! Hope you’re having a good day! :victory_hand:

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I recently came across this (Canada) government study comparing “legal” vs “illegal” product.

The study looked at THC levels (real vs advertised for the legal stuff), as well as heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticides and other microbial contaminants.

It’s great that such studies can now actually occur — mainly because it’s now legal.

Edit: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/data-gathering-program-comparison-legal-illegal-dried-cannabis-products.html

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This is exactly the kind of thing I’ve been thinking about lately.

People spend a lot of time discussing vaporizer materials and airpath safety, but contaminants in the actual flower are probably just as important in some cases.

One thing I really appreciate about legalization and regulated markets is how much more informed consumers have become. Years ago it was mostly just trying to find decent cannabis consistently. Now people here, are comparing terpene percentages, harvest dates, curing methods, grow quality, and even looking into contaminants and testing results.

I also realize I’m pretty fortunate to live somewhere that allows this level of transparency and gives me options when buying my flower and dabs. There are still plenty of places around the world where it’s completely illegal, carries serious penalties, and still has a huge stigma attached to it.

We’ve definitely come a long way, even if there’s still lots of room for improvement. Hopefully conversations and studies like this continue bringing more awareness so people become more informed about what they’re actually inhaling.

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Powdery Mildew. PM.
Jb​:saluting_face:

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Thanks to you and Jburnz for clarifying. All I could think of was “plant material”, which I knew was wrong. :slight_smile:

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I pretty much only smoke what I grow nowdays. So whilst its not lab tested or anything i do know how it was grown from clone/seed to harvest/cure. It’s pretty noice to know that it was grown with care, 0 pesticides, patience, 0 schedule to adhere to, other than the plants themselves being ready to chop, and there were no profits made from cartels or coporate interests, whether legal or not, i pretty much decentralized myself from the local market.

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Absolutely the way to do it! What are you growing right now?

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Right now i got a pheno hunt going, as well as some of my clone selections

Sin City Seeds

  • Key Lime Sherb - Seed
  • LimeFoot - Seed
  • Ornery - Seed
  • Kushmints x Blue Power - Seed
  • Rio Frio - Clone Selection
  • Blue Lime Pie - Clone Selection

Rare Dankness

  • Moonshine’s Ghost Train - Seed

Casata from a local breeder, i think it was french macaron x MAC 1

Blackberry Kush - Clone, but its not the american purple version, this one slaps, puts me to sleep. She’s my oldest clone.

My phone is rather old but still, this is Grape Gas 10 from last season.

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Sooo frosty :drooling_face:… nice job! Any preferred growing media?

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Thanks!!
Lately i’ve been testing Coco + Dry Amendments + FloraFlex with good results, still dialing it in, so i’d say my coots mix weed comes out terpier. the one in the pic was grown in Coots Mix

Coots Mix is very nice if you can source everything but i’ve been having issues with some of the recipe. And its a bit of a balancing act cause sure its easy to just add water and top-dress here and there but I find that if you overdo it the weed comes out worse than fully synthetic. and you gotta be super careful topdressing, i premix my topdress in water outside of the tent area to prevent puffs of nutrients getting stuck in the weed, seen a lot of online growers trough the years neglect this and i really dont want any contams in my weed. same with Bugs i never use any they poop and i dont want that anywhere near my nugs. if the room isnt 100% clean i dont flip to flower.

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Local. They feel trustworthy and haven’t disappointed in quality. So lucky. https://nrconnections.com/user/humboldt+with+love/

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I break open a few buds right after receiving and look with a hand lens to inspect for mold. It’s also fun to see the tricombs and stalks on the regular. Purchase from a small independent (as they say) THCa vendor that grows in house. I would grow it if it was legal to do so here.