A velvety smooth high is every weed smoker's dream. However, sometimes one ends up smoking cannabis that does not seem to make any difference. That’s sad enough, yeah, I know!

When I began, I wondered for the longest time if there were markers for finding out the quality of weed before smoking. Guess what, there are.

Factors like how the grass is grown, harvested, cured, and stored greatly impact its strength and quality. Let me take you through some of them so that you don't settle for bad cannabis ever again.

1. Go For The Green: Color

Potent cannabis is mostly in some shade of green. There might also be tinges of red, orange, purple, or blue in them but check they aren't patches of mold. Stay away from brown weed, though. Brown is a sign that the weed has oxidized, and the good chemical compounds such as cannabinoids and terpene have broken down.

Oxidized weed will make you drowsy than stoned. This is common in aged cannabis. When in contact with oxygen, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) breaks down into CBN (cannabinol). This compound is not psychoactive. Brown weed also burns faster and produces harsher, cough-inducing smoke.

2. The Sniff Test: Scent

The unmistakable, pungent marijuana aroma is another marker that every weed lover swears by. Top-quality weed is sure to possess a strong, pleasant smell that even sealed packaging cannot cover up.

If you get cannabis that has little or no smell or smells like dampness, hay or grass, reject it right away. Here also, oxygen plays the villain. It breaks down the aromatic psychoactive compounds. Low-quality weed smells like hay or grass. If the weed has a moldy smell, it can be dangerous for you. Sometimes, dealers sell completely different herbs in place of cannabis. Smelling the weed before buying can save you from such faux pas. I would say this is one aspect that you really have to be careful about!

3. The Tongue Test: Taste

Good cannabis has a fresh taste to it. However, often pesticides or other contaminants add a metallic or chemical taste to it. With a range of flavors possible, you might end up smoking cheesy, chocolatey, or piney flavored ones. Discard such weed right away.

Cannabis with mold or mildew growth will have a bitter or unpleasant taste. Steer clear of such weeds as they might cause severe damage to the lungs.

4. The Trichome Factor

High-grade and healthy marijuana contains adequate trichomes. These are white crystalline resin-like substances present on the exterior of quality buds. If you observe your weed through a magnifying glass or a microscope, they come off as shiny, milky white, fully formed crystals. The trichrome layer thickness is the marker for weed potency.

Most of the cannabinoids or terpenes responsible for good grade weed are contained by the Trichomes. Trichomes tend to fall off if the buds are touched often after harvest. The trichomes are not formed fully if the bud is prematurely harvested.

Amber-colored trichomes suggest that the THC is disintegrating into CBN and might not be too potent. They are the result of harvesting the weed too late. Often shady dealers are known to smear their buds with soap or chemicals to make them look like they are covered in trichomes.

5. Touch It To Know It: Feel

Storing cannabis is an art in itself. It has to be prevented from drying out or getting too damp. Maintained this way, the weed will stay pleasant and fresh to smoke. If the cannabis gets too dry, it will burn too fast, get harsh on the throat, and induce heavy coughing. Humidity might cause mildew or mold to form besides damaging the flavor. High-quality weed that is stored well will easily break apart but won't crumble when touched.

Though different strains are of different densities, indicas are quite tightly packed, whereas the sativas are comparatively fluffy. The hybrids range in between the two. Trichrome content should result in stickiness. However, too much touching can remove the trichomes reducing their potency.

6. Scouring For Seeds

Weed with a lot of seeds is no good. Once the female marijuana plant starts to produce seeds, it almost stops producing psychoactive compounds and concentrates on making more seeds.

In addition, seeds add weight, often explode while burning and cause the glassware to break. They can also leave off a bitter taste damaging the flavor of your favored weed.

7. Stem Them Out

Quality weed does not contain many stems. They would increase the weight of the marijuana and make you pay more for the amount of smokable weed you get. Though there can be stems present, carefully pick them out as you should not smoke them.

8. Orange Hairs For Quality Weed

Let me tell you my friend, orange hairs in your weed are good. These are stigmas, a part of the reproductive system of the female marijuana plant. They are there to gather pollen from the male plants to produce new seeds. Top-grade cannabis comes only from un-pollinated female plants. Orange stigmas tell that your cannabis was picked at the right time. If the harvest time is delayed, the stigmas start becoming brown. Sativas generally have more stigmas.

9. Steer Clear Of Moldy Weed

If exposed to a lot of humidity, cannabis tends to develop mold. Weed with mold tastes weird or has a funky smell. Smoking such weed might hurt your throat, induce cough, and damage your lungs. Contaminated weed can make you sick. Check for unusual patches on your weed. This can be of any color, green, black, gray, or white.

Some More Factors

Excess leaves that are not covered with trichomes reduce the potency of cannabis and must be trimmed off. Hand-trimmed marijuana is more potent than machine-trimmed ones. Human touch can trim the cannabis without damaging the trichomes. Haphazardly cut cannabis, covered with a lot of fan leaves, are not that good.

There can be the presence of pests in the weeds as they are mostly grown without pesticides. Spider mites are tiny spiders that attack the cannabis crop. They leave yellow or white dots on the leaves. White hairs looking like spider webs are signs of these bugs.

Cannabis bananas are another sure symptom that speaks about cannabis potency. If you notice long yellow pods that resemble actual bananas, it is a sign that your weed is not potent and might be full of seeds.

Testing Weed for Potency

Tested and certified cannabis from reputed dispensaries often states the amount of THC present. If you buy weed from other sources or a grower who wants to test the THC levels, don't worry. Technology is here for you.

• There are a lot of cannabis labs that offer "cannabinoid tests." Any cannabis product, from regular smokable weed to concentrates, oils, topical products, and edibles, can be tested for potency in such labs. However, this option can be time-consuming as you need to count on the time spent sending a sample and waiting for the reports. The cost can be on the higher side as well.

• Several user-friendly electronic devices can help you know the strength of your weed. These small testing devices, usually similar to a smartphone in size, come with an insertable tray for the weed samples. They let you assess the CBD and THC levels of cannabis-infused oil, butter, and alcohol-based tinctures in about a minute. Alternatively, you can invest in a test kit that, in minutes, can give you clear reports of the cannabis.

Well, I hope that this article has given you a fair idea of choosing the best weed.

If you are looking for more such information and know-hows about what's latest in the world of weed, check out the Homegrown Cannabis Co community. Their blogs are my favorite. Expert growers and weed lovers share anything and everything related to weed, including trivia, tips, and tricks.

May you never have to settle for bad cannabis ever! I am signing off for now. Wishing You All The luck for getting the best-quality cannabis!