Moon Shadow
Well-Known Member
Trying to clear the air. I'm afraid to say I agree but I do. This one comes from a UK site. I'll post some of the article then go back and get the link.
The UK Cannabis Internet Activists Website: Website of the Legalise Cannabis UK Campaigns. Cannabis Information and UK Cannabis, UK campaigning for hemp, marijuana , cannabis.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The percent THC is the weight for weight of THC in the dry cannabis sample selected for analysis. A fresh cannabis plant contains a lower proportion of THC as fresh plant material contains a lot of water."[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It's unclear what they mean by "dry". Plant material, of the sort you might buy from your dealer - even if dry in the normal sense - is still composed largely of water, so what do they mean by "dry"? It would seem that what they're talking about is a desiccated sample, that is a sample in which all the water has been removed, in effect destroying the biomass material, leaving the oils produced by the plant. We did ask for confirmation on this point, but received no answer.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It's also worth pointing out here that the measurement is actually referred to as "potency", not strength. This careful use of words is typical of the Home Office when it's being economical with the truth. The reason this is important is because the amount of oils the plant produces is not a constant fraction of the overall weight. It will depend on which part of the plant is sampled and how it's grown.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So the measurement they make is a percentage by weight of the oils in the sample, not of the overall weight of the sample.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Is potency directly comparable to strength? It's not clear that it is. In which case, the strength of cannabis over the years has never really been measured. It's also apparent from the reply that no standard system for making the measurement has been employed ("some scientists use gas chromatography")[/FONT]
The UK Cannabis Internet Activists Website: Website of the Legalise Cannabis UK Campaigns. Cannabis Information and UK Cannabis, UK campaigning for hemp, marijuana , cannabis.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The percent THC is the weight for weight of THC in the dry cannabis sample selected for analysis. A fresh cannabis plant contains a lower proportion of THC as fresh plant material contains a lot of water."[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It's unclear what they mean by "dry". Plant material, of the sort you might buy from your dealer - even if dry in the normal sense - is still composed largely of water, so what do they mean by "dry"? It would seem that what they're talking about is a desiccated sample, that is a sample in which all the water has been removed, in effect destroying the biomass material, leaving the oils produced by the plant. We did ask for confirmation on this point, but received no answer.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It's also worth pointing out here that the measurement is actually referred to as "potency", not strength. This careful use of words is typical of the Home Office when it's being economical with the truth. The reason this is important is because the amount of oils the plant produces is not a constant fraction of the overall weight. It will depend on which part of the plant is sampled and how it's grown.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So the measurement they make is a percentage by weight of the oils in the sample, not of the overall weight of the sample.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Is potency directly comparable to strength? It's not clear that it is. In which case, the strength of cannabis over the years has never really been measured. It's also apparent from the reply that no standard system for making the measurement has been employed ("some scientists use gas chromatography")[/FONT]
