i would say thats probly the culprit. i mean your going to have stems no matter what, thats what the leaves and buds are grown on right? as long as u take ur time trimming and pick out all the stems from the leaves off the buds u shouldnt have a problem. i see it that the grower where u bud came from probly was growing alot, and didnt have the time/patience to sit down and carefully manicure every little aspect u know? i know if i was sitting in front of like 5 lbs that i had to trim i would probly be overlooking alot of little stems. trimming takes forever.