Will a high THC strain eventually degrade into a high CBD strain?

Pretty much the title....


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No. THC degrades into CBN, not CBD. (often confused) Personally, I feel CBN may have as many or more therapeutic uses than CBD, and it seems people often attribute CBN effects to CBD

XipXipXoom said:

No. THC degrades into CBN, not CBD. (often confused) Personally, I feel CBN may have as many or more therapeutic uses than CBD, and it seems people often attribute CBN effects to CBD

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Interesting!

So then a strain that starts out as a THC-heavy strain, will eventually degrade into a (relative-to-the-starting-THC-level) CBN-heavy strain?

I always grow a very small amount for my own use and, even with just one plant, I often have an excess amount of flower to store. I always vacuum-pack my glass canning jars and keep them in a dark, cool spot so that the exposure to air, light and heat is minimized, but after a certain amount of time, the buds still turn golden-brown and start to change their terpenes. It's never "bad" per se. In fact, the aged weed sometimes reminds me of old school Acapulco gold or something like I used to smoke back in the 70's -basically a light high that makes my eyes very red and gives me a sleepy feeling....smells kinda like toast and caramel.

tstick said:

Interesting!

So then a strain that starts out as a THC-heavy strain, will eventually degrade into a (relative-to-the-starting-THC-level) CBN-heavy strain?

I always grow a very small amount for my own use and, even with just one plant, I often have an excess amount of flower to store. I always vacuum-pack my glass canning jars and keep them in a dark, cool spot so that the exposure to air, light and heat is minimized, but after a certain amount of time, the buds still turn golden-brown and start to change their terpenes. It's never "bad" per se. In fact, the aged weed sometimes reminds me of old school Acapulco gold or something like I used to smoke back in the 70's -basically a light high that makes my eyes very red and gives me a sleepy feeling....smells kinda like toast and caramel.

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The thc breaks down during the final growth and ripening stage, I don't believe it does after it's cured and put in jars. I have a vacuum sealer also, I do not use it. It seemed to me that vacuum packing it does alter the stored product after a while. Without vacuum packing there isn't much of noticeable difference even after 2 years in appearance, taste or quality of the high. I do store it in a dark cabinet where it never gets light.

Kerovan, if I may...............your saying by leaving buds on , after there ready to pick ,will result in lowering thc , but improving cbn
What sort of reduction in thc would U expect ?? & how long would U advise to leave the buds on for ? to maximise the cbn
& does cbn work in a simular way to cbd ?? or is cbn used for a particular ailment ??

Very interested

Poon

Well, the progression is actually thc-a, to thc, to cbn. Going from thc-a to thc requires decarboxylation. It doesn't happen naturally very quickly. You usually have to add heat to cause it to occur. If you heat for too long during decarb, that's when you start getting cbn.

It would probably take a very long time to happen naturally, longer than your bud will likely be smokeable.

Poontanger said:

Kerovan, if I may...............your saying by leaving buds on , after there ready to pick ,will result in lowering thc , but improving cbn
What sort of reduction in thc would U expect ?? & how long would U advise to leave the buds on for ? to maximise the cbn
& does cbn work in a simular way to cbd ?? or is cbn used for a particular ailment ??

Very interested

Poon

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Yes, that is my understanding. Leaving the buds on the plant after they are ready to be harvested will result in lower thc and higher cbn. I cannot say how much of a reduction you would get or how long to let them go. This is not something I desire so I make sure not to let it get to that point.

I once expirmented with canning bud, water bath, it turned the bud a brownish color and it was much milder smoke and less fragrant, but it sold better then the green buds. Milder high, kinda creep up on ya. Perhaps due to decarb maybe converted some to cbn. I will have to try again as it was many years ago.

Bright green means it hasn't cured long enough. Usually harsh...

Kerovan said:

The thc breaks down during the final growth and ripening stage, I don't believe it does after it's cured and put in jars. I have a vacuum sealer also, I do not use it. It seemed to me that vacuum packing it does alter the stored product after a while. Without vacuum packing there isn't much of noticeable difference even after 2 years in appearance, taste or quality of the high. I do store it in a dark cabinet where it never gets light.

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I can't understand how vacuum sealing would cause greater degradation than not doing it, though. How is that possible? Isn't the "aging" process due to oxidation? So, if removing the air from the inside of the jar is decreasing the O2 levels inside the jar, then that should SLOW degradation....right?

i'm not sure how rapidly the THC breaks down into CBN though, i've done 4-hour decarboxylations @ 125C (just out of curiosity), and the resulting Thin Layer Chromatography hardly showed any THC depletion/degradation, so I think if for whatever reason you intend to convert THC to CBN you might wanna come up with a better plan than "put it aside for a few months"!

stoned-monkey said:

I once expirmented with canning bud, water bath, it turned the bud a brownish color and it was much milder smoke and less fragrant, but it sold better then the green buds. Milder high, kinda creep up on ya. Perhaps due to decarb maybe converted some to cbn. I will have to try again as it was many years ago.

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Yeah I did the water cure too.

Years ago did it with about an ounce of super Lemon Haze.. Took all the flavour away and made it smoke oddly smooth.
Also lost alot of weight, which in turn increases potency.

But I preferred my normal cured buds better, I love the flavour.

PhenoMenal said:

i'm not sure how rapidly the THC breaks down into CBN though, i've done 4-hour decarboxylations @ 125C (just out of curiosity), and the resulting Thin Layer Chromatography hardly showed any THC depletion/degradation, so I think if for whatever reason you intend to convert THC to CBN you might wanna come up with a better plan than "put it aside for a few months"!

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It's like kerovan said, Leave it on the plant past ripe.

Mostly amber trichs would represent a high amount of CBN.

PhenoMenal said:

i'm not sure how rapidly the THC breaks down into CBN though, i've done 4-hour decarboxylations @ 125C (just out of curiosity), and the resulting Thin Layer Chromatography hardly showed any THC depletion/degradation, so I think if for whatever reason you intend to convert THC to CBN you might wanna come up with a better plan than "put it aside for a few months"!

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It's not a matter of having a plan to convert THC. It's a matter of not realizing that my last grow was going to yield much more than I could smoke in a given amount of time and, as a result, having weed in jars that's gone beyond its shelf-life. I'm not really into the flavor now, but I thought the milder effect and taste might have some kind of use/appeal in regards to the degradation of the THC into something else. I suppose I could make butter with it...or possibly press the buds and make rosin and see it that works. I just hate throwing out weed....especially since the weed I would be throwing out is still much better than the shit I used to buy on the streets (at times) back in the day.

Vacuum seal in small batches and keep it the fridge/freezer to retain best quality over time or consider extractions which are more stable over time.

Jaybodankly said:

Vacuum seal in small batches and keep it the fridge/freezer to retain best quality over time or consider extractions which are more stable over time.

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Does freezing not explode trichs? I have always wanted to store some stuff this way but didn't do it for this reason even though so many do it.

Every strain i have cured in fruit jars becomes more mellow and stoney with a 9 month cure. Sativas can be racey if you smoke them as soon as they dry. Just my two cents.

I already vacuum seal in small batches in violet glass Mason jars and store them in a cool, dark place.

I just bought some Low Temp Plates and a Dake 10 ton press.

This batch has been in the jars for about 9 months....The strain (TGA Mother Tongue pheno) wasn't that impressive this time. It looked great....grew well...just didn't have "it". It tasted fruity to begin with...which I don't care for.....and it has mellowed into a smell/taste that reminds me of buttered toast with some apple jelly on it....not a bad taste...but it's not what I'm looking for in marijuana.

There is a LOT more to cannabinoid content than genetics.
Sure it helps, but it is not all about gene expression.

Lots of what affect the balance is WHAT we feed our plants, not so much, how much of it.

It really scratches on the surface, but here are a few things known about elements from the periodic table and their effects on cannabis and resin production.

As N increases relative to Mg - CBD increases
As N increases relative to Cu - CBD increases

P increases leads to conversion of - CBN to THC
Low P results in - CBD

As Mg increases relative to Ca - THC decreases
Low Mg (less than 40ppm) - more CBD

Concentration of Mg and Fe correlates to - THC

Al of this needs to fit within the following framework
High N K and medium Mg for the first 8 weeks (for 12-week strain)
Increase Ca in week 6 to 8
Then decrease N, K Ca and increase Mg in the form of Epsom salts (not calmag for this stage)

See it is important to start calculating those ppm levels you are adding to your plants, so you can see how suggested feeding plans fits in with your goals of what cannabinoids you are working for.

Another thing that can be manipulated with fertilizer is sex ratios.

tstick said:

It's not a matter of having a plan to convert THC. It's a matter of not realizing that my last grow was going to yield much more than I could smoke in a given amount of time and, as a result, having weed in jars that's gone beyond its shelf-life. I'm not really into the flavor now, but I thought the milder effect and taste might have some kind of use/appeal in regards to the degradation of the THC into something else. I suppose I could make butter with it...or possibly press the buds and make rosin and see it that works. I just hate throwing out weed....especially since the weed I would be throwing out is still much better than the shit I used to buy on the streets (at times) back in the day.

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You could give it away to homeless people or pay them to rake leaves and make compost piles and teach them how to garden... or maybe there's a couple of down on their luck hookers you could make a mutual agreement with. Be creative!