4 ms·

US Federal Government Bought a Ton of Marijuana for Research for First Time Ever

32 points by DocFeind 5y ago

bitxbitxbitcoin 5y ago
Versus growing themselves.
- quantified 5y ago
  The prior sole source was a university. You’d think that a university agricultural program could produce the best with the right incentives.
  - jondwillis 5y ago
    I vaguely remember hearing that this source was very different from “street weed” in its potency, a la 1970s outdoor stuff versus selectively bred indoor of the 2000s and later.
    - netizen-936824 5y ago
      Not only different in potency, but since it was bred in captivation for so long it diverged genetically
renewedrebecca 5y ago
for "Research", eh?
cafard 5y ago
One of the druggier people I ever worked with said that the US government funded a lot of cannabis research in the 1940s and 1950s. He said that at the time the US Navy used a great deal of hemp rope, and the researchers were out to increase fiber production. They also, of much interest later, recorded any effects on resin production. And of course this information was all free to the public, available through university libraries and so on. True? I don't know why he'd have made this up.
- dekhn 5y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp_for_Victory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp_for_Victory see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor_Wears_No_Clothes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor_Wears_No_Clothes
ei8htyfi5e 5y ago
I worry that researchers will use one strain in their studies and incorrectly assume marijuana is not able to produce the desired effect. I don’t use it anymore, but in the past I was hyper sensitive to the strain I used and the effects couldn't be more different depending. To any researchers doing work on this, please account for this.
- robbedpeter 5y ago
  Indica and Sativa strains aren't different at the molecular level. They produce the same chemicals. Different cultivars of marijuana produce the same chemicals. The differing effects between strains you and many others experience is partly expectation, but mostly the fact that different cultivars produce those same chemicals but in different ratios. The easiest experiment to try for one's self is to include CBD isolate with the next bowl you smoke - it will substantially alter the character of the high, reducing couch lock and making things a little less sedate. There's no clear distinction between sativa and indica as such. Different varieties of plants created by weed farmers aren't identifiable as separate species or so on, it's a consequence of epigenetic diversity within a single species of plant. Paying attention to the different ratios of psychoactives in your favored weed is the information you need to select new varieties. Because of the way breeding products has happened, there's a loose similarity between things marked as one or the other, but sativa and indica strain categories aren't very useful beyond that.

32 points by DocFeind 5y ago

bitxbitxbitcoin 5y ago

Versus growing themselves.

quantified 5y ago
The prior sole source was a university. You’d think that a university agricultural program could produce the best with the right incentives.
- jondwillis 5y ago
  I vaguely remember hearing that this source was very different from “street weed” in its potency, a la 1970s outdoor stuff versus selectively bred indoor of the 2000s and later.
  - netizen-936824 5y ago
    Not only different in potency, but since it was bred in captivation for so long it diverged genetically

renewedrebecca 5y ago

for "Research", eh?

cafard 5y ago

One of the druggier people I ever worked with said that the US government funded a lot of cannabis research in the 1940s and 1950s. He said that at the time the US Navy used a great deal of hemp rope, and the researchers were out to increase fiber production. They also, of much interest later, recorded any effects on resin production. And of course this information was all free to the public, available through university libraries and so on. True? I don't know why he'd have made this up.

dekhn 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp_for_Victory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp_for_Victory see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor_Wears_No_Clothes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor_Wears_No_Clothes

ei8htyfi5e 5y ago

I worry that researchers will use one strain in their studies and incorrectly assume marijuana is not able to produce the desired effect. I don’t use it anymore, but in the past I was hyper sensitive to the strain I used and the effects couldn't be more different depending. To any researchers doing work on this, please account for this.

robbedpeter 5y ago
Indica and Sativa strains aren't different at the molecular level. They produce the same chemicals. Different cultivars of marijuana produce the same chemicals. The differing effects between strains you and many others experience is partly expectation, but mostly the fact that different cultivars produce those same chemicals but in different ratios. The easiest experiment to try for one's self is to include CBD isolate with the next bowl you smoke - it will substantially alter the character of the high, reducing couch lock and making things a little less sedate. There's no clear distinction between sativa and indica as such. Different varieties of plants created by weed farmers aren't identifiable as separate species or so on, it's a consequence of epigenetic diversity within a single species of plant. Paying attention to the different ratios of psychoactives in your favored weed is the information you need to select new varieties. Because of the way breeding products has happened, there's a loose similarity between things marked as one or the other, but sativa and indica strain categories aren't very useful beyond that.