what constitutes medical quality?

[pseudostelariae]

i've been thinking about this a lot lately. it seems in medical states, the production of cannabis is almost entirely unregulated and it is up to the individual shops to decide whether or not something is of medical quality. most of the stuff being distributed hasn't been lab tested or even checked thoroughly with a microscope.

recently i got some clones from a dispensary that were infested with spider mites. that alone let's me know that their operation isn't clean enough to be called medical but that is just my opinion. i mean, you don't open a bottle of pharmaceutical grade pills and pick out the dead bugs and feces. i feel it should be the same way with medical cannabis.

the shop seemed to feel that mites are simply a part of your grow but this seems like a lazy, cut-corner point of view. i make it a point to use sterilized media amended with clean, cultured beneficial microorganisms and castings/compost that come with a lab report, while running HEPA filtered intakes and keeping the grow space nice and clean. squeaky clean until introducing those clones..

anyway, what's your opinion on the subject?

 

[aridbud]

•Medical marijuana, refers to the physician recommended use of cannabis.
•Marijuana consumed to alleviate a medical condition is considered medical grade.

The most important consideration, ethically, for medical grade marijuana should be, is the medicine clean and free of pesticides and unnecessary additives? Medical-grade marijuana is available in two strains: cannabis sativa and cannabis indica.

Now...isn't that a misnomer....getting clones with mites....un-necessary additives?

 

[RoadRash]

Now...isn't that a misnomer....getting clones with mites....un-necessary additives?

i think of Mites as a natural & very organic element in growing.

Un-desirable, perhaps.

I'm not proposing a spliff full of Cannabis and {Snap Crackle Pop} spider-mites.


BUT - I'd rather have the spider mites than Safer Soap on the buds.

 

[TheCleanGame]

---snip---

 

[pseudostelariae]

i think of Mites as a natural & very organic element in growing.

Un-desirable, perhaps.

I'm not proposing a spliff full of Cannabis and {Snap Crackle Pop} spider-mites.


BUT - I'd rather have the spider mites than Safer Soap on the buds.

i suppose if it comes down to either mites or pesticides then yes, mites would be preferable but i can't think of anyone who actually wants mites in their crop for some sort of ultra-natural organic effect.

not sure if i'm being unrealistic but i've grown in several different states and mites weren't ever a problem because i avoided bales of pro-mix and potting soil that sat around outside a shop and made sure not to bring plants in from outside. i'm not sure what's stopping indoor growers from simply cleaning their rooms and installing HEPA filters on intakes. it worked for me right through peak spider mite season while all the outdoor and greenhouse growers were crying about their lost crops.

i suppose my definition of medical cannabis would be cannabis expertly grown without pesticides being used on the flowers, in an environment ensuring that the end product is entirely free from contaminants of any sort, including bugs. then again, it annoys me when "medical" comes with pet hair in it so i might simply be hard to please.

 

[pseudostelariae]

Marijuana == Poorly grown, usually chemical or other contaminate laden, garbage you find in 80% of cannabis available areas.

Medicinal Cannabis == Cleanly grown, non-pesticide, contaminate free cannabis.

I grow medicinal cannabis.

Lately the amount of CBD available in the strain has become part of the equation for 'medicinal' as well. I know for a fact that high THC, extremely low CBD cannabis has very little medicinal value. heh.

Keep it Clean!

it's almost funny...one of the mite infested clones was a 1:1 THC to CBD strain i was soooo excited to clone up and fill a tent with.

just curious, what would you consider a contaminate? where is the line drawn or should this be a realm in which people are cut some slack considering how difficult it is to keep something sterile?

 

[bigshrimp]

Medicine should be quality controlled, small timers like us really have no future in medical production.

There are those who do it right, but honestly there is a lot of poison being produced sold as medicine.

There was a law passed recently in Michigan saying that if weed is ever rescheduled federally, medical marijuana will be provided by pharmacists and produced solely by Prairie Plant Systems.

Now i'm pissed Snyder just gave away the livelihood of who know how many small time producers to a transnational corp, but i've seen so much crap produced here and so little knowledge and care put into "medicine" that i don't feel like every asshole should be able produce weed and call it medicine.

Conflict of interest is a bitch...

 

[pseudostelariae]

Medicine should be quality controlled, small timers like us really have no future in medical production.

There are those who do it right, but honestly there is a lot of poison being produced sold as medicine.

There was a law passed recently in Michigan saying that if weed is ever rescheduled federally, medical marijuana will be provided by pharmacists and produced solely by Prairie Plant Systems.

Now i'm pissed Snyder just gave away the livelihood of who know how many small time producers to a transnational corp, but i've seen so much crap produced here and so little knowledge and care put into "medicine" that i don't feel like every asshole should be able produce weed and call it medicine.

Conflict of interest is a bitch...

i agree. unfortunately you are right. it's a shame.

i do believe that medicine should be quality controlled but i disagree with it being put in the hands of a single corporation. they should be able to produce medicine in bulk for distribution in any way they see fit but if anything, a reasonable standard should be acknowledged and factored into the current system and that standard should be applied via an inspector to any grower who wants to be recognized as a producer of medical cannabis. sort of like how commercial kitchens and food handlers are inspected/tested and potentially given a license to operate.

 

[bigshrimp]

Oh i don't agree with PPP or any single corp controlling the market. And am very upset that it was pretty much just given to them with Michigan barely benefiting.

I also hear the word medical thrown around like dank and chronic used to be. The whole thing is made worse by commercial producers growing under a medical framework. We need to legalize and be able to separate recreational and medical grows.

The cali model is fucked basically.

 

[Dropped Cat]

Medical=Dank.

 

[dddaver]

i think of Mites as a natural & very organic element in growing.

Un-desirable, perhaps.

I'm not proposing a spliff full of Cannabis and {Snap Crackle Pop} spider-mites.


BUT - I'd rather have the spider mites than Safer Soap on the buds.

I really hope you're kidding because that is just not true at all. You are assuming that putting a pesticide or Safer Soap on your plant is the only way to avoid mites. It's not an either/or though. I have grown 100% organic for years and have never had to use neem or anything else. I have been lucky. I do foresee though as more hemp fields are grown, more people are growing their meds outside, and huge corporations growing for profits, it becoming more a problem. Right now, no. Just use common sense and sometimes going that extra step like OP has tried is enough. He got screwed. It is attitudes like yours that will allow for sloppy products to be sold.

 

[TheCleanGame]

---snip---

 

[stoned-trout]

Marijuana == Poorly grown, usually chemical or other contaminate laden, garbage you find in 80% of cannabis available areas.

Medicinal Cannabis == Cleanly grown, non-pesticide, contaminate free cannabis.

I grow medicinal cannabis.

Lately the amount of CBD available in the strain has become part of the equation for 'medicinal' as well. I know for a fact that high THC, extremely low CBD cannabis has very little medicinal value. heh.

Keep it Clean!

high thc cannabis has medicinal value for me without a doubt...

 

[stoned-trout]

the value of any cannabis should be determined by end user........not anyone else

 

[Arthritis_sucks]

. I know for a fact that high THC, extremely low CBD cannabis has very little medicinal value.

I don't know what IC has come to. Since Gypsy got caught up, I have been seeing rejects posting the most absurd things........Please tell me your joking.

 

[pseudostelariae]

the problem with THC is that most new medical users aren't used to the high so they write it off as a bad side effect and sometimes stop treatment. THC without a doubt has extreme medicinal properties but the recent discovery of CBD's use in epilepsy and preventing cancer from metastasizing and even inducing apoptosis in cancer cells has gained a lot of attention in the medical community. i applaud the new high CBD varieties but i acknowledge the fact that classic landrace strains with a much higher THC to CBD ratio do hold medical value.

 

[stoned-trout]

I had high cbd strain way back...nobody wanted it said it was bunk crap....how times have changed... high thc and cbd strains both have their uses...the decision of their medical value lies in each patient....... the high cbd doesn't calm me down like high thc..but cbd works for other things for me... both have their place