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Does potency of THC increase during curing?

L

LasVegas420

Member
"Does potency of THC increase during curing?"

This is a question most people will probably say yes to without any research, but has anyone really tested the THC levels before and after curing???

Just a question that popped into my little stoner brain, but doesn't the THC start to degrade after a certain point during the harvest period? I know the answer to this is YES.

I know curing will improve the taste and smoking quality of the herb, but does it really increase the THC content or is this just psychological because it tastes and smokes better?

Something for you guys to talk about around the water bong.....errr water jug. :smokeit:
 
L

lid

well i believe that the thc changes to delta-9 during curing. so in that respect yes.
 
geopolitical

geopolitical

Vladimir Demikhov Fanboy
Veteran
Yes, as more moisture is lost the % of TCA to THC should change as decarboxylation goes to work. In theory at least.
 
L

LasVegas420

Member
I think you're referring to THCA, and decarboxylation doesn't occur until heat is applied (think this is around 220F) which releases the A therefore making the psychoactive component THC....

Looking more for a comparative analysis (actual numbers) which will probably require some type of lab testing......

Thanks for the input though :)
 
G

grwAer0

Member
There are picks of a 1 year old and a 10 YEAR OLD cured buds in the ICMag 4/20 Cup 2009 section ask them how it was.

I wonder how that is!
 
Q

quest

There is a lot of variables, what type of cure? The short answer maybe ...Yes

You should search (cure marijuana) You will see there is a lot of different cures and alot of different answers to the question.

I do a slow dry that may not even be called a cure by some.
 
L

LasVegas420

Member
I'm aware of all the different methods of curing.......but I guess I'm just looking for some hard evidence to show that the THC really increases instead of theory.

Any medical or scientific study links would be great......if the tests has ever been done before???

Weed has been around too long for this study not to be done though.....wouldn't ya think?

But the again, the US govt. wouldn't certainly approve of any such testing..... :)
 
L

LasVegas420

Member
Here's a quote from one of the IC Mods website (Franco of GH): francogrow.com

"Curing cannabis will increase the intensity of the flavour and will slowly but steadily lower THC in favour of other cannabinoids."

Although he doesn't present any hard numbers, it is somewhat along the lines of what I was thinking.......while I was tokin' of course :)

Perhaps Franco has conducted or witnessed some laboratory studies??

HAPPY 2010 TO ALL CANNABIS LOVERS AROUND THE WORLD. :smoke:
 
SuperConductor

SuperConductor

Active member
Veteran
LasVegas420 said:
I think you're referring to THCA, and decarboxylation doesn't occur until heat is applied (think this is around 220F) which releases the A therefore making the psychoactive component THC....
Click to expand...

It happens during the curing process also


"Additionally, the cannabinoids in fresh plant material are mostly in the acid forms, which are not psychoactive. The acid cannabinoids decarboxylate (they lose the gas, carbon dioxide) during the drying or curing processes, which convert them to their psychoactive neutral forms. Decarboxylation is complete if the marijuana is actually smokes. For this reason, no special procedures are needed to decarboxylate the marijuana unless it will be eaten."

"Cannabinoids were originally thought to exist as the phenolic compounds, but later research (Fetterman et al. 1971a, Masoud and Doorenbos 1973, Small and Beckstead 1973, Turner et al. 1973b) has indicated their existence predominantly in the form of carboxylic acids which decarboxylate readily with time (Masoud and Doorenbos 1973, Turner et al. 1973b), upon heating (De Zeeuw et al. 1972a, Kimura and Okamoto 1970) or in alkaline conditions (Grlic and Andrec 1961, Masoud and Doorenboos 1973). There are over 60 of these type compounds present in the plant (Turner et al. 1980)."

"Any remaining cannabinoid acids are decarboxylated by heat within a few days after harvesting." --from Robert Connel Clark, if you don't know the name you better research more, he doesn't mean by literally heating the ingredients via stove.

"As floral clusters dry, and even after they are sealed and packaged, they continue to cure. Curing removes the unpleasant green taste and allows the resins and cannabinoids to finish ripening. Drying is merely the removal of water from the floral clusters so they will be dry enough to burn. Curing takes this process one step farther to produce tasty and psychoactive marijuana. If drying occurs too rapidly, the green taste will be sealed into the tissues and may remain there indefinitely. A floral cluster is not dead after harvest any more than an apple is. Certain metabolic activities take place for some time, much like the ripening and eventual spoiling of an apple after it is picked. During this period, cannabinoid acids decarboxylate into the psychoactive cannabinoids and terpenes isomerize to create new polyterpenes with tastes and aromas different from fresh floral clusters. It is suspected that cannabinoid biosynthesis may also continue for a short time after harvest. Taste and aroma also improve as chlorophylls and other pigments begin to break down. When floral clusters are dried slowly they are kept at a humidity very near that of the inside of the stomata. Alternatively, sealing and opening bags or jars or clusters is a procedure that keeps the humidity high within the container and allows the periodic venting of gases given off during curing. It also exposes the clusters to fresh air needed for proper curing." --Robert Connell Clark
Click to expand...
Never seen anyone online who had tested before an after THC % would certainly be interesting
 
L

LasVegas420

Member
"Never seen anyone online who had tested before an after THC % would certainly be interesting" - I'm looking all over the net for some hard numbers but have found nothing as of the moment.

Thanks for the input SuperConductor :)
 
geopolitical

geopolitical

Vladimir Demikhov Fanboy
Veteran
LasVegas420 said:
decarboxylation doesn't occur until heat is applied (think this is around 220F) which releases the A therefore making the psychoactive component THC....
Click to expand...

Decarboxylation will also occur at low humidity levels and room temps, but at a much slower rate. It removes the carboxyl group (COOH) which generally skips off as water & carbon dioxide. You can do it at higher temperatures, but at that point you run into the problems of oxygen & thermal breakdown. Go too high and your product may oxidize or simply break down before you get to play with it.

http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2794.html
 
H

Haps

stone fool
Veteran
I am a thurough tester. I dry testers, smoke fresh dry, and sample every couple weeks during cure. Weed gets better, dramatically in two months, some continues to improve for up to 6 months. Jar cured weed starts to change at 15-18 months, some gets stonier, some gets weaker. Best to freeze before two years.
H
 
L

LasVegas420

Member
Haps:

Are you conducting laboratory tests to measure THC content before & after curing? What are the numbers of the comparative samples?

How are you conducting your tests?


Thanks for the input :)
 
bendoslendo

bendoslendo

Member
LasVegas420 said:
Haps:

Are you conducting laboratory tests to measure THC content before & after curing? What are the numbers of the comparative samples?

How are you conducting your tests?


Thanks for the input :)
Click to expand...

Yeah I think he was referring to anecdotal reports and subjective experience of smoking the grass at different points in the cure.

I'm wondering what exactly is meant by % THC. I've never really understood how these numbers are obtained or what they really represent. I've see them listed by breeders all the time. How does one calculate %THC of plant material? Is this a mass spectrometry kinda deal or what?
 
bendoslendo

bendoslendo

Member
http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v09n3/09320gie.html
I'm reading this to get a better understanding of the THC% numbers. The impression I get from looking at the limited data set is these measuring techniques are unreliable. Apart from reliability, I question the validity of using THC% to represent the subjective "potency" of cannabis.

Even if THC% of cannabis were higher before cure, I would expect a number of age induced factors to positively impact the extraction and absorption of THC into the body e.g. holding thc vapor in lungs deeper and longer, a more efficiently burning bowl or jib
 
thekingofNY

thekingofNY

Cannasseur
only thing curing does is make the smoke smoother/less harsh.

I guess you could claim its more potent cause you can handle more smoke without coughing? But if you do a proper grow n flush, curing isnt really needed imo. As long as the stuff is dried well and slowly.
 
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