Do Americans really know what they're smoking?

While the cannabis has become a legitimate, legal and highly profitable crop in the United States, scientists continue to analyze and understand this plant. And the latest conclusions are clear: prohibition has led to consumers no longer knowing what they're smoking. Explanations

Growers have long based their knowledge on their own experience and that of other growers. For example, the difference between indica and sativa varieties, recently examined by a canadian team.

The cannabis plant is divided into three species: sativa, indica and ruderalis. The last is the least rich in THC, and therefore the least cultivated for the moment. Nevertheless, it has numerous applications in the creation of new species rich in CBD. Indica and sativa can be crossed, creating new varieties, but many dispensaries identify products as predominantly sativa or indica.

Popular belief has it that these two species have different effects. Sativa is said to be a more stimulating variety, while indica is said to have a more somnolent effect. The Canadian researchers drew on the genotypes of 81 samples of marijuana and 43 of hemp to search for their genetic heritage. Conclusion: in most cases, plants are mislabeled.

In fact, the researchers found only «a moderate correlation» between the product's history as shared by the seller and its DNA history. «For example, a sample of Jamaican Lambs Bread, classified as a sativa, was virtually identical to a variety indica from Afghanistan« according to the UBC press release.

Above all, the study shows just how biased cannabis labelling is, even though it's an industry that's rapidly becoming official. To draw a parallel with alcohol, it's as if, at the end of Prohibition, we no longer knew what raw materials to use to create alcohol, the degree of alcohol, or whether distillation was safe. But we kept on making it. Other research shows that potency and quality of cannabis are not regulated at all, and this new study adds to the list the difficulty of knowing where a product comes from.

We can now better understand the emergence of militant movements demanding quality over quantity. And we're thinking hard about our traceability, so dear to France!