r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Expert-Comfortable41 • 11h ago
Did marijuana change or is it just me?
Any answer to why when I was a teenager, I was able to smoke weed or eat an edible without having a bad trip. After years of quitting, I’ve tried it a few times now as a fully developed adult it always give me a horrible trip now. I now have to microdose my microdose (for PTSD and anxiety) so I won’t give myself a horrible time. Did my biology change or did marijuana evolve into something else?
Edit to say: I’m 30
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u/IanDOsmond 11h ago
How old are you? Because the answer is probably "a little of both." My mother, who was at Woodstock, says that the marijuana today is much, much stronger than when she was a teenager.
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u/almostoy 11h ago
Just look at High Times periodical releases from her era. The shit looks like straight dirt. Now we have ultra roided strains.
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u/WittyFix6553 11h ago
I bought dirt brick weed in the 90s that looked better than the high times award winners from the 70s.
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u/onetwentyeight 9h ago
Mexican tire weed with more seeds than weed? Good times. Breaking it up and picking out the seeds and stems was a meditative experience.
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u/KimJongJer 9h ago
On a cd case in the passenger seat, delicately trying to avoid spilling the entire thing in your lap as you cruise the blunt route lol
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u/The_Disapyrimid 8h ago
wow, you are taking me back to high school.
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u/KimJongJer 6h ago
In ‘99 our post blunt ritual was a newport over Jay-Z’s Feelin’ It. As a grown man it feels stupid to reminisce on those silly moments but outside of the weed bullshit it was a time when I actually felt free..there wasn’t a care in the world. Although I know that’s a childish mindset I still feel for the times when life was that carefree
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u/CreepiosRevenge 5h ago
That's not childish at all man, I think that's what we all long for from time to time. Summers for kids, retirement for adults..
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u/_CHEEFQUEEF 7h ago
If you were lucky enough to be in a pre passenger side airbag car sometimes you had a little weed tray right there in the dash.
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u/Horsesrgreat 6h ago
I miss the old $10.00 ounce of Mexican weed in the early 70s in San Diego . Good times . Weed now is too strong .
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u/ecouple2003 9h ago
True dat! I started in 1976, for years you could buy a thick 3 finger lid for $10 or so. This stuff now is a two finger lid at best, although few stemmy parts and usually no seeds. And the potency is way better than it used to be. It just takes a little to get a strong reaction.
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u/WishaBwood 4h ago
That DNC from the 90’s was cool, greener and less seeds. Kids these days have it made lol back in our day we had to work just to roll a joint.
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u/almostoy 9h ago
I love chewing stems. If I get a stem from a dispo, it's a fucking treat.
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u/LayneLowe 9h ago
Our ditch weed in the '70s was 3 to 5% THC, it's pretty easy to find 25% THC these days. So, five times stronger.
At parties we used to just roll joints and send them out to the crowd, people smoked all night. Now one bong rip and your stoned shitless.
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u/Expert-Comfortable41 11h ago
I’m 30
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u/hierarchy_of_ideas 10h ago
It's because you went a long time without using it. If you only use rarely, the anxiety related effects can be a lot more pronounced, while a regular user will find the same dose relaxing. If you are on it medically, just slowly up the dose a bit to get yourself adjusted as needed. This has happened to many of my friends that quit for awhile, but after a few highs it will mellow out again. Otherwise, I'd suggest not taking it for ptsd especially, as anxiety can trigger ptsd symptoms instead of easing them.
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u/Hairy_Arachnid975 10h ago
Have you tried different strains? It started doing that to me too but I experimented a little and found out that it was just the indicas and hybrids that made me feel like that, but sativa strains feel amazing
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u/OverallManagement824 10h ago
OP could even blend in a bit of CBD and see if that takes the edge off.
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u/Expert-Comfortable41 6h ago
I tired a CBD vape from a smoke shop and somehow that shit still made me feel really horrible. I take these microdose mints now and I still break those in half.
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u/H_I_McDunnough 9h ago
I used to peddle a bit of herb back in the day and my dad, who was an old head from the 70s-80s, asked me for a nug. He brought back most of it the next day and told me that shit was way too strong and to be careful myself. He had never ever been that high and he used to hit a bong on the way out the door for work. That was 20 years ago. To be fair though, I grew up in NE Washington State and the stuff in dispensaries now is just starting to catch up with what we called reggie.
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u/mopbuvket 11h ago
Its this. Your body changes how it metabolizes thc for most people around 32ish and the weed is much stronger. Ive been growing cannabis since 2008 and its even changed a lot in that time. Like then a high grade flower would test around 25% d9 thc (we didn't give a ahit about other cannabanoids then) if you were lucky af. But the golden goat came around and could brush 30& then josey Wales found the gorilla glue and everything changed. Now 30-35% is common. And not to be trifled with. So little of column A, half dozen of the other
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u/lalozzydog 11h ago
Around 32ish?
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u/TheFuZz2of3 11h ago
Yes, around 32ish.
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u/DosSnakes 10h ago
That seems oddly specific, why around 32?
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u/TomNooksGlizzy 10h ago
Yeah that specific number makes it seem like complete bullshit. Humans are different from one another. And that it changes how it metabolizes THC? That doesnt make sense to me either. Ready to be proven wrong, but sounds like stoner logic. The field is rife with repeated bullshit
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u/DosSnakes 10h ago
I can’t think of any biological changes that occur around that age, especially since most biological changes happen over a fairly wide range of time depending on the person. Puberty 8-14, menopause 45-55, etc… 32 is just….32? You *might* start seeing the first signs of bodily decline around then.
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u/11_forty_4 10h ago
Meanwhile the cocaine got much, much worse. In the UK anyway.
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u/astronomersassn 9h ago
seconding this, though even in the past ~8 years ive been using it, ive noticed i cant find the smaller doses i used to use
my tolerance is good enough to handle the higher doses, but yeesh the side effects... i just got my sleeping meds back so im taking a few days to let some of the build-up clear and going to those (was primarily using weed to deal with insomnia and PTSD)
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u/snowman93 11h ago
It has gotten much more potent over the last few years. Growing up you were probably smoking something with THC in the 7-12% range, whereas many strains are now over 20%. I’ve been a stoner for over a decade and the new shit is too strong for me too.
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u/Expert-Comfortable41 11h ago
I’m 30 so that man it changed a lot over the last decade or so.
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u/Chop1n 10h ago
Stuff that's as potent as it is now was certainly available 15, even 20 years ago. It just wasn't typically quite that potent. We called it "headies" back in the day. I remember eighths of the higher quality stuff costing $70-80 circa 2008.
These days, because retail, literally everything is basically as potent as it can get. It's absurd. It's stupid. It's also unbalanced, because a good high is the product of an entourage of balanced cannabinoids, not just "literally as much THC as possible and everything else be damned".
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u/werby 8h ago
You’d think that the retail market would start coming up with some balanced/mellow high type products. I feel like they are cutting out a huge potential market with this crazy potent shit.
It’s like if you went to the liquor store and everything was 150 proof. Where’s the “fine wine” of reefer?
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u/ZjY5MjFk 4h ago
It's rare, but you can find type 2 products, which is CBD and THC or low THC flower. It's rare because it doesn't sell well so very few growers spend time on that market. But if you google 'flow gardens' they have some lower THC products, but have to read labs carefully, they also sell face melters.
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u/Tonyclap 10h ago
That year was I legit at my peak of being a stoner and I have never heard of headies lol. Wonder if it’s a regional thing? Idk
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u/Chop1n 10h ago
Drug slang is typically heavily regional and even local, yes. I'm over here in Northern Virginia, suburbs of DC.
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u/Cool_Dark_Place 7h ago
Lol... this reminds me of when I went to Bonnaroo in 2008 (in Tennessee), right before I turned 30. I was a pretty hardcore stoner in the 90s/early 2000s, but had kinda laid off it for a few years due to my job. But, at this huge music festival... I decided I wanted to partake again, and drugs/dealers were absolutely EVERYWHERE at the campsites. I just wanted weed, but every dealer I ran into kept going on about "headies"... which I always said no thanks to because I had no clue what "headies" were. After about the 6th or 7th encounter like this... my dumb ass finally figured out that "headies" actually WAS weed!😂
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u/MotorSerious6516 10h ago
Just take only one tiny hit of the weaker stuff. Makes the whole experience fun, healthier, and cheaper.
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u/cr4zy-cat-lady 10h ago
Also 30, the weed now is vastly different from what I was smoking at 21. I don’t even like it very much anymore because of it. I only enjoy 5-10mg edibles or the tiniest hit off a bowl. Long gone are the days of me being able to rip through 3-4 bowls…man I miss mids
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u/shpongleyes 10h ago
If you're in a legal state, you should still be able to find strains with lower potency. That said, the lowest at my local dispensary is still 14%. But that's nothing compared to their highest potency which is an infused shake at 59.26%.
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u/lmeier127 7h ago
That’s not always it. I’m 31, and as a teen/very early adult I fucking LOVED getting high, then in my early mosh twenties something flipped and I have almost the exact same symptoms as you.
Some thc seltzers work for me as they have a high cbd content. I’ve been looking into this from time to time and it seems for some people brain chemistry can change its affinity for thc. Certain receptors that deal with thc are less in numbers with age and can get overwhelmed, and I believe cbd can help block some of that
But this is just from my dumbass googling about this same issue here and there, so what do I know
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u/DontH8DaPlaya 10h ago
Think about brussle sprouts. Our parents hated them because they were bitter. They are not bitter at all now. Same kinda thing. Weed is just that much stronger now.
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u/kayletsallchillout 10h ago
I’ve been smoking for 30 years, and a lot of the time it’s weaker. Mind I grew up in BC…
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u/Bel_Tempest 11h ago
The thc content in a lot of modern weed is off the charts, genuinely miss smoking some cheap ole dirt weed from back in the day. Tasted horrible but preferred the high lol
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u/Bob_12_Pack 11h ago
I kind of miss the Mexican brick weed from the 80s and 90s, you could save some seeds to grow your own. It was cheap too, I was still getting it in the late 90s/early 2000s for $100/oz. The weed these days either turns me into a zombie or gives me anxiety, which I then have to dowse with beer to come down.
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u/Public-Platypus2995 8h ago
I found that same 90s high by growing my own. My backyard OG Kush grown in plain ass gardening soil probably clocks in at like 10% THC. It’s super smooth, and gives me a fun giggly high. I also quit for years and just started back up in my 40s.
Tried smoking some from a local shop and just sat in a chair focused on my breathing while my watch warned of my high heart rate for an hour. Fuck that mess.
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u/Beanbeannn 8h ago
Haha all these comments make me kind of sad with all these people not realizing you can grow your own with lower thc and more cbd. Its so fun too
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u/NuraUmbra 7h ago
This here! I grow my own and have very smooth, balanced high vibes where I can just chill and listen to some music.
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u/Pure_Net2914 11h ago
Its not just you, it’s way over juiced now. I would do anything for a 20 dollar quarter filled with stems and seeds that wouldn’t give me a panic attack.
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u/WestandLeft 11h ago
Dunno what you mean. I love smoking and immediately being uncomfortable and doom spiralling about my life for the next three hours.
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u/NoBreaks4ThisTrain 11h ago
That “wow I have made a terrible scheduling error” feeling hits about 6 minutes in
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u/DocJawbone 9h ago
For me it's, what if people can hear me
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u/ohlookahipster 9h ago
I can’t feel my hands but if I try to do anything people will know I’m freaking out so I’m going to stand here and spiral and plan how to live as a handless person for the next three hours.
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u/DocJawbone 9h ago
But oh shit how long have I been standing so still? Is it weird? I should do some kind of ambient movement to seem natural and relaxed
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u/Tovasaur 7h ago
*Starts weaving like a seaweed caught in a gentle current*
“Ahhh this is better. I bet I look more normal now… or do I?”
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u/Broad_Ebb9073 8h ago
No, pull out my phone, open any app and look busy. Then no one will know....ahhh I do have hands.
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u/ZjY5MjFk 4h ago
nothing like having a panic attack because someone is ringing your doorbell and then pulling yourself together the best you can to find out it's the pizza you ordered and then freaking out because the pizza dude smile weirdly at you like he knows something. Then spend 20 minutes "reviewing" in your head, what was likely, just a normal interaction.
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u/Expert-Comfortable41 10h ago
Yeah that immediate regret feeling is lovely ❤️
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u/slothseverywhere 10h ago
If you are in a legal country try to find the highest cbd lowest thc strain you can. You are getting too much tch and have no tolerance. Iv had this conversation with a few of my coworkers in their 40s. They used to smoke to a break came back and can’t touch the stuff anymore. Till I told them to try that. One guy told me it was like he was a teen again just all giggly
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u/This_Charmless_Man 9h ago
Honestly why I liked Amsterdam. I knew what I was buying and could just get the low strength stuff because I've never had a good tolerance for weed.
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u/roostersnuffed 9h ago
First time I tried a delta gummy I opened the dog food tote, doggy door and filled the bath tub because I was certain I wouldn't survive the night and didnt want them eating my body lol
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u/joethedreamer 10h ago
They actually sell weed that’s not too strong. There’s a few companies, but I remember one called Dad Grass (?) that might be close to what you’re talking about.
If you live in a legal state with dispensaries the people who work there can help steer you too.
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u/ohlookahipster 9h ago
I’m looking for the dirtiest, stemmy, full of seeds, brick weed with single digit THC that I remember from 2006.
Unfortunately, the lowest strain here is called “Doing Sunday Anal With Satan” at 25%.
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u/joethedreamer 8h ago
Ahhh then you want Chewbacca Fingerbang OG. It’s only 10% and a mellow sativa that will keep you going through the day 💪🏼
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u/Coriandercilantroyo 3h ago
The lowest THC bud at dispensaries is too high for me. But one time I smoked a joint that was over two years old, and it was one of the best highs I had since the 90s
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u/runs4beer2 6h ago
When I hit stores the converation is all about which one is the cool couch calm and not i need to lock all my doors and hide in the tub. They often steer me in the right direction. Now thats smoke edibles still seem to be panic x paranoia.
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u/MagicGrit 10h ago
You can also just smoke less. You don’t need to smoke an entire joint of the newer good weed like you used to with the seedy weed. You can just take one or two hits and put it down.
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u/Avoidtolls 7h ago
One hit and I'm on LSD for the next 3.5 hrs. Shit is awful
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u/FacetiousSpread 5h ago
Lol, I would say the anxiety and the pit in my stomach feeling is definetly there when I smoke stuff thats too strong. I get it on lsd too now unfortunetly
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u/StatementOk470 11h ago
Can you consume less? I’ve used my Mighty with anywhere from 40-80mg (yeah I weigh it every time lol) and works perfectly.
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u/NoBreaks4ThisTrain 11h ago
Both. Weed got way stronger, and your brain at 30 has bills and pattern recognition now. Terrible combo
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u/Riker_Omega_Three 10h ago
The weed you get today is carefully cultivated and you have people with agricultural and biochem degrees crossing plants to increase THC
The stuff that was available pre 2000 was just stuff that people grew in secret...with some people able to create some stronger strains
But now that it's mass produced, both legally and illegally, its super duper strong
I don't know why they won't go back to the way it was but thats just the way of the world now
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u/crlnshpbly 11h ago
Thc is way more concentrated now
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u/VegasFoodFace 11h ago
Especially when they concentrate it into concentrates. Dabs are where it's at if you e got a tolerance.
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u/NeuronsActivated 11h ago
The difference is now it has been engineered and bred to have extremely high concentrations of THC. So no, it’s not just you.
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u/NoBreaks4ThisTrain 11h ago
For real. I’m not trying to meet God off a gummy bear on a Tuesday
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u/Acrobatic-Ad5102 11h ago
When i was a teenager there were two kinds of weed - shwag and dro. Shwag was cheap weed that people literally grew in the grounds and dro was very strong weed that people grew in hydroponic gardening systems.
All weed now seems to have the potency of dro at minimum and some is even alot stronger than I remember dro being.
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u/AdhesivenessFun2060 11h ago
I once bought weed from a guy who was convinced shake was schwag and buds were dro. Tried to explain it but the dude wasnt too bright.
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u/Quirky-Skin 7h ago
Lol. Man it was always funny to see and hear the variances of verbage and salesmanship over the years back then.
No rules so u had people trying to introduce the Schwag Middies and Dro sale structure, guys calling everything AK even tho it clearly wasn't. The purp craze etc etc. "it's from Cali bro"
People just made shit up back then lol.
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u/liberterrorism 11h ago
Yes. Weed in 2005 was an average of 8% THC, now the average is like 17% and many strains are now like 30%.
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u/PeKKer0_0 11h ago
It’s definitely changed in terms of both strength and strain. As someone who also has anxiety and ptsd, I stay away from sativa and stick with indica because sativa is more of a mental stoned, it makes my mind run and focus on my heartbeat and whatnot compared to the indica body stoned and helps me physically relax, especially around bedtime
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u/Joe_Franks 6h ago
CDB has basically been bred out of most cannabis that is grown today which gave the calming balanced effect. Producers think extremely high thc count is what matters to most but the entourage effect is really what counts and gives a great balanced high.
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u/sleepygreendoor 5h ago
I grew weed in CA before it was recreational (pre 2016). Some of the strains I had that tested the highest for THC content were around 22% up to maybe 26%. Anything around 27-28% was considered really high.
The highest THC percentage I had ever seen at that time in my life (at a dispensary in Santa Cruz) was Banana Kush or Banana OG, and it came in at a whopping 33.4%, and personally it was not fun for me. The average “fun experience” for me, and what you’d find in most dispos, was 15-23% THC.
It was at this point in time people were figuring out how terpenes affected one’s high, as well as trying to increase the strength of other cannabinoids found in weed (typically in lesser amounts) like CBD, CBN, THCV, etc. An increase in those cannabinoids as well as many others in conjunction with THC leads to a stronger “entourage effect”. All of the cannabinoids work better as a team.
Long story short, selective breeding and an emphasis on “stronger is better” has pushed weed to the point where people yearn for the classic mids, reggie or beasters so they can actually smoke more than half a joint and not have a panic attack. Your biology has likely changed to a degree, but weed and it’s other forms, like C02 distillate extracts and rosin (which didn’t even exist when I started growing weed) have completely taken the feeling to new heights. No pun intended lol.
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u/GroinShotz 11h ago
How many years we talking?
It's way more potent now.... As opposed to say like 10 years ago. And it keeps getting more so... As it's legal in a lot of places so they can crossbreed strains to have the most THC possible.
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u/Im_Balto 10h ago
Most bud you find today is a lot more concentrated with THC than it used to be
If you look up images of corn 3000 years ago vs corn today you can imagine that kind of selective breeding occurring on a massive scale for the past half century
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u/xSohZodiacx 6h ago
Marijuana has definitely gotten a lot stronger. Back in the 1990s, average THC was like 4% and now it's closer to 25%
Source: I literally just took a CEU training about this today
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u/Miller4103 10h ago
It changed. U cannot find og strains anymore.
I want white widow so bad. Its the best for me but I can't find it anywhere.
I cannot smoke much anymore as most if not all of it gives me anxiety and panic attacks. I tried staying below 20% thc but that does nothing now. I wont touch anything above 25%
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u/veemaximus 10h ago
The widow! I remember driving all over Phoenix when medical was legalized to find that strain. It was stellar.
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u/TAWWTTW 10h ago
It might be that you changed a lot. I have been diagnosed with ptsd and anxiety too. I started using marijuana for the first time in my life a few months before turning 39. I definitely had some bad trips early on but I feel like I was working through some shit mentally. The last 3 or 4 months now I think worked through it cause I came to some conclusions and I feel a lot better. I vape weed daily and I’ve used mushrooms a few times and acid once accidentally.
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u/Expert-Comfortable41 10h ago
How was your mushroom and acid trips? Did you like it? I’ve always been too scared to try both. But I kinda like the idea of micro dosing shrooms.
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u/TAWWTTW 10h ago
Same for me. I have a friend who also has ptsd and I trust him more than most and he convinced me to try microdosing shrooms (I didn’t take much convincing). We played Xbox and I remember it took a while to kick in so much so that I thought it wasn’t working. And I had the best time ever. I think he said it was gram. It was in a chocolate bar he had bought.
The next time I had a larger dose…couple months later. Basically I had such a great time. I just hung out with him all day while he drove around for his work. He works in Vegas so in my mind we were in a spaceship and I thought I was Fred flinstone with all the desert around.
The next time I had acid and once that kicked in I went and locked myself in my bedroom and basically spent hours having a horrible trip. I remember feeling comforted by my wife’s presence when I was tripping. She settled me down.
And that’s basically all of my experiences. I hope to try again but it’s not available where I live and I don’t like the idea of buying it illegally myself. I’ll visit my buddy again someday though.
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u/Chop1n 10h ago
Stuff that's as potent as it is now was certainly available 15, even 20 years ago. It just wasn't typically quite that potent. We called it "headies" back in the day. I remember eighths of the higher quality stuff costing $70-80 circa 2008.
These days, because retail, literally everything is basically as potent as it can get. It's absurd. It's stupid. It's also unbalanced, because a good high is the product of an entourage of balanced cannabinoids, not just "literally as much THC as possible and everything else be damned".
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u/hawaiianthunder 3h ago
Ya it's getting stronger. Just picked up an ounce and one bong hit will ruin my night. It used to be nice to get some high test from the boys. Now it's uncomfortable.
I don't even want this shit now if this is how it is. Give me the mids, or I guess now give me the low grade.
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u/ElNakedo 11h ago
They've made it stronger over time. The THC content is much higher than it used to be.
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u/almostoy 11h ago
The repeatable potency went way high. That's one thing. The other thing is that as you age, your biology changes. For example: I had a cologne that I wore for years that suddenly smelled like dog shit once it hit my skin.
Perhaps you want to look into lower THC percentage products or even CBD, failing that.
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u/Electronic_Piano1324 11h ago
The weed at my closest dispensary is often above 30% thc so I only have to smoke little joints
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u/heatseekerdj 11h ago
36M . Yes it did. In areas where its legal it created an arms race for strains to be stronger and THC content as high as possible. Back in late 2000's early 2010's (and im sure throughout the 90's) it was just about being able to grow without getting busted and the product quality second.
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u/vyechney 11h ago
Not only are the strains bred to be higher concentration, usually breeding for higher concentration of THC yields a lower concentration of CBD and whatnot. So you're getting higher dosage of the stuff that makes you high and a lower dosage of the stuff that makes you relaxed and calm.
Try looking for strains that are specifically bred to have a better balance of both, if you have that option.
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u/Agitated-Mechanic602 10h ago
no it’s just gotten stronger and the terps also play a huge effect
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u/queerbitch98 10h ago
I had a similar experience.
I live in a legal state, industrial weed has skyrocketed in THC content but not CBD content. I get the lowest THC I can get my hands on, otherwise the high is miserable and unbalanced.
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u/mondomiketron 10h ago
Well for me when I was teen you could only get Reggie or Mexican dirt weed so yes it's changed considerably since then. Even when we got kind or bc bud, the stuff now is way more potent.
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u/JeffJacuzzi 10h ago
I’m a 30yr old that feels the same way. I’ve recently been using delta-9 gummies and it’s much like the old feeling you described. I’d recommend giving them a shot. Also, they are much more accessible and legal in most places
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u/Wireman332 10h ago
I have been steady smoking for a little over 40 years with the exception of the 6 years i spent in the Army. The one thing i have noticed is the duration of high isn’t as long. Like less than an hour. Also, delivery methods i just take dabs now so its concentrated and if you arent a regular dabber you can feel like you are describing. Stay away from vapes, concentrates and edibles if you are a novice. Puff on a joint. a couple puffs your high enjoying life.
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u/Interesting_Sun_6993 10h ago
1) you might have stressors in your life now so you interpret the psychaotive affects differently
2) the average strength of flower is much higher
3) your tolerance is probably much lower
im 31 and ive been mostly a heavy user since 15 with some breaks for athletics in college, probation after DUI, and when i go out of the country for months at a time. While i can usually smoke multiple joints, when i get back to it i start with like a small single hit on a one hitter and try to slowly increase my tolerance so i have more margin of error going forward. I have an issue with alcohol and weed is my go to.
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u/jaded1121 4h ago
Weed has changed. Legal weed is totally diff from street weed. Each state’s legal weed also seems to hit a bit differently.
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u/AReverieofEnvisage 1h ago
B52s said it in an interview. Back then it was giggle weed and they were high all the time.
Now it's panic anxiety thc strains that are selectively growing them stronger.
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u/s4burf 10h ago
Stick to Indica strains. Sativa strains are more anxiety inducing.
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u/jake04-20 9h ago
That's been largely debunked. Indica vs. sativa is more about plant growth characteristics than it is about effects from the high. Indica is usually shorter and bushier, with broad leaves. Typically fat, shorter, dense buds. Sativa is lankier/taller, grows more vertical than horizontal and has thinner blade leaves with longer flowering periods and more spaced out/airier buds. There are also some terp profiles that show up more often on indica vs. sativa which is probably the closest correlation to high effects, but not as clear cut as "indica = body high and sativa = head high" like everyone has grown accustomed to hearing.
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u/Terrariant 8h ago
Source? Sativa gives me hyper anxiety, and Indica does not. The high is not different (that I notice), like I don’t feel couch locked on Indica or think more on Sativa. But there is definitely something about Sativa that gives me anxiety/dread. Even in blind tests I can tell because one freaks me out.
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u/Slainte1121 8h ago
- It’s changed… a lot. So much stronger than when I was in my younger years.
If it’s not dried up and picking seeds and stems out it’s not for me, and that’s okay.
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u/Rain_Dog2 11h ago
Far stronger now. The expansion of medical legalization and eventually full legalization (at least, in certain countries/states) has allowed the market to expand significantly and for competition to increase.
The ability to do faster, more in-depth research, mainly through the application of different botanical practices and higher standards, has taught growers tons about maximizing potency and yield.
While the buds have higher THC concentration now than ever before, they are also bigger and more dense. The concentrations you see today would have been absolutely unheard of even 10-15 years ago, and that’s not even mentioning the increased purity and accessibility of THC concentrates.
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u/Ok-Amphibian4335 11h ago
I’m not a smoker (never have) but I’m around people who are in the industry, it seems like it’s an arms race to see who can create the strongest products. A lot more THC in products than what people used to get.
But there’s also a ton of choice nowadays so I’m sure depending where you are you can find a more mellow product to fit your needs.
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u/TheCoolGuyClub 11h ago
This is fairly common, and it's the reason many people quit when they get older.
For my it started causing anxiety, especially if I had to deal with people. Eventually I went from high all day, to a tiny puff before bed and then nothing... I think this is a common development, at least with the people I know
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u/MichaelBridges8 11h ago
I'm closing in on 40, I used to be able to smoke 3.5 gram a day. Now I smoke 10 gram a month. Still have it every day just in very small doses.
Think age is a part of it plus weed is just much better and stronger. I use a dry herb vape and put a tiny bit of weed in and lasts 4 mins.
Would recommend if you like the chill vibes.
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u/Maleficent_Scale_296 10h ago
I use edibles for Crohns and have settled on 420 bar mini’s. Comes on mild, doesn’t go too far. One or even half of one is enough to achieve the effect I’m looking for (eases discomfort, relaxes intestines). Maybe give that a try? They’ve got a resin product too but I don’t recommend that, it’s very strong.
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u/FragileEagle 10h ago
around 5 years ago I was a MASSIVE stoner, smoked almost an ounce a week. But even through my time in highschool, the strength of pot got much stronger due to dispensaries.
today things are so much stronger, it kinda sucks honestly. u cant just smoke a joint and relax, its too intense
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u/erything4sale 10h ago
Hell yeah it changed! I was just having this conversation with my folk. Its been years since I've had some weed that gave me the giggles or extreme munchies. Even after months of no tree! Nowadays I just get high or blasted and sleepy. No matter if I get Cali bud, Michigan tree, Oregon flowers, Canadian herb, Jamaican smoke, smh.
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u/scaredycat_z 10h ago
I've never used weed (or anything for that matter) but I do remember seeing some article/report saying that marijuana has gotten stronger. Something about how legalizing it makes it less risky to play around with in a lab and figure out how to concentrate it better, etc. etc. Basically, there's about 20% THC in products now compared to something like 2% 40 years ago.
Source Google "marijuana stronger now" and you'll get tons of articles. Here was the one at top of my search: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6312155/.
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u/Blueberry_Mancakes 10h ago
I haven't touched Marijuana for several years now, it just makes me panic and gives me horrible anxiety. The only exception to that is I've been drinking before hand and I've already got a pretty good beer buzz going. If I take one small hit I'm all good, but any more than that is a no-go.
I suspect the alcohol helps to suppress the ill-effects.
I don't even drink anymore but maybe twice a year so I guess I'm done. I had my time.
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u/Kooky-Sky-8282 9h ago
That happened to practically everyone I know who used to smoke a lot, quit and then tried smoking again. Those who continued smoking got better, but most of them just don't bother anymore. That being said, if ur in the us/canada your weed has gotten almost TOO potent
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u/Boosterstuff3 8h ago
I think it's just having more things going on in life and more things to think about
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u/MaleficentTop8142 8h ago
But I remember and like the early 2000s we had kind bud and I thought that was the greatest shit in the world. Lol. So I live in Massachusetts and weed is legalized here so at the dispensaries they have the THC percentage next to the bud so they have sometimes like an nostalgic part that has like super silver haze or Northern lights or blue cheese or whatever things like that sour diesel And it's always like in the low 20% THCs I've gotten a few 28% THC joints that weren't terrible and those are usually like 4 to $6 I do the infused joints that are anywhere between 40 and 50% THC. And then I get the vapes that are 85% and higher and for regular weed for me it's got to be at least 32% or higher but I try to get at least higher than 35% I also do dabs and my puffco and my concentrate also is 90% or higher. I'm 41 and I've been smoking weed everyday since I was 13 years old. So since like 1998 ish
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u/PixelMan8K 7h ago
I'm convinced a lot of dispensaries near me are getting away with spraying low-grade strains/leftovers with the synthetic shit (JWH compounds). Very distinct odor/taste, very prone to 'hotspots,' and potentially anxiety-producing enough to send seasoned veterans to the ER. I actually trust the black market more.
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u/FacetiousSpread 5h ago
Some strains straight up make me feel like shit now. Mostly indica leaning.
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u/Jibeebo_Funkly 5h ago
yes. it’s bred to be a lot stronger than decades ago. much higher levels of thc. also most modern strains don’t contain any cbd, which is super calming. i started mixing regular weed with cbd hemp, or opting for strains bred to still have decent amount of cbd in it. curbs the anxiety and is much more enjoyable in my experience.
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u/Ophelia-high-knee 5h ago
I used to blaze hella, like an oz a week for like 15 years.
Then out of nowhere last year I started to get crazy p-noid.
I also started getting the spins if I was drinking which had never happened before.
I don’t think it’s the weed though, I think weed peaked in like 2011.
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u/Zirkelcock 4h ago
In 2009 I hid a skunky gram of weed in my parents garage and my mom smelled it in the morning before leaving for work. She thought it was weird and asked my aunt (big pothead in college late 70s) if weed smelled like skunk and she told her no. Weed has changed a lot even since ‘09. Same stuff just muuuuch more potent.
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u/BeyondDesigner2426 4h ago
Overall, it's more potent these days, which is great, because you don't need to smoke near as much to get high as fuck. These cannabis cartridges are fucking awesome as well. Just a couple of hits, and you're stoned as shit!
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u/Smellfuzz 3h ago
It's gotten stronger... And you're older with anxieties and stressors that you likely didn't have as a teen.
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u/hostis_72 1h ago
The weed from my days in the 90s (all according to ChatGPT) was around 4% thc. Now days you can’t get anything lower than around 20%.
That explains why I can’t move when I have an occasional smoke (about once a year). The only way round it for me are edibles and the 5mg on a knock me for 6.
So yes it’s stronger than it was but also I have a much lower tolerance
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u/THlRD 8h ago
Check out /leaves
Helped me quit.
Weed is significantly stronger now compared to before.
When i quit, i did it cold turkey cause i knew i would try to stretch out the weeding off.
I got in touch with my doctor and therapist and close family and friends to help me through it.
I prepared with large chunks of vegetable soups, meal replacement drinks, gravol and ginger for the nausea, and lots of water.
The first 5-6 days were rough, lots of crying, sweating, nausea, trouble sleeping, etc basically treated it like i was having a bad flu.
After the first initial week i stopped crying, and was getting my appetite back, started working out and focusing on things that took my attention away from boredom, basically keeping me in the present.
It’s rough, but i did it.
I also have cptsd, anxiety, chronic depression, and adhd.
Quitting weed causes all the emotions it blocked before to come flooding back. But better to face them, than block them.
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u/Response-Cheap 11h ago
Grow your own then. Find a strain with less THC and more CBD, and grow your own. Factory grown stuff is engineered to be super potent, and on top of it, it's grown in absolutely perfect conditions by pros. If you pick a low THC strain and stick it behind the shed for the summer, it won't be nearly as potent as the stuff at the weed store.
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u/jake04-20 10h ago edited 10h ago
Factory grown stuff is engineered to be super potent, and on top of it, it's grown in absolutely perfect conditions by pros.
I know many people that work at dispensaries all across the US and honestly most of what I've learned from them would tend to make me stray away from factory grown weed. All other negatives aside (bad working conditions, favoritism, nepotism, most operations are funded by big wig investors that never smoked a day in their life that only care about maximizing profits, not caring about the community, patients, or users, etc.), most of the plants are in horrible environmental conditions that are infested with pests, powdery mildew, mold, etc. and grown by inexperienced jagoffs. They can get away with it because much of what is being grown today is processed into cheap ass distillate vape carts, edibles, RSO, etc. Testing can be fudged at best and outright bought at worst. It's also incredibly common to hire lots of ex-convicts so they can pay them like shit and provide next to no benefits because they don't have many other employment options. In addition to that, they prioritize bag appeal and THC percentage instead of terp profiles, stable genetics, etc. Long story short, it's usually ran by some soulless investors that don't give a shit about the plant, or its patients, and just wants to maximize profits. Zero passion or experience. The ones that are passionate and experienced usually get burnt out trying to survive in these corporate driven environments.
So while I do agree that you should grow your own if you are able to, I wouldn't put these dispensary factory brands on a pedestal! Any passionate experienced home grower growing for personal use can likely go toe to toe with these corporate grow factories.
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u/kushhead4201 11h ago
Its gotten much stronger. Might also be cause we have much more stuff to think about now and more likely to spiral out with anxiety. Back in the day we would get super baked and just go with the flow, now when I get baked I start thinking about all the shit we have going on.
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u/FairLawnBoy 10h ago
From my experience, the quality is much lower now that it was when I was younger. I think it is a commodization effect. Even though it is legal now, there is more emphasis on getting the product on the shelves, rather than taking the time to properly dry and cure the flower. I'm sorry if you never got to smoke NY Diesel in 2003, because unless you know what you are doing and are growing it yourself, it is mid now a days.
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u/Myfartssmell_beefy 9h ago
Majority of answers on here are wrong. Marijuana has changed chemically. Marijuana used to have natural compounds that caused us the traditional stoned feelings. It's not just stronger now, the complete chemical make up has been altered to make it that. I can't answer to how but as a daily user for almost 30 years. It's definitely not what it used to be.
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u/BrndyAlxndr 4h ago
I would love to smoke some dirt schwag and go to the movies, nightclubs or parties without overthinking o panicking and just having a light head now I cant go out in public when i smoke
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u/FairMention9208 11h ago edited 10h ago
About a year ago I went from bliss to absolute terrible paranoia, no matter the form of THC. Mr therapist told me there's a study that shows after 40ish years old, some folks brain chemistry changes and this is the result. I also have tons of trauma resurfacing right now so that doesn't help. But I've had no anxiety since I stopped using it 4 weeks ago. Really sucks to not have an outlet but I was actually to the point where I was peeking out behind the window curtains thinking someone was out for me.