The internet is a great place to learn from other growers, and message boards are quite popular these days for growers seeking anything and everything cannabis related.

There is generally great conversations and info cannabis enthusiasts can share with one another on these sites, but there is also a lot of disinformation. In this article we will bust some of the most common cannabis myths we've come across.

 

 

1. "I can’t grow my own, it will stink up the neighborhood."

 

 Those who have never grown cannabis before are often under the impression that growing indoors causes their home or apartment to smell like The Grateful Dead's tour bus. Many are concerned of alerting guests and neighbors with that familiar skunky musk.

Fortunately, the years of of cannabis prohibition did not prevent the cultivation of cannabis and practices were developed to mitigate the small of a grow room. Activated charcoal filters are the most effective way to filter to mitigate and eliminate the smell of weed from outside of a growing environment.

Growing indoors requires air exchange to occur with fresh air coming in and a a fan to push the stagnate air out. With an activated charcoal filter, it is easy to eliminate odor from your indoor flowering plants by filtering your ventilated air to the outdoors or outside of your tent. 

When growing your own personal stash, the smell of your grow can be pretty much eliminated by using a grow tent with a charcoal filter connected to an exhaust fan with ducting. This is an easy and affordable way to start growing at home!

So, if you've been undecided about growing your own cannabis due to this issue, perhaps this information helps ease your mind, We recommend a grow tent, a charcoal filter, LED grow lights, circulation and exhaust fans, some ducting and growing media to get you started!

 

 

We also recommend the best hydroponic nutrients for cannabis that money can buy, Future Harvest's Holland Secret 3-Part Nutrient Formula! If it is your first time growing in soil, try our Easy Plus powdered nutrients! The easiest possible way to get best results right out of the gate.

 

 

2. "Purple weed is more potent."

 

 It's easy to understand why myths like this one develop, many strains have higher levels of THC than others and unique colors. This might lead you to draw the conclusion that a purple strain is stronger that the green buds you smoked a week previous.

Jimi Hendrix's famous song, Purple Haze, may have also played a part in perpetuating this myth. Though we don't doubt that Hendrix was high as a kite, the color of his weed had nothing to do with it.

Strains that produces purple pigments do so because of their genetic disposition to contain more anthocyanins beneath the green pigment of the chlorophyll cells. As nutrients are remobilized in flowering, the reduction of chlorophyll reveals the purple pigment underneath. This has no correlation to the resinous THC trichomes, the true active psycho-active ingredient determining potency. 

Anthocyanins are what give blueberries their color, along with many other fruits and vegetables. Anthocyanins are classified as flavonoids. Flavonoids are known to have numerous health-benefits containing antioxidants and natural anti-inflammatory properties.

 

 

3. "Plants can’t use green light." 

 

For a long time, LED light companies focused on blue and red spectrums of light within the photosynthetically active radiation range from 400 to 700 nanometers. The fuchsia light they emit is quite recognizable and often called 'blurple,' because of the mix of blue and red LED diodes.

Recent studies suggest that light in the green and white spectrum range, though less efficient in photosynthesis than blue and red spectrums, does indeed play a role in photosynthesis. Studies have found the blue and red spectrum to be capable of 90% light energy absorption into the chloroplast cells of the leaves, while green and white light is absorbed at a rate of roughly 80%.

The green light is capable of being transmitted from the surface of a leaf through reflection at a transmission rate of 10%. This has led some studies to conclude that greenlight is able to penetrate further into the canopy.

This is why the LED marketplace has shifted away from 'blurple' lights to offer full-spectrum LED grow lights that provides a broader range of photosynthetic radiation. Full spectrum lighting is definitely easier to work in because the white and green spectrum provide a more natural, sun-like light to work in.

 

 

4. "Cannabis is legal in Amsterdam."

 

Cannabis has been sold in small quantities at coffeeshops in Amsterdam since the mid 1970's with authorities deciding to look the other way. This has made it quite a popular destination among cannabis-friendly tourists. This is has led many to believe that cannabis has been legalized in the Netherlands, but sadly this is not the case.

Cannabis has been illegal for import and export in the Dutch colonies since 1928. this was followed by broader criminalization laws around recreational consumption and possession in 1953. During the 1960's cannabis use proliferated throughout popular culture, this meant many teens and college age youth were given hefty penalties that made little sense to many in the general public.

Legislation was passed that eased the criminalization of cannabis penalties in reaction to this societal shift. This divided drugs into different categories under the law. Cannabis was separated from drugs like heroin and cocaine in the legislation. Under the adopted legislation, possession of cannabis in quantities under 30 grams a misdemeanor offense in 1972.

In reaction to the easement of prohibition laws, coffee shop owners began to sell cannabis in small quantities with authorities looking the other way. The Netherlands have not actually legalized cannabis and though they have decriminalized consumption for personal use, cultivation and distribution remains illegal. Holland just has a long tradition of allowing cannabis coffeeshops to sell what they determine to be negligibly small amounts without punishment.

 

 

5. "‘420’, was coined after the police code in California." 

 

Every year on April 20th at city centers in places of legislation and prohibition alike, people gather to light up a few joints in solidarity. The link to the California police code is one that is quite popular and heard often in hacky sac circles across the continent, but is likely just another cannabis myth.

There are however, many dubious origin stories of 420's significance. Other popular myths we've found in research for this article include:

  • The 420 meaning originated in reference to a Bob Dylan song
  • It is somehow affiliated with the April 20th birth date of evil incarnate himself, Adolf Hitler
  • 420 is the total number of chemicals in cannabis (not true)
  • 4:20 is when tea time occurs in Amsterdam

Apparently, the term actually originated referring to the time-of-day early cannabis culture influencers known as the Waldos would meet after school to get high. After high school, some of the Waldos ended up being involved with the band members of The Grateful Dead where the term was proliferated to deadheads everywhere.

This rather anti-climactic origin story should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt, as it seems just as likely to be subject to the same embellishment or hearsay as the others.

Final Thoughts

If you've got some head-scratching cannabis myths on your mind, reach out in the comment section below, we love hearing from our readers. If you like cannabis general interest and cultivation blogs like this one, click here for more!