What Makes Smokable Hemp Flower Different From Industrial Hemp?

What Makes Smokable Hemp Flower Different From Industrial Hemp? When you first tell someone that you like to smoke Hemp, they might be a little confused. It is a common belief that Hemp is no good for smoking. Smokers of Marijuana have long held that it will do nothing except give you a headache.

These old beliefs are both false and true at the same time. It is true that industrial Hemp is generally no good for smoking, just as smokable Hemp would (probably) be no good for making rope or cloth. While they may technically be the same species, these two plants are very different in terms of their uses and properties.

The Legal Definition Of “Hemp”

To clarify, we should illustrate the legal differences between Hemp and Marijuana. The psychoactive ingredient of the Cannabis plant is called Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. To make a long story short, Hemp contains very little THC. Industrial Hemp, meaning strains that have been cultivated for fibers and cloth, has been selectively bred for purposes other than smoking. Naturally, the thick, stalky plants that make the best rope are not going to taste so good in your pipe!

Smokable Hemp is somewhere in between these two plants. Like industrial Hemp, it contains very little THC. The law mandates that it cannot contain more than 0.3%, or else it is no longer classified as Hemp. However, these plants have been selected for taste, smokability, and the presence of medicinal cannabinoids like CBD and CBG.

You see, it all comes down to a matter of selective breeding. In the same way that certain breeds of dog have been selected for certain qualities, so too have Hemp strains been selectively bred for others. Like, check out mrhempflower.com/, they have figured it out. And now they only sell the best hemp flowers out there.

What Makes Industrial Hemp Better For Fibers?

Industrial Hemp is better for the manufacture of rope and fibers because of its chemical structure. As you can see from this study, the composition of Hemp stems is perfect for the making of cloth and rope. 20-40% of its weight consists of bast fibers, which are considered the best for such things. Bast fibers are found just under the bark, and the bark of a Hemp stem is very thin indeed. The plant also contains huge amounts of cellulose and lignin, the woody fibers that can be found in all plants.

Although the leaves also contain these fibers, makers of Hemp rope and cloth will mainly be using the stems. As for the flowers, their only use would be in reproduction, and so these plants were not be selected for large or succulent flowers. Also, it should be noted that only female Hemp plants produce flowers. Industrial Hemp tends to mostly consist of male plants because they are usually larger and stalkier.

What Makes Smokable Hemp Better For Smoking?

As anyone who has ever tried it can tell you, smoking the stems of the Cannabis plant is not fun. You will probably cough and choke, and you are likely to get a headache about 15-20 minutes later. That, of course, is why people generally don’t do that. The leaves can be dried and smoked with ease, but their cannabinoid levels are generally much lower than those of the flowers. When it comes down to it, the flowers are the only part of the plant that is truly good for smoking.

Smokable Hemp is often derived from modified strains of industrial Hemp. If you take those plants and start selectively breeding them for larger and more succulent flowers, this is what happens. You get something that retains the low THC content of its parent plant with the large and appealing “buds” that offer the biggest dose of cannabinoids.

We should also talk about terpenes and flavonoids. These are chemical compounds that are responsible for the various flavors and scents that are associated with different strains of Cannabis. Of the two, terpenes are generally considered to be a little more important and that is why they can be purchased more easily, generally via online stores like Finest Labs. The effect of the flavonoids is a little more subtle but important nevertheless. Interestingly enough, most terpenes have self-explanatory names. For instance, Limonene gives a taste like lemons, and Pinene gives a taste like pine.

CBD Content: What Is The Difference Here?

Although Hemp flowers certainly do have a pleasant taste and smell, those aren’t the primary reasons for which people smoke them. Most people are looking to enjoy the therapeutic benefits of CBD, some of which are very well-proven. Most of the time, the “trendy” remedies tend to be the least effective, but CBD has proven to be an exception. It is soothing to both the body and mind, so let’s try to determine if industrial Hemp has the same CBD levels as smokable Hemp.

Right away, we know that smokable Hemp is going to have an advantage because it gives larger flowers and more of them. Those flowers contain the majority of the plant’s CBD. Besides, most of the industrial Hemp is going to be male, and that means no flowers. That being said, the leaves and stems of the Hemp plant do still contain some CBD. In fact, some companies sell CBD oil that is made from stems and leaves. However, it is generally of lower quality and, therefore, somewhat cheaper. If you used a method that didn’t involve smoking, it would certainly be possible to get your CBD from stems, leaves, or any other part of the Hemp plant. However, the top shelf CBD flower remains best-suited for that purpose.

The difference in CBD content between stems and flowers is enormous. For instance, look at this laboratory analysis of various Cannabis stems. You can skip to the table at the end to see the results in brief. As you will see, the levels of CBD in those stems were so low that its presence couldn’t even be confirmed at all. Thus, we would have to be talking about less than 0.1% CBD.

Conclusion

Although this article is a little more scholarly than our usual fare, we wanted to clear up this matter once and for all. So, the next time someone tells you that Hemp is no good for smoking, you will be able to clue them in on the truth. Thank you for reading, and we wish you all pleasant smoking.