What Really Differentiates a Premium Cannabis Product?
The following content is sponsored by Grown Rogue.
Growing cannabis isn’t like growing any other plant in your backyard. It requires a relentless commitment to the best practices from seed to sale—just ask Grown Rogue, an award-winning producer from Oregon state.
What Differentiates Premium Cannabis?
As with most plants, the journey to premium cannabis starts with a seed. But as it continues up the chain, a meticulous growing process, the science underpinning its medical properties, genetics, and thorough testing all play a part in bringing about the ideal consumer experience.
1. Seed
With thousands of cannabis strains in the world, every seed is full of possibilities. Each contains a unique genetic profile that’s responsible for its properties and potency. Experienced growers use selective breeding to uncover new and innovative strains, with assistance from genomics.
They collect thousands of seeds, and sequence their DNA. Using analytics and prediction of those sequences, researchers are able to experiment with new strains— and send the resulting seeds back to the breeder. In this way, experienced growers can discover which cannabis strains are the most consistent and reliable.
2. Grow
To ensure a high quality cannabis plant, every aspect of how it’s grown needs careful monitoring and refining. After selecting the right seeds, they must be regularly examined for the right balance of humidity and light. Once it becomes a seedling, it needs maximum light and steady water levels.
When leaves start to grow and the plant is vegetative, nutrients must be carefully mixed for optimal conditions. Now comes the flowering stage when the essential trichomes are formed, and where the main cannabinoids CBD and THC come from.
Finally, growers have to harvest the cannabis plants at the right time for the best taste, smell, and potency. Curing, drying, and hand trimming all preserve the important qualities of the plant.
3. Science
Scientific terminology can often be confusing, but in the case of cannabis, they result in important quality distinctions. Over 80+ cannabinoids, including THC and CBD, cause diverse effects on the body. Terpenes, which can also be found in essential oils, influence the flavor and scent of a cannabis strain.
These two compounds, terpenes and cannabinoids, combine in the “entourage effect” to enhance the medical value of the cannabis flower. Phenotypes help to elaborate on the genetic histories of cannabis strains beyond indica, sativa, or hybrid. Meanwhile, experience studies which leverage the consumer experience, can be the “x factor” in finding and developing new cannabis products.
4. Flower
Consumers today want more than just to “get high” — they demand cannabis products to suit their different needs. For example, here are Grown Rogue’s strain selections which offer something different depending on the purpose:
- R: Relax
These strains are designed to help you unwind, indulge, or sleep. - O: Optimize
These strains bring just a bit of energy to help you focus. - G: Groove
These strains enhance casual conversations and abstract thinking. - U: Uplift
These strains give you a boost for activities like a hike or bike ride. - E: Energize
Instead of coffee, use these strains to charge up for a concert, run, or dance.
5. Experience
It’s clear that what consumers want from their cannabis products will drive innovation in the industry. Premium cannabis producers optimize this by combining scientific research with qualitative experience sampling, to create ideal experiences around activities like socializing, post-workout recovery, and yoga.
About Grown Rogue
Grown Rogue is a cannabis brand passionate about the community, environment, and education. The company seeks to provide “the right experience, every time” to consumers looking for only the very best cannabis products.
