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Over the past decade, consumer attitudes in the botanical and cannabis space have gone through a radical shift. What used to be all about end-product potency and price point has started to take a back seat to more in-depth questions : where was this grown, what kind of soil was it grown in, was it even tested for any nasties? This growing demand for supply chain transparency actually has some real world implications – not just for your own health but for the planet too.
This article breaks down the lowdown on clean cultivation, what the science is saying about the risks associated with picking up all these nasty contaminants in mass produced crops, and why soil biology is all of a sudden a major talking point among informed consumers.
The Contaminant Problem in Cannabis and Hemp: What You Need to Know
One of the biggest issues in the cannabis and hemp industry right now is pesticide residue. Now, most food crops have clear guidelines on pesticide use – not so with cannabis. Because the federal government still has cannabis down as an illegal drug, the EPA hasn’t gone to the trouble of approving any pesticides for use on the plant, nor have they set any limits on what’s considered safe. This creates a real grey area, and the rules vary wildly depending on where you are in the country.
Studies have found that using pesticides on cannabis is pretty common place, and that you can end up inhaling some pretty nasty stuff from the smoke. We’re talking hundreds of different pesticide products being used on cannabis – 16 of them and 3 plant growth regulators are the ones you really need to worry about. A review published in Drug Testing and Analysis found that many of these pesticides can be super bad news for your health – the World Health Organization reckon they’re moderately hazardous.
Heavy metals are another major concern. Cannabis plants are experts at sucking up what’s in the soil – including nasty stuff like lead, cadmium and arsenic. This is actually useful in soil remediation, but it means that crops grown in dodgy soil or water can end up carrying all this yuck into the final product. A study on Italian hemp found pesticide residues in over 80% of the samples they looked at – which shows just how widespread and often hidden this use of agricultural chemicals is.
Without any lab testing, you’ve got no way of knowing whether your products are clean or not. This is why getting a certificate of analysis (COA) from a lab you can trust is now a major benchmark for figuring out whether your product is any good or not.
What Living Soil is all about – and why you should care
You’ve probably heard the term “living soil” thrown around but do you know what it actually means? Living soil is one of those fancy terms that basically refers to a wildly active soil that does its magic through tiny microorganisms working tirelessly behind the scenes rather than just relying on some synthetic, liquid fertilizer to keep your plants going. You’ve got a rich soil teeming with beneficial bacteria, fungi, & other microorganisms that make your plant way more resilient to stress, and better at fighting off disease. Plus, you get more robust terpenes & cannabinoids in your buds.
Now, as opposed to that synthetic soup people often feed their plants a dose of – all able to be bought at the local nursery – these approaches can get you a high yield but they just don’t build any lasting health into your soil. With living systems however – & trust us here – the magic happens through a self-sustaining cycle: microbes break down the organic matter gradually releasing nutrients as the plant needs them.
Studies are starting to show just how important all this is. Plant-associated microbes seem to have a role in how plants grab up nutrients – which is still a pretty new area of study – but plant growth promoting rhizobacteria – or PGPR for short – have already been shown to increase terpenes by 23%, and 18% depending on the specific bacteria. Some study published in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry actually found that by inoculating their plants with some of these beneficial bugs they ended up with way more terpenes in their flowers.
As for mycorrhizal fungi – those are another big part of living soil systems. They basically form relationships with plant roots to help them get the nutrients they need deeper down in the soil. Plants get more of what they need without the grower having to step in too much. They end up way more self sufficient – which is just what you want when growing.
It’s also worth noting that living soil & organic certification aren’t always the same thing. Some growers might use living soil without any formal certification – which is fine – and some certified organic stuff still doesn’t take that much care in how they do things with their soil. So either way: know what you’re looking at.
How Growing Method Impacts the Flavor and Aroma
Terpenes are the aromatic compounds responsible for the distinctive smells and tastes across different cannabis and hemp cultivars — and they are among the primary quality indicators that informed buyers examine when evaluating organic THCA flower sourced from different growing environments. Factors like stress, nutrient availability, light, temperature, and even the type of soil its grown in can all affect how the plant’s terpene profile plays out.
When it comes to the soil, research has shown a pretty clear connection between soil health indicators – like nutrient content, microbial activity and diversity – and the resulting terpene profile of a cannabis plant. This means that the soil is more than just something that delivers nutrients to the roots – its actually playing a key role in how the plant develops its flavor and aroma chemistry.
If you’re using synthetic fertilizers – especially nitrogen salts – and not flushing them properly before harvest, you can end up with a product that tastes harsh and lacks a clear definition. Lots of experienced cannabis consumers have said that mass market products can taste this way because theyre often grown in high-nutrient environments in the final weeks of flowering – which is why some people swear by looking for organic or well flushed products.
Youve probably heard the argument about ash color being a good indicator of a product – and while its not fool proof, its still a good sign that a product has been grown organically, or that its been well flushed of synthetic nutrients. A white or light gray ash is a good sign – and these days you can even see a lot of labs that are testing for residual mineral salts to try and get to the bottom of this.
Looking at the Environmental Impact of Growing Cannabis
Cannabis cultivation has been getting a lot more attention from scientists in recent years – and its not good news. Research has shown that six key areas of impact come from cannabis cultivation – from changing land use patterns to water pollution, pesticide use, energy use and air pollution, and even water use. To this end, consumers are starting to take more of an interest in the environmental footprint of their cannabis.
Pesticides in particular are a problem – especially where they get washed into the water and can affect wildlife and other nearby crops. Some growers are trying to get around this by using organic approaches and cutting back on the use of heavy chemical fertilisers that can have a wider impact on the local ecosystem.
Pollinators like bees and butterflies are super sensitive to these sorts of chemicals, and farms that avoid using them often see a bigger variety of wildlife in the surrounding area. Some consumers are even starting to factor in how well a farm supports biodiversity when theyre trying to decide whether or not to buy from them.
Finally, there are the long term productivity implications of farming. Conventional farming methods with heavy fertilizer use can really drag down the quality of a farm over time – reducing the way that the soil holds onto water, for example. Regenerative approaches are trying to turn this around by building up organic matter and microbial life in the soil with each growing cycle.
What Informed Cannaisseurs Can Look For
The reality is that, because of all the different growing methods out there and the lack of a single federal standard for cannabis products, we have to get creative in figuring out which products come from cleaner sources. A good place to start is to sort through some evidence.
Lab testing, done by a third-party outfit, is probably the best way to get a sense of what’s going on. If a product comes with a Certificate of Analysis (COA) that doesn’t just tell you the THC count, but also shows what pesticides were used and measures for heavy metals, then that’s a step in the right direction. Just keep in mind that different labs in different places will test for different pesticides, so it’s not always a straightforward comparison.
Organic certification comes close – it means the grower has to leave the synthetic pesticides and fertilizers behind. The USDA has some basic standards in place, but there are other certification programs that are specific to hemp too.
If a grower is open about their growing methods – including where they get their soil inputs, what water sources they use, and how they manage pests – that’s definitely a plus. Meeting the grower in person, visiting the farm if you can, and looking over their cultivation records all help you figure out what you’re getting.
The truth is the growing demand for better sourcing and transparency isn’t just about being nice: it’s because we’re all still figuring out how to do this right in a brand new industry that’s trying to get its act together. And as lab testing gets more refined and we learn more about how soil affects the quality of the end product, consumers will have a lot more to go on when making a choice.
