Of late, there have been a few posts pertaining to the size of buds patients are receiving as medication. Although this will likely prove an unpopular opinion, the size of a bud or ‘nug’ doesn’t really matter: the evidence suggests the potency is unaffected and that levels of THC and CBD remain the same, irrespective of size, concerning bud from the same plant. Density is a more important factor, and as longs as your buds aren’t leafy or full of stalk, the therapeutic effects should remain the same. Some folk seem a tad obsessed with appearance when in fact efficacy is more important when assessing the quality of MC. There also seems to be some confusion over what constitutes ‘shake’, which is simply not what a bag of popcorn nugs is.
Let the downvotes begin ⬇️✌🏻
https://www.culta.io/blog/patients/what-are-smalls-everything-you-need-to-know-about-mini-buds
https://www.claybourneco.com/blog/what-does-smalls-at-a-dispensary-mean
https://www.vesselbrand.com/blogs/news/does-nug-size-matter-for-joints
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37 comments
foztrott
- 8mth
Rep: 6494 Lvl: Gold
Another often overlooked factor is that different strains have different bud structures.
No downvote here, other redditors stating that large buds are more prone to issues as a result of failing to cure or dry properly are spot on too.
I like a large bud as much as anyone, but there are advantages and disadvantages to both.
29
Hotboxer
- 8mth
Rep: 4040 Lvl: Gold
Bud looks shouldn’t be in comparison when buying medical weed. Or normal bm. I couldn’t give 2 fucks what my buds looked like. As long as it had everything I’m looking for. Smell. Taste. Good high. I say instagram buds is what everyone wants. That glistening round Pgr type bud. I’d gladly smoke. (Vape) some scraggly headband or holy grail for ever than some of the bland big bud shite ya see about.
17
foztrott
- 8mth
Rep: 6494 Lvl: Gold
Plus smaller buds have a larger surface area, so it should take far less time to rehydrate using a boveda pack.
11
greenrunner
- 8mth
Rep: 3655 Lvl: Gold
I like the bag appeal of large nugs, but to be honest if like me, I weigh every dose it does make it easier to get it bang on 0.2g. At the end of the day it all grinds up the same and does the job..
11
Janas
- 8mth
Rep: 3862 Lvl: Gold
The argument shouldn’t be anything about MC vs BM vs Rec etc….
The issue is they sell this to us at top prices. When everywhere else sell these tiny buds at a discount.
Example from a dispensary in LA from a few years ago…Sundae Driver sold for $50….. Baby Sundae Driver sold for $35 as it has tiny nugs. Seems fair to me?
https://preview.redd.it/bw19o9fq2i1c1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b238cd442c4d6bfa63586c3b0a426ba6c262bc1
My question is…..where are all the big buds? If they are all tiny then that’s a terrible grow imo.
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foztrott
- 8mth
Rep: 6494 Lvl: Gold
Interesting.
I think UK medical cannabis specifically is more impacted than these suggest though, due to the nature of how it's dried.
Larger buds hitting that dry % the batch requires, surely means that the tiny, tic tac sized flower is considerably more 'nuked', I think?
Edit, slightly better English.
8
Runt
- 8mth
Rep: 5031 Lvl: Gold
If its popcorn buds they are underdeveloped and are sold for buttons on the BM and should not be accepted as medical grade cannabis, people are getting ripped off simple as that.
7
Ihopeyouknow
- 8mth
Rep: 3963 Lvl: Gold
It just pisses me off when the first 9 containers of the same bud are big and dense, then the next 3 are ever decreasing bits of popcorn.
6
JonEmalo
- 8mth
Rep: 4834 Lvl: Gold
The main thing your missing I think is that the bigger buds with more density will be fresher & have more terps. If you believe in the terpene entourage effect then this means your meds should be more efficient.
Denser bigger buds are more likely to retain undisturbed trichomes inside
6
Pepperbear
- 8mth
Rep: 5279 Lvl: Gold
When I was on BM my main theory was that I didn't mind smaller buds as they held less stalk and that meant more weight was attributed to the stuff I actually wanted to smoke.
5
KennethTix
- 8mth
Rep: 4038 Lvl: Gold
I have no preference when it comes to cannabis as long as it’s helping alleviate my pain them am all in 😊
5
CharlesHob
- 8mth
Rep: 3613 Lvl: Gold
It's almost as if the pharmacy only care that you get the right amount of the right strain rather than supplying you big nugs for instagram.
4
Porgo
- 8mth
Rep: 4470 Lvl: Gold
Depends on a number of factors, but I would have to say many of the best strains I have tried have had tiny nugs. If you get a calipack you'll see the size of the buds in there. More sativa dominant strains will have smaller nugs also. Barney's Farm do a proper old school landrace sativa called Dr Grinspoon. Some properly tiny nugs but one of the most potential sativas. Big buds can be fluffy/airy. Absolutely no correlation between size and quality imo
4
EvenNet
- 8mth
Rep: 5936 Lvl: Gold
I agree, typically indica buds are smaller than sativa, doesn't mean they are better or worse. I think part of the problem is a lot of people on mc are expecting the buds to look like what they would get in a coffee shop in dam and its not necessarily gonna be like that. I was like that when I first started mc but now I look at it like "did this medication help treat my condition" not "how do the buds look/smell"
3
Samhoi
- 8mth
Rep: 5756 Lvl: Gold
Not disagreeing but there is a line... and they cross it in the uk!
As a few people have said, we likely get the smaller buds due to being last in the queue.
Not sure it's something you want these manufacturers to be thinking that there's no issue with tiny buds.... because you know what will happen, they will just skim more and they will get smaller lol
3
skyred
- 8mth
Rep: 5054 Lvl: Gold
I'd be far more concerned with terp content.
3
Richie
- 8mth
Rep: 4049 Lvl: Gold
The Gorilla glue I have is nothing but tiny buds but it's still effective
2
Davidt
- 8mth
Rep: 4008 Lvl: Gold
https://orangephotonics.com/testing-for-truth-part-2-is-the-tip-of-a-single-bud-more-potent-than-the-bottom/#:~:text=In%20Testing%20For%20Truth%20Part,%2C%20etc.%20to%20reduce%20variation.
"In Testing For Truth Part 1 article, we found that the position of a bud on the plant does matter- buds near the top tend to be higher in potency than those near the bottom. That means growers need to be aware of this, and possibly adjust their lighting, plant spacing, etc. to reduce variation. Doing so will improve the quality and experience for customers"
2
Pepperbear
- 8mth
Rep: 5279 Lvl: Gold
Appearance doesn't equil quality the hands down best haze I have ever smoked was also the worst looking flower I have ever seen it was a bag of brown dust and twigs I would have never brought it if I had been offered it at home but it was the only haze they had on their menu so I brought a gram without seeing it first (I was in Holland) I ended up rolling the whole gram just to get rid of it and it was amazing went back the next day and brought a half oz for the week (the coffee shop was owned by friends of my parents so I could buy more than 5g if I wanted too) got a good deal to as no one else wanted to buy it. Part of the problem with UK medical is because it's a proscription drug it has to be standardised especially over 10+ grams so stalk size can play a role in that and we all know what it's like when we start picking the stalk out of a nug lol. we need a more open system where we are proscribed a max THC level that we can then take to a dispensery and chose any flower up to and including our max THC percentage
2
Charlesfluit
- 8mth
Rep: 4074 Lvl: Gold
We should know by now that we get the tail end of the strains, we get the rejected bud from all the suppliers around the world then we get the scraps they do not want....you think USA, Canada or Germany has these issues?
2
skyred
- 8mth
Rep: 5054 Lvl: Gold
I think it just comes from BM where "popcorn nugs" are sold discounted
1
GlenBot
- 8mth
Rep: 4195 Lvl: Gold
Where can I get Cali medical cannabis online using PayPal as a payment method. Been scammed to many times. Sent the money and no medication no answer it’s like chasing ghosts once they’ve got your money
1
AnnaSak
- 8mth
Rep: 4171 Lvl: Gold
Sorry this is simply incorrect, small buds are lower quality and should be graded as such. Smaller flowers are below canopy level and receive less light thus producing less secondary metabolites
If a producer needs to package some of the garbage I have seen at £7+ per gram, they are obviously not running an efficient operation and can only presume they are losing large flowers to mould or pm. I cant think of any other reason why they are selling extraction grade material as consumable flower, no serious producer would let such low quality out the door.
I'm sure people in here have seen what is recreationally available in california? Why isn't this standard matched or surpassed?
Uk medical cannabis = an absolute joke
1
Runt
- 8mth
Rep: 5031 Lvl: Gold
Thanks for posting this. I’m in the minority having never tried BM and going straight to MC. There’s a lot of assumptions in the instructions that you already know what you’re doing, so it’s easy to get concerned when many people raise an issue, if you don’t know any better. I’m AuDHD which makes me want to both do things exactly by the book, and break the rules, but the MC has dampened greatly my previously dominant ADHD, so absolutely need to get this straight in my head to calm this new (thankfully mild) anxiety thing I have never felt before 🤦♀️😂
1
Gibby
- 8mth
Rep: 3941 Lvl: Gold
I don't care how it looks. A lot of reviews here are really good, however only the last sentence or so ever says what the effects are, and even then it's "a good high" or "effects are good".
This isn't High Times. If it's for symptoms, list them. Then comment on how the flower managed each one. More people can relate to that. How it looks and tastes should not matter, otherwise, do you really need MC, then?
1
Janas
- 8mth
Rep: 3862 Lvl: Gold
In the context it shows what has more THC it seems relevant. And you must mean in the context of UK medical cannabis (I know what sub this is but still) because in America you can get medical grade dabs to vape and it's way better than vaping flower.
1
MelvinMC
- 8mth
Rep: 5939 Lvl: Gold
If you've ever made dabs with a heat press you'd know the smaller nuggs don't produce as much as the big ones.
1
ZebraGurl
- 8mth
Rep: 3791 Lvl: Gold
At the end of the day it comes down to consumer preference on this one. The UK market hasn't caught up with a lot of foreign markets yet in terms of availability - but as that improves there will be a push for differentiation which will drive bigger flowers becoming the standard. When you have the choice between popcorn and premium flower - people lean toward the premium provided there aren't any major price point differences and the reality is that a capable grower should be able to keep the popcorn at <10% of any commercial batch anyway. If your flower is predominantly popcorn - you have a grower issue - and relying on patients to foot the bill for that isn't a winning long term strategy.
1
Jerrylatty
- 8mth
Rep: 4709 Lvl: Gold
Thanks for this. I suspected this to be the case, but didn't have the knowledge to back it up 👍
My Satoline has pretty small buds but it's *incredibly* effective so I don't see what the issue is.
1
Bruno
- 8mth
Rep: 6255 Lvl: Gold
I think bud size does matter.Its an indication of how healthy and happy the plant was.And the small bits from bottom of plant definitely don't get you as smashed up as the top bud,from my personal experience
1
brianuk
- 8mth
Rep: 4551 Lvl: Gold
The moisture content is generally lower in small flowers (Purpl Pro tests confirm this), and that does impact vaping (more so than smoking) as less vapour will be produced (especially with MC which is already too dry), so I do think it makes a difference, and I would always want decently sized - *fully developed* flowers for my medicine, when possible!
They still work, albeit not quite as well, but it's just a shame to be paying such a premium for what I assume are market dregs.
1
Richvew
- 8mth
Rep: 5749 Lvl: Gold
I always associate smaller buds with Sativa strains
BM is usually not what’s sold, I never knew there were so many different strains of dog 😂
1
Shazz
- 8mth
Rep: 3795 Lvl: Gold
You're right there flower wise the probability is there will be more ratio wise compared to stems and storks. 🤯🍀
1
Wendy85
- 8mth
Rep: 4019 Lvl: Gold
I agree, it's just mighty disappointing when they're all smalls.
1
Samhoi
- 8mth
Rep: 5756 Lvl: Gold
I would rather 10 1g nugs, than 1 10g nug, and the reason being, if the 1 10g nug tastes funny, or bad to me, due to that phenotype or that bit not being so nice effects wise to me personally etc that makes it harder to use, if it is 10g in 1g nugs or smalls at least there is less risk of me not enjoying it, as while some of it might be that phenotype etc other bits wont be, plus when buying Blackmarket I was always the guy to ask for the mid sized buds, as less likely to get bits with bud rot etc, only time I have ever seen rot has been in huge buds.
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Runt
- 8mth
Rep: 5031 Lvl: Gold
This sub is insufferable - everyone is marijuana experts.
-1
Gibby
- 8mth
Rep: 3941 Lvl: Gold
1 big nugget is always better than small nuggets . They are a more mature bud
-1