How To Avoid Getting Ripped Off When Buying Hemp Flowers

If you go to your preferred internet search engine and type “Hemp flowers,” the majority of the search results will consist of advertisements. Not all of them are labeled as such, but most of your results will come from people and companies that want to sell you some Hemp flowers. Because most people don’t know enough to research any deeper than this, the whole thing can create a confusing picture.

The legal Hemp industry hasn’t been around long enough for any company to be that firmly established, so it might seem like you have no choice but to throw the dice and hope for the best. Thankfully, that is not the case. Let’s discuss a few tips that will help you to avoid being ripped off when buying Hemp flowers.

1. Always Do Your Research

This one is listed first because it is the most important. Every company has a trail that you can follow. We don’t mean a physical trail, of course, but there is a data trail. You can start by doing a browser search for the company, but that isn’t enough. You should also check the U.S. Patent office’s website if this company claims to be offering anything unique.

Because Hemp production is still regulated by law, you can also look up a Hemp company and see if they hold a valid license. Most states (though not all) still require Hemp growers and researchers to be certified by the state.

In many cases, the lists of license holders have been made public. For instance, this site shows you all the people who hold a Hemp license in the state of Kentucky. It’s under “forms and documents” if you have any trouble finding the data.

Customer testimonials aren’t always reliable, but they are still worth searching. Try to scour the internet for every review of the company you can find. Disregard any that originate with the company itself or its website, for obvious reasons. You may even want to tally a list, showing the number of bad reviews, good reviews, and mixed reviews.

No one source can be considered 100% trustworthy, but all of them contribute to a general picture that can be painted.

2. Always Buy A Small Sample First

When buying Hemp flowers from a new supplier, you should never buy a large amount. That way, if there is anything wrong with the product, your losses will be minimal. We would recommend buying 1-2 grams as a sample size. The cost of 1-2 grams will not be high enough for anyone to sweat.

You are looking for a nice green color, as darker colors indicate an older product. Freshness has a lot to do with potency, so you want something that looks like it could have been harvested yesterday.

You also want to make sure that it matches the properties of the advertised strain. For instance, if the product is supposed to be Cherry Wine (a popular strain of CBD-dominant flower), you need to make sure that it has a particular look and smell described by others. That particular strain is very distinctive, so it isn’t too hard to identify.

3. Consider A Laboratory Analysis

Not everyone agrees with this one, but you may want to send a small sample of Hemp flowers from your new supplier to a private laboratory. Obviously, they will test its cannabinoid levels and anything else that is deemed relevant. This will give you a lot of information at one time.

For one thing, you can see if the product has as much CBD/CBG content as advertised. For another, you can make sure that it’s under the legal THC limit (0.3%) defined by law. You can also make sure that it doesn’t contain any suspicious chemical fertilizers, insecticides, or other contaminants.

The only problem with doing this is that you need to find a well-accredited lab, and those are likely to be more expensive. Any private lab will take your money and make an attempt, but you want to find one that is known for cannabinoid research in some way.

At the very least, you want one that has been around long enough to establish a good reputation. One good way to go is to ask your doctor. They often have to make use of private labs, so any good doctor can probably recommend a reputable lab.

4. Test The Moisture Content

Not all tests will require the help of a laboratory. Testing the moisture content of a Hemp batch is pretty easy, and very important. In most cases, these products are sold by weight. This means that a heavier product is more expensive and offers less for the money. So, it shouldn’t surprise you that some people try to rip people off with the wet Hemp flower.

Hemp flowers naturally contain a lot of moisture. In fact, some sources say that raw Hemp is 70-80% water! Of course, you cannot smoke wet product, and so all of that has to be removed through a drying and curing process. However, if the producer does not dry the product fully, they can get more weight out of each plant…thus, more money from you!

The act of wetting or under-drying Cannabis is an old trick that has often been used by illicit dealers to rip off the unwary. Even though the government has legalized Hemp, some of the old criminal vestiges remain, and you definitely have to watch out for those.

Conclusion

We should mention that the Hemp industry is not particularly ruthless or cutthroat. As such, most companies producing Hemp flowers can be counted on to (at least) refrain from cheating you.

Still, the quality of Hemp flowers varies a lot from one producer to the other. This is mainly because of differences in growing, drying, and curing methods. That’s why it is always important to be careful when making these choices. Thank you, and we hope you have a pleasant day full of calming Hemp smoke.