All About Cannabis Smell
It’s hard to resist the smell of good weed. Marijuana gives off a distinctly strong skunky odor, and there’s no way to ignore it when you accidentally catch it in the air. That strong smell is an instant invitation to the source of smoking and possibly a friendly stranger sharing a joint with you. But nosy Jane and Ted from the apartment upstairs doesn’t like the smell of weed, so what can you actually do about it? Read all about cannabis smell and how you can mask the strong scent and avoid a nuisance.
Everyone’s been there. Needing to hide that you smoke weed from those who don’t approve it, more precisely to conceal its smell. It’s not that hard to tell when and where someone is smoking pot. That extraordinary scent is easily detectable. Though, detecting weed with a simple sniff may not come as naturally to you if you’re not that familiar with the smell. That is in the beginning.
While smoking cannabis today is way more normalized, there could still be situations where you can end up in trouble because of smoking. In particular, in states where recreational use remains illegal. Keep reading and get familiar with everything you need to know about cannabis smell. How marijuana smells before and after smoking, and also scoop up some quick tips to help you “hide” if necessary.
What Affects the Smell of Cannabis Buds?
There are several factors that influence the smell of weed, such as nutrient feed and soil, but those are some of the growing aspects. For smell variations in smokable flower, it’s important when were the buds collected from the plant. Weed that has been prematurely collected from the cannabis plant may have a less distinctive skunky odor. When you smoke it, this is also less potent weed. There are great chances you are not going to get an ultimate punch from smoking this type of flower.
If you are growing at home, you might want to wait for the right timing to harvest those colas. When cannabis flowers are in their prime, they have the right concentration of THC that gives a more beautiful high. Buds from well-matured cannabis plants that are dried properly after harvest will have a stronger odor. The smell might additionally differ depending on the strain of marijuana. Cannabis plants contain terpenes, the organic compounds that produce the pungent odor. Each strain has a varying set of terpenoids. So for instance, cannabis strains abundant with limonene terpene are more likely to give distinctive citrus-like scents.
What’s the Smell of Marijuana Plants?
It’s a specific skunky, faintly weedy piney scent that becomes more distinct as the plant advances through the growth stages. Most plants will spread a similar scent both during growing and when they’re picked, dried and cured. The smell is strongest as the plant reaches the end of its flowering period. Therefore, it’s important to control the odor of your cannabis plants when growing indoors.
Whether you want to tell the difference if you are growing Indica or Sativa plants, the smell might be helpful, but not necessarily. Indica strains are supposed to smell more pungent, emitting more skunky and foul aromas. Sativas may have more enticing smells with sweet, fruity, or spicy undertones, thus they are supposed to be less smelly. But that doesn’t have to mean anything. It’s difficult to tell the difference between Indica and Sativa just by the smell. There are more signs for that in the plant structure. Also, many strains nowadays are hybrids and combine genetics of both types.
If you grow your own weed, however, you will probably get to work with various seeds and strains. In that case, you should be able to tell the small differences in the aroma of each strain. Picking up any variations of the smell with your nose could be an interesting detail of the growing process and you can note that down in a book or diary if you keep any for recording the grow journey.
You may also wonder why weed smells skunky. It does so because of some terpenes. Most cannabis plants have myrcene terpene compounds that are found in other vegetation as well. For instance, bays, hops, mangos, and lemongrass all have myrcene compounds. Cannabis strains with myrcene have a more skunk scent and may give a stronger stoner effect. Which indicates that myrcenes or any other terpenoids contribute to more than just the smell of marijuana. The intensity of the smell could be well related with the strength of the strain.
Finally, there’s also synthetic weed. This type of “lab” weed is usually treated with chemicals that could cause greater harm on the lungs. Chemicals used for synthetic pot are not controlled, and it’s difficult to tell a definite smell or be sure of the quality of the weed. But it certainly does come with a deviation from standard cannabis smell and it may taste different.
Weed Smell Before and After Smoking
The smell of buds may differ depending on the strain. Smell is also one of the ways that can help you determine if your weed is good or bad. Good weed is supposed to have a strong, woody and earthy nuance. Strong aromas and odors that you detect as soon as you put buds in the grinder is a signal that the weed is good. Read more here about the differences between good and bad weed.
When the beautiful pungent smell is absent from the buds, it might mean the weed is stale or musty. A weird smell when lighting up may further indicate it’s lower quality cannabis in question. It will still deliver an effect, but it will probably be one of those less remarkable smoke experiences.
Smoking itself augments the natural smell of cannabis. The distinct skunky scent dominates when the joint is burning. Smell emanates from the smoke, but also from the ash and the rolling paper that contains the joint. This is the smell that’s going to stay on your clothes, your fingers, hair, and breath.
The Smell of Cannabis On the Person Who Smoked
Marijuana smell can be felt on the breath after smoking. It’s a faint foul scent that can stay for a couple of hours unless you brush your teeth or chew a gum. An experienced user can easily recognize signs when a person has smoked weed. The foul hint from the mouth when the person talks close to your face is one of those signs. Still, a person who doesn’t know so much about weed may disregard the unique smell. So you don’t actually have to worry that the smell on your breath may be a giveaway sign.
Hopefully nobody is going to sniff your clothes or hair to check if you smoked cannabis, especially after lighting up somewhere inside. If you still think that it might be a problem, change the clothes and get a shower.
Long-term marijuana use may also lead to changes in the smell of your body sweat. But this is true with using any other substance, medication or recreational drug whatsoever. People who don’t smoke weed or tobacco generally have a stronger sense of smell and they are the ones who can best tell you if for example your sweat has changed from smoking pot.
How to Do Away with Marijuana Smell?
Smoking outside could be helpful in this regard, in particular if the weather is sunny. The sun emits UV lights which are good at neutralizing any odor. A little wind will carry the smoke and smell away from the toking spot (and hopefully it won’t bring any unwanted attention).
Smoking inside? Ventilate the space and open the windows. Use air fresheners and odor neutralizers. Constant smoking in closed spaces let the smell stay and absorb everywhere, including the furniture.
You can also do an experiment with a doob tube. That’s a tube made from a paper towel roll and stuffed with sheets of fabric that are lightly soaked with an odor eliminator, such as from a household cleaning product. Then just use the tube to exhale the weed smoke through the tube. This should contain the skunky earthy smell of weed.
The extraordinary skunky grass odor that comes from smokable cannabis cannot be mistaken for anything else. While you can love and appreciate marijuana smell as much as you want, it’s sometimes good to be cautious and don’t end in trouble because of it.
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