My First Cannabis Crop: Techniques and processes that I must know

The use of cannabis is a practice that every day becomes more frequent around the world, mainly due to the multiple properties that the derivatives of this plant have, both in therapeutic and recreational terms. The depenalization of cannabis in more and more countries around the world has been a strong promoter of its proper use, as well as a booster for scientific research that has led to the description of the benefits it has for the control of various medical conditions such as glaucoma, anxiety, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, PTSD, among others. However, many legal statutes considerably limit or regulate the cultivation of cannabis, being this practice still not allowed in many countries, while in others the number of plants that can be grown at a time is considerably limited.

Being a plant that is usually used looking for a specific effect, generated by the set of its molecules or some of its components found in the flowers or buds, the efficient cultivation of cannabis is usually a slightly more complex task compared to other plants, as it is based on a series of procedures, which methodically hope to control all the elements involved in some way, in the growth and flowering of the same to obtain the best quality of the products derived from such crops. An example of this is the possible substitution of the time of exposure to sunlight by ultraviolet light lamps, regulated manually or through timers. Something similar happens with other factors, such as temperature, humidity, the amount of water and the richness of the soil. The modern cannabis grower must take into account all these guidelines if he expects to harvest good quality flowers, rich in cannabinoids and terpenes, balancing these substances according to therapeutic needs or tastes associated with recreational use.

Today, many cannabis markets offer for sale various strains of this plant, all with different properties: some rich in THC, others in CBD, some with fruity flavors and others rather earthy. The variety is immense, so another fundamental aspect is to know which strains suit the expectations, desires and possibilities of each grower.

And if it is a question of obtaining what is expected, determining the precise moment for harvesting is a fundamental step, since the good grower must know how to recognize the signs that the plant shows when it is in the optimal period in terms of concentration of cannabinoids and other coveted substances.

In this text, Pharmacology University explores the most elementary points among the details surrounding the cultivation of cannabis, from the germination of the seeds to the curing of its dried flowers to obtain a final product of the highest possible quality. This knowledge is highly valuable in the context of the growing and increasingly lucrative medical cannabis market, which is valued at nearly twenty billion dollars worldwide.