Dr. Markus Roggen, PhD. has a doctorate in Chemistry. He is the founder and CEO of Complex Biotech Discovery Ventures LTD, a licensed cannabis research laboratory. He answers our questions about weed… or really, your questions about weed.
From fascinating to funny, we ask stoner questions from our viewers and get real answers. Have you ever had a deep thought after a big toke and ended up wondering something about weed? You aren’t alone! Thanks to the viewers posting questions on our social media, we have had a lot to work with. For the sake of science and improving our buzz, we are willing to ask this guy anything. Sometimes, the answers are surprising and this week, it’s all about the best part of the bud.
In his own words, we’re going to science the shit out of this…
Welcome to Ask an Expert!
Episode 4 – You asked and Dr. Markus Roggen answered!
Are giant buds better to buy than medium or small buds? Since stems weigh almost nothing. I don’t mind a fat stem if the bud is nice.
Sir Mix-a-Lot definitely has a view on this.
So I’ve been smoking for 20 some years, but I have always wondered what part of the bud is the bed? I’m not talking about trichomes, I mean when I grab a nug and break it in half, is there more ‘high’ in the tip of the bud or the base of the bud. Maybe in the center of the bud? Or is more bud surface better?
We’re going to science the shit out of this…
Dr. Roggen puts on gloves and picks up a decently sized nug of weed.
If we look at the bud here, there are small trichomes at the surface; these contain the cannabinoids such as THC, CBD, etc. So you are right, more surface area helps because these trichomes are expressed on the surface. But what also helps with expression is the intensity of light; So, buds that are at the top of the plant normally grow bigger and have more cannabinoids because they have more trichomes.
I don’t know if you can really say that there is a difference between the tip and the back of the bud. But, if you buy 3 grams of cannabis in small buds, you get more surface area than if you get one big bud. So there might be something to buying the smaller buds with more trichomes on them.
Hallo Dr. Roggen ich habe eine frage! We kann man am besten alte Samen zum keimen brigen?
For all of you who didn’t follow in school and take German like you should – what is the best way to germinate all seeds?
Cannabis seeds generally germinate with normal, standard techniques. Other species might get some benefits from cold treatments or other tricks but for cannabis seeds, normal germination methods. The problem with old seeds is their carbohydrate storage is depleted so there’s not enough energy to come back to life. Good luck! Viel Glück
Do Bodeva humidity packs steal terpenes from cannabis? Which would work better for humidity control, Bodiva, or Integra?
We just had a discussion about this in the lab!
I don’t think the Boveda packs have any criminal intent and we can actually think about this from a chemistry perspective. Boveda packs remove humidity from the atmosphere. How do they do this? They are basically salt and if you have ever left some salt out on a counter, you know that salt sweats. Salts are iron and they attract water molecules. Terpenes are super non-polar and have no interest in getting anywhere close to salt. So, no, Boveda packs will not pull out terpenes… and they won’t steal them from you.
Thanks to everyone who submitted their burning questions! Dr. Markus really enjoyed getting into the chemistry of cannabis, especially in German. Please keep them coming!