LOWS

Low quality cannabis (a.k.a. shwag, dirt weed, brick weed, ditch weed, popcorn, bottom shelf, and shake) is brownish with hints of green. Usually compressed into bricks for transit, you’ll find a mix of of seeds, stems, and shake as well as dry, compacted nugs. Once you tease a single bud out of the bunch, you’ll notice that it’s light and leafy, lacking girth, like picking up old dead sticks and leaves out of the dirt.

On the nose, shwag is generally earthy and pungent, often tasting harsh and spicy. Cannabinoid concentration is usually quite low due to improper environmental controls such as superfluous heat, causing the buds to bloom prematurely. There are no bulbous, glittery trichomes present in low-grade cannabis.

Due to harsh environmental elements and improper handling, curing, and storage, bottom-shelf bud often tests high in cannabinol (CBN), a result of THC deterioration; when THC oxidizes, it transforms into CBN. Cannabis high in CBN causes marked drowsiness and sedation, not much elevation. By keeping your low-quality nugs in an airtight receptacle, you can slow down the degenerative process a bit. While high concentrations of CBN may be a sign your dirt weed was mishandled before it reached you, there are some benefits to this underappreciated, low-psychoactive cannabinoid, like pain relief and appetite stimulation. CBN also reduces inflammation and combats insomnia.

On the downside, the lack of care typically results in contamination from pesticides, mildew, mold, and insects. Brick weed may induce headaches or other unpleasant side effects.