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Comment by kramer2718 | Hacker News Reader

This is a largely political problem. Cross pollination does not affect the utility of commercial help-only its legality. You can study wind dispersal, etc, but at the end of the day, the problem is a bunch of clueless old men.

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I live in a state that 'inadvertently' legalized THC products when trying to pass hemp legislation in 2022, so... yeah. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. It was followed closely by actual legalization because nobody in their right mind was going to try to roll it back and stay in office.

Isn't it also a problem for breeders? I would think pollenation could cause issues for indoor as well as outdoor crops, especially specific strain breeding and understanding pollenation patterns would help mitigate some of that.

It's not a very popular opinion, but I don't think any grower really knows what strain they are growing anyways. I think the strains have been so mixed and matched, and probably some growers will call theirs a specific strain just to sell more of it. And with how long Marijuana growing was underground, the sources of the seeds are totally undocumented. It's basically like a big game of telephone at this point.

I never thought about this. It would be interesting to run mass spec on resin samples from different growers to see the interval of genetic variation

And yet Headband really did feel like you were wearing a headband =)

The motor cortex goes across the brain like that.

AFAIK they mostly grow from clones, and thus, would be completely unaffected by pollination. Unless I misunderstand plants, pollination impacts the seeds produced, and therefore the subsequent generation. So long as it keeps being cut and propagated, rather than grown from seed, you could be relatively certain of near identical genetics.

I think hemp farmers use seed more than clones, which are more popular in the THC supply chain

Clones are good. But it is not possible to keep a clone line going indefinitely.

Periodically you need males and females doing their wonderful thing and mixing it all up from seed

For example, every apple variety out there. Every potato variety out there. Every garlic variety out there. Grape varietals. All gone because their clone lines expired. Not being able to propagate clone lines is why we can't have seedless oranges or watermelon or grapes.

What makes clone lines no longer able to propagate?

> But it is not possible to keep a clone line going indefinitely

What is the mechanism that prevents this?

I am no botanist

But I think the DNA degrades over time

Mēh! What we do not understand about genetics matters more than what we do....

I am no botanist

There is also little evidence that the strain has any effect on the pharmacological effects of cannabis, beyond the amount of THC per gram of flower (potency). Although it can greatly influence the smell/taste, which is meaningful.

However, if you’ve tried the “same” strain from multiple growers you’ve likely found that the smell can vary significantly, and (as a consumer) there’s really no way to know what the flower’s aroma (and appearance) will be without direct observation. This is aligned with your hypothesis.

> This is a largely political problem

Is it? "leading to contaminated seeds, reduced oil yields, and in some cases, mandated crop destruction" sounds not like a political problem, or you mean the causes for those things are political?

These issues at least partially stem from the politics surrounding cannabis. 'Mandated crop destruction' is absolutely a political problem, because it's just driven by seeds cross pollinating into plants that exceed the arbitrary political limit. Oil yields and contaminated seeds are not specified, but might be due to similar arbitrary restrictions, rather than actual issues with the product

Yields are real impacts from cross pollination and has zero to do with politics.

CBD only strains with THC, vice versa. Lower strengths etc. All impact product quality and impact.

The labeling of seeds as "contaminated" is a political issue. Its not like seeds being pressed for oil are not good for that purpose if they are arbitrarily determined to be contaminated. I suspect the reduced oil yields are the result of the destruction requirements not because the plant made less oil.

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