Cannabis dealer and dispensary often offera menu of strains with all sort of eldritch and barmy gens that must have been dreamt up by a hopped-up soul . However , young research advise that this labeling might often be little more than lead astray marketing .

A new discipline , published in the journalPLOS ONE ,   examined tens of G of   gage sample   from commercial-grade   dispensary and set up that the strain labels were often discrepant , confusing , or downright ill-timed .

Although marihuana has been legalized in sure states for 10 old age and has since grow to become a multi - billion dollar mark manufacture , there ’s still no similar labeling system , which the researchers say is leading to inconsistent labeling .

“ A farmer ca n’t just pick up an Malus pumila and resolve to call it a Red Delicious . A beer producer ca n’t just arbitrarily pronounce their intersection a Double IPA . There are standard . But that is not the case for the cannabis industriousness , ” Nick Jikomes , study Centennial State - author and film director of science and innovation for the e - mercantilism marihuana marketplace Leafly.com , said in astatement .

The study is the prominent to chemically analyze commercial dispensary - tier marijuana to escort . They looked at over 90,000 samples across six states , search out for popular strain names regularly seen across the country .

Some strains , such as “ White Tahoe Cookies , ” were amazingly logical from mathematical product to product irrespective of where the researchers bought   it from . However , other mental strain , such as “ Durbin Poison ” , were found to be “ consistently inconsistent . ”

Despite whatever the label said , the chemical substance components of the strains could be all over the space . The team used chemical analytic thinking to understand the concentration of cannabinoids . This included THC , the major psychotropic component in cannabis ; and terpenes , chemical compound that leave aromas and flavors .

Just as you ’d expect , the vast bulk of cannabinoids in recreational cannabis were psychoactive THC . Meanwhile , the terpene content tend to shine into three separate family : those eminent in the terpenes caryophyllene and limonene , those eminent in myrcene and pinene , and those mellow in terpinolene and myrcene .

However , these three categories did not always tally to the Indica , Sativa , and Hybrid labeling scheme .

“ In other words , it is probable that a sample with the label ‘ Indica ’ will have an indistinguishable terpene composition as sample label ‘ Sativa ’ or ‘ Hybrid , ’ ” the study say .

The researchers said some cultivators come out to be paying close tending to quality , see to it that their product contains precisely what it says on the package . However , the marijuana manufacture still is a bit of a “ Wild West ” with relatively few regulations in place , allowing some producer to become loose with labeling . If the cannabis manufacture want to   become legitimate , the researcher indicate , this needs to change .

“ Our finding paint a picture that the prevail labeling system is not an effective or dependable way to ply information about these products , ” said cobalt - authorBrian Keegan , an assistant professor of Information Science at CU Boulder . “ This is a real challenge for an industriousness that is essay to professionalise itself . ”

Along with grocery regulation , the team also believes we ask a more comprehensive understanding of cannabis strains ’ chemical substance make - up . Eventually , perhaps we could bulge seeing labels that show consumer the full lean of ingredient they ’re putting into their soundbox , including THC and CBD , but also terpene , flavonoids , and other compounds .

“ It ’s like if your cereal boxwood only showed nutritionist’s calorie and avoirdupois and nothing else , ” add Keegan . “ We as consumer necessitate to be labor for more data . If we do that , the manufacture will respond . ”