# Why does marijuana smell different than it did in the '80s? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815 "2019-03-31T18:33:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/21 "2019-04-07T19:07:05Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Back in the 80s the weed I purchased was mostly field grown mixed sex product that was baled/compressed in Mexico. It smelled dusty, dry, musty. It was seedy af. > > The stuff I buy today is mostly indoor or greenhouse grown female plant matter and it smells _heavenly_. A seed is a rare finding. And about the only way you get a seed in modern weed is that the plant pulled its cute little hermaphrodite trick, probably as the result of a light leak in the grow room or some other type of stress. It can happen if a plant is cloned too many times, too. Nothing more distressing than seeing yellow nanners in the grow room! ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/22 "2019-04-07T20:37:26Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Be thankful they got a strain that smells like skunk and not a strain that smells like cat piss. I’ve had that cat piss strain. I believe it was called Cherry Pie. I shan’t get that one again. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/23 "2019-04-08T15:08:19Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > I’ve had that cat piss strain. I believe it was called Cherry Pie. I shan’t get that one again. [Cat Piss](https://www.leafly.ca/sativa/cat-piss) is the name of the strain. One of its major aroma/ flavour components is ammonia. It isn’t [too uncommon](https://www.leafly.ca/explore/flavors-ammonia). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/24 "2019-04-08T15:44:52Z")
Then there are the diesel strains. Man, I love them. Kind of a chemically taste, but the effect can’t be beat. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/25 "2019-04-08T17:18:22Z")
Oof, I hate dealing with Diesels, they’re stony AF but the stench is awful, especially during harvest and trimming. Makes me gag. Cherry Pie isn’t all that pissy smelling but there’s a variant where the Cherry Pie is crossed with Dog Shit (don’t blame me, I didn’t name it!) and that one is kinda stenchy. It’s unfortunate, but that ammoniacal and chemical smell is commonly associated with a terpene profile that goes along with insanely high THC content so if you’re looking for something paralytic, that’s where you go. A good exception to that rule is the Girl Scout Cookies strains–White Tahoe Cookies have a very sweet fruity smell and some of the others do too. Purple Punch and Ultraviolet could be used for perfume, they’re so floral and fruity. Smell really depends on the terpene profile and that’s very strain dependent. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/26 "2019-04-08T17:56:13Z")
I do like the diesel strains as well. I get one crossed with Pink Kush that is called Greasy Pink, it is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/27 "2019-04-08T18:06:38Z")
Mmmm, how attractive! I think I’ll stick to a dry martini with an olive. LOL ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/28 "2019-04-08T18:07:16Z")
And then there are the sour diesels. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/29 "2019-04-08T18:51:39Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > And then there are the sour diesels. > > 🆒 STAHP, you’re making my PTSD kick up!😃 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/30 "2019-04-08T19:20:46Z")
What do strains bred almost exclusively for CBD smell like? Not hemp so much as actual product that would be used to make a high quality dispensary product like distillate or some such? Or is it all hemp? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/31 "2019-04-08T21:32:12Z")
The newer strains like Charlotte’s Web and AC/DC look and smell just like their fuckyouup counterparts–they’re cloned females, and they branch out and build big honking stanky sticky ass flowers and get real tall but they just don’t have THC in them, it’s been bred out. Hemp is _cannabis ruderalis_ and that’s the true industrial stuff, grows 12 feet tall all in one big stalk like bamboo with looooooong fibers and tiny, seedy buds. Very different critter. And the high-CBD strains have different THC levels–they have to be below like one percent THC to be considered industrial hemp, but there are strains like Harlequin that do have some THC but not as much and their CBD profile is much larger than a strain grown just to mess you up. I like Harlequin, the THC potentiates the CBD quite nicely but it doesn’t get you real messed up. Very good for pain and migraine. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/32 "2019-04-09T18:42:05Z")
Isn’t _ruderalis_ where auto flowering came from? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/33 "2019-04-09T20:10:22Z")
The earliest autoflowering varieties did share some genetics with some _ruderalis_ strains but nobody’s completely sure if that was intentional or just a favorable mutation that resulted in a strain that flowers without a 12/12 light trigger that’s been since crossed and propagated to maintain that one favorable trait. All cannabis strains are interfertile, which is why large scale industrial hemp production will wreak havoc on outdoor smoking cannabis production. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/34 "2019-04-11T14:45:22Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > (snip) > > Yes, it’s very subjective. I’ve always said I like the smell of skunk. I mean, not when it sprays on my pets or gets in my house, but driving down the road and you can tell that one must have sprayed off in the distance somewhere, I’ve never had a problem with that (and I knew that before I knew what pot smelled like). Similarly, I’ve always liked the smell of weed as well, but like skunk, it can get a bit pungent when it’s smells that strongly. > To get back to the OP, I think the good stuff always smelled like skunk, it’s just that there’s more good stuff around than there was 30+ years ago. I like the smell of a far-off skunk, too. Bill Bryson put it nicely when he talked about a skunk that was just far enough away that you sniff and say “Is that a skunk?” ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/35 "2019-04-12T14:46:28Z")
Probably because you’re buying crap now. Buy hydroponic-grown instead. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/36 "2019-04-12T16:31:43Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Probably because you’re buying crap now. Buy hydroponic-grown instead. Say what now? I can produce fantastic product using soil or a solid soil substitute. Hydroponic growing is one way to grow indoors, but it’s not the only way. IMHO and with decades of experience. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/37 "2019-04-12T17:27:05Z")
And most people are using a hydroponic variant, which is growing in coco coir. The coir provides a good strong base for the roots to take hold but doesn’t add to the nutrient load so all feeding of the plant comes in the solution they’re watered with. Coir is also basically sterile so you don’t introduce soil borne insects and pathogens into a clean grow room. True hydro is a PITA, you have to make sure the water circulates properly, the tanks don’t spring a leak, that the roots don’t get manky and the solution stays clean and at a constant temperature. Coco is much more forgiving and simple but it is considered to be a hydroponic system for all intents and purposes. Pure hydro bud, IMO, is less tasty and the buds tend to be smaller and fluffier because the plants don’t develop the same strong architecture as they do growing in medium with a lot of strong air circulation to encourage the main stems to strengthen and thicken. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/38 "2019-04-12T17:42:41Z")
The biggest difference I notice aside from the smell is that back in the 1960’s weed would give someone a tight head feeling, it felt like an elastic band was tightly wrapped around your head. I have not experienced that since the early 1970’s. Inspite of the huge difference in THC I don’t find the effects to be all that much stronger. I would take the old stuff if I could find it. From what i understand it was mostly grown in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/39 "2019-04-12T17:43:02Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > And most people are using a hydroponic variant, which is growing in coco coir. The coir provides a good strong base for the roots to take hold but doesn’t add to the nutrient load so all feeding of the plant comes in the solution they’re watered with. Coir is also basically sterile so you don’t introduce soil borne insects and pathogens into a clean grow room. True hydro is a PITA, you have to make sure the water circulates properly, the tanks don’t spring a leak, that the roots don’t get manky and the solution stays clean and at a constant temperature. Coco is much more forgiving and simple but it is considered to be a hydroponic system for all intents and purposes. > > Pure hydro bud, IMO, is less tasty and the buds tend to be smaller and fluffier because the plants don’t develop the same strong architecture as they do growing in medium with a lot of strong air circulation to encourage the main stems to strengthen and thicken. Thank you. I’ve dabbled in hydro (bubbling buckets) just for fun, but I prefer soil or soil subs. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815/40 "2019-04-12T17:48:27Z")
Any thought I might have had about trying pure hydro were dealt a mortal blow by a friend who did it for years and listening to him bitch about root rot and what happens when a pump blows or a water chiller stops working gave me an aversion to the idea. Death blow came when I tried using one of those hydro style cloners–oh, just fuck that shit right in the culo. Sure, peat plugs take a little longer but the improvement in root structure and the ease and simplicity more than made up for it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-marijuana-smell-different-than-it-did-in-the-80s/831815.md?page=3)