Defoliate more or leave alone???! Week 17 pics???

In my opinion, a categoric "NO". Each and every healthy leaf you remove will just reduce your plants capacity to produce energy, thereby slowing growth and maturation. The older leaves also act as a kind of "reserve bank" of carbs, sugars, amino acids etc that your plant will draw upon as a more efficient way of obtaining these elements, rather than making them from new during flowering. This is why the leaves go yellow (the fade) on otherwise healthy and well fed plants during flowering. So, by removing healthy green leaves, not only do you reduce your plants capacity to produce energy, you also deprive it of a ready source of vital growth elements that she has so cleverly "stashed" in her older leaves for use during flowering. If you remove this source of "stashed" elements by defoliating, your plant will not only have a reduced capacity to make energy, some of this energy will have to be used to synthesize new carbs, sugars, amino acids etc , meaning there is less available energy for floral maturation. Meaning slower maturation. Just remember - maximum amount of healthy green leaves = maximum energy production = maximum growth and maximum health. Others will no doubt disagree, but that is ok, they are allowed to be wrong and they obviously do not understand how plants function. I have been "researching" cannabis for 35+ years and am yet to see a plant that gets rid of its own healthy green leaves for no apparent benefit. Hope this helps,.......... Organoman. (and strident anti-defoliation advocate!)