How to Grow CBD Without THC?

Medical cannabis users would love to know how to grow CBD without THC. 

There are various ways to grow cannabis at home, and it's perhaps the best thing ever — you get to enjoy homegrown cannabis (for a cheap cost) and get super stoned. 

But what if that’s not your goal? 

What if you don’t want to get high but still enjoy the benefits of growing your cannabis at home?

Cannabis has terrific medicinal properties, and you can reap the medicinal benefits and cost-effectiveness by growing CBD-dominant cannabis that does not contain THC. 

In this article, find out how you can grow CBD without THC.

How is CBD Different from THC?

Cannabis contains over 80 cannabinoids, out of which, the two most abundant ones are THC and CBD. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is a psychoactive compound that is responsible for the high.

On the other hand, CBD, or cannabidiol, is a compound that has various medicinal benefits but does not produce any high at all. This is the reason why CBD products are better legalized compared to THC products in various regions of the world.

While the research is still going on, experts have found that CBD operates in the human body using at least 60 molecular pathways. This produces several effects, offering relief for anxiety, inflammation, epilepsy, Dravet’s syndrome, migraines, and many other ailments. 

How to Grow CBD Without THC?

Growing CBD-dominant cannabis with low THC content is all about genetics, but that does not mean you can’t do anything. There are plenty of things you can do to ensure you only grow CBD-dominant cannabis plants, such as the following.

Step 1: Choose Strains with High CBD Content

As mentioned above, growing CBD without THC is largely about genetics, so it makes sense to rely on it and choose strains that naturally contain high levels of THC. 

While there are a few tactics to slightly improve the CBD content in plants, you can’t expect to have a THC-dominant strain like Strawberry Cough to become CBD-dominant.

So, choose cannabis strains with low THC content. Ideally, you should choose hemp strains — hemp is not different from THC, but legally, true hemp does not contain more than 0.3% THC. So, hemp or cannabis plants with low THC content are your best bet.

Step 2: Be Wary of Seeds

If you grow your cannabis plants from seeds, there is a lot of genetic uncertainty — this is why growers refer to growing seeds as a genetic lottery. And it is not a good thing to spend weeks tending to a plant only to find out that it has more THC content than you'd like.

For instance, even if you get seeds of a CBD-dominant strain like Cannatonic, the results may sometimes vary. There is a chance that the resulting plant may have less CBD or more THC. 

So, when choosing seeds, you should talk to the seed bank representatives or other growers to get to know about the various types of plants the seed strain usually grows. The lesser the chances of genetic variations, the more chances of growing a strain that stays CBD-dominant.

On the other hand, you can even choose to clone plants from CBD-dominant plants. Cloning is a sure-shot way of growing CBD-dominant plants with little to no variations because you are essentially copying the mother plant’s genetics.

Step 3: Do Early Tests, If Possible

If you are playing the genetic lottery, you should consider getting your young plant’s samples to get tested by a lab. When the plant is in its third or fourth week of vegetation, you can take small samples from the top nodes of the plant, dry them, and send them to the lab.

The lab results will tell you how much CBD your plant contains, so you can decide whether to let the plant grow out or donate it to someone who wants plants with THC. 

Do note that sampling your plant will be somewhat expensive. The other way to test is to wait till the plant blooms and just smoke the harvest. If you get high, it contains THC. 

Step 4: Fine-tune the Climate

In 2011, Sikora, Berenji, and Latkovic conducted a study, collecting six years of data on hemp cultivation. The study found that particular growing conditions led to CBD-rich plants. So, you can replicate similar environmental factors to boost your plant’s CBD production.

You can do that by ensuring the soil medium is warm 5 cm down, the plant is not exposed to a lot of precipitation, and the growing temperatures are maintained at 68°F to 70°F (20°C-21°C). 

What are the Best CBD-Dominant Strains?

While you can try the various methods to boost CBD production in your plant, the best way to grow CBD-dominant plants is to just choose strains that contain a lot of CBD and not much THC. So, here are some of the best CBD-dominant strains you can choose from.

Remedy

Remedy is one of the most popular CBD strains in the market, containing 14% CBD with negligible levels of THC — it does not produce any psychoactive effects. This strain is known for its lemon-pine aroma and tends to mellow you out while offering various health benefits. 

ACDC

Another popular CBD strain that many users choose is ACDC. It contains 14% CBD, and negligible amounts of THC and is ideal for those suffering from stress, pain, and anxiety. ACDC users describe the effects of this strain as relaxing and happy. 

Lifter

Lifter is a relatively new strain in the industry with 16% CBD and almost zero percentage of THC. It offers relaxing effects without hampering your focus, but the smell is something not everyone may enjoy — imagine funky cheese dipped in fuel.

Cherry Wine

If cheese and wine are something you enjoy, you should look into Cherry Wine. With a CBD content of 17% and less than 1% THC, Cherry Wine is the go-to CBD strain for users who want to relax their thoughts and muscles and wind down after a hard day, without experiencing a high. 

Sour Space Candy

To relieve the symptoms of anxiety and depression, look no further than Sour Space Candy. It has a sour aroma and flavor, but this strain contains around 17% CBD and trace levels of THC. You may enjoy the taste, but you will enjoy its medicinal effects.

Charlotte’s Web

Another popular CBD strain in the market is Charlotte’s Web — it contains around 13% CBD with less THC. It has become the default CBD strain for many users who are looking for relief from anxiety, depression, and pain. 

Ringo’s Gift

With an average 20:1 ratio of CBD:THC, Ringo’s Gift is a cross between Harle-Tsu and ACDC, two popular CBD strains. If you look hard enough, you can even find samples with CBD:THC ratios as high as 24:1.

Ringo’s Gift is known for helping users suffering from anxiety, stress, sleep problems, and various other ailments. 

Whichever strain you choose, whether from this list or others, ensure you read the seed bank’s provided product description. Reputable seed banks always mention the highest THC levels the strain may contain and the chances of genetic variations occurring. 

Lastly, it is recommended that you ask questions here or on other grower forums to see what growers are cultivating and learn about their experiences. 

What is THC Null?

In recent months, a lot of buzz was created about the new cultivar: THC Null. What is it and how does it fit in the entire no-THC cannabis cultivation?

Trilogene Seeds, a hemp seed genetics company, recently announced the world’s first cannabis cultivar that cannot produce any THC. This type of cannabis plant was developed by biochemical engineers and university professors with the help of RNA interface technology, which shuts the genetic pathways responsible for THC production. 

The company claims that THC Null cultivar is not different from other cannabis plants, except that it cannot produce any THC at all. So, you can grow plants with high CBD amounts with 0% THC, guaranteed. No more chasing the genetic lottery.

According to the news reports, THC Null strain’s first strain, Pandora, contains around 17% to 22% CBD, and is only available as a clone-only product, with seeds arriving later in the year.

This is a new trend, made possible by genetic modifications, which can allow growers to cultivate plants with zero THC, always. While this is a new trend, the future looks promising and exciting for CBD growers as such strains make it straightforward to grow CBD without THC. 

Summary: How to Grow CBD Without THC?

The primary reason why people choose to grow CBD strains is so they can enjoy the medicinal properties of the plant without experiencing a high. 

But you need to be meticulous with growing CBD products. You don't want to end up on the wrong side of the law by growing a plant with high THC content if the laws are not so lenient in your region and THC-dominant cannabis is not legalized yet. 

So, what are you waiting for? If you want to grow CBD-dominant cannabis plants with no THC content, follow this guide and reap the benefits.