Are PGRs Harmful & Bad For You?
Are PGRs harmful & bad for you? Plant Growth Hormones (PGR) are a hot topic when it comes to cannabis in Australia as the illegal drug market is flooded with PGR laced cannabis buds.
Plants grow with a Plant Growth Hormone (PGH) and PGRs are a synthetic version of this to accelerate the growth of your marijuana plants.
In theory, PGRs is a good idea as your cannabis plants will develop and mature faster.
The reality is that PGRs are harmful to the plants and anyone consuming them.
PGRs are harmful and bad for your health, and short-term exposure can lead to chest and breathing problems. It is bad to smoke PGRs due to the the potential carcinogenic chemicals that can cause cancer.
Since the 1980s, there have been restrictions on the use of PGRs on plants grown for human consumption due to their harmful toxicity.
When eating or drinking PGR laced marijuana buds, or their extracts, you can receive liver damage and potential fertility issues.
Unfortunately, the majority of cannabis grown in Australia is not organic and uses a type of PGR to accelerate the growth of the plants.
How is PGR weed dangerous for your health?
There are different types of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs), and each one has a different affect on the plant and potentially your health.
The overall dangers are with these chemicals being introduced into your system when they have been historically banned from being used in agriculture due to their toxic traits.
The most dangerous PGRs used on marijuana in Australia & New Zealand include:
As an example of how PGRs work, the Paclobutrazol has a unique effect on growing cannabis plants; once laced with this PGR chemical, the plant will stop producing THC, and it forces the flowers to grow tighter, denser and heavier than usual.
The weed is grown faster and the bud is heavier, so this ticks all the boxes for people selling recreational marijuana. The downside is that PGR laced weed is harmful & bad for you.
The list of how dangerous PGR weed can be on your health
Here is a quick breakdown of symptoms people experience when consuming (smoking, eating, etc.) cannabis:
- May cause cancer
- Impacting fertility
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Breathing difficulties
- May cause liver damage
Depending on the PGR, some have been scientifically proven to cause cancer, and others are still being studied. The main focus is that none of these PGR chemicals have been approved for safe use on plants that are intended for human or animal consumption.
They are basically using chemicals that makes grass grow faster on your cannabis. It was never intended for you to smoke, but it is only being used on marijuana plants because it makes the growth and flowering process a lot faster.
To spot harmful and bad PGR laced weed buds, you can visually spot the difference as seen in the picture.
The harmful PGR bud is a dense, rock-solid bud with little-to-no crystals and a reddish-brown colour. They don’t emit strong dank smells and have a harsh chemical taste when smoked or vaped.
There are various different kinds of PGRs that have different effects on plant growth, but the consistent evidence between all types is that they can lead to high toxicity levels in plants.
The conclusion around “Are PGRs harmful & bad for you?” is a definite yes. PGR marijuana can cause cancer, infertility, poison your liver, and are classified as a toxic pollutant.
The Research, Science & Evidence
- The health risks of Plant Growth Regulators - Biologia Futura, 2020).
- Plant Growth Regulators and Pesticide Toxicity.
- The visual effect of Plant Growth Regulators.
James King
James is an experienced writer and legal cannabis advocate in Australia. He answers all the questions about business, legalisation and medicinal cannabis.
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