Home / Learn / PGR Weed: Your Guide To Toxic Marijuana?

PGR Weed: Your Guide To Toxic Marijuana?

Cannabis (weed, marijuana, etc.) and plant growth regulators (PGR) are in the spotlight due to their potentially harmful effects on human consumption in Australia. PGR nutrients may produce harmful chemicals in your weed.

Learn, PGR | 10 June, 2021

Medical Cannabis Articles Disclaimer

Written By James King

5 Minute Summary: What does Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) mean?
How To Tell If Your Weed Bud Is Laced With PGR
Are PGRs In Marijuana, Harmful & Dangerous? Can PGR Weed Kill You?
Does PGR Weed Get You High?
PGR VS NO PGR: The Difference Between Chemical and Natural Marijuana
The Five Groups Of PGRs Used On Cannabis Plants
PGR Weed Nutrients
Is Hydro Weed PGR?
The Research, Science & Evidence - Find out more about PGR marijuana

Plant Growth Regulators (PGR) and their use in growing cannabis in Australia is a hot topic. They are the reason the weed you by is rock solid and a bit off-colour. But why is PGR bad for marijuana cultivation and harmful to smoke or vape?

More Australians are becoming aware of the dangers behind PGR chemical nutrients and how PGR weed can cause permanent damage when inhaled or consumed.

PGR nutrients are used to boost the growth of grass on your lawn chemically. So there’s no surprise that using the same chemical nutrients on marijuana plants will lead to some dangerous results.

PGR weed has flooded Australia’s recreational weed market, and it’s so bad that people have forgotten what natural weed tastes like. One trip over to North America will open your eyes to the wonders of natural weed with no dangerous PGR chemicals.

Want to jump right into a specific topic about PGR marijuana? Here are some articles to answer your questions:

We are covering a few main points around PGR weed and all general things Plant Growth Regulating (PGR) with Cannabis in Australia & New Zealand!

This article aims to bring together all the important information about PGRs and cannabis. Each part of this article is broken down into easily digestable summaries.

Table of Contents.

If you are reading this, then you are likely one of the health conscious smokers who have found out why their weed tastes different, or just simply want to avoid the dangers of chemical laced marijuana buds.

5 Minute Summary: What does Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) mean?

A growth regulator or plant growth regulator (or PGR) is a chemical applied to seeds or plants to alter their characteristics. Sometimes they are called plant hormones.

PGRs can be added to crops by growers to help them achieve their desired goal. This could include increasing pest and disease resistance or increasing root strength. Some PGRs can also be used to retard growth.

PGR cannabis alludes to cannabis that has been developed with plant grow regulators (PGR).

When used, PGR chemicals will assists with controlling the development of plants, including things like when the natural products age, and the width and state of the plant’s roots, leaves and stems.

The main reason why PGRs are used in cultivating marijuana is that they grow bigger, larger and heavier buds (flowers). As these are the parts people use to get high, the black market cultivation of marijuana uses PGRs for quick profits.

PGRs make the cultivators more money, but the real danger is in the people smoking cannabis that has PGR chemicals on the flowers. Smoking, inhaling, and consuming plant growth regulators is highly dangerous and toxic.

What exactly are Plant Growth Regulators (PGR)?

PGRs are a synthetic form of natural Plant Growth Hormones that induces growth of shoots and roots, extends the life of the plant, speeds up germination, and triggers flowering.

In theory, they are a great idea to efficiently grow marijuana, but in reality, the buds are toxic and harmful to smoke.

They have legitimate uses with hedges and grass as it accelerates the growth of plants, but have too many negative effects when consumed.

Australia’s drug market is flooded with rock-hard PGR weed that has low THC content and high chemical content. It’s not uncommon for smokers to prefer PGR weed as they get a chemical high from it.

Growing with cannabis with PGR allows you to germinate faster, stimulating the growth and triggering the flowering. The result is a faster-growing cannabis plant that produces heavier bud that is low in THC and laced with chemicals.

We strongly recommend against PGR as it might not be as harmful in the short-term, but in the long-term, it can cause infertility, chest and breathing pains, cancer, and more.

PGR weed still exists in Australia because it produces larger weed flowers faster, but the result isn’t a great product. Since PGR weed is the standard in Australia, most people don’t realise that natural marijuana is any different.

Common PGRs found in Australian & New Zealand marijuana

Besides being toxic when smoked or consumed, synthetic PGR influences the plant’s natural growth and quality plant.

The most widely recognised PGRs utilised for cannabis development are:

1. PGR: Paclobutrazol

Paclobutrazol impacts a plant cell’s capacity to elongate, which in cannabis implies cells pack a lot tighter and denser on the cannabis bud.

It likewise prevents the advancement of key terpenes on the plant and lessens the capacity of the plant to deliver THC.

When weed containing paclobutrazol is smoked, it separates into Nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are the most cancer-causing compound found in cigarettes. Studies say paclobutrazol can cause liver damage and also impact your fertility.

2. PGR: Daminozide

The effects of Daminozide, also known as Alar, on cannabis enhances its ability to grow larger flowers (bud) for larger yields. Still, it also hinders the plant’s ability to produce terpenes and cannabinoids such as THC, CBD, and CBN.

As Daminozide is a probable human carcinogen, it is banned from being used on plants that are intended for human consumption.

3. PGR: Chlormequat Chloride

The Chlormequat Chloride effects on marijuana plants are simple. First, it stimulates the plant’s flowering process to speed up the time taken to harvest.

The effects of Chlormequat on humans may include:

skin irritation
eye irritation
organ damage

How To Tell If Your Weed Bud Is Laced With PGR

There are more ways than one to tell if you have PGR weed. We will cover a few of the main telltale signs of PGR laced marijuana, and also provide images to compare.

The obvious signs of PGR weed are:

Rock hard dense bud
Red hairs
Little to no crystals
Weak smell
Harsh chemical taste
Fast-acting chemical high that can cause a headache and a lethargic high

The difference between PGR bud and non-PGR bud

These signs of PGR weed vary, but the most apparent visual is its density. The PGR grown cannabis plants produce dense weed that’s heavier and more profitable when selling by weight.

Since the 1980s, there has been evidence that PGRs can cause liver damage, infertility, and cancer when PGR agricultural products are consumed.

That’s not to say that PGRs are bad and should be outright banned, but they should not be used in plants that are going to be consumed or have their extracts used on humans.

For the legitimate cannabis cultivation industry, such as MEDIFARM’s cannabis facility in Queensland, they follow strict cultivation guidelines to make medical marijuana products safe for consumption.

You should not smoke, vape, eat, or drink any form of cannabis grown with PGRS due to their toxicity and harmful effects. There is evidence that shows PGR chemicals in marijuana can cause serious harm.

It might not kill you overnight, but it can certainly cause permanent damage to your body.

Now we know what PGR laced cannabis is, will it get you high, or is it as good as smoking oregano?

PGR weed does get you high, but it is not the same high as pure cannabis. PGR marijuana has an almost instant chemical high that can be addictive.

The effects of growing cannabis with PGR reduce the THC potency in the flowers, but this may go unnoticed as the chemical high can replace some of the THC high effects.

Higher THC content gets you higher, and any kind of chemical high that you get from PGR cannabis is not a healthy or natural one.

Naturally grown weed has high THC and CBD contents. They have a softer and fluffy feel to them and a strong “dank” smell emitting from the bud.

For natural or organic weed, you cannot use pesticides or plant growth regulators (PGR).

The high from this natural weed will have more prolonged effects and more medicinal benefits than any PGR laced bud.

PGR weed has lower THC and CBD contents. They have a harder and more dense feel to them and emit little to no smell.

They generally have a reddish-brown colour and minimal visible crystals. The high effects hit you hard with a chemical high that can lead to headaches soon after smoking or vaping.

When it comes to PGR weed vs natural marijuana, the latter wins every time. You will never find PGR weed in Europe or Canada, but unfortunately its everywhere in Australia as its cheap to produce.

When it comes to PGRs, there is more than one kind that can be used to enhance the growing process of cannabis.

Each PGR type has a purpose, and these include:

speeding up the cannabis seed germination process
growing shoots and roots
triggering cannabis flowering
extending the plant’s life

Organic growth regulators are either synthetic or naturally derived. Organic sources of PGRs include naturally sourced amendments like seaweed or liquid kelp.

Commercial growers and nurseries use synthetic growth regulators.

There are currently five types of PGRs: auxins (cytokinins), gibberellins (abscisic acid) and ethylene. Each growth regulator has different effects on plants.

Auxins control plant cell lengthening and can have an impact on rooting as well as bud development.
Cytokinins are used to stimulate and retard plant growth. They can also be used as antagonists of auxins.
Gibberellins are used to increase flowering and play an important role in root formation.
Abscisic acid is responsible for germination and water stress management. At the same time, ethylene is used to promote root development and shoot growth.

Some plant growth regulators may not be able to promote faster growth. Some regulators slow down growth to make it easier for young plants to be transported and transplanted for longer periods.

This is important for commercial seed growers selling seedlings to home gardeners. It makes it easier to transplant and helps nurseries obtain shorter plants that aren’t easily bent, twisted, or damaged.

These hormones can be used in accordance with prescribed agricultural practices and are not known to cause harm to humans. However, if they are applied outside of these guidelines, they can cause excessively rapid growth.

There are many more effects of PGRs they have a focus on the manipulating the plant’s growth, ripening, and longevity.

PGR Weed Nutrients

The idea behind PGR nutrients is to boost the growth of the plant using synthetic hormones. This sounds like a great idea until you see, smell and taste the final product.

Unfortunately, lacing your marijuana plants with PGR results in the dried flower (bud) with a nasty chemical taste. These chemicals can be harmful when consumed or smoked.

The PGR Nutriends used on marijuana plants artificially stimulates the plant to grow, to flower and overall produce higher yields. The negatives when using PGR weed nutrients include:

lower CBD and THC content in the marijuana flower
harmful chemical high
reduced terpenes and other natural cannabinoids

So if you are looking to use PGR nutrients to boost your weed crop, think twice, as this may produce harmful marijuana buds.

Is Hydro Weed PGR?

Hydro, otherwise known as Hydroponic, marijuana is not a PGR. PGR weed is defined by the plant growth regulator chemicals that are used to enhance the growing and flowering phases.

The main reasons why hydroponic is not PGR weed is due to the organic living soil and healthy nutrients you can use to grow your cannabis plant.

The Research, Science & Evidence - Find out more about PGR marijuana

James King

James is an experienced writer and legal cannabis advocate in Australia. He answers all the questions about business, legalisation and medicinal cannabis.

Disclaimer: Cannabis Place are not doctors and we recommend consulting health professionals for accurate information. This site may contain information regarding drugs. This medicinal cannabis content is designed for an 18+ audience. Click here for our full disclaimer

Articles

PGR Weed: Your Guide To Toxic Marijuana?

5 Minute Summary: What does Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) mean?

What exactly are Plant Growth Regulators (PGR)?