What Are Primary And Secondary Cannabis Terpenes?

As cannabis come out of the shadows into legal status, so too is the terminology and ways of ranking and rating it. Unlike previous person-to-person references, that could take on an aura of feeling like gossip or rumor, the open nature of the growing cannabis industry is allowing terms and descriptions to become more standardized. One such term is Cannabis terpenes, which describes both the experience the cannabis product in question might provide as well as its taste and scent characteristics.

Cannabis terpenes comes in primary and secondary forms, depending on how prominent the factors will be to the experience of that particular cannabis product or strain. The terpenes are the oils produced in the cannabis flower’s glands and trichomes. Terpenes are in large part the reason different plants, that are all cannabis, will smell or feel differently. These strains can vary widely, and are beginning to do so more noticeably as legal growers begin selecting their grows to emphasize certain terpenes.

Primary terpenes tend to prominently affect how that strain smells. For many, the scene and aroma of a plant will prompt them to remember or expect how it will perform when used. Secondary terpenes are not as prominent in that strain as the primary, but will still play a role in the strain’s performance. The interaction between primary and secondary terpenes can significantly alter how the user will experience the usage of that strain of cannabis.