Unfortunately, things can’t always go well when writing honest cannabis reviews. This time, then, we made a misstep. After a detailed inspection of our latest weed purchased for this review, we unfortunately have to conclude that it is not good. What exactly is going on?

Runtz

We recently purchased what appeared to be a beautiful bud, a Runtz. The weed smelled great and immediately reminded us of a real Runtz. The bud also looked very nice and was overloaded with white trichomes and a natural structure, which you often see in Dutch/European cannabis.

With the naked eye, we could already see a lot of intact trichomes on the outside. This is usually a good sign and also shows that the weed has been handled with care. The smell was a fairly strong sweet and sour smell, which quickly brings to mind a fruity strain like Gelato. This is also quite correct, as the original Runtz is a cross between Skittlez and Gelato.

After buying the top, we took some pictures with a decent camera where you can zoom in well. Unfortunately, right then something we don’t like came up!

Spider mites or mold

It looked like there was a white colored web in the top. This is something that immediately brings to mind spider mites or perhaps bud rot. We were obviously very sorry, as we were very much looking forward to consuming this weed. After brief discussion, we quickly decided not to do so, and to contact the seller. Fortunately, he was very understanding and we were immediately invited to come and exchange the Runtz for something else.

Quality control in the Netherlands

Actually, we believe that the seller is responsible for the quality of his or her cannabis, but unfortunately in the current market this is a difficult job. In other markets, quality control is usually carried out before the product reaches the seller. Even that goes wrong from time to time but then the supermarket, for example, recalls the products that do not meet the quality.

However, since cannabis is still in the black market, at least in the Netherlands there are no bodies that perform general quality checks. We therefore hope that this situation will soon change after the legal cannabis experiment, and that you will then hardly ever encounter contaminated top-quality cannabis in the Netherlands again.

What concerns us most is that the contamination was difficult to detect. In fact, it could not be seen with the naked eye! We took pictures that we could zoom in on properly, and that was the only way we discovered the contamination. Later, we inspected the cannabis again with a microscope, and this is how we were able to study the contamination up close. These are actions that the average cannabis consumer would not perform. They would simply smoke or vape the contaminated cannabis, risking their own health!

Zero points

For taste and effect this strain scores a 0, it is the first time we have to give this grade for a cannabis bud. We did not consume this cannabis.

It is unfortunate that this has happened, but it is unfortunately the reality we find ourselves in as Dutch cannabis consumers. There is no mandatory quality control on the product or at the coffeeshops themselves. Fortunately, there are many people who care about their products, and they will also do everything they can to offer a nice clean product. But in the current situation this remains difficult, and unfortunately this is why junk continues to circulate. There is only one real solution to this, and that is legalization!