6 Reasons Why Your Weed Is Brown (With Solutions!)

If you’ve been using weed for a while, then you might have come across all different qualities of the drug, with distinctly different appearances and effects.

For example, though you might be used to a nice, fresh green dose, you might have also come across some brown weed in your time too.

Brown weed (also known as “brick weed”) is the lowest grade that you can get, and it’s often very cheap as a result. However, smoking too much of it will leave you feeling rotten and sick, so it’s best not to use it often.

But what makes weed brown in the first place? The short answer is that there are a variety of reasons, such as too much watering at growth or the presence of fungi, and we’re going to go into all of them in more detail in the guide below.

In our handy article, we’re going to explain 6 reasons why your weed is brown, along with the potential solutions that you could follow to avoid it going brown in the first place.

On top of that, we’ve also got a “spotter’s guide” that will allow you to detect when you’ve got brown weed, and much more. Read on!

What Is Brown Weed?

To start with, let’s have a look at what brown weed actually is.

You may have come across it by other names, such as “Brick Weed” or “Reggie Weed”, and they all refer to weed that is the lowest grade of quality you’ll come across.

As a result, it’s best to avoid it completely, because you’re unlikely to have a good experience – even if it does cost much less than high-quality weed.

Brown weed is one of the most purchased types of weed, though, simply because it costs so little.

Knowing this, people grow and sell even more of it, because they know that many weed enjoyers don’t have the money to regularly have the highest-quality cannabis.

How Is Brown Weed Low Quality?

Make no mistake, brown weed is low quality in all regards. In terms of feel and texture, you’ll find that the dry buds of brown weed will crumble away in your fingers very easily.

On top of that, brown weed looks extremely unappealing too, with its rotten, old brown look.

Perhaps the worst part, though, is the actual effect of brown weed. You’ll find that it contains a very low concentration of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the substance in weed that is most responsible for how the drug affects your mental state.

As a result, you’re not going to get very high from it, which means that you have to smoke a lot more of it in order to get any effect in the first place.

However, smoking lots of brown weed is bad and will leave you feeling sick, so it especially isn’t worth it.

Additionally, brown weed has a very flat flavor to it, as well as a nasty smell.

Why Is Brown Weed Made?

Since brown weed is the cheapest weed you can get, it sells a lot, even though it’s very bad. As a result, weed growers will make a lot of it for sale, because it’s easy money for them.

Brown weed is the result of the wrong growing techniques being used, leading to its poor quality outcome. On top of that, the grower also maintains the growth very poorly too.

Is There Any Positive Use For Brown Weed?

So far, we’ve made it pretty clear that brown weed is poor on all accounts: its texture, taste, smell, THC content, and quality.

It’s a drug that will barely get you high, and when you do eventually smoke enough of it for it to have an effect, it’ll have you feeling sick too. Even though it’s very cheap, it’s often not worth even that little money.

However, are there any positive sides to its existence?

There are a few. For one thing, it’s a good strain to use for people whose bodies aren’t able to tolerate weed that has high levels of THC.

For some people, their bodies are only able to withstand small amounts of THC, and as a result brown weed will work just fine for them.

Additionally, brown weed is sometimes used in medicinal prescriptions for people who are suffering mental illness.

It seems that the brown weed is a good reliever of stress and pain, if not a good strain for actually smoking recreationally.

Finally, it might be the case that you’re making a weed recipe, such as weed brownies or some cannabis-infused tea.

Though you might want to use a high-quality weed strain in these recipes, if you run out or can’t afford that then brown weed will be a fine substitute.

With these recipes, you’re not going to need the biggest THC or effects, because there’s other flavors and fun to be had within the recipe.

How Do You Spot Brown Weed?

Brown weed shouldn’t be too difficult to spot, especially if you have experience handling and trying higher-quality weed. If you want to avoid brown weed, then you’ll want to watch out for these factors:

Texture

You’ll find that brown weed buds are rough to the touch. On top of that, they’re dry and will crumble away easily in your hand.

After Effects

If you smoke a lot of brown weed, then you’re going to end up feeling sick and rotten, with a weak body.

Taste

Brown weed will tend to have a flat flavor to it, though the taste will depend on where it was grown. Wherever that may be, though, all brown weed won’t have the nuance and richness of flavor that you expect from high-quality weed.

Smell

All weed has a distinct smell, but brown weed has a very unpleasant odor. You’ll find that it smells skunky. Even worse, it’s a smell that will stick to you for a while, with it being difficult to get rid of.

6 Reasons Why Your Weed Is Brown (With Solutions!)

As you’ll know, healthy and high-quality weed strains will often have a dark green color to them. On top of that, their stems will be firm, rather than crumble easily.

Weed growers will try to grow the best (unless they’re purposefully growing brown weed to sell cheaply), but in order to do so you’ll need to understand what makes weed brown in the first place.

Knowing that, you’ll be able to avoid it, and instead get high-quality, green weed.

There are a few different potential reasons, and we’ve listed them below. Additionally, we’ve got possible solutions to help you avoid the reasons from coming true.

1. Too Much Light

One of the possible reasons for weed turning brown is due to too much light being in contact with the plant. Of course, all plants need light to grow, and a cannabis plant is no different.

A regular amount of light is necessary for photosynthesis to happen, and the buds of the cannabis plant need it for their growth.

With that being said, there is such a thing as too much light, which could burn the plant. An overabundance of light could damage the upper leaves of your plant and cause the leaves to discolor and change.

Is leaving your grow lights on for 24 hours going to get a killer yield or be a yield killer?

How Can You Solve It?

You can solve this as you would expect, by monitoring the levels of light very closely as your cannabis plant is growing indoors. This way you’ll find the perfect balance between too low and too high.

You can also install some LED lights, too, because these give off enough light but won’t burn the plant, due to their low heat.

2. The Plant Is Old

Your weed may have simply turned brown because it is too old. If you’ve had the weed for quite a while, then it’s not strange for it to begin to decay and turn brown, with its leaves going dry.

Like all plants, a cannabis plant will eventually grow old.

How Can You Solve It?

While you can’t stop a cannabis plant from growing and growing old, you can make sure that you’re harvesting it and selling it before it reaches this stage.

Additionally, you can defoliate any leaves that are dying, keeping the plant more fresh.

3. pH Problems And Difficulty To Absorb Nutrients

A cannabis plant will need the right amount of nutrients for it to continue growing and developing healthily, and it needs them on a regular basis.

It might be the case that it isn’t getting the right balance of nutrients that it needs, and this can cause it to turn brown.

A plant will need both macro and micronutrients in order to perform vital functions, such as growing tissues and using photosynthesis.

If your plant isn’t getting enough, then you can use supplements to help it, or add fertilizers to the soil.

With that being said, you might find that these methods don’t work. In these cases, it’s likely that your cannabis plants are in a growing area with an unsuitable pH level.

If it’s too acidic or too alkaline, then the plant’s capability for absorbing nutrients will be damaged.

How Can You Solve It?

As we touched on, a supplement or a fertilizer can help your cannabis plant to get the right amount of nutrients that it needs, preventing it from going brown.

However, this won’t work for every plant, because some might be in a growing area that has an unsuitable pH level.

To avoid this ever becoming the case, you should constantly monitor the pH level of your area and its soil. You want to aim for a pH of around 6 or 7, which is either low levels of acid or neutral.

If it’s too late and the levels are wrong, then purchase some pH correction supplements and add them to the soil.

4. Overheating

This is similar to the idea of too much light earlier, which itself can cause too much heat.

If your cannabis plant has been subjected to too much heat, then it can cause its leaves to lose moisture. This then makes the leaves dry out and turn brown.

Additionally, overheating can destroy its cells. If they’re destroyed enough, then they won’t be able to repair and the plant will be ruined and unable to grow properly.

How Can You Solve It?

If you’re growing your cannabis inside, then you’ll be able to buy fans and air conditioning in order to keep the greenhouse sufficiently cool and avoid overheating.

On the other hand, you can’t do this when you’re growing cannabis outside. However, there are still techniques you can use, such as shading your plants in cloth to keep too much heat from them.

5. It’s Suffering Fungi Or Pests

Like many plants, your cannabis plant is at risk of being eaten by various different pests.

You might find little bitemarks and holes on the leaves, which could have been caused by pests like slugs and caterpillars. Meanwhile, where you can’t see, the plant’s roots might be being eaten by nematodes.

On top of all this, cannabis plants can also be affected by fungi, taking damage from molds and other threats.

How Can You Solve It?

It’s essential that you protect your plants from these threats. Although they can withstand a little damage, long term damage will ruin them.

As a result, grow near other plants to distract the threats. Additionally, unleash predatory ladybugs to attack the pests.

6. Too Much Watering

Finally, your weed might turn brown from overwatering. It’s essential that you water your plant the right amount for growth, but too much watering can cause its cells to bloat and burst.

How Can You Solve It?

As a result, monitor your watering carefully, ensuring it’s the right amount. Only ever water them when the top 5cm of the soil is dry (but don’t under-water either!)

Final Thoughts

Brown weed is cheap and makes you sick. Avoid your weed turning brown with our 6 reasons and solutions.