When you were younger you probably heard of teenagers getting fooled into buying ziplock bags of scrunched-up oregano, thinking it was marijuana. While pranking teens tends to be pretty easy, is the government just as gullible? Many people questioning the quality of marijuana research findings are wondering that very thing, after a new report from the Washington Post revealed that government marijuana looks nothing like marijuana you’d find on the streets.

According to the Post, researchers have been required to use marijuana provided by the federal government ever since the 1960s. As it turns out, all federal marijuana is grown at a single facility at the University of Mississippi, overseen by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). But the marijuana made at this lab looks drastically different from the stuff you’d buy from a local dealer or dispensary.

This is what government marijuana looks like:

Government marijuana looks nothing like the real stuff. See for yourself. https://t.co/UKNSYwqPWQ pic.twitter.com/IbQv8p5NWu

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 13, 2017

While weed comes in different colors, densities, and shapes, it’s easy to notice the differences between the commercial weed and the government marijuana by looking at the side-by-side comparisons. The image on the left looks like the real deal, while the image on the right resembles something closer to dried rosemary or grass clippings than actual marijuana.

“In two decades of smoking weed, I’ve never seen anything that looks like that,” said Jake Browne, a cannabis critic for the Denver Post’s Cannabist marijuana news site. “People typically smoke the flower of the plant, but here you can clearly see stems and leaves in there as well, parts that should be discarded. Inhaling that would be like eating an apple, including the seeds inside it and the branch it grew on.”

Twitter quickly mocked the quality of the government weed in the photo as well:

no wonder the government hates weed they’ve been smoking grass clippings this whole time https://t.co/W7iAHdMKhd

— ㅤ (@BryannaRusnak) March 14, 2017

thought this was gonna be an “Obamacare vs. Trumpcare” joke https://t.co/oMRIurnu8s

— Zeru (@DoubleStraps) March 13, 2017

Hey @SnoopDogg this is the marijuana that the government distributes for medical research, care to comment? pic.twitter.com/jBi6WTPgL9

— Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) March 13, 2017

But it isn’t just the weed’s appearance that is different.

The potency of government marijuana typically maxes out at about 13 percent THC, but some reports put that number much lower. By comparison, commercial weed available in Colorado averages at about 19 percent THC, according to a laboratory that tests commercial marijuana in the state.

“It’s akin to investigating the effects of bourbon by giving people Bud Light,” wrote the Post.

Last summer the DEA formally took steps to end the monopoly on the production of research grade marijuana, but so far, no other producers have been approved.

The founding director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, Rick Doblin, contends that the marijuana being used for research isn’t all bad. “[NIDA’s] marijuana is fine if you want to do academic research,” Doblin said.

Right now marijuana research is in high demand, as states look to cannabis studies for guidance while weighing the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes. But in order to ensure the credibility of this research, the government may want to look into providing researchers marijuana that real people would actually want to smoke.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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According to a new study by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, teens who use synthetic marijuana are more likely to engage in risky behavior, have unprotected sex, and abuse other, potentially more harmful drugs. The study interpreted data from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey to come to its conclusions.

Researchers found that “nearly one in 10 high school students had used synthetic marijuana at some point in their lifetime,” said Heather Clayton, the lead researcher of the CDC study, and a scientist with the center’s Division of Adolescent and School Health.

“The findings indicate that students who report using synthetic marijuana are possibly on a very concerning health trajectory, which is particularly serious given that synthetic marijuana use is relatively common among adolescents,” Clayton added.

Those who use synthetic pot–also known as “fake weed”–are more likely to carry a gun or engage in violent behavior than those who use traditional marijuana, the researchers said, and are more likely to have begun using marijuana at an early age. Synthetic marijuana use is also linked to having unprotected sex. So why do people turn to synthetic marijuana rather than the natural plant? It’s readily available, it’s cheap, and it’s hard for authorities to detect, due to manufacturers’ ever-changing formulas and marketing techniques.

Like traditional marijuana, the synthetic variety is classified as a Schedule I drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Though often packaged and marketed in a colorful, almost innocent fashion (K2 and Spice are common strain varieties), synthetic marijuana is tied to a variety of adverse effects. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, synthetic marijuana, which usually consists of dried leaves sprayed with a menagerie of chemicals, can lead to “rapid heart rate, vomiting, violent behavior, and suicidal thoughts.”

The CDC researchers said that their findings were not meant to establish a causal relationship between synthetic marijuana use and risky behavior in teens. For instance, people who are more likely to engage in risky or violent behaviors are also more likely to try synthetic marijuana. But “it’s still important for health professionals and school-based substance-prevention programs to focus on strategies that reduce the initiation of marijuana and synthetic marijuana use,” Clayton said.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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