Well if Zeus's take that you can tell ripness by overall appearances, I can buy into that. For many years before I knew what a trichome was, or even where in the plant THC was formed I grew some very good stuff, from very good genetics. I always seemed to harvest at the best time, at least nobody had any complaints. Now a days a lot of what I grow is truly mmj, and hitting a certian finish point consistently, the best gauge of THC vs cannabinoids is the color of the trichomes, imho.