Hey man don't listen to all that BS. If you have to take it down take it down.. It will still get you sky high. I have had to harvest earlier than that before and got ripped of my ass. The only thing that will be compromised is yield and cbd (Couch lock/relaxing effect) You look like you are in about 5 weeks flowering give or take a week. The plant has developed a lot of it's thc. As cannabis matures and your trichs change color it is just the gradual degradation of thc and the chemical reactions converting CBD's and CBN's. Whats going to happen is your just going to get more of an active racy high instead of a laid back sit back and chill feel.
I will put money on it that it has not been a waste. I have pulled popcorn buds of a test plant at all stages of flower. Past week one you will be surprised at the fact that you will get high. I actually found that by taking nugs off the plant from the tiny calyxes in week one to the swelled buds of week 8, that the most potent sample was actually week 6. That's when I found the plant contained the most active concentration of thc after week 6 on an 8 week plant you compromise thc for yield but gain CBD the plant will swell dramatically the final couple weeks but as the trichs start to amber up they loss a bit of they're thc. Although, some people will not agree because they have a different perception of potency. Meaning they grade potancy based on the typical effect they are looking for most people with an 8 week indica strain are looking for that intense couch lock feel which is in correlation with the raised amount of CBD compared to a typical Sativa strain. Now when they smoke a premature plant they expect that classic indica stone where as instead they recieve a more open eyed sativa boost which to them feels as though they did not get as high as they wanted because they didn't get zoned out. They do have a point though hold off as long as possible because its only improving yield. UNLESS it is going to affect your family because your family should come first! But don't get tricked into the main stream thought that it has to reach maturity to be of any value. When our ancestors would gather wild cannabis in the fields do you think that they looked at it and was like umm.. I don't think the plant is week 8 flower we better come back in a couple weeks no they gathered that shit and smoked it.
In fact, some people prefer to harvest early because they would rather sacrifice yeild in order to get a desired feel. Thats why alot of seasoned connoisseurs will tell you to test your bud at various times to find what stage feels best for you.
Don't be disheartened I guarantee.
