i sampled mine at around 4 weeks... actually was better than i thought and it also helped motivate me for the next few weeks. the only problem is that once you decide to take that first sample, you might not be able to stop lol! if ya wanna sample a bud, i would wait until at least week 4-5 and limit yourself to the smaller buds at the bottom that don't look like they are gonna produce much anyways. getting rid of a few of these smaller branches isn't gonna harm anything, hell it might even lead to fatter buds up top as the plant can redirect energy upwards. with my plant i have a line in the sand that i won't cross, meaning that some of the smaller bottom branches were fair game, but i refuse to touch anything that will produce as it amounts to basically stealing from yourself. i have about another 3-4 weeks give or take, and i only plan on taking one more small sample about a week before chop time to see how everything is coming along. good luck!