1202

ISSUE 2 2012

ESTABLISHED IN AMSTERDAM, 1985

18+ For adults only. Soft Secrets is published six times a year by Discover Publishers USA, Inc.

It’s 4/20!

No doubt you have been planning your celebrations for some time now, and with the unseasonably warm spring this year, the 420 events for 2012 promise to be more enjoyable than ever. Whatever you do for this international, weed-themed day of Cannabis celebration and community, be certain to make the move from ‘slacktivism’ to true activism this year.

Why not get off the sofa, stop posting pointed comments on various Cannabis forums and articles, and do something with your opinion?

In This Issue: URBAN FARM EVOLUTION: Someday you may be forced to use your weed-growing skills to feed your family...

›› 5

Pot for PMS and PMDD

›› 7

CANNABIS COMPANIONS Is your ganja lonely? Introduce it to some friends... ›› 13

The Medi-Weed Movement

›› 18

A TALE OF TWO CANNABINOIDS A British report on THC, CBD and Sativex

›› 27

You can begin by checking out your local NORML chapter to see if there are events in which you can participate, petitions to sign, ‘green prisoners’ whose cases deserve attention, or other locally-beneficial activities that might interest you (www.norml.org) – or write a letter to your local officials regarding local ballot measures and other legislation.

If travel is more your style, a slew of international festivals, expos and gatherings will take place on the eponymous dope day. The vast Soft Secrets family of publications is proud to be hosting its first ever Growmed Valencia in Spain from April 20th to 22nd. A weed fair with a twist, Growmed promises to offer all the usual weed-related goodies that you will typically find at these events, including grow equipment, seeds and smoking paraphernalia. The twist at this new expo is the addition of a park-style setup, the Medical Arena. Here you can meet and interact with doctors and medi-weed celebrities, as well as experts from universities, dispensaries, collectives and medical labs around the world. Know what you smoke – especially if it’s for medical purposes.

Our home base of the Netherlands will also host many local events, typically organized through forums and other online Cannabis communities.

The largest and perhaps most attended gathering is likely to be the ‘AntiWeedpass Smoke-Out’, occurring from noon until 5:30 PM. Under the theme of ‘Puff, Puff... NO PASS!’ the organizers plan to announce the location only one hour in advance, through the website www.coffeeshopnieuws.nl, perhaps in an attempt to avoid an early shutdown. The impending Dutch Wietpas and ban on Cannabis products above 15% THC is stirring anger among coffeeshop customers, staff and owners, and so now is likely the best time to speak up. If you plan to be in Amsterdam for the week of 4/20, and

if you enjoy the freedom of being able to visit our famous (and previously non-discriminatory) coffeeshops, be certain to add your shouts of protest to the cause.

Finally there is the Global Marijuana March – also known as the Million Marijuana March, Cannabis Liberation Day, or a variety of other monikers – usually held on the first Saturday of May, if not on 4/20 itself. Started in 1999, the March now attracts over 700 countries with a common message: celebrate Cannabis culture, end punitive Cannabis laws, stop the drug war, allow patients safe access to safe medicine, and free the green prisoners worldwide. Find out where the action is happening at www.millionmarijuanamarch.com.

3

Fruit Spirit is the current result of a never-ending quest for new flavors that send your taste buds dancing with every hit of the joint or bong. This Cannabis strain is one of the sweetest skunks we have come across in our time. www.royalqueenseeds.nl

FRUIT SPIRIT

IN THIS ISSUE: It’s 4/20!

Page 3 Girl: Fruit Spirit Big Low (Automatic) Urban Farm Revolution Pot for PMS and PMDD Vita Start Ercole SHL Strain Lab Awards SGL Strain Lab Awards Cannabis Companions Spring Planting and Greenhouses Premier Counter-Culture Expo The Medi-Weed Movement Wives’ Tales and Wisdom Cannabis and Our Environment Moroccan Kif Dutch 15% Rule Revisited Sativex: Phase III Hy’s Deli by oz.

Indica at its best A Tale of Two Cannabinoids Syrian Vacation Jelly Hash Fruit Spirit Flush It… Don’t Rush It! Magic Grass Cannabis Cultivation Marijuana Pest & Disease Control How Green is the Rif? Caterpillar Confidential Passive Hydroponics Simple Water Extraction A Stoned Selection Cannabis in Russia

1 3 4 5 7 9 9 10 12 13 16 17 18 20 22 24 24 25 25 26 27 29 30 32 33 34 35 35 36 38 40 42 43 44

FROM THE EDITOR STRAIN REPORT POSTER ECO-REPORT MEDICAL 101 PRODUCT FLASH PRODUCT FLASH NOR-CAL TEST LAB SO-CAL TEST LAB ORGANIC CULTIVATION SERIOUS GARDENING GLASS COMPETITION LEGISLATION ORGANIC CULTIVATION HEMP BOTANY ENDANGERED STRAINS MADE IN HOLLAND CANNABIS MEDICINES COMIC GROW REPORT CANNABIS MEDICINES SMUGGLER’S TALES DIY POSTER CULTIVATION 101 MIND, BODY, SPIRIT BOOK REVIEW BOOK REVIEW ECO-REPORT ORGANIC CULTIVATION SERIOUS GARDENING DIY MUSIC REVIEWS CULTIVATION ABROAD

Big Low (Automatic)

Image: Seeds of Life

5 Kali Mist

As the world’s population races in ever greater numbers to our sprawling and polluted metropolises, the problem of how best to feed the swelling ranks of city-dwellers becomes ever more pressing. Providing a suitable habitat for the fruits and vegetables we depend on can be extremely difficult in an urban setting.

Beyond the high cost of land, local climatic conditions can be greatly altered by the grow of a city, and can have adverse effects upon agriculture. But it is a pressing issue – food prices are currently at record global highs, and significant numbers of the urban poor are facing rising food insecurity, a problem shared by an increasing number of nations as the global recession deepens.

To assist in counteracting this rising insecurity, various city farm schemes have been proposed throughout the world, and many have been implemented already. Most major US cities now have some form of scheme in place; a few of the very largest conurbations, such as New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and the Bay Area, have seen great successes. By redeveloping derelict spaces and thinking creatively (rooftop vegetable

is without doubt the specialty of the pot farmer. ‘Sea of Green’ is a classic example of a Cannabis cultivation technique that has been successfully applied to various other fruiting plants, such as tomatoes, beans and peas. This technique is suitable for plants that can be planted very close together, and will flower and fruit after very little vegetative time. Examples of such knowledge transfer in this direction are few, but Cannabis growers are important for other reasons also.

particularly since the publication of ecologist Dickson Despommier’s 1999 work, The Vertical Farm. In Linkoping, Sweden, construction has just commenced on what they claim is the world’s first fullyautomated vertical farm concept – the Plantscraper, which functions as a template for future projects. Work is due to be completed by mid-2013. While the concept of utilizing as much vertical space as possible is hardly revolutionary in agricultural circles, the idea of building specially-designed skyscrapers solely to

grow food is hugely controversial, for various reasons.

Critics suggest that the environmental and financial cost of such projects would outweigh the benefits, and it is certainly true that conservative estimates of the cost of building a 21-story tower are around the $84 million mark – a cost that could only be borne by the biggest agribusinesses (or ironically, some of the wealthiest Cannabis producers). The buildings would require supplementary

The Cannabis market is worth almost $120 billion in the US alone, according to some estimates, and growers are often among the earliest adopters of new and experimental techniques, which helps to encourage further research and development and ultimately leads to improved products. Lighting systems are a good example: the need to reduce heat, power consumption, and visibility to law enforcement meant that LED lighting technologies were eagerly taken up by the Cannabis world, even in their earliest stages of development, helping to reach our current highly competitive standards.

Now LEDs are the sole lighting source for many productive commercial enterprises,

CANNABIS UNIQUELY PROVIDES A REASON FOR PEOPLE TO GET INVOLVED WITH PLANTS, TO UNDERSTAND THE BASIC CONCEPTS AND APPLY THEM TO GROWING OTHER CROPS gardens are a great example), it is possible to get a lot back from a relatively small input – but despite the many success stories, we are very far from achieving selfsufficient cities.

Over the years, the transfer of knowledge between legal agriculturalists and (largely) illegal cultivators of Cannabis has been great. The first indoor Cannabis gardeners were greatly supported by the wealth of pre-existing knowledge of indoor growing in general, and due to massive selection pressures on establishing efficient, covert and low-impact systems, they and their descendants have become leaders in the field. Now their knowledge is proving valuable to the urban farming industry, and liaisons between Cannabis growers and various urban farm initiatives are becoming more common in some parts – although for obvious reasons remain largely unpublicized.

The art of producing a high yield from a limited space, without sacrificing quality,

including PlantLab, a vertical farm scheme in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, whose managers report up to three times the yield from conventional systems using their specially-tweaked high-efficiency LED rigs.

Similarly, hydroponics as a technique for high-yield, intensive cultivation was adopted by the earliest indoor growers, so avidly that the method soon became inextricably linked to Cannabis. This is still the case: pioneers of new hydroponic urban farming schemes have occasionally found their suggestions summarily rejected by investors on the basis of an uncomfortably strong perceived association. However, ignoring these schemes may well prove hugely short-sighted, as they show several signs of being truly viable options for a sustainable future.

Large vertical farms were proposed as a potential solution to the food crisis as early as 1915, and over the last few years the movement has markedly increased,

A BEAUTIFUL JUXTAPOSITION OF THE ORGANIC AND THE ARTIFICIAL (TIM GONZALEZ)

ADVANCED LED SYSTEMS AT PLANTLAB IN DEN BOSCH (PLANTLAB)

6 lighting, irrigation systems and automated systems, not to mention the building materials themselves, which are often extracted from hugely environmentallydamaging quarries.

However, supporters of the vertical farming concept are positive that the cost to run a properly-designed vertical farm would be minimal. Using one existing technology, Verticrop™ from the UK company Valcent Technologies, a daily power usage equivalent to that needed to run a desktop PC for ten hours can reportedly yield annual harvests of half a million lettuces – up to seven times less expensively than conventional methods. Another benefit of an enclosed vertical system is the relative certainty of crops successfully reaching maturity; as our cropland is devastated by the ravages of invasive monoculture, we are seeing diminishing harvests. It is possible that investment in vertical farming schemes will soon be

posal to erect a $200 million hydroponic tower in Las Vegas, city authorities denied the existence of any such plan. However in Chicago, ‘The Plant’ has begun construction – a former meatpacking warehouse that by 2015 will have completed its transformation into a net-zero, off-grid vertical farm, drawing its power from an anaerobic digestion system consuming 10,000 tons of food waste a day. The project is part-funded by grant money from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and is a gigantic step in the right direction that could be quickly repeated by other cities if successful. Some have postulated that an ideal urban farming environment may even be better for our species at its current state of development than more traditional outdoor methods.

For one thing, the systems already in place to control waste water could ensure that potentially-harmful runoff is safely con-

A SMALL HYDRO SETUP, IDEAL FOR HERBS (HANDOLIO)

customer makes a massive contribution to current levels of emissions, and if food was produced on the doorsteps of the 60% of the world’s population living in cities,these food miles could be slashed.

THE CANNABIS MARKET IS WORTH ALMOST $120 BILLION IN THE US ALONE, ACCORDING TO SOME ESTIMATES, AND GROWERS ARE OFTEN AMONG THE EARLIEST ADOPTERS OF NEW AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES seen as safer and more appealing than investing in traditional agriculture altogether, to the objective financier.

In the US, vertical systems are not springing up as the Despommier school had hoped. Although much ado was made on the internet a few years ago over a pro-

tained within the confines of the city, rather than finding its way to the groundwater, and properly-treated human waste could be used as fertilizer. Furthermore, the proximity of the food supply to the consumers is hugely important: the number of food miles clocked up by transporting produce vast distances to the

The urban poor could greatly benefit from a sustainable, secure and low-cost supply of diverse produce, and the potential for job creation and adoption of community labor- and produce-sharing schemes could further help to alleviate poverty.

Theoretically, quality of urban life and environment could be greatly improved.

It is not only the urban environment that would benefit: creating contained urban farms would allow pressures on our beleaguered rural ecosystems to relax greatly, and they could be allowed to recover. The benefits of allowing even a small portion of the 400 million or so acres currently devoted to cropland in the US to revert to nature would be huge – biodiversity would have a chance to increase, honey bee populations could recover, and visual scars on our landscape would be covered with new growth.

HYDROPONICS IS ADVANCING RAPIDLY (RETRO MODERNS)

BRINGING AGRICULTURE AND ONE OF MANY WAYS TO UTILIZE

LOCAL YOUTH TOGETHER! (LONDON

VERTICAL SPACE (KANU HAWAII)

PERMACULTURE FLICKR)

Although on a much smaller scale, the vertical systems now being implemented have been tested and made viable by Cannabis farmers (among others) over the last two or three decades. While the scale of the projects now being proposed is much larger than those used by Cannabis cultivators, the concepts are very much the same. For example, the lighting, airflow and irrigation systems likely to be used would be familiar to any hydroponic weed grower. A 30-story skyscraper would comprise various different environments on individual floors, and the individual floors would operate on a scaled-up version of the stacked systems available today. Stacked systems are suitable for growing a wide variety of crops including lettuce, micro-greens and mushrooms.

Beyond all consideration of economic factors, Cannabis uniquely provides a reason for people to get involved with plants, to understand the basic concepts

and apply them to growing other crops when needed, and to rekindle the natural interest in plant husbandry that so many urban-dwellers have lost. An excellent example comes from the Farm:Shop collective in London, England, which has striven to include community members of every status – almost entirely volunteerrun, they are regularly paid visits by local Cannabis growers keen to offer advice, and are not averse to taking it!

A multitude of durable, well-designed products is available to assist the urban gardener. For a minimal outlay, it is possible to establish a small garden wherever there is space. Simple vertical stack systems, such as the Hydrostacker™ or Vertigro®, provide customizable solutions for all requirements – these are easiest to find online, but any local garden supply center should have a similar system for home cultivation projects.

Anyone who has successfully set up a Cannabis farm will have little problem figuring out any other type of system, and the only significant extra knowledge needed is that of each crop’s own specific requirements. Looking at the Old Farmer’s Almanac or similar resources will provide most of the needed information – beyond that, all that’s required is a small amount of time for initial setup and and even smaller amount every day or two for maintenance. How much time is needed depends upon the chosen crops and the size of the project, so it is advisable to keep it small and simple at first.

Because of Cannabis, many people who would never otherwise have any reason to learn have become experts in the intricacies of plant cultivation, and their expertise is needed. If every Cannabis cultivator could spare a few hours a week to volunteer at a local community farm shop, or to find a spare balcony or rooftop to convert to a fecund paradise of succulent edible greenery, we could collectively make a huge difference to our communities, as well as doing our part to shatter the lingering negative connotations of Cannabusiness.

The future may well consist of skyscrapers filled to the rafters with an array of delicious crops, but just as important will be the smaller, local community efforts that will in time lead to every single member of urban society being involved.

7

MEDICAL REPORT

THE SHARP EDGE OF SEVERE WOMEN’S WOES IS DULLED BY THE WONDERFUL WEED...

Pot for PMS and PMDD

Sativa Diva

to seek help have suggested that they ‘toughen up’ and that it’s ‘merely something that all women must endure’, with a sort of ‘get over it’ attitude. Friends, partners, family members and even co-workers may accuse a woman of exaggerating her symptoms in order to shirk responsibilities, or worse, to excuse why she’s being such a ‘bitch’. Unless you personally have experienced this set of symptoms, it’s best not to generalize; PMS has much more control over a woman’s body, mind and life than she would prefer. Better yet, offer the lady a big fat joint or space cake – it might just make her feel better. In fact, it almost definitely will.

The typical physical problems associated with PMS, such as bloating and pain (sometimes all over the body) are easily assuaged with the correct strain of weed, or particular preparation. Smoking is, of course, not good for anyone, but if you don’t own a vaporizer and are not particularly handy with DIY, then it’s better than nothing. Smoking Cannabis delivers an almost instantaneous therapeutic effect, although a vaporizer is more efficient with regards to cannabinoid delivery and stretching your money’s value. Inhaled cannabinoids are quickly able to assimilate and be picked up by the body’s endocannabinoid system, whereas edibles take considerably longer to become effective.

Chances are good that each particular female will find benefits from different strains and varying forms of Cannabis; however, for most women, indicas aid in muscle relaxation and other physical complaints and sativas help with the pain, nausea and emotional aspects. A nice haze joint can help to balance the mood disruption experienced by PMS sufferers: tension, irritability or unhappiness melt away with a few good sativa hits. The ability to control one’s mood at this time is at a high premium.

HERBAL MEDICINE WITH NO HARSH SIDE EFFECTS It’s no secret that Cannabis is helpful to myriad illnesses and ailments. These days much more empirical information is available, whereas in the past, due to secrecy and stigma many relied solely upon patient testimonies and feedback. What we may now benefit from is each form of medical evidence supporting the other, although the latter is difficult to collate when the topic is private in nature. One of the most popular, yet less-discussed, applications of medical Cannabis is for the treatment of PMS and PMDD, or premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

While not all women suffer from PMS (premenstrual syndrome, also called PMT or premenstrual tension), it is estimated that up to eighty-five percent of women of child-bearing age do experience some type of physical symptoms during ovulation. PMS, however, refers to a distinct set of physical and emotional symptoms that are experienced strictly during the luteal phase, or post-ovulation, through the first few days of the menstrual cycle.

These symptoms must be severe enough to interfere with some aspects of the sufferer’s life in order to qualify as PMS. Many

women who do endure this syndrome must deal with outward stresses as well, due to the typical jokes of the uneducated – and occasionally, even unsympathetic doctors as well.

There is some truth to the idea that women will withhold information from their primary care practitioners due to shame, taboo or a negative medical history in dealing with the sensitive subject.

Even today some ladies are hiding great portions of their medical history, as the doctors from whom they have attempted

Inhaled cannabinoids will likely aid symptoms such as nausea and severe cramping; consuming a ‘medible’ requires considerably longer to take effect so there is no immediate relief, and eating baked goods and the like may not be possible or practical in cases of extreme nausea, for example. Drinking Cannabis tea would present a good substitute for actually eating something containing canna-butter, hash or weed-infused cooking oil, but again, it depends on the person and her symptoms. Occasionally even the tea can cause stomach upset – not the best sideeffect for someone already experiencing digestive problems.

Some females do experience relief from bloating after drinking Cannabis tea, although it should be noted that a few of them had flavored it with peppermint tea, another known stomach-soother. The tea and other food/ beverage products have also been lauded for providing relief for the typical backache associated with PMS. This begins quite low in the back mus-

8 cles, radiating around the sides and up through the rib area. Ingested Cannabis provides a slower release than smoking usually does, allowing a patient to go for longer between doses. Regardless of the strain used to make the tea, cake, butter, etc. it seems that most people experience a sedated, sleepy effect when Cannabis is digested.

This effect also aids in the tension, cramps and digestive problems that accompany PMS, even allowing sufferers to acquire much lengthier and higher-quality nights of sleep. In turn, it is therefore easier for women to combat the headaches, mood swings and general exhaustion that PMS causes, leading to higher functionality and a heightened ability to simply deal with this disruptive week each month.

tating nature of this disorder, defined as ‘the opposite of euphoria’. Studies suggest that between three- and eight percent of women find themselves distressed by this every month, but due to the arbitrary diagnostic standards experts suggest that as high as eighteen percent of menstruating women in the US are actually experiencing PMDD. This disorder is effectively disabling for many women, sometimes making it even more difficult to accurately diagnose and treat.

Extreme anger, depression and anxiety propel PMDD sufferers out of the range of ‘mere’ PMS. The emotional aspect is often crippling, disturbing personal relationships and even affecting a woman’s ability to maintain her job or career. Symptoms typically last from ovulation all the way

CANNABIS TINCTURES WERE ONCE PROLIFIC (COURTESY

OTHER FORMS MAY BE CONSUMED, SUCH AS

WIKIMEDIA.ORG)

CANNA-BUTTER (COURTESY BORGQUEEN)

symptoms. The human endocannabinoid system is designed to accept and respond to cannabinoids, herbal- or otherwise.

The ‘happy’ and ‘high’ response that most patients experience when consuming

THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PMS AND PMDD IS SEVERITY: BOTH AILMENTS CARRY A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF BOTH PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL UPHEAVAL, BUT PMDD REACHES THE POINT OF CRIPPLING ITS SUFFERERS

sary before you purchase any medicine.

What works for one person might not be the best for you, so buy small quantities at first and ask absolutely anything you need to know. Perhaps the two most dangerous of the symptoms listed are suicidal ideation and uncontrollable anger, both of which should be dealt with on a professional level.

PMDD, Emotional Symptoms: t

These days the dispensaries are able to provide tinctures, oils, various forms of hash, edibles, etc., as well as advice for each patient. It’s possible to experiment to see what works best for you, especially considering that most women’s symptoms – while presenting some semblance of a pattern – can occasionally change from month to month. What helps for one cycle might not be as effective for the next.

For an unfortunate percentage of women, PMS takes on a more sinister tone, presenting as PMDD. The word ‘dysphoric’ in the title suggests the emotionally devas-

through several days of the menstrual cycle. The typical physical symptoms associated with PMS are experienced at a distressing level for PMDD patients, including extreme bloating, heart palpitations, weight gain, severe abdominal cramps, constipation and other digestive disruptions – sometimes even leading to a dysmorphic body image.

Although the exact cause of PMDD is still baffling scientists, studies suggest that it is related to a lack of serotonin, explaining not only the extreme emotional disruption that results, but also why Cannabis is effective in treating its

sativas and hazes perfectly lends itself to evening out the emotional mayhem experienced by those with PMDD. One of the worst things about this disorder is the fact that it does follow a cyclical pattern; as with PMS, the symptoms may worsen or lessen each subsequent month, but the knowledge that this hormone-wrenching ailment will be there, waiting – every few weeks – is enough to make many patients despair. There is an absolute loss of control over one’s emotions, fears and reactions, actually incapacitating some sufferers. It is here that the mood-dominant aspects of Cannabis use are particularly helpful; as with some nerve pain patients, medi-weed is the only drug that works. An affected mood tends to dominate with PMDD, and sometimes getting a little too high can even block out the depression experienced.

The major difference between PMS and PMDD is severity: both ailments carry a certain amount of both physical and emotional upheaval, but PMDD reaches the point of crippling its sufferers. The physical aspects of pain and swelling may be alleviated with combinations of inhaled or ingested – or even topical – Cannabis preparations, again with the indicas treating the muscle-related complaints. Insomnia, anxiety and anger may be assuaged by the indicas; however one should note that depression is often exacerbated by these relaxing strains. Chronic fatigue, tension and anxiety, difficulty concentrating – and even a diminished sex drive – may be evened out with a good sativa strain.

Of course it’s best to consult a doctor or other medical professional before embarking upon a journey of self-medication; the list of symptoms below is used as a current diagnostic guide, with PMDD sufferers classed as experiencing five or more of these during and slightly after the luteal phase – not before. Again, it’s best to ask questions at each dispen-

t t t t t t t t t t t

Despair, Deep Sadness, or Suicidal Ideation Increased Anxiety or Tension Intense Sensitivity to Rejection or Criticism Rapid and Severe Mood Swings, Uncontrollable Crying Bouts Binge Eating or Extreme Food Cravings Chronic Fatigue Insomnia or Hypersomnia Extreme Irritability or Anger Difficulty Concentrating Apathy or General Disinterest Severe Changes in Sex Drive Increased Need for Emotional Closeness

PMDD, Physical Symptoms: t t t t t t

Headaches Joint and/ or Muscle Pain Facial Swelling Heart Palpitations Breast Tenderness or Swelling Bloating and/ or Weight Gain, Actual or Perceived

On a final note, it should also be mentioned that some PMS and PMDD patients are combining their Cannabis therapy with hemp seed oil added to their diets.

Hemp oil capsules are perhaps the easiest way to receive the benefits of omega acids, vitamins and proteins – or the actual hemp nuts themselves may be incorporated into your daily menu simply by adding them to a smoothie, salad or even a grilled-cheese sandwich. Hemp seed oil can clear up acne-prone skin, eventually lessen the severity of some menstrual cramps, and even acts as a mood stabilizer – which is important when you feel so completely out of control or depressed.

Due to this being such a sensitive and personal subject, and the frequency with which women are accused of ‘faking it’ or exaggerating, it’s no wonder that this disorder goes so under-diagnosed. While self-medication is not always recommended, surely it’s better to secretly toke up than to suffer in silence.

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PRODUCT FLASH VITA START BY PLAGRON

ERCOLE

Vitamin spray for seedlings, cuttings and mother plants

Nuova Pasquini and Bini SPA is proud to introduce the innovative ERCOLE pot system.

A strong and healthy plant that delivers a great yield: isn’t that what we all want? Plagron offers an innovative vitamin spray that guarantees an excellent cultivation. Vita Start is not just a vitality product but also a growth stimulator.

Vita Start contains a carefully balanced combination of organic enzymes, trace elements and growth stimulators. These protect the plant against negative external influences and ensure a greater yield. Vita Start enables the plant to absorb the available nutrients better and use them more effectively.

Broad effect Vita Start can be used for seedlings, cuttings and mother plants in the growth phase. Vita Start has a very broad effect. It ensures a comprehensive and strong root system, improved resistance, accelerated absorption of nutrients, faster cell division and more branching and sprouting. The time of application determines the exact effect on the plant. For a greater fruit yield use Vita Start in the second and third week of the flowering phase.

After an initial trial period, in which a great many samples were sent to clients for them to trial and report back their findings, it proved to be a huge success.

The ERCOLE pot is designed to prevent root spiraling and bring a high level of air to the root zone. This in turn reduces the production time as the plants root much faster in the ERCOLE pot than they do in conventional nursery stock pots.

Only a small amount needed Vita Start enables the plant to absorb the available nutrients more effectively and deeply and eliminates the risk of over-fertilization and malnutrition. Spray Vita Start on the leaves of the plant. The product is highly concentrated so you only need one ml per liter of water. Vita Start is available in packs of 100 ml, 250 ml, 500 ml and one liter.

For further information or in the case of any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us via servicedesk@ plagron.com or visit www.plagron.com. You can also download our new catalog from this website. » servicedesk@plagron.com » www.plagron.com

To achieve the very best results from the ERCOLE pot system, use a potting soil with good levels of coir fiber and pine bark. These two products give improved water management and give high levels of air into the root zone.

A wise choice of potting soil combined with the ERCOLE pot system make both good horticultural and financial sense in these difficult trading times.

Nuova Pasquini e Bini S.p.A Loc. Tei – Zona Industriale La Galeotta 55011 Altopascio (LU) ITALY Tel: 0039 0583/264656 Fax 0039 0583/269115 » info@pasquiniebini.it » www.pasquiniebini.it

DOWNLOAD AND READ YOUR FREE COPY ONLINE

AND NEW OVED IMPR ITE WEBS

WWW.SOFTSECRETS.NL

10

NORCAL TEST LAB

SHL Strain Lab Awards In the increasingly competitive California Medical Cannabis system, patients are privy to thousands of unique stains.

Many patients find inconsistencies in the medicine from grower to grower or even batch to batch. This is why lab testing is crucial to guarantee a consistent product. Dispensaries like San Jose’s Harborside Health Center screen every batch of flower and concentrate using our QuantaCann technology and Steep Hill Laboratory services. Harborside Health Center takes it one step further by selectively branding the best producers and allowing the patients to identify their work by name. This April we have chosen to highlight the some of the most sought-after strains branded by the some of the best producers and breeders. This branding, along with lab testing, gives patients consistency of product and peace of mind.

Strain

GC Model Δ9 THC

HPLC Model THCA

HPLC Model Δ9 THC

Delta559’s BoggleGum

17.3

20.3

3.3

French Laundry’s Ingrid H20 Concentrate

49.8

55

10.4

Sovereign’s The Pure

22.1

24.9

3.9

Chem Dawg D H20 Concentrate

46

45.5

7.5

Ken’s Granddaddy Purple

15.4

19.8

1.2

Chem’s Sister

19.8

24.3

3.5

Harborside San Jose QuantaCann Results SOVEREIGN’S THE PURE

CHEM’S SISTER

Wilson Linker

DELTA559’S BOGGLEGUM

FRENCH LAUNDRY’S INGRID H20 CONCENTRATE

KEN’S GRANDDADDY PURPLE

CHEM DAWG D H20 CONCENTRATE

12

SOCAL TEST LAB

SGL Strain Lab Awards HIGHEST THC THC: 26.17%, CBD: 0.68%, CBN: 0.70%

DEEPEST PURPLE THC: 18.05%, CBD: 0.53%, CBN: 0.14%

GODFATHER OG I: HOLISTIC MEDS RX

DARTH VADER KUSH I: FONTANA DISCOUNT COLLECTIVE

Get ready for a ‘knock your socks off, head in the clouds’ kind of high after you smoke this pure gem of a flower from Holistic Meds Rx. Godfather OG is handsdown one of the heaviest hitters to come around in a long time. Clocking in at 26.17% THC, 0.68% CBD and 0.70% CBN, do not expect to be getting off the couch any time soon after smoking a bowl of this amazing bud.

The force will definitely be with you after you smoke even a small amount of this stellar bud from Fontana Discount Collective. This is the flower that will ironically take you away from the dark side, making all of your pain, nausea, and anxiety seem light years away. Deep purple leaves are intertwined with golden hairs to make up this impressive looking bud. Things may have turned out differently in a galaxy far, far away if everyone had just gotten together and smoked a bowl of this.

HIGHEST CBD THC: 16.23%, CBD: 0.72%, CBN: 0.10%

STRAWBERRY COUGH X PURPLE URKLE H: CANTO DIEM

Anxiety and pain sufferers look no further for that perfect midday smoking break bud. Canto Diem has provided you with an ideal flower entitled Strawberry Cough x Purple Urkle. With a hypnotic blend of sativa mind buzz and indica body high, it is no surprise that this bud is at the top of the CBD charts with a hefty 0.72%. This strain will leave you feeling relaxed and ready to go for hours.

RISE & SHINE THC: 21.14%, CBD: 0.44%, CBN: 0.35%

HANGOVER S: SHERMAN OAKS HOLISTIC OASIS

If there is one thing that this bud knows how to treat, it’s a hangover. Sherman Oaks Holistic Oasis has provided us with this monster of a ‘wake and bake’ sativa. Coming in at 0.44% CBD and 0.35% CBN, after a few puffs of this you’ll be (almost) as good as new! Like a steaming cup of black coffee to the brain, your mind is instantly made clear for the day, while stress and nausea are made into a thing of the past.

MOST CRYSTALLIZED THC: 21.20%, CBD: 0.37%, CBN: 0.14%

RASPBERRY KUSH I: DELTA 9

Looking for that perfect ‘end of day, ease into a mellow night’ kind of bud? Look no further than Delta 9’s Raspberry Kush. The amount of crystals on this fuzzy flower will quickly put anyone’s racing mind and body at ease after a long day of work or school. This bud will keep you clear headed enough to clean up that mess from the night before, and still have enough energy to make yourself some dinner.

13

ORGANIC CULTIVATION

Cannabis Companions MOTHER NATURE AT HER BEST “Winter, slumbering in the open air, wears on its smiling face a dream... of spring.” - Phil Connors, Groundhog Day Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have once again gone full circle and are now finally approaching the season in which life itself seems to erupt from the but recently frozen ground, the season in which the sun seems to regain its energy to flood the world with its lifeBuddy Kush stimulating rays. Spring is back!

With spring comes the much anticipated and thrilling feeling of unlimited potential when it comes to benefiting from these natural forces and converting them into a great, green, lush garden of plants. Be it on your windowsill, your balcony or roof, your garden (for the lucky ones) or the more discreet great outdoors itself (for the slightly less lucky ones), these locations are rich in potential to give you the best results you could possibly imagine.

In these days of hydro-focused cultivation methods, striving for the highest yield and the strongest THC production, it seems as if the simplicity linked to using Mother Earth is fading away. Yet, one only needs to travel to those warmer, more southern latitudes to get a true reality check.

During my latest travels to Spain, I was lucky enough to meet many outdoor growers who not only were some of the most open people I met during my stay, but also readily admitted to the fact that the incredibly resinous and fragrant results they showed me were due to not much more than patience and a bit of TLC... they all simply let the seasons guide their plants into 12-foot, heavily laden monsters. Admittedly the plants’ diet also had a little something to do with it as well, but it got me to thinking: if they can do it, then so can I! Whereas the climate I reside in does not benefit from the same outrageously ideal conditions, the choice of the right strain and the proper preparations should guarantee a delicious and 100% bio-organic result certain to keep me happily stocked for those colder months of the year.

Furthermore, it would mean that I would not have to resort to the energy-hungry indoor methods so liable to get me into trouble because of those infuriating laws in place at the moment. The challenge remains, however: how can I achieve similar results to what my Spanish friends so effortlessly seem to, and this as naturally as possible? What tools can I rely upon to get the best of those small, tiger-striped seeds just waiting to wake?

Choosing the right strain is the first step, of course. It is no use fantasizing about

those beautiful, stretchy and fruity sativas, given the limited amount of time the plants will have when the light conditions trigger them to flower, come the end of summer. The best chances at a more northern latitude come with the more compact and resistant indica strains, but there are also several strong hybrids that might pull it off – a good compromise if looking for that headier high some of them are able to offer! Given the relative ambient humidity, mold-resistant strains will also provide a definite advantage in case things were to turn rough.

The second step is figuring out where best to place your pride and joy, focusing on allowing it access to as much sunlight as possible. Believe it or not, exposure was one of the biggest selection criteria for me when I was last searching for an apartment. Needless to say that when the exposure was to the north, I would nicely – yet firmly – guide my girlfriend towards other options, obviously better suited to her needs... catch my drift? The ideal exposure when thinking green is south but, depending on the setup of your location, be sure to maximize the plant’s light exposure and be wary of artificial lights.

I’ve known many who turned out to have endlessly growing plants because of the street lights located a couple feet away.

Then comes the soil. If unable to plant in the ground, some will have to resort to using a pot. Others will justifiably favor doing the latter, as it will allow them to move their plant if ever the weather were to take a turn for the worse. I personally prefer placing them in the ground, though this does entail a bit of work when it comes to preparing the soil itself. As it happens, the soil I have is not particularly rich, meaning that I have to prepare it by digging up a proper-sized hole and refilling it with a rich mix of nicely-aerated and fertilized soil. This is a tedious yet satisfying job, given that you then know you have given your plant the best conditions possible to establish itself and thrive.

Most people would leave it at that – guiding the plant as it grows, hoping for the seasons to remain stable and for pests and

disease to stay away. I used to employ this approach. It was one day, reading through a horticulture magazine, that I came across the strangest of articles discussing the interrelationship that happened between plants of different species while they grew, something called ‘companion planting’. The purpose is to combine an array of plants that will help each other by stimulating the growth and yield of a plant, repelling and/or attracting different kinds of harmful or beneficial insects.

Basically, this technique aims at maximizing every kind of beneficial stimuli, while efficiently repelling – or at least discouraging – harmful pests.

Of course, simply planting all the plants and hoping for the best is a little too optimistic. The interrelations between the Cannabis plant and other types are still relatively unknown, and trial and error is the best way forward from this point.

However, here are a couple of plants whose benefits seem quite obvious.

ALFALFA: Needing only a little rain water to survive, these small plants aren’t only a fantastic addition to any salad, their roots also go deep, oxygenating and fixing the soil with nitrogen, while also accumulating other minerals (including iron, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium). It is a resistant plant thanks to its elongated taproot and has proven beneficial to just about any soil. To give you some idea, it has been known to survive in clay as well as in rocks – one hell of a ‘survivor’ plant.

ANISE: Most famous for the drinks one can derive from it, and generally very appreciated by the French in the warm summer months, anise is a licorice-flavored herb that is quite attractive to predatory wasps, who in turn prey on aphids.

It has been said to improve the vigor of any plants growing near it and to work well when grown together with coriander, another quite beneficial addition to your garden, which we will cover also.

14 BASIL: This delicious smelling and tasting plant is easy to grow and particularly useful in improving the growth and flavor of its neighboring plants (usually known for its beneficial effects on tomatoes). More than this, spider mites tend to favor it above Cannabis. Keeping a close eye on your basil plant can allow you to anticipate any attack from the ‘all-mitey’ enemy on your other plants.

BORAGE: This is a very interesting one, as this plant is believed to have a direct, posi-

BORAGE IS BELIEVED TO HAVE A DIRECT, POSITIVE IMPACT ON ITS NEIGHBORS BY INCREASING THEIR RESISTANCE TO PESTS AND DISEASE sooner to enhance my plants’ productivity.

Known as ‘the plant doctor’, chamomile is thought to help other plants by stimulating them to grow in a healthier and faster and, fascinatingly, to be particularly efficient when growing plants that produce essential oils... I think you will agree that

CORIANDER: This herb (though not the easiest to grow from personal experience) is known to repel aphids as well as spider mites. Used in the form of a tea, this can be sprayed onto your plants to help repel the latter and is a great companion to anise as well.

LAVENDER: A popular plant to grow because of its resilience and fragrance, the lavender plant is also an efficient way to repel certain pests, including white flies.

MINT: Efficient against insects, you have to be slightly careful as it tends to spread itself quite quickly.

NETTLES: Easy to find just about anywhere, nettles can be allowed to rot, and then transformed into plant feed with amazing results – as long as you can withstand the smell, of course.

PYRETHRUM: You have probably already come across products resulting from those pretty little flowers. Used as a powder or a spray, it has proven to be an efficient and organic solution to pests including spider mites, aphids and white flies. This is not a particularly easy plant to grow but the rewards may be worth the cost.

tive impact on its neighbors by increasing their resistance to pests and disease.

Additionally, you can eat its flowers, therefore adding the pleasurable to the useful.

BUCKWHEAT: This plant has very shallow roots and may be an interesting cover crop to experiment with, since it is known

this is definitely worth a try! As an added bonus, it is also a repellent to certain pests.

CHIVES: These well known plants have quite a reputation at helping to keep aphids away and for preventing downyand powdery mildew when used as a tea.

Easy to cultivate and with many varieties

DILL: This is a plant with which many are already familiar regarding fighting aphids.

It apparently also affects spider mites, although more testing is needed to validate this theory.

GARLIC: Who can really say that they enjoy the smell of garlic? Well, neither do aphids!

CHIVES HAVE QUITE A REPUTATION AT HELPING TO KEEP APHIDS AWAY AND FOR PREVENTING DOWNY- AND POWDERY MILDEW WHEN USED AS A TEA to accumulate calcium in the soil. It produces small white blossoms, which prove to be attractive to insects that help control aphids, mites and other pests.

CHAMOMILE: Now here is an interesting one. The more I read about it, the less I understand why I have not been using it

to choose from, they are quite a no-brainer when it comes to outdoor cultivation.

COMFREY: An ever-present plant along the roads of Holland, this plant can be turned into an exceptionally rich tea for your plants. An easy – and inexpensive – source of nutrition!

By planting garlic plants in the proximity of your ganja garden, you will be sure to create an environment few of them will be willing to stand. Concentrating garlic in the form of a spray will also allow you to fight against them, together with other pests (such as white flies and fungus gnats) – and this from relatively low concentrations.

TARRAGON: This is one of the biggest surprises encountered while studying companion planting. It appears that many pests have a particular dislike of the tarragon plant, which makes it an ideal candidate to spread through your garden.

Companion planting with Cannabis seems obvious once you start to think about it, but while researching the subject it was surprising to find that there is little real data covering the topic – some experiments here and there, but nothing extensive. So, more than a theoretical piece, I hope that the information in this article will encourage you to test this for yourself and to share the results in order to help enrich our common knowledge of outdoor Cannabis cultivation. Most importantly, you can link your love of Cannabis to the development of a wellbalanced and productive garden. Enjoy!

16

GREENHOUSE 101

Spring Planting and Greenhouses

Grubbycup

The Spring Equinox for the Northern Hemisphere is around March 20th, when both the days and nights are about 12 hours long. The nights then get progressively longer until around June 21st when, for much of the United States, the days reach approximately 14.5 hours long. After that, they get shorter again until the Autumn Equinox, when the days and nights are again 12 hours each.

Since Cannabis plants set out under 12/12 lighting will flower, outdoor gardeners (unless looking for a quick spring crop) wait until mid-April or May to set out their plants, outdoor conditions permitting. Even when outdoor conditions aren’t ideal, the growing season can often be started with the use of cloches, hoop houses, cold frames, hotboxes, greenhouses or hothouses.

Sunlight is comprised of a wide range of electromagnetic radiation. Plants make use of both visible light (for photosyn-

more infrared radiation than a white object will. White will reflect much of the heat (and light), and thus stay cooler in comparison. Sunlight striking a black surface will release its infrared radiation into the surface, warming it and its contents. Soil solarization uses this principle to raise soil temperatures high enough to kill most weed seeds and other pathogens. Black sheets of plastic are used to cover soil under summer sunlight. The sunlight heats the plastic, and the air trapped under it, bringing temperatures high enough to kill most seeds and many harmful disease spores.

While black is an ideal color for collecting and storing solar heat, it is opaque to (blocks) visible light. Covering a plant with a sheet of black plastic would help keep it warm, but the plant would die from lack of visible light. Since plants need both visible light and infrared radiation to survive, the material covering the plants

ALLOW YOUR BABIES TO BREATHE! Small cloches can help protect small spring seedlings. Originally made of glass; these bell shaped domes were placed on seedlings to protect them. Today, most cloches are made of plastic. To make an

BY CAPTURING AND STORING AVAILABLE HEAT, GROWING SEASONS CAN BE EXTENDED – EVEN IF OUTDOOR TEMPERATURES ARE BELOW A PLANT’S TOLERANCE thesis) and infrared (heat). Full summer sunlight has approximately 400 to 450 watts of visible light, and over 500 watts of infrared energy per square meter. In comparison, a 400-watt HPS light is about 20% efficient for visible light, so it would take five to six per square meter to get the equivalent visible light, and there would be a huge excess of infrared. Even the mighty 1,000-watt HIDs would need two or three per square meter to bring the same light indoors. Outdoor gardens enjoy free light and heat, which can greatly reduce the expense in the cost of growing your smoke.

By capturing and storing available heat, growing seasons can be extended – even if outdoor temperatures are below a plant’s tolerance. One simple way to trap the heat from the sun is to paint an object black. A black object will absorb

should not only be at least semi opaque to infrared light, but transparent to visible light. If an elevated transparent material is used, the amount of heat that is collected and trapped is reduced, but the visible light that plants need to grow can pass though. This is why glass, plastic sheeting, and other clear materials are used when trapping solar radiation for plants.

As long as the structure absorbs heat faster than it loses heat, it will enjoy a net gain, and internal temperature will rise.

In this way, the structure can absorb heat during the day, and release it during the cold hours of night. The smaller the area covered, the less-buffered temperature fluctuations are. A small object heated by the sun will cool faster than a large object heated by the sun, due to the difference in mass. So cloches will not store heat as well overnight as a full greenhouse will.

inexpensive cloche for a single seedling, cut the bottom off of a two-liter clear plastic soda bottle, and use to cover. Careful use of a hot soldering iron can make neat holes in the sides. This can help protect the tender sprout from the elements, and the cloche will help keep it warm and humid inside.

A larger cloche can be made for a section of the garden by building a simple frame, and covering it with transparent poly sheeting. This style of cloche is often homemade, using a simple wooden or PVC frame. Hoop houses are a common style of large cloche, and can be made at home. To make a hoop house wooden boards or PVC are bent into ‘D’ shapes, and then raised into place and attached to each other. This frame is used to hold an outer transparent layer of sheeting.

Southern or southeastern exposures are

well suited for taking advantage of solar heat and light collection. When larger cloches cover entire rows of plants, they are known as high tunnels or row covers.

A small, rigid-framed structure that uses this same principle is a cold frame. A sturdier and more permanent version of a cloche, cold frames are usually woodensided boxes with transparent tops. Light passes through to the plants, but some of the heat is trapped inside. Cold frames can be used to start seedlings before transplanting outside, or used as a staging area for indoor grown plants to help them harden off. By placing indoor grown plants into a protected cold frame, environmental changes can be introduced in steps, reducing the likelihood of shock.

A greenhouse is a larger, clear-walled version of a cold frame. A greenhouse that functions well enough to maintain growing temperatures in winter months, either through efficiency or additional heat sources, is known as a hothouse. Winter Cannabis gardens often are either started indoors and moved out to the greenhouse for flowering, or additional lights are used to prevent flowering while plants grow vegetatively in the greenhouse.

An advantage to greenhouses is that not only can they be used to warm plants in cooler months, they can be cooled to reduce internal temperatures in summer. Greenhouses often have windows that can be opened to release excess heat in the summer, and sometimes fans are added for greater control.

Greenhouses can range in size from a handful of feet to huge commercial warehouse-sized structures.

Fear of theft or discovery prevents many gardeners from taking advantage of natural sunlight in their gardens, but for those fortunate enough to be able to use it, simple greenhouse technology can provide plants in less-than-ideal environments a way to make use of the sun.

SINGLE PLANTS MAY BE PROTECTED

BY PLASTIC SODA BOTTLES

Peace, love and puka shells, Grubbycup

17

FESTIVALS & EXPOS

Premier Counter-Culture Expo

F.RED

For over a dozen years buyers and vendors from all over the world have been traveling to Las Vegas, braving the heat of the summers and cold of the winters for the largest gathering of glass blowers and retailers in the universe.

The Contemporary Hand-Crafted American Made Products Show (CHAMPS) brings in the most amazing technical, scientific and artistic glass blowers the United States has to offer, as well as onestop shopping for anyone who has the desire to open up a smoke shop or sell to one. There are vendors here selling clothes, like Shop Therapy’s collection ranging from sexy, India-inspired hippie dresses to the cute hand-knit animal hats with arms for neck warmers. Under this same roof you also have modern clothing with brands like Seedless, always there to represent, and new \comers, such as Mary Jane Smokewear’s sweet designs.

Over these years I have seen small distributors grow from a few hundred products to thousands. Glow Industries is one such example. They went from a small selection of door beads, tapestries and Nag Champa to a full spectrum of choices, from high tech state of the art Vape-orSmoke hand pipes to detox drinks. To top it off they had an open bar party for buyers at the Wynn’s Tryst, with some

FISH WATER PIPE deliciously under-dressed go-go dancers.

This was not the only party happening for these lucky, lucky buyers and vendors.

The Glass Gripper threw down with a DJ Crime/ Los Marijuanos extravaganza at the Palms Las Vegas Hardwood Suite. And Mary Jane’s Herbals were dabbing us into the stratosphere at the Hard Rock. It’s a good thing this trade show does not start until 11AM every day.

HBI is another impressive company you can meet up with if you ever make it out to these shows. They have grown from a thousand-foot warehouse to a multination empire on slim profits that would make even a grocery store wince. These kids are not having crazy, balls-out par-

SKULL HOOKAH

ties; they spend their profits making sure the Federal government (via the FDA) is not stealing more of our personal freedoms. These incredible people have taken rolling papers and accessories to another level and are the only reason flavored wraps are still legal. They are the genius behind Raw, Elements and Juicy, to name a few.

Unfortunately, not everyone at these shows attends with good intentions.

Laws passed by Congress in 1985 made ‘thought crime’ a reality, meaning legal items that could be used illegally were now subject to criminality. Since then the DEA has been hard at work with operation after operation to take the legs out from under this industry they helped generate. In 2003, Operation Pipe Dreams was a decapitation. US Attorney General John Ashcroft’s indictment of Tommy Chong was payback in a culture war that has been tearing families and communities apart for over 40 years. Fortunately the head was that of the Hydra, it created three times as many companies as it destroyed, and the public saw it as a ridiculous waste of $12M dollars to put Tommy Chong in jail for nine months.

Now, nine years later, the government is back with a vengeance using undercover officers and front companies. The questions begin: what are they up to now? Do they have their sites set on specific individuals? Are they gathering information on all of the top players, or is it Spice they are targeting? The mood was as paranoid as I have ever seen, but with good reason.

Election years are notorious for bad shit going down. Political robots always want to make a name for themselves and police love overtime, especially with hazard pay.

Vaporizers were also out in force with dozens of styles available from reliable

PEOPLE’S CHOICE GLASS GAMES WINNER (COURTESY OF CHAMPS) The Glass Games were off the hook this spring with $35,000 in cash prizes awarded to glassblowers for functional art pipes.

The categories ranged from the popular to technical. Some of the highlights were David Stucky’s R/C water pipe, Flex’s pipe drum kit, and Joe Blow’s smoking earphones. Earl Jr. might have had something if his fountain would have been dispens-

visual art – and the lovely Ananda dancing topless (except for body paint) was genius.

Without nipples hard enough to cut glass, none of the other artists stood a chance.

Even heavy weights Dirty Louie and Jason (a.k.a. Jerome Baker) were outdone.

Three whirlwind days of sales with hundreds of buyers can mean months of work

THE GLASS GAMES WERE OFF THE HOOK THIS SPRING WITH $35,000 IN CASH PRIZES AWARDED TO GLASSBLOWERS FOR FUNCTIONAL ART PIPES companies like GOT VAPE. The booth girls are always worth the trip. You can also hook up with some of the originators like Vapor Brothers at the show.

Innovations abounded; 420 Science, creators of the 420 Jars, never stop impressing.

Their UV-Concentrate Jars and Droppers are the shizzle. Now the Science have gone way past jars with Resin Block, Smoke Soap, optics up to 800x resolution and 420 Preserve – a botanical storage spray that will preserve your herbs for months with no detectible degradation.

ing some jungle juice or spiked punch!

Hamm did something straight out of my chemistry teacher’s lab, and Tyme and Shaggy also did some awesome work. My favorite, and the People’s Choice, went to Kristian Merwin with Wasatch Glassworks.

The spider alone was impressive and cool to watch being made.

Incorporating mixed media from inception as he threaded glass leg joints to attach them with steel bolts connecting them to the body... then throwing that into a tent with a color-coordinated light show,

for vendors trying to catch up in time for the next trade show. Some get crushed under the weight. As one person you can only produce a finite amount – even with a crew it is easy to be overwhelmed. So grow or die, or sometimes it’s grow and die. If a company over-expands they can lose quality, or a downturn in the economy can bury them with debt. Just the seasonal buying trends can be difficult for a manufacturer to juggle. Whether a buyer or seller, if you ever want to get a foot into this industry CHAMPS is definitely a great place to be.

18

The Medical Marijuana Movement: Sebastian Daniel

BREAKING THE LAW TO SAVE LIVES In most countries, using hemp is prohibited even for medical purposes. Selfmedication with Cannabis has brought a great number of normally law-abiding citizens into conflict with the legal system.

Patients often feel compelled to engage in a political struggle for not only their lives or health, but for their freedom as well.

People often become criminals merely for obtaining their needed medicine.

Willingly or not, they sometimes become known as civil rights activists and freedom fighters. The international fight to get the sick and dying access to medically approved Cannabis has been going on for many decades now.

Robert Randall was the first legal medical marijuana patient in the US since Cannabis prohibition began in 1937. At 25 years of age he was told he would be blind before he turned 30; he kept his eyesight, however, thanks to medi-weed until he died of AIDS 28 years later. Forced to break the law to save his eyesight, Bob sued the federal government to obtain legal access to Cannabis and won, then continued to work on behalf of other patients. Randall convinced the judge that he would have to break the law, for medi-weed kept him from going blind.

In 1976 Washington, DC. Superior Court Judge James A. Washington ruled that the patient had established a defense of medical necessity.

Unfortunately, the federal program providing legal Cannabis medicine to patients was soon closed down by the government. Randall was an inspiration to countless other medical freedom fighters around the world. Keith Stroup, executive director of NORML, called him “the father of the medical marijuana movement.” By 2011, medi-weed has become legal in 15 states. The drug is commonly prescribed for glaucoma, nausea, poor appetite and pain.

In their book, Marijuana Rx: The Patients’ Fight for Medicinal Pot, Robert Randall and Alice O’Leary describe the situation

per dose, usually $1,500 a day. By comparison, Cannabis controls vomiting better and costs $0.50 per day.

The authors conclude that the American people are starting to realize their gov-

ernment is increasingly anti-democratic, and much too often run by liars and crooks. In the 1970s and 1980s twothirds of the US legislatively mandated that Cannabis had medical value, but the unelected drug warriors in Washington blocked these popular state efforts. The Attorney General threatened to arrest any doctor who dared to even mention medi-weed use with a patient. The government also proposed a ban on any and all research into the prohibited plant’s potential benefits.

Despite all the propaganda, harsh laws, suppression and denials by government, patients have discovered hemp’s healing powers for themselves and used it, trusting their own intuition, folk tradition or gossip. Only recently have various independent experts started to notice that the masses were right in their judgment about this famed, yet illegal, folk remedy.

David R. Ford notes in his book Marijuana: Not Guilty as Charged that falsely instilling fear into the hearts of citizens is immoral, while withholding medical Cannabis from patients is criminal. It is hypocritical to ban this relatively harmless drug – which has never caused one death – and leave

people, simply doing their jobs, without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terribly destructive process.

Franklin C. ‘Lyn’ Nofziger, former deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee and a White House adviser during the Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan administrations, supports the medi-weed movement. In his opinion a doctor should have every possible medication in his arsenal. If doctors can prescribe morphine and other addictive drugs, it makes no sense to deny Cannabis to sick and dying people. Some politicians have begun to realize that it seems cruel and unusual to the public to treat the sick and dying as if they were drug cartel kingpins. Moreover, it is a complete waste of taxpayer money.

Polls have shown that 80% of Americans support pot for medicinal purposes (2002 Time/CNN survey). Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, states that often the government is only moved to reform by the civil disobedience of organized citizens. A hundred years ago ending child labor, granting women’s rights, stopping racist segrega-

PATIENTS TOO OFTEN MUST RISK LOSING THEIR RIGHTS, FREEDOM, PROPERTY AND CHILDREN, JUST FOR USING THE SAFEST DRUG KNOWN TO MEDICAL SCIENCE of medical Cannabis users in the US in harsh words: bureaucrats are willing to arrest, jail, blind, cripple and even kill seriously ill people to maintain “the consistent message” of “zero tolerance” and fight “the evil weed”. There is also a cult of synthesis: only drugs invented and owned by large companies are welcome; any natural medicine that is easy to grow at little or no cost but cannot be patented threatens the corporate monopoly. For example, a synthetic anti-nausea drug used by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy may even cost $600

dangerous drugs like alcohol and nicotine legal. Ford notes that in the US, physicians can prescribe about 50,000 drugs, many of which can cause death or seriously bad side effects. Yet they cannot prescribe non-toxic Cannabis preparations.

Ford suggests that many of the crusaders for the anti-pot war may have honestly concluded that Cannabis is the evil they have been brainwashed into believing it to be, as few people could be so heartless intentionally. As Stanley Milgram (a Yale psychologist and an expert on issues of civil obedience) has written, ordinary

tion, creating an eight-hour work day, or accepting the right to organize were radical ideas to many Americans. Today, medical freedom fighters are causing a similar social upheaval.

Physicians often express the opinion that the War on Drugs has become a war on doctors and patients. The target is easy compared to underground criminal empire warlords. The DEA has maliciously investigated and prosecuted thousands of physicians in the name of the War on Drugs.

And it is doctors who have been on the frontiers of this war since the very beginning: one of the few reasonable voices of doubt during the 1937 committee hearing on Cannabis came from the American Medical Association (AMA). Their Legislative Counsel, William Woodward, offered compelling testimony before Congress begging them not to pass the bill. Woodward criticized the way the word ‘marihuana’ had been used to deliberately conflate and confuse the medical and industrial hemp communities, and asked why the bill had been prepared in secret for two years without any warning to the profession. Later his statement was ignored and forgotten: the act for prohibiting Cannabis was passed. Woodward said no medical man would identify this bill with a medicine until he read it through, because ‘marihuana’ is not a drug, but simply a name given to Cannabis.

The AMA defended Cannabis in 1937 – and still does today. In 2009 the AMA officially asked the Federal government to review the status of Cannabis in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The biggest medical association in America has once again acknowledged the medical benefits of Cannabis and its component cannabinoids. Many American physicians continue to recommend medi-weed to their patients, even though by doing so they are running the risk of being imprisoned or ruining their careers.

Doctor John P. Morgan, professor of pharmacology at the City University of New York, has expressed the belief that the government’s purpose in regulating medicine is to protect patients from toxicity. Cannabis, though, has no overdose level. Dr. Morgan is also a board member of NORML. Another distinguished NORML board member is Professor Kary Mullis, 1993 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. NORML has helped Cannabis to become recognized and accepted as medicine by state laws, a huge success that did not come easily.

In 1972, NORML filed a petition with the government to reclassify Cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule II so that doctors could prescribe it as a medicine. Finally, in 1988 the DEA responded when their

19 own Administrative Law Judge Francis Young concluded in a 69-page ruling: “ ...in strict medical terms, marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume.” After two years of hearings, the DEA rejected their own judge’s recommendation.

Doctor Lester Grinspoon, author of Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine points out that a mountain of evidence coming from thousands of patients is being ignored, while controlled clinical trials are discouraged. Anecdotal evidence was accepted as part of medical knowledge until the second half of the 20th century and the invention of modern scientific methodology, such as double-blind studies. However, large double-blind studies are almost impossible to conduct because of the law. To cite only one example, it took Dr. Donald Abrams four years to receive permission to study medi-weed’s effects on AIDS-related neuropathic pain.

Despite evidence that Cannabis is useful in treating both major and lesser diseases, under Federal law the DEA continues to arrest patients and caregivers, even in states that have tried to legally protect pot under their own state laws. Doctors feel threatened for even discussing Cannabis with their patients. The sick, the crippled and the dying are usually confronted with guns during raids and arrests. They are sometimes shot and killed, often sentenced to many years behind bars.

Some patients have attempted suicide, unable to live without their medication.

Victims of cancer, AIDS, or stroke testify that Cannabis had the power to bring them back, literally, from the edge of death. Glaucoma sufferers are petrified of going blind without their medicine.

Patients too often must risk losing their rights, freedom, property and children, just for using the safest drug known to medical science. Many die in prison, deprived of their medicine, as is often the case with cancer or AIDS patients. They are allowed to use morphine, but not Cannabis. Sick people of all walks of life fear incarceration because of the medicine they use. The sick and the dying feel that the prohibition of medical Cannabis is the greatest social injustice in history of mankind; one desperate patient said that their tragedy and pain is comparable only to the crucifixion of Christ.

This is still the harsh reality of the mediweed underground in many countries around the world. Patients have lost their case in the US Supreme Court; in 2005 an amendment to stop the arrests of medi-weed patients was also defeated in Congress. Cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance with “no medical value”, the most restrictive category – which also includes heroin. Drugs like methamphetamine have enough medicinal value to be classified as Schedule II narcotics. Cannabis, under Federal law, is a more serious narcotic than crack cocaine.

European countries like the UK, Spain, Switzerland and Italy have undertaken efforts to explore the benefits of Cannabis for medical purposes. In the Netherlands, since 2003, Cannabis can be obtained in pharmacies, and a government center of medical Cannabis has been founded. In 2007 Germany allowed its first medi-weed patient (a multiple sclerosis sufferer) to legally buy medical-grade pot. In 2008 the Supreme Court in the Czech Republic decided in favor of growing Cannabis destined for medical applications.

In 2009 at Prague’s Lichtenstein Palace, during the 16th gala evening of the Czech Government’s Committee for People with Disabilities, presided over by the Prime

Minister – and consisting of, among others, several ministers – an official prize was awarded to the Konopí Je Lék (Cannabis Cures) organization for a web page devoted to old and new applications of Cannabis in medicine. The Czech Minister of Health Care, Dana Jurásková, promised not only to participate in a public debate on the issue, but also to support the introduction of phyto-therapy to the Czech health care system, provided the results were promising. The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Petr Šimerka, presented KJL President Dušan Dvořák with the award, signed by the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Jan Fischer. Dušan Dvořák once faced a five-year sentence for cultivation of over 800 Cannabis plants.

20

FACT VS. FICTION

Wives’ Tales and Wisdom

Grubbycup

When a person finds something that works (or that they think does), Wives’ Tale: Wives’ Wisdom: Grams-per-watt is an indication Cannabis should be heated either they often share this information with friends, family, and some- of performance. before or as it is consumed. times through the use of the Internet proclaim it to the world. While A plant kept in growth (18 or more hours Not all, but most of a bud’s potential occasionally this information is correct and benefits others, often it of light) for 12 months before flowering effect is expressed as tetrahydrocannabwill show a very high grams per watt inolic acid, which has little effect if conis incorrect, which is not helpful at all. To help you tell one from the ratio in comparison to a plant grown for sumed directly. Tetrahydrocannabinolic other, here is an assortment of wives’ tales – and wives’ wisdom – and a total of 12 weeks, even if the 12-week acid forms the more active tetrahydrogrow was the more efficient of the two. cannabinol (THC) when it decarboxyan explanation of which is which.

A much more useful number to calculate lates (loses a carbon dioxide molecule).

Wives’ Tale: Vitamin B1 is a useful additive for normal plants.

The myth that vitamin B1 (thiamine) helps plants root and grow has its origins in a study done over 70 years ago that used vitamin B1, along with an auxin (plant growth hormone), resulting in plant improvement. Although vitamin B1 has some specialized horticultural uses in plant tissue culture, for most gardeners this is irrelevant. It has been determined by repeated studies that it was the auxin – not the vitamin B1 – that caused the increase in vigor. In at least one study, plants performed better with plain water than water with B1 added.

Even today there are several additives that use a plant hormone, such as naphthylacetic acid (NAA) or other beneficial substance for the active ingredient, and then add vitamin B1 so that it can be sold as a B1 plant supplement for marketing purposes. If you want to add plant hormones, you can just do so. Indolebutyric acid (IBA) and NAA are common rooting hormones often used in rooting solutions.

To assist in transplant shock, use a little extra nitrogen.

Wives’ Tale: The length of the light periods determines flowering.

It is the length of the dark periods – not the light periods – that triggers flower-

ing. Cannabis has photo-receptors, which can detect light above normal moonlight.

Over a period of a couple of weeks, if the plant gets a long dark period of 12 hours or so, it will begin to generate flowering

is Grams Per Day (GPD). Subtract the planting date from the start date to find the total number of days grown. Then take the weight of harvest, and divide by the number of days grown, to find out how much was produced each day.

This release of carbon dioxide can result from either dehydration (curing) or heat, either of which drives off a water molecule and in the process releases a carbon dioxide molecule. Simple drying can cause this effect over a period of time, or

COMMON ASPIRIN CAN TRIGGER A STRESS RECOVERY RESPONSE hormones that will be used to trigger or continue flowering during the next lit period. If the dark period is shortened or interrupted, the level of flowering hormone will drop, and the plant will return to vegetative growth. Most Cannabis plants will continue to grow in size, as long as they do not receive the extended dark periods that cause flowering.

Calculating the GPD for each harvest will allow a gardener to compare the success of different grows, even if the number of days for each is different.

Wives’ Wisdom: Willow water or aspirin can help a plant’s defense against stress.

Willow water contains salicylic acid and aspirin contains acetylsalicylic acid. Both induce a response known as ‘Systemic Acquired Resistance’ (SAR) in the plant, similar to how the plant responds when attacked by a pathogenic agent. Since the plant’s defenses are already activated, it is better prepared for an attack or exposure to stress. Willow water can be made by placing willow twigs in hot water and allowing that to sit overnight.

Make aspirin water with one 81 mg noncoated aspirin per gallon (3.78 liter) of water.

Wives’ Wisdom: Epsom salts can treat a magnesium deficiency.

FLOWERING IN CANNABIS IS TRIGGERED BY THE DARK PERIODS

Epsom salts are basically magnesium sulfate, which supplies magnesium in a water-soluble and available form.

Although it is rare to encounter a sulfur deficiency, Epsom salts are a source of sulfur as well. Apply at one teaspoon (5 ml) per gallon (3.78 liter). Apply at one-month intervals, as magnesium deficiencies are not common.

NAA IS THE USEFUL INGREDIENT LISTED the heat from a flame, vaporizer or cooking are all sufficient to induce almost instantaneous decarboxylation.

Wives’ Wisdom: Diluted milk can be used to treat plants against certain fungi and insects.

Milk has been shown to successfully treat powdery mildew and aphids. Use one part milk to two parts water. Be forewarned that over application may result in an unpleasant sour milk smell and unappealing (but benign) microorganism growth.

Wives’ Wisdom: Talk to your plants.

Talking to plants does help – the longer the better. Of course so does just spending time in your garden; as a source of carbon dioxide (CO2) you help your plants just by breathing near them.

Bringing in a friend for heavy breathing in the garden can be good for your plants (and your relationship).

Not all the information that gets handed down or passed around is correct; on the other hand, not everything that is old is wrong, either. Knowing which advice to follow and which to avoid can help your garden be a happy place, for both you and your plants.

Peace, love and puka shells, Grubbycup

22

BIOIMPACT

Cannabis and Our Environment: AN INCREASINGLY DELICATE BALANCE We are facing some serious choices in coming years: on whichever side of the ‘Climategate’ fence we choose to sit, we cannot deny that our actions are adversely effecting the environment we depend on to survive, and that we must reevaluate our agricultural methods along sustainable lines. Proponents of Cannabis believe that legalization could provide solutions to key environmental issues, while prohibitionists cite instances of ecological damage caused by irresponsible growers as reasons to keep it illegal. Both camps are often guilty of oversimplifying their position; many inconvenient contradictions are ignored or kept quiet so that the overall message remains decisive.

for indoor growing, which can be hugely energy- and resource-intensive. Illegal outdoor grows can wreak havoc on the local ecosystem, and even in states where they legally occur, the level of regulation is insufficient to ensure that practices are entirely safe. However, wild Cannabis can be a vital part of its ecosystem, and eradication programs have caused severe environmental problems.

In the regions where Cannabis is indigenous or established, it is often so crucial to the maintenance of the local ecosystem that eradication causes immediate and severe consequences. In Bangladesh, a country so deeply linked to Cannabis

erosion when the floodwaters surge through the country’s eight hundred rivers, covering up to 80% of its entire area. In mountainous countries such as Morocco and Mexico, eradication can lead to increased mudslides and landslides.

In the USA and Latin America, herbicides that have known toxicity to humans as well as other animals and plants (such as Paraquat and Triclopyr) have been used – although, largely thanks to NORML, their use has been mostly phased out.

While it is demonstrably harmful to destroy Cannabis where it is meant to grow, it is similarly inappropriate to grow it where (and how) it is not. In Morocco, where Cannabis is aggressively cultivated (and is an introduced species), huge swathes of land are prepared for planting

PROPONENTS OF CANNABIS BELIEVE LEGALIZATION COULD PROVIDE SOLUTIONS TO KEY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES; PROHIBITIONISTS CITE INSTANCES OF ECO-DAMAGE CAUSED BY IRRESPONSIBLE GROWERS AS REASONS TO KEEP IT ILLEGAL Advocates of Cannabis cite the environmental benefit a legal industry would bring, but this is not the whole picture.

While it is true that properly-managed crop rotation schemes involving Cannabis can be among our most appropriate methods, the complete opposite is true

that its name is derived from it, efforts to destroy wild populations have led to an increase in the severity of seasonal flooding. The long root systems of riverbankadapted Cannabis strains provide stability, and when the plants are destroyed, the dead roots can no longer act to reduce

TRADITIONAL ORGANIC METHODS ARE BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (© MISHIMOTO)

RED DIESEL SPILL FROM AN ILLEGAL FARM (JUSTICE.GOV)

by burning existing vegetation. In several US states, there have been cases of outdoor grows causing severe localized damage – diverting water from nearby streams, clearing forested areas to provide unrestricted light, draining toxic chemicals directly into the local water table, and using polluting diesel generators for power in remote areas.

This issue is certainly not helping to win the hearts and minds of farmers, environmental groups or law enforcement, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy has recently stated that for every acre of marijuana grown, a further ten acres are polluted with toxic by-products. In 2008, a Humboldt County grower spilled a thousand gallons of red diesel into a Salmon Creek tributary, poisoning fish and salamanders. In Sonoma County, an illegal operation discovered last summer involved the felling of fifteen protected redwood trees on private land.

It is vital for the future of Cannabis in the US that we steer as far as possible from the image of willfully-destructive environmental terrorists towards that of responsible custodians of nature, who respect all its parts equally and do not seek to destroy parts of it to further individual profit. Some argue that these problems would cease if Cannabis were to be legalized and regulated, and it is true that the need for secrecy is behind much illegal chemical disposal and generator use. However, legal and ‘regulated’ agribusinesses still commit environmental atrocities, and are afforded effective carte blanche by their ability to pay millions for legal costs, lobbying and advertising.

A legal cannabis industry would provide as much opportunity to lobby for favorable laws as any other big business – and

Kali Mist

as much reason for profiteers, prepared to cut corners and risk the health of the consumer, to jump on board the gravy train. We must accept that the legalization of a previously-restricted good in a country like ours is bound to involve its commodification; in an ideal world there would only be small, organic Cannabis farms, but in our existing system we must be prepared to seek and accept the best compromise, and be prepared to collectively mitigate any consequent damage.

Currently, while Monsanto, et al wreck our environment with impunity, their propaganda machine is adept at subverting the argument to make us look guiltier than them. Any transgression by Cannabis producers is seized upon as evidence of the evil of the entire industry. As the social pariahs of agriculture, we have to work twice as hard to maintain a good image as big agribusinesses, who have their legality to hide behind.

Beyond all question of how it might look to the rest of the world, it’s pretty messed up to destroy 900-year-old sequoias to grow 90-day plants, so (for karma’s sake, if nothing else) one would hope that growers, illegal or otherwise, will in the future begin to prioritize correctly.

In California, the predicted effects of climate change include a marked reduction in the level of snow cover in the Sierra Madre mountains. Thousands of hectares of Cannabis fields rely upon seasonal irrigation provided when the snow melts in spring, and when that is insufficient to satisfy the plant’s voracious thirst, other methods are needed. This is already occurring in years of low precipitation, which are predicted to increase in the near future. The huge network of pipelines that criss-crosses through California permits the fecundity the state is renowned for, and that the rest of the nation depends upon (along with the other agriculturallyproductive states) – if precious water was to be diverted to what many feel is an unessential commodity and away from foodstuffs, it would spark huge controversy, if not in fact threaten production of other crops themselves.

Of course it is not just Cannabis that requires irrigation – most crops do, and agriculture uses up to 80% of total US water consumption – but the massive increase in land given over to this particular crop in recent years is putting increasing pressure on already straitened systems. The Colorado River, which irrigates a vast expanse of the southwestern US, is experiencing a decline in water levels and an increase in salinity due to agricultural overdraw and decreasing snow cover in the Rocky Mountains; up to 70% of its water is diverted for agriculture, and Arizona’s Lake Mead, formed by the Hoover Dam, is estimated to lie at 130 feet lower than its level in 2000. Further predicted decreases in precipitation through the Rockies may lead to further reduction in flow – up to 20% over the next forty

23 HEMP AS BIOFUEL COULD MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE BY REDUCING OUR RELIANCE UPON HYDROCARBONS, AND INCREASING HEMP FOOD PRODUCTION COULD LESSEN THE NEED FOR UNSUSTAINABLE CROPS years. As our population and its energy and nutritional requirements increase over the coming years, and resources become ever scarcer, every single crop we sustain must be provably economically and environmentally appropriate.

Properly managed, Cannabis can help mitigate the effect of drought and climate change. Hemp is well-known to be a lowimpact crop that requires few fertilizers or pesticides, eagerly colonizes areas other plants cannot tolerate, and improves the soil until other plants can be grown. It can also replenish nutrients lost in soil from

intensive farming of crops such as soy – for this reason, growing hemp in rotation is increasingly promoted as a sustainable agricultural model. It can also destroy soil pathogens (which parasitize other crops such as soy and potatoes) and reduce radioactive or toxic particles in contaminated soils.

Hemp’s potential as biofuel could help mitigate climate change by reducing our reliance upon hydrocarbons, and increasing hemp food production could similarly lessen the need for unsustainable crops such as corn. There are already

REDUCING SNOW MELT IN THE ROCKIES LEADS TO IRRIGATION PROBLEMS (ANDRUS DEVELOPMENT)

widespread populations of escaped ditchweed left over from the Hemp for Victory campaign, which thrive all over the US, and by their very existence demonstrate the plant’s adaptability and appropriateness for our diverse range of habitats.

Hemp’s many uses in sustainable industry, such as zero-carbon housing, mark it out as worthy of inclusion in our future sustainable policies.

While many of the drug varieties grown in America require intensive irrigation, many varieties (including most hemp strains) are well-adapted for arid environments.

Cannabis originated in desert regions, and exhibits many adaptations to such conditions, such as its crystalline, cannabinoid-containing resin (which protects the flowers from the worst extremes of temperature), and ability to survive in areas of very low precipitation. The long, complex root systems are not only useful at maintaining slope stability but also extracting maximum moisture from surrounding soil. Selecting drought-adapted varieties is therefore of great importance, especially in California, Colorado and other drought-prone Cannabis-farming states.

The magnitude of the problem is being greatly underplayed, but if prioritized as a matter of urgency, there is no reason that we cannot stick with strains appropriate for their host environment, which cover our various needs and do not require unjustifiable diversion of resources.

Apart from the irresponsible minority, Cannabis growers in the US often have higher-than-average regard for the environment, borne of the spiritualist and naturalistic beliefs many profess to hold dear, as well as a heightened sense of responsibility brought about by many years in the spotlight. Many growers use organic pesticides and fertilizers. There are some that even use solar panels to provide their electricity, and closed-loop rainwater-collection systems – but these can be beyond the budget of many smaller operations. There have been

Indoors, or in the greenhouse, opting for 600-watt bulbs over 1000-watt greatly improves energy efficiency, and is a quick tweak for those who don’t have enough to invest in LEDs. Digital ballasts are more efficient than magnetic, good reflector hoods will reduce light wastage, and automated light movers can save much more energy than they use by reducing the required number of lights. Sea-of-Green (SOG) techniques yield more final product per watt of light, as they require little to no vegetative time. Users of generators can install cut-off switches and replace diesel with biodiesel.

A SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL WITH SEIZED CANNABIS (JUSTICE.GOV)

ILLICIT OUTDOOR GROWS CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE (JUSTICE.GOV) Switching to organic nutrients and pesticides, and adopting a less-is-more attitude to their use, should not mean a reduction in yield for a skilled grower.

Preventing pests, rather than needing to deal with infestations, should always

AS THE SOCIAL PARIAHS OF AGRICULTURE, WE HAVE TO WORK TWICE AS HARD TO MAINTAIN A GOOD IMAGE AS BIG AGRIBUSINESSES, WHO HAVE THEIR LEGALITY TO HIDE BEHIND huge advances made in LED lighting technology, and the Cannabis community has enthusiastically accepted the challenge – perhaps not universally, but as costs come down and yields go up (reports of 400g/m² or more being achieved with LEDs are increasingly common), we’re sure to see more and more indoor and greenhouse growers opting for their obvious advantages.

HEMP CAN BE PART OF A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE (SIMON & INDIA)

Whatever the budget, there are ways to minimize environmental impact. If solar panels and rainwater-collection systems are too expensive, there will always be another area where tweaks can be made.

be possible with neem oil application and use of repellant plants; old soil can be composted or taken to certain recycling centers. Every step a grower takes to minimize their environmental impact is a step in the right direction. Token efforts now will benefit us in the future, and until we have realized the goal of a legal Cannabis industry made up of small, outdoor, organic and minimal-impact independent farms, we have work to do. We can’t expect any industry to clean up its act entirely overnight, but if every grower tightens up their game little by little, collectively we can achieve a great deal in a short time.

24

ENDANGERED STRAIN GUIDE / MADE IN NL

Moroccan Kif The Moroccan Kif is a legendary variety of Cannabis that has been cultivated for centuries in the high valleys of the Rif Mountain range in northern Morocco. The Kif variety was originally grown so that the floral clusters could be smoked in an unprocessed form; it was not until around 60 years ago, with the advent of Western influence on the Moroccan Cannabis trade, that farmers began to process it into the hashish that is now so famous. Cannabis was first brought to Morocco during the Arab invasions of the seventh century, and it is generally held that the dominant variety is mostly sativa, but with some indica genetics – possibly from Afghanistan or Iran.

KIF IN THE MOONLIGHT ( © PIERREARNAUD CHOUVY ) These days, ‘Kif’ generally refers to the finely-chopped floral clusters of any Moroccan-grown pot – since Western

Kali Mist

influence took hold, varieties from all over the world were brought to the Rif valleys in a drive to create ever-stronger hashish. This had the unfortunate and (at least to regular readers of this column) now-familiar consequence of diluting and altering the indigenous gene-pool with foreign DNA, and there is much speculation now as to whether or not the original strain has survived at all. This problem is greatly compounded by the fact that little to no care is taken to remove staminate (male) plants from outdoor crops – during the growing season, clouds of male Cannabis pollen can be seen floating over vast expanses of northern Africa, and the possibility of inadvertent cross-breeding is very high.

Another factor speeding the decline of the indigenous Rif genetics is the program of eradication. Although largely unsuccessful, this has led to the loss of large swathes of plants, which are then replaced with introduced genetics. Moroccan producers as a general rule are not overly fussy about the strains they grow – as long as they achieve a good harvest, they will plant whatever seeds are available. The climate of the Rif mountains, which is not ideal for Cannabis cultivation at the best of times, is changing – as global temperatures creep up, the snow cover that provides much of the irrigation for the Cannabis crops when it melts in spring is

A KIF CAT (© CHRISTINA BOOSE) slowly reducing, and the future of cultivation in the region is far from secure.

However, whether or not the original strain still survives, Morocco is showing little sign of slowing down its production of hashish, and many of the varieties available are of a very high quality. In recent years, Moroccan ice-o-lator hash

has made an appearance in Amsterdam coffeeshops, demonstrating that the Moroccan producers themselves are not standing idly by while the rest of the Cannabis community advances. If similar efforts can be made in the direction of preserving and improving the local varieties, futures generations of hash-smokers will have much to be thankful for.

The Dutch 15% Rule Revisited would be banned from all Dutch coffeeshops, to be immediately effective on January 1st, 2012. Although the general trend for visitors from countries such as Spain and Italy has dropped (mainly due to economic factors) over the last decade, the noticeably larger-than-usual spike in tourists from these countries around New Year’s can perhaps be attributed to these pieces of misinformation.

ARE ‘HAPPY SMOKERS’ AND ‘COFFEESHOPS’ STILL ASSOCIATED? (LUCIANO GUELFI) Since the news of the upcoming ban on all Cannabis products containing higher than 15% THC was first announced in the Netherlands, as well as the furor regarding the Wietpas (Weed Pass), we have already begun to see the consequences. The usual poorly-relayed information has found its way into other countries’ media, including reports in Italy alleging that all foreigners

The actual situation is as follows: as of the first of January 2012, it is no longer permitted for coffeeshops in the south of the Netherlands to stock products containing higher than 15% THC. Coffeeshops must operate on a members-only basis, with membership limited to two thousand customers. By the first of January 2013, this will extend to the entire country. Coffeeshops are already subject to random spot checks by the ‘Hit Squad’; from now on, these will include testing of samples to ascertain their THC content.

The membership list (kept by the coffeeshop operator) will also be checked during these ‘hits’. By 2014, any coffeeshop within 350 yards of a school must close.

Although an outright ban on hashish of all forms was proposed, it has now been deemed unnecessary as most hash con-

tains more than 15% THC and will be illegal under the original terms of the new law.

The Dutch Minister for Security and Justice, Ivo Opstelten, has received widespread criticism for his policies, which many feel are unreasonable and unworkable. The hash question in particular has been raised in order to stamp out importation from countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Morocco, due to their association with terrorism and ‘funding foreign criminals’. Throughout the country, however, the overriding feeling is that freedom is being restricted, rather than public health and safety protected.

Kali Mist

The coffeeshops in the touristic north of the country are not taking the imminent changes well. Coffeeshops in Haarlem have collectively stated that they will not implement a Wietpas system, as surveys of customers have revealed their belief that it is an invasion of privacy, and their determination to find other suppliers if they cannot visit a coffeeshop in the anonymous way they are accustomed to.

Many ordinary Dutch citizens face future discrimination as laws change and a previously acceptable pastime becomes taboo to employers; they are therefore unprepared to put their names in any Cannabis-related database, and intend to start growing their own.

BEAUTIFUL HAND-PRESSED CHARRAS WILL SOON BE ILLEGAL (MIRAN RIJAVEC)

25

Sativex: Phase III Legal Cannabis medicines pass tough European medical tests, nothing can stop them now...

“Amazing results”, “No traces of withdrawal effects – Cannabis isn’t addictive”, “Floodgates opening into Cannabis research for multiple conditions”, “From MS to cancer, Cannabis is the Dutch Joe answer” As we reported a couple of months ago, the legally approved Cannabis extract Sativex is now becoming widely available across Europe and the rest of the world.

The latest stage of Sativex testing has involved over 1,500 patients across Europe, and all feedback has been scrutinized by leading experts. The key findings confirm that Cannabis is indeed highly effective as a medicine and is not addictive – unlike traditionally prescribed morphine-derived painkillers, and many other medicines.

In simple terms what this really means is that all the feedback so far is positive. Nothing, it seems, can now stop the widespread introduction of Sativex, not even the right wing prohibitionist politicians who have spent so long trying to convince everyone that Cannabis is toxic and highly dangerous. So far Sativex has been exported to 28 different countries, and that number seems sure to increase.

The reason the gradual approval and introduction of Sativex is so exciting is that it is allowing Cannabis to receive mainstream medical and government

acceptance. Approval will also overturn the claims that weed leads inevitably to mental health problems. There are no government warnings on Sativex bottles telling you that the drug is dangerous and will lead to psychosis.

The arrival of Sativex will allow a formal recognition of everything that the medical marijuana movement has been saying for years. Marijuana is a highly effective medicine for a range of conditions and it comes with no nasty side effects. It is not addictive; it will not cause a mental health crisis. Legal Cannabis medicine in the local pharmacy signals the beginning of the end of the Cannabis misinformation campaign. That is something to celebrate.

FIELDS OF WEED... SOON THEY WILL BE PLANTING THIS LEGALLY Sativex is basically no different to the Cannabis tinctures that they were making in the 1930s by soaking weed in alcohol and filtering it. Each oral spray (or ‘dose’) delivers 2.7 mg of THC and 2.5 mg of CBD. Costs per patient are currently around $790 per month. These costs will plummet

copycat pharmaceutical industry will have their own Cannabis-extract oral sprays at a fraction of the current prices. Just look at the number of Indian and Chinese manufacturers of cut-price Viagra-type pills. Cannabis medicines will be easy to

ing the drug companies to press ahead with the formal approval of ‘legal’ Cannabis medicines it will make it easier in the long run for the medical Cannabis movement to succeed. After all, the drug companies have the political and financial influence to

THE REASON THE GRADUAL APPROVAL AND INTRODUCTION OF SATIVEX IS SO EXCITING IS THAT IT IS ALLOWING CANNABIS TO RECEIVE MAINSTREAM MEDICAL AND GOVERNMENT ACCEPTANCE when rival pharmacy companies decide to get in on the act. The manufacturing process clearly isn’t that complicated and the free market economy is ruthless in the pharmaceutical industry if you don’t have watertight patent protection.

As the legal objections to Cannabis medicines are systematically removed it is certain that within ten years the Indian

make – you just need a few fields of weed and a few barrels of alcohol.

Some within the medi-weed movement feel that it is wrong to allow a drug company to charge punishingly high prices for a simple Cannabis extract, while prohibiting the public to cultivate and enjoy their own homegrown weed. Of course they are completely correct. However, by allow-

force governments to believe in the medical effectiveness of Cannabis, and they can back it up with scientifically conducted drug tests to provide absolute proof.

Sometimes we have to look at the wider picture. If all this allows medi-weed to gain acceptance, then perhaps we can live with some initial profiteering by the drug companies.

26

GROW REPORT

PARADISE SEEDS: WAPPA FEMINIZED

Indica at its best The indica strain Wappa entered the seed market in 2006, when Paradise Seeds came up with a ‘six-pack’ of six new feminized strains. Paradise Seeds has an excellent reputation in terms of feminized seeds, so the grower was curious whether it would be Green Born Identity - G.B.I. confirmed by Wappa, too.

Paradise Seeds describes Wappa as a stoutstatured and stable pure indica strain, the low height of which makes it a good choice for gardeners with limited growing space.

It’s available as a feminized strain only. For producing feminized Wappa seeds, pollen is obtained from a female manipulated to produce male flowers and applied to a female plant, so that all of the resulting Wappa seeds will become female. It has a flowering time of 55 to 60 days. When forced to flower at 12 inches (30 cm), it doubles in size by maturity, producing big chunky colas (yield potential: 400 to 500 g/m2) that fill the air with sweet aromas of fruits and sugar, or also marshmallows, as reported by some people.

Atypically of an indica strain, Wappa has a high calyx-to-leaf ratio which makes it a breeze to manicure. Also unusual for an indica is the fact that Wappa has a light green leaf color, and in addition, its leaves are more sharply-serrated than those of other indicas. Wappa’s high provides a surprising effect – even though she is a pure indica, she does not weigh the body down; it’s a non-couchlock and non-stupor indica that delivers “an active, aware body vibe, more conducive to merrymaking than couch surfing,” according to Paradise Seeds. They even promise “it is a luminous high that nudges open the doors of perception” – thanks to a high THC content of 15- to 18%.

Flower Production Exploded Wappa also has a good outdoor performance; she adapts well to the climates of Northern Europe, such as Belgium or Holland, but she really goes strong in sunnier and warmer regions like France, Italy or Spain. Yields of up to 500 grams per plant are possible.

A grower called The Doc germinated three feminized Wappa seeds (only three

because he also tested a fewer other varieties at the same time) in order to get a first impression of the Wappa strain. All of the seeds sprouted perfectly and the seedlings were grown under two 125-watt CFL lights (6,400K) during the first two weeks.

The seedlings were transplanted to 11-liter pots filled with Plagron Standard Mix. After two weeks, The Doc replaced the CFLs with two Planta Star 600-watt high pressure sodium lamps and one 400-watt.

That certainly was an extremely copious amount of wattage for The Doc’s grow room with an area of just a few square meters. Without a doubt, Wappa would enjoy optimum growing conditions in that light paradise. After the third week in the vegetative stage, at a height of 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm) and a width of already more than 16 inches, the first side branches slipped through the huge leaves from below. The three Wappa plants grew very homogeneously and bushy, producing many long side branches within a short time, something that is also rarely seen on indica plants.

After four weeks in the vegetative stage – the plants had kept on growing vigorously, having reached a height of 20 to 24 inches (50 to 60 cm) – The Doc induced flowering by reducing the light period from 18/6 (day/night) to 12/12 and replaced the Planta Star lights with two 600-watt Osram Son-T Plus and one 400-watt. Already two weeks later, flower cluster formation had started at the plant tips. The numerous side branches kept on stretching in the first weeks of flowering, and so did the plants as a whole, also further increasing in width. After four weeks in the flowering stage, the plants had reached a height of about 39 inches (100 cm), having become luscious globe Cannabis plants that raised the expectation of a bumper harvest, all the more so as the buds became very big, dense and long.

Mental Cotton Candy At the end ofthe fourth week of flowering, the buds were already coated with a shimmering resin layer. After five weeks, flower production kind of exploded: the buds tremendously increased in size and density.

Throughout the flowering stage there was a great deal of uniformity; there were no different phenotypes – even the flower structure was identical on all the three plants.

The only difference found on one plant was the fact that it even outmatched the high resin content of the other two plants.

In addition, the fruity sweet aroma was the same with each plant. The plants didn’t

exhibit any male flowers – the feminization quality of Wappa seemed to prove the good reputation of Paradise Seeds once again (although three plants cannot be considered as representative in general, of course).

All the three plants – which had grown to a height of about 37 inches (120 cm) in the end – could be harvested between the eighth- and ninth week of flowering, which was in line with the flowering time data stated by Paradise Seeds. After the buds had been dried, The Doc happily took 312 grams off the scales, a yield that did fulfill the high harvest expectations. There also was plenty of resinous leaf material for being used in the Ice-O-Lator.

Wappa’s high was as strong as expected: it had a quick onset and lasted for many hours, having a pleasant body relaxing effect which, indeed, was not paralyzing – The Doc still could move easily and was mentally present. Being densely-wrapped in mental cotton candy, though, he was heavily stoned but also felt a lot of euphoria. Wappa’s smell and flavor also fully convinced him – the buds provided a mild and sweet smoke with nice, subtle fruity undertones. For The Doc, Wappa easily ranks among the best strains of Paradise Seeds.

With a price of €30 (ca. $40) for five feminized seeds and €55 (ca. $73) for ten, Wappa furthermore has a very good value for money – undoubtedly this is indica at its best, in any respect.

Green Born Identity - G.B.I.

Cultivation data: Strain Genetics: Vegetative Stage: Flowering Stage: Medium: pH: EC: Lights:

Temperature:

Air Humidity: Watering: Fertilization: Additives: Height: Yield:

Wappa 100% Indica Here: 4 weeks 8-9 weeks Plagron Standard Mix (Soil Mix) 6.0 - 6.5 Vegetative Stage: 1.2 - 1.6 mS Flowering Stage: 1.6 - 2.0 mS First Half of Vegetative Stage: 2 x 125-watt CFL (6,400K) Second Half of Vegetative Stage: 2 x Planta Star 600-watt + 1 x 400-watt Flowering Stage: 2 x Osram Son T Plus 600-watt + 1 x 400-watt Vegetative Stage: 22 - 24°C (day) Flowering Stage: 24 - 28°C (day) Night: 18 - 19°C Vegetative Stage: 40 - 60% Flowering Stage: max. 50% By hand HeSi Bloom Complex (also HeSi Phosphor Plus from the fourth week of flowering) Nitrozyme, HeSi Boost and Root Complex, Enzyme About 37 inches (120 cm) 312 grams

27

INTERNATIONAL REPORT

A Tale of Two Cannabinoids

By Hugh Fitz

SSUSA OBTAINS A BRITISH PERSPECTIVE ON SATIVEX, ITS GROWING ACCEPTANCE WORLDWIDE, AND HOW IT ALL CAME TO PASS...

There wasn’t much of a fanfare from Cannabis activists, or even outrage in the British media, when Cannabis started to be legally prescribed in the UK for the first time in June last year. A few years ago, getting Cannabis prescribed for MS sufferers was high on the Cannabis Activist’s wish list (remember Mark and Lezlie Gibson getting busted in 2007 for providing MS sufferers with Cannabis chocolate?) so now we should be happy, right? Well, kind of…

The fact is, rather than allowing the estimated third of MS patients in the UK who currently use illegal Cannabis to treat their symptoms, to possess and consume Cannabis without fear of prosecution, the Government have outsourced to the pharmaceutical industry – namely GW Pharmaceuticals (a division of Bayer), for the delivery of Cannabis as medicine. Unlike California and some other progressive states in America, the UK Government at present only recognizes Cannabis-based medicine as effective for the relief of spasticity related to MS, not for the whole host of conditions – from cancer to insomnia and depression – that some American doctors can prescribe it for.

As Americans, your prescription from the doctor allows you to buy a whole host of raw buds from specialist dispensaries where the ‘experts’ will advise you on what variety will best treat your condition. Over here in the UK, the only way you’re going get government sanc-

tioned Cannabis is with a prescription from the doctor for relieving MS-related spasms, and even then it will come in the form of a spray called Sativex, and it won’t actually get you high. So, it may be a good thing that the government finally recognizes some medicinal value in Cannabis.

In that typically British way, they’ve had to admit that it is an effective and suitable treatment, but only once they’d sucked all the fun out of it. One positive to come from this development is that GW Pharmaceuticals – with all their facilities, laboratories, equipment and most importantly, money – have done some pretty interesting and long overdue research into cannabinoids and how they actually affect us.

From their perspective the more conditions they can prove their drug works for, the more money they make, which puts them as uneasy allies with the proCannabis community. By proving some of the positive effects of Cannabis consumption the hope is that the image of Cannabis may improve in the eyes of the general population, having taking such a bashing in the media following the Lancet Journal’s 2007 publication of the paper Cannabis Use and Risk of Psychotic or Affective Mental Health Outcomes, a systematic review that supposedly highlighted the causal link between Cannabis and psychosis. Ironically, high on GW Pharm’s list of conditions that may be helped by Cannabis is psychosis.

It was in 1988 that scientists first discovered the endocannabinoid system in the human body, that is, naturally occurring cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) in all human brains. This was followed a few years later by the discovery of the ligand that bonds with these receptors, named ‘anandamide’ after the Sanskrit word for ‘bliss’. This discovery that the human brain and Cannabis were linked through these receptors and naturally occurring ‘endocannabinoids’ opened up the study of Cannabis as medicine, as it showed the scientific community that Cannabis clearly does effect the many ways our brains and bodies operate, be it

pain perception, mood, muscle control, sleep, anxiety, psychosis and so on.

Research has so far identified two main cannabinoids that affect the human endocannabinoid system: Δ9-THC (Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (Cannabidiol), and it is these two that make up Sativex. In their own words: “THC has analgesic, anti-spasmodic, anti-tremor, anti-inflammatory, appetite stimulant and anti-emetic properties, whilst CBD has anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, anti-psychotic, anti-oxidant, neuroprotective and immunomodulatory effects.” Another study involving Cannabis and sleep found that “fifteen milligrams THC would appear to be sedative, while fifteen milligrams CBD appears to have alerting properties as it increased waking activity during sleep and counteracted the residual sedative activity of fifteen milligrams THC.” Clearly these two cannabinoids interact in interesting ways that we are only just beginning to understand. Both are present in the vast majority of Cannabis plants but in different ratios, depending on the plant itself. Recent Cannabis breeding has had the aim of deliberately increasing THC levels and lowering CBD to achieve the most powerful and euphoric high, without the countereffect of CBD. It is this same logic that has ultimately brought about the introduction of a suitable medical Cannabis product.

When taken together the CBD modulates the effects of the THC. For this reason GW include a fine balance of both in Sativex, all but eradicating any kind of ‘high’. This was a major hurdle for GW in bringing their product to market because as a medicine it is not meant to actually get you high. Heaven forbid! As an aside, research also found that when CBD is separately administered first, then followed by THC (as was

28 fully long time for those waiting for it.

GW is currently trying to get Sativex licensed for many more conditions, but research has to be done and reviewed before this can happen. What Sativex has done is drawn a distinct line between medical and recreational Cannabis.

This is the major difference between medical Cannabis here, and in California or Holland, where it is accepted that Cannabis is beneficial and it is up to the patient as to how they administer it and in what form they buy it. Whether or not this is a good thing is debatable.

Already growers, breeders and Cannabis experts are responding to this new research – and particularly to the ben-

done under scientific trial conditions with human volunteers) it inhibits the breakdown of THC in the liver, therefore raising levels in the brain for a longer period. ‘CBD before THC gets you higher’, basically.

So how exactly do they produce this Cannabis-based preparation? Sativex is an oromucosal spray, which means it is absorbed through the mucous membrane in the mouth. The label states that “each 100 microliter spray contains 2.7 mg delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and 2.5 mg cannabidiol from Cannabis sativa L.” To make it, GW has been growing its own Cannabis plants at a secret location in the south of England. Primarily they have been using a high-THC strain with no CBD, and a high-CBD strain with no THC. They have grown the CBD chemovar outdoors which, along with the lack of THC, would suggest it is a hemp fiber or even ruderalis strain; whereas the THC chemovar has had to be grown indoors or under glass in the summer.

Much time was wasted trying to grow a greenhouse crop in the winter before GW realized that high light levels played a crucial part in producing THC (is there anyone reading this that didn’t already know that?) Then, they’ve effectively been making hash – they call it an Enriched Trichome Preparation or ETP – or more accurately, bubble hash, from the dried buds. They could have no doubt saved themselves a bit of effort if they had asked an experienced grower and hash maker for some tips. Still, it’s nice to know that the men in white coats endorse the bubble hash process, but for their purposes only the six- or sevenscreen process (like the Ice-o-Lator bags, Next Level BubbleSacs and the Canadian Bubble Bags with the 75-micron and 25-micron screens) are used for separating the useable gland.

Their research showed that most of the plant’s cannabinoids are in the upright gland heads (again, we could have told them that) which are roughly 75- to 100-microns in size and so are exclusively caught on the 75-micron screen.

The THC hash (ETP!) and CBD hash are blended together, suspended in ethanol, creating Sativex.

plant is by having it tested in a laboratory. Most Cannabis breeding is done by selecting plants on the basis of size, smell, yield and high, rather than their cannabinoid profile. This means that simultaneously we have the dedicated Cannabis experts and breeders – with limited resources but a wealth of knowledge and experience of Cannabis use – and GW Pharmaceuticals: with all its money, resources and scientific knowhow, but clearly no direct experience striving for the same thing. Both ultimately have the same goal, producing effective Cannabis-based medicine, but both are being held back by their lack of the very thing the other party has. You can see where this is going; medicines take a notoriously long time to get to market, but as more and more conditions are recommended for Cannabis therapy, the harder it will be for the anti-Cannabis lobby to paint it as the devil’s-weed of 1930s prohibition propaganda.

The medical community has well and truly started to take notice of Cannabis as a possible panacea. Public opinion in the US is quoted as being 70% in favor of the Federal legalization of Cannabis; Switzerland have just made growing a personal supply of Cannabis a non-prosecutable offense; Portugal has decriminalized all drugs; while all over Europe laws on personal use are increasingly being relaxed – except in Britain. We are sadly now a long way behind the rest of the Western world in our attitude towards Cannabis.

It’s not original to observe how remarkable the Cannabis plant really is, but the more we learn through rigorous scientific research, the more the population as a whole will be able to see how much we have missed out on through prohibition. The fact that Cannabis can have so many medical applications for conditions where the best alternatives are either ineffective or cause horrific side effects, while being completely non-toxic and free from unpleasant side-effects, must be a dream for a pharmaceutical company – and is in itself pretty remarkable.

The fact that we humans have our own, naturally occurring cannabinoid (anandamide) in our bodies, and receptors in our brains to receive it – and that Cannabis is the only place outside of our own bodies where these compounds are found – must surely hint at a very long evolutionary history between us and the Cannabis plant. Indeed, it is well-documented that humans ate the seeds and used the fibers, but a recent archaeological dig in the Gobi desert (China) revealed the tomb of a blueeyed man buried with 789 grams of bud that still had active THC in the glands, estimated to be 2,700 years old. Man has evolved alongside Cannabis, growing and selecting all the time.

Undoubtedly it is a good thing that MS sufferers can have some much needed relief from Sativex. Getting any pharmaceutical drug to market takes a pain-

efits of CBD. Jorge Cervantes, Howard Marks and Shantibaba have all put their names to the ‘CBD Crew’; while Jamie from Resin Seeds in Spain recently tested an individual plant with an even ratio of THC and CBD. This has kicked off a program to breed seeds that can offer this chemical profile every time, clear evidence that the Cannabis Community is responding in its own way to these new discoveries.

The problem they have is that the only way to tell the chemical profile of a

Still, if you’re an MS sufferer with spasms, congratulations! You can now get the first legal Cannabis this country has seen for a very long time. What is certain is that the issue is not likely to go away, especially now that the pharmaceutical industry’s appetite is whetted. As this goes to press a challenge has been raised to the monopoly that GW has been granted by the government to produce medical Cannabis. Since GW holds the only license in the UK, they certainly do have a monopoly, which is indeed illegal, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. This is just the beginning.

29

SMUGGLER’S TALES

Syrian Vacation

O’Riodon

Smuggling is a dangerous game and can often go wrong; I’d sum up my career as a successful failure. After one particularly disastrous adventure, I was left owing somebody a lot of money and the suggested repayment plan was a plane ticket to Damascus, Syria. I was to become a mule until the debt was paid – and it was non-negotiable.

At the time, Lebanon was tearing itself to pieces in an orgy of sectarian violence.

Despite that, it was also the largest supplier of hashish, much of which went through Syria. Ninety percent of this trade was run by one family; their worldwide network shipped red and gold hashish to just about everywhere on the planet. My contact was Ali, a lower echelon member of the family... and a little crazy.

I boarded the flight with a couple of minders and six hours later touched down at Damascus airport – there my troubles began. My companions carried passports agreeable to the dictatorial regime of Damascus and received a visa. My pass-

camouflaged SCUD missiles was passing silently below.

Ali appeared next morning, a .45 in his belt; his two friends were also armed. An envelope of cash changed hands and the mood lightened. A few whiskeys later we were all the best of friends. Ali’s airport contact wasn’t working for a couple of days, so we were invited to stay at his farm in the Bekaa Valley – he assured us it would be “perfectly safe”.

Later that night we were in a huge Chevy hurtling through the darkness, while Ali displayed his weapon collection, occasionally firing off a burst through the open

DAMASCUS AIRPORT port, however, was thrown back with a sneer, “Non,” and the glass panel slammed shut. I had no choice but to return and apply for a visa in Europe, and the last flight had already departed. My companions left and I sat down in the lounge to wait for the next day’s flight. They had left me a stack of magazines, so I opened a Penthouse and

SYRIAN ARMY ROADBLOCK

and waved his pass again; the guard cocked his gun. From where I was sitting I could see the driver was reaching for his gun. Ali hissed at the American to pass him the Uzi from under the seat, but he froze. This was not looking good.

Once inside the airport I joined the queue for security. It was then the policeman to whom I’d given the whiskey and Penthouse spotted me. “My friend,” he strode over and put his arm around my shoulders. “Come.”

There was only one guard, but behind was a lit hut, perhaps full of reinforcements.

The guard moved in closer, gun leveled

He then guided me through security and passport control with a wave of his hand.

Ali’s contact turned white when he saw

SUICIDE BOMBING OF AMERICAN BASE window. He really was crazy. There were military road blocks all the way to the border, but Ali simply flashed a UN police pass and we were waved straight through.

After the Sheraton the farm was pretty primitive, but there was good food and enough hashish. Next morning the Israelis

TWO DAYS IN THE BEKAA VALLEY

at the driver, who once more flashed his pass. Ali used the moment’s distraction to roll out the passenger door and bring his .45 to bear on the guard’s head. Now it was a real standoff.

After what seemed like ages, Ali threw a wad of dollars to the ground and the

Strapped in, the stewardess announced there would be a short stopover in Beirut, the first commercial flight to do so in a year. Now I was really nervous and so were my fellow passengers.

THERE WERE MILITARY ROAD BLOCKS ALL THE WAY TO THE BORDER, BUT ALI SIMPLY FLASHED A U.N. POLICE PASS AND WE WERE WAVED STRAIGHT THROUGH waited. Within fifteen minutes I had a bite – a policeman appeared at my side: “Do you have any more of those?” Two Penthouses and a bottle of whiskey later, I had my visa.

My companions were impressed; I just remembered that alcohol and porn were currency in the Middle East. That night after dinner we visited the hotel bar, which was full of men in dark glasses; the CIA and KGB were well represented.

Later that night, unable to sleep I stepped onto the balcony for a smoke. A convoy of

“URBAN FARM EVOLUTION”

began shelling the valley and we spent two days hiding in the basement. Despite Ali’s assurances they wouldn’t hit the farm, they came pretty close. On the third day there was a lull in the shelling and we left.

Stopping at another farm, we picked up a nervous American with a suitcase full of hash.

We passed back through the roadblocks without a problem, until we reached one controlled by the Syrian army. This time the barrier didn’t lift and the guard gestured us out of the car. Ali’s driver refused

5

guard lowered his gun. The car rolled slowly forward as the barrier raised, Ali still aiming at the guard’s head.

“What would have happened?” I asked when Ali got back in the car. “We’d have killed him,” he replied. Oh, great!

After we dropped off a catatonic American, I was taken straight to the airport to catch the Sunday morning flight to Amsterdam.

Ali handed me a bag with twenty kilos in it and explained that the guard working the scanner was his man.

“BREAKING THE LAW TO SAVE LIVES”

18

what was happening, convinced I was busted. Instead I was personally escorted onto the plane, while he tried to convince me to bring back more contraband.

I said yes to everything to get rid of him.

Finally the other passengers boarded, and he left.

Twenty minutes later we were on final approach into Beirut. The plane had barely touched the runway when there was a massive explosion. The pilot reacted very quickly and spun the plane around, taking off through a rain of debris. Circling, we could only see smoke. Later the pilot informed us it had been the American base, and many people had died.

Landing in Amsterdam six hours later, we were met by the world’s press and I, along with my twenty kilos, was on the evening news.

“A TALE OF TWO CANNABINOIDS”

27

30 A POTENT DELICACY!

In this issue, we will describe how to prepare our jelly, a series of extractions resulting in a resin of excellent quality. There are several steps to follow in order to obtain a specimen that presents a good Mr.X level of purity; hopefully you will find our advice useful! intact, and so we usually retain a better aroma/flavor. However, if you wish to keep the quality high, extracting a decent percentage of the whole weight without introducing impurities is rather complicated.

RESIN OBTAINED BY DRY EXTRACTION IN A CURING CONTAINER

Dry Extraction First of all, begin with the easiest and most familiar part for any Cannabis consumer: dry- and/or ice trichome extraction. The result will be the first component of our jelly.

To work in dry conditions, you can use any of the classic systems that everyone is familiar with: rods in a sieve, manual shaking, cylinder-shaped extraction containers… as long as the material used is of good quality, any of these systems will work. I recommend the weed be cured for at least a couple of months, to remove as much chlorophyll as possible, and that it be in its prime, strengthwise. One thing I like about this method is that it’s not necessary to wait for the resin to dry; the terpenes remain more

PREPARING THE ICE AND OTHER MATERIALS

Inserting dry ice in the rotating drums works very well and increases production; this allows you to maintain the steady low temperature, while also ensuring that the trichomes rupture optimally. Remember that we’re talking about dry ice, also known as ‘card’ ice, which doesn’t leave any liquid residue when it evaporates – this makes it a powerful ally. Because of the large quantities of carbon dioxide released you should always work in a well-ventilated environment, and wear thermal gloves when handling it, in order to avoid skin damage or damage to your respiratory system.

Beating the compound lightly means being less aggressive, and so rupturing less vegetable material that you aren’t interested in. Using a large container gives the buds more space to open. A mass of damp weed in four gallons (15 liters) of water is very different from a mass of damp weed in 26 gallons (ca.

100 liters) of water, where there is definitely enough space for it to unfurl and free its load.

Using small leaves from the manicuring gives good results, but if you can use buds, the best way is to shred them gently with your hands instead of grinding them. Otherwise most of the resin will remain trapped inside. Quality is improved by alternately beating the compound and letting it settle (15 minutes per cycle); it’s important to keep adding ice so that a minimal amount is always visible. This method is no longer effective if the temperature rises. The idea is that frozen trichomes fall into ice water, while vegetable matter floats on an air-entrained concentrate.

In this case, the best way to maximize your results is to opt for ice-water extraction. By using good-quality screens and correct micron size you’ve already won half the battle; then you need to gather a good quantity of ice in order to maintain as low a water temperature as possible during the process.

Once this part is complete, the next step is to catch the first floating layers in a strainer, crushing them in your hands to try and free as much liquid as possible.

Then move over to another container where you’ve placed your wire netting; of course, the thicker part is turned toward the inside and the thinnest part toward the top. After siphoning everything, place each net on a dish towel to remove any excess water. Then gather the product and place it on a plate, using a knife to grind the grain as much as possible, in order to be able to strain it in a colander (as if it were a cheese grater), applying a slight pressure with your fingers and rolling the compound until all that remains on the plate is a fine powder.

Although there are washers speciallyintended for this use, which work quite well, in my experience it is easier to control the process if you have the time to carry it out by hand.

The powder must be left on a coffee filter, cardboard or on a paper towel for a few days (at least a week) to expel any remaining humidity. Never press it right away because, although the result

Ice-Water Extraction

SURGICAL STAINLESS STEEL EXTRACTOR

THE GAS STARTS RISING, CARRYING THE TRICHOMES WITH IT

might look good at first glance, it will crumble or harden within a few days, losing all elasticity and organoleptic properties. In other words, if you don’t let it settle, all your work will be ruined.

When it has dried completely, it’s best to keep it in this powder form and just work the part you want to use. In this case, save it for subsequent blending with the oil that you’ll extract as the second component.

RESIN OBTAINED WITH ICE

31 Let everything settle briefly while you reheat the water and repeat the previous step, placing the Pyrex in the au bainmarie, puncturing the bubbles that start forming again. If you’re lucky and carried out the process properly, this purge should already leave you with something that’s fairly clear. This second purge should take around 15 minutes.

PLACING THE TRAY IN AN AU BAIN-MARIE

MOLDING THE JELLY

Extracting the BHO (Butane Hash Oil) At this point, you have one of the two parts you’ll be using, and it’s time to turn to the more complicate and delicate part of the process – extracting the BHO, which calls for great care. First of all, I must thank my friend, master Leocadius – a genuine web crack as far as extractions go – for advising and helping me as I wrote on the subject.

After finishing the second purge, wait THE FIRST PURGE at least an hour while everything cools down, then reheat it one last time, which makes extracting the result easier. Be quick, because the compound will harden so much in just a few seconds that you won’t be able to remove it. Use a series of blades to catch part of the oil on each one; it will crystallize, forming attractive gems in a range of colors from pale yellow to dark amber.

BHO, READY FOR CONSUMPTION Now you have your BHO, the strongest extraction possible. In this case it’s used in combination with dry pollen but I recomyour container, the easier it is to carry mend that you keep a portion aside and out your purge; you also need another try it like that, because it’s truly a delight container, larger than the first, for your for the senses. Only if you have a high tolau bain-marie. erance level, though, because otherwise it could knock you out before you notice!

After having done all this – and always This type of extract offers its best strength outdoors – it’s time to put the gas within the first week, so you shouldn’t through the bud-filled tube on top of prepare much more than you plan to use. the Pyrex container. In just a few sec- If you have an excess amount and wish to

Extracting oil with gas is simple; doing it properly is a whole different story, and requires a job that is partly confectioner and partly chemist. Most extractions I’ve witnessed show a high level of retained gas, and the principle aim is to avoid this, because the mercaptans contained in the gas are extremely toxic and shouldn’t be consumed. The word mercaptan means ‘capturing mercury’, a substance you certainly don’t want to BUDDER, EMULSIFIED BHO come into close contact with.

The first step is to try and obtain a highquality and refined gas – some of the most common types are colibrì, vector or z-plus, as their impurity content is much lower. I use a surgical stainless steel extractor, made by Leocadius, which has a section to capture activated carbon, so the gas is already free of contaminating substances and traces by the time it reaches the weed.

Fill the extractor with material, not too tightly but without leaving empty spaces, because the gas must be able to pass through quickly and needs to be in contact with the highest surface area of weed as possible. Once again, the same as during the ‘ice’ procedure, if you’re using buds you must crumble them with your fingers, not with a grinder. When the extractor is full, it needs to be placed in a freezer with the bottles of gas you intend to use for at least thirty minutes.

Leaving it overnight is even better.

Now you need a Pyrex container; borosilicate glass has higher resistance to thermal changes, solvents and acids compared to regular glass. The bigger

onds you can observe the liquefied gas rising and covering the bottom; if the first bottle starts shrinking it’s best to change to the second one right away, to maintain pressure.

Preparing the Jelly Now you have everything you need, and with a small margin can decide the quantities on a personal basis – however, a good ratio is 25% BHO for every 75% of resin. The rest depends upon the texture and strength you wish to obtain; the result is so creamy that light pressure is enough to amalgamate and unite it. Actually, it would be hard to avoid this result.

This jelly is without a doubt one of the strongest and most impressive hashes available for consumption; touching, molding and observing its gelatinous appearance is always a pleasure. A crystal pipe is probably the best way to enjoy its many properties.

Taking all those pains to extract resin just to reapply it to weed or worse, tobacco, doesn’t make much sense. Nor does it make sense to use the oil to camouflage a mediocre pollen; the only reason for creating this blend is the high quality of each individual component which, together, are even more easily manipulated, allowing us to dose strength and consumption more effectively.

The level of purity is sufficient to consume it in a crystal nail file or a titanium swing, vanishing without a trace

BUBBLER PREPARED FOR SMOKING CONCENTRATES

keep it for a while, be sure to freeze it to maintain its properties.

As a fun anecdote, I remember performing my first extractions of this type a few years

JELLY, READY FOR CONSUMPTION

and offering a flavor, scent and ‘clean’ effect without additions. For me it led to an important change in my appreciation and enjoyment of this type of extract in crystal pipes, which allow you

MOST EXTRACTIONS SHOW A HIGH LEVEL OF RETAINED GAS, AND THE PRINCIPLE AIM IS TO AVOID THIS, BECAUSE THE MERCAPTANS CONTAINED IN THE GAS ARE EXTREMELY TOXIC AND SHOULDN’T BE CONSUMED Having already prepared a dish with several inches of solution, place it in the second container, previously filled with very hot water. Throughout the process it’s important to keep far away from any stoves, lighters or closed spaces in general. You’ll see how quickly the water starts evaporating, forming bubbles that you need to puncture with a pin to free the gas.

In just a few minutes, you’ll find a layer of oil at the bottom, which will get harder and harder but won’t be ready to use yet. This first purge only takes about two minutes, in all.

ago – in spite of having read and heard innumerable times that the process should never be carried out indoors, I thought that the final stage really wasn’t so dangerous, and I decided to perform the purge in an au bain-marie over the saucepan on my small stove. I thought I could save a few minutes this way. But I had barely set it down when I saw a huge ball of fire lighting the dishcloth and food wrappers, and singeing my eyebrows and beard. Luckily, I had an extinguisher on hand and was able to put out the fire, but I can promise that I was so scared I never even thought of smoking anything else all day!

to avoid using lighters, although you still have to use specialized gadgets for oil or ceramic-tipped heaters to begin combustion. A possibility for the most health-conscious is using a vaporizer with a bubbler (for example), achieving a clear, re-hydrated vapor.

At your next trim session, I encourage you to save any small leaves or lower buds and then try to carry out your own extractions – I’m sure the results will amaze you.

Happy smoking, X.

Fruit Spirit

Royal Queen Seeds Genetic Background: Blueberry x White Widow Indica / Sativa: 25% - 75% Height of the plant: 50-60 cm Flowering Time: 8 weeks Effect: High (sweet taste)

33

CULTIVATION 101

es that employ this technique are so powerful that they actually destroy the roots of the plant, triggering a survival instinct, forcing all of the energy into reproduction (i.e. the buds).

Mineral Salts A good technique for pure hydroponic systems where the roots are exposed, large mineral particles are added to the flushing solution. These particles are too large to be taken up by the plant, but when washed through the roots will attract any excess mineral deposits that have built up, and wash them away.

It can mean the difference between a harsh or smooth smoke, a natural or chemical taste and, in some cases, a few What and When to Flush? extra grams of yield. Flushing is Any plant that has been raised on a minone of the most important parts eral feed and additives should be flushed, of the growing method or of your grow; yet it is also one of regardless growing medium used. In pure hydroponthe most overlooked. Let’s take ic growing methods – like nutrient film a look at this simple, but often technique or aeroponics – plants have constant access to mineral nutrients and, misunderstood, technique. provided the solution in the reservoir is Why Flush?

When cultivating using mineral nutrients the NPK levels within a plant can become unbalanced, and excess elements are stored within the tissue of the plant. This is particularly true in the case of Cannabis cultivation where additives are given to the plant to trigger a specific reaction or process. For example, after the first two weeks of the flowering period it is common to administer a PK additive to trigger flower development and increase the weight and density of the buds.

Think of the amount of flowering stimulators, catalysts, ignitors and boosters that are available on the market – each proclaiming to be more powerful and concentrated than the other. The high percentage of mineral elements contained in those products undoubtedly forces an increased yield (some incredibly so) but if they are not flushed out, they will be stored in the plant and affect its flavor.

End product from plants that have not been flushed can suffer from a ‘chemical’ taste; smokers often complain that hydroponically-grown weed has a different taste from soil-grown, whereas in reality it is likely to have not been flushed properly.

Flushing also affects the ‘burn’ of the end product. Next time you’re smoking on some dealer-bought weed, take a look at the ash on the end of the joint: if it’s been properly flushed, the ash should be light gray, with a fine, powdery texture. Ash created from burning weed that hasn’t been flushed will be black, with a much more solid consistency and – in particularly bad cases – can pop and spark as the impurities still contained are ignited. I can recall a particularly nasty batch of commercial dope that crackled and popped so much, it was like toking on a fireworks display.

balanced, will constantly take all the elements they need via active uptake. These elements will be stored, in the root zone and plant sap, all the way up to harvest.

Plants grown in soil or cocos will also store excess elements. The medium around the roots provides a buffer that protects against over-fertilization. So, unlike in hydro where too much nutrient has an immediate effect on the plant, a soilgrown plant may show no effects of over feeding, despite having a buildup of minerals around the roots. Therefore, flushing is still necessary.

Hormones

excess elements stored within its tissue.

This method is effective, but there are still likely to be some excess minerals left within the plant, particularly if concentrated mineral additives have been used.

There are various flushing products on the market, each based upon different techniques of removing, or forcing the use of, excess nutrients stored within the plant.

These techniques include:

Stress When the flush is administered it creates a root stress that forces energy in the plant to be expended, therefore using up the excess nutrients stored and ripening the plant at the same time. Some of the flush-

Flushes containing natural plant hormones will trigger a natural reaction in the plant that forces it to mature and finish. This uses up excess minerals stored and also ripens the fruit, improving quality and yield.

Some of the better flushes on the market use a combination of techniques to get the best result.

Temptation is a dangerous thing for the home grower, from the excited first-timer to the seasoned expert; when those buds get ripe, they’re hard to resist! Just remember, for a smoother, tastier smoke, it’s truly worth hanging on that extra week. Trim and smoke a few ‘air’ buds if you have to; just make sure you flush before you chop the main harvest.

And, don’t forget to cure it properly... happy flushing!

The exception to the rule is growing on organics. With a mineral nutrient the plants are fed directly, using elements that can be immediately taken up by the plant. With an organic feed, you are feeding the microbes within the soil. These microbes then produce elements that the plant takes up; the plant is not fed directly.

As a result, there is no excess of minerals stored in the plant and you can feed until the day you chop.

One other thing to bear in mind is that a flushing product can be used to clear out any mineral buildups that have occurred through over-feeding, at any stage of development – a sort of colonic irrigation for plants! If your girls are starting to show signs of nutrient overdose – crisping at the edge of the leaves, for example – use a flushing agent with water in your hydro system or pots. This will minimize the stress caused by the over-feed and aid your plants’ recovery. Be sure to check the ingredient list, as some of these flushing products are highly chemical in composition.

FOR THE BEST END PRODUCT… FLUSH!

How Does Flushing Work?

The simplest method of flushing is to just feed water in the last week or two before harvesting. The lack of elements being fed to the plant forces it to use up the

BLACK ASH MEANS EXCESS MINERALS ARE STILL STORED IN THE BUD

34 HARVEST TIME IS A PALETTE OF VIVID GREEN HUES, EVERY EIGHT DAYS

Magic Grass The earth is covered in it; the largest, most powerful animals live off of it – and we play sports on it, never realizing the enormous potential that is under our feet. Have you heard that when animals are O’Riodon sick, they eat grass? Back in the 1920s Ann Wigmore noticed this.

Born in Lithuania and brought up by her naturalist grandmother, she was taught the healing power of plants from an early age. Arriving in America at the age of sixteen, she was involved in an automobile accident that shattered her legs. With no antibiotics available, it wasn’t long before gangrene set in and the only option was to amputate. She refused despite the pleas of her parents, who were convinced she would die.

Ann spent the days resting in her yard; one day she noticed her puppy chewing on grass shoots and remembered the teachings of her grandmother. So every day she chewed on the fresh grass shoots, sucking out the juice and then exposing her body to sunlight. Within weeks the gangrene started to recede and eventually disappeared. Within months her bones knitted and she was able to walk again, prompting disbelief among her doctors and family.

She realized that this was a gift that all mankind should share, but chewing the lawn is not for everybody. Besides, humans can’t digest grass, but they can drink the juice. Ann bought an old meat grinder and used this to extract the dark green liquid from the young grass shoots.

There are almost five thousand species of grass on this planet – none of them are poisonous – the most beneficial being wheat grass. The juice from the young shoots has similar characteristics to blood and is absorbed rapidly into the body. The chlorophyll is similar to hermin, the protein part of hemoglobin in blood that transports oxygen – the difference being that chlorophyll is bound by an atom of magnesium and hermin by one of iron. Wheatgrass is also a powerful cocktail of vitamins, minerals and

enzymes easily absorbed by the internal organs. When freshly juiced, it is buzzing with active photons that change sunlight into energy, so it’s the equivalent to drinking liquid sunshine.

In the 1950s Dr. Ann Wigmore opened the Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston, founded on the premise that the body can heal itself, given the right tools. The institute began treating a variety of ailments and pioneered ground-breaking research into the potential of sprouts and grasses.

Their results showed positive effects on many illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, gastritis, ulcers, liver problems and anemia. Used topically it can treat burns and skin diseases. These are also an easily absorbable food source that can sustain patients combating cancer and other degenerative disease.

Its enormous food potential was shown in an experiment where pigs were fed only wheat grass juice for a year, in which time they registered above average growth and were more relaxed. At the end of the period they were offered normal food again, but chose to return to the wheatgrass. Remember, the most powerful animals in the world live on grass.

I have some personal experience with wheatgrass, having used it for more than ten years, and probably juiced more than three football fields’ worth in that time.

Aside from the vitamins and minerals it contains, I discovered another benefit.

One day, having drunk more than half a pint of wheatgrass juice, I stepped out into the midday sun. The feeling was immediate; as if I had been connected to the electricity mains. The active photons now in my blood were still converting sunlight into energy, boosting my energy levels.

Now I could go on about the mind bending amount of vitamins, minerals and enzymes wheatgrass contains, but you have the internet for that. What I will tell you is in the midst of all the processed garbage that we eat, there’s definitely room for something that can help you feel healthier and more vital. It only costs twenty cents a day and just fifteen minutes of your time to cultivate and consume. The returns you receive will be a hundredfold.

destroy most juicers; what’s required is a slow moving worm-drive juicer that will squeeze the juice without oxidizing it. An old fashioned meat grinder will do, but I use a Samson 9001 multi-purpose juicer, which will juice anything. Best is to drink it straight and immediately, but it can be mixed with other fruits and vegetables. So juice and enjoy.

There are also wheatgrass enemas, but we won’t go there.

In the summer months, planting through to harvesting takes just eight days and I use a tray per day. Grown in organic soil and watered with reverse-osmosis (6.5 pH) tepid water, the result is an unbelievably sweet taste with just a hint of licorice, followed by a rush of well-being and clear, green energy. The sweetness surprises many people.

To start, soak 200 grams of seeds overnight in a cool, dark place in filtered water.

The next day, empty them into a tight mesh net and rinse with tap water, returning them to a dark place. Rinse twice a day with tap water until they sprout, which usually takes two days. Then fill a 20” by 30” tray with two inches of organic soil and spread the sprouted seeds evenly across the surface. It is best to spray rather then water, as this doesn’t disturb the seeds. The water should be the cleanest possible and between 5.5 and 6.5 pH, but tap water will do. The tray should be covered with dark plastic and lightly sprayed once a day. In two days the shoots will be two inches high and ready to be uncovered. Place in a well lit place, but not in direct sunlight – and watch the shoots turn green. Six days later they will be eight inches tall and ready for harvesting.

SPREAD THE SEEDS EVENLY

Now you can just chew the grass and suck out the juice, but the best way is to juice it with a machine. Wheatgrass will

THIS SAMSON 9001 JUICER

OVER YOUR ORGANIC SOIL

SPROUTS FLOURISH AFTER JUST TWO DAYS

CAN HANDLE WHEATGRASS

35

BOOK REVIEWS

Cannabis Cultivation Mel Thomas’s Cannabis Cultivation from Green Candy Press is a nice overview suitable for beginner- to intermediate gardeners. Written by London’s own ‘Mr. Big’, this third edition has over 300 color pages, detailing a variety of Cannabis topics.

Mr. Thomas was arrested in 1996 for a 200’ x 30’ indoor garden that produced hundreds of pounds of bud per year, and in Cannabis Cultivation, he shares his practical experience and real world knowledge with the reader. The author’s commercial growing background shows in his nononsense approach to marijuana gardening. The information is presented in a casual tone, with the underlying scientific theory explanations kept to a minimum.

It is more a book about making the most out of a garden, and having a successful harvest, than a college text on the topic.

Starting with an introduction to the Cannabis plant, and chapters on security and location selection, the book covers all the major topics of cultivation, including hydroponic indoor gardening, greenhouses grows, and outdoor fields. The author’s colorful background is evident in his tips on avoiding detection and prosecution.

Electrical needs (and different methods if acquiring it) are addressed, including generators and photovoltaic solutions.

Lighting systems described include not only the standard fluorescent and high intensity discharge (HID) options, but also alternative lighting technologies including LEDs, Sulfur Plasma and light movers.

Marijuana Pest & Disease Control

Grubbycup

Grubbycup

An entire chapter is devoted to organic cultivation, and includes recipes for homemade potting soil. The section on hydroponic cultivation describes the different hydroponic styles sufficiently for a handy gardener to understand well enough to build. For example, the soda bottle tube system can be made with empty two-liter bottles and a trip to the hardware store.

Compact cultivation beats not having any smoke, and techniques and tips for smaller grows are included, along with pruning and training tips to maximize the use of available space. Harvesting tips guide the gardener toward collecting the type of bud they want: early for a high, late for a heavier smoke.

As a nice bonus to a book on growing Cannabis, there are also chapters on THC extraction and Cannabis consumption.

Different methods of hash making are explained, as well as instructions for a homemade tumbler.

The chapter on medical Cannabis lists several ailments that Cannabis has been used to medicate over the years. The history of Cannabis and humans goes back thousands of years, and the reader is treated to some of the details on how it was used by ancient civilizations, as well as contem-

Marijuana Pest & Disease Control by Ed Rosenthal is a new book from Quick American Publishing the gives detailed information about the most common unwelcome visitors to a viper’s garden. The book has two parts: one for the problems, and one for the problem solvers.

The old adage ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ holds especially true for garden pests. Good housekeeping practices can avoid many problems before they start, and this book explains how. Healthy plants are more disease- and insect resistant, and proper nutrition is the key to healthy plants. Basic nutrition is explained, and photos illustrate common nutrient deficiencies.

Then, a menagerie of 21 vicious marauders is described in detail. Gardeners prone to nightmares may wish to read this section only in small doses. Diseases, fungi, insects and critters can all pose a threat, and each is given space between these pages. The most common garden threats (except for the one that walks on two legs) are covered, from ants to whiteflies. Information about life cycles, behavior, identification and treatment suggestions are included for each.

The writing is straightforward and easy to follow; the photos are helpful in visualizing the topics. One thing I learned, with much amusement, was the proper name of gray mold or bud rot is Botryotinia fuckeliana, appropriately enough as any gardener who has been fuckelianaed by it can attest to.

porary methods of ingestion. Included are recipes for tinctures and edibles, enough to get started with.

Cannabis Cultivation has earned a place on many gardener’s bookshelves since it was first released, and this third edition is an improved update to the original material.

Peace, love and puka shells, Grubbycup » www.greencandypress.com » www.melthomas.info

More sobering was learning that not only can Cannabis catch the dreaded tobacco mosaic virus, but that smoking infected tobacco near it can be a source of infection – no more smoking in the garden.

But every good story needs a happy ending, and the second part of the book explains how to get rid of these terrors of the garden. Physical defenses such as fences or netting, natural and chemical pesticides and biological agents can all be used to help protect and treat problems.

Advice is given on pesticide alternatives, including several recipes for those that want to whip up a batch of Garlic Spray or other homemade cure. The biological controls section details beneficial critters than can be enlisted as a defending force. One of the disadvantages to growing outside is the additional exposure to larger pests like deer and rats, and the last control section is devoted to such outdoor-specific problems.

I’ll keep this book handy as a reference, but I hope not to need it often for my own garden. I enjoyed reading it, and know more about these pests and their treatments for doing so. The advice herein is appropriate for novice through expert gardeners.

Being prepared allows for a faster response; with this book and a little advance reading and planning you can be prepared for an unpleasant invasion, and hopefully rise victorious.

Peace, love and puka shells, Grubbycup

36

How Green is the Rif? IMPLICATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE The Red One interviews the King of Compost, Malcolm McEwen It’s amazing who you meet when you go traveling, especially in places like the Rif mountains. We were over there researching the political and economic issues of kif in the Rif, but that sort of work can get a bit stressful sometimes, so plenty of hammock time is called for. Mmm, the Monkey Man’s hardella, doble zero zero – the best.

Hot sunshine, 100-plus degrees. A gentle breeze and a lazy swing in the hammock.

Before I knew it I was in slumber land.

to drive horses have been replaced by satellite-controlled tractors pulling disc harrows. While this may have led to greater efficiency in shortterm production, it has also created unemployment and precipitated the demise of rural communities. So, while the ‘Green Revolution’ might have theoretically put more food on the plate, it did so at the cost of the environment and the rural social systems that depended upon it; a cost we now know to be unsustainable.

highly soluble so, while effective in plant nutrition, it is easily leached from the soil into water sources where it causes pollution. Furthermore, it interferes with the carbon cycle, accelerating CO2 evolution and eroding the soil’s organic reserves.

The loss of Soil Organic Carbon through both cultivation and fertilizer use is believed to be a major contributor to the current elevated CO2 levels in the atmosphere, with as much as a third having originated directly from agriculture.

poorly paid work. It is only performed once to prepare the ground for sowing, and it is also the principle means of controlling [unwanted] weeds: no herbicides are or could be used here.

Also, dotted in and amongst the cultivated fields are various fig trees which, under the hot summer sun, produce giant, soft, sweet fruits in shades of green, pink and yellow. Such is the abundance of these fig trees that their essential symbiotic partner, the fig wasp, is in similar abundance – this would not be the case if pesticides were in use.

Relative to a lot of modern agriculture the Cannabis agriculture in the Rif is surprisingly eco-friendly; with no herbicides or pesticides in use, the springtime is awash with floral color and the air is

Then came an ear-splitting crash, a puff of smoke and a flash of light – was I dreaming? I rubbed my eyes. As the smoke started to clear I could see a man floating in front of me; he was sitting in the lotus position, hovering above a large, shiny metal chest. His gray hair was dragged back into a ponytail and his woolly beard gave him the look of an old colonial explorer. He was dressed in a pale blue Pakistani dress suit, his eyes were twinkling and he was smiling a mischievous smile… this was Malcolm.

Malcolm McEwen is a self-styled traveling soil scientist and Sufi mystic with a degree in Habitat and Soil Management.

He has a dedicated and adoring following as Youtube’s King of Compost, but now he spends most of his time conducting research and consulting with farmers in Africa and south Asia. He’s been leading this nomadic lifestyle for the last seven years with his mission being to help farmers adopt better practices and resource management techniques. He has also learned a lot while he’s been on the road. His website Persephone Habitat and Soil Management (www.phasm.co.uk) is a free resource and virtual consultancy for anyone wanting to develop sustainable agriculture. As we speak, Malcolm is busy researching the implications and opportunities of Cannabis agriculture in northern Morocco; he’s got some very interesting points to make so SSUSA took advantage of our meeting and conducted the following interview…

SSUSA: Before we start talking about Cannabis agriculture in the Rif mountains, can you give us an idea of the broader issues you deal with?

Malcolm: Yes, of course. Since the advent of the ‘Green Revolution’ agriculture has become increasingly dependent on mechanization and the industrial-scale use of artificial manures, pesticides and herbicides. Once heralded as the end of food shortages, these modern practices have since led to accelerated soil erosion, water pollution, a frightening loss of biodiversity and pervasive habitat destruction.

There have been a good deal of social implications as well; men who used

THE ‘KING OF COMPOST’ SSUSA: Can you take us a little bit deeper with regards to the chemical side of things?

Malcolm: Monoculture farming has become a generator of ‘green deserts’, vast fields devoid of anything except a single strain of plant. Absurdly, in the name of efficiency some of these green deserts stretch to the horizon and beyond; they are maintained by regular applications of oil-based fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. The GPS-controlled tractors trace and retrace their previous tracks through these green deserts while they spray the crops with all these noxious agrochemicals. Under the industrial scale farming system there is no room for biodiversity, so the system needs these apocalypse-inducing chemicals to maintain production levels.

Most agricultural crops, particularly grasses and cereals, require 250 kg of nitrogen to be added per hectare per year. This nitrogen is produced by ‘fixing’ atmospheric nitrogen – a process that requires lots of energy, which is why most nitrogen fertilizer factories are located very close to oil refineries. This form of nitrogen is

The use of herbicides and pesticides have similarly had major implications by causing massive declines in common herbs, insect populations, small mammals and birds that depend on them. This is by no means a recent phenomenon – we have known about the ill effects of pesticide use since 1960 when Rachel Carson got Silent Spring published. Now more than fifty years have gone by yet most of the bread you eat will have at least one herbicide and one pesticide application while in the field; if you are wearing cotton then this has had at least two more, and if you’re a smoker it is highly likely that your tobacco still contains traces of the pesticides used in production.

SSUSA: That’s some scary stuff. How does it all relate to the Cannabis agriculture of the Rif? Malcolm: When we look at the Rif mountain agriculture we see little evidence of the above practices. The mountains are entirely unsuitable for mechanization and they are still tilled by hand and/or with a single plow pulled by a donkey or a couple of horses. It is hard, crude and

buzzing with bees and other pollinators. Summer time is equally as active, with swifts performing their acrobatics as they scoop the dusk flies out of the air, and 40-watt light bulbs become a Mecca for successive waves of moths.

These winged evening visitors may be a nuisance to some, but they are the adult stage of the insect and to the ecologist they are evidence that the environment is providing sufficient food for the grubs and caterpillars they originate from.

SSUSA: How about fertilizers? There has been a bit of worry in recent years that Riffian farmers are starting to use chemical fertilizers on their crops.

Malcolm: When it comes to fertilizer use, the Riffian agronomists add no nitrogenous fertilizers but they do use ammonium phosphate, which contains nitrogen.

Ammonium phosphate is a chief product of Morocco and it is also arguably an unnecessary application. What they use more of is animal manures – mainly from sheep, cattle and horses. This is applied fresh and directly to the land at the same time as it is cultivated and sown.

37 The Riffians are missing a bit of a trick here though: because their manure is not composted properly they are only harnessing around ten- to fifteen percent of its potential nutritional value – with proper composting they could boost that to eighty or ninety percent.

SSUSA: It sounds as if the agriculture in the Rif is quite sustainable – is that true?

Malcolm: Well, all agriculture is environmentally damaging in some respects but, compared to most other agricultural choices, Cannabis is a very ecologically sustainable crop.

I understand that Cannabis has been grown in these mountains for between three- and four hundred years – this has sustained the local human communities for all that time and the suste-

nance of that, through the generation of employment, filters its way throughout Moroccan society.

More recently though, the Cannabis industry in the Rif has grown to inter-

This is all in stark contrast with the impacts of commercially-cultivated indoor Cannabis, which is the other chief source of Europe’s Cannabis. Done on an industrial scale, this indoor method destroys good housing, uses large

SSUSA: You’ve thought about Cannabis cultivation and its role in the wider world – could you tell us a bit about that?

Malcolm: Yes, we have to ask ourselves the question as to what extent does

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES HASHISH PRODUCTION CONTRIBUTE TO THE GLOBAL OBJECTIVE OF SEQUESTERING ATMOSPHERIC CARBON AND COULD/DOES THIS INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS A ZERO-CARBON SOCIETY? national proportions in order to supply the demand in Europe and elsewhere.

Despite this, its impact on the local environment has been minimal and with a little planning and consideration the industry could turn itself into an example of excellence in agriculture.

amounts of electricity and produces a far more potent end result. Such an industry contributes nothing to either the society in which it is based, nor to the environment in which it operates.

This is in comparison to the Rif, where Cannabis cultivation and production is

hashish production contribute to the global objective of sequestering atmospheric carbon and could/does this industry contribute towards a zero-carbon society? The answer to this is relatively easy to calculate; as is tailoring Cannabis production to encourage nutrient accu-

a family affair, the backbone of the community: it sustains farmers, the land, tourism and the community as a whole.

mulation, building fertility at the local scale. Both of these objectives are complimentary; we could build fertility and achieve the global objective of carbon sequestration without compromising crop yield or quality. Arguably, a Cannabis industry that is sustainable, environmentally friendly and socially responsible is, regardless of your political views, far better than one that is not. And let’s face it, as long as there are people on this earth there will always be a Cannabis industry to supply them.

THE RIF MOUNTAINS ARE AN ECOLOGICALLY DIVERSE TREASURE

MALCOLM WANDERS THROUGH THE FERTILE LAND

There’s also another important point I want to make about the Cannabis crop in the Rif. As it is grown principally for the resin glands produced by the female flowers, the majority of the plant, the biomass, is not exported. The extraction of the resin is achieved by physically beating the flowers over a fine mesh to dislodge and collect the glands. The husk, the stalks and large amounts of the beaten flowers are then returned to the land from which they came – this means they are effectively growing a green manure! In terms of chemical composition, the resin is quite innocuous; it contains no proteins, carbohydrates or nutritional value and is made of little more than water and air (carbon, hydrogen and oxygen). All this means that hashish exports do not rob the ground of fertility, as only a very small percentage of the biomass is being exported.

So there you have it folks. With a little care and intellectual investment the hashish industry of Morocco can be turned into a positive force for the environment and society in general. When analyzed in contrast to the impact of indoor hydroponic cultivation, these very simple arguments alone should be more than sufficient to persuade policy makers to rethink their ignorant and highly politicized laws regarding Cannabis. You’ve got the arguments – now it’s your job to start informing the policy makers!

38

BIO PEST CONTROL

Caterpillar Confidential

Davi Lenyo

In past issues of SSUSA we’ve highlighted how growing outdoors in California is not always easy, especially when enduring high temperatures like last summer. There are other, more universal obstacles to successfully growing outdoors, regardless of temperature or geography – and the pest under the microscope here is definitely a ‘wormy’ adversary all growers should know about.

Though often referred to as ‘bud worms’, they are actually caterpillars in the insect order of butterflies and moths. These caterpillars are ferocious feeders that lurch their entire backside in the air right before they go for a big bite of your maturing buds – painful to watch! Luckily, we are about to detail everything needed to detect and disappear these Cannabisspecific caterpillars.

Not all caterpillars eat Cannabis, but the ones that do usually quickly devour big sections of your crop. These challenging pests are the kind that go unnoticed until they directly attack your precious females, which happens well into flowering. The disgusting part is that they leave droppings all over the plant after they eat the flow-

less of the typical form – and maybe even a few of these insects in the act of munching on your plants!

If you miss all of the other warning signs and just see the dried buds, you may think at first that these buds have matured faster than the others because they were getting more sunlight – not the case but understandable wishful thinking. What is happening is that the bud worm has consumed all the THC ‘juice’ out of the bud and has left it desiccated. That is why the buds that have been attacked do not look fresh and blooming, but instead improperly dried with all the life sucked out of them. At this point, it is very easy to go into panic mode and actually consider ‘slash and burn’ techniques as a way to com-

EVEN AFTER DRYING AND CURING THE DAMAGE FROM CATERPILLARS IS IRREVERSIBLE

The quickest and safest solution to this mess is to spray the plants with Bacillus thuringiensis (BT), a food-crop safe bacterium that causes a plague amongst the caterpillars. Pyrethrum is another possible organic solution, but is short-acting.

Upon spraying your plants with BT you will find them dead on the floor within a few days. Perfect, right? But what do you

faster you do it, the more chance you have to take these THC-suckers to task. When plucking, be careful to not do it too hard because then you cut open the caterpillars, causing green, protein-rich blood to squirt around. They will also try to stick to the buds or create silk strings to escape down. Since I try to keep my grow sustainable, I would collect all the caterpillars in a

THE REMAINS OF THE AFFECTED PLANTS: CATERPILLARS ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE DOWN A SILK STRING

ers. These sometimes-nocturnal green or black worm-looking pests are good at hiding (under leaves and other places) without leaving much of a trace, yet they are nowhere near microscopic. So, when they do leave telltale signs, like trails of shiny slime, ripped or dry buds, it has already negatively affected your harvest.

The first thing that is usually noticed is a whitish web under one of your healthier and larger leaves. When you look at it closely enough you see a little worm-looking insect under the web, and that is when you know you have a problem.

I would snip those leaves and flush them down the toilet for safe and recyclingminded disposal. After a few days, just when you thought you caught the problem in time, you start to notice buds with

pletely destroy the slimy suckers and feel a bit better. However, all is not lost if you move fast and think of broad-spectrum solutions to this growing problem.

Though some caterpillars eat several types of crops, most of them are crop-specific.

These ones eat and even bleed green, and are especially attracted to larger harvests with more than a few plants. The best way to avoid these Cannabis-sucking caterpillars is, without doubt, prevention. That means taking at least a couple of hours a day, inspecting the plants from every angle possible, using mirrors, and getting down and dirty on the ground like almost all farmers have to do. Assuming you have been too busy or naive to do this, as many of us are, you nevertheless have taken the risks that have forced you into using reactive methods.

SPINDLY, HALF-EATEN, DEFINITELY NOT COOL

do the moment you find caterpillars crawling on your buds, aside from panic? You get your tweezers and start protecting the untouched and nicest buds left before it is too late. No tweezers? Use your fingers, but be quick, nimble and unafraid. All these pests want to bite is Cannabis.

While you wait for BT in the mail or send someone out to fetch it, you must try to make do with what you have at hand. As was in my case, you may be isolated from any shop – or civilization for that matter. It took me a couple of days just to get enough cigarette butts to make a nicotine spray.

You have to get on your back, for hours usually, and manually pick off the caterpillars with tweezers. This is quite timeconsuming – especially if you have more than four or five mature plants – but the

glass jar until I had amassed about six or seven, then I would feed them all to the fish – now that is reuse and recycling!

Cannabis-consuming caterpillars are undoubtedly one of the more destructive insects, going straight for your buds, not stopping until they have devoured all. Bacillus thuringiensis is the most efficient method of getting rid of Cannabisconsuming caterpillars, but when your most prized bud of the plant sits shining and bristling atop your evolving harvest, you should do anything possible to make sure that it’s not touched by a fly, much less some voracious weed-eater. If you’re on some mountaintop or other complicated area where BT is out of reach, or out of reach for a few days, one must improvise. If not, these multi-legged pests will seriously reduce your total bud weight.

40

SERIOUS GARDENING

Passive Hydroponics HYDRO OVER HANDWATERING Let’s face it, active hydro isn’t for everyone: playing with pumps and feeding schedules, checking EC and pH may not be your cup of tea… and some of us like getting our hands dirty with soil! But how about the benefits of hydro; more buds and less time spent watering your plants, without having to give up your beloved pots? Time to give pasLittle Lebowski sive hydro a second look…

What is passive hydro?

‘Passive hydroponics’ is the catch-all term for growing techniques that involve making nutrient solution constantly available to the roots of a plant. Unlike active hydro techniques, which employ a water or air pump to deliver nutrient solution, passive hydro techniques usually rely on the capillary action of the growing medium surrounding the roots – there is no pump involved. This is usually achieved by keeping the growing media in contact with a reservoir of nutrient solution; in its simplest form, standing a pot of growing media in a saucer of nutrient solution is passive hydroponics.

Plants grown in a passive hydro setup will have constant access to water and food and, because most passive systems involve watering from underneath, the top part of the root zone remains highly oxygenated. Therefore passive hydro can provide superior results, compared to traditional hand-watering methods. The more oxygen, water and nutrients that a plant can absorb, the bigger the yields they will produce.

For growers looking for a simple introduction to hydro or simply an increase

in growth rates and yield compared to hand-watering, but aren’t ready for a ‘true’ hydroponic setup, passive hydro is the way forward.

Why passive hydro over handwatering pots? t

t

t

t

They’re simple – For an inexperienced grower who is still learning the basics of cultivating indoors, passive hydro reduces the risk of overor under-watering and there are no pumps, timers or complicated feed- HEALTHY PLANTS GROWN IN A PASSIVE POT AND TRAY SETUP ing schedules to figure out.

Increased yield – Constant access to nutrients and water means healthy Types of Passive Hydro these are available in various sizes from growth, bigger plants and more buds Systems: any decent hydro shop. Pots are filled with Less work – Looking for less main- Trays and Saucers – Placing a pot of grow- an absorbent growing media (soil, coco, tenance? Passive hydro provides ing media in a saucer or tray is the sim- rockwool mini cubes), and placed in the the perfect compromise between plest form of passive hydro. Plants can be tray. Nutrient solution is then poured into workload and yield. You’ll pull less watered from above using a watering can; the tray and will be absorbed into the pots. ounces than you usually would the runoff fills the saucer and, as the plant It’s a good idea to cover the top of the tray with an active hydroponic set up, feeds, the runoff will be absorbed into the (cut holes in it for the pots first) as this will but you’ll certainly do less work for pot via the capillary action of the media. prevent the nutrient solution from evapoThe saucer acts as the reservoir and effec- rating away under the hot grow lamps. your bud.

Easily expandable – Most types of tively decreases the number of waterings passive hydro systems that run off required – handy if you can’t get to your Saucers and trays are a simple and cheap a header tank or reservoir are easily plants every day. way to reduce the amount of time you expandable without increasing your spend watering your plants, but do have workload. This means it’s as easy to Another method is to water from below, their draw backs; keeping the growing using a gardening tray as the reservoir – medium wet all the time will mean there water 200 plants as it is to water 20! is less oxygen in the root zone, which can lead to root rot. It’s important to allow the growing medium to dry out and become aerated between waterings.

Gravity Fed – a similar watering technique to using pots and trays, these systems use a large reservoir or rain barrel/water butt to deliver nutrient solution to the tray in which the pot sits. The rate of flow of the solution is controlled by a valve that is either connected directly onto the reservoir or onto the tray itself. The solution flows through the valve and into the tray, where it is absorbed into the pot.

The valve then stops the flow, once the solution reaches a desired level in the tray.

POTS AND TRAYS: HAND-WATER AND LEAVE FOR DAYS

The most popular of these systems is the ‘Autopot’, a modular system that can be expanded from one pot to literally thousands! Depending upon the size of the reservoir used, the system can be left for weeks. Ideal for large scale grows.

41 Drill a hole in the side of the bucket, two inches from the base. Fill the bucket with the perlite/ vermiculite mix and pot your plant (the plant should be root-bound in a propagation block). Water from above until you see runoff coming out of the hole on the side of the bucket. The base of the bucket is now the reservoir, effectively mimicking the water table that a plant feeds from when naturally growing outdoors.

For the first two weeks the plant will need to be watered every other day as its roots fill the bucket and head towards the reservoir at the bottom. Once the roots reach the reservoir, the growth is phenomenal!

The watering is then reduced to twice a week; hand-water the nutrient solution until you have achieved around 30% runoff – then you can be sure that you’ve replaced all the old nutrients in the reservoir and have drawn fresh oxygen into the root zone.

The hempy bucket offers the constant supply of nutrient, water and oxygen that leads to rapid growth and massive buds.

When the roots hit that reservoir at the bottom of the bucket your plants will fly!

The only downside is that planting up in a relatively large container from the start means a longer than usual veg period, so they’re not so suitable if you’re looking to get a quick crop in. But if you like the idea of big plants, give this a try.

For what type of grower is passive hydro most suitable?

Hempy Buckets – these are a great option for growers looking to cultivate big plants; they are also cheap to make and easy to maintain. To make one, you will need:

Any grower looking to reduce their watering workload should at least take a look at passive hydro; for some growers it is a perfect match:

t

Beginners or inexperienced growers – when starting out from fresh, there is so much to fuck up when growing indoors, that it makes sense to simplify the actual feeding of your plants! Using a passive setup with a reservoir turns watering into a weekly task, rather than a daily chore, so you can concentrate on mastering the basics of your grow room: lights, extraction and fighting the urge to trim off

t t t t

A 20-liter black plastic bucket (important that it’s black, as this will keep light out of the root zone and prevent algae from growing in the reservoir) A drill with a half-inch drill bit A try to catch runoff A mix of three parts perlite and one part vermiculite Any decent hydroponic nutrient

THE MOST POPULAR PASSIVE HYDRO SYSTEM: THE ‘AUTOPOT’

your first buds as soon as you spot them!

Newbies scouting for a fail-safe system should look no further, passive hydro could be your savior.

plants showing signs of under-feeding as their food requirements increase but the amount of nutrition in their feed remains the same.

Growers on a budget – cheapskates who don’t want to splash out on their grow setup can head to the local DIY shop and pick themselves up a set of 20-liter buckets and a couple of bags of perlite and vermiculite to create a hempy bucket setup, for the same price as some quality pots and two bags of soil – and they’ll most likely score a better yield!

Q & A with a Passive Hydro Grower:

Commercial growers – when growing large-scale commercial, it’s all about getting maximum yield with minimal risk.

To avoid getting caught with your hands dirty, you’ll need to spend as little time in the grow room as possible. Hand watering large scale is a full time job, so that’s a no-no. Active hydro systems will give you the yield, but maintenance duties will mean frequent trips to the grow room to top up the system and adjust EC and pH levels. A passive system fed by a large reservoir can, in theory, be visited once a week, massively reducing the risk of drawing the attention of nosy neighbors, local law enforcement or dirty, crop-stealing herberts!

When can plants be transferred to the system?

“As soon as they are root-bound in their starter medium, you should see white roots on the outside of the block or pot.

To avoid transplant shock, try and use the same starter medium as your main growing medium, e.g. a coco pellet if you’re potting up into coco, or a rockwool cube if you’re going into a hydro mix of perlite and vermiculite.”

How should plants be spaced?

“This depends entirely on how you want to grow and the amount of space you have; passive systems usually allow you to space the plants out however you want.

Put them nice and close and flower them early for a Sea of Green, or space them further apart and veg for longer if you want some monsters!”

The Three Steps to Passive Hydro Heaven: 1. Use a light and airy growing medium – passive setups rely on the capillary action of the growing medium to transport food and water throughout the root zone. This means that the growing medium is wet for the majority of the time. To ensure that the roots remain oxygenated and healthy, choose a well-aerated growing medium; coco is ideal, as is a coco/ clay pebble mix (like the 60/40 mix currently on the market), add perlite into heavy soil mixes to increase the aeration, or try a 50/50 perlite/ vermiculite mix for an equal balance of aeration and water retention.

2. Choose your nutrients carefully – it may sound obvious but, when using a reservoir in a passive setup, organic nutrients will spoil as quickly as they would in active hydro, possibly even quicker as there is no pump to agitate or oxygenate the solution. If your passive setup consists of watering from above and catching runoff into pots and trays, then organic nutrients are fine. But if you’re using a large reservoir to feed your crop, then choose mineral nutrients all the way. If using a very large reservoir then it’s a good idea to fix a circulation pump at the base of the res and set it on a timer. This will effectively ‘mix’ your solution, allowing you to leave the grow for longer periods without the worry of the nutrient settling.

3. Keep on top of your levels – when using a large reservoir, bear in mind that when plants first go into the system, they will use much less water than when they are mature and will take a longer time to empty the reservoir. Therefore if you completely fill your reservoir when the plants are young, be prepared to add additional nutrients to the solution before it runs empty. Otherwise you may notice your

A SAUCER UNDER A POT ACTS AS A SIMPLE RESERVOIR

Will plants need to be supported?

“The passive systems rely on having growing medium around the roots, so this is usually enough to support them.

However, it really depends on how big you grow your plants! If you’re going for a SOG then you shouldn’t need any extra support. I’ve always preferred growing bigger plants, so usually just use a bamboo cane and a simple tie, just the same as I did when I hand-watered pots. Make sure you set up your supports before you flip to 12/12, when you can actually get in amongst your plants. Nothing worse than crawling through foliage and snapping off branches and stems as you go! “ So, there you have it; want to cut down on your watering workload? Give passive hydro a try.

Happy growing!

42

DIY HASHMAKING

Simple Water Extraction Simple household items can be used for water extracting hash (resin, kif, skuff, etc.) from the other plant material. The basic principle involved is the difference in buoyancy between the trichomes and the rest of the plant material. Trichomes will sink in water, and most of the rest of the plant material will float.

Big buds are sexy, desirable, and by far get the most attention, but what about the rest? After harvest, the trimmings and small buds can comprise a fair-sized pile.

At one point or another, many home growers wind up with a bag of harvest that they don’t care for. A cure gone slightly off can make for a jar of ‘second choice’ too nice to throw out, but not nice enough to be very enjoyable smoke. The

easiest way to prepare for this method is to keep a jar handy and collect these castoffs until you have enough to bother with. Make sure that, as you acquire new bits and pieces, the material you add to the jar is dry enough to prevent the entire contents from molding.

I started with 45 grams of trim and weed I didn’t care for the flavor of. If it isn’t already, over-dry it slightly, as you want to crumble or grind it into very small pieces.

I used a wire mesh kitchen sieve to sift the ground material into a rough powder.

Purer results can be obtained by re-sifting the powder, or using a finer grind.

After sifting, place the powder in a closeable, preferably non-breakable container.

Make sure that you can reach the bottom

WATCH OUT FOR LEAKS IN

BE CERTAIN TO REMOVE ALL

YOUR CONTAINER!

MOISTURE FROM THE SKUFF

TRICHOMES WILL SINK AND PLANT MATTER FLOATS

LOWER-QUALITY STASH IS PERFECT FOR HASH-MAKING

SPOON OFF THE FLOATING PLANT JUNK

SMOKE ‘AS IS’ OR PRESS INTO HASH

MANY TOOLS MAY BE SOURCED FROM THE KITCHEN of the container, as the portion you want will sink to the bottom. Do not try to process too much in a single batch; if layered too thickly, efficiency will suffer.

SEPARATE THE TRICHOMES FROM THE PLANT MATTER

“URBAN FARM EVOLUTION”

5

Then remove as much of the top liquid as is easy to do so, without disturbing the silt at the bottom.

Fill the container three-quarters full of water. Seal, and shake well. Let this sit undisturbed for a half hour or so – the material should separate into a floating portion and a sinking portion, with a semi-clear band in between.

Using a coffee filter or the single layer of a paper towel, strain the silt at the bottom of the container. This is the water hash. Dry these golden-green crystals thoroughly. If allowed to sit wet for long periods, mold will develop, so the product must be well dried before storing.

Carefully spoon off all the material that floats. If you are feeling frugal, you can use this to make a second pass with, or to make a light cannabutter or infused oil.

Once dried, I had a six-gram pile that I lightly pressed into a heart shape, and it may be smoked as is, or with a little heat and pressure the powder will melt into hash.

“BREAKING THE LAW TO SAVE LIVES”

18

“A TALE OF TWO CANNABINOIDS”

27

43

MUSIC REVIEWS Various Artists: Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Chimes of Freedom salutes the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International, in many ways reflecting and encapsulating the organization’s life-saving human rights work across the planet. Coming as a four-CD package, the album features 75 newly-recorded Bob Dylan songs performed by a stellar and totally diverse group of artists spanning both the generational and musical spectra. Two iconic forces: the crucially empowering activism of Nobel Peace Prize-winning Amnesty International and the incomparable, genius like artistry of Bob Dylan, combine together to create this composition of mighty proportion.

In 1962, Amnesty International evolved from a one-year campaign to free political prisoners into a worldwide movement fighting for justice, freedom and human dignity; today the organization has more than three million supporters in 150 countries. In March of that same year Bob Dylan’s debut album was released, launching an unparalleled recording career. Over the half century, Dylan’s art has explored and expressed the anguish and hope of the modern human condition.

“Bob Dylan’s music endures because he so brilliantly captures our heartbreak, our joy, our frailty, our confusion, our courage and our struggles,” said Karen Scott, AI’s Manager of Music Relations. “His words convey a depth of meaning that few artists can equal, inspiring us and always moving ahead of our expectations.

We at Amnesty International are deeply grateful to this legendary musician and to all of the artists who have contributed to this project.”

The performers, including many of Amnesty’s long-time supporters, range in age from teenage pop star Miley Cyrus (19) to folk music legend Pete Seeger, whom at 92 records Dylan’s poignant Forever Young, with a children’s chorus. The rich diversity of musical styles includes tracks from Johnny Cash, Patti Smith, Ziggy Marley, Pete Townsend, Band of Skulls, Betty LaVette, Elvis Costello, Joan Baez, and avant-garde outfit Kronos Quartet, among many others.

For sure, not every listener will like every track, but as a whole, the album stands as solid testament to Amnesty International’s depth of support in the music community, the universal appeal of the core message of human rights – and the breadth of Dylan’s impact upon culture.

Ruts DC: Rhythm Collision Volume 2 SOSUMI It must be almost 33 and a 1/3 years since the mighty Ruts DC presented the seminal Rhythm Collision Volume 1. It came after the success of punk classics Babylon’s Burning (with its now-infamous bass line) and Staring at the Rude Boys, as the band moved more into their, perhaps, true passion of deep down low, heavy bass, dub sounds. At last, Ruffy and Segs have once again entered the hallowed walls of Mad Professor’s studio, and delivered from way out and up high, this five-track sampler of the coming album Rhythm Collision Volume 2 – and it’s an absolute treat.

With the same confident and relaxed attitude of 1-2-3---RECORD the 24-track was rolling and rhythms were being alchemically fired to tape. Amazingly, after only two days in the studio and, this time, utilizing the talents of Chemical Brothers mixer Steve ‘Dub’ Jones, the album was pretty much recorded. Flexed by the additional weight of some hefty dubbing, courtesy of the one and only Prince Fatty, these bin-friendly bass-lines not only reverberate in all the right places, but are also sharp enough to bite off your head.

Serving up a funk-driven, conscious theme that livens up the room, never succumbing to gloom, these tunes shout positivity from the rooftops. In One-Step, with obvious lyrical reference to Max Romeo’s 1970s roots rock stepper hit One Step Forward – two-step backward – we are veering in a more optimistic direction. The piece’s crowning glory is surely the explosively uplifting Mighty Soldier, featuring the legendary Tenorfly, mixed in Charles Street, Jamaica and earmarked for seven-inch vinyl release.

By Kaz Peet

Various Artists: Cumbia Cumbia: 1 & 2 WORLD CIRCUIT This compilation, already described as “proof of the existence of God”, is guaranteed to spread light to even the darkest spot of your heart or to any other shady corner.

Cumbia, the music and the dance synonymous with Colombia, has been around almost since the 17th century. Today, it’s a badge of identity for Colombians everywhere, and is now also enjoying a global renaissance – filling dance floors and captivating a new generation of music fans. Selected from thousands of tracks, this double-CD collection brings together some of the greatest recordings made by Columbia’s legendary record label, Discos Fuentes, between 1950 and 1988.

The visionary musician, arranger and producer, Antonio Lopez Fuentes, founded Discos Fuentes in Cartagena in 1934. It was the first important record label in the country and grew into a company of immense significance for Colombian music, responsible for thousands of hits and scores of legendary singers and musicians over six decades. Fuentes hand-picked his musicians and singers, then meticulously arranged, produced and recorded their music in-house.

Presenting thirty of these three-minute masterpieces, the album showcases the gamut of styles that make up the distinctive and irresistible cumbia sound; a sound typified by a loping two/four gait and a pulsing rocksteady bass line, overlaid with heavy rural percussion, brass, accordion, clarinet, electric guitar and vocals. Disc one features a broad range of cumbia styles with recordings from 1960 through to 1988, while disc two digs further into the classics of the past, focusing almost exclusively on the 1950s and 1960s.

The production is lush, multi-influenced and ridiculously attractive in its joyfully bounding, idiosyncratic tropicality. When the guitars ripple weirdly, the shakers go crazy, the horns weave and blurt and the vocalists go ape, nothing can compete.

Dr. John: Locked Down NONESUCH RECORDS Stoned musician and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dr. John – Mac Rebernnack – releases Locked Down, a startling album that marks a significant departure from his recent efforts. The new album, produced by The Black Keys’s Dan Auerbach, is an entirely new approach for the iconic Dr. John and features a band of young musicians, hand-picked by Auerbach, to record at his studio – Easy Eye Sound in Nashville. “It was way cool cutting this record with Dan and the crew he put together for it,” says Rebennack. “It’s reel HIP.” For his part, Auerbach says about the collaboration: “Mac inspired me every single day we were in the studio together: musically, spiritually, cosmically... something special seemed to be happening and everyone involved could sense it. For my money, Mac’s one of the greatest who ever was and who ever will be... I’m so honored to have had this opportunity to work with him.”

It looks as if in Locked Down, this legend of New Orleans may just have delivered his finest album in decades.

44

INTERNATIONAL REPORT

Cannabis in Russia

Sebastian Daniel

H.A.T.E.  HEMP, ALCOHOL AND THE TOBACCO ECONOMY Hemp has always been important for Russian culture and industry, and was especially so between the 15th and mid-20th centuries. Cutting off England’s hemp supply was a major cause of Napoleon’s war against Russia in the 19th century. Historians say that even the name of the country’s capital, Moscow, is derived from an Old Russian term for Cannabis.

Russia is the world’s largest country. Hemp seeds were brought to today’s territory of Ukraine, Poland and the European part of Russia by Scythian tribes from Siberia circa 2,500 years ago. Ancient historian Herodotus wrote about the popularity of hemp smoke rituals among Scyths. Cannabis was used at burial- and religious rituals, as well as in the old Russian sauna bath (which, like the Turkish one, was also quite a religious experience of a cleansing kind).

For thousands of years Cannabis has been one the largest and most important branches of agriculture and industry on the planet. Hemp fibers made the conquest of the seas and oceans possible: each ship needed strong hemp sails and rigging, even glue and paint from hemp to ensure water resistance. The economy of the entire planet has benefited from thousands of products made from these durable and fast-growing plants, especially hemp paper, clothing, food and lamp oils. Hemp food became a part of the Russian national diet.

Russia, having cheap labor, produced 80% of all hemp in the world in the 18th century. It became the world’s largest producer of high quality raw hemp materials for manufacture of sails, ropes, nets, fabric, paper, etc. Tsar Peter I introduced a state monopoly on the exporting of Cannabis and controlled the quality of the goods himself. In 1706 he issued a decree giving the death penalty to merchants who added waste products to hemp pulp. During the life of Peter I, exports

Cannabis, England would be forced to stop the war with France.

The Grass in the Soviet Backyard Over time, hemp clothes were replaced by cotton and synthetics, and sailing ships gave way to steamers. Demand for hemp decreased, as well as its economic significance. Nevertheless, it still remained an important crop in the agribusiness of the USSR, and the country was still first in the world in the cultivation of Cannabis. The Soviet Union became a worthy successor to the tsarist regime in this one regard.

In the first years of communism, the production of hemp was not only upheld, but even extended to other regions, including Siberia. Hemp was one of the main crops of the Soviet Union. This was officially confirmed by placing the Cannabis leaf with wheat and sunflower in the center of the fountain called the ‘Friendship of Nations’, at the 1954 international exhibition showing the achievements of the national industry of the USSR. Medals honoring Masters of Hemp Agriculture were handed to the best farmers. But seven years later, in 1961, the government ratified the UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs, announced that Cannabis was now a dangerous drug, and ordered the destruction of crops.

The shocking discoveries about the role of drugs in the history of communism are described in a book written by Professor Peter Razgulajev from the University of

the government for the first time that the socialist economy is a dead-end street, and an intriguing plan was developed.

The plan in which the Soviet population through a system of trade and public catering was to be bombarded with ‘hormones of happiness.’”

In particular, it is known that bread bakers, according to the state’s original technology, were directed to add 20 to 30 mg extract of female flowers of Cannabis.

Similar plant- or synthetic compounds (e.g. mescaline, which had been imported since 1958 by the Soviet Union from Mexico for “the needs of the pharmaceutical industry”) became part of a large number of different types of bread produced from 1950 to 1960. The narcotic effect, which was subjected to millions of Soviet citizens, was supposed to cause mutations of organisms and convert them into “weak, docile creatures”.

IN 1812, THE ‘HEMP WAR’ STARTED. WHEN NAPOLEON ATTACKED RUSSIA, HIS PURPOSE AND STRATEGY WAS TO STOP THE EXPORT OF RUSSIAN HEMP TO ENGLAND, THUS DESTROYING THE ENGLISH FLEET amounted to 37,000 tons per year. Most of the production went to countries such as Holland, Britain and other maritime powers. Hemp fibers used in their ships were, in 90% of cases, made in Russia.

In 1812, the ‘hemp war’ started. When Napoleon attacked Russia his purpose and strategy was to stop the export of Russian hemp to England, thus destroying the English fleet. Napoleon’s plan was based on the assumption that, without Russian

Novosybirsk called При дворе-трава (The Grass in the Backyard). The book covers the period from 1917 to 1986. The longest chapter deals with Nikita Khrushchev – the merry formidable successor to the fearful Joseph Stalin: “Together with Coca-Cola, corn, and the end of the cult of personality (Stalin), in Khrushchev’s times there came into fashion marijuana. In the early 1950s it became clear to the party leadership and

Different from other Soviet leaders, known for their drunkenness, Nikita was distinguished by a happy nature and the ability to think and compromise.

A prominent role in forming his personality was played by his appetite for marijuana. Having known the effects of THC, Khrushchev tried unsuccessfully to encourage Stalin to legalize marijuana.

When he himself became the Soviet leader, Nikita was known for his extravagant behavior.

Today, his actions look quite understandable, because we know their purpose and reason. By the 1940s Khrushchev already dreamed of transforming the Crimean Odessa, known as the ‘Pearl of the Black Sea’, into the world center of the hemp-hashish industry and of legalizing marijuana throughout the entire USSR. Unfortunately for his country, he could not fulfill his plans. He was ousted from power by fans of vodka-drinking under the leadership of Brezhnev, who ruled out the idea of legalization for many years. By 1987, even the cultivation of industrial hemp was banned throughout the USSR.

Cannabis Laws Today At present, a Russian pot amateur has a superficially easier life than his peers in many other European or Asian countries.

Just using and possessing a small amount of drugs is not a criminal offense and one will not be sent away to a labor camp in Siberia anymore. All you risk is a fine from 500 to 1,000 rubles ($13-$16) or arrest for 15 days. In reality, the law absolutely does not work like this.

Even first-time offenders fall victim to the brainwashing and pressure from the cops to squeeze out answers to routine questions. You should have no more than two grams of hash or six grams of weed on you – there the ‘significant quantities’ begin, according to Section 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which can land you in prison for two to twelve years.

There are also other controversies.

There are plenty of head shops and hats, key rings and other gadgets with a Cannabis leaf in Russian stores, but in August 2011 one head shop was accused

45 of ‘illegal advertising of drugs’. The court ordered a ridiculously small fine (4000 rubles or $136), but nonetheless it was a court ruling. Unfortunately, the arbitrariness of powers in Russia is common.

When you’re stopped by the police for possession of even small quantities of marijuana, good connections and bribes may play an important role. The police are famous in the Russian media for their brutality, alcohol abuse and pervasive corruption.

As in most countries, in Russia we can also find hemp organizations and companies, countless web pages, forums and blogs.

There are popular magazines devoted to Cannabis such as Trawa (Grass) or Konoplana Pravda (Cannabis Truth). These publications are full of ads for seed companies, equipment and other items useful to the growers, as well as the most famous Dutch coffeeshops.

Since 2010 there has been a new fashion for growing Cannabis at home; previously, this method was quite unknown. Russians are becoming more and more dedicated to urban gardening. In the big cities of Russia, one grow shop after another is opening its doors. There is a swelling army of urban gardening enthusiasts. Growing hemp is not legal and it carries some risk. Of course it all depends on the size

of the crop. For example, the cultivation of less than 20 plants carries a liability in the dimension of 1500-4000 rubles ($51$136) fine or arrest for 15 days. Russian legislation does not prohibit the possession or sale of Cannabis seeds, but growing in the Russian Federation for any purpose is prohibited.

But now there are the first signs of change.

The national press announced recently that “Russia will once again grow hemp.”

The authorities have begun to speak about the legal cultivation of hemp for industrial and medical applications. National drug control authorities have even called for the restoration of all the hemp crops in Russia and asked the government for billions in investment. Russian scientists are advising the government to go back to the culture of hemp and turn Russia into a global leader in the cultivation of Cannabis again, also for the production of biofuels. Aleksei Mitrofanow, a Deputy of Duma (Russian Parliament), talks openly about the need to legalize soft drugs. In an interview with Tribune magazine he said that the ban on Cannabis is only cor-

ODESSA (TODAY UKRAINE) LOST ITS CHANCE TO BECOME THE POT CAPITAL OF THE WORLD IN THE ‘50s - LONG BEFORE AMSTERDAM rupting prosecutors and has contributed to the rise of the drug mafia. Newspapers predict that sooner or later, soft drugs will be permitted.

Hemp vs. Alcohol and Tobacco Economy Buying good grass in Russia is still relatively difficult, while heroin and synthetic drugs have become readily available and popular. This has created a disastrous situation; heroin use is spreading like vodka drinking. The mafia imports tons of heroin from Afghanistan, and trade is often secured by politicians, mayors and police officers. No one really fights the heroin trade; local authorities are busy

hunting for a less risky target – a hippie or a Rastaman. Dangerous new inventions are being created in home laboratories, like the infamous Russian ‘crocodile’, called ‘heroin for the poor’. Shocking films about the devastating effect of this drug can be seen on YouTube.

Looking at Cannabis as a stimulant, it has to be taken into account that Russia was and still is more an ‘alcoholic culture’.

What’s strange though is that the Russian public often stands with the drunks, not users of Cannabis. Unfortunately, smoking grass is considered an activity that takes man to the bottom faster than alcohol consumption (unlike in India where the use of Cannabis ennobles people in traditional communities – even including the possibility of rising from the caste of the ‘untouchables’ – while drinking alcohol always degrades). Most Russians over 40 years of age believe that Cannabis is a fast way to hard drugs and moral degradation.

Apparently, the generation brought up under Communism have forgotten that before World War II, Slavs often treated alcoholics with concoctions of Cannabis.

Also, American tobacco has become a new tradition in Eurasia and has imperceptibly supplanted illegal marijuana from the public consciousness. The younger generation has rejected a number of Soviet stereotypes and is returning to its ancestral traditions, looking at marijuana differently. Young people understand that this is no deadly drug, and recognize the fundamental differences between mari-

RUSSIAN LEADER NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV DREAMED OF LEGALIZING MARIJUANA THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE USSR juana and heroin, alcohol or nicotine. It is no secret that smoking marijuana is prevalent among a very large group of Russians, especially from the Asian republics of the former Soviet Union.

On one hand, marijuana is prohibited; on the other hand it is grown and sold on a massive scale. In every Russian city and town, you can find a grass dealer and buy some grass or hash. There is local grass, which grows wild over an area of 1,000,000 hectares – the remains of the great industrial hemp farming from the time of Tsar Peter I. Cannabis grows in all regions of Russia; the largest crops can be found in the Far East, the Amur region, and in Tuva,

46 Buratii (the Jewish Autonomous Area) and the Krasnodar Krai. Weed and hash are also imported from the former Asian republics of the former USSR: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, or countries like Afghanistan, Morocco and the Netherlands.

THIS SOVIET MEDAL READS ‘MASTER OF HEMP AGRICULTURE’

It should be remembered that alcohol causes more deaths worldwide than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence, as the World Health Organization warned in 2011. Yet alcohol control policies are weak and remain a low priority for most govern-

INDEX OF ADS / COLOPHON proliferation of moonshiners and even led to social unrest and riots. People addicted to alcohol consumed substitutes: cologne, brake fluid or window cleaning fluid. These caused mass poisonings, deaths and cases of loss of vision. There were attempts to restrict the sale of not just alcoholic drinks, but also ethanol-based perfumes, which were commonly consumed as a substitute.

Cigarettes, poor nutrition and alcohol are the first three leading causes of death in Russia, America and many other countries. It seems that the genocidal policy concerning hemp, alcohol and tobacco should be called Hemp, Alcohol and the Tobacco Economy (H.A.T.E.). Journalist David Malmo-Levine answers the oftenrepeated question “If marijuana is so harmless and helpful, why is it illegal?” with the following explanation: Forget about fantasies regarding ‘health concerns’; it’s a game of racism and monopoly over medicine and sacrament, a game of hierarchy, megalomania and of classic divide-andconquer of the masses. Malmo-Levine laments that famous Cannabis products like hashish from Afghanistan or ganja from Jamaica remain illegal, while big pharma industry enjoys a monopoly of legal Cannabis medicines, using fake concerns over smoke and euphoria.

Index of ads Name

Colophon Page

Dinafem Seeds

11

Green Style Consulting

39

Hydroasis.com

39

Editor-in-Chief: Kristie Szalanski La Wonderland Caregivers

2

Letgrow.net

1

Certainly, the Russian government should consider the re-legalization of Cannabis as soon as possible, especially since, as history shows us, it’s not the launch of some new exotic drug (one can rather say this about the appearance of tobacco in this

Contributors: Grubbycup, Kali Mist, Buddy Kush, Sativa Diva, O’Riodon, Little Lebowski, Kaz Peet, et al.

Mountain High

39

Paradise Seeds

1

Editorial Address: E-mail: Kristie@softsecrets.nl

Pasquini Bini

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Plagron

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SCIENTISTS ARE ADVISING THE GOVERNMENT TO GO BACK TO THE CULTURE OF HEMP AND TURN RUSSIA INTO A GLOBAL LEADER IN THE CULTIVATION OF CANNABIS AGAIN, ALSO FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BIOFUELS ments despite road accidents, violence, disease, child neglect and job absenteeism, WHO’s Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health said. The harmful use of alcohol is especially fatal for younger age groups and alcohol is the world’s leading risk factor for death among males aged 15 to 59. It is a causal factor in 60 types of diseases and injuries. Alcohol consumption has been linked to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, poisoning, traffic accidents and fatalities, domestic violence, sexual assault, homicide, suicide, and several types of cancer, including cancers of the breast, larynx and liver.

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part of the world), but a return to the roots and the great Russian Cannabis culture and tradition.

The author would like to thank Gee Maru for his help in writing this report.

Alcohol’s heavy toll on society is clearly evident in Eastern European countries, such as Poland and Russia. In Poland, 40% of young adults have one or two alcoholic parents. In Russia, every fifth death is due to harmful drinking. A report by the Advisory Board of the President of Russia estimates the number of deceased from alcohol-related illnesses as over half a million people every year. Lethal alcohol poisoning (overdose) alone is the cause of death of 40 thousand people every year.

Alcoholism is also causing a demographic collapse: by 2050 the number of Russian citizens will have decreased from 145 million to 100 million. In 2008, 89% of women and only 56% of men reached retirement age. For years the Russian government has attempted to fight the alcohol problem. HEMP, WHEAT AND SUNFLOWER IN THE FRIENDSHIP OF NATIONS In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced MONUMENT PRAISING RUSSIAN AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY limitations on vodka sales, which caused a

Comic: oz.

Distribution by: P.A.I.N. Distribution Carlos Garcia Circulation Manager www.magazinedistribution.org Telephone: +1 310 488-1911 A word from the publisher: To the chagrin of the US Federal Government, almost half of the states have embarked on a process of relative liberalization towards the use of Cannabis, and Cannabis activists are engaged in broadening this progression. Some townships, mayors and police chiefs – on a local level – now actively support a ‘compassion club’ distribution system as a way of separating recreational stoners from the people who legitimately need therapeutic help, simultaneously decreasing the number of unnecessary arrests.

Whether they are finding their way to the local medical distribution point or growing for personal stash, Cannabis users are a menace to no one and are causing no discernible social problem. Some politicians, and even more non-users than ever, are calling for the outright legalization of marijuana. Taxpayers are frustrated with funding the incarceration of first-time, non-violent drug offenders (read: pot smokers) as well as the social toll that high numbers of imprisonment brings to some towns and neighborhoods. Now we must be patient and see how the debate develops during a period of relative peace between both sides.

In the meantime, the publisher hopes Soft Secrets will expose the positive aspects of the normalization of Cannabis use to the public, and is excited to offer a forum to both proand anti-legalization advocates. Soft Secrets forums operate under the assumption that the publisher does not necessarily agree with the views and opinions expressed in articles and advertisements therein. The publisher therefore distances himself explicitly from statements or images that might give the impression that an endorsement is being made for the illicit use or production of Cannabis. Soft Secrets does not advocate breaking any laws, whether local-, state-, Federal or international.

Nothing from this publication may be copied or reproduced in any format without prior permission from the publisher and other copyright holders. The publisher is not responsible for the content and/or point of view of advertisements. The editors take no responsibility for unsolicited submissions.

Soft Secrets USA #3/2012 out: June 15th, 2012