ISSUE 5 2011
ESTABLISHED IN AMSTERDAM, 1985
18+ For adults only. Soft Secrets is published
six times a year by Discover Publishers USA, Inc.
In this Issue:
MOJAVE MAMA
The desert isn’t the easiest place to grow
weed, but it can be done. Mojave Mama
and her tales of triumph might even
inspire you to go out and get involved
within your own community...
›› 12
Harvest Season
›› 14
UNFRIENDLY INVADERS
Despite all our best efforts, infestations
are an unfortunate part of gardeners’ lives.
An organic expert teaches you how to deal
with the most common pests in a safe and
thorough manner..
›› 17
Hemp Nutrition
Double Feature
›› 21
DIY HEMP SKINCARE
Hemp cosmetics and toiletries are so good
for our skin, but often priced above many
people’s budgets. Learn how to make
your own!
›› 29
Mapping the
Cannabis Genome
On August 18th 2011, the Massachusettsbased company Medicinal Genomics
released the raw sequence of the newly
mapped Cannabis sativa genome, and is
set to release the C. indica genome in a
matter of weeks. This historic event is set
to have far-reaching implications for the
field of medicinal Cannabis research, as
well as opening up the possibility of far
more accurate quality control testing –
and giving breeders a huge advantage in
the drive to create new strains.
released for public use through Amazon’s
EC2 cloud computing service. However,
future funding is unlikely to be an issue
as the interest in this project – and its
results – has been phenomenal; the number of potential applications for various
sectors is countless, and much more work
must be done to interpret the raw data
into a precise genomic structure. Having
made such an initial impact, this energetic
young company is sure to be making
genomic headlines again in the future.
cies, DNA forms chromosomes containing both genes and non-coding DNA. A
gene is a stretch of DNA that controls a
hereditary trait in a species; an allele is
the expression or variation of that gene in
individuals of the species.
Non-coding DNA may represent a large
proportion of the genome, but is not
encoded as genes and not all of its functions are fully understood. The number
of chromosomes in the genome differs
between species: humans have fortysix, Cannabis just twenty; the number
of genes within the chromosome also
varies. DNA itself is a biological polymer
or repeating macromolecule, made up
of millions of sections called nucleotides.
These sections are comprised of a simple sugar, a group of phosphates, and a
The study of genetics is a complex business in itself, and at first glance appears
incomprehensible for most. The majority
of people vaguely remember the basics
from high-school biology class, but would
be hard-pressed to provide a decent
explanation. SSUSA brings you up to
speed, while going into a little more detail
about the Cannabis genome project itself
and why its impact on Cannabis research
will be so great.
Kevin McKernan, CEO of Medicinal
Genomics, has a strong background in
the development and implementation of
sequencing technology. He was involved
with the Human Genome Project
and was responsible for the design of a
new bench-top SOLiD sequencing instrument during his time at Life Technologies,
a highly regarded biotechnology company. With Medicinal Genomics, he was
able to combine his own expertise and
the unique opportunity presented by the
emerging medical Cannabis market to
begin his own concern.
It is estimated that the project cost around
$200,000 in total, a cost that Kevin evidently does not seek to recoup through
licensing use of the data, as it has been
It might be pertinent at this point to provide a short introduction to genomics. Put
as succinctly as possible: genomics is the
field of genome research, and is a highly
specialized branch of genetic studies. The
genome is the complete genetic code of
which an individual is comprised, and is
contained within the DNA. In most spe-
nitrogenous base (nucleobase). This base
may be one of four different compounds
– adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine. Through billions of permutations of
these four bases, every living species has
evolved its own unique genome.
Continues on page 5
3
FROM THE EDITOR
Co
Gardening
Disasters
Almost everyone, whether beginners or
professionals, has experienced some sort
of gardening disaster. Perhaps you forgot to set the timers on your new lights,
sending an almost-finished crop back into
pre-flower... or maybe you just forgot to
water your plants? Some folks have lost
thousands of dollars as a result of a few
simple errors; for others, the death of even
a single plant is devastating. Whatever the
case, we at SSUSA believe that one of the
best ways to learn is from your own mistakes – as well as those of other growers.
Feminized Kaya 47 is a sativa-dominant plant
with powerful physical and psychological effects
and unique organoleptic properties. The rich,
complex aromas and flavors of this variety alternate between sweet and woody/spicy.
Related to the legendary AK-47, she provides a
shorter flowering period than most sativas, plus a
higher yield, excellent resin production, and high
levels of THC – easily exceeding 20%.
Easy to grow, resistant and suitable for novices,
the good proportion of calyxes to leaves makes
it easy to process. The strong flowering smell has
been described as potentially ‘outrageous’.
Kaya 47’s compactness makes it ideal for tight
spaces. Heavily-branched, she is easy to clone as
a mother plant.
Genetics:
Height:
Harvest:
Yield:
Sativa
Six- to nine feet (Outdoor)
Five- to seven feet (Indoor)
Early October (Northern
hemisphere; highly adaptable)
Nine weeks (Indoor)
400-600g/m2
Photo by Advanced Seeds
KAYA 47 FEMINIZED
If you have a story about a particularly
traumatic grow room or garden episode,
share it with us and help other SSUSA
readers to prevent the same tragedies
with their own plants. Photos (.jpg only) of
the carnage are welcome, but not neces-
sary. The more humorous your anecdotes,
the better chance they have of being
published, so let’s hear it.
We also enjoy pot humor, so if you know
of a good joke that will set off even the
heaviest of indica smokers, feel free to
share it with us as well.
Don’t forget to mention how you would
like to be credited, such as (forum-)
name, town, etc. All submitters’ email
addresses and personal details will be
kept confidential.
Email your submissions with the subject
heading labeled either“Gardening Disasters”
or “Tokers’ Jokes” to [email protected]
and perhaps you’ll be featured in the next
issue of Soft Secrets USA!
IN THIS ISSUE:
Mapping the Cannabis Genome
Page 3 Girl: Kaya 47 Feminized
Gardening Disasters
Amster-fornia
Marijuana and Hemp (McCabe)
Strain Awards
Mojave Mama
Harvest Season
Importance of Drying and Curing
Unfriendly Invaders
Hemp Nutrition
Food of the Gods
MWW Inc.
Steep Hill Lab
Hy’s Deli by oz.
DIY Hemp Skincare
Sexpot
Sacramento Hempfest
NJWEEDMAN.com
Durban Poison & Kali Mist
Altered States
Grow Diary: Mataró Blue
The Grey Ghost
A Winter in Rosales
Stoned Selection
A Long, Deep Breath of Relief
Rolling Papers Update
Product Flash
Colophon
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SCIENCE OF CANNABIS
STRAIN REPORT
FROM THE EDITOR
AMSTER-RANT
BOOK REVIEW
STRAIN REPORT
INTERVIEW/MEDICAL
SERIOUS GARDENING
SERIOUS GARDENING
ORGANIC CULTIVATION
HEMP INNOVATIONS
HEMP KITCHEN
PRODUCT REVIEW
LAB REVIEW
COMIC
HEMP INNOVATIONS
BOOK REVIEW
FESTIVALS & EXPOS
GREEN PRISONERS
ENDANGERED STRAINS
HISTORY & CULTURE
GENETICS/BREEDING
SMUGGLER’S TALES
LOCKED UP
MUSIC REVIEWS
MEDICAL TESTIMONIAL
HEMP INNOVATIONS
MADE IN HOLLAND
FROM THE EDITOR
5
Mapping the Cannabis Genome
BRINGING YOU UP TO SPEED ON GENOMIC RESEARCH!
Continued from front page - Sexually reproducing species, such as humans and C. sativa,
usually have sets of chromosome pairs:
one set inherited from the mother’s ovum
(or ovule, in the case of flowering plants)
and a corresponding set from the father’s
sperm (angiosperm, or pollen). These sets
are randomly recombined in the process
of reproduction to form genetically distinct offspring. A human embryo will usually contain twenty-two pairs of non-sexual chromosomes (autosomes) and one
pair of sexual chromosomes (allosomes).
C. sativa usually has ten autosome pairs
and one allosome pair. To map the
complete genome of a sexually reproducing species the full set of chromosomes, including both the male and the
female version of the allosome, must be
sequenced, or tested to determine the
exact order of the four nucleobases along
the polymer. The mitochondrial DNA that
is contained within the chloroplast must
also be mapped, as it differs from chromosomal DNA and has its own specific
functions according to species.
Very few whole genomes of higher plant
species have so far been mapped and
published, and C. sativa is unique in being
the first dioecious plant sequenced primarily for its medicinal value – other
genomes mapped have either been of
model plants or of oil and food crops. The
medicinal plant Artemisia annua was previously sequenced to better understand
the enzyme pathways that make the
anti-malaria drug Arteminisin; however,
plant growth cycle was much longer than
Cannabis and it only had one medicinal
compound of interest. Cannabis has 85
cannabinoids and potentially hundreds
of terpenes of therapeutic interest, making it a potentially far more valuable
medicinal plant.
Medicinal Genomics intends to map the
genomes of many beneficial plants in the
future – but why was Cannabis the first
choice for them? Initially introduced to
the subject through a 2003 publication
in Nature Reviews, CEO Kevin McKernan
soon recognized the potential for investment. Not only is the market for medical
Cannabis growing at a rate of up to 50%
per year in the US, but the wide range
of syndromes that can be successfully
treated by Cannabis and derivative preparations could well be unrivaled in nature.
In addition, its importance as a food crop is
unquestioned, and will also increase as the
market begins to expand. Furthermore, its
potential as a biodiesel crop – in times
when the US and other developed countries are expanding their bio-ethanol production at an unprecedented rate – may
cement its role in future global trade.
Hemp varieties are genetically quite different and will require separate sequenc-
ing – although this is unlikely to be too
far away given the rapidly growing global
interest in the crop. The ability to create
new varieties that are ever more suited to
purpose would be highly advantageous,
and knowledge of the genomic structure
of the strains involved could provide the
basis for selection of parents as more
accurate predictions can be made about
the nutrient and cannabinoid profile of
the offspring.
Depending on the complexity of the
genome and the extent of possible variation between individuals and varieties
of the species in question, several techniques may be employed to sequence
genomic data. The researchers at
Medicinal Genomics started out using
short-read technology, which analyzes
short segments of DNA (around 200 base
pairs) and collates the results to provide a
complete picture. However, this method
proved ineffectual at highlighting the
true complexity of the genetic code, and
longer reads were needed.
The technology used to obtain the eventual results, the GS-FLX+ platform, is a
Next Generation Sequencing technology that reads the DNA in fragments up
to 750 base pairs (bp) long. They performed 49.5 million sequences, each individual sequence approximately 630bp in
For the indica genome sequence, triple
back-crossed L.A. Confidential was used.
A back-crossed specimen is the offspring
of a plant and the plant’s parent, and is
usually created to cement a characteristic within a strain, or possibly to breed
out unwanted consequences of a previous cross. Double- or triple back-crossing
misses generations to cross a specimen
with its grandparent or great-grandparent. By triple back-crossing the L.A. strain,
the breeders were able to create a phenotype that had great genetic similarity to its
pure indica ancestors.
For the sativa genome, the sativa hybrid
Chemdawg was used. It is a highly regarded medical strain which, although having
some indica ancestry, has a very cerebral
effect and many sativa characteristics.
Medicinal Genomics also worked with
the Greenhouse Seed Company to investigate high CBD landraces and ruderalis
varieties.
Sanger Sequencing is the method used
for the Human Genome Project. To purify the DNA and remove the remaining
organic material, the sample is broken
down mechanically, and the chromosomes are then separated into their component strands through a process known
as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Polymerase refers to various enzymes that
by Kali Mist and Buddy Kush
charge). The dyed nucleobases travel one
by one through the gel, and pass through
a laser beam, which is transformed into
a different wavelength of light according
to the type of base. The beam is then
focused onto a spectrograph by lenses
and read by a CCD camera system, and
the order in which the different colors are
recorded determines the original order of
the nucleobases along the DNA polymer.
The chromosomes are thus reconstructed
into their original form, and the genome is
said to be assembled.
Two different Next Generation
Sequencing methods, known as
Sequencing by Synthesis, were employed
in the mapping of the C. sativa genome.
PyroSequencing from Roche/454 uses
PCR (like Sanger Sequencing above),
but a massively parallel version called
water-in-oil Emulsion PCR. The genome
is fragmented into 700-1000 base fragments, which are modified to have the
same DNA sequence on the ends, and
whipped into an emulsion with other
particles that contain sequences of the
primer sequences. The salad dressing-like
emulsion isolates one DNA molecule into
a PCR-enabled water droplet surrounded
by oil. This single molecule per droplet is
achieved by simple dilution: most droplets are in fact empty, and a very rare few
have a single DNA molecule in them.
IMAGES FROM A NEXT GENERATION
SEQUENCER: BILLIONS OF THESE DNA
CLUSTERS ARE IMAGED ON A GLASS
SLIDE. COLORS INDICATE A,T,C,G
AN L.A. CONFIDENTIAL TRIPLE BACK-CROSS IS THE FIRST CANNABIS
GENOME TO HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED (PHOTO BY PISTILS)
length. As little as three micrograms (μg)
of genomic DNA, derived from any type
of organism, is sufficient to perform a
sequencing.
The DNA purification was performed at
the company’s Amsterdam facility, and the
sequencing itself was performed, using
the latest high-throughput technology,
by various research institutions – including Roche’s 454 Life Sciences sequencing laboratory. The varieties used were
acquired through collaboration with DNA
Genetics, the Amsterdam seed company,
and required special breeding programs
to develop.
assist the replication and repair of DNA,
catalyzing the linking of nucleotides in
a specific order, and using a single short
strand of DNA (or primer) as a template.
The PCR combines polymerase with an
artificial primer to create multiple instances of the same strand, each segment identical – but for one nucleotide’s difference
in length.
The final base of each fragment is then
fluorescently dyed for identification purposes, and the bases are separated and
arranged through a process of gel electrophorosis (where dispersed particles in a
fluid are forced to migrate by an electrical
Billions of droplets will each have a distinct DNA molecule and particles present
in them. ‘Xerox’ copying the DNA molecules in these emulsion droplets effectively amplifies the signal one is looking at
in the sequencing process. Once the DNA
attaches to the particles, they can be put
in a plate with millions of wells in them
attached to a CCD camera. Luciferase (a
firefly enzyme) is used to produce light
that the camera can measure every time
one of the four letters in solution runs
across the chip.
As we flow adenosine across the chip, any
droplet that has T as the next letter on the
6
strand of DNA will create light that the
camera can measure. The chip is washed
and the process is repeated with the other
three bases. The strands of DNA are grown
with polymerase and bases sequentially
added. This process is repeated 500 times
for each of the four bases to reach over
700 bases of sequence, and takes approximately 24 hours to complete.
The Illumina Sequencing by Synthesis is
fundamentally very different and uses
Bridge PCR, which results in fewer DNA
The publication of the genomic data will
inevitably lead to ethical issues being
raised. Genetic modification of crops
remains a controversial issue – despite
widespread implementation, there are
still unanswered questions regarding their
effect on the ecosystem to which they
are introduced. For crops grown indoors,
this is less of an issue, but for large-scale
outdoor cultivation the impact on biodiversity is thought to be detrimental in
some cases. When dealing with a subject
as complex as organic chemistry, it is
in humans, shedding light on various disorders and their causes.
Once the genome is annotated, the data
can be used in many ways – to determine
the extent of similarity or to identify the
genes responsible for similar functions
(and how they differ) between species or
varieties; to study the evolution of a species, its ancestry and developmental path,
and how it fits into the taxonomic system;
and ultimately to provide another piece
to the unimaginably vast puzzle that is
IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEWLY RELEASED GENOMIC DATA ARE MORE WIDEREACHING THAN SIMPLY ASSISTING GENETIC MODIFICATION PROGRAMS
molecules and hence shorter DNA Read
length. It also requires different detection
mechanisms, requiring lasers and fluorescent dyes, but offers better sequencing
accuracy – especially in sequence stretches known as homopolymers (long runs of
the same letter) like AAAAAAATTTGGG.
The result was a sequence of 131 billion
bases – far higher than the 157 million or so
found in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, a species of flowering plant, although
the data requires further interpretation to
define the true size and scope of the entire
genome. It is to be expected that C. sativa
would show more genetic complexity than
A. thaliana: the latter is from a genus of
relatively simple plants; Cannabis on the
other hand has highly developed systems
in place, most obviously the system of cannabinoid production.
The genomic variation between the different samples tested was over 1%, which is
ten times higher than that seen in humans
– this ability to express hugely different
genotypes while retaining the ability to
interbreed is a large part of why Cannabis
is such an adaptable species, and why
it appears in so many different forms.
Although much interpretive research
remains to be done, the sequencing of the
entire genome, which will enable study
of the plant with no need for physical
specimens, should throw a great deal of
light on questions that have remained
incompletely answered thus far: the exact
nature and function of the cannabinoid
system, the genetic differences between
varieties and subspecies such as indica
and sativa, and the complexities of sexual
reproduction, to name just a few.
For example, using the genomic data to
determine the exact location and function
of the genes that control eventual gender
within the sex chromosomes could be
determined, and the capability for selfexpression (for example when the females
are left several weeks beyond normal harvest, and produce genetically identical
seeds in an effort to sustain the genotype)
could be pinpointed. Conversely, programs to entirely breed out hermaphroditic tendencies would be highly desirable
for many traditional growers. But perhaps
it is the question of the cannabinoid function, and how exactly it relates to our own
endocannabinoid system, that is the most
fundamental.
very difficult to predict the effect a single
modification will have on normal interactions between different elements within
an ecosystem.
The question of whether it is better to
selectively breed or genetically modify
for a desired trait is difficult to answer.
Breeding projects can generate quicker
results via careful selection of specific
phenotypes; developing strains by monitoring their genetic pathways may take
longer, but should lead to a more controlled end result.
the evolutionary tree, whose roots are the
protozoa of Earth’s early days and whose
branches number millions. Comparative
genomics specifically deals with the variation between different genomes, and
is important in understanding how and
in response to what pressures mutation
occurs, and divergence established. It can
also be used to study the adverse muta-
tions that can arise, which for humans
is already providing much information
regarding the nature of cancers and why
they occur.
While advances in genetic research as
a whole have provided much insight
into the nature and importance of the
Cannabis plant, the release of the C.
sativa genome and the ongoing research
it has engendered are set to sharply
propel us into a much higher level of
overall understanding. Not only this, but
a clear message has been sent to the
public: that Cannabis is a medicinal plant
worthy of serious consideration, and that
the academic community recognizes it as
such. Eventually, reluctant governments
across the world will be forced to follow
suit. Support from credible and respected sources, such as Kevin McKernan and
his team, is vital to the success of the
movement, and they well deserve the
plaudits they are receiving for their outstanding work.
Special thanks to Kevin McKernan for
his input.
However, the implications of the newly
released genomic data are more widereaching than simply assisting genetic
modification programs, and the precedent set by the Medicinal Genomics team
of making their data open-source will
hopefully provide the incentive for others to do the same. Without doubt, the
involvement of many will be needed to
complete the next stage of this project,
and if the team releases their planned
iPhone app, which will allow users to add
genomic annotations to the sequenced
data, they will be providing huge support
to the scientific community.
Functional genomics is the branch that
uses genome project results to assess
the interactions between specific genes
and proteins and their expression in the
phenotype. This is generally the part of
the research that takes the longest – the
raw genomic data for the Human Genome
Project was first released in 2001 but it
was not until 2003 that it was declared
‘complete’ (all chromosomes mapped
and every gene within the chromosomes
identified and located, without errors).
After assembly, the genome has to be
annotated – that is, the regions that
contain specific genes must be located
and the relevant biological information
attached to the electronically-stored data.
Genome annotation continues to this
day for the human genome, as the total
number of different expressions of the
thousands of genes contained in it is staggeringly high and requires expert human
input to describe. In order to assess the
impact of a specific gene, genes can be
deleted or disrupted in the genome and
the effect observed in the resulting phenotype. This process has helped researchers identify several key genetic functions
TRICHOME-COVERED SEEDS IN THE L.A. (PHOTO BY DNA GENETICS)
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CANNABIS? ONLY SIMPLE
BREEDING FOR THIS SWISS ‘FRAISE’ (PHOTO BY DAVID DEE)
7
AMSTERRANT
Why Amsterdam May be Doomed
AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO AVOID THE SAME FATE FOR THE US SYSTEM
Amsterdam seems to be in decline. I’ve spent a lot of time there
and I’ve been noticing more and more how restricted everyday life
is becoming. Although the Netherlands was not terribly affected by
the various recent economic world crises, it has not been immune,
and the result of this belt-tightening seems to have had the effect of
Kali Mist
causing growing right-wing, puritanical elements.
Despite the outward appearance of low
crime rates and high social cohesion,
there are deep-rooted social problems. Its
singular laws have magnetic qualities for
the constant wave of migrants seeking,
in various ways, to become part of the
game. As a result (and also because their
legislation is inherently flawed) they have
seen highly problematic levels of organized crime. This is usually conducted relatively discreetly, as drug and gang-related
violence is seemingly quite rare, but still
responsible for channeling hundreds of
millions – if not billions – of euros in and
out of the country in a vast network of
illicit transactions, which lose the government millions in taxes. Coffeeshop sales
are taxed – heavily – but wholesaling and
production are not, as successive governments have long pandered to international pressure and preferred to perpetuate its
criminal status.
What seems to be a factor in common
between the US and Dutch systems is
the necessity of adopting tactics almost
akin to subterfuge to get the relevant
legal status. The Dutch feel the need to
prosecute the ‘dealers’ and producers to
satisfy blood-lust and quell moral panic in
this un-win-able global war, but allow the
recreational user to smoke unhindered.
All production and wholesale must go
on illicitly.
In America the recreational user is just
as much the cause of moral panic as the
street corner dealer, while all levels of
the industry from production to retail are
allowed to operate under the protection
of the law – provided users are using the
drug solely to get well. On both sides,
the flaws in our respective systems are
glaring and laughable – but we’ve had
to make the best of the hand we’ve been
dealt. The closer we get to legality in any
form, the better... right? Not if the system
is designed to self-destruct from the start.
The hypocrisy revealed by the deconstruction of the Dutch system is simply
stunning. It’s legal to operate a coffeeshop, but not legal to produce Cannabis.
This leads to entirely unregulated production where toxic additives may be used,
which will then be sold to the public with
compensated for an illegal activity? Never
mind the fact that said criminal is supplying a ‘legal’ industry, one that suffers
directly from such hiccups in the supply
line – which then manifest as steadily
creeping retail prices. Criminal is criminal,
and not only does the grower lose the
investment but they are then fined crippling amounts in an attempt to ‘recover
lost tax revenue’.
grow-ops (upon which their business
may depend) is another sinister turn in
the saga. Overall, this pervasive catch-22
in which Dutch pot industry members
find themselves leads to turmoil and
the eventual disintegration of the weed
scene in Holland. It is in no way a strong
or well-structured industry. It is, I believe,
inherently unsustainable.
So, legalize the production method! Most
growers would happily pay taxes if they
were given the choice, as they know it
gets The Man off their backs. They can
still fine growers; but it will be for infringing the strict quality and environmental
guidelines that will, by this point, have
been set up. It will happen. The fines can
pay for these quality control checks, rather
than for police operations.
In the US we have seen a gold rush, of
course. The crucial difference between
the Dutch system and our own emerging one is that we have a framework
of full, structurally-integrated, top-tobottom legality to operate within; all we
have to do is keep it medical. Fully-legal
businesses that serve all aspects of the
Cannabis industry are now in operation,
from grow setup specialists in Colorado
to publicly accessible quality testing
facilities in California – something the
Dutch system has never allowed.
Dutch growers have unfortunately lapsed
into terribly bad practices (the spray problem of a few years ago has not yet been
fully eradicated) and fines will not be
thin on the ground at first as growers
attempt to bring their practices in line
with industry standards. Not to mention
that, as with any legal business, some
As long as steps are taken to maintain
its health and credibility, we can enjoy a
sustainable and healthy weed industry
here in the United States. The longer we
sustain it, the more any residual moral
panic will die down and the more we will
be free to explore options such as total
legalization – including for recreational
MOST GROWERS WOULD HAPPILY PAY TAXES, IF THEY WERE GIVEN THE CHOICE
no regulation. In order for expensive illegal grows to prove economically viable,
corners are often cut.
If the dreaded moment of discovery
comes, the unhappy grower (who may
have invested thousands of euros) risks
losing everything: no chance of compensation, for why would a criminal be
practitioners will undoubtedly attempt
to evade taxes. When they do, a fine will
be an appropriate measure, not an empty
gesture that does nothing but expose systematic hypocrisy and rather unethically
fill government coffers.
The current trend of criminalizing coffeeshop owners for being involved in
purposes. It is vital that we do not make
the same mistakes regarding regulation
that the Dutch have made.
We have the luxury of learning from their
mistakes, and while it may not be perfect
right now, all signs point to the emergence of a far more sustainable economy
than that of our Continental cousins.
THE INDUSTRY HERE IN THE US HAS TAKEN A MARKEDLY DIFFERENT ROUTE
CA ‘GREEN’ RUSH: EARLY MEDICAL VICTORIES
DESPITE AN INDUSTRY DECLINE, MANY AMSTERDAM COFFEESHOPS THRIVE
PROMPTED AN INFLUX OF WEALTH-SEEKERS
9
BOOK REVIEW
Marijuana & Hemp: History, Uses,
Laws and Controversy
The Sativa Diva
As the title suggests, this is
not a light read. However, John
McCabe’s latest volume presents an easy to comprehend,
yet difficult to put down text
that spotlights the positive
environmental impact of growing hemp, and how not being
able to legally do so is putting US industries behind those
around the world, yet again.
Hemp farmers everywhere are actually a
scourge to outdoor marijuana growers, as
the ganja flowers would be cross-pollinated by the low-THC hemp males. In short,
hemp would destroy all the fun effects
that pot smokers pursue when lighting
up, enraging the local weed growers. The
reason this fact is important is because
the Feds and the DEA have, for years, continually argued against hemp farming in
America, claiming that hemp fields would
be the perfect place for weed growers to
hide their illicit crops – and implying that
all (hemp) farmers would willingly play a
complicit role in the drug trade.
If this book or its contents appear familiar
to you, perhaps it’s because you might
have already read Hemp: What the World
Needs Now (2010) by the same author.
This new, seemingly unabridged version
includes, by McCabe’s own admission,
even the material that the publishers had
attempted to convince him to redact. The
result is over 500 pages of observations
regarding the botanical- cultural- and
legal history of hemp, as well as its current
state (or lack thereof) in America, what
we should do to help and the ecological
benefits of hemp farming.
In fact, mass-cultivation of industrial hemp
could potentially revolutionize the textile
industry, not to mention offsetting some
of the environmental damage caused by
mining, deforestation, cotton farming and
mono-cropping. Hemp helps to prevent
erosion and mudslides, aerates the soil,
minimizes insect infestation as a border
crop, prevents insect habitation in the soil
– and even processes several times more
CO2 than many other plants, exhaling oxygen for all of us to breathe. Hemp fuels
are less damaging to the environment,
regarding both production and emissions,
than petroleum-based products.
The tone of McCabe’s book definitely lends
itself to a wide audience; usually these
topical tomes are beloved and praised
by those ‘in the know’, while being overlooked by those who don’t know much at
all – or flatly refuse to inform themselves.
Due to the stigma that still plagues the
industry in the US, combined with the
ignorant and often ridiculous Federal
attitudes towards hemp, it’s no wonder
that in 2011, US farmers are still prevented from legally cultivating a plant
that has thrived for over 10,000 years on
this planet.
The title may actually mislead potential
readers, as the book takes a decidedly
hemp-centric approach. Marijuana
& Hemp dispels many myths to which
our beloved plant has been subjected
over the years; namely, the idea that
cultivation of hemp would somehow be
linked to the drug trade is an absurd
and damaging leap. Absurd because,
as any grower knows, recreational- and
medical users only employ the effects of
(female) smoke-able Cannabis flowers, to
which many refer as ‘marijuana’. ‘Hemp’
actually encompasses all those plants
that produce non-psychoactive flowers,
meaning that not only will they not get
the user ‘high’; rather, the plants of this
type are full of the cannabinoid CBD
(cannabidiol), which functions as a sort
of anti-THC and effectively kills off any
enjoyable buzz – leaving the smoker with
a nasty headache.
The burning of hemp fuels does not contribute to the already high acid levels in
the world’s oceans, and the processing of
hemp ethanol does not require the tons
of coal and other fossil fuels currently
employed to extract, for example, corn
ethanol. If US farmers were legally able to
grow hemp on their own lands, the entire
production cycle would benefit them, on
their own premises – right down to the
lack of purchasing and transporting fuel
for their machinery.
McCabe reminds us that alternative fuel
crops such as soy and corn are actually quite damaging to the environment,
partially due to the copious amounts of
energy and fertilizer needed to grow the
plants, but also because of the damage
these crops do to farmland, stripping
away nutrients and sometimes leading to deforestation. Hemp can actually
heal the land on which it’s farmed, and
improve the air quality for those living in
its environs.
It’s obvious that McCabe is not simply
a hemp activist; rather, he is a planet
activist. Other avenues of ecological relief
are explored in the book, including solar
power and the incredible untapped fuel
potential of substances such as lawn clippings and industrial food waste – cluttering landfills nationwide. Regardless of the
slightly rough delivery, this book presents
a wide-ranging source of true hemp facts,
warnings about dwindling US resources
and dozens of helpful contacts through-
COLONIZATION OF THE US: MADE POSSIBLE AND
MOTIVATED BY HEMP CULTIVATION (PHOTO BY DIANN)
out the hemp industry, so that you can
begin networking on your own.
One negative regarding the format
and length is that McCabe occasionally
repeats himself, beyond attempting to
drive home certain points. Another downside is that true hemp experts will find a
few flaws in some of McCabe’s research
(and not just because of the occasionally
incorrectly attributed/-dated art work),
including the oft-misreported fact that
most hemp biodiesel is made from the
woody hurds of the hemp stalk, not the
seeds (food oil is extracted from hemp
seeds). A strong editor would make this
text exceptional, and slightly easier to
navigate. However, the index is incredibly
detailed and helpful, and will likely inspire
you to continue to educate yourself as to
how hemp truly is our future.
cations into new innovations. In order to
succeed, we first need to legalize hemp
cultivation in the US.
Contact the author:
» www.ignitingyourlife.com
John McCabe
c/o Carmania Books
P.O. Box 1272
Santa Monica, CA 90406
USA
ISBN: 978-1-884702-01-3
Perhaps the best result of this text is the
countless hours of debate it will spark. In
order to progress, achieve and survive,
we as humans must constantly re-invent
ourselves. As with so many other facets
of our history on this planet, learning
from our mistakes often, unfortunately,
involves repeating them. If we take the
lessons in McCabe’s book as examples,
perhaps we can actually thrive by recreating old hemp technologies and appli-
IT
CO
10
STRAIN LAB REVIEWS
Text and photos by Steep Hill Lab Team and Wilson Linker
TRUE OG: ELEMENTAL WELLNESS (San Jose, CA)
The True OG’s scent is everything an OG should be: an intense blend of lemon, fuel and fresh pine. The sticky, aromatic buds are
dense, easily pulling away and revealing a sea of trichomes. The True OG provides a quick head high, which then leads to total
body relaxation. OG Kush is one of the most famous branches of the Chem Dawg tree, rumored a cross of Chem, Lemon Thai
and old world Pakistani genetics. True OG entices the best palates in the business, winning back-to-back Cannabis Cup honors.
Reportedly purchased in Topanga Canyon nearly a decade ago for $50 per clone, this elusive cut consistently contains between
15% and 19% THC. The greatest thing about the True OG is that this terpene-rich flower is always available at Elemental
Wellness in San Jose.
GREAT WHITE SHARK: SOUTH BAY HEALING CENTER (San Jose, CA)
Green House Seed Company’s Great White Shark is a champion of their legendary catalog, winning top honors as far back as
1997. A very uniform and stable cross of Amsterdam classics Super Skunk and White Widow (Brazilian x Indian). The nose is a
light green, musky, skunk and fruit, citrus and slight cream flavors of the Widow. The orange hairs that explode from tightly
packed calyxes are a product of the Super Skunk; whereas the ocean of trichomes is evidence of the White Widow parentage. An
eight-week flower time and a yield of 500 to 800 grams per square meter can be expected if you are lucky enough to cultivate
this classic hybrid. South Bay Healing Center consistently provides extremely high-grade classics like the Great White.
CHERRY AK: HIGH STANDARDS MEDICAL COLLECTIVE (San Jose, CA)
AK-47 from Serious Seeds is another monster Amsterdam classic. This historically potent mix of Colombian, Mexican, Thai and
Afghani seed stock results in a 50:50 indica/sativa hybrid. Repeatedly bringing home top honors, this four-way cross pleases
many educated palates. Growers the world over occasionally find a reeking red skunky fruit phenotype, aptly nicknamed “Cherry
AK”. This elusive cut has been passed around the California dispensary scene, dazzling patients with its sweet taste and medicinal benefits. Under optimum conditions this elite cut can reach 20+% THC. Coming down in a respectable 53 to 63 days, these
ripe red colas can reportedly yield the happy cultivator between 350 and 500 grams per meter squared. The juicy and aromatic
sample, provided by High Standards Medical Collective, quickens the pulse at first, then brings on a clear, relaxing euphoric calm
that is productive and enriching.
BOGGLEGUM: HARBORSIDE HEALTH CENTER (Oakland & San Jose, CA)
Bringing home top honors, Delta 559’s offering of BoggleGum is a Clean Green Certified connoisseur pleaser that consistently
tests 18-21% THC. At first glance, the BoggleGum that is routinely available at Harborside Health Centers Oakland and San Jose
appears similar to Bubba Kush. The deep red and purple hues staining the trichome-coated calyxes do not immediately reveal
the NL5 x BogBubble heritage. The crowning achievement of storied and revered breeder Bushy Old Grower, the BoggleGum has
been stabilized and breeds true. When the tightly packed flower clusters are broken open the seduction begins: earthy, musk,
stone and sweet notes with hints of grape – even subtle hints of citrus. Reportedly harvesting in under 50 days, this is a good
choice for the premium producer on a schedule. The flowers provided by Delta 559 are free of salt-based nutrients and harmful
pesticides, as required by the Clean Green Cannabis Certification program.
GOD’S GIFT: MAGNOLIA WELLNESS (Orangevale, CA)
A Bay Area breeder (unknown at press time) took on the momentous task of combining California favorites OG Kush and Grand
Daddy; he titled his work God’s Gift. From structure to nose, many of the OG characteristics dominate the phenotype provided
by Orangevale’s Magnolia Wellness Center. The musky, muted lime of Chem Dawg permeates the knobby, swollen resin-coated
flower pods. However, the GDP is represented in lavender-tinged buds, gentle purple notes on the nose and the kiss of grape
on the exhale. This indica-dominant hybrid expresses the best of its pedigree on both sides. This expert sample is favored by
Sacramento care patients for providing clear mind pain relief, after an initially confusing infusion of psychoactive THC and terpenes. Few specimens of Cannabis contain the unique mix of citrus and dark fruity purple flavors that the God’s Gift produces.
JJ’S GREEN RIBBON: UNITY COLLECTIVE (Sacramento, CA)
Green Ribbon is a cross of Nor Cal star hybrid Afwreck and the fast finishing but sativa stimulating South East Appalachian-bred
Green Crack. A dense velvet green sea of THC-laden trichomes coats each bud. An East coast, West coast combination of genetics, the
Chico-bred Green Ribbon displays award winning traits in every category. The trichome-dumping hash production from the Afgoo
and the terpene-rich quality of the Trainwreck make Green Ribbon an excellent strain for concentrate production. The dry hit leaves
a faint hint of mint overpowered by a mossy sweetness, or Green Crack with a sweet redwood punch. Green Ribbon repeatedly hits
the high end of the THC spectrum, peeking into the 20th percentile when growing conditions are optimum. Green Ribbon is the
house strain at Unity Collective in Sacramento, available in flower and concentrate form; do yourself a favor and pick up both.
» steephilllab.com
12
INTERVIEW
THE MOJAVE DESERT ALONG THE CALIFORNIANEVADA BORDER ISN’T THE EASIEST PLACE TO
GROW CANNABIS, BUT THAT DOESN’T STOP SOFT SECRETS READER MOJAVE MAMA. ALL SHE ASKS
FROM SOCIETY IS THE FREEDOM TO CONTINUE TO HELP HERSELF.
Mojave Mama
Grubbycup
While still in her 20s, both her legs were
amputated due to complications from
a vascular disease. The only relief from
unrelenting nerve pain offered to her by
medical doctors was heavy prescription
drugs. As the years passed, given her
medical condition, she had little chance
to avoid pain-reducing pharmaceuticals.
Narcotics were prescribed; however, she
laments, “They just made my mind fuzzy
and all I wanted to do was sleep. Then I
discovered the power of Cannabis to ease
my neuropathy and muscle spasms.”
Coming of age in the ‘60s, Mojave Mama
was no stranger to recreational marijuana
use, but was unaware of the health benefits until “once, when I ran out of pharmaceutical drugs, I smoked a joint with
a friend visiting from out of state, and
realized I was no longer in agony. It registered as pain, but not ‘my’ pain. It was as
if I could hold the pain in the palm of my
hand, observe it, but not be affected by it.
I marveled at this.”
In need but without a connection, she
didn’t know how to obtain it. When someone finally gave her an introduction, she
was shocked by the over-inflated black
market cost. On a fixed disability income,
it was a pricey treatment. For the next
year, her already thin household budget
was stretched to the limit to pay for a way
to endure the pain – a way that didn’t
leave her “in a mental fog all day from the
after-effects of narcotic pain relievers.”
Finally, unable to scrape up that much
cash every month, and finding it impossible to make the eighth of an ounce
she could afford stretch enough to last a
whole month, she decided to try to educate herself and see if she could grow her
own medicine.
“Starting out with just shop fluorescent
lights, I germinated my first seeds, and
had goosebumps when I saw the first set
of leaves appear.”
Those first beans were just bag seed, from
the eighths she’d purchased, and some
donated from friends. She was able to veg
them indoors under the fluoros, and take
them outside during the day for natural
sunlight.
“Living in the desert, we have sun most
of the year. My first grow taught me a lot,
and I found support online in Cannabis
gardening forums. That first harvest was
seeded, but the cured buds were far better than those for which I’d been overpaying on the street.”
She caught the gardening bug and loved
helping plants grow and getting soil
under her fingernails. “I embraced organic
gardening and marveled at the feel of
worm castings as my hand reached into
a new bag.”
Using organic aquatic turtle- and Koi
sludge removed from her outdoor pond’s
filter on her outdoor plants, she watched
them thrive. Indoors, the odor was too
overpowering to consider its use. Mojave
Mama is an avid recycler, and does not use
chemical pesticides. Even her pond fish
and turtles are fed an organic diet.
“Because many nutrients on the market
contain ‘allowable’ trace amounts of petrochemicals, I have been using Ubiogrow,
an organic compost tea fertilizer... that has
no added petrochemicals.”
PROUDLY CARRIES THE OLYMPIC TORCH
Learning about gardening is the key
to successful growing: “I learned about
adjusting the pH of de-ionized water, what
N-P-K meant, and that a given amount of
nutrients can burn the leaves of one strain
and not others.”
“I came to understand how stress causes
hermies, how to identify them, and how
quickly one ‘stealth bomber’ (a ‘nanner hidden deep inside a thick bud) can pollinate
every plant around it. I attempted successfully to grow plants using passive hydroponic techniques I read about in a booklet
by Grubbycup Stash. It worked, even in the
extremely dry desert climate, where four
percent relative humidity is the norm.”
She caught the gardening bug, enjoying
the process of learning. Using auto-flowering strains, she could grow from seed to
harvest in two months, giving her enough
bud to tide her over until her regular
strains had finished.
“Though not quite as potent of a painkiller
as regular strains, I’ve found autos still have
a place in my grow room. I grow only a few
plants at a time, and auto-flowering strains
still give me adequate pain relief until the
regular strains mature.”
To Mojave Mama, mistakes are an important part of the process of learning. She
considers them to be vital information,
helping her enjoy more success in the
next round. Her passion for growing and
seeing plants come to life has bloomed. In
the journey of acquiring knowledge and
skill, some parts of the path are easier than
others – and some lessons are best learned
through mistakes.
CLEAR PLASTIC DRINKING CUPS RE-PURPOSED AS SPROUTING CHAMBERS
INSPIRATIONAL: MOJAVE MAMA
She recommends auto-flowering strains
for novice growers: “During a long grow-
BRA GERMINATION PROVIDES PERFECT
CONDITIONS TO ENCOURAGE SPROUTING
ing season, there are so many ways to
ruin a crop. Once, just a day before harvest, I had my plants outside getting
their last suntan. Buds thick with sticky
trichs attracted a swarm of aphids doing
Kamikaze dives into the sticky goo. I tried
to gently rinse them off, but they didn’t
budge. I tried a more powerful spray of
water, and the body parts sticking out
broke off, leaving the rest of the aphid
carcasses still deeply embedded in the
sticky bud.
“Even worse, when I looked at what was
left of the buds under my jeweler’s loupe,
I saw that most of the mushroom-shaped
trichome tops had been broken off from
the force of the water spray.
“I’ve seen my plants tortured by bug invasions, languish or stretch under inadequate indoor light when it was too hot or
too cold to take them outside to be under
that giant HID in the sky, and take the
brunt of my lack of experience. Helpful,
experienced mentors encouraged me not
to give up, that there was a big learning
curve to producing top quality Cannabis.”
Over time Mojave Mama has updated
her lighting and equipment. She’s learned
from her mistakes, obtained better genetics and been able to narrow down strains
13
per in my career training service dogs
– and mentoring people learning to train
their own service dogs. I was back in the
groove of life once more, and able to feel
I could contribute to the world in positive
ways while also earning a living wage.”
PLANTS IN CARTS ARE EASILY MOVED OR BROUGHT
INDOORS TO CONTROL LIGHT EXPOSURE
“I was able to resume writing, and published dozens of articles and book chapters in fields of expertise. I could never
have done this while taking prescribed
narcotics to dull the pain. The medical
benefits of Cannabis gave me my life back
on a silver platter.”
SERVICE DOGS CAN IMPROVE HUMAN LIVES –
AND EVEN HELP IN THE GARDEN
IS WHEN CANNABIS PLANTS ARE INVOLVED
Growing her own medicine gives her a
cost-effective way to receive treatment.
As her gardening skills improved, not only
did she have enough for pain relief, but
enough trich-laden bud to make tinctures
and cannabutter as well, options that
allowed her to live a normal life free from
the mind-numbing, zombie-like existence
offered by pharmaceutical alternatives.
Even in times of illness when the pharmaceuticals were unavoidable, Cannabis
used in conjunction allows her to keep
Unfortunately for Mojave Mama, and
the rest of us, the greatest threat to a
Cannabis garden walks on two legs. In
uniform or not, there are those that would
steal her hard work and then to add insult
to injury, possibly even punish her for not
wanting to live in excruciating pain, and
not wanting to become one of the ‘walking dead’ that legal pharmaceuticals can
too often create.
“It would be wonderful I could grow my
medication in my backyard and inside
my house without fear of getting ripped
off or arrested – and losing everything
I have worked a lifetime to gain. I’m so
squeaky clean I’ve never had as much as a
parking ticket, but I realize any day I could
be hoping that the jail cell I end up in is
wheelchair accessible.”
Despite the plant’s gender being much
more important to the harvest than the
gardener’s, in some places (both online
and off-) female gardeners are still subjected to prejudice. There are those in
online growing forums who rather derisively refer to female growers as ‘girlie
growers’, ‘hens’, etc.
While it is legal to purchase lethally poisonous plants at garden centers, which
don’t even have to be marked as toxic,
Cannabis is still illegal in most areas of
the country. “I think anyone who wants to
grow Cannabis should be able to, without
fear of losing their home, family, animals
and jobs. As a child of the ‘60s counterculture, I’ve smoked Cannabis most of my
adult life, whenever it was available to me.
Too often when a female enters a maledominated grower’s forum, she has to
work harder to be taken seriously. “Don’t
worry your pretty little head over it” and
“What’s your bra size?” are not helpful
responses to serious questions about
how to attack root aphids or spider mites.
There are places where respect is given
on merit and not gender, but not enough
of them.
“It’s hard for me to accept that 40 years
later, it’s still listed in the same category as
heroin. I find it unconscionable that jails are
full of people who never hurt anyone but
were unfortunate enough to get busted
with Cannabis. I rage that the DEA still
targets medical marijuana patients and dispensaries in states where it’s legal for medical use. For a ‘60s activist, it seems like we
are going backwards rather than forwards.”
“I could not have done it on my own.
When experienced growers take time to
encourage and work with the problems
novice growers encounter, I see it as ‘compassion in action’. There are no monetary
rewards for mentoring and sharing expertise; it’s a gift from the heart.”
Mojave Mama pays a price in worry for
the improved quality of life that Cannabis
brings her. Her daily life has improved significantly with the reduction of intractable
pain, but she lives in constant threat that
one day closed minds may punish her for it.
Female growers are beginning to be taken
seriously. In the last four years, Mojave
Mama has met many knowledgeable,
experienced female growers who have
been role models for her, and have given
her the courage to stand up in the boys’
club and say, “I’m a female grower, and
I’m glad to be welcomed into your community. I’m here to learn.”
THE ONLY TIME GENDER SHOULD MATTER
that help relieve specific types of pain: “I
live with multiple disabilities, so one strain
doesn’t take care of all the different types
of pain I live with on a daily basis.”
Cannabis allowed her to become a vital
part of society again, and gave her back
a social life. No longer a recluse due to
intractable pain, she went on to win a
national service dog of the year award,
and to teach at international training conferences. She also carried the
Olympic flame as a proud American with
her service dog trotting at the side of her
powerchair.
the seeds warm and natural cushioning
reduces the worry of crushing them.
Being a female grower is not without
its perks. One ‘female gardener’ trick she
shared with me was her method of sprout-
“I take the chance and grow, because
without Cannabis, I’d once again live life
in a drug-induced fog. I’m not going back
there again. Each day is a chance for me to
help someone else, to make a difference
in the world. I should not have to live in
fear of going to jail because I grew and
consumed medicine I did not purchase
from a pharmaceutical company.”
Mojave Mama is a real person, with real
problems, real hopes and real dreams.
Her difficult situation, unfortunately, isn’t
that unusual in America, where healthcare
I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO LIVE IN FEAR OF GOING TO JAIL BECAUSE I GREW AND
CONSUMED MEDICINE I DID NOT PURCHASE FROM A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY
dosages smaller, and has allowed her to
keep more of “herself” awake and aware.
“I had a workable brain again, and I was
able to sleep, restore my health and pros-
ing seeds. Women can easily give seeds an
almost ideal environment for germination
by putting them in a small plastic bag
with a damp paper towel and slipping
the bag inside their bra. Body heat keeps
choices are all too often more about profit
than quality of life.
Peace, love and puka shells,
Grubbycup
14
Harvest
Season
canning jars. They come in a variety of
nice sizes, but since the sides are transparent, they should be covered or stored in
a dark place. Jars should be labeled, and
can even be decorated if desired. If your
stash starts to get a little too dry, a small
clean piece of terracotta soaked in water
can rehydrate it.
For the small-scale personal grower, harvest is where you can really shine. In your
favor, herb grown for personal use tends
to be superior to herb grown for sale.
Grams are easier to monitor closely and
care for than kilograms. There is something to be said for genuine care, with just
a dash of future use self-interest to add a
special something to the final product. A
well cared for and well cured bud is a very
pleasant bit of smoke.
It is common to celebrate a successful harvest with a few good friends. Give thanks
to the universe that such a nice plant
exists in the world, and that you can enjoy
it. Celebrate your hard work, and plan how
you can improve next season.
Life should be lived, so between the hustle and bustle of everyday life remember
to take time out and live a little.
Peace, love and puka shells,
Grubbycup
Harvest time is also the time to finish
any notes for the season. Some people
are blessed with superior memories and
are able to recall each plant grown for
years on end. For the rest of us, notes can
be invaluable, especially when the time
comes to plant next year’s garden. Just
make sure any notes you make don’t fall
into the wrong hands.
MOBY DICK, BLUE WIDOW AND WHITE RHINO ON A PANTS HANGER
As fall arrives the nights get longer, the air gets colder, and perhaps
best of all, outdoor grows ripen
in the US. After the buds have
swelled and tightened, most of
the stigmas have changed color
and the ratio of cloudy amber
trichomes is deemed suitable,
Grubbycup
harvest begins.
Weed must be cut and dried before use,
so while the exact details vary from gardener to gardener, harvest is usually some
variation of the following:
1) The plants are cut down. Depending on
preference and size of the plant, cut the
branches into manageable-sized pieces.
2) Any and all remaining fan leaves are
removed. It isn’t unusual for some or all
of the fan leaves to have withered by
harvest.
3) Any small leaves on the floral clusters
(buds) are trimmed or removed. Take care
to completely remove any brown or dead
leaves, as these will harm the flavor of the
finished product.
4) The buds are allowed to dry until just
dry to the touch. A cool, dark location
with air circulation is ideal. Clothing hangers made to hold several pairs of slacks
or a clothesline are both good choices
from which to hang drying Cannabis. The
weed will dry from the outside in, with
the edges of the buds drying first. There
should still be moisture left in the center
of the buds, so it should not be completely dried through.
5) The buds are placed into glass jars,
which are opened and closed as needed
to control moisture content until ready for
storage. Since only the outermost portion
of the bud was dried, moisture from the
inside of the bud will wick out to moisten
the dried material. When the outside of
the bud feels moist, or if condensation
forms, the jar is opened and the buds are
turned and allowed to dry off.
If the moisture in the jar is allowed to
build too high the bud can be ruined; pay
close attention, especially for the first few
days. As the bud cures, the jar can be left
closed for longer and longer periods until
it is ready for use or storage. Mistakes in
letting curing Cannabis get too dry are
more forgiving than mistakes in letting it
stay too wet.
6) Once ready, the marijuana can be
stored in an airtight container (glass is a
good choice) for short term storage, or
vacuum sealed for long term. My personal
preference is to store my smoke in home
To determine the efficiency of a grow, a
simple formula can be used to determine
the grams per day (GPD). If a Cannabis
plant was started on 5/23/2011 and was
ready for harvest on 9/23/2011, then the
number of days between the two dates is
123. If 29 grams of dried of bud is collected, then the yield grown per day would be
0.24 grams (29 divided by 123). This value
can come in handy when comparing seasons, or comparing the productivity of a
particular cultivar.
If all other factors are similar, and using
fertilizer ‘Brand A’ results in a 0.20 GPD,
and using fertilizer ‘Brand B’ results in 0.30
GPD, then serious consideration should
be given to using ‘Brand B’ on a regular
basis. If one year a gardener uses soil
pots, and the next a hydroponic system,
the GPD gathered can help choose which
system to use the following year.
HARVEST TIME IS A
WONDERFUL TIME IN THE GARDEN
One nice thing about using this calculation, is that it will allow a gardener to
compare plants started early with plants
started late. Particularly in indoor gardens
– where season length is artificially controlled – being able to compare seasons
of differing lengths can be an asset in
determining what conditions are the most
productive.
By keeping track of expenses, you can
also use a similar equation to calculate
how much per gram it cost you to produce. Just track how much it cost to run
the garden for the 123 days, and then
divide by the number of grams of harvest
produced. By comparing how plants from
different grows perform, a gardener can
fine tune and adjust his/her garden practices to be as efficient, productive and
economical as possible.
After harvest make sure to clean up for
winter. Spring planting is a lot easier when
it doesn’t start out with last year’s mess.
THIS GRUBBYCUP’S STASH BUD
IS READY TO START DRYING
15
The Importance of Drying and Curing
A smoother smoke, a more even
burn and an increase in potency:
sounds too good to be true, right?
But, a little bit of hard work after
you harvest carries big rewards.
Take a quick look at curing...
So, you have spent the last three months
tending to your girls, lavishing them with
tender loving care and the big day has
finally arrived – it’s harvest time and your
smoke will be ready within the next week.
But, hang on there, remember the whole
reason that you grew your own in the
first place was to have a stash of the finest
weed possible? At harvest time your work
is only 75% done. To get the ultimate from
your weed, put in that little bit of extra
effort and dry and cure it properly.
Commercially grown crops are usually
harvested early; cut, trimmed and dried
for about a week, often in a warm environment, before being sold. The idea of
a commercial grow is to get your cash
turned around in the quickest amount of
time. Fair enough. However, quickly-dried
bud can taste harsh and have low potency.
We’ve all been there: you buy a bag of
weed that smells good and feels dry on
the outside, but when you break the bud
open it is still moist on the inside. The
smoke is harsh and can taste a little like
cut grass; this taste is the chlorophyll still
present in the cells of the plant.
So why cure? The process of curing promotes the slow decarboxylation of oxygen
molecules from the THC present in the
bud; this will increase the psychoactive
properties, making the weed more potent.
The curing process also means that mois-
we now un-affectionately call ‘radiator
weed’ is no better; in fact it was a lot worse!
“After seven days of hanging and drying
the transformation is incredible: it’s dry
but sticky inside, the crystals are glistening
and it smells delicious. The smoke is really
good – easier to crumble than before,
although it does stick in the grinder a little. It tastes much stronger and the lovely
sweet taste of Widow is in full force. Plus it
delivered a really nice high, not too heavy
and a little bit lively – which is good if you
still want to function after a chong!
“After the dry, it had a couple of weeks
curing in jars and it’s transformed again.
It’s really pungent now and totally dry;
the crystals are glistening away and it
crumbles between the fingers perfectly.
In fact I’m sure if all weed was left this
long you’d have twice as much to smoke
– although it’s gone down in weight the
dryness means you use less than before
when building a joint. It tastes as good as
it smells and is stronger than before, still
gives a lovely high, a really good smoke. If
only all weed was left this long!”
Proof, if proof were needed...
The first step to the smoothest smoke is
to get the drying process right, so you
should choose your drying area carefully.
Ideally you want somewhere that is dark,
cool – around 64.4°F (18°C) – and has
around 50% humidity. If your drying area
is too cold, then drying will take forever. If
it is too hot then you run the risk of drying
your harvest too quickly, which will make it
taste harsh – exactly what you don’t want!
The grow room is a great option for drying
as it will be dark and well-sealed; it will also
yourself down to the shops and pick up
some brown paper bags – like the ones
you get from the supermarket – the larger
ones if possible. A good local grocer or
wholesaler is a good place to try, as you
can normally pick them up in reams of 100
for very little money.
Put a handful of bud into each bag and
fold down the top, the idea being that
the buds will ‘sweat’ out the moisture
contained in the center of them and this
will be absorbed by the paper bag. Open
the bags twice a day and shake the buds
around to let any moisture out of the bag.
Once the buds have been in the paper
bags for three or four days, you can check
if they are completely dry by placing the
paper bags in plastic zip lock bags and
sealing them. Leave them in the zip lock
IF THE STEM BENDS WITHOUT SNAPPING, THEN THERE IS STILL SOME MOISTURE
LEFT AND YOU SHOULD CONTINUE WITH THE PAPER BAGS
ture levels will be consistent across the
entire bud, giving you a much smoother
smoke and a more even burn. When you
grow your own, you want to get the maximum from your crop. You owe it to yourself to cure those buds!
have the benefit of having a carbon filter
attached to stop any unwanted smells
escaping. The drying and hanging process
will take around two to three weeks, so if
you can do without the grow room for that
long, then do it.
To prove the point, I tried a little experiment with some recently harvested White
Widow (from Pyramid Seeds) and a good
friend of mine (Original G); here is the
smoke report in his own words...
When you have harvested your plants,
first remove any fan leaves that have no
visible trichomes on them, then take the
plants by the stem and hang them upside
down using string or fishing line attached
to clothes pegs, screws or nails. Make sure
they don’t touch each other as this can
cause mold. You can now manicure your
buds by roughly cutting off the smallto medium-sized leaves; these should be
saved for bubble hash.
“So after harvesting we were desperate
for a try of the lovely green that had been
produced and we dipped in way before it
had time to dry – this was a big mistake! It
still smelled way too fresh, almost like cut
grass; the weed aroma was hardly there
at all and, although it looked great, it was
slimy and wet inside. It had to be trimmed
with scissors to get it small enough to roll
and the smoke was pretty terrible, sour
and not very strong. It was really a waste of
weed! Be aware that forced drying or what
Leave to hang for two to three weeks. You
are now ready to cure.
One tried and tested way to start the
curing process is the paper bag method.
While your harvest is hanging to dry, get
bags for a couple of days. If you can see
moisture on the inside of the plastic, or
the buds feel moist when you squeeze
them, then they are not ready and should
be removed from the zip lock bags and
left in the brown paper bags for another
two or three days.
The final test to see if the buds are completely dry is to take one of the larger pieces and bend it – the stem within the bud
should snap. If the stem bends without
snapping, then there is still some moisture
left and you should continue with the
paper bags for a final two or three days.
When you are confident that the buds are
dry, then they can be placed into preserving jars – the kind with a rubber seal and
latch on them – and sealed. The main
factors in THC degradation are heat, light,
oxygen and water. So the jars should be
filled to the brim and kept in a cool, dark
place where they are also safe – not the
kitchen cupboard!
The paper bag method means that you
should have some nicely dried bud, but
the process does not stop there. You will
need to open or ‘burp’ the jars to let out
any excess moisture that has built up.
Otherwise, condensation can occur and
moisture can build up, which can lead to
mold developing. There would be nothing more heartbreaking then pulling out
a jar that had been curing nicely for a few
months, only to find that that your delicious harvest is covered in mold!
The jars should be ‘burped’ every other
day: simply open the jar for around ten
minutes and gently stir the buds around.
This allows the stale air and moisture
to escape. The burping process should
continue for around four to five weeks,
after which the buds can literally be left
for years.
If you do pull out a fine vintage and find
it has gone too dry, you can add a little
moisture by putting a fan leaf or a piece of
orange or potato peel into the jar.
Happy curing!
17
ADVANCED INDOOR GROWING
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S “AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND
OF CURE” REALLY PAYS OFF WHEN IT COMES TO PEST MANAGEMENT
F.Red
Growing Cannabis indoors
provides excellent conditions
and abundant food for pests.
Protocols need to be set up for
reducing invasions by these
outdoor monsters. Once you let
them in it can be very difficult to
get them out. Be concerned with
the damage done by feeding, as
well as the potential havoc of
a virus or disease introduced to
your plants.
The most common invaders are fungus
gnats, and spider mites. Their life cycles
are affected by temperature – the warmer the environment, the quicker the life
cycles and the faster they will reproduce.
Indoor environments lack the natural
predators that keep these pests under
control. Unchecked, infestations can
develop rapidly, becoming severe and
chronic problems. Many gardens have
been destroyed by infestations getting
out of control – especially during flowering. Early detection and diagnosis are as
important as choice and application of
treatments. Using multiple tactics to affect
insects in all stages of their life cycles is a
more effective strategy than relying on
one solution. These are the principles of
‘Integrated Pest Management’ (IPM).
Fungus gnats (small, dark fly-like insects)
are a small nuisance when compared to
other intruders. Gnats love moist conditions; do not be surprised when you get
one up your nose if they invade your garden. Gnats are encouraged by over-watering, so letting your soil dry out properly
and eliminating any standing water will
discourage them from developing into a
problem in the first place.
A fungus gnat’s life cycle consists of four
stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The larval stage is the most damaging to plants.
It is during this part of their life when
they feed upon the tender roots of plants.
They are harmful to sprouts and clones as
they are establishing new root systems.
Damage at this early stage of life can
affect yield later on, although plants often
outgrow it.
Even more catastrophic are the few hitchhikers fungus gnats can bring with them.
Pythium, a water mold, does not seem
scary until the fourth day – when all your
plants die! For a commercial greenhouse
with several thousand plants hooked into
the same hydroponic system this would
be disastrous.
There’s no guaranteed safety in soil, either.
Phytophthora, another of the gnats’ buddies, is a terrestrial kind of water mold.
This insidious parasite was responsible
for the Great Irish Famine, causing over
one million deaths. Fusarium is a species of fungus that likes to ride along
with gnats. A few of these species cause
crop damage in the billions, but most
are harmless. Fusarium oxysporum, often
called the Panama Disease, wiped Gros
Michel bananas (known as ‘Big Mikes’) off
the commercial market in the 1950s.
An oscillating fan not only helps dry
out topsoil, but it also makes it difficult
for those buggers to fly around. Some
friends have had great success spraying
soil- or hydro systems with a dilution of
Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap and water.
Others have used a dilution of hydrogen
peroxide and water. Whichever method
you choose, make sure your concentrations are not strong enough to damage
the plants. Yellow sticky traps, commercial
or homemade, are also a great non-toxic
method for enticing and trapping these
pests. The easy way to deal with a fungus
gnat infestation in containers is by putting
an inch of sand on top of your soil – this
will prevent them from laying eggs.
are commonly used for whitefly eradication. Eretmocerus emericus tolerates
warmer and dryer conditions and is best
suited for high-density whitefly populations. Encarsia formosa does well in cooler
conditions, higher humidity and low-density whitefly populations. Both of these
wasps are excellent for pest management.
The mixture of both has successfully been
applied for a number of years in largescale greenhouse operations. As with
other treatments, budding is not a good
time to be dealing with these critters. It is
better to eliminate an infestation before
flowering so there are no bug bits in your
edibles and smoking products.
Spider mites are probably the worst of the
indoor invaders. One female laying hundreds of eggs over her lifetime can, within
a month, be responsible for hundreds of
thousands of progeny. To help control
populations, reduce room temperature. If
these little devils get into your garden and
if you do not work diligently to eliminate
them they will destroy the plants.
Mites suck the juice out of your plants and
poop all over them, producing a protective silk web within which they cocoon
themselves as they devour your plants.
The damage these very tiny creatures
cause is horrific. Blasting them off with a
strong stream of water is probably a good
place to start when dealing with them. If
your plants are in a flowering stage the
water blasting method is safe and effective, provided you are thorough.
Many people have success during vegetation using cold-pressed neem oil diluted
with water and a little soap. Or a tea-
Whiteflies are a more serious invader.
Small, white moth-like creatures, they
wreak damage by sucking out life fluids
like small vegetarian vampires. If these
bugs get in, they may bring a few of
their over sixty viral plant disease friends
with them. Then, as an extra insult, their
excretions promote the growth of mold
– and who would want to smoke or eat
any of that?
Whiteflies lay eggs on the underside of
leaves. Within a week the eggs hatch and
the larvae find a nice spot to suck from.
The next week-and-a-half is spent in various nymph forms until the final metamorphosis into a flying adult – when they
become easier to spot. A little shaking
of the plants sends them flying around
the room. Oscillating fans, combined
with yellow sticky traps in each planter
and around the grow space, can help
prevent them from achieving a foothold.
Whiteflies are drawn to the yellow traps,
making you aware of their presence in the
grow room.
WHITEFLY ON CANNABIS (COURTESY OF BANANAMAN: WEEDPORTAL.COM)
If whiteflies are established yellow traps
are not enough to get rid of them. A
few small plants are easy to manage by
physically removing eggs and vigorously
spraying the underside of the leaves with
a dilution of Dr. Bronner’s Soap, daily.
Large plants or lots of small plants can be
difficult to manage.
Wasps can play a good part in prevention and control of whitefly infestations in
large or small grows. Two types of wasps
SAND PREVENTS FUNGUS GNATS FROM LAYING EGGS IN THE SOIL
18
FUNGUS GNAT (COURTESY OF KIM
FLEMING: MYRIORAMA FLICKR.COM)
spoon of Dr. Bronner’s liquid Citrus- or
Peppermint Soap mixed with a teaspoon
of oil (such as grapeseed or olive-) in a
quart squirt bottle – kept in the fridge –
has also been used to great effect. Make
sure you shake the bottle before spraying
the leaves, to mix the soap and oil together. There are also a few garlic, pepper and
cinnamon recipes available online that
people swear by.
Pyrethrum spray made from chrysanthemum flowers is another natural remedy
to help keep down the numbers. With
any sprays or dilutions try a test leaf first
to make sure it does not damage them.
Too strong of a mix will burn your plants
or, even worse, destroy your entire crop.
There are several predator mites also
available. Predators are a great preventative and an effective control in sufficient
numbers. With proper precaution, hopefully you will never need to use them.
Several simple steps can be taken to
prevent infestation in your garden.
Prevention is the first consideration of IPM.
For instance, do not wear outside clothes,
shoes or bring outside tools and materials into an indoor garden. Quarantine
all of your new plant acquisitions – two
weeks is often enough time to determine
whether your new plants have stowaways, provided you are inspecting both
sides of the leaves. If you lack the space
for this endeavor, it is of vital importance
to monitor closely and constantly for any
signs of infestation.
most commonly used inorganic insecticide, was once extracted nearly pure
from salt domes. Now, sulfur is produced
as the by-product of natural gas and
petroleum refining.
Organic insecticides are carbon-based.
Made from hydrocarbons, these compounds are also produced from petroleum refining. Natural insecticides or
botanics are extracted from plants. Plant
chemicals are manufactured by nature
for the specific purpose of defending
against insects. ‘Natural’ does not mean
they are good to smoke or eat either, so
be aware when using any chemicals on
your crops.
All insecticides tend to fall into two categories. ‘Systemic’ insecticides operate by
the plant absorbing the toxin into itself
and then the bugs ingest it by eating
the plant. ‘Contact’ insecticides operate by
using small grains or droplets of chemicals placed on the plant and into direct
contact with these critters. Systemic insecticide residue has been found by the US
Department of Agriculture in 74% of the
lettuce crops tested.
In 2009, the State of California tested
eucalyptus pollen and found levels at
three times the amount needed to kill
a honeybee. This class of pesticide can
remain in soils for over 500 days. So plants
will produce deadly pollen, nectar and
guttation droplets (leaf juice) for several
seasons. Seeds germinated after being
coated in these pesticides will produce
plants with this leaf juice, killing bees
within minutes after exposure.
Contact insecticides are not without problems either. Many of these pesticides are
considered persistent, which means they
do not break down easily in the environment. Some of them take decades to
break down, if at all. This causes seri-
SPIDER MITES DESTROYING A GANJA LEAF (COURTESY OF GROWERY.ORG)
YELLOW STICKY TRAPS CATCH – AND REVEAL – INVADERS
Cannabis will soon be added to the
monoculture crops that promote
pesticide use. Supporting biosustainable farming practices using
natural methods is the only way we
can protect future generations from this
incredible toxic soup we are creating in
our environment.
BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL IS A NATURAL METHOD USING THE ENEMIES OF
INSECT PESTS AND MAY ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR INSECTICIDES
Observation is the second principle of
IPM. Some growers prefer to quarantine
and dip or spray plants with chemical
insecticides and miticides. This decision
poses some serious ethical and moral
concerns and brings us to... intervention,
the third step on the escalator that is the
IPM system.
Nearly all of these chemicals, even natural ones, have the potential to disrupt
ecosystems. Insecticides are often toxic
to humans and build up in the food
chain and water supply. Smoking or
eating these residues can pose serious
health risks. Many Cannabis patients have
severely compromised immune systems
and any extra toxins can be detrimental
to their health.
Insecticides are classed in several ways,
as they are elements and compounds.
Resembling salts and silica, they do not
contain carbon. Inorganics are very stable and usually water-soluble. Sulfur, the
ous risk to humans, as even low levels
of these toxins bio-accumulate in body
tissue. Exposure can create immediate
problems, or manifest down the road with
cancer, organ damage, respiratory- and
reproductive problems and nervous system disorders.
These chemicals act as mutagens, causing
horrific abnormalities in children of farmers and fieldworkers around the world.
Domesticated animals are affected, as well
as millions of birds, bats, amphibians and
Biological pest control is a natural method
using the enemies of insect pests. If caught
early enough these enemies can eliminate
the need for insecticides. ‘Controls’ are
not always a quick fix, like chemicals. In a
major infestation it is better to reduce the
numbers of bugs infesting your garden,
and then add these natural enemies. If
you do it the other way around you will
kill off the helpful insects. Predators are
the first of several types of biological control agents. Predators like ladybugs, lacewings, pirate bugs and many nematodes
ately; their victims are hosts for offspring
growing inside of their bodies and ultimately causing death. Some nematodes
in this category can spring out of soil to
catch low-flying insects.
Pathogens are the last type of biological control. These microbial insecticides,
bacteria, viruses, fungi – or the toxins they
create – are important agents that limit
insect populations. There are many benefits to using these controls. Targets for
these agents are narrow, unlike broadspectrum pesticides, which kill helpful
insects indiscriminately. These methods
are also very unlikely to damage water
quality, the environment – or your crops.
The disadvantages are that it can take
more time, planning, management and
education. The best time to use biological
controls (as with any other kind of intervention) is during vegetation, because if
you are flowering with an infestation you
are already too late.
Prevention, observation and intervention
are the three stages of integrated pest
MITES SUCK THE JUICE OUT OF YOUR PLANTS AND POOP ALL OVER THEM
fish that die every year from these pesticides. Application of these chemicals in
powder and liquid aerosols guarantees a
certain amount will be carried off by the
wind and washed into our waterways by
erosion. Government testing shows 80%
of fresh water fish in the United States are
now contaminated.
(worms) are hunters that kill and eat their
prey. In larval stage some of these predators may eat more insects than they do
while they are adults.
Parasitoids are the second type of biological control. Hunters, like the tiny assassinator wasp, do not kill their prey immedi-
management. If you are diligent this process can reduce or eliminate the need for
pesticides. Take the right steps to stop
infestations before they occur. Monitor
incessantly to be aware of intruders. Deal
with them in a commonsense way to
eliminate damage to the environment
and to protect the people you love.
21
HEMP KITCHEN
WE’VE EVOLVED TO EAT NUTS AND GRAINS. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DON’T?
Hemp Nutrition
The health benefits of eating hemp seed
and its derivatives have long been known
to humanity, with the earliest Chinese
records dating back to around 6500 BCE. It
is widely believed that C. sativa was among
the first crops to be domesticated due to
its nutritional value, ubiquity and adaptability to a wide range of habitats, and that
ancient humans and possibly even earlier
hominids utilized its freely growing wild
ancestors as a food source consistently
through history. It is even suggested that
the nature of the relationship between C.
sativa and humankind is so deeply symbiotic that, while we have undoubtedly drastically altered the course of its evolution, it
may also have altered our own.
Endo-cannabinoid systems in the body
show signs of appearing on the human
evolutionary map as long as 600 million years ago. It is as yet unclear whether these systems were in place prior to
encountering C. sativa, and to what extent
they began to evolve in response to it. It is
however apparent that we are not alone in
possessing an endo-cannabinoid system
– in fact, almost all animal lifeforms have
one. Our own rudimentary endo-cannabinoid systems most likely evolved in a
manner synergistic to those of Cannabis,
over time becoming less disparate until a
point of optimum interaction or effective
equilibrium was reached. As both species
continue to co-evolve, the term ‘dynamic
equilibrium’ is perhaps more appropriate (as both may undergo variation), but
the sum of interdependence and level
of overall interaction remains constant
through time.
While the potent flowers of the female
psychoactive strains are known for their
remarkable curative effects, the ability of
the hemp seed to prevent the need for
many such cures has been oft-overlooked.
The nutritional profile of the seed (technically an achene, or nut) is without doubt
remarkably well-suited to the requirements of humans. It may in fact be the
most appropriate long-term dietary staple.
It is possible that this is the result of a
long process: evolutionary studies suggest
that after a period of mutualism – where
mutual benefit is derived with neither species being considered dependent – coevolution between species occurs. During
the period of mutualism, the two species
experience an increase in evolutionarily
‘fit’ individuals, and genes that assist the
relationship are favored. Natural selection favors those individuals who respond
best to the most important food crops of
the time by affording them better health,
longer life and presumably more opportunities to procreate; the long-term effect on
the gene pool involves a growing proportion of adapted individuals.
We select the varieties of Cannabis that
bring most benefit to us, spreading their
Kali Mist
SHELLED HEMP SEED PROVIDES A NUTRIENT BALANCE FOR THE HUMAN BODY (LUDĚK KOVÁŘ)
seeds, ensuring their survival, and encouraging further evolution in a direction beneficial to ourselves. This mutualism has
reached a point where, if C. sativa in its
various forms was the only crop humans
cultivated, we could theoretically provide
ourselves with almost everything we need
(except water and sunlight), not just in
terms of food but also by clothing, medicating and even housing ourselves. We in turn
can provide everything the plant needs
(except water and sunlight), by assisting its
reproduction, protecting it from predators
and adverse conditions, and providing its
nutrients. We don’t need it and it doesn’t
need us but without the benefit of the
other, it could be argued that neither species operates at optimum levels.
sources may provide the best balance –
requiring little energy to digest, providing
a complete and highly beneficial balance
of amino acids and nutrients, and being
widely bio-available.
The balance of essential dietary requirements is fairly close to that found in hemp
– an adult human should receive 45-65%
of calorie requirements from carbohydrates (although this is fiercely debated
as carbohydrates are not an essential food
group, and a human can ingest their total
energy requirement in the form of fats and
proteins), 20-35% from fats and 10-35%
from protein. Whole hemp seed provides
around 40% of its energy from fat (which
provides nine calories per gram) and 20%
from protein (at 4 kcal/g), so it’s close, but
can also be adjusted through processing
to provide a balance even closer to the
ideal. It is also somewhat high in insoluble
fiber, which makes up most of its carbohydrate content and provides no calories,
and removing the hull may be advantageous in many cases.
Few other crops come near to the remarkable nutritional profile of hemp seed, and
when looking for an answer as to what
The size of the gut (and the percentage of
energy that a human requires to maintain
its function) is only around 60% of that
which would be expected, by comparison
with other similarly-sized higher primates.
The brain size and energy requirement is
comparably higher than expected; while
the size and requirements of the heart,
liver and kidneys remain similar between
primates. This suggests that in order to
evolve greater brain size, the gut size
needed to reduce.
As certain foodstuffs became more accessible, the greater nutrient content afforded
by their consumption increased the efficiency of the digestive system, and enabled us to spend less of our energy intake
on breaking down hard-to-digest foods
– and more on increasing our brain function. The size of the gut was therefore able
to decrease. To sustain brain size a highcalorie diet must be consumed, which
explains the adoption of meat into the diet
– however, the caloric content by weight
of hemp seed (567 kcal/100 g) and many
other grains and nuts exceeds the best
meats (pork belly has around 400 kcal/100
g; sirloin has 313, and lamb just 246), and
they usually require less energy to obtain,
consume and break down.
The fats in meat are also much less beneficial, compared to the range available from
hemp and other nuts, like peanuts. This
strongly implies that high-protein, highcalorie grain and nut varieties are more
important to the evolution of the human
brain than meat. Hemp out of all protein
HEMP SEED HAS THE LOWEST FAT CONTENT AND HEALTHIEST
BALANCE OF ALL HIGH-PROTEIN NUTS/SEEDS (WIKIPEDIA)
HEMP SEED OIL EXHIBITS FAR MORE
HEMP MILK IS BECOMING VERY
BENEFICIAL QUALITIES THAN MOST OTHER
POPULAR IN US HEALTH FOOD
SEED OILS (MIRAN RIJAVEC)
STORES (VEGANBAKING.NET)
22
HEMP SEED, WALNUT AND BANANA BREAD (VEGANBAKING.NET)
HEMP FOODS FROM MANITOBA
HARVEST (UNCLEWEED)
HEMP FOODS FROM LIVING HARVEST (CHAD MAGIERA)
enabled our sudden burst of brain growth,
perhaps we should be looking at this humble grain a little closer. As it is so easy to
digest and absorb, and as such a high
percentage of the energy it provides is
usable, a diet rich in hemp seed would be
a perfect compliment to the increase in
brain mass.
Hypothetically, as we began to incorporate more hemp into our diets and
enjoyed the resulting increase in brain
mass, we began to put the extra processing power to good use, exploring ways
to extract even more from our diet such
as cooking, milling and other forms of
processing. It is suggested that the extra
energy saving went to still higher brain
mass gains. It is certainly true that many of
the more important protein sources benefit from being cooked, as it begins the
process of digestion prior to eating. The
various ways that grains can be processed
can all have various effects on health and
digestion, for example refined wheat has
seed it is around 35%, and in hemp seed
meal it is over 40% – higher than any meat.
Newer hemp protein powders on the market claim protein content as high as 50%.
The percentage of protein that is readily
digestible is up to around 86% for whole
seed, around 92% for hulled – and as high
as 97% for hemp seed meal. It is clear
that hemp seed meal contains a higher
amount of readily digestible protein than
any other form and that mastering the
ability to process the seed represented a
great step forward in terms of nutrition.
However, the industry standard for measuring protein efficiency since 1993 is the
FDA/WHO-adopted Protein DigestibilityCorrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) system. PDCAAS is a measure that calculates
the protein’s ability to supply the nutritional requirements of a human, corrected
for its ability to be broken down into its
constituent amino acids and related compounds. According to this system, whole
hemp seed scores up to 0.53, hulled up to
Hemp protein isolates do not yet exist in
the marketplace; instead simpler forms are
tested, so there is no basis for true comparison. They are unlikely to exist unless the
market becomes large enough to allow
for mass-production, due to the nature of
the process and the expensive machinery
involved. Furthermore it is not necessarily better to ingest such refined proteins,
unless for specific reasons, as many natural
enzymes and other helpful organic compounds may be destroyed in processing.
Individuals seeking to gain muscle mass
may find themselves better off using raw
organic hemp protein powder, which is
hypoallergenic, does not build up in the
gut (as many isolates reportedly do), and
contains many beneficial organic substances. Hemp seed also lacks the trypsininhibiting elements found in soy and other
vegetable proteins – trypsin is an essential enzyme for digesting proteins and an
inhibitor will reduce its effectiveness.
Hemp provides sufficient dietary protein
to synthesize the body’s protein requirements, in a form that is highly digestible.
Proteins are long-chain organic molecules
consisting of amino acids joined by a peptide bond, and are broken down during
digestion and re-synthesized into related
Crude protein content in whole hemp
seed is around 25%. In hulled or shelled
0.66, and hemp seed meal just 0.51. The
highest possible score is one – soy, whey,
egg and casein all apparently make the
grade, and beef protein measures 0.92, so
why is hemp so far behind?
One reason is that these proteins are tested in ‘isolate’ forms of up to 95% concentration, with most non-protein elements
removed through heavy processing.
Albumin is the most abundant plasma (or
serum) protein: it acts as carrier for numerous compounds including hormones and
minerals and also helps to regulate blood
pressure. The proteins found in hemp seed
are also very high in arginine, a non-essential amino acid that may play an important
role in immune function and healing of
wounds, as well as synthesizing creatine
(which repairs and rebuilds muscle tissue). However, arginine may also assist the
reproduction of viruses such as herpes,
so sufferers should seek medical advice
before consuming hemp on a daily basis.
proteins needed by the body. Hemp protein is made up of edestin (around 66%)
and also contains albumin (33%), and
between the two the whole complement
of essential amino acids, in a favorable
ratio, is provided.
Protein is not the complete picture. In
the human diet, a large quantity of lipids
must be consumed to satisfy our high
energy requirements, and it is important
that these lipids are of the correct varieties. The balance of fatty acids in hemp
seed is remarkably close to that needed by
humans. In the modern, highly-processed
diet, the polyunsaturated essential fatty
acids (PUFAs) provided by many whole
grains, vegetables and oily fish are negatively outweighed by the saturated fats
and trans- fatty acids found in many meats,
processed meals, and store-bought cakes
and pastries. Many follow a diet that is far
too low in whole foods and their intake of
PUFAs and other natural compounds can
be severely compromised.
Edestin is a globulin – a type of blood plasma protein – and is found only in hemp
seeds and a handful of other sources, such
In severe cases, deficiencies of linolenic
acid (omega-3) can cause growth retardation, behavioral changes and loss of motor
THOSE WISHING TO MEDICATE FOR A PARTICULAR CONDITION ARE ADVISED
TO SEEK A FULL NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE OIL THEY USE
infamously been implicated in a range of
illnesses. However, there is support for the
idea that refined and unrefined grains all
have a part to play when used in conjunction in the diet, and one should not fear
refined grains simply through ignorance
of how best to use them.
as castor oil beans. Edestin is structurally
close to our own blood plasma globulin
and can be efficiently broken down and
re-synthesized. It is rich in essential amino
acids and has antioxidant properties.
Globulin protein in the blood fulfills many
important functions including providing
enzymes and acting both as an antibody
and as a carrier for other important nutrients to the muscles and organs.
23
coordination. Deficiency of linoleic acid
(omega-6) causes hair loss, arthritis, liver
and kidney degeneration, miscarriage,
and sterility – and is fatal if uncorrected.
Most Westerners are not malnourished in
overall terms, but the long-term, low-level
deficiencies of poor-quality diets are arguably what has led to the high incidences of
heart disease, hypertension and cancer in
our society.
More recently, it has been suggested that
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) in children, as well as dyslexia and
dyspraxia, can also be attributed to deficiencies of these vital micro-nutrients during development. The modern diet commonly contains omega-6 and omega-3
oils in ratios as unequal as 10:1, due to the
high levels of omega-6 and lack of omega3 in most meats and common refined oils;
while the true ratio should be around 4:1.
the body is unable to synthesize AA and
conditions such as Alzheimer’s and bipolar
disorder may result.
Conversely, an excess of AA (common
in modern diets due to the surfeit of
LA) can lead to thrombosis, immunosuppression and inflammation. LA is also
Soluble fiber is fermented in the large
intestine to produce gases and certain
short-chain fatty acids that have regulatory functions, including lowering blood
cholesterol. Insoluble fiber absorbs water
the right ones – in combination with fruits,
vegetables, fish and some meats. While
many other nuts, seeds and pulses (such
as lentils or beans) provide much of a
human’s daily energy needs, hemp is the
only crop that is truly able to replace the
staple crops of today, not just due to the
fact that it is better suited to the human
LINOLENIC ACID (OMEGA-3) DEFICIENCIES CAN CAUSE GROWTH
RETARDATION, BEHAVIORAL CHANGES AND LOSS OF MOTOR COORDINATION
responsible for synthesizing gamma-linoleic acid (GLA), which regulates blood
sugar and provides nutrients to the brain.
Deficiency is implicated in many degenerative diseases, and GLA has even been
shown to reverse the neurological damage caused by diabetes.
Even when the body is receiving the correct oils, the incorrect balance can have
injurious consequences, such as diabetes,
skin and mood disorders, and cardiovascular ill-health. With its 3:1 ratio, using
hemp seed oil as a supplement can in fact
correct omega-3 deficiencies in the diet
as a whole, and as a dietary staple, is close
enough to ideal to be used long-term
with no significant imbalance. The overall
percentage of PUFAs in the oil of the hemp
seed is around 80%, higher than any other
known vegetable source.
Linolenic acid (LNA) is responsible for the
production of stearidonic acid (SDA) which
has important catalytic properties and
helps maintain metabolic rate. Eczema
sufferers are commonly deficient in SDA.
Hemp seed oil, as well as containing a
healthy balance of LA/LNA, contains both
SDA and GLA in quantities large enough to
be useful but not so large as to be excessive – although the amounts may vary
between hemp varieties, so those wishing
to medicate for a particular condition are
advised to seek a full nutritional analysis of
the oil they use.
The interactions between essential fatty
acids are an integral part of human metabolism. Linoleic acid (LA) is responsible for
the production of omega-6 arachidonic
acid (AA) in the body; the latter controls
an array of functions – primarily those
related to the central nervous system and
brain function. In times of LA deficiency,
The remaining 35% of the hemp seed
(the carbohydrates) also deserves some
thought. Mostly made up of dietary fiber
(both soluble and insoluble) and some
sugars, much of the carbohydrate content
is found in the bran or hull of the seed.
When the seed is hulled, the carbohydrate
content drops dramatically to around 11%.
MODERN HEMP HARVESTING
While dietary fiber is not fully digestible, it
plays several key roles.
and bulks up the stool. Whole hemp seed
is very high in insoluble fiber, but by using
hulled seed or a combination of different
forms, it is possible to exactly meet one’s
requirements while avoiding excess.
The low level of starch and other complex
carbohydrates in hemp may also be very
suitable for human diets – it is suggested
that over-consumption of starchy foods
such as maize, wheat and potatoes may
cause a build-up in the intestines, leading
to constipation and possibly bowel cancer. Perhaps more tellingly, most grains
and starchy vegetables must be cooked
to achieve digestibility, unlike hemp
which can be eaten raw with no ill effect.
Raw starch is very difficult to digest and
energy gains for humans not yet able
to use fire would have been minimal.
Furthermore, while many carbohydrates
can be digested and broken down into
simpler forms (such as glucose), no carbohydrate is itself essential for life. Glucose,
which is essential, can be produced from
amino acids, and the body’s full energy
requirements can be satisfied through
intake of protein and fats.
The overall conclusion seems to be that
we are designed to eat whole grains – but
diet, but also because it is fast-growing
and high-yielding, requires little expertise
or machinery to cultivate, and thrives in
numerous different habitats.
Different varieties for different purposes
can be easily bred: even within the category of food hemp crops, variation between
strains can provide very different nutrient
profiles. This suggests that it is possible
to selectively breed strains that contain
even more nutritious oils and proteins, and
with advances in food science and genetic
research we are sure to learn much more
yet about just how good this plant is for
the species.
In addition, the more we learn about our
own genetic history and why our DNA
seems to be programmed to work in tandem with Cannabis, the greater still will be
the proof that we cannot really afford to
do without it. And the more we uncover
writings and relics of the ancient world,
while developing our amazing resources
to explore and learn from such artifacts, the
more proof we will have that our ancestors
lived in harmony with it; that we were and
still should be fully mutualistic – and that
we have taken a dangerous wrong turn by
neglecting and restricting its use.
25
HEMP KITCHEN
Food of the Gods
It is documented that the ancient
Chinese were using hemp over
8,000 years ago, providing them
with everything from good health
to altered states of being. In India,
Buddha is said to have eaten one
hemp seed a day on his journey to
O’Riodon
enlightenment.
a body and provides it with a healthy
immune system.
As a food source, hemp seed could easily
feed the whole world – think about that.
History has shown us its potential and yet
cultivation is banned (in the US) or heavily
controlled worldwide... why? Sure you can
buy hemp seed in a Los Angeles health
food store at ten bucks a bag, but cultivating it as a food crop in Africa, forget it!
So you, the privileged, should take full
advantage of this wonderful gift and
make a change. Such is the structure of
our society that market forces control the
supply of a product, legal or illegal. So
consume as many hemp products as you
can and enjoy the benefits of a healthy
body and balanced mind, knowing that
your purchase will eventually help bring
this gift to the masses. This article is way
too short to go into all the benefits that
hemp can provide mankind, so I suggest
you research the subject and explore further. Suffice it to say, it also tastes good!
For thousands of years hemp has sustained mankind, kept him warm and even
helped him build empires. The United
States of America was founded on hemp
commerce and (especially the government) shouldn’t forget this. Over a hundred years ago hemp was the biggest
cash crop on the planet and a gift to
humankind, which makes its betrayal by a
few greedy men all the more despicable.
If this has been of interest to you, then I
suggest you bring hemp into your diet in
the form of hemp protein powder; this will
give you quick results that you’ll definitely
notice. Then you could try creating meals
around it. I found Healthy Eating Made
Possible by Paul Benhaim (Fusion Press,
UK) to be a very useful source of recipes
and information on the subject, but there
are many other books out there.
Now that you’ve gotten this far, I suppose you deserve a little treat. Here is a
tasty recipe that is a personal favorite. To
make it easier, I’ve chosen a food with a
familiar shape.
It’s kind of unfortunate that Cannabis gets
you high, because without this effect,
Anslinger and his friends would not have
been able to make it illegal so easily. It was
the industrial use they wanted to suppress
back then and the fat corporations of
today are still suppressing it.
Fortunately, in the 21st century things are
changing. This generation is waking up to
the fact that hemp can provide mankind
with a sustainable lifestyle – and even a
way we can all be friends.
Exploration on a molecular level has
shown hemp seed to be an almost perfect food source. Besides being the only
common seed source of gamma linolenic
acid (GLA) it also contains the essential
fatty acids (omega-3, omega-6) at a near
perfect ratio – 3.38 to 1 – providing the
eight essential amino acids the body can’t
make by itself – and a few more besides.
Wake up at the back there; this is important!
What also makes it so special is that
hemp oil is 65% globulin edestin, a vegetable protein. Globulin helps make up
the building blocks of that thing you call
Hempalicious Pizza
Crash Brownies:
10-15 servings
Makes a 10 in. pizza
Utensils: medium-sized mixing bowl,
blender, 10 in. pan and oven!
Ingredients:
200 g (7 oz.) hemp seeds, ground
100 g (3.5 oz.) almonds, ground
50 g (1.75 oz.) sunflower seeds, ground
25 g (0.85 oz.) hemp butter (ghee) or
non-hydrogenated margarine
2 T buttermilk
1 T water
1½ T baking powder
Pinch of salt
Pre-heat oven to 375ºF (Gas Mark 5
or 190ºC ). Mix seeds, baking powder
and salt in a bowl. Add melted butter
or margarine to bowl. Add milk and
water; use hands to make into moist
dough. Place into 10 in. dish and bake
for approximately 10 minutes. Check to
ensure it doesn’t burn.
Topping
Tasty Tomato Sauce:
6 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked until soft
2 fresh medium sized tomatoes (keep
four slices for decoration)
1 clove garlic
2 t chopped basil (keep four whole
leaves for decoration)
2 t miso of choice
2 T shelled hemp seed
Blend until smooth. Spread out on pizza
bottom and return to oven for another
five minutes. Decorate with basil leaves
or sliced tomato.
Now visualize a world free from hunger;
where rainforests expand, all plastics are
biodegradable and essentials like paper
and fuel are grown at sustainable levels.
Hemp is already used in everything from
tea bags to automobiles, but you’re just
not hearing about it. I believe it’s time
the food industries joined in, stopped
pushing empty addictive calories and
started feeding us foods that make us
strong and healthy. Become the change;
buy and eat hemp!
After a tasty, healthy meal that feeds
the body, you should follow it with
a dessert to feed the mind. I’d like to
recommend a recipe (another one of my
favorites) from The Cannabis Cookbook
by Tim Pilcher.
This is an original recipe by Alice B.
Toklas from her 1954 cookbook.
You will need:
8 g (1/3 oz.) of Cannabis buds simmered
in 175 g (6 oz.) of butter for an hour and
strained
175 g (6 oz.) plain dark cooking chocolate
700 g (1½ lb.) clear honey
4 eggs, beaten
1 t salt
1 T vanilla extract
550 g (1 lb. 4 oz.) plain flour or a mix of
hemp flour if available
To prepare: Melt chocolate in a
double-boiler saucepan and then mix
in the Cannabis butter and honey. Add
the eggs, followed quickly by the salt,
vanilla and flour. Pour mix into greased
oven tin, 9 x 12 inches, and bake for 35
minutes at Gas Mark 5/190ºC/375ºF. The
trick is not to overcook them, so they
remain moist.
When cooked remove from oven and
allow to cool for one hour before cutting, then divide into 2 in. squares and
enjoy. (Re-printed with kind permission)
26
PRODUCT REVIEW / LAB REVIEW
Lighting the Way
California LightWorks are pushing
the limits for indoor growing with
their revolutionary new lighting
Robert Michael
systems.
With a company slogan of, “We’re looking for a few good growers,” it’s not
surprising that MWW’s new California
LightWorks subsidiary has become synonymous with the best grow lights in
the business. With the greenhouse- and
horticulture industries literally blossoming into a recession-proof business like
no other, the latest advances that CLW
has made in terms of lighting, controls
technology and manufacturing is buzzing up and down the state.
Prescription drugs have the
FDA. The environment has the
EPA. Now, finally, the medical
marijuana community has Steep
Hill Lab to act as a safety filter between pharmacies and
Robert Michael
patients.
it’s vital to stay in direct contact with the
end user – and apply their feedback to
continuously improve their products.
Case in point: the new Solar Storm and
Solar Flares products. “Solar Storm has
been in R&D for three years,” Mekhtarian
says.” And with 800 watts of nominal
power, it’s one of the most powerful LEDbased grow lights on the market.”
Based in Canoga Park, California, CLA not
only manufactures all their products in
America (many companies simply import
from China), they make a conscious
effort to only work with US-based vendors whenever possible. With currently
20 employees on the payroll, George
Mekhtarian, president of MWW, feels that
What makes it different? It’s got a switch
to change the light spectrum between
vegetative growth and bloom and has
a built-in fluorescent-based UVB light
source. And not to be outdone, the Solar
Flares are manufactured using the highest quality, most powerful single-die LED
emitters that, amazingly, come with a
two-year warranty. So, how does MWW
see the ever expanding medical marijuana business fitting into their own growth
plans?
“We see the medical marijuana industry
as an important catalyst for pushing the
technology envelope of indoor horticulture,” Mekhtarian says. “And by pushing
the technologies that means we all will
be ready when we see locally-grown
food increase dramatically as the world
population grows. And in this sense medical marijuana might indeed one day
solve world hunger.”
MWW Inc.
7945 Deering Ave.
Canoga Park, CA 91304
» www.californialightworks.com
Good Medicine
The mantra from California governor
Jerry Brown to the medical marijuana
community is simple: “A closed-loop safety plan from plant to patient model.” And
that’s exactly what Steep Hill Cannabis
Analysis Laboratory is doing.
While the machines and instruments they
use sound like they are out of a Twilight
Zone episode (Agilent 1100 Series High
Performance Liquid Chromatograph,
Spectramax 250 Microplate Reader and
Binder BD-240 Incubator) their aims are
quite clear: to make sure that the medical
marijuana prescribed to patients is safe,
clean, non-toxic – and is what it says it is.
“California’s medical Cannabis industry is
currently deemed illegal by the Federal
Government,” says Steep Hill co-founder
and vice president Addison DeMoura.
Based in Oakland, CA, Steep Hill has gathered a so-called dream team of experts –
doctors, Cannabis consultants, patients,
legal experts – in an effort to close the
safety loop Brown speaks of.
“The only Federal Regulatory Framework
that exists is the Controlled Substances
Act, which is currently enforced by the
Drug Enforcement Administration.
Cannabis is currently classified as a
Schedule I substance, and therefore one
that has ‘no currently medically accepted
use in the United States.’”
Steep Hill Cannabis Analysis Laboratory
1530 E. 12th St.
Oakland, CA 94606
But what could be wrong with the medicine
you are being prescribed, you ask? Lots, it
seems. From potency questions to pesticide toxicity to mold and other microbes,
good medical marijuana can be like playing
Russian Roulette. All this makes Steep Hill’s
job all that more crucial as the industry
grows and develops. David Lampach, cofounder of Steep Hill Lab says, “We are honored and excited to sit down with our colleagues in a spirit of cooperation to encourage the betterment of our industry as a
whole.” And so far so good: Steep Hill was
voted the “Best Medical Marijuana Lab in
the East Bay” in 2011 by the East Bay Express.
» www.steephilllab.com
29
HEMP COSMETICS
DIY Hemp Skincare:
MAKE YOUR OWN PRODUCTS, AT HOME!
The benefits of hemp seed oil for human skin may be unparalleled in
nature. This fact has not gone unnoticed – many published studies compare hemp with other seed oil crops and strongly support its superiority.
Kali Mist
There are hundreds, if not thousands of
hemp-based skincare products on sale
today; many are rigorously tested and may
be a great asset to your skincare arsenal.
However, the price tag of these exclusive
and still niche items can be off-putting –
and for some (especially those with skin
conditions or sensitivity) there may be
uncertainty about what else is in the bottle. Although hemp seed oil itself is pricey,
stocking up on a bulk deal and mixing up
a few simple recipes may be a great way of
achieving significant savings and ensuring
that every single ingredient is beneficial –
with no exceptions.
Hemp seed oil contains the essential fatty
acids (EFAs) α-linolenic acid (omega-3) and
linoleic acid (omega-6) in an approximate
3:1 ratio that is almost identical to that con-
tained within the stratum corneum (outer
layer) of the epidermis. This ‘barrier’ layer is
composed of skin cells held together by a
blend of lipids, including EFAs, which retain
moisture and prevent loss of elasticity.
Due to this similarity to epidermal lipids,
hemp seed oil is uniquely able to penetrate, acting as a humectant, aiding the
replenishment of EFAs and maintaining
smoothness and suppleness. It is the only
known natural oil to act in such a manner
– most others merely coat it or are incompletely absorbed. Hemp seed also has a
higher percentage of EFAs compared to
other seed crops – potentially up to 80%.
The oil also contains around 10% oleic acid
(omega-9), which although not classed as
an EFA still provides moisture and is easily
absorbed topically.
As shampoo, hemp seed oil can greatly
benefit hair, too. It is highly lubricating
and leaves the hair feeling soft, clean and
healthy. It is able to penetrate into the follicle and promote rate and quality of new
hair growth by replenishing EFAs, as well
as providing protection from sun damage.
The scalp benefits from the moisturizing
properties of the oil and, in the case of
itchiness or dryness, will respond well to
topical application of pure oil or shampoo.
Hemp oil can also be used as a base for
conditioners and restorative treatments,
such as masks and leave-in conditioner,
providing deep moisturizing and rejuvenating effects. The overall effect on hair
health is so great that it may even reduce
the rate of hair loss in affected people
when used long-term.
DR. BRONNER’S SOAP – ONE OF
THOUSANDS OF CURRENT HEMP
PRODUCTS (© FIREBALLSENDAI)
Refined hemp oil is the form that is most
commonly used in skincare, due to its
longer shelf-life and lack of fragrance
or color. Manufacture involves intensive
mechanical and chemical extraction
processes that may remove natural
compounds from the oil; the final product
is also possibly more likely to oxidize into
cancer-causing free radicals. To achieve
maximum benefit for the skin it may
be advisable to use unrefined hemp
seed oil, but it is not always possible to
ascertain from labeling exactly what a
product contains.
FRAGRANT, DECORATIVE OR
To avoid potentially harmful additives,
those with specialized requirements can
experiment with making their own products – with ingredients that should be
easy to source online or in your local
health food- or drugstore.
HEMP COSMETICS PROVIDE SKIN WITH A HEALTHY DOSE OF EFAs (© UNCLEWEED)
When making homemade products, great
care must be taken to ensure safety at
all times. Most home recipes are very
safe but there is occasional use of harsh
chemicals with more complex procedures.
Furthermore, when using natural oils and
fragrances, some people find they are sensitive to certain organic compounds. If so,
consult your doctor or dermatologist, and
always perform skin tests before using
their products.
Hemp soap can be made by simply adding hemp see-d oil to a melt-and-pour or
glycerin base (ratio of two tablespoons oil
to every four cups base. Fragrant essential
oils can be added to achieve your desired
aroma. This can be done on the stovetop – the base is almost liquefied using a
double boiler before being removed from
the heat; the desired oils are added and
the mixture stirred until fully liquid. It can
then be poured into soap molds and left
to harden for 24 hours.
HEMP SOAP INGREDIENTS MAY BE PURCHASED AT
YOUR LOCAL DRUGSTORE (© FOOT FINGERS)
“WHY AMSTERDAM MAY BE DOOMED”
7
For the truly adventurous, or those who
wish to avoid unwanted ingredients in
the pre-purchased base itself, a cold-pro-
“SEX POT: THE MARIJUANA LOVER’S GUIDE TO GETTIN’ IT ON”
31
EXFOLIATING? ROSE PETALS CAN BE
ADDED TO SOAP (© MSHAMMA)
cessed soap recipe can be made from
hemp oil and a mixture of other natural fats. Soap made entirely from scratch
requires further safety precautions as it
involves working with lye or potash, both
caustic and dangerous alkaline chemicals,
to saponify the oils. ‘Saponification’ is the
rendering of fats into soap (technically a
salt), through hydrolysis by a strong alkali.
The Soap-Making Process:
A recipe must be calculated, containing
fats that will provide hardness and stability, along with those that lather and those
that moisturize. The ratio depends on the
type of soap required – hard soap (usually made with lye, or sodium hydroxide)
is made from approximately 30% hard,
stabilizing fat, 25% lathering fat and 45%
moisturizer, by weight. Liquid soap is
more commonly made with caustic potash (potassium hydroxide) and often has
a lower percentage of hard fats.
Hemp oil is considered a moisturizer –
a good recipe could therefore be 45%
hemp oil, 25% coconut oil for lather, and
30% palm oil or tallow. It is important
to remember that some oils may have
other properties that will affect the overall consistency – coconut oil, for exam-
“SMUGGLER’S TALES”
38
30
ple, also has hard, stable characteristics.
Experimentation may be necessary! Once
the recipe is ready, run the amounts
through an online ‘lye calculator’ to give
the required amount of liquid lye solution
to saponify your oils. If using solid form
lye, leave the lye to cool after mixing with
water until it is around 98°F. Gloves and
protective eye wear must be worn.
While the lye cools the solid fats are gently heated, also to around 98°F, and the
liquid oils added. The lye solution can
then be slowly added and blended with
a hand-blender until it is fully mixed in;
a chemical reaction begins to take place,
causing the soap to thicken and opacify.
At this point fragrant oils, and dried flowers, pigments/dyes or other decorative
items, can be added to the blend, as well
as crushed seeds and kernels for exfoliating purposes.
The soap mixture is then poured into
the mold and set aside in a warm place,
covered if necessary to maintain temperature, and the saponification process
begins. The soap will be hard enough
Hemp oil is suitable for sensitive skin, and boasts a long list of compounds
that are highly beneficial when applied topically.
Some Components of Hemp Seed Oil:
Carotene (Vitamin A): Acts as antioxidant; reduces wrinkles and repairs damage
Vitamin B: Speeds the removal and renewal of the cells of the stratum corneum; retains moisture
Vitamin C: Another antioxidant capable of preventing UV damage, reducing inflammation
Vitamin D: Protects the skin from UVA radiation; limits the irritation and damage caused by eczema and psoriasis
Vitamin E: Contains anti-aging and antioxidant properties
seed oil. Fragrances can also be added. To
make Castile soap, use pure non-virgin
olive oil, mixed with lye solution in equal
parts. It is possible to make Castile soap
from hemp oil as it shares many characteristics of olive oil – however, purists maintain that olive oil is the correct choice.
The mixture must be stirred for around
thirty minutes before being left to saponify for a few hours in a warm spot – this
will create hard Castile soap. For liquid,
keep the covered mixture on the heat for
around six hours, stirring every half hour,
HEMP SOAP CAN BE MADE BY SIMPLY ADDING HEMP
SEED OIL TO A MELT-AND-POUR OR GLYCERIN BASE
to remove from the mold in around 24
hours, but saponification reactions will
go on for two or three days and ‘curing’ the soap may take as much as four
weeks. Once saponification is complete,
the soap is safe to use as all traces of
sodium hydroxide have been catalyzed,
but curing evaporates remaining water
and hardens the soap so that it can be
safely stored for long periods.
Hemp shampoo can be simply made by
using one cup of liquid Castile soap (a
soap based on olive oil, originally from the
Castile region of Spain) blended with one
cup of water and two teaspoons of hemp
until the soap reaches a honey-like consistency. Remove from heat, add distilled
water, and leave overnight to allow the
soap to dissolve into the water. Liquid
soaps should cure for a few weeks. The
shampoos themselves should be bottled
and left at least overnight to allow full
admixture of the ingredients. Conditioner
can be made by melting together three
tablespoons of coconut oil with half a cup
of hemp oil, then adding powdered white
clay and distilled water and mixing until a
thin paste is achieved.
Hemp shower gels and foaming bath
soaks can be made in a very similar man-
ner to hemp shampoos, with distilled
rose water being a common substitute
for water due to its fragrant and astringent properties. Blend one cup of rose
water with two cups of liquid Castile soap,
and add hemp seed oil and essential oils.
Lavender- and geranium oils benefit dry
skin, and chamomile is kind to sensitive
skin – for those with oily skin, peppermint- and lemon oils help, and substituting orange blossom (neroli) water for
ordinary water is another idea.
that final step in the daily routine for most,
and the good news is they’re not too
hard to make. A simple moisturizer can
be made by combining one part hemp
seed oil to two parts Shea butter or cocoa
butter and heating the mixture until it
becomes creamy. Fragrance, or nutritive
ingredients such as royal jelly, honey or
lemon juice can be added at this stage.
Heavier or lighter creams can be achieved
by adjusting the ratio slightly, or by introducing other oils for different results.
A good bath oil could consist of a hemp
seed base mixed with almond-, sesameand wheatgerm oils. For massage oils,
hemp seed mixed with jojoba-, sweet
almond-, coconut- and olive oils in various ratios will produce a range of great
results. Fragrant oils such as rose hip, hyssop and fennel (among many others) have
various effects on the skin, and should be
researched and carefully experimented
with to achieve optimum results.
For anyone with a beauty- or health conscious side, and the desire to make savings in both an economic and ecological
sense, making homemade hemp skincare
products can knock a substantial chunk
off yearly expenditures that can otherwise
easily reach into the thousands.
For men, many traditional masculine
scents are accomplished using blends of
patchouli, sandalwood, bay, cypress and
vetiver. This is far from a complete list,
however, and blends that achieve the
earthy, spicy notes favored by men may
contain many other ingredients.
For anyone who desires a complete homemade skincare range, body lotions, face
creams and other moisturizers provide
Hemp skincare products benefit the environment too, as every individual who
refuses to use products containing unnecessary chemicals and packaging represents a small reduction in the damage
we continue to do to our planet. It may
also benefit those around you, as every
individual who refuses to contaminate
the water supply with potentially harmful substances may be preventing as yet
unknown consequences for wider public
health and safety. While it is possible to
source hemp products that contain no
harmful ingredients, the truly dedicated
play it safe and make their own.
SANDALWOOD ESSENTIAL OIL IS OFTEN BLENDED
HEMP LOTIONS AND CREAMS: EASY TO MAKE AND GREAT FOR OVERALL SKIN HEALTH (© LDHREN)
INTO MASCULINE SCENTS (© MULLICA)
31
BOOK REVIEW / FESTIVALS & EXPOS
Sex Pot: The Marijuana Lover’s
Guide to Gettin’ It On
Advice columnist Mamakind’s
autobiographical-ish book Sex
Pot is a fun romp into the mind
and sexuality of a lady viper of
negotiable virtue – and somewhat indiscriminate affection.
Quizzes, Qs and As about what you can do
with Ts and As, descriptions of kinks and
new things to try – humorous answers to
humorous questions adorn the 134 pages
of wanton weed and stiletto sex. Be forewarned, this is not a book for those of delicate sensibilities or romantic hearts; this is
an edgy book about sex and drugs.
Not big on foreplay, Mamakind plunges
in right away, advocating the use of the
lit-end of a joint on tender parts starting
on page two. Make no mistake, this is not
some vanilla couple’s book extolling the
virtues of getting high and then using your
love’s naked body as a serving tray for a
variety of munchies. This is a book about
encouraging you to find your limits, and
then giving them a little herbal nudge.
Popular kinks are described, and often illustrated with stories from Mamakind’s color-
ful past. She shares herself with the reader
openly, going so far as to share her sexual
highlights’ Top Ten list. [On a personal note:
her #9 is my #1, but her #1 sounds like a lot
of fun to try. To make sense of that, you’ll
just have to get a copy for yourself.]
The “Pussytoke” adventures were my
favorite part of the book. The inspiring
story of a woman on a mission to include
her own sweet flower as part of a smoking
apparatus. A heartfelt tale of not giving up
in the face of setbacks and dangling bongs.
Mamakind writes for Skunk magazine, and
several sections in the book use an advice
column format where she answers questions about sex, relationships and pot.
Some questions are serious, and some
silly, but each is answered in Mamakind’s
unique style.
To be fair, some of Mamakind’s appetites
may be a bit more exotic than erotic to
me, but I’m more the romantic-foreplaywith-the-occasional-spice-for-fun sort.
Mamakind walks a slightly wilder path. No
less valid; just a little different.
by Grubbycup
For sexy stoners thinking of expanding
their sexual horizons with a willing
partner or two, this book is filled with
lots of encouragement for friendly fringe
fantasy fornication.
Peace, love and puka shells,
Grubbycup
» www.quicktrading.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-936807-00-0
Quizzes such as “Are You a Pot Pimp or a Pot
Ho?” and “Are You a Pot Snob?” have a little
good-natured fun with Cannabis culture.
These tests would be well suited as aftercircle conversation starters with friends. In
more intimate settings, other parts of the
book may make for more intimate conversation starters.
Leading by example, she takes the reader
through her tale of fetishes and experimentation, recounting some of her past experiences with men and women in varying
combinations and numbers. She is open
and free with her own sexual wants and
desires, and invites the reader to join her.
Sacramento Hempfest 2011
Sacramento’s first annual
Hempfest was on August 19, 20
and 21 of 2011.
Sprawling along the bank of
the Sacramento River, at the
Rio Ramaza Marina Park, organizers held Sacramento’s version
of Hempfest, attracting several
thousand visitors and raising
medical marijuana awareness in
the area.
As is all too common with similar events,
the line to enter was both long and slow.
Card-carrying medical marijuana patients
were allowed to bring in a personal (eighth
of an ounce or less) amount of Cannabis
for use in the medical marijuana section.
Parking was odd, and generally included
a $5 round trip shuttle fee. The chain link
fence portion at the entrance that funneled
the crowd into pat downs and detecting
wands was a reminder of how complacent Americans have gotten about being
touched and searched by strangers. I’m
as guilty as any – I waited my turn and
showed my papers like everybody else.
At least as far as such things go, it wasn’t
particularly invasive or draconian.
Assorted vendors were hawking a variety of wares ranging from marital aids
to handcrafted stash boxes. There were
glassblowers on hand giving lessons,
medical marijuana recommendations,
dispensary tents and hydroponic booths
to visit. Artisan stalls sold trinkets and gifts
of art and function. The food available for
sale was a dizzying assortment of each
of the four major munchie food groups:
chewy, crunchy, sweet and salty.
SEVERAL VENDORS SOLD
SMOKING ACCESSORIES
The members of law enforcement on
hand appeared to be genuinely more
interested in keeping everyone safe than
in hassling people. They were friendly,
smiling and even enjoyed a few ears of
fresh roasted corn with attending citizens.
As public marijuana use becomes more
frequent, it is important to maintain a
courteous relationship with the members
of society who do not smoke, including
those who may not approve.
Something I appreciated as a visitor was
that the large outdoor medical marijuana
smoking section was popular, but not
elbow-to-elbow crowded.
Miss Medical Marijuana 2011 Kati Jane
attended, and was very gracious when
I asked for a photo. I had the honor of
speaking at the event on both Saturday
and Sunday. I talked about basic marijuana growing and held a Cannabis gardening Q & A with the audience.
The theme of the festival might have
been marijuana, but it was the music
that I thought gave the best value for the
admission price. A variety of musical acts
took to the main stage and entertained
the crowd.
Several musical groups, such as Ms. Lacy,
Fiva in the Funk House and Real One,
rapped and rocked the audience. The
price of a ticked bought hours of solid
musical entertainment. Some of the acts
had more heart than skill, but I person-
MISS MEDICAL MARIJUANA 2011
KATI JANE
ally prefer that to acts with more skill than
heart. The variety of music played meant
that there was appeal for more than one
taste in music.
It was a fun festival to attend and I hope
they continue for many years to come.
California’s capital is far behind places like
L.A. and Oakland when it comes to medical marijuana acceptance; it is nice to see
progress being made.
Peace, love and puka shells,
Grubbycup
33
INTERVIEW
Allow Me to Introduce You to...
NJWEEDMAN.com?
A name is not just a name. Well, not like it used to be. In the age of
the ubiquitous ‘domain’ name and the big bucks that can go with it
(chocolate.com was bought for three million dollars by Hershey from
a guy who just had it and was not using it in 2003), it was bound to
happen that someone would want to seriously change their legal
name – not just for the web – to, well, ‘somethingsomething dot
Robert Michael
com’. And that time has come.
Ed Forchion, a native of New Jersey
who now lives in California (and is a
long time Cannabis activist), is currently
fighting to change his legal name to
NJWEEDMAN.com. Almost ten years ago,
while Forchion was in prison for so-called
civil disobedience (lighting up a joint at
the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia), he had
the epiphany to change his name and
the long court battle began.
“When I decided to do this,” he says from
Hollywood, “the Internet wasn’t nearly what
it is now so the stakes are a lot, well, higher.”
Although his request has been denied
many times over the years, these next
few months he will be at it again – thanks
to Craigslist.com. He allegedly posted a
want ad asking for legal representation
for his case – and got it. But then the
case got even smokier and more hazy:
He was arrested recently with a pound of
Cannabis in his car and faces more than a
decade in prison if convicted, although he
is a legal, card-carrying medical marijuana
patient and an owner of a dispensary
called Liberty Bell Temple 11. Soft Secrets
USA caught up with Forchion to discuss
the uniqueness and progressive nature
of his case.
attention. I’d say the one i’m most proud
of is lighting the joint on the liberty bell
monument in philadelphia. That was good.
Where does the case currently stand?
Well, the california appeals court ruled
against me changing my name just
recently, so, back to the drawing board. It
was a charged debate but we lost... Next
we will go to the california supreme court
and fight there.
These days you are a business owner.
Does that change your approach to
things?
No. I provide, everyday, the medicine that
people prefer to use and it is legal. I think,
for me, the whole thing about doing
things publicly and trying to change my
name is about freedom of expression. Two
hundred years ago the founders couldn’t
image a society with social security numbers or the internet and, well, internet
identities. People today are more known
by the names on their twitter or facebook
pages. It seems to me these new judges
are just oblivious to the new age concept
of internet identities. See, the government
gives us identities with things like social
security numbers, fbi files, etc. Etc. – And
we don’t control any of it. This i can (and
should be able to) control.
Is all this part of your long history of
being a radical Cannabis activist?
I’ve used civil disobedience as a means
to put the issue in front of the press, yes.
I’ve always fought my cases publicly and
staged numerous stunts to bring media
Why are the courts so afraid?
They are scared i will use that name and
identity to promote what i want and
express my thoughts. Funnily enough,
this is the true freedom the founders were
talking about.
so you looked for help on... Craigslist?
Yup. I placed the ad and one curtis
edmondson answered it. He’s from beaverton, oregon. And he’s now representing me.
Obviously full-on legalization terrifies
them. Do you see this happening in
five years’ time?
No. Unless we have a roe v. Wade[like] case in the supreme court. Plus
the church, big pharma and the alcohol
industry are doing what they can to
stamp it out, while the prison system is so
terrified of losing 70% of their ‘slaves’ that
pay their bills that they will do almost
anything to keep it illegal.
Obviously, my biggest passion is to end
this entire war on drugs.
Ever thought about going into
politics?
I imagined, as a kid, running for office
when i was 40 years old, but i got arrested at 33 – which pretty much would out
an end to that for most people. I had
actually run for congress in 1997 and
have vowed to run every year until cannabis is legalized. I’ve even been on the
glenn beck show!
Finally, what’s your advice to anyone
out there looking to change their
name to a dot com?
If you change your name to ILOVEJUDGES.
com, you might get it!
When you were in prison, how did you
decide to change your legal name to
njweedman.com?
Well, that was 2001. I had been bamboozled into accepting a plea deal that
was supposed to be three to six months
in prison. But while I was in jail the state
reneged on the deal. I was there for over
a year and no matter how many times I
tried to ask for help, or state my case, I was
ignored, so I got a bright idea: bring media
attention to my plight.
I had a buddy change the homepage of
my website to tell the world what had
happened to me and even listed the state
officials and their numbers on there for
my supporters to call and demand I be
released. Then, as an added pressure, I
petitioned the court to change my legal
name to NJWEEDMAN.com and mailed
that to the newspapers; it got picked
up nationwide. Two months later I was
released from prison.
The rumor is that you were sick of being
denied the legal change by the courts
THIS WOULD-BE CONGRESSMAN IS PASSIONATE ABOUT LEGALIZATION
34
ENDANGERED STRAIN GUIDE
Durban Poison & Kali Mist
still complained that it wasn’t the same.
Not long after this, a bust meant that all
specimens of the new male were lost –
this was to result in a total lack of availability of Kali seeds for almost a year while
the damage to the library was repaired.
Fortunately for the Serious guys (and the
whole stoner community, in fact!) several
very closely related males were salvaged
and the breeding line was re-established.
A third, more highly-sativa father was
also introduced into the mix at around
this point, and by the time the new millennium came around, the new Kali was
back on cup-winning form – picking up
the sativa prize in the 2000 High Life Cup.
Kali Mist is known for its tendency to
stretch indoors, and often will need to
be tied down as her height easily reaches
five feet or more. Outdoors, it’s a real hotclimate favorite, with heights up to ten
feet and multiple branches laden with
heavy buds. The loose and airy structure
allows light to penetrate fully and even
the lower branches are able to develop
quality flowers. It’s also mostly humidity- and mold-resistant (although it can
be susceptible to mildew) and produces
a huge quantity of crystals.
A BEAUTIFUL STAND OF OUTDOOR KALI MIST
Durban Poison is not extinct, according to many. It’s rare, but still possible
to locate in California if you look for
it. Others say that the form available
from dispensaries today is not the original, and samples have been laboratory
tested to be 90% indica and 10% sativa.
The Poison was originally sativa, as most
South African landraces are, so while
the new strain may be a descendent,
it’s hugely different genetically. Rumor
has it that a pair of breeders from the
Bay Area introduced the indica lineage a
few years back; by now it seems to have
effectively replaced the old genotype, as
it’s nowhere to be found.
The current incarnation is described
as having an intense psychedelic high
mixed with a full-on body experience –
somewhat different from the clear, energetic effect its predecessor is described
as having. Although it is a true inbred
landrace, little- to no original seed stock
is thought to exist. In the US at least, it’s
believed the genetic is lost, and the surviving progeny heavily hybridized.
The pure-lineage descendents of the
original, however (or at least some very
closely related varieties), are still believed
to persist in South Africa, so while that
particular phenotype is lost there is
potential to breed something very similar. Some dispensaries are selling a pure
sativa called Durban Poison – while this
may be excellent South African, it lacks
some of the distinctive traits smokers of
yesteryear remember so well.
The Durban Poison genetics were brought
over to the US in the 1980s, where the
unique high proved to be greatly popular, although it has always been rare due
to its flowering time (originally around
12 weeks) and delicate nature. Various
different hybrids appeared, usually bred
ers are adamant that they can’t get their
hands on it these days!
Another strain that’s massively changed
since the original, but still goes under
the same name, is Kali Mist, queen of
all sativas. First bred by Serious Seeds
It’s good for relieving pain and the effects
of multiple sclerosis, and may be helpful
in treating depression and fatigue. These
days the sativa percentage is 80-90%,
and while it may not be identical to the
original form it has still become fully
established as a strain, and known and
loved by many. Of course it’s a shame
that the prototype has been lost, but the
modern form is without doubt one of the
highest caliber sativa strains available
DURBAN POISON GENETICS WERE BROUGHT OVER TO THE USA
IN THE ‘80s; THE UNIQUE HIGH PROVED TO BE GREATLY POPULAR
with indica to enable more indoor success, and much shorter in flower time
(usually 8-9 weeks from what I’ve seen).
Maintaining such a pure sativa in its original state for many years would be tricky
even in optimum conditions, and most
don’t have the dedication for sativas, so
breeding programs inevitably went in an
indica direction.
It wasn’t long before what was being
sold as Durban just wasn’t what smokers
remembered it to be. To many, any of a
number of related South African landraces
can be called Durban Poison. However, to
some purists, they are merely related and
not the real thing. The original strain is
apparently very distinctive, with thin, dark
leaves and a red-brown coloration to its
stringy, sticky colas. It has an unmistakeable menthol and licorice aroma that can
be somewhat putrid. The taste is very
intense, both sour and earthy, but at
the same time fresh and cool. If you’ve
smoked it, you’ll remember it forever –
that why so many of the old school ston-
in 1993, Kali Mist was a Cannabis Cupwinner by 1995. She was over 90% sativa, from secret parentage (though the
South-East Asian landraces are believed
to have been greatly influential), and had
an unmatchable high. Then it was decided that increasing the indica influence by
introducing an Afghan father would be a
good idea, as the original 84-day flower
time and low yield was thought to be
off-putting to growers.
However, the reaction from the fan-base
at losing their precious clear high made
it obvious that many are prepared to
go that extra mile to get results of such
quality. Unfortunately, it is never easy to
go back in time, genetically speaking.
Back-crossing can have almost miraculous
effects but the complexity of gene expression is bound to mean that not all foreign
new DNA is eliminated.
So, a new father was again selected, and
while Serious Seeds managed to recapture the pure sativa high by 1998, many
today. Kali’s not the easiest strain to grow
but your patience will be well-rewarded,
so I’d urge anyone who can get their
hands on some seeds or clones to try for
themselves.
DURBAN’S LONG SUMMERS PROVIDE
THE PERFECT HABITAT FOR LONGFLOWERING SATIVAS (© NORREBROGADE)
36
HISTORY & CULTURE
Altered States
O’Riodon
I have a question and it’s a big one. If recreational drugs are so bad,
how come they make us so creative? Think about it: if it were not for
the mind expanding substances used by musicians over the years
your iPod would be pretty light. Art and literature would also be a bit
patchy. Altered states have been responsible for some of mankind’s
most amazing creations and could even be a reason why they’re
illegal (but more about that later).
mber of
Alexander Dumas, author and me
Man by his very nature is an explorer, but
the real frontier has always been within
– and recreational drugs have been a
means to take him there. We have always
used psychoactive substances in search
of creativity, from ancient cave paintings
inspired by datura root, to the psychedelic
art of the acid-soaked ’60s, though it’s
something we just don’t talk about. Drugs
have always been taboo; the drug use
of artists is usually not mentioned in the
historical record.
The Lakeland poets, revered by the
establishment, were all avid users of
laudanum, another name for opium.
Coleridge, for example, wrote his famous
unfinished poem Kubla Khan under its
influence as well as The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner. Sadly in later life he
allowed the drug to take him over, so the
lesson here is moderation.
Across the Channel in France, Alexander
Dumas (author of The Count of Monte
Cristo and The Three Musketeers) was
a member of the Club des Hashischins.
Club des Hashischins
more accepted during this period; even
Queen Victoria was a Cannabis user.
Many philosophers and thinkers used
psychoactive substances to access the
‘left-handed’ thinking that brings insight.
Aleister Crowley, the notorious magi, used
an array of substances in his study of
the occult and wrote many books on
the subject. Aldous Huxley, another mind
traveler, wrote the ground breaking Doors
of Perception after his psychedelic experiments, a book well before its time.
The end of the last century gave us many
writers who were considered outrageous
for their indulgences, only later to be
embraced as their genius was recognized.
This was particularly common in the
United States where Kerouac, Ginsberg
and Burroughs were all dismissed and
even persecuted, only later to receive the
accolades they deserved. These are but a
few of many.
The fact that drugs are illegal even helped
create an art form, the Underground
ast! In
Music; I saved the best for last!
this field the use of substances
ances
to get the creative juices flowing goes back further than
han
you might think. Mozart and
Beethoven were just wine
ne
and beer (ab)users, but
ut
Holst, Schumann, Berliozz
and Mussorgsky all tookk
creative substances at
one point or another.
By the beginning of the
last century, alcohol
and marijuana were
the main influences upon
on
music – particularly the
he
development of blues and
nd
jazz. Musicians were far more
candid about their substance
use. Louis Armstrong openly
admitted to smoking a little
reefer and wrote songs about
it. Of all the art forms, drugs
have had the most influence
on music, although it didn’t
always have a happy ending.
The intensely creative but sadly
short life of Charlie Parker is
an example. Many early musicians allowed themselves to
o
fall under the spell of harder,r,
more dangerous drugs and paid
d
a high price. However, in their
ir
suffering they gave us music that
at
touched our souls.
Keith
Rich
all an ards, doing
d surv
iving it
From the 1920s onward musicians used drugs simply to keep
up the long hours of their trade.
On the Chitlin’ Circuit they often
traveled with a bag of weed in
the bus to help grease the creative wheels. The following decades it was weed, speed, coke
and smack that drove the sound.
Then came the ’60s and suddenly musicians not using some
kind of drug were in the minority. LSD and marijuana were so common
they opened a creative floodgate. We all
know the names: The Doors, The ’Dead,
the Airplane and many more too numerous to mention. Over in Europe, The
Beatles and The ’Stones were very obviously influenced by the substances they
used, and look at the amount of music
they created. Keith Richards proves that
some can do it all and still survive.
I also want to mention Lenny Bruce and
Bill Hicks, comics with insight that made
us think. All these people have one thing
“Many writers once considered outrageous for their indulgences
were later embraced as their genius was recognized”
Delacroix and Baudelaire were also members and their work is held in the highest
esteem. Back in London, Conan Doyle was
writing about a detective called Sherlock
Holmes, who frequently used a seven
percent solution of cocaine. Drug use was
Comic. The weirdness of Robert Crumb
and the anarchistic mayhem of Gilbert
Shelton’s Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
are only the tip of a drug-inspired iceberg.
Today hundreds of substance-fuelled
comics fill the market.
in common; their use of psychoactive substances to access the source of creativity.
However, there’s a snake in the grass:
responsible drug use entails education
and moderation; excessive behavior
poet
Jack Kerouac, beat
Samuel Taylor Coleri
dge,
an avid opium user
always causes problems, whether it’s
drugs, alcohol or even food.
Another interesting aspect to all this is that
recent research has shown Cannabis has an
effect on the pineal gland. This is the small
pine cone-shaped gland seated between
the two hemispheres of the brain, sometimes called ‘the third eye’. This is our connection to the universal consciousness and the
source of our insight. The pineal gland also
gives us the ability to ‘see through’ things
(a sort of ‘bullshit detector’), which is why
substances that activate this are not popular
with the powers that be, who would prefer
to keep us stupid and unquestioning.
Remember: more people die in one year
alone from the legal drugs, tobacco and
alcohol, than all the illicit drug deaths put
together in the last hundred years. So,
isn’t it about time we rehabilitated these
substances – particularly Cannabis – and
provide honest education that will allow
us to make the right choice? Not all drugs
are bad (‘mmm kay?’) and it’s time to recognize that fact.
37
GROW REPORT
FROM SEA OF GREEN TO JUNGLE!
Grow Diary Mataró Blue: Part One
It was that time again! The jars were getting empty and the summer
getting closer, time to get the grow on before the hot weather really
kicked in and made cultivating indoors a little trickier. After visiting
the Spannabis Expo in Barcelona earlier in the year, I picked up a few
different strains that I had heard about and I was keen to get some of
By Little Lebowski
those Spanish seeds wet!
The Strain
From the four or so packs that I picked up
in Barca, the Mataró Blue from Kannabia
was most tempting. A three way cross
between one of the seed bank’s most
indica rich blueberries, an original Afghan
Mazar and a Black Domina – one of my
personal favourites; I was expecting
strong, resinous buds and a pretty big hit.
This would be one to look forward to!
Extraction: 8inch RVK fan and an 8inch
Carbon Filter. A little bit overkill, but it was
leftover from an earlier two light, 1200
watt grow. I used a speed controller to
drop the fan speed down to about 70%,
more to kill the noise than the actual
rate of air exchange – I always thought
the more air exchange, the better - but it
The MG and PK additives are even more
concentrated than the nutes, with a starting dose of 0.25ml per litre and finishing
at 0.5ml. They are much more concentrated than any other liquids I have used,
so I would need to keep my wits about
me. No smokes before feeding, I didn’t
want to get these measurements wrong!!
From reading the Kannabia website, the
Mat Blue can handle heavily fertilisation.
Sounded like a good match.
The compost used was Special Mix Light.
As the name suggests, this is the lighter,
less fertilised version of Gold Label Special
Mix – the well known, heavily fertilised
compost – one that I have used a few
times with nice results. The less fertilised
MASSIVE FAN LEAVES
rates, but they are certainly not essential –
so if you are just starting out and are a bit
cash strapped, concentrate on a decent
light and extraction set up.
LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT MY SEA OF GREEN WAS ABOUT TO TURN INTO A JUNGLE
The Set Up
I decided on a sea of green grow as
the shortened veg time would hopefully
mean I would get my harvest in before
the hot summer months arrived. For those
that aren’t familiar, the sea of green technique is where you fill your grow room
with plants spaced close together and
flower them early (within one to three
weeks), this theory being that you get
a decent harvest from a lot of smallish
plants – that’s the theory anyway!
The current grow room is towards the
top of the house and the warmer temperatures can be a problem, this made
me steer towards soil. I know that growing
hydro in warmer temps is certainly possible, but I fancied less maintenance for this
outing and it had been a while since I had
a got my hands dirty!
The rest of the set up was as follows;
Environment: HOMEbox Original Tent,
one metre square size. I installed an 8inch
oscillating fan to keep the air in the tent
moving around.
sounds like a vacuum cleaner in the tent!
However, the good thing about it is that
I could always up the air exchange if the
weather turned warm.
Lighting: 600 watt dual spectrum HPS
with a euro reflector and magnetic ballast – cheap and cheerful, but all you
need really!
Nutrients and Compost: This one would
be a full Gold Label soil grow as a good
mate of mine passed me a few bottles
from their new nutrient line to try. This
comprises of;
- Roots – concentrated root stimulator,
looks like treacle and smells nice
and organic.
- Soil A+B – the base nutes, pretty
concentrated dosage rate that start at just
0.5ml per litre and finishes at 3ml per litre
- Ultra MG – the growth stimulator, used
at the end of the veg stage and continued
into flowering.
- Ultra PK – the bloom stimulator, used
for the last 5 to 7 weeks of flowering.
TUNE IN NEXT ISSUE FOR THE FLOWERING JUNGLE PICTURES
mix is certainly very light and fluffy and
gave more control over the amounts
of nutrient that the Mataró’s would be
receiving – very handy considering the
concentration levels of the liquids!
Propagation and Vegetative
Period
Ten feminised seeds went into some
wet tissue paper and straight into the
airing cupboard where they had the
wet, warm and dark environment that
they needed to germinate. Three days
was all the girls needed to crack and
from there they went into small - 3 inch
- pots filled with the light mix and into
an unheated propagator.
I kept things pretty simple with this grow;
no propagation cubes, heated propagators or even a cfl propagation light, I just
used the HPS lamp from the start and
kept it around 30 inches from the top of
the propagator.
There is no doubt that specific propagation equipment will improve your success
I let the seedlings get established for a
couple of days then added some of the
root stimulator on the first feed, there
is some nutrient added to the light mix,
so there was no need to add any additional until the first pot up. The Mat’s
really seemed to like the root stim – and
the amount of light they were getting
from such a young age - they were sitting
a good 6 inches tall a week after the first
feed; time to be potted up into the larger
square pots.
After two and a half weeks of vegging the
Mat’s underwent some incredible lateral
growth – we’re talking fan leaves the size
of my forearm! They were only around 10
inches tall, but had just packed on girth
and were ready to be switched to flower;
all was going good, little did I know that
my sea of green was about to turn into
a jungle!
Keep an eye open for part 2 in the next
Soft Secrets to check out the flowering,
harvest and – most importantly – the
smoke report!
THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS! THEY’RE ESCAPING FROM THE TENT
38
SMUGGLER’S TALES
THE GREY GHOST
fought wind and waves. The storm finally
abated, but fuel was low and the nearest
refueling port was Cadiz naval base.
Entering a naval port with a boat full of
hash seems insane; nobody could be that
stupid and that’s what the port authorities must have thought. The Ghost drew
a few admirers, but little other attention.
Two hours later they were heading out to
sea. Sam was still mad at Larry – it seemed
most of his money was counterfeit, including some he’d given his wife back in Spain.
Crossing the Bay of Biscay an engine cut
out. Larry wanted to continue on one
engine; Sam said no and turned for the
French coast. An argument broke out, and
then the second engine started to smoke,
so Larry gave in.
This story is as much about a boat as it is a smugglers tale. Built
in the ‘50s, The Grey Ghost started life as a rescue launch for the
British Air Force. Sixty-five feet of light weight plywood, her gas
turbines made her the fastest thing on the water; but our story
O’Riodon
begins some thirty years later.
The aging Ghost, now painted creamy
white, was lying neglected in a southern
UK port. Her four previous owners had
each painted her a different color and
flecks showed through the dirty cream.
Her gas turbines had been replaced by
week later The Ghost left the harbor and
headed toward Gibraltar with just Sam,
Larry and his partner for crew.
It was a day’s sail to the pick-up on
Morocco’s Atlantic coast; halfway there
“Hurry up,” he said. “The money’s
counterfeit.”
Panicked, Sam jumped in the water and
swam the boat out through the waves.
Then there was a yell from the beach and
THE TRIP TOOK A LONG TIME AND THEY LOST A HUNDRED KILOS IN THE WAVES
a couple of diesel truck engines, but she
could still reach 18 knots. The present
owner had fallen on hard times and The
Ghost was padlocked to a pier for unpaid
mooring fees.
That was how Sam found her – and
she was exactly what he was looking
for. He was planning a year cruising the
Mediterranean and needed a boat with
lots of space, cheap. The owner was happy
to oblige and a deal was struck.
Three months later and back in her original gray colors, she was motoring south to
the hum of re-conditioned engines. Sam
and his wife had turned the interior into
comfortable living space and, despite the
additional fuel tanks, there was still room
enough. There needed to be; family and
friends were planning a visit once they
reached Spain.
The journey was uneventful and a week
later they were lying in Marbella harbor.
Soon the boat was crawling with family.
For the next month life was idyllic; then
the accident happened. Sam’s sister fell off
the harbor wall and broke her spine. Big
medical bills followed; with no insurance
the boat was impounded and that’s how
Larry found Sam.
Larry, an American opportunist, had been
circling the local bars for weeks looking
for just such an opportunity. He offered
to pay Sam’s bills in exchange for running
a load of hash out of Morocco, with more
money on delivery in the UK. Sam, broke
as he was, had no choice but to accept. A
Sam received the co-ordinates. On the
charts it was a military area and off limits.
Although this didn’t seem to bother Larry,
it bothered Sam.
The following evening they neared the
pick-up. Larry produced a flashlight and
made a series of flashes. A reply blinked
back and Sam headed in toward it. In the
heavy swell he came as close as he dared
and dropped anchor; Larry and his partner launched the inflatable dinghy and
disappeared into the darkness. Sometime
later a signal announced their return. The
trip took a long time and they lost a hundred kilos in the waves.
a shot. Luckily this time the engine fired
and they escaped.
Sam was mad – back on board he punched
Larry, but only once as they had to get
underway. They headed northwest, away
from the coast and into one of the worst
storms of the year. For thirty hours they
Their last port of call being a naval base,
there was no problem with the authorities. Sam decided he’d had enough of
Larry; this was as far as he was going.
The boat needed parts, which would take
time, so Larry would have to find another
way back. Leaving an American on guard,
Larry and the other American set off to
arrange new transport.
The other American returned first, without
Larry. Together they loaded the hash in
a van and left, leaving Sam with a hundred kilos. The next day Larry arrived and
exploded when he realized the hash was
gone. The others had ripped him off. First
he yelled at Sam, and then left to chase
after the van.
Sam’s wife brought the engine parts a few
days later in a camper from England and
returned with Sam’s hash. A month later
Larry was arrested in a shooting incident.
So, ‘to live outside the law, you must be
honest’: Bob Dylan said that.
Larry asked Sam to help pick up the rest
of the load and reluctantly he agreed.
The waves going in were big and scary –
beaching even scarier. Two military jeeps
were parked close by. Sam first thought
it was a bust, until they started unloading
bags. Larry greeted the Moroccans. An
American appeared and helped Sam load.
“I’m coming with you,” he said, pushing
the boat into the surf.
The journey back was dangerous, but they
arrived intact. Sam then headed back for
Larry and the last three hundred kilos. On
the beach Sam loaded while Larry handed the Moroccans sealed plastic bags of
money. Handing over the last one, he
ran to the inflatable and pushed off. Sam
fired the outboard, but it died. Larry was
nervous and kept looking back at the
Moroccans examining the money under
a flashlight.
PICK-UP ON THE DESERTED ATLANTIC COAST
A NEGLECTED GREY GHOST
41
LOCKED UP
A Winter in Rosales
Jim Brown’s account of over wintering in Ceuta, the duty free Spanish
Enclave that stands opposite the Rock of Gibraltar on the North coast
of Morocco. Although not on the normal tourist routes, P.P.Rosales
is a great place to meet the locals, both Spanish and Moroccan.
Accommodation is cheap although not entirely free. The P.P. in front
By Jim Brown
of Rosales stands for Prison Penitentiary.
High in the Riff Mountains of Morocco,
green fields of Cannabis plants sway in
the warm mountain breezes. The precious
marijuana is protected from the winds by
Lebanese cedars trees and guarded from
thieves by Berber mountain men with
sickles, swords and Uzi machine guns.
The growing of the Cannabis plants and
the production of hashish is illegal; yet
vanloads, busloads and truckloads of
high quality hashish are ferried down the
mountain day and night.
The police and the customs, aware that
the smuggling is concentrated on the
single-track highway, content themselves setting up roadblocks at intervals.
They know which way to look and which
vehicles to stop.
It was Friday morning in early December
1974. We were stopped at customs as
we attempted to cross the border into
Ceuta from Morocco and funnelled into
a warehouse-sized garage, the double
doors closing behind us. I switched off the
engine and looked at Harry. The armed
border guards hustled us out of the van.
A grey haired man climbed into a set of
white overalls. He smiled across at us. His
assistant arrived carrying a bag containing torches and measuring rods, drills,
spanners and other tools of their trade.
Their job was to catch drug smugglers.
Part 1
Harry and I had come to Morocco to buy
hashish – an easy decision. We couldn’t
afford to buy as much dope as we wanted in Britain. We didn’t care that much
about it being illegal; it was the early
1970’s, love and peace and revolution.
We had taken the back seats out of
a Morris Traveller van. The alterations
were simple and, we thought, effective.
The missing seats were replaced with a
plywood floor. A hatch was cut out to
access a false bulkhead behind the spare
wheel. The whole area was carpeted and
tacked down.
After searching for a while, the grey
haired man and his assistant had found
nothing. They stopped and the elder
man rested, he raised his eyebrows and
looked towards us his eyes crinkling at
the corners. I was beginning to think that
we had gotten away with it. The assistant
left the garage by a side door. A minute
later he returned with a scrap of paper
in his hand and checked the number
plate of the van. “Si Si.” He confirmed. The
search began again.
The customs men had already taken out
the spare wheel and prodded about in
the recess. The grey haired man walked
around the vehicle slowly. He studied
the interior of the van again. He took out
a measuring stick and pushed it into the
FOLKSTONE, EARLY DAYS
space for the spare wheel. He read out
the measurements to the younger man
who jotted them down on a scrap of
paper. Then he did the same along the
top of the carpeted floor. There was a
discrepancy. He turned and smiled.
We were escorted to a waiting police van
and taken to the Ceutan police station.
We were the first of the weekend visitors
to the jailhouse. There was a concrete
block bed, a thin blanket and nothing
else in the cell.
In the evening a shaven headed
Moroccan was dragged into the jail, kicking and muttering. He lay where he was
thrown and fell into a drunken stupor.
When he came to, he said his name was
Dadi and smoked most of our cigarettes.
42
We were escorted from the police station cells where we had been held for
the weekend, handcuffed, wild looking,
unwashed and uncertain of what was
going to happen. We were hustled into
the waiting police van and taken to court
to hear the charges against us. Apart
from five kilos of zero-zero high quality
hashish, what did they have? Easy pickings we soon discovered.
the Moroccan, was escorted to another
part of the prison. There were no regulation prison clothes. Our money, we were
advised, would be held at the reception
area and could be changed at any time
for prison’s paper token (5 and 10 peseta
denominations) currency. With 225 pesetas to the British pound, it seemed that
Rosales was going to be a cheap place to
over winter.
The delousing centre was adjacent to the
court. The guards un-cuffed us and left
us at the entrance to a concrete shower
block. We stripped and put our clothes
into a fumigation box. The showers were
switched on and we ran through the
boiling spray. The man who ran the facility was a dark Spaniard with oily hair,
styled like a cowboy rocker. He shaved
off one side of Harry’s hair and beard,
creating a Before-and-After mug shot:
carefree hippy from one side, sinister
looking skinhead convict from the other.
With a turn of the head and a scrape of
the razor our lives were transformed.
There were two main cellblocks in the
male section of the prison, called brigadas. One for Europeans, the other for
North Africans. In the European brigada
there were 14 double bunks. We were
soon to realise that every time there was
a spare bunk another person would be
arrested at the customs post. We figured
we would be out in a couple of days. The
guard agreed, just as long as we could
raise some money for bail.
Spain was a fascist regime controlled by
the military. We were marched before
a desk of army men outshone by their
medals. Words were spoken and papers
were passed around, signed, shuffled
He said we could expect 15 years. I smiled
and tried to correct his English, explaining the difference between days, weeks,
months and years. He was adamant. We
had already been sentenced to three
years for the contraband, he explained.
Fifteen years was to be expected for the
more serious crime of Offences Against
Health and Public Order.
HE SAID WE COULD EXPECT 15 YEARS. I SMILED
AND TRIED TO CORRECT HIS ENGLISH, EXPLAINING
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS AND
YEARS. HE WAS ADAMANT.
and handed back to the officials. In minutes we were out of the courtroom, loaded into a prison van and driven out to P.P.
Rosales. The joke was over.
I strained to see out of the vehicle as
we approached the Penitentiary on the
outskirts of town. The big gates were
opened and we disembarked in a courtyard and shuffled through a second set
of doors and up to a circular glass reception area. The floor was tiled and gleaming. The police escort handed us over to
be processed. We were dealt with by a
warden who spoke a little English. Dadi,
Numbed, I looked into the cell. The
bunks were arranged around the wall.
The only light came from the windows
that were barred but not glazed. It was
cold and damp. The guard indicated an
empty double bunk next to a hole-inthe-ground toilet. A thin, stained mattress sagged through a few strands of
wire. We threw down our bags and followed the guard back downstairs. He
opened a gate to an enclosed cobbled
yard, the stones shiny from feet going
nowhere. Small groups huddled in corners with coats and blankets over their
heads attempting to stay warm. One
or two marched up and down military
style. The winter sun did not reached the
yard. The prison was built for maximum
Summer shade.
I hunched my shoulders to the cold and
tried to take in the scene. To the right was
a covered walkway that led to an eating
area. A large wooden trestle table and
two benches were the only furnishings.
FRONT VIEW OF ROSALES PRISON
If it rained, the walkway and the dining
area would be the only places to shelter.
At the bottom of the walkway and past
the canteen the toilet block was situated:
six holes in the ground.
We had arrived in time for lunch, the
main meal of the day. A Yugoslavian
approached us and introduced himself
as Mike. He had been arrested with a
few grams of hashish and was awaiting
money from home. He only needed the
equivalent of £60 to pay his fine and get
out. His father, who had been a General
in Tito’s revolutionary army, had left him
in Rosales for six months figuring that
the experience would do him good. He
took us through the regime. We were
given our only prison possessions: an
aluminium bowl and a spoon.
First it was shopping time. Twice a day
the shop opened for stamps, cards,
toothpaste, sweets, cigarettes and most
important for me, wine. The authorities
treated all Europeans as being alcohol
dependant and allowed a daily wine
ration akin to the rum tots in the British
navy. We were allowed to purchase two
glasses of wine a day. One before the
midday meal and one before we were
7
The guard rattled the brigada cage. I
awoke in the freezing prison cell. It was
a relief to get out of the sagging bunk.
Breakfast was a sweet cocoa drink and
stale bread. After eating we were lined
up in the cobbled yard for an official
head count. Those important enough,
mainly the Ceutans, set off for their
privileged or created positions. Some
Moroccans had low paid jobs weaving
baskets in the prison workshop. The
rest of us were set to work cleaning up
the jail. Three Moroccans arrived with
a washtub full of hot water, cloths and
WE WERE MARCHED BEFORE A DESK
OF ARMY MEN OUTSHONE BY THEIR MEDALS
returned to the Brigada for the night.
We could buy as many cigarettes as we
could afford, a packet as cheap in the
jail as on the outside. We bought a large
glass of vinegar wine, choked it down
and followed Mike back across the yard.
A small tough looking guy wearing a
military style jacket was holding out his
aluminium bowl like a beggar on the
streets. He laughed with bleary eyes as
a tall youth wearing a long black leather
coat emptied the contents of his mouth
into the awaiting bowl. “Legionnaires.”
Explained Mike.
We congregated with the others milling around the eating area. Two prison
orderlies brought the midday meal in
a large metal urn, taking great care
not to disturb the contents. A dapper
Spaniard dressed in flannels and blazer
“WHY AMSTERDAM MAY BE DOOMED”
and sporting a smart pair of baseball
boots arrived to distribute the food.
Walking alongside him like a psychopathic presidential bodyguard was his
minder. We were pushed to the front
of the queue. We soon found out why.
The baseball booted Ceutan began to
serve up the food. The ladle skimmed
the surface of the soup. We were dished
up a bowl of grey water and handed a
baguette, a sardine and an orange: a
three-course meal. There was a wellestablished hierarchy in this place, and
soup-wise we were at the top. With luck
maybe we could make it to the bottom
where the nutrition was.
“SEX POT: THE MARIJUANA LOVER’S GUIDE TO GETTIN’ IT ON”
31
mops. One supervised as the other two
young men dipped the cloths into the
hot water, wrung them out and handed
the steaming rags to the other prisoners.
This cloth rinsing had an obvious coveted perk, warm hands.
We hadn’t seen Dadi since arriving in
Rosales before he sauntered up to the
steaming tub and removed the three
youths with a look. He nodded towards
Harry and me. We stepped forward and
plunged our cold hands into the hot
soapy water and began our new job with
vigour.
Next issue: Our heroes witness the
violent election for brigada Capo.
Jim Brown is now 65, retired and living
in Edinburgh.
“SMUGGLER’S TALES”
38
44
MUSIC REVIEWS
Tinariwen Tassili
V2 RECORDS
The soundtrack of the Touareg revolution in Saharan
North Africa was created by electric guitars. Plaintive
rhythms produced a unique desert blues whose lyrics
raged against world indifference and evoked a longing
for disappearing freedoms. On their enthralling new
album entitled Tassili, the renowned band Tinariwen
have set down their electric guitars and returned to
the very essence of their art. Recorded in a protected
region of the Southeastern Algerian desert, the group
returned to the roots of their music, with only acoustic guitars and non-amplified percussion. During recording, the band was joined by Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone of the
band TV on the Radio. Later on, guitarist Nels Cline (Wilco) and the horns of the Dirty
Dozen Brass Band contributed to create an album that reaches deep into the essence of
Tinariwen’s sound, while simultaneously opening itself to the surrounding world.
THE MUSIC OF TINARIWEN IS AT ONCE EXOTIC AND FAMILIAR – THE SCALES AND
ARRANGEMENTS ARE AS STRANGE TO OUR EARS AS THE LANGUAGE THEY SING IN,
BUT THERE’S A FORCE OPERATING ON A MORE SUBLIMINAL LEVEL THAT UNITES IT
TO SOMETHING RATTLING AROUND INSIDE ANYONE WHO WAS BROUGHT UP ON
BLUES OR ROCK ‘N’ ROLL. IT’S MUSIC OF LONGING AND REBELLION, WEARY WISDOM
AND RESTLESS ENERGY; AND IT SOUNDS SO, SO GOOD.
By Kaz Peet
Thievery Corporation Culture of Fear ESL MUSIC
Trip-hop collective Thievery Corporation returns with their sixth original studio album
Culture of Fear! Following up their incendiary and bombastic call to arms Radio Retaliation
from 2008, this time around Eric Hilton and Rob Garza craft a simmering and hazy collection of atmospheric gems that recalls their early production work, but reflects a thoroughly
contemporary zeitgeist of socio-political angst and unease.
UTILIZING A TEAM OF SKILLED SESSION PLAYERS FROM THEIR ACCLAIMED LIVE SHOW AND
BEYOND, CULTURE OF FEAR FINDS THE DUO EASING INTO EXPANSIVE MULTI-PART SPACE-JAMS
LIKE TOWER SEVEN AND JAZZY INSTRUMENTAL
B-BOY BREAKS LIKE LIGHT FLARES. Not only are
usual suspects, such as multilingual chanteuse Lou
Lou and dancehall toaster Sleepy Wonder back to
lend their haunting vocals, but several new contributors also join the Corporation.
Ry Cooder Pull Up Some Dust
and Sit Down NONESUCH RECORDS
Inspired by a news headline about the Wall
Street bailout, Ry Cooder began work on
Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down with the
track No Banker Left Behind, an ode to the
corrupt few spared from the financial crisis
while most were left to fend for themselves.
“Those scum-sucking dogs deserve to be
shot,” he seethes.
Released to great critical acclaim, the album
displays a return to form for this age-ripened minstrel, the sound being as refreshing,
brave and original as his early recordings in the ’70s. Perfectly described in The Independent
newspaper, he offers “the modern-day equivalent of the kind of dust bowl ballads with
which Woody Guthrie once hymned the poor and skewered the wealthy.”
WHILE THESE ARE HARD-HITTING PROTEST SONGS OF A BROKEN, DIVIDED SOCIETY AND THE GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POOR, THE ANGER IS MATCHED AGAINST
HUMOR – LAUGHING IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY. He’s a master at setting bleak or
thoughtful lyrics against jaunty melodies. No Banker Left Behind is the story of bankers on
a spree after they “robbed the nation blind,” set to a romping, country-edged tune; while
Christmas Time This Year places a horrific story of war casualties against a cheerful Mexican
dance melody, with accordion from Flaco Jimenez.
Cooder plays guitar, mandala, banjo, bass and keyboards, and constantly changes direction from the evocative portrait of a rich man and his maid in Dirty Chateau to the gospelinvigorated stomp of Lord Tell Me Why (“a white man ain’t worth nothing in this land no
more”), which is quickly followed by the witty blues of John Lee Hooker for President. Closing
gently with the finely sung ballad No Hard Feelings, an air of self-assured defiance breezes
through, dispersing the seeming despair. For we shall overcome!
The Marketts
Outer Space, Hot Rods
& Superheroes
ACE RECORDS
You cannot help but admire the
skill of a magician in fooling an
audience with crafty misdirection.
When it comes to 1960s instrumentals, producer Joe Saraceno
was just such a magician. He manufactured well-crafted records
made by middle-aged jazz musicians and presented them to a
young audience as though they
were from the latest group of teenagers. The anonymity of the pop scene at the time lent a cloak behind which all manner
of tricks could be worked. Unknown bands could appear in the charts and the title of
the track and name of the band might be all you would ever know. This was the foggy
background in which Saraceno routinely operated, including as producer of The Marketts.
Outer Space, Hot Rods & Superheroes collects together the very best of the tracks The
Marketts recorded for Warner Brothers, including their smash hits Out of Limits and Batman.
Many of the band’s later 45s make their CD debut here. There’s even a previously unissued
title in Makaha, an unissued gem from the Out of Limits session. The whole thing harks back
to a time when magic came as part of the deal.
AS A LEADING REISSUE RECORD COMPANY, THE ACE RECORDS CATALOG IS LIKE
A MUSICAL TREASURE TROVE OF THE FINEST ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, SOUL, FUNK, BLUES,
FOLK, LOUISIANA AND NEW ORLEANS, PSYCH, SURF... AND THE LIST GOES ON.
Patti Smith Outside Society SONY MUSIC
The first lady of punk turns sixty-five this year having maintained a prominence throughout her years, not only within that genre but
as a rock ‘n’ roll star per se. That’s no mean feat in what remains a male-dominated industry, and her influence has been substantial.
Patti performs across a variety of art forms, too, as poet and author besides her day job – one that has spanned over thirty years and
spawned ten studio albums. This collection cherry picks from all ten and stands as a concise collection for listeners who’ve only heard
Because the Night. The early tracks, from 1975, predate the punk surge when, along with The Ramones, Smith was turning New York
into the birthplace of a movement never matched since, spitting out many a tale of injustice with real venom.
She exited the ’70s having moved closer to the mainstream, meeting with the biggest commercial success of her career. Most of the
’80s were spent raising a family and so it wasn’t until 1988 that Dream of Life arrived; a solid set of songs tapping into everything she had
created before. SINCE THEN, SHE HAS GENERATED A FURTHER FIVE ALBUMS, THE LATEST, TWELVE, BEING HER OWN UNIQUE
SLANT ON OTHER ARTISTS’ WORK – AND THE SUPERB SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT IS INCLUDED ON THIS COLLECTION. THERE’S
NOTHING HERE FOR THE EXISTING FAN BASE, BUT ENOUGH TO ENTICE NEW ARRIVALS AND STRONG ENOUGH TO FURNISH
A FRESH INTEREST FROM THEM.
45
MEDICAL MARIJUANA ABROAD
A Long, Deep Breath of Relief
Davi Lenyo
A CALIFORNIAN STONER IS STRUCK WITH CANCER IN BARCELONA...
Cannabis use by chemotherapy
patients in hospital settings is a
serious yet controversial issue,
depending on where you live.
Being in a Cannabis-tolerant
country or US state doesn’t hurt.
Even when one may find themselves in such a society, there is
not much written official hospital policy on the issue and selfmedicating operates in a kind
of evolving gray area – where
discretion is valued.
Here is one personal example
from Spain, who, along with
Holland, Germany, Israel and
certain states in the US, formed
an institutional set of vanguard
treatment practices that permit
the incorporation of in-patient
(inhaled) Cannabis consumption.
Exhausted by Bush’s ongoing wars
against the world (and his own country
via the War on Drugs), and my non-profit
organization disintegrating due to the
souring economy in California, I decided:
There are few things more scary than
receiving a cancer diagnosis, but the
worst was yet to come. Fortunately, even
though I was a foreigner, I proceeded
quickly through the stellar socialist medical care system of Spain, but the surgery
to remove the tumor was not enough.
When I was told I was going to need
chemotherapy I was floored.
The CatSalut system and their doctors
exuded professionalism while I was concerned about my new job at the polytechnic public university. When my 60-something administrative boss said, “You can
find some personal aid for your time
under chemo; you should try Cannabis,” I
felt instantly supported by the entirety of
Catalan society.
During and after chemotherapy I continued to socially smoke Cannabis, although
lightly compared to when I would wake
up in the cold mornings, knowing I had to
eat something before going to work. The
strong infusion of Cannabis smoke would
send a signal to my body to go ahead and
do normal things like take the metro back
and forth from work, even though it was
chilly in December in Barcelona.
Hybrid strains give you the motivation
to go on with your day, in addition to
stimulating appetite, fighting nausea and
settling your stomach. I had heard about
a program where the Catalan government (via its hospitals) was ‘giving away’
ORGANIC CANNABIS OFFERS A NATURAL ALTERNATIVE
TO SOME HEAVY PHARMACEUTICALS
any substantial form. I myself medicated
in public when my chemotherapy-related
discomfort was too much to bear. This
included public areas like in- and outside
the metro, or just walking along the street.
After being released from the hospital
I would continue my chemotherapy on
an intensive outpatient basis (a week on;
two weeks off). Since I was young and the
tumor small but aggressive, they gave me
a very potent regime of chemotherapy
that killed what seemed like every cell,
HYBRIDS GIVE YOU MOTIVATION TO GO ON WITH YOUR DAY, STIMULATE
APPETITE, FIGHT NAUSEA AND SETTLE YOUR STOMACH
it’s now or never. I had always wanted
my Master’s Degree, and after a tedious
application process I was accepted to an
International Relations program in Spain.
I had spent a long night in Barcelona in
1996 and knew that it was much more
than a place to party: a place with history, hash and hips at every corner, it
brought ‘street life’ to a whole new level.
Spanish society was in a Leftist, postFranco festive haze, and upon reaching my first apartment, I felt electrified.
Nothing would prepare me for what was
coming next.
After the successful conclusion of my
year-long intense Master’s in International
Relations came the summer daze of mellow job-searching, working on the thesis
at the library, barefoot soccer games and
post-game spliffs on the beach. Siesta,
shower, la cena (the 10PM dinner that
would sometimes mutate into a life of its
own); maybe a house party, bar-roaming,
free street concerts... it was so dream-like.
Then, suddenly: a horrid pain so strong
that it turned out to be cancer.
medical marijuana, but the program was
stopped due to ‘legal issues’.
My first week of chemo was inpatient,
and by day three I felt awful; fortunately I entered the hospital with about 30
grams of finely-manicured and -cultivated
orange hair from Northern Catalonia. At
first I medicated in the bathroom, but then
I got so exhausted I would take long, slow
glass pipe hits in bed. I continued this as
needed during night three, days four and
five – especially after meals. Only on my
last day, upon smelling the Cannabis, the
sweet youthful nurses said, “Andas de fiesta,” or, “You’re partying, huh?!” Of course
they knew I needed it medically and they
would say this in a non-judgmental and
almost motherly way.
After my hair grew back and I got back
to normal I encountered an open-minded attitude that is visible in public areas
such as the squares – not just the private
sphere – though officially the government
sanctions public use of Cannabis with
fines. It remains to be seen if these fines
have been levied upon medical users in
good or bad, in my body – and nearly
myself – in the process. The worst for
me were the anti-nausea medications like
Motilium, Loratadina, etc., but with the
help of Cannabis I only took them for two
weeks or until I realized that Cannabis did
what they were supposed to do (but better and with minimal or zero side-effects!)
I felt foolish for even taking one of those
pills, but that is ‘medical protocol’, or
what doctors are used to because all the
other doctors prescribe it. Sativex was
not accessible at the time, but is now
used at Hospital Clinic (Barcelona). When
I told my oncologist and general physician that I weaned myself off those toxic
anti-emetic pills with Cannabis, they said,
“Good for you.”
Stay away from those anti-nausea pills,
please, that make you feel empty, exhausted and like a zombie without the grace of
any euphoric moments whatsoever. Don’t
let Big Pharma steal your soul, anywhere,
in the name of profit or conventional
treatment, because you might not be as
lucky as I was. With the help of Cannabis
and community, I got back my soul.
TERRACE CULTIVATION IN THE CITY WAS A HOUSEHOLD AFFAIR
46
MADE IN HOLLAND / INDEX OF ADS / COLOFON
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Index of ads
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Advanced Seeds
Apothecary 420
Attitude the
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Best Price Evaluations
Dinafem Seeds
Funky Skunk the
Ganja Juice
Green Door the
Green Style Consulting
Grow Grow International
Hemcy
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Plagron
Pollinator Company
RAW
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Serious Seeds
Steep Hill Labs
Sweet Seeds
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Vapors
Colophon
Page
1
28
2
4
24
16
43
19
35
41
43
40
40
43
32
1
43
8
1
48
40
27
47
43
39
11
1
20
39
Rolling Papers Update:
WHY ADDITIVEFREE PAPERS SHOULD BE THE ONLY CHOICE
In the last edition of Soft Secrets USA we
erroneously stated that RAW unbleached
rolling papers were made from rice, rather than flax. Joshua from RAW was kind
enough to put us right, and also tell us
a little more about why the differences
between papers is so crucial. For their
RAW Original brand, the guys at RAW
experimented with various blends of
unbleached natural fiber, including ordinary paper pulp. This was found to be
an off-putting dark brownish-gray color
(and wood pulp papers should generally be avoided due to the chemical processing required, and the potential effect
on human health), so new fibers were
put to the test. After much experimentation, a fine blend of hemp and flax was
developed, which provided the optimum
balance of minimal taste with the ideal
burn rate and consistency. In addition, the
natural wheat-like color of the finished
paper is visually very appealing.
A long history of research and development has gone into the manufacture of
rolling papers, especially in Europe where
the trend originated, and the process has
been refined at every step of the way.
Much care is usually taken to ensure qual-
RAW ORGANIC PAPERS HAVE A PERFECT CONSISTENCY AND BURN RATE
Kali Mist
ity and safety, and several standard practices of the rolling paper industry have
been established, which good quality producers are careful to follow.
This is partly why it is unfortunate that
the US Government introduced the blanket ban on flavored papers, as certain
flavoring processes, such as for menthol
and strawberry, were established over
100 years ago and have been shown
to be safe (whereas some less legitimate companies use ingredients that are
untested, have unpleasant characteristics, and may be harmful).
However, in a triumph for those companies that seek to provide a safer product,
Joshua and his team actually sued the
FDA and forced them to recognize the
inappropriateness of their action, and as
a result it is still possible to purchase the
Juicy Jays brand (made with non-toxic
soy ink). When choosing a brand of rolling papers, it is vital to consider what’s
inside. It should be possible to obtain
a full ingredient list from a reputable
manufacturer, but if you’re careful and
stick with reputable brands such as RAW
or Juicy Jays, you won’t need to worry
about toxic dyes and additives.
Soft Secrets USA is published six times per year
by Discover Publishers USA, Inc.
Century Park Plaza
1801 Century Park East, 24th Floor, Suite 2400
Los Angeles, CA 90067
E-mail: [email protected]
Editor-in-Chief: Kristie Szalanski
Contributors: Kali Mist, Buddy Kush,
Grubbycup, The Sativa Diva, O’Riodon, F.Red,
Kaz Peet, et al.
Cover Text: Kali Mist
Cover Photo: Whitehead factory floor,
designed by Kevin McKernan for the Human
Genome Project (c. MG)
Comic: oz.
Editorial Address:
E-mail: [email protected]
Advertisements:
Telephone: +1 661 333-3151
Email: [email protected]
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 #6/2011 out:
December 20th, 2011