Dravet Syndrome and the 20:1 cannabis treatment – Searching for the CBD, part II

All of us who are parents dread the news that our children may be seriously ill. In our secret hearts we see leukaemia in frequent nosebleeds, bulimia in a dieting teenager. For most of us though these fears are only anxiety; the nosebleeds turn out to be caused by dry air, the rash by a virus. Imagine therefore the bravery needed to face a potentially terminal diagnosis. Add to that the discovery that a treatment may be possible, but that not only is it illegal purely because of your geographical position on the planet, it is as a result, almost impossible to obtain.

I will post another piece on “CBD” and links to information regarding its treatment for Dravet syndrome as well as other illnesses. But for now, please read this, in her own words:

A Mother’s Story

My 5 year old boys suffer from a severe type of epilepsy, called Dravet syndrom, which is medicine resistant and thus the prognosis is bad/fatal. A panel of neurologists told me that they probably would not make it till year 5 – and if they did, they would be dribbling in a wheel chair. As a mother, I could go 2 ways:

1. Dig a hole in the garden and pretend it would all get better or

2. Fight against the prognosis.

I chose the latter option.

This link explains about the Dravet syndrome

What it doesn´t really go on to explain is the ongoing effect such a number of seizures can have on the development of a small child´s brain and body.

For one and half  years, my boys had a little helmet on as they each had about 200 small seizures per day. The type of these seizures made them lose consciousness in a split second and they fell to the ground – if they walked or ran, they would hurt themselves even with the helmet so I had to hold their collars whenever they were on the move (try and convince twins to move in the same direction!!) . Every two weeks or so, they would have a big seizures which usually required a hospital stay and IV drugs to stop the seizures. This meant that my mobile provider determined that the emergency number was “my best friend” and the number which I called the most   They were then put on a combination of 3 medicines which stopped the seizures but took away their balance and coordination skills. Also, the side effects were fatal and 3 weeks later, one of my boys were admitted with Stevens-Johnson syndrome. This is a severe skin condition, frequently caused by medications (as in my son´s case) in which the skin´s layers separate from themselves. Here is a link to images, but it is not for sensitive people.

Seeing my little boy like this made me beyond furious – but in a situation like this, who am I supposed to yell at???  The epilepsy is due to a de novo gen-mutation and I can’t blame anyone. Nevertheless, my gut reaction was to blame the neurologists and I refused to listen to their pessimistic diagnosis. I started my own research and spent the next year fighting the authorities as they wanted to continue the heavy drug regime in order to suppress the seizures. I was stubborn and refused to listen and instead I kept researching the subject whenever the boys were asleep and I had a couple of hours to myself.

Suddenly, I found a forum in America where the parents of Dravet children (like mine) experimented with medical cannabis and to my big surprise, it seemed like it worked. However, nothing is supposed to work on Dravet syndrome so how could an ancient plant have such a great effect? Yes, I mean great effect because it doesn’t just suppress the symptoms but it also seems to cure the cognitive delay…. It seems like a miracle treatment for this illness!!! I didn’t want to keep my hopes up so I just kept researching but no matter where I looked, the results were the same =

Medical cannabis is a cure for Dravet patients.

However, now comes the tricky part….. it’s not just any type of cannabis – it is a very rare and specific type with almost no THC (the psychoactive in cannabis) but as much CBD as possible….. And we all know that this plant has a reputation of something different than CBD…..

So now begins the hunt for CBD cannabis so my beautiful boys can finally get a happy and healthy life… I can’t believe that there is a natural plant out there which allows my children to run more than 20 meters without falling to the ground in a seizure or dance to music without me having to stop them to prevent a seizure – just two examples of things my children can’t do due to their condition. They get frustrated when they are not allowed to play ball, be in the sunshine, dip their feet in the water or cycle more than 10 minutes in one go. Whenever they have a seizure they cry and cry afterwards and ask me if I can’t find some better medicine…. My heart aches and has broken many times during the past 5 years – and I can’t deny my boys a happy normal life anymore. As a mother, it is my duty to provide the best possible conditions for my children. And that is not lots of pharmaceutical medicines which take away balance, coordination and personality – and instead give them the worst side effects possible. But instead it’s a little (well, not that little) green plant which nature has provided, where the side effects are not Stevens-Johnson!!

Growers Guide to Cannabis has recognised my problem and as you can read on the site, they have started a project to help me and others in similar situations. As a person who has been on several roller coasters due to my children’s syndrome, it is a miracle that someone else has offered to help. The road is very lonely as the normal thing is to be healthy. The majority are shocked, sad and then happy for their own luck – which is understandable and a normal way to react.

Is medical marijuana the cure –all of all illnesses? I doubt it. But for many illnesses it may help a percentage of people either get better, or manage their disease more easily. For those of us living outside the US or Canada though, that ease of symptom is forbidden by law and extremely difficult to obtain.

We’re luckier than most. The Growers Guide Team have between us the ability and access to some of the resources to pursue this search for the CBD; to grow and get tested strains in the hunt for a 20:1 fairly stable CBD:THC ratio. Why would we? For the simple reason that we fully respect this mother´s determination to do the best for her sons, no matter what the law of her individual country states. Is family above the law? How far would you go for the chance to protect your children? And if the choice is between life and ..

This isn´t an easy story to read. I’m hoping its going to have a happy ending. Those of you who have read “Searching for the CBD” will know that we are doing all we can to make that so. If you have any comments or information that may also help, please leave them. We’re in the process of drawing up an article on CBD and all relevant well researched informative links would also be helpful as reference points for anyone coming new to the subject.

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Searching for the CBD

I am a cannabis grower and hobby seed breeder, not a doctor or health professional.

So lets get this right from the start; I wont be discussing the whys, hows or ethics of using a high CBD strains to heal ill folks: I will leave that to those who are better qualified than me.

One of the fundamental reasons the growersguidetocannabis was started 2 years ago was about education and helping people grow the best that they can, whether that be for recreational, or more importantly medical use. Its why we run a live chat on the site which to be fair pulls my hair out. If I hear “I planted my seed last week why hasn’t it given me any bud yet “ I think I will cry – But this is the cross I bear and stop me rambling lets get back on topic.

I have a lot of people who contact me and I’ve been working with medical growers setting up and designing rooms for those who are brave enough to step outside of the box and try and help themselves. This is by far my favourite part of my work.  I have met through this some very noble people that I feel privileged to have been able to help in some small way. Sometimes you meet someone who touches your heart, and I’ve stood by helping them where I could and watched them struggle.

To me at least it seems what is needed is a high ratio CBD/THC strain even as far a 20:1 ratio. It seems far fetched but I’ve seen the evidence and now share it with you below: basicaly a 1:1 rated cbd/thc strain can throw a high CBD level pheno in 5% of samples tested

But I’ve recently made contact with another great and brave lady who needs this geno…

so here starts a series of articles on “searching for the CBD.”

I´d appreciate it if anyone has anything to add on this topic. All relevant research and information from this world wide web would be appreciated: its in a good cause! I’m aware that there are serious researches into CBD in different parts of the world. Pulling all the info together is another job entirely …

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Planning my Cheesy auto: A Layman’s Guide to Seed Breeding

If any of you have been following my forum posts on rollitup or autoflower.net,  you will know I have just finished growing Kaliman’s cheese no1  and have managed to gather approximately 300 seeds from crossing with an Ice Express auto.

Which is a really good number for a control group.

- I thought at this stage would be a good time to explain on how I’m going to produce my cheesey auto

There are two main traits I’m looking for at this stage

1.  The auto gene

2. the smell

Although the main aims are the auto gene and the smell I also want to breed in good yield and  potency.

However I have to bear in mind other characteristics and be sure I don’t encourage any unwanted regressive genes such as

• vulnerabilities to pythium
• hermaphroditic tendencies
• poor growth
• bud rot and on and on and on

No one said this was going to be easy!

so: the plan is through a series of line seed breeding I’m looking to stamp in the smell and the auto characteristic

However as you travel down the F2,F3,F4 stages to encourage the uniformity of these traits,  what happens is that with each progressive generation although the pacific characteristics is enforced, some overall vitality in the plant is lost

How do I tackle this problem of progressive weakness and put vitality back into my cannabis strain?

It is actually quite simple

I take my original 50-60 F1 Hybrids and find the auto gene in say 8 of these.

I’ve then chosen the plants which most show the characteristics I am looking for and then have line breed them to fix it.

At the same time we have followed the same course of action from a separate 50-60 seeds so I’ve actually ended up with two original and totally separate F5 crosses

Both crosses will have similar characteristic’s i.e.: we’ve stamped in the Auto and the incredible smell but because of the 5 generations which distance them,from the original parents, when crossed these two will actually be two different strains with very similar characteristics.

any crosses from these two will have a subsequent F1 vigour

and will also have a excellent uniformity.

It would be at this stage (if desired) that I would then feminize the strain and these seeds will be ready for sale on the F1 cross and will have the best possible uniformity and quality.

with the two separate F5 inter cross turning into a new F1 cross this problem will be nullified

I appreciate that I have simplified the whole process and tried to put it into laymen terms. To be honest there is a lot more subtlety when we are looking at the genetics, but I feel that a good well laid overall plan for creating a cannabis seed strain is the first step in the process.

Also I think I need to add that all of the above is only a schedule : if everything goes well

To be honest to a certain extent when trying to shape a plant you can be just rolling the dice and perhaps say at a F3 stage when doing stress tests looking for a hermaphroditic trait’s you may have pulled up that recessive gene which is commonly thought to be in every plant and have to back paddle a stage or two to keep this gene recessive.

This is why a series of stress tests are important at every single cross

Its all fun and games!

So for those who have trouble following my ramblings here’s a simple diagram to show crosses from the original photo period Cheese No1 with the Ice Express Auto and the two separate true breeding line created and then subsequently recrossed for that very important vitality trait at the F5 Stage:

 And if you want to buy either of the parents of the new strain, click on the pictures above. Both seeds come well recommended!

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Propagation Lights

We all know that the right lighting is necessary for clones and seedlings. Too strong a light, and they will suffer. Too little light and they will stretch and flop.

Over the next few weeks I will be conducting a series of amateur trials looking for the

most efficient amount of propagation lighting needed to cover a large propagator/dome for the first ten days of  life

ensuring that

1. for the case of clones that they root well and have no apparent stretching
2. for seeds that again they grow well with no apparent stretching

Now regular readers of this site know that I’m very much into my LEDs, so why change anything?

I will be starting with a 10 watt integrated led with a 120º angle

 propagator/dome 

and finally 28 Dinafem Original Amnesia cuttings/clones  in 25mm/1″ Grodan rockwall cubes

All of the above pics are the clones at 4 days after cut , so far looking healthy but no signs of roots as yet.

The next test will be using a 20 watt Led to cover the same area and we will see how much a difference (if any) in health and speed of rooting.Also this week we will be doing the same trial with seedlings with first the ten watt followed with the 20 watt

All leds used in this trial will have a 6500K spectrum

So whats the point in all this ?

What I’m trying to find out is the correct amount of light for both seedling and clone stage

These are cheap floodlights. Will they be adequate for young and tender plants?

It needs pointing out that they have no cooling system, but whilst they won’t be in constant use (I’m not doing cuttings commercially) I am expecting them to last 2 years with regular use.

The point is that if these work, then for surprisingly little money – $25 plus postage, I will be able to start seedlings or clones off in a small space whilst my main plants are finishing – and with only an additional 10 watts of electricity.

Heres the link where I picked up the two very reasonably priced LEDs. If anyone else wants to help with the trials without breaking the bank:

10 watt integrated LED 120º 6500K

20 watt integrated led 120º 6500K

or you can buy from amazon.com via our online hydro store:

CC

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Things to do when you’re stoned: cards against humanity

Sometimes its all too easy to take the life of a stoner seriously (really?) ..

OK so its not, but on those occasions when you have a few mates round, chilling with some beautiful giggly smoke some ice cold beers .. and the conversation gets silly.

STOP

Don’t let inane chatter and dulled “duh” sentences get the best of you. Make inane chatter with

CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY

Seriously the funniest game around, it turns super silly with the added bonus of a few joints. I’ve played it with workmates, family.. and they’ve all loved it. Played it with some stoners, and it was the funniest night for a long time.

Reclaim marijuana sessions from the Playstation!

1. Why am I wasting time writing about a board game when there are so many other more worthwhile cannabis topics to write about?

After all this is essentially a growers guide to cannabis, not a version of ToysRUs. GG2C (as we affectionately call it) writes earnest advice on all aspects of marijuana growing, with a hint of medical mj thrown in. So why this tomfoolery? Because the other night I had a great time wasting time playing this game with some fairly good friends and some Ice Express vapes thrown in. And as the hysteria faded, I had one of those “epiphany” moments.

When was the last time I laughed this much?

Why was it I felt that I knew these guys just a bit more than I had done the day before?

And it came to me, that amongst all the earnest talk about legalising cannabis for medicinal reason, we should not forget that

recreational cannabis is great

As a bringer-together factor, letting the defences down and bonding with semi-strangers, weed works better than pretty much any other recreational source I can think of. OK so you’re unlikely to get the brotherhood experienced by combat soldiers under fire, but for a peacetime humanising, cannabis works just great. I mean look at the options we have: pubs where alcohol is consumed in large quantities and the conversation consists of repitition, “did you watch this” and descends to the “what are you looking at” .. nightclubs where no matter how friendly the drug of choice is, all you’re going to feel is touchy feely and the beat of the REALLY loud music … dinner parties … and where we are all going wrong… spliff inspired Playstation sessions.

So I ask you: when was the last time you “bonded” with your friends? i.e. ended the day feeling you knew a little more about them (or wished you didn’t) ..Cannabis IS good for a plethora of medical issues but we shouldn’t forget its also good recreationally too. And losing yourself in a computer designed world isn’t quite up to the mark.

If its a long time since you actually sat round and laughed with your friends, then get a copy of “CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY”. Described as “a party game for horrible people” its really only as horrible as you make it. Rules and game play are simple (which is just as well): one player lays a “black card” and the others try and complete the sentence from their “white cards” in the funniest / twisted / sickest way possible. Its that easy to sit with mates, laugh and relax.

That this should be illegal is ridiculous (the smoking cannabis part of the evening that is). Go Colorado, Go Washington, Go Spain (with some grey legal areas to be sure), Go Switzerland .. etc .. and for the rest of the world? Get a sense of humour & pass the joint this way please.

You can either download and print off the game by following this link here to free copy of cards against humanity or buy a copy from amazon (unless your boss doesn’t mind you using the office printer and cutting machine ..)

you can also get it from amazon.co.uk :

Cards Against Humanity

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Best Strains for an outdoor Cannabis Grow

Growing cannabis outdoors is a great and simple joy:

there’s a purity about seeing the plant grown organically in its natural environment that’s just missing from an indoor grow room. I’m not going into the debate as to whether indoor or outdoor grown weed is better: but it is different.

There’s also the added bonus of potentially huge yields per seed – if of course you don’t mind waiting 9 months for the marijuana to grow to its full majesty and reach heights of easily 7 foot and more.

Its also possibly the cheapest way to get your own crop in. No expensive lighting or ventilation, its just mother nature at her best. Except of course mother nature is a fickle woman and your local weather may not be ideal for a sun loving long growing high altitude plant.

So the problem is: which are the best strains to grow outdoors? Many cannabis strains come into their own outside, where others have been bred especially to excel within the limitations and perfect conditions of a grow tent. You also need to consider your local climate and latitude as this will have a big impact on whether you wait 9 months for success or see it all fail at the end.

So here are our best outdoor cannabis strains to grow in Northern Latitudes with Colder Climates:

E.g. Northern Europe, northern parts of US and Canada

Given that occasionally harsh weather, with frequent rains and a short summer are likely to be the lot of any plant grown here, you need to look for:

1) mould resistance

2) shorter flowering season : aim for plants due to finish in September (mainly Indicas) or else those that are triggered into flowering early (like Early Pearl)

3) blue strains often come into their own when grown in places with colder autumns: its the cold weather that brings out those blue and purple tones

4) Don’t limit yourself to photo-period plants. More than anyone, super autoflowers with their longer seed to harvest time (3-4 months) and heavy yields (300g per plant) are ideally suited to you. See our autoflowering section for ideas on some great autoflowers with maximum yields!

 Don’t be afraid to try out those freebie seeds.

This little gem - Easy Sativa from Female Seeds -  came as a freebie back in 2011. In our southern latitudes, it was triggered into flowering early – and finished in August, dried and half way cured.

It was a joy to watch grow, a lovely daytime smoke, and I have made sure I buy a couple of these now for each outdoor grow I do.

The point is that I probably never would have selected this when it came to buying my seeds: but despite what some say that freebie seeds aren’t worth the energy growing them, they can be a lovely surprise

Original Sensible Seeds who process and send any cannabis seeds sent from our seed store, always offer great free cannabis seeds.

Also read our guide to getting a successful outdoor grow

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Finally it looks like spring has sprung and with it comes thoughts of growing cannabis outdoors.

I’m lucky enough to be able to grow a few plants each year in my garden without this being a problem, so I thought I would share my

Successful Outdoor Cannabis Garden Grow Guide 

with you

I’ve been growing my own veg for several years now, and the principles with this um .. extra special crop are much the same. But I’m aware that not everyone has this background, so here’s a walk-through of what to do to make sure it all goes well. More and more people are able to join me in the joys of outdoor grows as they get medical marijuana licenses. Its the easiest and cheapest way to provide yourself with a quantity of marijuana.

Personally I think that outdoor weed may not be strong enough for serious meds. That’s not to say I dislike it; actually I often prefer it especially for low level daytime pain relief when you don’t want to be zonked out too much. If however you need a stronger hit for specific medical conditions and treatments, I definitely suggest you also think about setting up an indoor grow room as well.

Normally I like to plant my seedlings out side in March, but as we have had two late snow showers this year, I’m thankful that I held off. Here’s my guide to a successful outdoor grow.

 Germinating cannabis seeds.

1. Always and always, start your cannabis seeds off inside. I like to germinate my seeds on damp tissue paper, covered with another layer of tissue (or a paper coffee filter), wrapped in clingfilm and  left in a warm dark place to sprout.

Why do I do this? Well because that way I see how many of my seeds have germinated, and they get moved from ideal germination environment to ideal seedling environment only when they’re ready. Don’t ask me why, but it seems to me that if I put an individual seed in its own little pot, and line up the pots watching and waiting for little leaves, not all of the little gals make it that far.

 Problems germinating cannabis seeds?

The answer is likely to be either your environment is too dry (and don’t drown them either!) or too cold. You can read more about the ideal environment for marijuana seeds here. But like I said, I use “granny’s method) and it works just fine for me.

This way normally 95% of cannabis seeds germinate within 24-48 hours. Check them on the second day and if all have sprouted their first root, carefully lift off the tissue paper (use tweezers gently) and plant into a 3″ pot.  Prep the pot first by filling with a mix of specialist marijuana compost and perlite to give good drainage. Flush the pot full with pH water 6.3 then allow to drain off completely. When the soil is damp, not wet, its time to plant those precious sprouted seeds. Using a finger (if you’re mucky like me) or a “dibber” (usually a pencil) make a 1″ depth hole in the middle of the pot. Using tweezers, gently lift the seed out from the paper, and place root first into the hole.  Brush soil over the hole and tamp down firmly but gently to get rid of any air pockets in the soil.

The pots need to go into “seedling environment“. This is best done by placing them in a propagator, but this is not absolutely essential. What is important though is they get the right environment. Young plants like it humid, warm and remember not to keep your light source too far away cos if you do they’ll stretch.

A big advantage to starting your outdoor plants indoors in this way is that you are less vulnerable to the vagueries of late bad weather. No matter that we had snow here in March. My babies were pushing their way through the compost layer in the humid warm environment of their seedling bay.

cute until it eats your cannabis ..

The other big plus point to starting your plants off indoors is that not only are young cannabis plants vulnerable to the weather, they are also vulnerable to pests and diseases. This will be the case throughout any outdoor grow, but the sight of young tender shoots in early spring when little else may be available is tempting to rabbits, ants etc and it only takes one evening’s munching for the whole crop to disappear at this stage.

2. Whilst all this is going on and you are sat waiting for little shoots to emerge above soil level, its good to get your outside spot all ready to go. I’m assuming for the sake of this article that you have a nice secure spot in your garden earmarked for your plants. If you’re planning a guerilla grow then there are some tips on choosing your secret cannabis spot in our guide to guerilla growing autoflowers.

There are two attitudes to planting marijuana on your own land. One is to keep things quiet (plant amongst other plants  for cover, LST and prune cannabis to keep it short etc) .. The other is to say: heck! I’m growing my own medicine, I got a licence: here’s my plant and I’m proud.  (to which I say: well done chap / chappess, I hope you’ve got the dog to keep ‘em safe)

It goes without saying that your spot needs to get sunshine for at least 5 hours a day. If summer temps hit above 35C on a regular basis, your plants will need some shade too.

Soil Preparation

Either way you still have to prep the soil before you plant. I know I know its boring to read about, and hard work to do, but I can’t emphasize enough how important soil preparation is. Vegetable growers the world over know the importance of double digging and the same applies to marijuana growers. Your root ball needs to be a third of the mass of your fully grown plant so you need to break and improve at least this amount of soil. Its best to do this the autumn before you plant, as then winter frosts will help break the earth more fully, but no worries if you’ve left it til the spring, just make up for your last year’s laziness with extra muscle behind your spade.

I’ve read examples of 2 foot by 2 foot, but I think if you can, double this figure. View the extracted soil as a cake mix and add plenty of well rotted manure (this improves the soil texture as well as gives some base nutrients). I always add some specialist cannabis compost as well as this is at the right acidity for marijuana. In its natural environment, assuming the roots can seek out some source of water, weed is .. Well it’s a weed and will survive with meager soils and infrequent water. But you don’t want the hit and miss poor yields this can result in, so its worth spending the time and effort now. In order to reach its full potential cannabis is a hungry plant and will devour nutrients during its lifetime. By providing them within the soil you will reduce the need to add nutes later on (although imho you still should)

Many growers advise adding slow release water capsules (polymer) but my experiences with this have been hit and miss. Even in hot temperatures, I personally believe its better to let the plant experience its wet/dry cycle properly and in a garden outdoor grow, you can be in charge of watering. Know your likely summer rainfall and take this into account when deciding whether to use these. What I would say is to add a mulch to the surface of the soil after planting as this will help water loss through evaporation at surface level. A 2″ layer of gravel will do the trick.

Planting your cannabis seedlings outdoors

All my little seedlings are ready to go in their 3″pots and I’m just waiting for the last winter frost to have gone to be sure that the soil temperature is warm enough for their tender little roots. Now you can borrow a tip from the vegetable garden here and warm the soil up by placing a cloche over the cannabis site. Simply weight down some heavy plastic  and let the weak winter/early spring sun warm through to the soil. It only takes a week or so to raise the soil temps a few extra degrees.

(Actually, if you use black plastic and lay over winter, it will help reduce weeds as well)

Weed out anything that is likely to compete with your seedling for the nutrients, water and light available. Whilst you probably want cover plants nearby to disguise your outdoor marijuana, you don’t want other virulent weeds squishing its first weeks outside.

Whilst I’m waiting for the soil temps to rise, and making sure that the spring really has set in, I also acclimatise my seedlings to life in the great outdoors. “Hardening off” is simply a process of exposing the young plants to more and more of their outdoor life whilst not shocking them too much. So at first I remove the propagator lid for a few hours at a time, then after several days they are hardened enough to risk a few hours of morning sunshine on my balcony .. And so on until I’m pretty confident they are ready to take whatever mother nature can throw at them.

this cannabis is planted on the top of a very mature compost heap

Planting is easy. The soil has been nicely prepped and so I simply make a hole twice the size of the pot. Add a handful of cannabis compost to the bottom of the hole, then spread your fingers around the seedling’s stem, tip the pot slowly upside down (letting your fingers support the seedling at its base), tap the bottom of the pot and all should slowly ease out. Plant, fill any gaps around with more compost, firm in gently with the palm of your hand and then water in. Use a good 2 cup fulls of water this first time, it will make sure there are no air pockets trapped in the soil.

Gardens in many parts of the world will benefit from a small temporary greenhouse placed over the plant during spring and into summer. Even a cut off water bottle placed over a young plant, or plastic wrapped frame will help amplify the sun’s rays in springtime. On the other hand summer can bring high heat and too much sunshine, and you may need to think of putting up temporary shading

You have to keep an eye on your young plants for pest infestations and predators. Take time when watering/feeding to inspect leaves for any signs of damage. We’ll cover this later on in the year in more detail.

Is it too late to get an outdoor grow going?

No its not. Remember you can sow an autoflower crop outdoors right up until the beginning of September! But you can also start a standard photoperiod cannabis seed off in April/May: just remember that the longer you leave sowing your seeds, the shorter growth period the plant will have. Once the summer solstice has passed and the days begin to shorten, the plant will start to flower.

Finally good luck with your outdoor grow. Take the opportunity to grow cannabis outdoors organically if you can (although I have to say that the first sign of pests and I’ll throw any old nasty chemical I can at them). There’s certainly something special about well grown outside weed, it’s a gentler and more subtle smoke (more natural if you like) that has a special part in my smoking routine

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Since 1986 when California approved the use of medical marijuana, an additional 18 states have approved its medical use. Our MMJ approval has been in place here in Colorado for 12 years, and now we have approved recreational use, along with Washington State. Thirteen States have decriminalized the use of cannabis, and the ball is beginning to roll. Pro-cannabis legislation has been introduced in 27 statehouses in 2013, nine to tax and regulate cannabis like alcohol, and in 18 states  to lessen penalties or approve medical use. It may be possible that Alaska could be the next state to legalize recreational use, with California and several others will vote in 2016. A slight majority of Americans, 52%, favor legal cannabis, and its use has gone mainstream, putting pressure on federal laws to change. Legalization of recreational use in Colorado and Washington State is the greatest forward move since the approval of MMJ use in California in 1996, with 15 to 20 states likely to approve recreational use in the next two to four election cycles, according to Allen St. Pierre of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. According to a 1999 report from the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, cannabis could mitigate nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety  for severely ill patients. Three University of California studies since 2007 have concluded that cannabis relieves neuropathic pain for MS patients, HIV/AIDS, and diabetes. By 2020, St. Pierre believes that there will exist a 60% approval rating among Americans, making MJ “completely politically viable.”

Mon Dieu! That I should live to see the day….

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A new Denver 4/20 celebration appears!

While Colorado State Legislators debate if our state should allow cannabis tourism, two Denver entrepreneurs have started the nation’s first marijuana tourism company. My 420 Tours has so-far a signed up a hundred and sixty people who have paid to fly into Denver International Airport and be chauffeured to a cannabis-friendly hotel, watch hash-making demonstrations, visit dispensary-grow operations, and gain access to events such as the High Times Cannabis Cup and various musical concerts. There will plenty of legal sharing of fine Colorado-grown weed, but sales to anyone not a medical marijuana patient are still illegal, even though constitutional law in Colorado has made legal private use and possession of the drug.

Recreational sales of weed are many months away, as the Colorado Legislature discusses its options and vote rules into law. Colorado’s Amendment 64 legalized use and possession of up to an ounce of cannabis to anyone 21 years of age and above, regardless of whether they live in the state or not.   Comments from leaders of Colorado’s 9 billion dollar per year tourism industry include “There’s way too much to see and do in Colorado to use marijuana tourism as a platform for marketing our state,” and “Colorado’s brand will be damaged, and we may attract fewer conventions and see a decline in leisure travel.” Before last November’s election, tourism officials condemned marijuana legislation and warned potential MJ tourists that use remains illegal under federal law. They believe Colorado’s image relies heavily on healthy, family-friendly outdoor activities, and according to Al White, director of the Colorado Tourism office “Legalized marijuana promotes just the opposite.”
We who voted this legislation into law have a different idea. We believe that allowing forthcoming out-of state tourists to shop in forthcoming recreational cannabis stores could mean an amount of business rivaling Colorado’s yearly multi-billion dollar ski industry. We believe that visitors to our state might flock here from all over the world to taste our stunning Colorado-grown strains, and MJ events such as World Cannabis Week are our version of wine-country tours. Companies such as My 420 Tours could set up programs in the future for government officials from other states to learn more about MJ regulations. I’d like to learn more about how the industry works and how I might fit in. Visits could be organized about medical marijuana for people who live in the 31 states who do not authorize the use of cannabis. Perhaps there is a future for Colorado to become a center for medical marijuana research. We as Colorado citizens have made opportunities possible with our vote, and will continue to do all in our power to promote this most sacred of plants.

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The post Colorado 4/20 Celebration appeared first on The Growers Guide to Cannabis.

We are a state struggling to enforce medical marijuana regulations, but because of budget cuts and spending abuse , our Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division has had to curtail it’s acclaimed seed-to-sale tracking system. Field investigators were supposed to be able to walk into any dispensary or grow operation and use a digital reader to collect data on each bar-coded plant, clone or pot-infused lollypop, but budget cuts have curtailed their efforts. A seed-to-sale monitoring system does not exist for Colorado commercial growers. Our regulatory system had been held up as a model for all US states to follow, but challenges brought about by a system starting from scratch, lack of state funding, staff cutbacks and overspending have brought sharp criticism from state legislators and auditors.

It all began in 2009, when a successful court challenge caused Colorado state health department officials to drop efforts to cap how many patients a caregiver/grower may have, and the deputy US attorney general signaled that the federal government was unlikely to crack down on medical marijuana. The rule book put in place by the Colorado Department of Revenue mandated costly fees, criminal background checks, proof of residency in the state,  and  years of financial statements from potential commercial growers. Business owners were required to send the state shipping manifests and blanket their operations with surveillance cameras, showing they were growing a minimum of 70% of the cannabis they sold. Initially, eight million in application fees were taken in by the MMED in one weekend in the summer of 2010, almost all of it in cash, and the regulatory agency was off and running. But license applications dragged on as “many in the industry who had applied had issues in their background – back taxes, improper paperwork,” said Paul Schmidt, former deputy MMED director. Then state legislators put a moratorium on new business applications and slashed the MMED budget, so the money to operate the Division has dried up. The MMED has closed its three satellite offices, slashed staff from 37 to 15, and cut its field enforcement officers from 14 to 6 employees. The Division also has spent a quarter million on office furniture without competitive bidding and leased 33 sport utility vehicles without justification. To paraphrase MMED Spokeswoman Julie Postlethwait, We do have lack of resources, but we have people out there working 10 and 12 hour days, so there is regulation taking place. If there is something really egregious going on, we would know about it. “The large majority of owners in these businesses are doing the best they can to be compliant.” Make it so, Colorado.

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