2014 03 UK by SoftSecrets

FREE 18+ For adults only. Soft Secrets is published six times a year by Discover Publisher BV Netherlands

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www.pArAdise-seeds.com

Issue 3 - 2014

Watch The Skies!

Atomical Haze ® Crop stealing criminals in the West Midlands area of the UK are using flying drones fitted with heat-seeking cameras to find their victims. The explosion in the number of cannabis farms in the area over recent years has led to countless violent robberies, as the intruders know the victim will not call the police. The latest report on commercial cannabis cultivation from the Association of Chief Police Officers stated that the number of farms had doubled in two years and police were discovering over 20 a day across the UK. The report said: “There has been an increase in robberies, burglaries and violence including the use of firearms linked to cannabis farms. And there is evidence of taxing (stealing) of crops and debt bondage being used to control local individuals.”

In this issue: LegalizationintheStates ›› The Race For CBD

›› 26

Growing in a greenhouse ››

The use of drones in discovering cannabis farms in residential homes is the first instance of cheaper, remote control drones being used in this way. When questioned about his remote controlled sidekick, one tech-savvy thief said: “I bought my first drone for a few hundred quid, learnt how to fly it over wasteland and fitted a WiFi camera to it so I could look into people’s windows. However, I noticed police helicopters used thermal imaging cameras to find

cannabis farms because of the heat the grow lights give off, so I bought a second hand heat-seeking camera online and hooked it up to my iPad.” Once a crop is discovered, the victim is either burgled or blatantly taxed by the criminals and their crew. He added: “Half the time we don’t even need to use violence to get the crop. Growing cannabis has gone mainstream and the people growing it are not gangsters, especially in places like Halesowen, Cradley Heath and Oldbury. “We started in Handsworth but you never know who your messing with there, so I bring my drone up these sides now as it is safer and less built up, so easier to fly.” The criminal continued: “They are fair game, it is not like I’m using my drone to see if people have nice televisions I am just after drugs to steal and sell, if you break the law then you enter me and my drone’s world.” Drones are basically unmanned aerial vehicles that were first developed by the military for surveillance purposes. Modern day remote control drones are now on sale for under £300 and can remain in the air for up to 30 minutes.

Civilian companies are now using drones for various projects such as aerial photography and construction planning. Both the fire service and, worryingly, the police force are also exploring their use. West Midlands MP Tom Watson is also the chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones. He said: “This remarkable story shows the proliferation of drone technology which can be used for both good and bad. It is no surprise enterprising criminals would want to get the upper hand in the criminal underworld by using drones. As a society we will be dealing with the impact of drones on our laws and regulations for years to come and it is time the Government started listening about privacy concerns about the misuse of drones.” Crop stealing is the lowest of the low and, as long as our favourite plant continues to be illegal, growers will always be vulnerable to criminal scum looking to make a buck from someone else’s hard work. Make sure your grow room is secure; don’t carry obvious equipment in and out without wrapping it first, ensure your room is light tight, keep extraction ducting out of sight and, most importantly, don’t tell people about your plants. Safe growing! Source: Halesowen News

Summer Loving! Well, the great British summer is now in full flow. This means that you’re either basking in relentless heat or cowering inside to avoid the torrential rain. At least we’ve got the World Cup to look forward to... although, by the time you read this, we’ll have probably been knocked out!

Blue AutoMazar combines the best of two of Dutch Passions legendary original automatics into an outstanding new potent hybrid. It is a cross of AutoBlueberry and AutoMazar, two of Dutch Passion’s most loved and best selling cannabis seed varieties. The connoisseur-quality AutoBlueberry parentage benefits from the potency and heavy yields of the AutoMazar genetics, this is one of the best automatics available today. Blue AutoMazar is ready to harvest around 75 days after germination and is 75% indica and 25% sativa. \ This variety will produce cannabis plants which are a blend of both parent genetics, but you will also see some AutoBlueberry-leaning plants, and some which closely resemble the original AutoMazar. In bloom she rewards the grower with a complicated array of fruit aromas and occasional scents of spice, pepper and earth. Genetics: AutoBlueberry x AutoMazar (Indica Dominant) Flowering time: 75 -80 days after germination Yield: up to 200+ gr Effect: Strong body stone Height: 80-100 cm. Seed bank: Dutch Passion

Blue AutoMazar

The unpredictability of the British summer weather combined with the kids being off school and the inevitable holiday with the better half; means that a lot of us UK growers take a break during the summer months. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t indulge in your favourite hobby. If you’re still looking around for a summer holiday destination, and you’ve got the readies to get there, you won’t go far wrong by visiting the Indoor Garden Expo in San Francisco at the end of July. The show is the biggest in the US, will be full of interesting and exotic grow gear, plus the public day is a right laugh. Particularly if you get chatting to some of the old hippy growers who descend from the hills to visit! The city and the surrounding area is beautiful enough to keep the better half sweet, so they won’t mind being dragged round an exhibition hall for the day. When you get back from there, it’s time to partake in some well needed maintenance duties in the grow room. Cleaning down your equipment, getting new bulbs and carbon filters, scraping the dust out of your fans and scrubbing down the mucky corners of your grow tent. You efforts will mean that your first grow after your summer break will be smooth sailing... and high yielding! Once you’ve cleaned the room it’s time to plan which strains to grow out. Why not try something a bit different and look at the more obscure strains that the seed banks have to offer... isn’t everyone sick of cheese by now? High CBD strains are really beginning to impact the market and offer a very pleasant medicinal buzz without knocking you onto your arse! That might be a nice place to start. For those of you who love the great outdoors, it’s not too late to get a summer crop in. Check out our greenhouse growing guide in this issue for some tips on cultivating ‘under glass’. It’s easier than you might think. Of course, if you’re a constant gardener, you may have your room already dialled in for the summer and will be carrying on indoors regardless. If you’ve never tried it and want to give it a go, you should consider air cooled lights or LED’s to keep your temps low, you may even want to lower the wattage to avoid heat issues. Adding CO2 to your room will mean that your plants will thrive in higher temps and, if money’s no object... there’s always the OptiClimate! Little Lebowski

K2 is a beautifully growing plant, which produces snow white buds and in doing so has generated ecstasy in many a grower! Consumers too have a lot of good things to say about this tasty weed. The buds positively burst with crystals and what’s more, the smell and taste are just superb! Oh, and the high is totally stonkin’!

higher yields are possible.

pass it on!

Check out our website www.plagron.com for tips & tricks

Readers’ Mail

Attention Readers! Fancy a FREE packet of FEMINISED seeds from DINAFEM? Then send us a picture of your grow room or best cannabis plant, including a visible copy of Soft Secrets, and we’ll send you 3 seeds. Should your photo happen to feature your beautiful wife or girlfriend wearing a sexy microbikini or super hot lingerie, you will receive 6 seeds. Photo of the Month will even receive 9 prime quality feminised seeds. With compliments of Soft Secrets and DINAFEM!

A few pics for the SS team, sorry no boobs, but nice buds, all in NFT except the Hazy looking Chronic Power, that was in 10 litres of soil. I’ve messed about doing my own breeding for years (over 10), alas the police found my seedbank along with 300 cuttings, so my secret indoor hobby is no more. I was the victim of a stop & search on a Sunday morning, just having a bottle of Canna Boost on my person was enough for the bastards to get a warrant. Growers beware! Secret outdoor Auto’s are looking like the way to go for me. I have a court order against me stating that my council property is taken away if I even get caught with a joint! As I suffer from Spinal Arthritis weed is my perfect medicine, but I just can’t afford to buy it. Love your magazine Kimbu We normally like to see some boobs Kimbu, but those nice buds won us over. Sorry to hear of your misfortunes. When will the law makers in this country learn? It’s just a plant! It’s good advice to watch what you’re carrying about with you. Keep safe out there.

Hi Soft Secrets here’s my wife with some buds of Cheese. I was happy with the outcome. Please share in your next issue and send some seeds. Devious D

E-mail your entries to SSUK@softsecrets.nl. NOTE: All entries are handled with the utmost discretion. We don’t publish out of focus pics, and we don’t like photos of plants in veg stage. It’s fat buds & sweet babes we want to see!

E-mail: SSUK@softsecrets.nl

Those buds may be small, but they’re perfectly formed... just like your wife’s! Hi Soft Secrets. I’m the dude from Wales! Not much info to go on there dude. We can see that those girls certainly look like they’ve got a healthy dose of Sativa goodness in them. Good work our Welsh friend. Some snaps from a grow of Pineapple. Done in All-Mix soil and fed Dutch Pro soil feed under 600watts for 8 weeks. I managed to get the light just right so thought it was worth a show in your newspaper. Look forward to recieving some seeds to cross breed. Grant What a cracking grow! Everythings looking healthy and green right up to the end. We’ve heard LOTS of good things about Dutch Pro from our UK retailers. With results like this, it’s no surprise.

Anon Wow! We’re amazed that those buds have flopped over with that lovely lady stood so close to them. She certainly makes us stand to attention. What a hottie!

Hi SSUK, This is my PPP and lady on the day of harvest they are hanging from the weight of the fat buds! These two plants produced 7oz and 21gs dried (10days), lovely smoke, with a nice fruity aroma to the buds, smoke is quite a heavy stone and, after a few, maybe even a bit of couchlock! Peace Burt & Norm Your lady looks awesome with those glasses... and lack of clothes! We’re into the sexy secretary look hear at Soft Secrets. Your plants are looking pretty good too, we can see that you’ve topped them early, allowed them to grow out horizontally and reaped the rewards... plenty of nice tops.

Here’s my Barnys Farm Blue Cheese on the day of harvest, vegged under a 300w CFL & fed on Ionic Grow. Then flowered for 10 weeks under a 600w and fed on Ionic Bloom with PK 14/15. That’s a cracking looking plant! Nice and compact, but plenty of bud. Perfect. Keeping it simple with your nutrient and additive regime has really paid off here. PK ratios are a hot topic at the moment. Whats best? 9/10, 9/18, 13/14, 14/15, 20/21? Look out for an article in a future issue.

Anon Wouldn’t want to meet you down a dark alley mate. Well, unless you were selling us some of that tasty looking green!

Hi guys, This is The Ultimate, I’m quite happy with the results. Flowered for 8 weeks with the whole Canna range for coco. 21 oz from 4 plants. The Ultimate indeed! Those buds are like baseball bats! If that is 21oz using a single lamp, then that is a fantastic result.

Hi, This is a pic of my fine SMURFb23 Cheese, only just chopped it today. 12 hour shift! Thanks for all the input and knowledge which I get from your great newspaper. Keep up the good work. Cheers Smurf (ORIGINAL) Always nice to hear from a grower who has turned their green fingers to breeding. Looks like you’ve got a decent yield there... and – despite the murky picture – we can see that she has got a couple of decent handfuls too!

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9 Dear Soft Secrets team. I hope you like these pictures! Mark What’s not to like? She is stunning. A real cutie. We even made her a pin-up girl! Can we have her number now, please?

product flash Plagron Cocos Pebbles SUBSTRATE / NON FERTILISED

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Combine Cocos Pebbles with Cocos A & Cocos B for the best results. Do you have any questions? servicedesk@plagron.com For additional information about Cocos Premium, Euro Pebbles and other products check www.plagron.com

Classic Strains

Crushing Hybrid Sparked a Dutch Cannabis Breeding Renaissance

White Widow

The White Widow is likely the most famous, and most potent, Sativa Diva Cannabis hybrid from the 1990s. Original Name: Original name: Breeder: Genetics: Origins: Flowering: Outdoor Harvest:

White Widow Arnhem’s Wonder Ingemar for De Sjamaan 60 % sativa / 40 % indica Brazilian x South Indian 8 to 10 weeks (indoors); 70 to 84 days (outdoor) Late September to early October

The matriarch of the ‘White Family’, White Widow is perhaps the most famous Dutch hybrid of the mid- to late-1990s. Prior to this era, the industry was dominated by Skunk #1, Northern Lights, Afghan and Haze genetics. These four comprised many – if not most – of the popular hybrids that were created during this time period. In 1995, however, the White Widow burst onto the scene most notably via the Green House Seed Company (GHSC), introducing a complex and mind-blowing blend of Brazilian sativa and a South-Indian, indicadominant hybrid that could be grown by cultivators of varying levels of experience. Countless hybrids and versions of this strain flooded the Dutch industry and have since remained among the more popular varieties for smokers and growers. While the GHSC won the High Times Cannabis Cup with the Widow back in 1995, the origins of this strain are often disputed. Common knowledge in the Dutch scene is that the strain was created by a Surinamese breeder called Ingemar, who had established the powerhouse variety as far back as 1987; it won its first Highlife Cup in 1989 under the name Arnhem’s Wonder. According to Arjan, co-founder of the GHSC, he purchased a batch of plants from a legendary grow shop in Nijmegen, among them White Widow males and females. He states that Ingemar had already done the breeding on the WW, thus all he had

to do was to conduct crosses in 1994. The White Widow then became the hardesthitting hybrid in the Dutch Cannabis scene, certainly not for faint-of-heart smokers or newbies. An alternative origin for the Widow is that Shantibaba crossed Brazilian sativas with a unique, indica hybrid cultivar that was selected by villagers in the mountainous Kerala region of India. Some insist that Shantibaba’s White Widow is the original that was released by GHSC in the mid1990s and is sold today by Mr. Nice Seeds (MNS) under the name Black Widow. According to Ingemar’s interview with Grow magazine in Germany, White Widow “is the result of two lines that were developed and stabilized for six years, before crossing between them.” Several seeds were found in a lump of charas, or hand-rubbed hashish. Ingemar, who adheres to old-school Cannabis industry secrecy and will not reveal the exact genetic origins, claims to have carefully grown out and selected the White Widow from extensive outdoor crops and auditioned the results among medical users. His estimation that it takes six years to stabilize a strain, coupled with the time required for completing the initial crosses, establishes the White Widow at a start date of around 1986 or 1987. This precedes the suggested release date of Shantibaba’s 1994/1995 Widow that was reportedly developed in a GHSC partnership.

White Widow from the Green House Seed Company

Royal Queen Seeds also offers a version of White Widow

White Widow Cultivation, Phenotypes and Effect

The White Widow can be slightly fussy but is extremely manageable for those with little Cannabis cultivation experience. Growth is vigorous and the plant is pest-resistant outdoors, especially at high elevations. Some phenos are distinctly sativa-oriented and slightly lanky, which aids in air circulation and helps to prevent mould and mildew from taking hold. Sidebranching is prevalent and plants can be kept short and stocky, if desired. The more indica-dominant phenos display their traits through dark green leaves that are strangely narrow like sativas, complemented by frosty, crystal-laden buds upon which the trichome production extends far down the top leaves. Buds are heavy with resin; light is refracted so well by the flowers that the plants take on a whitish glow – hence the distinction of the ‘White Family’ of Cannabis. As the flowers mature, amber or reddish-brown pistils emerge from the opalescent colas. White Widow plants fare well in a SOG or SCROG setting. If such an approach is taken, limit vegging time a little more than you would with a typical 60/40, as the Brazilian genes promote a robust and energetic pre-flower phase. In fact, many old-school growers familiar with Dutch genetics insist that one way to tell that you are growing the original Widow is its tendency to pre-flower during veg.

According to the Big Book of Buds, “Green House suggests changing the lighting to eight hours during the last two weeks of flowering in order to halt regrowth... on the buds and produce just enough stress to coax out the maximum amount of sticky resin per inch.”

Hybrids Related to White Widow

The original Widow offered a powerful combination of cerebral and corporal effects; some later breeders outcrossed it to produce interesting and potent daughter varieties. Relatives in the White Family include Arctic Sun by the Flying Dutchmen. This stupefying hybrid resulted from crossing a WW female with an original Skunk #1 to add a subtly sweet, fruity undertone to the flavour of White Widow, undercutting its slightly fuel-like taste. White Russian combines a WW mother with an AK-47 father to create a truly mind-numbing hybrid, released and popularized by Serious Seeds. Other White hybrids include Great White Shark (a.k.a. Peacemaker or Shark Shock), El Niño (a.k.a. La Niña) and White Rhino (a.k.a. Medicine Man), also products of the Green House Seed Company that have individually influenced – and placed under the influence – generations of the international Cannabis community.

Arctic Sun from the Flying Dutchmen combines a Widow mother with a Skunk #1 father

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International

Legalization in the States

The forward progression of marijuana law reform in the United States has been on the fast track in recent years. Since 1996, 20 states and Washington D.C. have enacted marijuana laws in some form. 21 states have medicinal laws in place, 20 states have tax stamp laws, 16 states have hemp laws, and 16 state decriminalized marijuana to minor infractions. Just last year, two 2 states passed legislation that has legalized cannabis for adult recreational use, carving out a path for other states to follow as cannabis becomes legal in the states. Starting at the beginning of the legislation trail: Hemp Laws - Hemp is defined in Colorado legislature as a strain with

By Golgi Apparatus

of America’s legal pot laws, and are allowing for possession, production and consumption of cannabis and products. It is still illegal to open or consume marijuana in public however, and they even prohibit consumption in any of the licensed retail establishments. Unlike the infamous coffee shops of Amsterdam you will not be able to purchase and consume under the same roof. Washington - The state of Washington voted November 6th 2012 on initiative 502 (I-502) for marijuana reform. The initiative passed by a margin of 56 to 44 percent and boasted an 81% voter turnout, one of the highest in the nation (no pun intended). The

bis favorable state, and its residents were pushing hard for this reform. The licensing in Colorado does not separate the producers and processors as it does in Washington, allowing a grower to process their own harvest for sale to retail shops. Colorado had within their medicinal laws a requirement for all employees of Medicinal centers to obtain what’s called an occupational license. This remains the same in the recreational laws, any employee that is going to ring up a sale on a licensed retail point of sale (POS) system or enter data into a marijuana inventory tracking system (MITS) must have an occupational license.

cessed, where it was packed and who it was sold to wholesale. Talk about the ultimate cannabis farm to table (or farm to pipe) information system! The states have also been very strict in distinguishing the differences between medicinal and recreational cannabis, and they are designated and grown as such from seedling. The set limits on how much a person can purchase is the same for both states; residents are allowed to possess up to 28g (1oz) of dried bud at a time. CO has allowances for home growers to grow up to 6 plants at any given time, with a maximum of 3 plants mature and blooming and a maximum of 3 immature. The grow room must be fully enclosed and

The licensing in Colorado does not separate the producers and processors as it does in Washington, allowing a grower to process their own harvest for sale to retail shops. less than 0.3% THC and states with hemp laws on their books have an active hemp industry or are performing authorized ongoing hemp research. We already know that various parts of the plant are used to make durable textiles, paper, cosmetics, food items, skin care, paints, animal feed, insulation etc. and these states are able to utilize the hemp plant in making consumer products. Tax Stamp Laws - The states with tax stamp programs in place have laws that mandate drug dealers to pay taxes on their illegal drugs, using pre-paid stamps that are to be purchased and affixed to the marijuana packaging. Now this seems odd to have states without any medical or legalization laws, making it still illegal yet taxable. If you get caught with a bag and that does not have the tax stamps on it, you would incur added fines and penalties under the tax stamp law. It’s basically just a way for state governments to get their cut on illegal sales, without changing laws. Medical Laws - The states with medical marijuana laws on the books allow cannabis to be used in a multitude of medicinal facets, as prescribed by doctors. Uses range from clinical treatments of pain relief, glaucoma, muscle spasms and nausea. It also treats and prevents certain types of tumors and neurological problems, as well as its anti-nausea properties. Legalization Laws - There are only 2 states with legalization laws enacted; Colorado (CO) and Washington (WA) and only Colorado is using the laws to their full potential so far, with Washington slated to enact its legislation in a year’s time. Theses 2 states are pioneering the revolutionizing

people of WA voted to stop treating adult marijuana use as a crime and try a new approach that: 1.) Allows law enforcement resources to focus on violent and property crimes, 2.) Generates immense state and local tax revenue for education, health care, research and substance abuse prevention, and 3.) Removed marijuana from the hands of illegal drug organizations and brings it under a tightly regulated, state-licensed system similar to the one that controls alcohol. It gave the state liquor control board full authority to regulate and tax marijuana for persons 21 years or older to consume, cultivate and purchase. The I-502 divides up the cannabis market, keeping separate licenses for wholesalers, processors & retailers. Empowering the state liquor board as the governing body over the cannabis market, allowing it to enable rules pertaining to the equipment and management of a retail outlets and spaces where cannabis is produced or processed. They can make rules for anything they see fit. The state of Washington will collect a 25% state sales tax on wholesale and retail sales of recreational marijuana, and have pre-designated specifically where the revenue will go. Colorado – Also passed on Election Day in 2012 was Amendment 64, which provides regulation for personal and recreational use of marijuana for adults over the age of 21 in the state of Colorado, and licensing for cultivation facilities, infused product manufacturing facilities and retail stores. Colorado residents voted in favor 55 to 44 with approx 68% voter turnout and by January 1st the laws were ready to take effect. Colorado has long been known to be a canna-

The MITS is designed to track every licensed piece of marijuana from the day a cutting or seedling roots until the day it is sold. This system can record and report the strain’s type and origination, what it consists of, where it was grown, batch number, growing method, chemicals used, where it was pro-

close with a lock. You as a grower are allowed to give people some of your harvest as a gift, but not allowed to sell or trade it for goods or services, which would require a license. Another allowance CO has is for out-of-state residents to purchase up to 7g (1/4 oz), so move over Amsterdam new cannabis

13 vacation destination Colorado is now on the map! Colorado collects on average a 25% total tax on retail recreational marijuana, depending on the local tax rate. The first report of recreational revenue from Colorado came in at the end of the first full month of operations in January 2014 totaling $14.02 million in retail sales with the state collecting roughly $2.01 million dollars in taxes. One can assume that they are going to spread the tax revenue out just like Washington has projected to; long and short term use research, health care and addiction programs. The disbursement specifics have yet to be determined. The shelves of the initial 160 or so shops that opened in January 2014 with licenses in CO are lined with glass jars. Each one is full of cured colas, meticulously labeled with an employee nearby to inform and discuss every strain. The employees are referred to as ‘Bud Tenders’ and are very knowledgeable on their products. The bud tenders are quick to offer a smile or a quick joke before

When you step into a retail shop you will notice the tantalizing aroma of dank herb, and the first things you will see for sale are the smaller pot infused items. They will be hanging on wall pegs, dangling from free standing display racks or neatly lined up on top of the display cases. Some of these items include; gummies, suckers & candies, chocolates, granola bars, goo-balls, brownies, lozenges, drinks, topical lotions and even random things like canna-bubble bath. A lot of the stores are also head shops stocking items to smoke out of, usually mostly a heady glass pipe/bong selection, but can also include plastic pipes/bongs, rolling papers, grinders etc. Look for the employees of the store as they will most likely be standing near the shelves or cases that hold all the green goodness. Everything you can think of is available; pre-rolled joints, honey oils (dabs), sometimes made into shatter hash, earwax hash and even THC/CBD/CBN transdermal patches. One of their biggest selling toys is the vaporizer pens. They come with a refillable chamber and look similar to an e-cigarette. Then, of course,

Fields, Grape Ape, Blueberry, Kilowatt, Critical, Cannatonic…just to name a few. The jars are usually accompanied by a pair of tongs that the employees carefully remove the buds with. They are then placed on a tray or small dish for the customer to inspect and smell before making a decision. They are offering the same professional service that you would expect to find in any high end retail store; whether or not

sale of marijuana a felony crime and uses the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) long armed reach to enforce this law. Their freedoms are, for now, protected by the current president and his administration. In a letter written from the Department of Justice to all federal enforcement agency officials, it states that the federal government will not challenge state laws, and will instead focus on keeping drugs out of

Everything you can think of is available; pre-rolled joints, honey oils (dabs), sometimes made into shatter hash, earwax hash and even THC/CBD/CBN transdermal patches diving into full descriptions, reviews and suggestions on the indica, sativa or crossbreed of your choice. You can tell these Bud Tenders really love their jobs, and why wouldn’t they? They do have the best job in the world for any connoisseur, something most of us have only dreamed about. Just as you can walk into a jewelry store and have the jeweler walk you through their selection, you can get the same treatment in these small pot shops all over Colorado and soon in Washington too. The stores that sell marijuana are limited to only selling marijuana and its related products, so don’t expect to be picking up any in the produce department of a grocery store anytime soon.

there is that store’s nuggets of choice and the stores usually have a menu listing all their offerings as well as a glass display. Some shops have a small inventory of offerings and carry only unique strains their supplier has developed and cross bread themselves and can charge $3-5 more per gram because of its rarity. But most shops have extensive selections of strains that most of us would recognize, like; Northern Lights, Blue Dream, Chem Dog, Bruce Banner, FLO, Super Lemon Haze, Sour Diesel, Durban Poison, Sour Alien, Headband, Glass Slipper, Cinderella 99, Skunk #1, OG Kush, Strawberry

it is serving a product that the United States Federal Government can still put you in jail for. The US Federal Government Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970 classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines. Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse and severe psychological or physical dependence. They are the most dangerous of all five drug schedules outlined in the CSA and come with stiff penalties. The CSA makes the possession and

the hands of minors and preventing the trafficking to the states where it remains illegal. So, for now under President Obama and his hand-shake agreement with the marijuana industry states, they are safe. Is it a coincidence that the two states to legalize pot this year also had their NFL football teams in the championship, dubbed the “Super Bowl”? Hmmm…….. Look for more states to follow their lead, with talks of at least 4 more states in talks for new legislation in the coming years. Without loopholes and inherent indiscretions in state laws, legalization of marijuana is unfolding before our very eyes.

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Sports Secrets, Team Play and Mary Jane

Sebastian Daniel

Nowadays it’s hard to imagine a real sportsman recommending tobacco - even in a private group. Just like it’s virtually impossible to find a doctor willing to prescribe it for any medical condition. Meanwhile, the best of the best in the world league of sports admit to smoking cannabis. The greatest minds, lungs, and hearts in world sports may actually owe this confession to this medicinal plant – as it may have contributed greatly to their success. single inhalation of cannabis smoke was able to stop a full-blown asthma attack. Still, the main-stream media use the scare tactics of lung cancer in order to justify the prohibition of cannabis, even if scientists have never been able to provide a single case of cancer caused by marijuana use alone. Cure for the loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Studies suggest that marijuana is a much healthier choice for athletes in order to gain an advantage over their competition than using, say, human growth hormone (HGH) or amphetamines. It has long been known that cannabis has a huge positive effect on the mind and body of the athlete - for example, it increases lung capacity. Marijuana also helps to remove damaged cells and improves the efficiency of the mitochondria, the energy source of the cell. And better repair of the mitochondria means a stronger, faster mind and body.

Michael Phelps, the most famous and titled athlete on our planet (he holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals - 18, double the second highest record holders) has admitted to smoking marijuana. Obviously, for a swimmer the single most important thing is lung volume. Nobody could even dream of achieving similar results while smoking tobacco. Phelps, the most accomplished man in the history of sports, is not the only professional athlete “advertising” cannabis use occasionally. The fastest man in the world, Jamaican runner Usain Bolt said in an interview with the German newspaper “Bild” that in Jamaica marijuana is something universal and he also had to deal with it. “When you’re a kid, you learn how to make a joint,” said Bolt. The famous sprinter also sparked controversy with his photos of T-shirts from The Pothead Diaries promoting the smoking of marijuana. Many other wellknown athletes smoke herb without any negative consequences to their performance and health - and even for its positive effects on the body. Only recently, the media has dealt with the cases of American footballer Ricky Williams and basketball player LeBron James. It is estimated that more than

half of the players in American NBA (basketball) and NFL (football) league teams regularly smokes. For this reason, in the off-season no one even thinks of carrying out control tests for THC among players. Marijuana smoke opens airways in the lungs - in contrast to smoking nicotine products, which has the opposite effect and blocks them. It is like the difference for men between smoking hemp and tobacco for its aphrodisiac/ impotence effect – or the difference between life and death, health and disease, function and malfunction at the cellular level for all of us, male or female. Renowned lung specialist Dr. Donald Taskin, now Professor Emeritus at the University of California, first discovered and described this fundamental difference in the way two of humanity’s favorite smokes operate in the body. The scientist spent almost 40 years studying the harmful effects of smoking on the lungs. In 2006, his studies showed that cannabis smoke not only does not cause lung cancer, but seem to even protect against it. Dr. Tashkin also found that marijuana does not cause or exacerbate the symptoms of emphysema - which is very strange for any smokable substance. He also noted that even a

The secrets of team play involve our cells and other mysteries of life. Increased strength, the ability to regenerate an athlete’s body and, what’s perhaps even more important, a positive effect on the brain of the player – these findings have made cannabinoids look like the new wonder drug of sports medicine. Our own natural cannabinoids produced by the body include anandamide (from the word “happiness” in Sanskrit). Separate from the brain is the cannabinoid system in the heart. The protective effects of cannabinoids against brain damage and heart failure are very similar - as if nature protected the two most important organs using the same tool. Many cannabinoid receptors are present in the cells of the immune system and other major organs: the kidneys, the liver, or pancreas. This endocannabinoid system of our own “internal marijuana” is activated by motion. The content of natural cannabinoids in our blood increases twice through physical exercise, as researchers have shown in a study conducted on

healthy volunteers. This simple method can also deepen and prolong the effect of marijuana on the body. Dr. David A. Raichlen of the University of Arizona explains that the sense of euphoria after exercise is part of our evolutionary history as high levels of endocannabinoids form an incentive to run again. This is an evolutionary reward for doing something difficult and painful. It probably helped our species to survive, to be healthier, to hunt better and have more offspring. A level of satisfaction can be earned, says the researcher. The more fit we are, the more likely we are to achieve a high level of happiness. Within a healthy body lives a healthy mind, modern doctors repeat following their ancient peers. In addition to sports and physical exercise, other common methods of achieving a natural state of well-being and satisfaction is intellectual effort (the pleasant formation of new brain cells through learning and curiosity) and, of course, sex.

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Cannabis events

The Home Grown Expo, Coventry

By Little Lebowski

In the last weekend in May, Coventry played host to the first ever ‘cross over’ trade show, where hydroponic retailers rubbed shoulders with garden centre owners. Featuring a mixture of the latest gadgets, systems and sundries for the urban gardener, The Home Grown Expo promised to be the first industry event to truly cross over into the mainstream gardening market, but did it deliver? When you’ve been part of an industry scene for a while, it’s easy to get stuck in your ways and treat new ideas with a dose of cynicism that can border on negativity.

Although, we’re sure many would agree that the industry trade shows have needed a shake up for a while now, and we’re talking worldwide here not just in the UK, it would be a brave person to come forward and rock the boat. Step forward Richard from Down To Earth, James from The Grind Magazine and Eric and Jair from Garden Culture Magazine, who joined forces to put on an expo that offered something a little different to visitors and exhibitors alike. Whether you were a chilli aficionado or experienced indoor

grower, there was a wide range of booths to explore and products to discuss. Situated in a Midlands location that was as easy to reach from Scotland as it was from London, the guys behind The Home Grown Expo had put some serious work into researching a venue that was accessible for as large a population as possible. That, coupled with some clever advertising in local press and gardening trade magazines, raised awareness of the event to a potential audience far in excess of many traditional hydroponic shows.

And... it worked! The mixture of visitors on the public day made for a really interesting time. One minute you’d be chatting to a couple of middle aged ladies about their greenhouse cucumbers, the next minute you’d be talking to a couple of younger guys about their indoor “tomatoes”! The variation in the types of conversation - combined with the number of visitors - meant the first day flew by. Trade day on the Sunday arrived and exhibitors were anxious to see how many retailers would actually turn up. It didn’t disappoint!

Henk from Hesi

The real success of any trade show is best summed up by the exhibitors themselves, so we had a chat with Henk IJpelaar from HESI Nutrients to get his opinion…

Hesi are one of the main expo sponsors, you must have been very confident that the expo would be a success? Yes, I was and took the right decision, because the show was a real success, in my eyes.

Hi Henk, it’s good to see you and the Hesi guys on UK soil, thanks for speaking with us. When did you first hear about the Home Grown Expo? I know the organisers quite well since many years and after the Manchester show last year, we were all not satisfied, for a lot of things. In a telephone call with Richard Dennison, one of our distributors, a few days after the show, we mentioned that it would be nice to have another show in the UK. The organisers picked it up and started planning, with good results at the end as we could really see last weekend. So, I was one of the first to be contacted in this matter.

How was the weekend for you? Saturday was a little slow on people, we had counted on more people as I knew that the organisers had given away around 10,000 free tickets. So, we had expected a few more visitors, but it was still a very, very good day for a show which has been done for the first time in that region. The Sunday, the trade day, was wonderful! We talked to a lot of interested retailers and that is what it’s all about. So, yes it was a very good weekend for HESI. What did you think of the location and venue? Good venue, good location and a very good organisation. All of the staff from the venue were very friendly and helpful in any

way they could be. There was no problem that they couldn’t solve in no time at all. Did the expo feel different to other trade shows that you have visited? Yes, very different. The service was great from all of the event staff. The mix of visitors was also very different to the other shows. There were lots of visitors who were not marijuana minded people, who were simply interested in urban gardening. This is so good for a fertilizer producer such as HESI. So will you be doing the expo again next year? Yes, we will be there as a sponsor again next year. Which of the Hesi products sell the best over here in the UK? There are not really any products that stand out over the rest. Maybe the English growers work less on coco medium, so we see some lower sales on our coco products compared to our

products for growing on soil or hydro. Our boosters; RootsComplex, PowerZyme, Super Vit all sell very well in the UK, as does our new Boost product which we launched a year ago. What are the plans for the UK and Europe over the next few months? Any new products? We will be on many shows for the rest of the year. We do not make new products so often because we want to test extensively before we bring new products to the markets where we sell. Plus, our lines are so complete that we do not need to bring out new products every year. We want to keep it as affordable as possible for the users and we are famous for high quality for a fair price! So a lot of new products would make it more expensive and that is not our goal, we want satisfied users at the end of their growing-cycle. Thanks Henk. See you at the next show!

Soft Secrets Girl of the Year

Girl of the Year 2014: MAZAR Mazar is one of Dutch Passion’s classics, a hybrid of champions genetics that as early as 1999 has reaped its first reward at the High Times Cannabis Cup. For this feat alone you could call Mazar an authentic veteran, although it’s actual name originates from way before, when it appeared in Dutch Passion’s catalogue in 1997 by the name of Afghan/Skunk.

The first recipe for this strain was the combination of a 100% Indica Afghan mother and a Skunk father. By breeding and stabilising this variety has developed towards its Afghan roots, which is underscored by the new name it received in 1997, evoking the Indicas of Mazar-i-Sharif, the cradle of legendary hashish. The characteristics of the hash plant that are so typical for Mazar are expressed in plants of medium height, vigorous and full of resin, with a sweet and earthy taste like good Afghan hash. The Skunk part shows in the increased size compared to the modestly sized original Afghan plants,

but influences its taste as well, a presence of pine and a sweet citrus aftertaste. The influence of both genetics create a vigorous and easy to grow variety. It creates a fysical and relaxing body effect while at the same time evoking meditative and contemplative states of mind. At the time of its creation as an AfghanSkunk cross it was a traditional variety, but Mazar has also appeared as a pioneer in its feminised version; Dutch Passion was one of the world’s first seed banks ever to move in the direction of feminised seeds. For several years users also had the option to buy the autoflowering version,

A classic Mazar that never disappoints

Mazar is a very homogeneous and vigorous variety, resulting in plants that look very much alike and develop quickly, showing the first preflowering around the fourth or fifth week. Thanks to this vigour it’s very easy to cultivate and therefore is a good choice for beginning growers. During the vegetative stage it requires modest fertilization, showing large fan leaves with long ‘fingers’ forming a nearly round shape, and a compact structure with few branches, making it an ideal choice when you want to grow more plants per square meter, if not, make sure to prune the main stem. Growth during the first weeks of flowering, together with the stretching of the internodes, causes an increase in height which later allows for a dense flower production. Flowers are rounded in shape, and filling up the branches from top to bottom. Resin production is high, and fragrance is very strong, making the use of odour control neccesary. When nearly

matured some plants will develop markedly purplish coloroured flowers. The buds, once dried, are compact and hard. The small calixes appear in large numbers, and the calyx-leaf ratio is very good. The few leaves you may find are covered with huge trichomes, making it an excellent choice for mechanical extractions. The odour is sweet, with a foundation of pine of lemon. The taste is fruity, with a mild aftertaste of hash and a certain lemon-flavored freshness. The effect is a potent, a powerfully relaxing body stone accompanied by confusion and mental desorientation. Definitely a classic that never disappoints.

AutoMazar, with much vigour and homogeneity, on top of a strong growth and generous production. After taking a cup at the High Times Cannabis Cup 1999 the variety was also awarded at the Amsterdam Highlife Cup of 2002. In 2008 succes hit again, when Mazar received a Tipo Forte de Bologna award. 2014 appears to be the year of Dutch Passion, because after being chosen this year’s best seed bank at Spannabis fair, Mazar continued to bring the company even more joy. For its ease of growing, vigour, potency and respectable age, it also earned the Girl of the Year Award of 2014.

Bud Spencer

Medicinal use

The Race For CBD Over the last few years the medical interest in Cannabidiol, or CBD has grown and grown. CBD is often described as the ‘forgotten cannabinoid’ because very few breeders have paid much attention to it until recently. But all that is changing, and changing fast. As the international prohibition of cannabis starts to collapse the interest in the medical applications of cannabis has never been as high. And with a strong medical interest in cannabis there is a very

CBD is often only found at trace levels in many varieties. Amongst professional cannabis breeders a variety with over 4% CBD is often deemed to be ‘CBD rich’. The key to creating CBD-rich varieties is selective breeding and crossing of CBDrich parents. Over many generations, and with a great deal of analytical testing and patience you can select the right parents to breed varieties with increasing levels of

By Tony, Dutch Passion Seed Company

had to go one step further and attempt to breed THC almost completely out of the cannabis plant. Again, this is a process that can only be done via selective breeding of parent plants which have a known cannabinoid profile. In simple terms, it is a process of selecting parents rich in CBD and low in THC, often indica varieties are good starting points since they can contain higher levels of CBD than sativa varieties. It is ironic to see some of the best breeders

other cannabinoids is enough to produce some dramatic medical results. In some cases it has allowed children to lead lives free from their previous daily routine of dozens of fits. In the USA there are numerous ‘medical refugees’ as parents move to Colorado to be free from the persecution of the Police in their own state. Many medical cannabis campaigners are striving to get these ‘almost zero THC’ varieties reclassified as Hemp so that they can be grown legally in areas where the laws still prohibit cannabis. Soon we will see these varieties available widely in Europe. The USA is a few years ahead of Europe when it comes to progressive political thinking on medical marijuana, and the legal status of cannabis in Colorado has really allowed them to bravely pioneer the medical uses of CBD for both adults and children. Another country which deserves a mention and has also embraced the medical research into CBD-rich cannabis has been the Israelis. They have used cannabis for physical and psychological conditions including treatment of their army veterans from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). Recently the Israelis announced the ‘Avidekel’ cannabis variety containing 15.8% CBD and under 1% THC. Other countries are also progressing medical research rapidly as the legal and ideological barriers to medical marijuana are slowly being lowered. It’s important to stress that the medical benefits are not related just to CBD. Many people have used THC-rich varieties for decades to treat all manner of medical conditions.

It is ironic to see some of the best breeders working so hard to actually reduce THC levels after all these years of doing the exact opposite definite interest in the use of CBD. CBD has been well received by many parts of the medical cannabis community. Many Multiple Sclerosis patients rate CBD-rich varieties very highly, as do people with all kinds of ailments from digestive disorders, fits/seizures, skeletal issues, chronic pain, and many others. Of course, many medical marijuana users will prefer THC-rich varieties, and other still will prefer varieties which offer roughly equal amounts of THC and CBD. The emergence of CBD-rich varieties in recent years has sparked a wave of interest and research into CBD. Mainstream pharmaceutical companies, such as GW Pharmaceuticals with their ‘Sativex’ spray are also getting very excited about the medical applications of CBD and other cannabinoids for a wide range of applications. And there are many other large drug companies conducting their own research into medical applications for CBD. But the good news for the home-grower is that they are able to grow their own CBD-rich varieties whilst medical science catches up with the cannabis community. The first thing to say about CBD is that it is often found at levels of around 0.2% (or less) in many ‘typical’ varieties of weed, alongside THC levels of 12-15% or higher.

CBD in them. Perhaps the key issue getting in the way of amateur CBD breeding has been the need for systematic analytical testing throughout the entire breeding process and involving every plant. It has been estimated that only around 1 in 400 cannabis plants is CBD-rich through random genetic variation. One of the most popular early CBD developments remains the varieties that offer a 1:1 ratio of THC to CBD. These varieties typically offer around 7%THC and 7% CBD in the dried buds. These varieties are popular since they allow the experienced cannabis user to feel all the pleasurable benefits and the strong ‘body stone’ that they will be familiar with. The 1:1 ratio varieties are also popular with new medical marijuana users since, in small doses, they do not produce the intense cerebral ‘head-high’ which can be confusing for new medical marijuana users who are not experienced pot smokers. These 1:1 ratio varieties are for many people just as pleasurable as traditional varieties, the effects they produce are familiar to experienced stoners but not too overwhelming for the inexperienced cannabis user. However, those looking to use cannabis for paediatric (childrens) medicine have

working so hard to actually reduce THC levels after all these years of doing the exact opposite. But the world of cannabis breeding is often full of surprises - such as the arrival of automatic varieties in the last couple of years, not least because they are just as strong and heavy yielding as traditional varieties. Before auto’s, the arrival of feminized seed in the 1990’s was also an unexpected but well-received development. The emergence of high-CBD varieties is another trend which few anticipated. Behind the scenes there are some extremely talented cannabis breeders looking for new innovations which will make cannabis growing easier, more convenient and more relevant for the home grower whether they are growing for recreational or medical reasons. Over many generations of breeding it is possible to produce cannabis plants that can deliver a ratio of 20:1 CBD:THC. Analysis of the dried buds might show e.g. 12% CBD and 0.6% THC. This is a 20:1 ratio, and in places like Colorado it is these extreme CBD-rich varieties which are of great interest to parents of children with Dravets syndrome (a rare form of epilepsy), and other conditions. ‘Charlottes Web’ is such a variety, bred by the Stanley Brothers in Colorado, it doesn’t contain enough THC to get you ‘high’ but the presence of CBD and

The UK remains a unique legal anomaly, much to the frustration of the cannabis users that live there. The UK government allows companies like GW Pharmaceuticals to legally grow thousands of kilo’s of Cannabis in the UK for conversion into it’s ‘Sativex’ spray, yet it prohibits cannabis use even for medical reasons amongst it’s own citizens. It’s a strange hypocrisy, a legacy of politicians incapable of grasping

Column Psychedelic Medicine

Dr John Dee

Medical research can be weird. For most people, all they really know about it is when the end result appears, and that’s usually only when the result is a good one; you don’t tend to hear about those occasions where millions are spent on developing the new “wonder drug” for it all to come to nothing. Nor do most people know much about the politics of drug development: why one thing might get the nod from the various regulatory bodies while something else along the same lines might not. Recently I was talking with an American colleague who is a real mover and shaker in the reemerging field of psychedelic medicine. For those readers unacquainted with this, in a nutshell it involves “rehabilitating” (so to speak) a group of substances and bringing them back into mainstream medicine from the “of no medical value” Class A/Schedule 1 drugs-of-abuse place they’ve been consigned to for many years. After years of campaigning, lobbying and so forth, this group successfully navigated all the obstacles thrown down by the FDA, the DEA, the FBI and all the rest, and have been granted permission to run properly organised and supervised medical trials using substances such as LSD and MDMA in order to properly evaluate their properties in the treatment of a range of illnesses, both physical and mental. Some of these trials are being conducted outside of the U.S. out of a combination of necessity and/or expediency (but that’s a whole other story). Early indications are that the results are promising. So far, so good, but what they really would like to do is to properly look at the benefits of weed. However, it seems that this is a step too far for the powers that be and they’ve been shown the door.

the fact that prohibition of cannabis does not reduce consumption of cannabis. It is also a hypocrisy which probably can’t be sustained too much longer. UK politicians remain significantly behind public opinion when it comes to the use of cannabis for recreational and medical reasons. There is another way to get CBD, and that is to extract it from industrial hemp. This has some advantages. Industrial hemp can be easier to get hold of. The only downside of industrial hemp is that it is generally supplied as compressed blocks comprised of the whole plant, stem, leaves as well as the flowers. CBD levels are often only around 1-5% in the hemp flowers (depending on the cultivar), and THC levels are much much lower still. In contrast to industrial hemp, a specially bred CBD-rich cannabis variety can have CBD at levels of 10%-15% or greater in the buds. Those breeding the specialised CBD-rich cannabis varieties also claim one other significant benefit of cannabis over hemp, and that is the ‘entourage effect’. The entourage theory is one which many would like to see scientifically proven, but the theory is that CBD-rich cannabis contains a greater amount of trace cannabinoids (THCV, CBG, CBC etc etc) than hemp. The presence of these additional cannabinoids is said to offer more benefits than CBD extracted from industrial hemp. But in the short term we expect that many people will extract CBD from industrial hemp simply because it is often easy, cheap and legal to get hold of.

It is ironic that modern science put men on the moon many decades ago yet we are still filling the knowledge vacuum on medical cannabis. The lack of information is a sad consequence of the failed prohibition of cannabis. For decades the only studies on cannabis that could get funding were the ones designed to show the dangers of it. Medical science is only just starting to scratch the surface of understanding the medical value of cannabis. Instead of having a medical establishment which fully understands the various cannabinoids and their complementary uses we have an absence of knowledge. The good news is that things are changing at a faster rate now than ever before and we should not underestimate the political importance of the cannabis legalisations in the USA and elsewhere. As the USA starts to legalise cannabis it is also fulfilling an important role demonstrating to the rest of the world that cannabis can be legally regulated for both medical and recreational uses. Maybe one day in the future those politicians that have ignored the medical evidence for cannabis will be called to account. Meanwhile the belated studies into cannabis, CBD, THC and the other cannabinoids is at last under way. It will be fascinating to see how the medical science behind cannabis evolves in the coming few years.

This strikes me the weirdest thing. All these laboratory produced chemicals are fine, but something that basically jumps out of the ground if it’s given sunlight and water is a no-no? Don’t misunderstand me, please. I’m all for the reintroduction of these other substances to the pharmacopeia, but the reaction to cannabis does seem to be flying in the face of what’s going on in other parts of the U.S. There are “health refugees” moving permanently to Colorado in order to provide family members (usually children, it seems) with access to cannabis preparations for medical reasons without fear of the Feds kicking the door in, busting everyone in sight and then dragging them through the courts because the laws have changed (again) in their own state. What is it with some Americans and weed? Certain sections of the population seem to respond to it in the same way they do to “Commies”. It strikes me there are a whole lot of more important things to be worrying about, and to make such a big deal over this is just bizarre. An idée fixe, as the French (or psychologists) would put it. I don’t particularly want to get into the vagaries of the Conservative American psyche - or at least not right now - particularly as there’s a good conspiracy theory to be proposed. The thing about all of the “approved for research” substances mentioned above is that they’re pretty difficult to make properly, to standard strengths, with inactive fillers and so on. To do it correctly, you really need a properly fitted out lab and people who know what they’re doing. Enter the pharmaceutical companies! As I say, weed pretty much jumps out of the ground with water, sunlight and some TLC: pretty much anyone can grow it, so there’s not going to be any money in that for the drug companies. Money seems to talk loudest in the U.S., and so maybe the pharmaceutical lobby just shouts louder than the other guys. You want good mental health? You got it, but it’ll cost you.

dimethyltrypamine777@hotmail.com

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Grow with Ed Rosenthal

THE WHYS OF GREENHOUSES Greenhouses are a great way to grow because they use sunlight for photosynthetic energy and provide a controlled environment that is adjusted to the crop’s needs. These two factors are incredibly important because running lights is one of the major costs facing growers and the length of the growing season affects both yield and quality. Here are some of the ways that greenhouses can be used: • To grow plants all year around. • To flower plants early or out of season. • To start plants early so they have grown to a large size when they are placed outdoors. • For ripening outdoor container plants at the end of the season. Here in Holland commercial greenhouses are the backbone of agricultural exports. Their use combined with high technology allows cloudy, cool Holland to compete agriculturally with countries that have a sunny, warm climate and inexpensive labor. The greenhouses are operated all year, producing vegetables such as the world-famous Dutch bell peppers and cut flowers including roses. Outdoor farmers have a short growing season. Heated greenhouses are used all year. Even during the winter when the days are short and the light is weak, there are substantial savings using natural light. During the late spring and summer electric light is use goes down to nothing. Marijuana is a short day crop. It measures the period of uninterrupted darkness each day and when it lengthens to a critical period for several days, plants starts to flower. By regulating the day length (actually the period of uninterrupted darkness) using blackout curtains or lights to extend day length or interrupt the dark period to prevent flowering, the plant can be forced to flower any time of the year.

In a heated greenhouse plants can be started early. To prevent flowering during early spring when days are short and light is on the dim, low intensity level, the daylight is supplemented using HPS lamps. They can also be used to interrupt the dark cycle so the plants remain growing vegetatively. When the plants get large enough, in late spring or early summer blackout curtains are used to shorten the days to 12 hours, forcing the plants to flower. The buds form during the period of the most intense sunlight, rather than in the fall, when light intensity wanes. The intensity results in larger, more potent buds. Outdoor plants that are started early and have a chance to grow large before they are transplanted have a better success rate and grow larger earlier than they ordinarily would. Growing plants in a greenhouse until they are transplanted outside is an excellent use of greenhouse space. Once the plants have been moved out in the spring, another group can be propagated that will remain in the greenhouse until they are ripe. Relocating late ripening plants growing outside in moveable containers towards the end of the season protects them from the weather. Adding supplemental lights such as HPS or metal halides during daylight hours speeds ripening and increases yield as compared to using only autumn’s waning light.

1) Handmade Greenhouse (circa 1988)-This greenhouse was constructed from woven polyethylene over a wood frame. It sat on top of the roof of a house in central Amsterdam, not far from the police station. The plants were kept warmer and wind-free.

2) Pocket Greenhouse- Surrounded by walls on either side, this souh-facing greenhouse receives light from the front and top as well as supplemental light from HO fluorescents and an HPS lamp. The curtains provide 100% blackout from the side. A blackout window shade blacked out the top. Both were adjusted manually daily for about 60 days. At dusk the curtains were shut. They were opened 12 hours later, in the morning each day.

3) Pocket Greenhouse- Plants are in mid-flower in July.

4) Tunnel 1- Inexpensive homemade greenhouse constructed using steel, wood and plastic framing and polyethylene cover.

6) Tunnel 2-The greenhouse in operation

7) Row Covers-In Switzerland the farmer used row covers to deliver an early crop. The framing was made from rebar that was a little more than 2 meters high at its peak that was secured in the ground. On fair days the curtains were left open. On cool and rainy days, the 2.5 meter wide beds were covered using clear plastic. Each evening the black plastic was placed over the plants, forcing them to flower. The rows were 65 meters long. It took two people about 20 minutes to cover or uncover a hectare of plants.

9) Swamp Cooler-They cool the space using water dripping through a plastic or cellulose screen as air is blown through. They are inexpensive to run but they do add moisture to the air. They can be used in conjunction with air conditioners.

10) Aeon Cleanlights-They were mounted on a tractor on a track. The fungicidal light makes a roundtrip through the greenhouse daily. About 3 seconds under the light kills fungal spores but doesn’t harm the roses. The light can be installed in most of the greenhouses pictured in this article.

Grow with Dutch Passion

Just how did auto’s get so good?

By Tony, Dutch Passion Seed Company ties, some seedbanks offer better quality/consistency than others, some seedbanks really know what they are doing whilst others are still learning. The better seedbanks are able to deliver seeds that have yield potential of 250g+ per plant, with THC levels in the same range

ering is a sign that the cannabis plant is aiming to complete its lifecycle before winter arrives. The indoor grower artificially mimics the natural life cycle by using his HPS (or LED) light for just 12 hours in each 24 hour cycle. The traditional photoperiod cannabis plant

hours. Just when a flowering photoperiod plant really needs all the energy it can get to produce cannabis, we have to hold it back to just 12 hours of light per day. Then, a few years ago, some of the most talented breeders found that they could adjust the genetic foundation of the cannabis plant to allow it to do something which many said was impossible. They were able to use genetics from the Ruderalis cannabis family to allow cannabis to bloom heavily even if the plant was grown under 20 hours of daily light. At first many said this was impossible, but history tells us that rules are there to be broken, and cannabis growers are breaking rules all the time. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why so many selfsufficient home-growers have taken a shine to auto’s. But how did auto’s manage to evolve so quickly? It took just 5 years or so for auto’s to go from being the ‘new kid on the block’ to being a firmly established part of the home grown scene. Even the biggest fans of auto’s did not expect such a rapid rise to fame. In

We don’t expect to see auto’s completely replace traditional varieties, nor do we think anyone wants to see that quate rather than exceptional. But all that has changed. Today the best seedbanks have really cracked the breeding methods which allow them to produce very heavy yielding auto’s, and potency levels are now indistinguishable from traditional varieties. So how did all this happen so quickly?

as traditional varieties. They best seedbanks use the strongest parent genetics available, and they understand the intricacies and fine points of the breeding process. AutoFem’s are bred to allow them to bloom under 20 hours (or even 24) of daily light. With a traditional photoperiod variety the cannabis genetics will grow vegetively under long hours of daylight and will only bloom when light is reduced to 12 hours per day. This is logical, the cannabis plant has evolved to start blooming when it senses the onset of shorter days which signal the approach of Autumn. The start of flow-

There are a few reasons for the performance surge in feminized automatics (often called ‘AutoFems’ or simply ‘autos’). But it is also worth saying that any home-grower looking to grow automatics should do their homework before splashing the cash on the seeds. Just like traditional ‘photoperiod’ varie-

responds to shorter daylight hours by starting to flower, producing the sticky buds that all home-growers dream of. To many of us in the breeding community, it always seemed a shame that a flowering cannabis plant couldn’t be forced to bloom under longer daylight

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It’s a question that people keep asking. Just how did automatic cannabis varieties get so good over the last 5 years? After all, the first generation of automatics were limited to small harvests of half an ounce, or less. And the strength of the first generation automatics was ade-

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26 Dutch Passion we see our customers are buying almost as many auto seeds as traditional seeds. And other established seedbanks are seeing the same trend as auto’s become more and more popular. There are a few key reasons why auto’s evolved so quickly • Some of the best cannabis breeders quickly embraced auto’s to see for themselves what they could do. In any industry, if you can get the most talented and intelligent people involved in a new technology you will very quickly see one of two things. The technology will either sink or swim. In the case of auto’s, the attention of the best cannabis breeders has allowed auto’s to evolve at a rapid pace. • The ‘photo’ gene has shown it can be manipulated to give a massive advantage to the home grower. Being able to bloom cannabis under 20 (or 24) hours of light offers a dramatic increase in the photosynthetic potential for the yields of the average home grower. Today, many of the most informed auto-experts feel that auto’s can now routinely out-yield a traditional variety in the same time period due to one key fact: auto’s have almost twice as much light energy available during flowering, this equates to bigger yields. • The challenge. Many of us respond well to a challenge, whether it is a sporting challenge, an intellectual challenge or a personal challenge. To the best breeders and seedbanks it is always a challenge to be able to improve the odds in favour of the home grower. In the 1990’s it was Dutch Passion that first created feminized cannabis seeds when others said it was impossible. Today we are watching auto’s become a mainstream choice for home growers. • The genetics. As the fine-points of breeding automatic varieties became better understood, the best breeders were able to introduce some of the best connoisseur cannabis parent genetics into the gene pool being used to breed auto’s. The result was a dream combination of the best breeders, with the best genetics, working with high levels of interest and motivation to push auto’s further and faster than anyone thought possible. But there are other benefits to automatics as well. The average home grower tends to grow small numbers of cannabis plants, typically around 10-20 plants per year for their own use. Medical growers may grow a few more plants especially if they are producing edibles, oils or concentrates. Home growers tend to be cautious; they like to grow discreetly using the smallest, simplest set-up and the minimum number of plants. The average home grower does not like to maintain separate grow tents for ‘veg’ and ‘bloom’, and with auto’s they don’t need to. Many home growers now have the light regime in their

tent on a fixed daily system of 20 hours lights-on, followed by 4 hours lights-off. With automatics this will allow the tent to be used by auto seedlings as well as mature auto’s approaching harvest time. You can start new seeds whenever you wish and simply put them in the growroom with the other auto’s regardless of the fact that they are all at different stages of growth. Auto’s typically take 11 weeks or so from seed to harvest, they allow the home grower to use a single room on a fixed light cycle for all their plants. The longer ‘lights-on’ period is also useful for home growers to keep their grow-room warm during cooler months. So where do auto’s go from here? The short answer is watch this space. More work continues on auto’s, a lot of what can be achieved (in terms of yields and potency) has already been achieved. But there are still a few exciting new ideas in the pipeline which could become reality in the next 1-2 years. With the right breeding we will see more and more CBD-rich auto’s appear. We also expect to see continued improvements in quality and yield, although it is generally just a small fraction of the home-growers that can really push the auto genetics to their full potential. We don’t expect to see auto’s completely replace traditional varieties, nor do we think anyone wants to see that. But some seedbanks, including Dutch Passion, are seeing the best automatics become more popular than many established traditional varieties. Perhaps the market for seeds will reach an equilibrium where auto and traditional varieties co-exist in roughly equal parts. In the meantime the best advice we can give to anyone wanting to grow auto’s themselves is this: find a seedbank you trust with a good reputation for automatics and try them for yourself. You really will be surprised at how simple, convenient and devastatingly powerful the best of the modern auto’s have become.

International scene

Morocco to Legalise? Up in the Rif mountains of Northern Morocco generations of economically marginalised farming families have defended, fought and served countless years in prison because they grow cannabis to pay for the otherwise unobtainable treats in life. Treats like education, health care and decent houses. Industry will never come to these mountains, there is no mineral wealth to exploit and, in a monetised world, growing food for market doesn’t provide nearly enough compensation to raise a family so their cannabis crops serve many ends. Their cultural and economic existence depends on it. This means that every time a head gets arrested or a farm gets raided it is also their culture and economy that is being arrested and raided. No one in Morocco is happy with the current dynamic between law and reality. But

ing such a bold step. They’ve made their position perfectly clear, stating: “We are not seeking to legalize the production of drugs, but to search for possible medical and industrial uses of this plant and create an alternative economy in the region... Security policies aren’t solving the problem because it’s an economic and social issue so the PAM is trying to find a credible alternative. Changing international trends are also affecting the Moroccan cannabis world in 2014. The popularity and availability of legal synthetic chemical highs in the Western world is having a surprising impact in North Africa. As a result, European demand for Moroccan hash has fallen sharply in recent years so more and more of it is moving eastwards

Security policies aren’t solving the problem, it’s an economic and social issue Allahu Akbar! Changes are coming! The Moroccan state authorities have officially started the process of legalisation. From the fields of the Rif to the parliamentary chambers of Rabat, the legalisation of cannabis has become one of the hottest topics in the country. The current focus of pot politics here is aimed at investigating positive uses of the plant and its cultivation and how best to incorporate a legitimate cannabis industry into the official state economy. The main drivers of this campaign come from the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM). This party was created by the King as part of the reforms that followed the recent uprisings in North Africa; the fact that they are the ones touting legalisation shows that even the King himself is a supporter of the cause. PAMs hope is that a legalised and state controlled cannabis industry will legitimise the incomes of the people of the Rif mountains and ‘become an important [legal] economic resource for the country.’ It will also legitimise Morocco’s largest source of foreign currency. Since the Kings party brought the new debate into parliament in the middle of 2013 a second prominent party has drafted laws designed to regulate the industry, so, whilst nothing definite has yet been decided, some form of legalisation is definitely in the pipe line. But, don’t get too excited just yet. Morocco is not the next Uruguay; although the personal use of cannabis is not specifically outlawed here, if the country were to explicitly legalise recreational use they would violate the international conventions they are signed up to and thus be subject to sanctions. Given their national religion and ethnicity they are understandably nervous about tak-

through Algeria, which is pissing their government right off and reinforcing their out-right opposition to any form of legalisation that Morocco might suggest. This has the knock-on effect of Moroccan farmers having to take a cut in money as the Algerian market is significantly less profitable than that of Europe. However, despite the general trend in Europe, record levels of Moroccan hash are being seized in Spain, more than likely as a result of impoverished Spaniards looking to make a bit of extra cash to scrape by in their brutalised economy. The Spanish government is constantly bickering with the Moroccans about the ‘scourge of hashish’ - one recent Spanish request for the Moroccan authorities to do more to control the hash supply was promptly met with response that ‘You should do more to stop so many of your people coming over here to buy it!’ When all of this is taken into account its hard to see the world’s best hash crops being legalised any time soon, but at least the people of the Rif could soon be earning a legal living from the cannabis plant. Just how is all this political talk affecting life on the slopes and in the streets of the Rif Mountains though? Possession of fifteen grams or less has always been seen as a very minor offence so you’d have to be a real numpty to get into trouble for that amount. Antisocial and problematic local individuals get arrested for petty cannabis offences, but this is used more as an excuse to discipline them for other obnoxious behaviours, like cheating and harassing tourists. Large scale raids on farms by the authorities, like those that were happening in 2009/10/11, have eased right off and the atmosphere is a lot more relaxed

The Professor

than it was only a couple of years ago. “But some people have worries, if they legalise maybe there will be no more hashish, maybe they will change our plants and make us grow for industry – how much money will this make for us? It will be cheap, and if they make us grow big plants then we will have to spend money on fertiliser. To grow plants for

medicine can be good for this land, we have the skills, and we have the plants, but giant cannabis plants like you have in Europe would be crazy here. This is crazy talk! Political recognition of the social and economic importance of cannabis here is good to see. Its long over due, as is a change in the national laws, but will Morocco take a step towards corporate colonisation and the eradication of established skills and strains, or will it seek to build on the knowledge, expertise and genetic wealth of what already exists?

Grow with Golgi

Atmos vs G-Pen

Vaporizer pens are the new rage in personal smoking devices for cannabis smokers and cigarette smokers alike. Vape pens can be used for both purposes simply by screwing on a new cartridge, filled with different material. These pens are benefiting all your extracts by utilizing them down to the last drop. There are so many shapes and sizes for different pens but the basics are pretty much standards; atomizers, heating coils, wick liquid chamber, wickless liquid chambers and USB rechargeable batteries. The battery size varies depending on brand and length of the unit, usually the longer the pen the bigger the battery and the dry chamber heating area are. Most models have different changeable chambers, atomizers and batteries to accommodate any material you wish to smoke. These dry chambers are fitted with heating coils and are great for burning dry herb and your cannabis extracts like wax and shatter. The stickier material (like honey oil & butter) can clog up the heating coils and are best used by making it into liquid using a thinning agent (See recipe).

by Golgi Apparatus

name would, wearing the design of a California street map on its soft neoprene side. This pen only comes with a dry/wax chamber and I could not find any OEM liquid atomizing chambers to try with it, although there are tons of compatible off brand ones that say they will fit this model. Inside the box was a corded USB and wall charger attachment, (2) extract jars, a metal credit card grinder and the pen. Out of the box I began by temperature testing the coils, I was not pleased with the meager warmth it produced initially but after it was used a few times it warmed up to an acceptable temperature and I was able to get some thick

The Atmos Rx Junior, USB charger, packing tool, dry chamber & liquid chamber is a full kit of everything you need to enjoy the vape pen experience.

puffy clouds out of it. The button was metal and seemed to protrude from the side of the unit a bit more than the other styles but the battery was

still going strong after 200+ tokes. Aesthetically pleasing as this Snoop Dogg model was, I was eager to get to the next pen.

The liquid chambers use an atomizer to create the smoke and come with or without a wick. The ones that have a wick are more common for the propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin based juices. Wickless liquid chambers can allow you to add thicker oil. Cartridges can be purchased brand-new each time or refilled several times before having to be replaced completely. Same goes for the charger, atomizer and coil piece, they are all going to only last you so long depending on quality, durability and usage. The first model to compare is Grenco’s Snoop Dogg G-Pen. It came looking slick, as anything bearing a rappers

Each pen tested came with a neat lock feature to prevent it from accidentally turning on in your pocket; press the button 5 times to lock it and then 5 times again to unlock.

30 with a corded USB charger and a nice hard shell carrying case. I filled both this liquid wick chamber and the Rx liquid chamber attachments with the recipe made honey oil liquid. The hits were full bodied and plentiful. This was the selling point for me; it gave thick heady clouds and still tasted like the dabs with minimal affect to flavor from the carrier liquids. All 3 pens I tested came with a lock function it seems to be standard for all good pens; if you press the power button 5 times it locks the pen, this prevents it heating up accidentally in your pocket and wasting precious herb, extract or battery life. Pressing it 5 times again unlocks it. The process is basically making E-cigarette juice but with the addition of honey oil: What you will need: a batch of BHO or ISO honey oil (because it’s the strongest extract you can get from cannabis that has no solid pieces in it to clog up the wick) Simply take your honey oil and put it into a glass container and set it in a pan with water, (105115 degrees Celsius max) a shot glass is the perfect size for single cartridge batches (approx 15ml). These extracts don’t have very long of a shelf life so use them within a two week period. A good option to begin the breakdown process is to use an alcohol product, but be careful because it may affect taste if you use too much or neglect to cook it off. Add a single tiny drop of ethanol or grain alcohol until you see it begin to break down (it usually only takes one drop). Immediately begin to add propylene glycol in single drops until you are happy with the consistency. My mixtures are coming out around 6-10 drops per gram of honey oil, making it thick like honey but malleable enough to not seize up the wick. If your chamber is wickless it’s less necessary to worry about the thickness. If you choose to add the vegetable glycerin, do it at the same time and at a ratio of 80/20: propylene glycol/vegetable glycerin. The final step is to add any flavors you might want in there, homemade or store bought. There are also neat online calculators and apps for your smart phone that can take the guess work out of this entire process, called E-Cig calculators.

The Grenco G-Pen looked slick enough for Snoop Dogg to put his name on and even came with 2 extract jars to carry your oils.

The Atmos Optimus is a liquid pen & comes standard with the same oil chamber I opted to buy as an accessory for the Rx Junior.

A reverberated name in cannabis vape pens was Atmos brand, which comes in many different models. After comparing features I settled on two; the Rx Junior and the Optimus. The Atmos Junior comes with a dry/wax chamber, rubber changeable mouthpiece, USB stick charger and a packing tool. It’s more compact than the original Rx model and in turn has a slightly smaller battery, but I liked the length better for stealth hand holding and the bat-

tery lasted longer than expected, long surpassing 200 hits. I opted to purchase a 3 pack of liquid wick cartridge attachments, shying away from the wickless globe chambers only because they’re more cost effective to replace on a regular basis. This pen has a soft neoprene/rubber coating similar to the G-pen but the button is built into the rubber, the only protrusion is the brail of the ‘power’ symbol. First use showed ample heat radiating from

the coils and burned dry herb like a champ. Second test was some crumbly wax which had great flavor and burned away down to nothing in the chamber. I even tested a piece of sticky butter in the dry chamber which burned up thick clouds of tasty smoke, left only slight residue on the coils. The Optimus model comes with a liquid chamber and is only a centimeter or so longer than the Rx Junior. It comes

Adding flavoring oil to your liquid can make for stealth public smoking masking the scent of the exhaled smoke just enough that the people around you will be none the wiser! Organic ones can be extracted easily; citrus oil, vanilla bean etc. or you can purchase ones used in candy making from companies like Lorann, that are propylene glycol based. Out of the three I tried I am favoring the Atmos Rx Junior as the winner it has all the necessary features and is compact and powerful. Atmos has every accessory you can think of and chambers in every size and shape to fit your needs. Happy vaping!

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strain report

Casey Jones Steamin’ and rollin’

The strain Casey Jones has made an impact since being developed by world renowned grower Greatfulhead. It is a strain produced from a cross of Train Wreck x Sour Diesel x Thai and is said to be called Casey Jones making reference to the celebrated railroad engineer and his famous train wreck. It’s now available through Devil’s Harvest Seeds after working from an original clone obtained from Connoisseur Genetics. It also won 3rd place in the Outdoor Champions Cup at Spannabis 2013. As it is fast flowering and renowned for producing high yields I thought I’d give it a go beneath a 250w HID in an 80x80 Growlab tent, to see what we could get. The seed was germinated and put into a Root Riot cube and placed into a propagator throughout the seedling stage. Once the timing was deemed to be right, the plant was transferred into an 11L square pot, filled with Guanokalong soil and

profuse abundance of roots within two weeks. I took these cuttings from around the bottom then up what appeared to be the less bushy side of the plant. The area most effected was then to be placed nearer the ground as the plant was bent over horizontally and held into place with plant yoyos, to make the best of the available light and also to keep this Casey Jones on the rails, so to speak, because the growth of this plant is profuse! As the plant grew and the production of bud was on its way, it became necessary to put some weight onto the plant pot to keep it upright. In the end, it took 12.5kg to do this job, as can be seen in the photo taken prior to harvest. The flowering phase was no slouch either as the plant grew rapidly through the first few weeks of bloom to accommodate the production of bud. This was rather pleasing considering the fact that a great portion of this plant had been removed for cuttings. I used Growth

After drying, the yield was a most gratifying 6.5 ounces of lovely, sweet smelling crystal covered bud. placed beneath the 250w HID. Growth through the vegative stage was pleasingly rather rapid. To feed throughout the veg cycle, I used Guanokalong Grow, a one part formula. Additional CO2 was produced using CO2 tabs. The pH was monitored throughout the grow to ensure that it remained within its most advantageous range for the plant. This was done with the slight addition of Growth Technology’s pH Down, but it must be said it only needed to be added twice throughout the grow. Sometime into the vegative stage of growth, thirteen cuttings were taken from the plant, all of which it has to be said, performed with such magnificent vigour and vitality. All the cuttings displaying a

Technology’s Ionic soil Bloom for this phase and as an additional bloom booster, I went for Future Harvest Development’s Ton o’ Bud, then for the final phase of flowering I used their ‘The Heavies’. The yield was a most satisfying three and a half ounce of dry bud. The smoke was very pleasant indeed, with a good flavour and a delicious aroma. The high could be said to be energetic and uplifting, but also, on questioning those lucky enough to toke on this beauty, apart from the pleasantries of smoking, the most talked about trait was that of having had a really good night’s sleep. A rather interesting quality considering the high one experiences, but Insomniacs take heed! If you want rest, get

Casey at the throttle of the Cannonball Express...she can bowl you over! As mentioned earlier, a number of cuttings were taken from this plant and once it had finished flowering, one of these rooted cuttings was put into the tent to take its place. At this point, I would like to thank my good friend, Purple Phoenix, for her help. The cutting was given the same nutrient regime as it’s mother, only with the additional use of GHE Ripen in the final week to encourage the flushing of any excessive nutrient salts and stimulate the final phase of flowering. There was a time during the grow, when the temperatures rose, through external effects and they were reaching a worrying 30°c. Clearly, all efforts were made to reduce the temperature and eventually it was brought back within a more respectable range and the use of CO2 would have been beneficial at this point. That said, there did not seem to be any perceivable signs of suffering from the plant, leading me to believe that Casey Jones has a rather hardy nature and may be a fairly good choice of plant for the inexperienced grower.

By Packed Nicely didn’t lack in the taste department either, with the aroma prior to smoking carrying on through into the mouth and on to the tongue, it was earthy with a slight hint of citrus coming through. On the whole, I was very pleased with this strain and certainly couldn’t grumble at the yield, especially when considering the entire grow was completed beneath a single 250W HID light. Clearly, heftier yields should be achievable with a larger lighting system. As mentioned earlier, the effects of this smoke soon indicated why it is considered to be of a high medicinal value. After toking on this delightful girl, yet again, a group of smokers, with various ailments, all reported the same beneficial effect, namely, a very good, undisturbed sleep. A great pleasure for all and one of a plethora of reasons why Cannabis should defiantly be available for medicinal use.

Throughout the flowering phase of the Casey Jones it became evident that this cutting was going to produce more yield than it’s mother. The length of the buds was far more noticeable, yet they were filled up well, thickening as might be expected through the last two weeks. It was clearly visible that there was more yellowing of the leaves on this plant compared to the mother, but I put that down to the use of GHE Ripen. As harvest day arrived, it was met with smiles, she was going to give a very nice return. Trimming was not an overly difficult task either, as the buds were large and easy to manipulate. After drying, the yield was a most gratifying 6.5 ounces of lovely, sweet smelling crystal covered bud. She

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Company profile

HY-PRO: Simple nutrition… maximum yield! HY-PRO is a Dutch company specialised in making fertilisers. The brand’s key strength is its concentration on just six different products. These six products are all a grower needs to reach amazing results… yield after yield. The company’s strong point lies in simplicity. HY-PRO is known all over the world for the quality of its special, easyto-use plant nutrition products. Growers who use HY-PRO fertiliser can say goodbye to the endless series of bottles, jars and powders, a fact appreciated by everyone, anywhere. HY-PRO is living proof that good quality and simplicity can coincide.

Better quality

There’s a story behind this simplicity… “Think before acting”, as the saying goes. Putting a lot of thought into a product before developing it seems like a logical step, but in practice things often go differently. HY-PRO, however, reflected at length before deciding on the composition of its various products. Before placing its products on the market, the company performed detailed tests on them under a series of conditions. Furthermore, HY-PRO made sure to always choose the best quality ingredients during the development process. Some of these ingredients are used exclusively in HY-PRO products, which has resulted in the best possible plant nutrition products with all of the necessary main nutritional elements and trace elements. These products also optimally react and merge with a root stimulator and foliar fertiliser (Spraymix) which, of course, are also produced by HY-PRO. HY-PRO produces all these high-quality products, which go hand in glove with each other.

Growing is an art form

Growers are the only ones who truly know how their plants react to the conditions in which they’re grown, as they’re the ones who set these conditions and manage the entire cultivation process. HY-PRO considers growing to be an art form. Moreover, nutrients represent an important factor that can guide the entire process, so choosing what to use has a great impact on the plants’ success. HY-PRO has an in-depth knowledge of the art of producing these nutrients, a process based on years of testing and a lot of patience. HY-PRO’s expertise has led to a unique range of products, poured into six different bottles. According to the HY-PRO concept, all a grower needs is a single range of simple products. This is, yet again, an art form! HY-PRO offers a line for hydroponic growers and one for vase-grown and soil-grown plants, both indoors and outdoors. Growers all over the world nourish their plants with HY-PRO products. The HY-PRO concept is familiar to growers in Europe, the United States, Central America and South America, which is quite a feat for a product line made up of only six bottles! It’s not surprising that HY-PRO products keep winning prizes in competitions all over the world (Highlife Cup, Irun in Spain, High Times).

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Background Interview with Jeff Ditchfield

Project Storm

By Packed Nicely

A couple of months back, I received a text message from a friend of mine who, very excitedly, prompted me to search youtube for ‘Bud Buddies: Project Storm’. I watched the trailer and was amazed at what I saw. I knew it was a subject that would resonate with the Soft Secrets readers, so I got in touch with one of the founders of the group – Jeff Ditchfield - and asked him what it was all about. Special thanks to Mel Thomas for transcribing the interview with Jeff. SSUK: Hi Jeff, firstly thanks for speaking with us. Please tell the readers a little bit about yourself and your background. I have been making cannabis oils for medical use since the late 1990’s and over the years I have been heavily involved in the campaign to end the prohibition of cannabis for both medicinal and recreational use. I was one of the original founders of Bud Buddies which was formed in 2002, our non-profit organisation provided cannabis preparations and extracts for medicinal users from 2002 to 2007. We operated out of medical necessity. I was eventually prosecuted at Chester Crown Court for possession of cannabis with intent to supply and, after a lengthy trial, I was found not guilty. However, the authorities took the case to the Court of Appeal and they subsequently ruled that the defence of “necessity” or “duress of circumstances” cannot be used as a defence in cannabis cases. I have written books on cannabis cultivation and I have a new book out later this year which I’ve co-authored with Mel Thomas on the medical application and administration of cannabis preparations. I have also lectured at The Royal College of General Practitioners and at John Mores University on the medicinal application of cannabis and I was the former proprietor of The Beggars Belief, the first cannabis coffee shop in Wales.

Over the years I have appeared on BBC1, BBC2, Sky TV, Radio 1, Radio 5 live, HTV, ITV, and also appeared live on the Parliament TV channel with John Reid MP. What was the concept behind Bud Buddies? The concept behind the Bud Buddies organization was to assist and supply people with a requirement for medicinal cannabis with standardised preparations such as capsules, tinctures, suppositories, and creams for topical application. Over the years the Bud Buddies organisation has been through some major changes, the most significant was in 2007 when we relocated to Spain and switched our emphasis from helping people to relieve their symptoms to assisting only cancer sufferers. What is Project Storm? Project Storm is a documentary following the lives of six UK terminal cancer patients who have all been told there is nothing more that their doctors can do for them, however the brave individuals didn’t accept this devastating news and they started to research alternative therapies and their journey led them to Bud Buddies and “Project Storm”. Our protocols for the project have been drawn up based on the research of Professor Manuel Guzman and his team at Madrid University who are pioneers in the research into cannabinoids and cancer, I’m very much looking forward to meeting them again at Madrid University next month. Films like ‘Run from the Cure’ have inspired thousands of people but we wanted to make a documentary “in real time”, all the participants in the film started on the oil around Christmas last year, this isn’t a film to “prove” that cannabinoids “kill” cancer, it is the story of the six people in the film and their journey.

THE ONLINE CANNABIS ENCYCLOPEDIA

Filming Project Storm with Anne & Brian For me, the bravest people in this film are the parents who are using cannabis oil to treat their terminally ill children, despite the dangers from the UK authorities they feel it is important to let other parents know that there “is still hope” and I’m going to do all I can to help them. How can our readers get involved with Project Storm? The documentary has been entirely selffunded to date and we are reaching out to the cannabis community for help in financing the remainder. The cost has been quite substantial so far, however, we have raised some donations via our website www.cannabiscure.info What advice can you give to readers who would like to produce their own cannabis medicine? Any tips in strain selection, growing or curing techniques? My advice to anyone who is suffering from any illness that cannabis has been shown to alleviate is to become your own expert. Learn as much as you can about your illness and how it is affecting you. Your treatment plan depends very much on your condition. If you are treating symptoms such as arthritis then you can simply experiment with cannabis strains and methods of ingestion that give you relief. When treating cancers the process is much more involved. Your choice of strain depends very much on the cancer you are treating. Many conditions such as lung cancer respond well to high THC oils, however, if you are

treating Gliomas or any form of brain tumour then we have found that a 1:1 THC/CBD strain is the most effective. The University of Madrid’s research indicates that the most effective combination of cannabinoids to treat Gliomas is a 50/50 THC/CBD ratio, this combination was found to be more effective against Glioma cells than either THC or CBD on their own. Which solvents & extraction techniques do you prefer? Over the 15 years I have been making cannabis oils I have tried every solvent from ethanol (Everclear) and Isopropyl, to naptha and acetone and many more. My preferred extraction method is ‘Super critical CO2’, however, this is beyond the scope of most home oil producers and I’d suggest they use ethanol, either Everclear if it is available or an alternative like Spiritus. A good ethanol extraction can give you an oil with a potency in the region of 60 – 70% cannabinoid content. You can make oils of 90% plus purity but you would require a non-polar solvents for the process. For more information on solvents and extraction techniques please visit our website www.cannabiscure.info. All of the information is available to download. Where can our readers get more information on Project Storm? To find out more about the amazing people in this project and to follow them on their journey please view the film trailer at www.projectstormthefilm.com

38 Anne is one of the cancer sufferers featured in Project Storm. Here’s her guide to making decarboxylated cannabis oil. What you need:

• • • • • • • • • •

Bud Oven trays to spread bud to dry Infra-red thermometer Plastic fermenting bins x 2 (25 litre capacity) ISO 99.9% pure (2 litres per 100 grams) Wooden spoon Colander Sieve Plastic bag Sharp knife to pierce plastic bag drainage holes

• • • • • •

• • • •

Pyrex jug Glass jars Funnels Plain brown coffee filters Megahome essential oil distiller Bungee cords x 2, to hold pressure on distiller and create a better seal Pyrex jar Syringes Paper towels Variable heat hot plate (not cup warmer)

What to do:

1) Heat plant material in oven at 100 degrees for 20 minutes to dry it thoroughly, when you squeeze the bud if it feels sticky it means it’s not dry enough.

2) Put the ground dry plant material into the large plastic bin (25 litre home brew bin is good)

3) Soak in ISO for 15 min, stirring with a wooden spoon all the time.

4 + 5) Strain into second fermenting bin through colander, then strain again through finer sieve.

6 + 7 + 8) Put remainder of plant material into plastic bag. Perforate bottom of bag several times with a sharp knife. Hang plastic bag on bucket and gently squeeze, then let gravity drain more fluid.

9 + 10) Put coffee filters in a funnel over the glass jars. Pour fluid in and let it drain through. Change coffee filter paper when flow slows down. Have several jars and funnels on the go so you can filter more efficiently.

11) Fill Megahome with the filtered liquid to 1 inch below the max fill marker.

12) Place container under outlet tap of distiller and turn machine on. It takes a while to heat up. Use bungee cord to hold lid down tightly as it tends to leak.

13) Check on distillation from time to time by turning machine off, waiting a minute and then opening it. You can also get an idea of how much fluid has evaporated by the amount that runs back into the plastic bottle. If Megahome turns itself off, let it cool down and add a bit of ISO to make liquid easier to handle. Ideally catch it before the thermostat turns it off and move the liquid to a Pyrex lab glass (250ml ones).

14) Place beaker on the variable heat hot plate. Boil the solution, the boil rate for alcohol is 78 - 82 degrees.

15) As it reduces and thickens slosh it around in the jar. Turn hotplate to about 90 degrees. Once it thickens take the oil to 110 degrees for as long as it takes, ideally an hour or two to decarb.

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16) Keep measuring with laser thermometer and remove from heat it if goes over. Let it cool and then reheat. Pay great attention to this stage. It’s a matter of experience to recognise when the oil is ready but the length of time it takes for the oil to drain back to the bottom of the jar gives an idea of viscosity.

mamapublishing.com 17 + 18) When the oil cools down to room temp it will thicken. Place covered container into a jug of hot water to let it warm up enough to be drawn up into the syringes.

Jorge Cervantes

Clones and Cloning Introduction

that start during the fourth or fifth week of growth outdoors and in greenhouses show visible outward symptoms during the sixth to eighth week of growth. But low-level nutrient imbalances take longer to manifest, if ever.

These plants will spend a short time in vegetative growth and will be subject to fewer problems. Strong vegetative growth is essential to a healthy harvest. The cannabis seedling growth stage lasts for about two to three weeks, from seed germination to (strong) root set. Once a strong root system is established, foliage growth increases rapidly and seedlings enter the vegetative growth stage. When chlorophyll production is full speed ahead, a vegetative plant will produce as much green leafy foliage and root growth as is physically and genetically possible. Of course, growing conditions—CO2, soil oxygen levels, nutrients, water, and so on—must not be limited and must be in the proper balance to be available for rapid uptake. Properly maintained, some varieties of medical cannabis will grow from half an inch to two inches per day.

Infestations of diseases and pests often flare as nutrient deficiencies progress. Many times new clones from another garden are already infested with spider mite eggs, powdery mildew, or root disease, with few outwardly visible signs. Always quarantine and dip new clones and seedlings in an organic fungicide/insecticide/miticide before introducing them to the garden. After one to three months of vegetative growth, nutrients have had a chance to build up to toxic levels, and plants may show outward signs of deficiencies or excesses. Leaching containers will wash away water-soluble toxic nutrients, See “Leaching” in chapter 21, Nutrients, for more information. Other problems—overwatering, underwatering, air circulation and ventilation, etc.—also occur now. See “Common Nutrient Problems” in chapter 21 for more information. Vegetative growth in cannabis is maintained indoors, outdoors, and in greenhouses with 16 to 24 hours of light daily. Autoflowering (feminized) cannabis will flower according to chronological growth and is not affected by photoperiod.

Growing large plants in relatively small containers, in this case a five-gallon (19 L) pot, requires daily irrigation with a complete nutrient solution. A layer of mulch would keep roots from being exposed. A plant stunted for any reason could take weeks to resume normal growth. A severely stunted plant may never fully recover. A strong, unrestricted root system in a perfect rhizosphere (root zone) that is able to take in all necessary available nutrients is essential to robust growth. Unrestricted vegetative growth is the key to a healthy harvest. A plant’s nutrient and water intake changes during vegetative growth. High levels of nitrogen are needed. Potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and trace elements are used at much faster rates. Transpiration is carried on at a more rapid rate, requiring more water. The larger a plant gets and the bigger its root system, the faster the soil will dry out. The key to strong vegetative growth and a heavy harvest is supplying plants with the perfect environment both aboveground and belowground. These plants will spend a short time in vegetative growth and will be subject to fewer problems. During vegetative growth, plants need water and often need supplemental fertilizer too. Outdoor and greenhouse organic gardeners are able to build organic soil with bulk nutrients and amendments. Indoor gardeners most often need to add supplemental fertilizer. The garden will also need adequate air circulation and ventilation both day and night. Nutrient deficiencies that start in the first or second week of growth indoors usually show outward signs by the third to fifth week of growth. Nutrient deficiencies

Vegetative growth in cannabis is maintained indoors, outdoors, and in greenhouses with 16 to 24 hours of light daily. Autoflowering (feminized) cannabis will flower according to chronological growth and is not affected by photoperiod.

Cannabis will continue vegetative growth for a year or longer under an 18-hour photoperiod and a temperate climate. But sooner or later a genetic maximum is reached causing cannabis to degenerate. Indica and indica-dominant varieties suffering stress from cold wintry conditions tend to flower regardless of hours of light, often producing more resin on stunted plants. Indoors and in greenhouses, growth stages can be controlled with the light-and-dark cycle (photoperiod). It is the main stimulus to induce flowering. Give plants a 12/12hour day/night light schedule to induce flowering. Give plants 0 to 8 hours of darkness and 16 to 24 hours of light to retain vegetative growth. Controlling the photoperiod allows indoor and greenhouse horticulturists to control vegetative and flowering cycles.

42 See chapter 17, Light, Lamps, and Electricity, for more information on photoperiod control. Outdoor gardeners work with Mother Nature and harvest after long nights and short days in spring and autumn.

When plants have outgrown their containers, they must be transplanted in order to continue rapid growth. Inhibited, cramped root systems grow sickly, stunted plants. Signs of root bound plants include slow, weak growth. Severely rootbound plants tend to grow straight up with branches that painstakingly stretch beyond the sides of the pot. By the time you see these symptoms, the plant is rootbound. To check roots, remove a plant from its pot to see if roots are deeply matted on the bottom or circling the sides of the pot.

Cannabis flowers when given long nights and short days. Once a plant’s sex is determined, it can become a mother, clone, or breeding male and can be harvested or even rejuvenated (see “Rejuvenation” in chapter 5). Note: Plants show early male or female “pre-flowers” about the fourth week of vegetative growth. See “Pre-flowering” in chapter 8, Flowering. Transplanting, pruning, bending, and trellising are all initiated when plants are in the vegetative growth stage. Information on these subjects follows.

Transplanting

The clones in this perfect Trichome Technologies garden are easy to care for. When growing short plants that can be watered daily and reach full maturity in 70 to 90 days from clones or seedlings, there is little need for containers larger than approximately three to five gallons (11.4–19 L). Larger plants and mother plants will need a large pot if they are kept for more than three months.

Clones are ready to transplant once new, green growth starts.

A long vegetative growth stage lets plants get big enough to grow an abundant crop of flower buds.

Good strong roots must grow before cones are ready to transplant.

Outdoors and in greenhouses, plants can grow much larger than indoors. Containers should be as big as possible to accommodate a large root mass. Big plants that produce ten pounds (4.5 kg) of medical cannabis buds can be grown in 200- to 500-gallon (757–1893 L) containers.

This is the first of six excerpts from Jorge Cervantes ´new book, the Cannabis Encyclopedia: Indoor, Outdoor and Greenhouse Cultivation, Concentrates and Cooking Medical Marijuana, 279 x 216 mm (8,5 x 11-inch) format, 608 color pages, 2.100 color images, with 340,000 words. Publication date: September 2014. Find more information including the complete Table of Contents and more excerpts on Jorge´s site, www.marijuanagrowing.com.

Toxic

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First ‘Medical Marijuana Store’ in Europe opens its doors

The CBD Dispensary, Amsterdam

A milestone was achieved on Thursday, 5 June on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal 242 in Amsterdam: the first so-called ‘CBD Dispensary’ in Europe opened its doors. So-called CBD products will be sold in what is an entirely new type of store in the Netherlands and Europe. CBD stands for Cannabidiol, one of the many components of the cannabis plant, and which has a very beneficial effect on a seemingly endless number of diseases and disorders. The CBD products sold in the CBD Dispensary have no psychoactive effect because the THC content is lower than <0.2%. This is why CBD products are 100% legal in almost all countries of the world. Since the sixties scientific research has been conducted into the effects of the two cannabinoids, THC and CBD, both of which have a beneficial effect on a litany of ailments. A short list of the diseases/ disorders that CBD can have a relieving effect on (and into which scientific CBD research is being done):

ADHD/ AIDS / Alzheimer / Anorexia / Arthritis / Asthma / Cancer / Crohn’s / Diabetes / Epilepsy / Glaucoma / Cardiovascular diseases / Huntington / Liver and kidney diseases / Migraines / Rheumatism / Schizophrenia / Stress / Atherosclerosis / Bipolar disorder / PTSD / Psoriasis / Eczema / Neuralgia / Obesity / Parkinson and many others. CBD is not a drug and it therefore does not require a prescription. No one will claim that CBD can cure all ailments, although CBD will probably perform a key role in finding solutions. It is a fact that CBD often has a very positive effect, and can thus significantly alleviate symptoms for many patients. CBD Dispensary Amsterdam, Oudezijds Voorburgwal 242, 1012 GK, Amsterdam Tel 020-6205040 Open every day from 10 to 22 h. www.CBDstoreamsterdam.com

Index of ads

Name Page 00 Seeds Bank 8 Ball Hydroponics Advanced Seeds Amsterdam Seed Center Atami Big Stone River Indoor Garden Centre Bright Green UK Brit Crops Buddha Seeds Clever Green Dinafem Seeds Dr. Blooms Hydroponics Dutch Passion Ed Rosenthal Hesi Humboldt Seed Organization Hy-pro Jorge Cervantes Kera Seeds Kroon de Mama Editions Money Tree Hydroponics Mycologics Near Dark Nirvana NPK Technology Paradise Seeds Paradise Seeds Plagron Procare Red Eye Headshop RootCrusher Royal Queen Seeds Smoketower.com Smokin Vinyl Southern Hydro Centre Stanford Hydroponics Sweet Seeds TnB Naturals Triple Time UK GroWorks UK Skunkworks

31 1 8 43 48 29 33 9 27 1 7 1 35 22 2 14 45 40 1 37 39 13 33 20 32 20 1 11 4 33 19 45 25 43 37 29 1 47 36 45 17 17

Colofon Soft Secrets is published by Discover Publisher BV P.O.Box 362, 5460 AJ, Veghel, Netherlands Telephone: +31-(0)73-5498112 Fax: +31-(0)73-5479732 E-mail: info@softsecrets.nl Editor: Cliff Cremer Contributors: Little Lebowski, Ed Rosenthal, Jorge Cervantes, Derrick Bergman, Dr. John Dee, Grubbycup, the Professor, Kali Mist, Sativa Diva, Golgi Apparatus, Ganjah Selecta, Tony and others Comics: Jim Stewart Editorial adress: ssuk@softsecrets.nl Layout & print: R&B Communicatie, Schijndel, Holland Advertisements: E-mail: info@softsecrets.nl A word from the publisher: The UK government has embarked on a process of relative liberalisation towards the use of cannabis, and cannabis activists are engaged in broadening this engagement. Several local councils and police chiefs now actively support a Dutch-style coffeeshop system as a way of separating soft and hard drugs, as it has proven to do in Holland. Whether they are finding their way to new coffeeshops or growing for their personal supply, cannabis users are a menace to no one, and are causing no discernable social problem. Some politicians and commentators are calling for the outright legalisation of marihuana. Let’s wait and see how the debate develops during a period of relative peace between all sides of the argument. In the meantime, the publisher hopes Soft Secrets will show the public a positive side to the normalisation of cannabis use, and is anxious to offer a forum to both pro- and anti-legalisation advocates. This assumes that the publisher does not necessarily agree with everything that appears in articles and advertisements. The publisher therefore distances himself explicitly from published statements or images that might give the impression that an endorsement is being made for the use or production of cannabis. 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. The publisher has endeavored to reach all copyright holders of photos and/or images. Those who still believe they are entitled to these rights may contact the publisher.

Next issue out: August 25 2014

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