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28burning fields and conditioning woodlands. Incertain countries the Cannabis plant has beenidentified as a dangerous drug and has beenkilled off by human beings and law enforcementofficials. It is treated as a weed and as aplant that causes social, mental and physicalproblems. None of these reasons for removingthe plant are well founded but the cull ofcannabis has occurred anyhow.The Cannabis plant was used for many thingsother than the extraction of THC (to bediscussed later). Our ancestors, up until thelate 1800’s early 1900’s, used the Cannabisplant to create clothing and other materials.The Cannabis plant or ‘hemp’ as it is called inthe textile industry is a very strong materialand will withstand large amounts of stressapplied to it. Hemp material is widely regardedas one of the best possible materials forproducing fabrics. A pair of trousers made fromhemp, or a shirt made from hemp will withstandthe test of time. It is a far more superiormaterial than cotton. This should give you someclues as to why the fabrics industry wanted toput a stop to the cultivation of marijuana inthe late 1800’s. Hemp fabric products will lastlonger than cotton fabric products thus the

29buyer buys less over longer periods of time.This is the first instance of the Cannabisplant being subjected to ridicule forcapitalist gain.The Cannabis plant has been subjected to anumber of stereotypical formats. The first oneis that the resin produced by the plant isphysically addictive. This is not true and Iwill explain why. In psychiatry there is a listof classifications for addictions of allabusive substances. It is contained in a papercalled - ICD-10 (classifications of Mental andBehavioural Disorders) with you can read here.http://www.who.int/whosis/icd10/Medical doctors are not informed clearlyabout the use and abuse of cannabis. This isbecause cannabis research is illegal in mostcountries or if research is allowed most of theresults are suppressed.The only way a medical doctor can help aperson with a cannabis problem is by havingsome experience with people who have hadcannabis problems in the past. There are nospecial books to turn too. There are noreferences which explain clearly what to do orIF cannabis is physically addictive. There areno pills for cannabis addiction (there are for

30alcoholism). The only place a doctor can go isto the archives of what other countries havesaid about the drug and it's abuse. As adoctor, one would maybe try Holland and read upon some of the material there, or Belgium orSwitzerland. There can be found medicalresearch papers that relate to cannabisdependence and all of them say the same thing.(A) Can it be abused? YES. (B) Can it beaddictive? YES. (C) Is cannabis abuse or uselife threatening? NO, but mental side effectssuch a depression can be, but only a smallpercentage of addicts (NOT USERS, BUT ADDICTS)go through this. (D) Has anyone ever died ofcannabis use? ONLY 1 PERSON in the history ofcannabis has died from its use, but read on.Bruce Lee, the martial arts expert died aftertaking cannabis, but the death certificate waslater changed too 'death by misadventure'because of another medical herb that he tookwhich he did not know he was allergic too. Sothe correct answer is 0 people have died fromusing cannabis. (E) How do you treat cannabisaddiction? Psychotherapy is the only answer.In fact there are absolutely no reasons forthe prohibition of cannabis, other than:

311) It is hard to tell if someone is under theinfluence of cannabis. Driving/working withmachinery may be problems here.2) People might smoke too much and become alittle lazy.3) Many governments have prohibited it for over70 years and it would seem very stupid if theytold everyone that they where wrong about it.Now let us look at these points for a moment.1) Yes it is hard to tell and make no mistake if you drive smoking cannabis then you are justas stupid as if you where driving under theinfluence of alcohol. It is never advised touse cannabis and then perform a procedure, likedriving, which requires your total attention.As of yet there is no on the spot breathalysertest for cannabis use, but there are tests todetermine if someone has used cannabisrecently, in the last few hours, in the lastfew days, weeks or months. However, alcohol isnot banned in a lot of countries but cannabisis.

322) It happens. Some people do smoke too muchpot and they become docile to the point wherethey just want to watch television and eat.However, if there is no money about, and theperson needs to survive or live somehow, youwill soon find that person can restore theirlife back to the way it was before they startedtheir cannabis binge by simply - Not smokingfor a few days. A few days of not smoking isall it takes to rid cannabis of any effects ithas had on the human body. There may beresidual cannabinoids left in the system butthis does not pose any problems and will soonwear away.This is not that easy with alcohol orheroin user. They will have to go through along period of detoxification before they canresume a normal life. A cannabis user does nothave to go through the detoxification periodbecause there simply is none. Not only does thealcohol user have to spend a few days gettingit out of his/her system but they will alsohave to deal with the withdrawal symptoms. Thiscan last for months. With cannabis, it issimply, stop smoking cannabis and resumeoperations as normal. (Note: Pharmaceuticalfirms would love to sell a pill to cure

33cannabis addiction, but as of yet can not. Theycan not prove that their pill does anythingbecause there are no cannabis withdrawalsystems to observe. Thus the pill would bedeemed a fraudulent product if put on themarket.) Also many homeless people's livingstandards in most cases are attributed toalcohol dependence/addiction and rarely, IFever, is their low living standard attributedto cannabis dependence. Cannabis dependence ispsychological. Treatment of cannabis addictionis done by psychiatrists and psychologists andGP's. Heroin and alcohol is treated bypsychiatrists, psychologists, GP's and doctorsof internal medicine for the somatic systems ofaddiction.3) This is a major problem because thegovernment may have to set people free fromprison and radically change their justicedepartments stance on cannabis which means thatjobs will be lost and revenues will be lost ifcannabis was decriminalized. Cannabisprohibition is a booming industry that createsjobs and capital. However if cannabis wasdecriminalised then these lost profits could bederived from a new cannabis industry.

34Probably one of the best sites for medicalinformation is www.lycaeum.org orwww.overgrow.comOne other thing to mention is that streetcannabis may contain other added drugs. In mostclinical cases, a person who complains aboutcannabis addiction and shows physical signs ofaddiction is not actually addicted to cannabis.They are addicted to the other drug substancesthat the supplier has added to his produce tomake it stronger. 100% home grown cleancannabis does not contain physical additiveproperties. People who add other drugs tocannabis are not doing the cannabis community afavour. This is a good reason to grow your ownpot.There are many strains or versions of theCannabis plant alive today. Most strains arethe result of human intervention and these arethe types you will most likely come across oreven smoke. Breeders try to produce strainsthat are tasty, smell good and give the userdifferent types of highs. These are the strainsthat are best looked out for because you can beguaranteed that the plant has got a ‘grow

35history’ behind it and that the seller of theseeds will know a good bit about the plant andhow it ‘works’.This ends our brief look at the history ofCannabis. There is much more to it than justthis and many other books that discuss thelegal aspects of Marijuana go into great detailabout the history of Marijuana. In fact thehistory of Marijuana is so interesting and deepthat a dozen chapters here would not cover thevastness of this plant’s background.HOW CANNABIS IS USEDWhenever we hear the word Cannabis we thinkof the famous leaf shape like the one on thisbook’s cover. Many magazines show joints beingrolled thick with leaves. Leaves are in factthe lesser potent part of the plant next to thestem and the roots. The cannabis plant can bedivided into 6 main sections (Fig 1.2.). Bud,Stem, Branches, Nodes, Leaves, and Main Cola.

36Fig 1.2 - This is a picture by BigIslandBud. Each ofthe parts of the plant has been indicated. The 3horizontal lines on the right show 3 Node levels ofbranching and where they occur.

37The next thing to know is that plants havea gender. The genders are male and female andsometimes a mix gender called the hermaphroditecondition. Now listen to this closely.1) The male plant is not used for smokingbecause it contains low levels of THC and doesnot taste very good, but it can get you high.2) The female plant when pollinated doesproduce THC but produces also seeds whichprevent larger quantities of bud from beingproduced.3) A non-pollinated female (sinsemilla) plantwill produce more flowering buds with no seedsand will produce higher quantities of THC thanthe male plant or a seeded female plant. Thebuds produce resin, which contain THC, and candrip down onto the leaves. When she is fullymature she should produce a very pleasing highdepending on the grow method, the strain ofplant and when it is harvested.To put it plainly, males can be smoked but

38are not very good and are considered vastlyinferior to the female plant. The female plantwhen pollinated produces seeds and can besmoked but is vastly inferior to a nonpollinated female plant (sinsemilla) thatproduces more bud. It should be the goal ofevery Cannabis user to grow non-pollinatedfemale plants with big buds. The goal of acannabis breeder is too produce quality seedsand plants. How both these things are done iswhat this book will help you to understand.At the end of the Cannabis plant’s lifecycle the plant is harvested. This means one oftwo things. The plant can be completelyuprooted and treated (called a completeharvest) or the plant can be harvested a smallbit and used again for a second flowering term(this is called re-veging (Figure 1.3.) and reflowering).

39Figure 1.3 - A plant that is being re-veged. Pictureby Vic High.When Cannabis is harvested the harvesterconcentrates on the best part of the plant,namely the top cola and the buds. The leavesare the last thing to worry about and the stemand roots are normally thrown away. There aremany ways to harvest a plant and we will

40explain it in detail, later. Once the growerhas selected the parts they want, they then setabout curing their harvest (Figure 1.4). Curingyour harvest is important. It helps one toproduce a finer product. After the curing hasbeen done the grower can then choose how he/shewants to finally produce their smokable mix(figure 1.5). They can use the cured plant asit is and smoke it dry or they can produce hashor oils from the curing process.Figure 1.4 - This is a picture of some cured buds.

41Figure 1.5 - This is the result of a good indoorharvest.Both Pictures by Kryptonite.

42Figure 1.6 - This is a picture of an indoor gardenfrom Kryptonite.SPECIESThe next thing one should know about arethe different types of Cannabis species. Thereare 3 main species of Cannabis plants. Theseare Sativa, Indica and Ruderalis. Each species

43has its own group of strains which are many.Each species has different characteristics andeach strain of each species has it’s ownspecial identity.Figure 1.7 - Picture of Sativa leaf by Slowhand.SATIVA:Height - Can grow tall. Averages anywherebetween, 4 - 15 feet.Nodes - Has long internodes between branches, 3inches to 6.Leaf - Pointy leaves with no markings orpatterns.

44Figure 1.8 - Indica Leaf picture by Kryptonite.INDICA:Height - Small plants. Averages anywherebetween 6 inches - 4 feet.Nodes - Short internodes between branches. 3inches and less.Leaf - Rounded leaves with marble likepatterns.

45Figure 1.9 - This is a picture of some Ruderalis fromSensi Seeds.RUDERERALIS:Height - Small plants. Averages anywherebetween 6 inches and 4 feet.Nodes - very short internodes with muchbranching.Leaf - Small and thick.

46THCCannabis plants produce psychoactiveingredients called cannabinoids. The mainingredient of the cannabinoids that gives thehigh effect is called - delta 9 THC. Allstrains vary in THC levels that come indifferent percentages. Some plants may contain100% THC but the "levels" of THC may be low.Other plants have only 60% THC, but the"levels" of THC may be very high. A goodpotent plant will have both levels andquantities very high. Plants produce somethingcalled - delta 8 THC. This ingredient is in lowlevels but does contribute to the high. When wemention THC levels, we are talking about bothdelta 8 and 9.There are also other ingredients that addto the high such as CBD, CBN, THCV, CBDV, CDCand CBL, but are only very minor compared toTHC.The difference between THC levels and THCquantities is that THC levels are genetic. Theyare not under the influence of the grower. THCquantities on the other hand are. This is to dowith bud mass and how much resin can begenerated in that bud mass. Some bud may only

47contain 20% THC, with a THC level of 5. Thesame plant grown under better conditions andlight will produce 70% THC, with a THC level of5. The ‘5’ is genetic. The quantities of 20%and 70% are under the grower’s control.When examining a strain in a seed-bankcatalogue one is guided to check for the THClevels of that plant to understand how potentthe plant is. Many seed sellers and breedersmeasure their plants THC levels and giveaccounts on how much THC their plants have. Ofcourse many breeders like to exaggerate on howmuch THC their plants produce, but some do not.If you wish to know more about THC levels it isbest to consult your seed-bank or breeder fordetails.No complete study of cannabinoids has beenmade public since this book’s publication. Thisis because cross breeding produces so manydifferent results that it is hard to keep trackon what is happening. Some 'old timer' strainsare still around and have been tested. Thisinformation can be obtained from the largerseed production companies in Holland. THCtesting is also an expensive process thatrequires heavy amounts of research. The other

48interesting factor is that some plants do notproduce any THC at all. These plants have beengenetically engineered (GM) to produce very lowlevels of THC and are mainly used by farmers insome countries who have permission to growcannabis for hemp production ONLY. It is bestto keep away from these seeds and strains. Theywill not get you high. There is project calledthe PMP (potency monitoring project) that iscarried out by some government-funded agencies,but the results are questionable.ZERO ZEROThe other thing that may interest you isthat Cannabis can be cured in various forms andone of these popular forms is HASHISH (Figure1.10).

49Figure 1.10 - This is some raw hash extraction byKryptonite. This hash should be pure without anyadditives.

50Hashish can also be graded and one of themost famous grades of Hashish is called ZeroZero. Hashish making (Figure 1.11) can improve(but sometimes degrade) the overall potency ofmarijuana. The grades of Hashish are asfollows. 00(zero zero), 0, 1, 2, 3. Zero Zerois by far the most purest form of Hashish onthe market today and comes from plants thathave high levels of THC in conjunction with agood Hash making technique. Sometimes thetechnique may be good but the levels of THC inthe plant are low. This may produce a gradesuch as a 2 or a 3.It is wise to note that the Potency of aplant depends on a number of factors. It shouldbe the goal of every grower to produce apotent, high grade, product. Zero Zero is alsoa 'western' concept derived from hash typesthat come from Morocco.

51Figure 1.11 - This picture shows some hash beingmade. The powder-like substance is the collection oftrichomes from the plant. This powder will eventuallybe solidified to make a bar of hash. Photograph byChimera.RESINFemale plants produce resin glands (Figure1.12 and 1.14). Some of these glands may havelots of resin but are not very potent. Otherplants may have little resin but are very

52potent. Optimal growth, is a plant that haslots of resin and is very potent. Resin glandsare produced all over the female flower and newleaves. They can be seen clearly with the useof a magnifying aid. These resin glands arecorrectly called Trichomes.Figure 1.12 - This picture is a macro shot of sometrichomes as they look on the plant. Notice the tipshape ball. This contains cannabinoids. Photograph byJoop Jumas.

53Figure 1.13 - This flowering female is covered inTrichomes. That is what gives this bud her frostylook. Picture by Chimera.

54Resin can be rubbed off the bud using thefingers and then rolled into the palms tocreate small balls of hand rubbed hashish. Itis within these glands that one is to find themain concentration of produced cannabinoids andTHC. When a plant is in full flowering theresin gland can explode or break dropping resindown onto the leaves below. This can also givethe leaves their shiny frosty potent lookduring flowering. Towards the bottom of theplant are located the fan leaves. These leavesare generally large and collect most of thelight for plant growth. Because these leavesare far away from the top of the plant, whichproduce the most amount of resin glands andbuds, they collect the least amount of resinand are not very potent. It is best to considerseparating these fan leaves from the rest ofthe plant during harvest because these leaveswill not give you the best quality high.

55Figure 1.14 - Trichomes Photograph by Joop Jumas.THE HIGHWe should now have an idea as to what weare looking for in terms of a good qualitysmoke. We are looking for non-pollinated femaleplants that are flowering and producing lots ofbuds with resin glands that contain high levelsand amounts of THC. We are also looking forplants that have been well cured and processedin a way that allows us to sample the full

56flavour, smell and taste of the plant. One mustalso be aware that some plants are very potentand can literally knock one’s socks off. Thisis where taste comes into play. Some peoplelike plants that give a head high but do notcause one to fall asleep. Other people likeplants that give a down effect and cause thebody to become less responsive to stimuli. Thebody down is called ‘The couch-lock effect’.The head high is simply called ‘The head high.’Now another thing must be considered here.Remember that we talked about Species ofCannabis - Sativa, Indica and rudereralis? Wellrudereralis is hardly used much today. Sativaand Indica are extremely common and

The Cannabis Grow Bible By Greg Green "Since it's inception marijuana is natural. Given by God for all living creatures to use. Let peace and sanity prevail, let the herb grow free. There is no finer hobby on this planet, than tending to a