Growing inside, outside, hydroponically and in soil.

The advantages of growing in soil indoors

The difference here is similar to the difference between indoor and outdoor cultivation. Soil growing requires less equipment, investment and, generally, less work to control the various factors influencing growth.

The only specialist equipment required for the simplest indoor soil set-up would be seeds, organic nutrients, a light and a timer. The remaining equipment - soil, pots, fans, reflective materials and such should be easily available in most countries.

As an organic compound, soil is less sensitive to changes and small variations than a synthetic medium like rockwool. It could be called a self-regulating environment. Thus, pH testing equipment is usually not required.

Similarly, organic nutrients are gentler to plants than the concentrated salts and minerals of hydroponic feed mixtures. Therefore, while it is still possible to over-fertilise an organic system, such a mistake is less likely to 'burn' or kill plants. An EC meter is not required for soil growing

In short, soil growing is easier and more forgiving of growers' mistakes. Therefore it is a highly advisable method for the first time indoor grower.

The advantages of growing hydroponically indoors

Indoor cultivation allows more control over a plant's life cycle than outdoor. In the same way, hydroponic cultivation allows the grower an even greater level of control.

Since plants in a hydroponic setup are growing in a synthetic, neutral medium the grower is able to dictate exactly which nutrients are given to a plant, and at what levels. Of course, this requires more care than organics and usually necessitates the use of a pH meter (to measure acidity in water) and an EC meter (to measure the level of nutrient in water by means of its Electrical Conductivity).

Hydroponic growing mediums are less bulky and heavy than soil, often easier to handle and possibly easier to dispose of. Pests and fungus are less likely to flourish in rockwool or similar mediums, and are almost never endemic to newly bought synthetic mediums.

Hydroponic nutrients, since they are highly concentrated, take up less space than organics, especially for large crops. They are usually pre-mixed and do not require the grower to supplement them or combine several different formulas. Also, they will often smell less than organic nutrients.

In short, the more in-depth control available with hydroponics, when managed effectively, allows for a bigger, more potent and sometimes even faster crop. While such systems are not recommended for first-time indoor growers, those who have experienced success with soil cultivation indoors may wish to try this as the next step in refining their technique.

The advantages of growing outdoors

Outdoor cultivation requires less equipment, expertise and labour.

For the first few weeks of life, outdoor plants need the same care and attention as indoor ones. However, once a few basics have been well established, outdoor plants may be left (in a good, sunny spot) to take care of themselves. They may need to be regularly watered and fed and, occasionally, pruned but most of their development will be accomplished simply by allowing them to grow over spring and summer.

This feature of outdoor cultivation is what makes 'guerilla growing' possible. Established plants may be placed outside in remote or wild areas and left to their own devices throughout the growing season. The guerilla grower need only visit them a few times in this period, or even just the once, at harvest time.

Outdoor plants will usually yield more than indoor ones. This is simply because they are able to grow larger. Few indoor setups are able accommodate plants larger than 180cm. Assuming that detection is not a problem, outdoor plants may comfortably grow to 2 or 3m in height. It is possible for a single plant of this size to produce 500g or more of dried bud.

Germinating seeds early in the growing season (March or April in the Northern hemisphere) will allow your plants a long vegetative period before flowering is triggered by the shorter days of late summer.

Some people prefer the taste and effect of organically grown cannabis. Many cannabis lovers insist they can easily differentiate between buds grown with soil and sun and those produced with hydroponics and grow-lights. This, however may simply be the result of their smoking over-fertilised indoor cannabis, or even the fact that indoor buds can taste very different, due to their containing an uncommonly high level of THC that is simply not attainable outdoors.

The difference between Indica and Sativa?

Scientifically (and legally), all cannabis is Cannabis Sativa L.. In practice, Indica and Sativa are the names used to distinguish each end of the cannabis 'spectrum'. There are a multitude of different growth-patterns, qualities and effects within this spectrum, most of which are a result of cannabis' remarkable ability to adapt to its environment. Genetically, and in terms of interbreeding, all cannabis is in the same family. The Sativa 'high' and the Indica 'stone' are difficult to compare in terms of power. The immediate hit and rich taste of an Indica may seem more powerful initially; a Sativa may have a subtler, yet far more profound effect.

INDICA:

Most Indica varieties come from southern Asia and the Indian subcontinent (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Tibet, Nepal, etc.).

Indicas are compact and stocky, with dense, heavy, fragrant buds. Indica buds tend to grow in clusters, with varying amounts of space (known as 'internode space') between each cluster.

Indicas are the faster flowering varieties, usually with a flowering time of 6 to 9 weeks.

Indicas do not tend to gain height rapidly once flowering has begun. An Indica may be expected to gain between 50 and 100% of its vegetative height by the end of its flowering period.

The effect of Indica is generally classified as a 'stone', meaning that it is more centred on the body. It may enhance physical sensations such as taste, touch and sound. It has a relaxing effect - mentally and physically - and may be soporific in larger doses.

SATIVA:

Sativas generally originate in the equatorial regions - Thailand, Cambodia, Jamaica, Mexico, etc.

Given the same conditions, Sativas grow taller than Indicas. Sativa buds tend grow larger than Indica, as they run along the length of a branch instead of clustering around the internodes. However, they will usually weigh less than Indica when dry, due to their lower density. Sativa buds also tend to have a less striking odour, both when growing and when dry.

Sativas take longer to flower. They will usually need between 9 and 12 weeks to finish blooming. However, they need far less vegetative time BEFORE flowering than Indicas. So the overall time required for Sativas is about the same as for Indicas (and sometimes less in terms of 'light hours')

Sativas will usually continue to gain height while flowering, often gaining 200%, 300% or more of their vegetative height while flowering. This is because around the equator there is not so much difference in the number of daylight hours between winter and summer. Therefore, Sativas in their native environment will grow and flower at the same time. For this reason indoor growers should not allow a Sativa too much vegetative growth before inducing flowering. When growing from clones, many Sativa varieties may be flowered as soon as the clone has rooted.

Despite their lower weight and potentially longer flowering time, Sativas are valued by many growers for their 'high' effect. This high may be characterized as cerebral, energetic, creative, giggly or even psychedelic. It is less overpowering than the Indica 'stone', and less likely to send the user to sleep.

Protecting Children from Drugs

The sponsors of a medical cannabis initiative appearing on South Dakota’s ballot in November are suing the state Attorney General over his misleading summary of the initiative, apparently designed to encourage a negative reaction in voters. The AG must write a neutral summary of each state ballot initiative. In this case, his first act was to rename the measure.
"An act to provide safe access to medical marijuana for certain qualified persons," became "An Initiative to authorize marijuana use for adults and children with specified medical conditions."
August 2006 (source)

It’s curious that the greatest - or at least the loudest - love for children is proclaimed by those who display a general distrust of progress and freedom.
Groups seeking to control individual behaviour, undermine civil rights or impose a moral code on society will frequently broadcast their own sincere desire to protect young folk from real or imaginary threats, habitually invoking ‘the children’ to justify each new restriction.
If the safety of children is at stake, who could possibly object to laws that curtail privacy, individual choice and basic liberty?

The need to protect the young is biological, a basic principle of survival seen in most animals. In people, the instinct is more refined; it applies to our species in general and is not limited to our own children. Because it is a rational decision based on a powerful unconscious imperative, the protective urge can be irrational in its expression and has a long and unfortunate tradition of being used to manipulate people.

As cannabis becomes more tolerated, propaganda has shifted from its traditional attack on the plant to a coordinated attempt to defend prohibition. Naturally, ‘protecting the children’ is the central theme of efforts to justify the unjustifiable.

- Dope-smoking dads double risk of cot death
- Marijuana may cause pregnancies to fail
- Why teenagers should steer clear of cannabis
- Alarming rise in number of child cannabis victims

It’s tempting to see this as a tactic of last resort – a laughable ploy to demonise cannabis and “re-brand” it as specifically threatening to children. Perhaps the campaign to scare adults about their own use of cannabis has finally been abandoned, as it is clearly contradicted by reality?

Even so, the tactic of shifting the focus to ‘the children’ and playing on parents’ anxieties is abhorrent. It exploits children for propaganda and is effective in distracting attention from more significant threats to the health of young people.

One example is the disturbing push to control children’s mood and behaviour with powerful psychiatric drugs such as Prozac and other SSRIs, which are designed to alter levels of serotonin in the brain.
This trend endangers young people as much as it enriches drug manufacturers and its scope is unprecedented – the numbers of children being medicated, the absurdly young ages at which they’re diagnosed as depressed or mentally unbalanced and the potency of the psychotropic drugs they’re prescribed.

European doctors have received strong warnings against prescribing SSRIs to children, but the practice has not been banned. In the US, the country with most strident anti-cannabis propaganda and the loudest devotion to protecting ‘the children’, the practice of drugging the young in order to regulate their behaviour is both an industry and an epidemic.

Currently, 2% of US children aged 6-16 are taking SSRIs and up to 10% are on stimulants such as Ritalin. Despite the FDA ordering "black boxes " for SSRI packaging - the most severe class of safety warnings - around 9 million prescriptions were written for US children in 2005, with under-fives the fastest-growing segment of children using antidepressants.
An estimated 17 million children worldwide are prescribed some form of behaviour-modifying drug. Worldwide sales of antidepressants to all age-groups reached more than $19.5 billion in 2002.

For one example of media misdirection regarding children, drugs and mental health, consider the following facts:

1. Cannabis is a powerful, effective, low-risk medicine that provides relief for an enormous range of conditions and improves quality of life for millions of people. It has an unparalleled safety record, having been used safely for thousands of years. Cannabis is effective in its natural form and can grow virtually anywhere with minimal effort, making it potentially free for anyone.

2. Conversely, the trend of medicating the young with powerful psychiatric drugs is highly profitable and unique in history. The idea of moderating children’s mood or behaviour with pharmaceuticals would have been unthinkable a generation ago, yet today it is presented as a normal solution by large sections of the media.
Rather than a hypothetical and unproven risk of altering brain chemistry in sensitive individuals, as is said of cannabis, SSRIs are specifically designed to change brain chemistry in order to modify mood and behaviour.

3. The sudden increase in prohibitionist propaganda associating cannabis with danger to children amounts to a co-ordinated media campaign. The obvious intention is to heighten fears that cannabis may cause schizophrenia, depression, suicidal thoughts or general unspecified mental illness in children, despite the usual lack of evidence. The fragile, developing chemical structure of young brains is frequently mentioned, as are false claims about massive increases in cannabis potency.
‘Adolescents are at highest risk for marijuana addiction … marijuana use has been linked with depression and suicidal thoughts, in addition to schizophrenia…marijuana use among teens doubles the risk of developing depression and triples the incidence of suicidal thoughts’
- DEA Website -


4. SSRIs have repeatedly been found to pose significant risks to the mental and physical health of children.

• 2005 – The European Medicines Agency concluded SSRIs should not be used in children and adolescents … suicide-related behaviour (suicide attempt and suicidal thoughts), and hostility (aggression and anger) were more frequently observed in children and adolescents treated with SSRIs.

• The FDA has admitted that children who use SSRIs are 180 percent more likely to have suicidal tendencies.

• British Journal of Psychiatry reports that Prozac creates "the highest risk of deliberate self-harm."

A century of attempting to prove the dangers of cannabis has yielded no results but vague hypotheses with no relation to the real world. Whatever alarming conclusions are suggested, cannabis is very widely used in most countries and causes few discernable health problems. Within a few years of their introduction, SSRIs have raised serious concerns all over the world.
Yet cannabis is relentlessly presented as a major threat to the mental health of children, while psychoactive drugs designed to change brain function are promoted as a solution.

Any sane person will agree that children should not take drugs, whether legal or illegal, but, in the mainstream media, the principle does not seem to apply to drugs made by certain powerful interests.

It is not surprising that prohibitionists exploit the need to protect children. What is unbelievable is that dire warnings about the effect of ‘drugs’ on developing brains can coexist in the media with the promotion of mind-altering pharmaceuticals for those same sacred children. This demonstrates either an enormous logical disconnect or an effective and coordinated campaign of diversion and misinformation.

Evolution and Intelligent Design

Apologies if the title of this piece is an obscure reference. It is taken from the recent debate in the US, about whether the science classes of public schools should teach ‘Intelligent Design’ as an alternative theory to evolution.

In that debate, the terms ‘evolution’ and ‘intelligent design’ were used to describe opposing viewpoints. However, both terms fit very well when considering our favourite plant and its history from ancient times to the present day.

The way that cannabis and those who choose to grow it have adapted to the environment of prohibition in just the last few decades is a wonderful example of both evolution and intelligent design.

In essence, the harsh legal restrictions on this plant and increased attempts to eradicate it have been a huge influence on the breeding and development of heavier, faster, more potent varieties. In the same way, the war on weed has spurred growers to develop smaller, more efficient systems and highly effective methods for for growing indoors.

In response to the use of new technology to detect indoor cannabis, growers have taken dozens of new developments in other fields and adapted them to clandestine indoor cultivation.

There are direct improvements like cooled lights, quieter fans and advanced odour-control, as well as indirect improvements, such the use of the internet as a means of spreading information to the widest possible audience and computer applications that allow a grow-room to be monitored and adjusted from a distance.

Depending on your point of view and sense of optimism, we may currently be experiencing a cannabis Renaissance – with knowledge and freedom on the rise – or we may be on the verge of yet another backlash against cannabis – with misinformation and persecution increasing.

It probably won’t be clear whether the situation here in the early 21st Century is getting better or worse until we can look back at this time from the vantage point of the future.

If we look back over the 20th Century, we can see the ebb and flow of cannabis prohibition in the West.The USA gives us an interesting summary of the fluid attitude towards cannabis.

At the turn of the last century, popular interest in cannabis was increasing in Europe and North America – along with interest in many other now-acceptable topics that were then considered weird or subversive, such as jazz, vegetarianism and Naturism.

Anti-cannabis forces began to gain national and global strength in the 1930s. Not coincidentally, this was the period when nationalist and fascist movements were reaching their peak, and hostility to decadent or ‘foreign’ influence was widespread.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that acceptance and appreciation of cannabis reached ‘pop culture’ status. Many years of propaganda were undone when a generation of people were able to try cannabis and contrast their positive experience with the misinformation offered by official sources. The future seemed bright. Under Jimmy Carter, even the USA, home of Prohibition, decriminalised cannabis possession.

Hopes for real change were swept away in the 1980s, with the declaration of the War on Drugs, This war soon spread world-wide and was to be fought mostly against civilians – people whose views, experiences or use of certain substances contradicted the official line.

The War on Drugs has had many tragic casualties, but cannabis itself has not been one of them. The attack on the plant and its growers at the beginning of the ‘80s motivated an explosion in breeding and technology that continues to this day.
An unjust War gave rise to a popular resistance movement - breeders determined to protect the precious strains they had been collecting and refining during the brief ‘ceasefire’ of the ‘70s.

Evolution is a very fitting way to describe the events that followed – evolution, enhanced by intelligent design.

We can see this process at work in predators and prey all over the animal kingdom. The hunted adapt to better evade the hunters. The predators adapt to better catch the prey. For millions of years this process has produced new species, more specifically adapted to their circumstances.

In less than thirty years, the same relationship between growers of cannabis and enforcers of the laws that prohibit it has resulted in huge variations and improvements of both the plant and the way it is produced.

I don’t want to portray cannabis growers and breeders as timid, submissive herbivores, but we are the peaceful plant-lovers in this relationship, while the other side seems to have the monopoly on violence and the means to inflict it.

When penalties for growing cannabis became much more severe, many casual garden-growers were discouraged. Increased efforts to eradicate large-scale outdoor crops led to helicopter surveillance, infra-red detection and paramilitary police units dedicated to destroying crops.

Cannabis cultivation began to move inside as growers sought to protect themselves. At the same time, improvements in growing and feeding techniques plus new developments in lighting helped make this possible.

One problem was that indoor plants had to be smaller and faster, so the tropical Sativas that had been widely grown were limited in their potential.
In response, pioneering breeders began to work with strains from India, Afghanistan and Pakistan that were almost unknown in the West – the rich and resinous Indicas. These fast, short, heavy plants would solve the problems of indoor growing.

Classic strains such as Northern Lights, Hindu Kush, Afghani #1 and Big Bud were grown for their pure Indica qualities. These Indicas and others were combined with Sativas to make some of the wonderful early hybrids we still appreciate today – Skunk #1, Silver Pearl, Silver Haze, Northern Lights #5 x Haze.

And, as we know, individuals and companies dedicated to breeding and supplying distinct varieties of cannabis seed emerged, enabling any grower to produce something special.

Before professional seed breeders began their work, top-quality genetics were hard to obtain. The only options open to most people were contact with an experienced grower, a trip to a distant land, or good luck in growing seeds obtained from commercial cannabis.

Communication and contact between growers – and all other people who refuse to accept the injustice and illogic of cannabis prohibition – is one of the strongest assets we have in continuing our fight to end the war declared upon us. While personal security is of the highest importance for growers, it is also important not to allow the forces opposed to cannabis make us feel isolated or powerless.

Contact and support within the cannabis community strengthens and encourages us. Communication has has led to the world-wide dissemination of cannabis information and genetics. There have vast improvements in growing techniques, as countless inspired minds ponder the same issues and devise different solutions.

Most importantly, we are working to remind the world that cannabis (when free of legal harassment) is a normal, joyful and intelligent experience.

Making Cannabis Clones

The art of cloning plants could be the most useful of all ‘indoor’ techniques. Cloning allows growers to make the most of every female plant and it’s a skill that anyone can master with a little practice.

Outdoor growers who clone their plants are able to identify gender early in the season and multiply their female plants during the long vegetation period. With low-powered artificial lighting, a promising female can even be preserved for next year’s outdoor crop.

Due to its common association with indoor growing and hydroponics, cloning might appear to be a complex process. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Just as cannabis seedlings will take advantage of the smallest chance to grow, cuttings will quickly make roots and become healthy small plants if a few conditions are met.

Good cuttings are made from strong, green stalks, preferably the growing shoots of the stem and branches.

If possible, cuttings should be 10-20cm long and a few millimetres thick. Avoid stems that are turning woody or hollow, as these are less likely to root. If the aim is to produce a few strong cuttings from each plant, growers should select 12cm sections of the healthiest top shoots. Larger cuttings have more energy and have a better chance of surviving.

If the aim is to make as many clones as possible, any 5-10cm piece of green stem with a growing shoot and a leaf or two can be used. A 30cm branch can be cut at each internode, making 3-6 clones. Tiny cuttings can also turn into clones, though they may take too long to grow to a decent size after rooting. Nevertheless, pieces of stem 3cm long and 1mm thick can root with vigour in bright, humid conditions.

Before planting, treat cuttings with rooting hormone in powder or gel form.

While a good soak in rooting solution is enough to get many clones started, a final treatment with a rooting aid that clings to their stems will increase success rates.

With a razor blade, make a diagonal cut to remove the last millimetres of stem, then dip the cutting in hormone powder/gel. To encourage rooting, many growers gently scrape the lower stems before dipping. A disposable safety razor is a good way to remove a couple of ultra-thin slices from the stalk.

Place treated cuttings in a moist, airy medium that holds them firmly – expanding peat tablets, a 50/50 mix of soil and perlite, cocoa-fibre or rockwool, if available. Clones have no problem rooting in a small rockwool block, then being transferred to soil.

After planting, outdoor clones are given the natural light cycle. Some growers shade rooting clones during the hottest part of the day, while others adopt a ‘survival of the fittest’ attitude. Viable clones will appreciate direct sunlight, and should root quickly.

In hot, dry climates, rooting clones may require a transparent covering to retain humidity. Keep the clones’ medium moist, but not saturated. In good conditions, clones should root in 10-20 days.

Cloning for Sex

The first clone taken from a plant can reveal the parent’s gender with 100% accuracy. It’s easy to reduce the light cycle of cuttings – allow them 12 hours of daylight, then cover them or move them to a dark area. This is much simpler than covering a single branch of a large plant to reveal gender.

When seed-plants reach 30cm, they can yield a cutting or two, which can be given a 12/12 light cycle immediately upon being planted. They will show their gender in 10-14 days, and in many cases they’ll root as well.

It’s fine if these first clones don’t become healthy small plants. Their purpose is to reveal the gender of the parent early in the season, allowing males to be eliminated and all subsequent cuttings to be taken from female plants.

As an added bonus, cloning for sex causes seed-plants to be ‘topped’ early in the season, leaving plenty of time to regenerate a strong double-stem.

Cloning to Multiply

Outdoor growers with plenty of space may clip plants to train them into huge bushes, while balcony growers often cut plants solely to restrict their size.

In both situations, cloning allows extra plants to be made from foliage that is normally discarded.

To keep a balcony plant around 1m by the end of flowering might require quite a lot of pruning. Instead of throwing away over 50% of a female plant during the growing phase, the removed foliage can be made into dozens of copies that plant, all of which will finish under the required height.

Growers who prune plants to make them large and bushy can produce huge numbers of clones. Branches are clipped at regular intervals throughout the vegetative phase to encourage them to split and grow in two directions. As plants increase their size and number of branches, each pruning will yield more cuttings than the last. While this might eventually produce more cuttings than most growers could use, remember that a rooted female clone makes a lovely gift.

Late Cloning

Indoors, cuttings are almost always taken while plants are in the growing stage, as the aim is to preserve a plant in its vegetative state. Outdoors, it is even possible to take clones during the initial weeks of flowering, when the first single flowers begin to show. Cuttings from plants that have begun to flower will often root more quickly than normal clones and should continue blooming at the same rate as the parents.

This means that even in the final, pre-flower trimming (where lower and inner branches with little budding potential are clipped), outdoor growers can clone any viable pieces of stem that are removed from plants.

Every green section of stem with a healthy internode can become a small plant when treated with kindness. Six branches cut from a medium-sized plant in July or August could be turned into 10, 20 or 30 cuttings. Even with a low survival rate of 20%, the result can be a few bonsai flowering plants.

If you’re growing outdoor plants this year and you’ve never made clones, you could try the following experiment just to see how easy it is to produce them, even if you have no particular need to multiply your harvest.

• Fill a few small pots with moist, airy soil.
• With sharp scissors, cut a few growing shoots or minor branches from your plants – nothing that you or the plant will miss – just enough to make ten or twelve cuttings of 5-10cm.
• Give the stems of the cuttings a gentle scrape with the scissors, or your fingernail (some growers use their teeth), and plant a few cuttings firmly in each pot.
• Leave the pots in the sun and make sure they don’t dry out.
• In two or three weeks, you should have a few rooted clones as a result of 20 minutes’ work.
• Any extra care and attention given to future cuttings will greatly improve their survival rate.

Cannabis explained

Cannabis sativa L. is the scientific name given to the cannabis or hemp plant in 1753 by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. Since then, three main types have been identified:

- Cannabis Sativa

- Cannabis Indica

- Cannabis Ruderalis

Sativa, Indica and Ruderalis each have distinctive characteristics.

Sativa

Probably the most common form of Cannabis worldwide and also the type with the most applications. As a botanical name, sativa simply means ‘sown’ and is applied to the cultivated or common form of many agricultural crops.

A typical Sativa is a tall plant, generally a lighter shade of green than the other types. Its leaves are made up of long, narrow blades. Female flowers are longer and more ‘feathery’ in appearance than those of an Indica.

In general, the foliage of a Sativa is sparser than that of the other varieties Sativas grow taller than the other types, gaining height all through their growing and flowering phases. This is due to the equatorial origin of Sativas. In the tropical regions the length of day does not change very much between seasons, so Sativas are adapted to accomplish both their growing and flowering in a fairly uniform photoperiod.

The female flowers of Sativa strains usually grow along the length of the stem and branches, instead of forming in clusters around the internodes, as with the other types. This flower formation is due to the Sativa tendency to grow and flower simultaneously. As a result, female Sativa flowers are usually less dense and weigh less than Indica flowers.

A pure Sativa often requires a combined grow/flower period of around six months to ripen completely. For this reason there is no such thing as a pure indoor Sativa strain. All Sativa strains that are viable for indoor growing have been hybridised with Indica strains to make them more compact and faster to flower.

Nearly all cannabis grown for industrial purposes is Sativa. As the tallest variety it produces the longest fibres and therefore has the widest range of industrial uses.

Indica

Indica varieties are generally agreed to have originated on the Asian subcontinent or possibly Afghanistan. Lamarck, the first European botanist to classify this type, received his samples from India and thus dubbed the plant ‘Indica’ in recognition of that fact.

A typical Indica is a much more compact, thick-stemmed plant, usually attaining a height of less than two metres. It is a darker shade of green, some examples appearing to have almost blue or green-black foliage. Its leaves are comprised of short, wide blades. An Indica tends to produce more side-branches and denser foliage than a Sativa, resulting in a wider, bushier plant. Female Indica flowers form in thick clusters around the internodes of the plant and usually weigh more than Sativa flowers of similar size.

The life cycle of an Indica is divided into two distinct photoperiods – growing and flowering. Growing occurs when the plant is in an environment of long days and short nights. Here, the plant devotes its energy to increasing in size. As days become shorter and nights longer, the plant receives the signal that winter is approaching and flowering is triggered. Here, upward and outward growth slows or stops as the plant devotes its energy to growing reproductive parts.

An Indica requires both a growing and flowering period in order to reach its full size.

Many Indicas are a rich source of the cannabinoids THC, CBD and CBN. While a Sativa may possess a higher proportion of THC relative to its other cannabinoids, an Indica will often contain significant levels of all three. When ingested, Indicas tend to produce more bodily effects than Sativas – effects such as enhancement of physical sensations, relaxation, dry mouth, red eyes. These Indica effects are often grouped together under the term ‘stoned’, as opposed to the ‘high’ imparted by Sativas. This is not to say that Indicas have no psychoactive effect, just that they also have noticeable effects on the body.

Indicas are cultivated almost exclusively for their medicinal and psychoactive properties. Lamarck, when classifying this type, commented that Indica’s “firm stem and thin bark make it incapable of furnishing similar fibres to the preceding species (C. sativa L.) of which so much use is made".

Ruderalis

The name ‘ruderalis’ comes from the German ruderal, a term for weeds growing by the roadside or on other fallow land.

Cannabis ruderalis is an uncultivated strain native to Russia and central Europe and is adapted to the harsher environments found in these locations. Whether seen as a variation on the single cannabis species or as a distinct species in itself, Ruderalis varieties are most likely descended from Indica varieties which, in turn, are probably descended from Sativas.

The differences between these three in their growing and reproductive patterns can be linked to the vastly different climates and environments encountered by the original tropical phenotype C. sativa L. as it colonised further and further north of the equator after the last ice age.

The most notable characteristic of the Ruderalis strain is its capacity to flower (and therefore reproduce) according to an individual plant’s age, independent of the photoperiod in which it is growing.

Since nearly all flowering plants take their cue to reproduce from the climatic factors indicative of season, the ability to begin this process based on changes in the plant rather than in its environment is known as ‘auto-flowering’.

A Ruderalis will begin flowering when it achieves a certain stage of maturity - normally after about seven weeks of growth, when it reaches its fifth to seventh internode. Once a Ruderalis has begun flowering, it continues to do so until other environmental factors (most notably winter) cause the plant to die. The other varieties may expire naturally once their reproduction has been accomplished, or may return to vegetative growth if given a long photoperiod.

Ruderalis’ adaptation to short, cool summers can be seen in other areas. Ruderalis has the ability to complete its life cycle – from being a seed to producing seeds - in just 10 weeks. Its seeds detach easily and can survive more than one season in frozen ground - until conditions are favourable enough to allow growth. The seeds can also survive their shells being cracked open when walked on by humans or animals. For some Ruderalis strains, this occurrence may even aid the germination of seeds.

A typical Ruderalis plant is very short in height, often between 10cm and 50cm at full maturity. It displays little or no branching and has wide, fat-bladed leaves, similar to those of an Indica. Once flowering begins, Ruderalis will gain even less height than an Indica.

Wild Ruderalis strains are nearly always high in CBD and low in THC.

While pure Ruderalis strains have little value in terms of fibre, medicine or psychoactivity, their auto-flowering capability and their extremely fast maturation time are of great interest to cannabis breeders. Hybrids made from combining Indica and Ruderalis strains are currently proving to be some of the earliest-maturing outdoor plants available.

Top 15 Cannabis quotes:

# 1

Rosie Boycott, Independent on Sunday, 28 Sept 1997

"If alcohol is a tiger, cannabis is merely a mouse"

# 2

Jon Owen Jones, UK MP

"We have tried the prohibition route for 30 years and it obviously, patently isn't working."

# 3

Judge James Grey, Orange County Superior Court, Santa Ana, CA, at the DPF Conference, November 1996:

"If we continue as we have for the past 20 years in California, in the year 2020, everybody in the State will either be in prison or running one"

# 4

President Jimmy Carter:

"Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself"

# 5

The Economist March 28th 1992:

"Medicines often produce side effects. Sometimes they are physically unpleasant. Cannabis too has discomforting side effects, but these are not physical they are political"

# 6

Volney Brown Jr., Federal Magistrate-Judge,(retired)., Los Angeles. At the DPF Conference, November 1996:

"There is only one thing wrong with drug law enforcement, just one - it doesn't work. And when I tell you this I want you to believe me because I have done it"

# 7

Detective Chief Inspector Ron Clarke, former member of Greater Manchester Police Drugs Squad: "I got tired of seeing otherwise innocent young kids from all walks of life getting criminal records for, in effect, doing nothing more than millions of other people in society were doing with alcohol"

# 8

Sir Paul McCartney, Independent on Sunday, 28th September 1997:

"I support decriminalisation. People are smoking pot anyway and to make them into criminals is wrong. It's when you're in jail you really become a criminal."

# 9

Ontario Justice John McCart, 1997, (R. v Clay)"Cannabis is not an addictive substance; does not cause a motivational syndrome; and health related costs of cannabis use are negligible when compared to the costs attributable to tobacco and alcohol consumption."

# 10

Professor Lester Grinspoon, Harvard Medical School, USA:

"Marijuana is one of the least toxic substances in the whole pharmacopoeia"

# 11

Edward Ellison, former Head of Scotland Yard's Antidrug Squad

''I say legalize drugs because I want to see less drug abuse, not more. And I say legalize drugs because I want to see the criminals put out of business.''

# 12

Judge James Pickles, UK:

"Cannabis never killed anybody and it's use is widespread. You can’t stop it. The law defeats itself because all the efforts to stop drugs coming in only drives up the prices and then gangsters move in to push the drugs. If they legalised there wouldn't be gangsters and huge profits...The police are gradually decriminalising the possession of cannabis because they realise there's not much point prosecuting"

# 13

Sir Richard Branson, Independent on Sunday, 28th September 1997:

"I'd like to see the government back a programme of research into the medical properties of cannabis and I do not object to its responsible use as a recreational relaxant."

# 14

LaGuardia Commission Report, 1944

"Cannabis smoking does not lead directly to mental or physical deterioration... Those who have consumed marijuana for a period of years showed no mental or physical deterioration which may be attributed to the drug."

# 15

Robert Sweet, U.S. District Judge, New York

''Finally, the fundamental flaw, which will ultimately destroy this prohibition as it did the last one, is that criminal sanctions cannot, and should not attempt to, prohibit personal conduct which does no harm to others.''

The unique versatility of the Cannabis plant

Perhaps the most interesting fact about industrial hemp, especially when compared to trees or to other fibre crops, is its amazing versatility.

Cannabis as a food source.

Cannabis can provide a cheap, renewable and abundant food source for the planet. Hemp seeds are one of the most nutritious grains on Earth, rich in high quality protein, very low in saturated fats and containing all of the essential fatty acids required by human beings.

Cannabis grows almost anywhere and its cultivation does not require farmers in developing countries to purchase pesticides, herbicides and artificial fertilisers from agricultural corporations.

Cannabis as a medicine.

The medicinal value of cannabis is widely accepted by medical professionals all over the world. It is interesting to note that opposition to the therapeutic benefits of cannabis comes almost exclusively from law-making groups rather than those with expertise in medicine or pharmacology.

The best-known medical applications of cannabis are in treating pain, asthma, glaucoma, muscle spasm and epilepsy. Cannabis is also extremely useful in combating the nausea, loss of appetite and general discomfort associated with the synthetic drugs used in chemotherapy and HIV treatment.

The various cannabinoids produced by cannabis have numerous other medical applications and more are discovered every year as legal obstacles to cannabis research are slowly overcome.

Cannabis textiles.

Industrial hemp remains one of the best sources for long fibres and textiles of all kinds. Hemp cloth can be every bit as soft and versatile as cotton and is stronger, more durable and more water absorbent.

The same is true of hemp textiles versus synthetics such as nylon and its derivatives. Hemp textiles are both superior in quality and less ecologically damaging to produce.

Furthermore, Hemp cultivation does not degrade the land upon which it is practiced as cotton cultivation does. Hemp cultivation, properly practiced, maintains or improves the quality of the land. Industrial cotton production requires enormous amounts of chemicals to grow and process the crop.

Cannabis paper.

Hemp pulp is by far the most efficient, rational choice for paper production. A hectare of fibre hemp can yield over four times the pulp produced by traditional timber-pulp trees. Hemp can also compete with any of the faster growing trees (such as eucalypts) that are currently being considered as a source for pulp.

Processing hemp pulp requires only a fraction of the chemicals necessary to process wood fibre into paper. Where they are required, the chemicals used in hemp papermaking are far less pollutive than those used to make paper from trees

On its own, pulp from hurds may be turned into high-quality paper. With the addition of long hemp fibres, the highest quality of paper is produced. This paper is still used for banknotes, official documents and in other situations where paper from tree pulp is simply not strong or durable enough.

A hectare of industrial hemp can easily compete with a hectare of trees for pulp production. In addition, that same hectare can simultaneously produce a large amount of high quality long fibres with numerous industrial applications.

Hemp as a bio fuel.

Hemp is a viable, renewable alternative to petrochemical and other fossil resources. It can supply oils for fuel or lubrication, plastics, paints and varnishes. It is also the most productive and efficient known source of biomass.

The term ‘biomass’ is used to describe all biologically produced matter. Burning biomass to produce energy or processing it into ‘bio-fuels’ such as methane and methanol is seen by many as the best alternative for future fuel sources. Turning biomass into various forms of energy is far cleaner than any fossil equivalent and may be practiced anywhere that biological matter is produced. Hemp, with its speed of growth and ability to flourish almost anywhere is perhaps the only plant that can fulfill the vision of a world run on bio-energy.

All the characteristics mentioned above make the cannabis plant unique in its versatility, productivity and eco-friendliness. All byproducts have useful applications; all stages of growing and processing have either a low impact or a decidedly beneficial effect upon the environment.

Why is it that our society is not using this environmentally friendly, versatile and abundant resource? What interest are at stake?