What is Depression?

Depression, also known as major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is a psychological disorder related to mood and behavior that has been linked to physical symptoms as well. According to the National Institute of Mental Health https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml [4], depression is a common and serious mood disorder that can affect daily activities and overall health. It may cause feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, and worse. Depression is so common that Mental Health America http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/depression [5] indicates it affects more than 16 million adults in America each year. Depression is believed to be caused by changes in the levels of certain compounds in the brain like serotonin that regulate mood and produce positive feelings.

Depression is typically treated with medication and other therapies. Most commonly, antidepressant medications designed to help with mood and reduce depression symptoms is prescribed. This medication is often taken on a long-term basis. One of the drawbacks of this conventional depression treatment is the high risk of side effects associated with the commonly prescribed medications. Side effects like increased sleepiness, increased appetite, weight gain, concentration problems, sexual dysfunction, dramatic mood changes, and even thoughts of suicide can occur. The substances can also cause serious withdrawal symptoms and may not even work for some individuals.

Could Cannabis Cure Depression?

To determine whether cannabis cures depression you have to look at the research, the science, and how individual components of marijuana might affect the body and the mind. The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/06/marijauna-depression_n_6622126.html [2] recently reported on a study from the University of Buffalo that indicates marijuana is an effective treatment for depression caused by chronic stress. The research indicates that certain compounds found in cannabis act like chemical compounds the body produces naturally. The compatibility of these chemicals with receptors in our brains shows cannabis may compensate for reduced levels of key compounds in the body and could improve certain mental issues.

Studies have also shown that cannabis has been effective at reducing other mental concerns, including post-traumatic stress disorders, which can affect the brain in ways similar to depression. Marijuana has been used throughout history as a treatment for depression and mental health. In low-doses, the compound in cannabis can work to improve the mental state of the user. This is believed to be because of the way chemicals like THC increase serotonin levels and restore endocannabinoid levels, which help to improve mood, improve stress response, and stabilize mood. More research needs to be conducted to fully understand how marijuana works within the brain to improve depression symptoms and mental health.

It is also important to consider how cannabis could improve over typical depression treatments. Harvard Health Publications http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/medical-marijuana-and-the-mind [1] indicated in one of their mental health reports that cannabis has fewer side effects that other medical treatments for depression. Although the same article indicates that marijuana may have some side effects, including increased anxiety and potential addiction, it stated they were less severe than those associated with prescription medications. Cannabis is less likely to cause physical withdrawal symptoms or mood swings like those associated with antidepressants. Also, there is no risk of overdose associated with using marijuana as a medical treatment.

Treating Depression with Cannabis

Cannabis and its byproducts have been used to treat depression in a several different ways. The most common form of cannabis as a depression treatment is smoking or using other methods to inhale cannabis. Harvard Health Publications http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/medical-marijuana-and-the-mind [1] indicates that inhalation is the fastest way to get marijuana into the system. In this case, true cannabis is being used as the product, often with minimal processing. It is also possible to use other versions of natural cannabis like oils or other concentrated cannabis products. Cannabis treatments for depression may also be administered in other forms, including ingesting concentrated forms of cannabis or using edible products. In other studies and medical situations, natural and artificial forms of certain key chemical compounds in marijuana are used for treatments. This includes natural and artificial THC isolates, natural and artificial CBD isolates, and treatments that combine with cannabinoids.

Cannabis Depression Treatment 

The most common way to treat depression with cannabis is by using marijuana itself. Many users self-medicate because the use of medical marijuana is still quite limited. They swear that marijuana cures depression for them, even if they do not have the support of medical treatments to prove their beliefs. Research has indicated http://www.medicalmarijuana.com/medical-marijuana-as-a-treatment-for-depression/ [3] that small doses of cannabis can improve mental state, alleviate symptoms of depression, and aid in coping with depression. Smoking small amounts of marijuana on a routine basis may help to control or cure depression over time. The tricky part is finding the right dose to control depression symptoms. Too little, and you will not achieve depression relief. Too much, and you could make symptoms even worse.

In addition to smoking marijuana as a treatment for depression, it can be processed into edible forms. Edible forms of cannabis are ideal for those who have concerns about the long-term effects of smoking on the lungs and airways. Dosing for depression with edibles is not as effective as smoked treatments because edibles take longer to enter the bloodstream and work within the body and brain. There can also be a wide margin of difference in the amount of active ingredients depending on which product you purchase or how you make the edible in your own home. This can make dosing even more complicated. Edibles do offer added convenience in many ways that makes them a good treatment option for some.

THC Depression Treatment 

One of the most studied chemical compounds in cannabis is THC. THC depression treatments
have shown promise in laboratory studies on using both animals and human subjects. Isolated from the rest of the chemicals in cannabis, THC still produces effects that improve mood, generate feelings of euphoria, and can have a positive impact on depression symptoms. Similar to using cannabis as a treatment, dosing is extremely important in making sure THC improves symptoms rather than worsens them. The sedative effects of THC have been widely documented http://www.medicalmarijuana.com/medical-marijuana-as-a-treatment-for-depression/ [3] and can increase symptoms like lack of energy, lack of enthusiasm, and hopelessness if used in high doses.

Various methods have been used to provide dosing with THC. Smoking cannabis, especially types with high THC content, remains one of the most effective ways to intake THC. Inhalation is the most common and efficient form of treatment with THC according to Harvard Health Publications http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/medical-marijuana-and-the-mind [1]. Concentrating high-THC cannabis into oils or similar concentrates and then vaporizing those forms may be even more effective. Pill versions using artificial THC have also been tested, but take longer to enter the bloodstream. In Canada, an oral spray version has become available that combines THC with cannabidiol or CBD. The spray, which is used under the tongue, allows the active ingredients to enter the bloodstream faster than pill versions.

CBD Depression Treatment 

Harvard Healthhas even connected CBD to neuroprotective and antipsychotic effects, although more research is needed to prove its effectiveness in treating depressive disorders. Research has shown a strong positive impact when CBD and THC are used together. The two chemicals appear to be most effective for treating depression when combined. CBD is available as an isolate in artificial pill form. It can also be found in the Canadian spray, called Sativex, mentioned above.

As you can see from the details in this article, some research has been done into the effectiveness of cannabis as a depression treatment, but more medical proof is needed to truly call it a cure. Results have shown promise, as the natural chemicals in marijuana are similar to key hormones in the brain that are responsible for stabilizing and improving mood. Another benefit to cannabis in the treatment of depression and related mental conditions is the reduction in side effects when compared to common depression treatments. Inhalation remains the quickest and most effective way to use cannabis and its related chemical compounds as a treatment.Other forms of THC and CBD are being tested, including edibles, pills, and sprays. Using cannabis to treat depression may be a newer technique, but for some, it is a trusted and proven option.

References

1. Web-site health.harvard.edu, an article “Medical marijuana and the mind”
URL: http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/medical-marijuana-and-the-mind
2. Web-site huffingtonpost.com, an article “Depression and marijuana”
URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/06/marijauna-depression_n_6622126.html
3. Web-site medicalmarijuana.com, an article “Marijuana as a treatment for depression”
URL: http://www.medicalmarijuana.com/medical-marijuana-as-a-treatment-for-depression/
4. Web-site nimh.nih.gov, an article “Depression”
URL: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml
5. Web-site mentalhealthamerica
URL: http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/depression

https://www.yahoo.com/news/canada-legalize-recreational-marijuana-mid-2018-report-145852604.html

Hopefully the US will also legalize it nationally, which would allow for interstate transport of Cannabis. Or AT LEAST decriminalize weed, or make Marijuana a class III or less drug offense so that the industry here can use banks to do business AND allow research on the medical use of Cannabis. I know, big pharma, Sessions, the cartels, the church, and the booze industry are all lobbying hard against that ever happening, but Canada legalizing weed nationally will have a huge influence in pushing legal weed forward in the states and worldwide. Mexico may also make mota legal again... they are at least talking about it down there as well. The senate in Mexico moved to legalize medical marijuana in Dec, 1016.

Legalization of Marijuana in the United States
Marijuana was legal in the United States until the Legalization of marijuana1930s. Prior to that time cannabis and hashish were commonly used as and in medical treatments, and the plant was grown commercially on farms for rope making and use in other textiles like canvas. After cannabis was made illegal in the late 30’s, various attempts have been made to change its legal status at both state and federal levels. In fact, 2016 once again saw an attempt to reduce federal restrictions and change the classification, but the Drug Enforcement Administration denied the attempt, and cannabis remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance at the federal level. Schedule 1 drugs are considered the most dangerous with the greatest potential for abuse.

While it remains federally illegal, the government does allow each state to create their own marijuana laws, as long as they meet certain guidelines for regulation. In 1996 the first state, California, moved to take advantage of this system, approving the California Compassionate Use Act to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. Lawmakers and voters have continued to discuss cannabis legalization and make changes to its legal status around the U.S. and in many of its territories. These laws include reductions in the penalties or reduced criminalization, decriminalization, medical use only, and recreation use laws around the country. Laws have continued to progress, allowing more and more freedom to use cannabis as a medical treatment, and to study the effects of it and its chemical compounds more thoroughly.

Where is Marijuana Legal?
Since the first states began to legalize cannabis Where is cannabis legal?over 20 years ago, the number of states where you can legally access marijuana has grown considerably. The 2016 election year saw even more states legalize weed – either entirely or for medicinal purposes. Business Insider indicated that nearly half the states in the U.S. have legalized cannabis in some form. The majority of the states have approved medical use either with or without additional laws to decriminalize possession, while eight states and the Washington DC have voted for complete legalization or both recreational and medicinal use. Even in some states where marijuana remains illegal, the penalties associated with possession have been reduced. Although cannabis may be legal in some form, all states have specific requirements that individuals must follow to have marijuana legally. Certain states that have legalized medical use marijuana only allow CBD. Check your local laws for more information on your state.

Below is a list of the current status of marijuana for the each state and the District of Columbia as of the 2016 elections. Please keep in mind marijuana laws may not yet be enacted at this time.

Marijuana Legal States:

Alaska
California
Colorado
Maine
Massachusetts
Nevada
Oregon
Washington
Washington DC
Medically Legal and Decriminalized:

Connecticut
Delaware
Illinois
Maryland
Minnesota
Ohio
Rhode Island
Vermont
Medically Legal Only:

Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Iowa
Louisiana
Michigan
Montana
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Texas
Wisconsin
Not Legal:

Idaho
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
New York
North Carolina
South Carolina
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia
Wyoming

Marijuana Legalization in California
Medicinal marijuana has been legal in Legal marijuana in CaliforniaCalifornia since 1996, but the last couple of years saw some major votes that will change that status of weed in California in the future. To understand what is going on and why marijuana ID cards remain especially important in California we are going to cover the current legal state of cannabis and discuss what is coming in the future. Currently, medical cannabis is legal in the state of California. The Compassionate Use Act got rid of the criminal penalties associated with marijuana use and possession for patients who qualified. Qualified patients required an appropriate doctor’s recommendation.

Later, California voters enacted the Medical Marijuana Program Act to help offer protection to qualified medical cannabis patients and approved caregivers. This act included the use of ID cards to demonstrate proof of the legal right to purchase, carry, and use medical marijuana. The ID cards can be issued by licensed providers once a medical recommendation for cannabis use has been made. The cards are accepted at dispensaries and can be used to identify legal status in legal or judicial situations. Locations like ours allow you to be medically recommended, receive your ID card, and renew your card all at the same location. The ID cards can protect patients and approved caregivers from arrest when carrying eight ounces or less and allows them to grow up to six mature plants in their own home.

In 2016, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act or Proposition 64 was approved in California, taking a huge step forward in marijuana use legalization. This act approves the legal use of marijuana for adults in the state for both medical and recreational purposes. It decriminalizes possession and use of cannabis and looks to establish regulated commercial sale in the future. Much of the legislation related to this act will not take place until 2018, but the act paves the way to decriminalize and legalize cannabis throughout the state of California. It also works in conjunction with other recent marijuana legislation to regulate the way that legal, recreational cannabis will be sold and taxed.

What is Coming for Legal Marijuana in California
In 2018 the Adult Use of Marijuana Act and the Cannabis Law SystemMedical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which was approved in 2015, will be fully implemented in California, changing the way marijuana is used and controlled in the state. The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act is actually a combination of three bills designed to regulate the growing, transportation, manufacture, and sale of medical marijuana. The bills include:

AB 243
AB 266
SB 643
The act will establish a regulatory body known as the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation and require licensing. Qualified patients and caregivers with a medical marijuana ID will not be required to license for personal operations under 100 square feet per patient for up to five patients. This addendum emphasizes the importance of medical marijuana ID cards even though possession has been decriminalized.

The Adult Use Act’s legal recreational sale of cannabis will also begin January 1, 2018. The new law removes the penalties associated with non-medical use, but the recreational sale does not begin until 2018. It works in conjunction with the regulation act, requiring certain regulations be met. Another key component of the Adult Use Act is the new tax it will impose on marijuana purchases along with an additional tax on weed cultivation. Qualified medical marijuana patients and approved caregivers with appropriate ID cards will be exempt from these additional taxes. This again shows that marijuana ID cards will remain important for medical patients now and in the future. For an excellent breakdown on the ins and outs of the new laws, check out this article from Time Magazine.

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law in the United States, although it has been legalized by state governments throughout the country. California was the first states to legalize weed for medical purposes. Currently, patients can receive a doctor’s recommendation for marijuana use and then receive an ID card that allows them to safely purchase and use their marijuana as medication. In the 2016 election, the state also passed a law to decriminalize marijuana and allow the recreational sale of it for adult use starting in 2018. A medical ID card will continue to offer many benefits, including not needing a license to cultivate marijuana in certain situations and being exempt from the recreational marijuana tax.

Note that this applies to the state of Oregon only. Marijuana remains classified as a Class 1 narcotic under federal law at this time, and remains a federal crime for possession, growing and selling as of February, 2017.  So these laws only apply to state and private lands, and not on federal lands including BLM, National Forest and National Park/National Monument lands within the boundary of the state of Oregon.

ttp://elcomercio.pe/sociedad/lima/gobierno-presentara-proyecto-legalizar-marihuana-medicinal-noticia-1967050?flsm=1

http://b975.com/news/articles/2017/feb/05/israel-takes-step-toward-allowing-export-of-medical-marijuana/

I will use it in my products and potentially sell to others.

What licensing / royalty terms are common for cannabis?

Thanks,

Dr T

Spain has become Europe's new Holland, with liberal laws and plentiful pot.

Nol Van Schaik: with Jose Molina: working to open a cannabis resort in SpainAbout one year ago, Dutch coffeeshop owner Nol Van Schaik packed up some Dutch seeds, got in his car with his life partner, Maruska, and moved to the Southern Spanish coast.

He rented a hilltop villa surrounded by semi-arid mountains and olive trees. He planted his seeds and kept them watered as Spanish summer temperatures reached 110degF (43degC).

Van Schaik now enjoys smoking Spanish marijuana and Maroc hashish with friendly Spaniards as he sits in a hammock by the sea at the Mambo Beach Club near Malaga.

Mambo's owner, a tall, muscular, amiable Dutchman named Jacques, used to own two coffeeshops in Amsterdam. In 1999, he sold his shops and bought the run-down Spanish beachfront caf? with the dream of turning it into a trendy garden spot on the coast near the upscale yachting port of Benalmadena.

He slept onsite, accompanied only by his faithful dog, and rebuilt the place from the ground up.

Tourists and locals see Mambo's signs advertising everything from Dutch pancakes to Indonesian ribs. They smell cannabis and hashish smoke mixing with food scents, blending with the cry of sea gulls, sea air. They feel the throbbing rhythm of Mambo's hip-hop, trance, Latin house, acid-jazz, 400-watt sound system.

Van Schaik sits in Mambo's garden, sprinkling Moroccan chocolate hash into an almost-rolled Dutch joint. Police cars are parked on the beach just outside the Mambo's green hedgerow, but police never bother Mambo's guests.

"This is why I came to Spain," Van Schaik says, licking the joint. "Sunshine, ocean, friendly people, weed, good food, and no worries about the police. It's hard for a Dutchman like me to admit it, but Spain is far better than

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Holland."

Pot plants peeking over the balcony: a common sight in Spain.

Cannabis canyons

In the rugged mountains that frame the Mediterranean near Malaga, I sweat in late summer sun, hiking a creekbed canyon, trying to keep up with Elliot, a Spanish growmaster.

We first met at his fourth-floor apartment in Malaga, where he showed me double-balcony gardens containing 12 varieties of cannabis. Among the beautiful ganja girls growing in individual pots of soil were Nebula, Purple Haze, Super Silver Haze, Skunk, Purple Fat Top, and Chronic.

As I took pictures in full view of construction workers repairing a roof on a high rise building nearby, I was paranoid on Elliot's behalf. But then I climbed on the roof of his building and saw that about a third of the balconies all around had cannabis plants on them. And when we walked to the car to begin our journey to the mountain grow site, Elliot pointed out several balconies with pot gardens visible from the street.

Up the canyon, Elliot bounded ahead of me, eager to get to a remote grow site where he had planted and tended two cannabis plants. At his apartment he showed a picture of the main cola on one Purple Haze plant; it was a foot in diameter at the bottom and nearly two feet tall. The monster plant had numerous side branches. Elliot was expecting nearly a kilo of dried bud from the plant, which was about nine feet tall.

Rocks tumbled from his feet toward me, so I slowed down. He disappeared off the main trail, turning to the right into a thicket of thorny scrub. When I arrived a half-minute later, I expected to find two huge plants and a jubilant Elliot. Instead, the handsome Latino was sitting on a rock, with tears in his eyes. In front of him was half a marijuana plant, harvested prematurely, by a thief. Nearby was the other plant, similarly pilfered.

I tried to console Elliot, but he could only speak angrily about all the work he had done to keep the plants alive that summer. He had started in late spring, driving a tiny motorbike up the winding dirt road to the canyon mouth, carrying heavy sacks of soil and water-holding crystals, as well as huge balloons full of water. Then he'd hike up loaded down, wet the rocky clay soil, claw at it with a shovel, pull the rocks out, wet it more, add rich soil and crystals, until finally he had a hole four feet in diameter and four feet deep.

The summer of 2003 was unusually dry and hot in Spain as it was across Europe; the creek Elliot had been counting on began to dry up in July, and temperatures soared to record levels. He made dozens of trips to his plants, not just to bring them water, but to stabilize inner branches by tying supports from them to the main stem.

60-year-old cannabis activist Fernanda de la Figuera

And when he saw the cut top of his first plant, the expectations and weight of all his labor, hopes and dreams came crashing down, and his tears fell to water the ground around the forlorn plants.

Elliot harvested the side colas left by the robbers, wrapping them in newspaper, as we discussed the mentality of pot thieves, how they had discovered his plants, and what he would do them if he caught them.

The next day, we went to a different canyon closer to town, hiked down a hillside to a fast-running creek, and trekked through thick undergrowth. We were expecting to see two major plants first, with another three plants further down the narrow watercourse 100 yards away.

Instead, we came upon another big disappointment for Elliot ? all that was left of one of plants was a stalk in the ground, and the other plant had been tipped over to lie on the ground with its root ball left exposed to drying sun and air.

We hurried to reset the tipped plant. Elliot had some B-12, generic N-P-K fertilizer, and a bucket hidden in the bushes. We mixed a weak solution in creek water, and poured it on the wounded plant while adding new soil and stabilizing the bent main stalk. Two days later, the plant had fully recovered and its long, small buds were filling out in the late summer sun.

We crawled down the creek, splashing in water, to a place on the waterside so impregnable that I felt nobody could ever find it and rip Elliot off. Three intact plants glistened in the sun, and Elliot leapt for joy.

He added up the pounds he hoped to harvest from the four plants, spoke about making his fianc? happy with the Euros those kilos would net him, and promised another hike another day, this time to see a "monster Yumboldt plant" that had its own water reservoir, nitrogen and other nutrients courtesy of two dead rats that had drowned in the res trying to get a drink in the arid bone-dry summer.

"Now I have to come here every day and hide to see if the banditos come back," he said. "I hope, for their sake, that they don't. If I catch them, they will end up as fertilizer."

Grow shop owned and operated by Jose Molina

Spanish hash history

Spain has a long and illustrious history. Muslim invaders brought cannabis with them when they took control of Spain in 700 AD; the country's proximity to Morocco and the rest of Africa has long made it a major trans-shipment point for hashish and marijuana.

Spain endured centuries of religious wars, monarchs and military rulers until a dictator named Francisco Franco rose to power in 1939 during a bloody civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of Spaniards. Franco instituted brutal repression that killed another 100,000 citizens, while also isolating Spain from Europe and the US after World War II.

Franco ruled the country with an iron fist, but he gradually allowed Spain to modernize and experience increasing economic prosperity. He died in 1975 and was replaced by his hand-picked successor, Juan Carlos. Since then, Spain has hosted the Olympics and become a popular destination for tourists.

On the patio of a sprawling hacienda surrounded by olive trees and hills near Van Schaik's house, 60-year-old cannabis activist Fernanda de la Figuera talked history with me on a sunny late summer afternoon.

Figuera has been involved in marijuana growing since 1968, and is a powerful leader of ARSECA, which is the regional chapter of ARSEC ? the country's premier marijuana legalization organization.

She says Francisco Franco was partially responsible for the presence of marijuana in Spain during the 20th century.

"Franco brought in Moroccan mercenaries to help him during the civil war, and the Moroccans brought their hashish with them," she explained. "Spanish soldiers who traveled to Africa also used cannabis and brought it back with them. When I was a child, during Easter celebrations Maroc soldiers would become high on hash and kif and then play drums and entertain the whole town while they were high out of their minds."

Figuera's use of cannabis derived from her association with jazz musicians, artists, bohemians, and American soldiers; they all shared marijuana with her in Madrid during the early 1960's.

Ironically, Figuera says, the "communist dictator" Franco had a more benign attitude towards marijuana than his so-called "democratic successors."

In the last decade of Franco's rule, and continuing a few years after his death, cannabis and hashish were widely available; there was no drug war.

Figuera attended parties where prominent judges, celebrities, jet-setters, artists, musicians, prostitutes and politicians sat around tables that contained kilo bricks of Moroccan hashish.

"I loved marijuana and the marijuana culture right from the start," she recalls. "My life would not have had as much quality in it if it were not for marijuana. I use marijuana as a medicine, sacrament, lotion, tincture, cr?me and food."

While we talked, she shared with me two different tinctures; both of them more powerful than any cannabis tinctures I've ever sampled.

Figuera's cannagricultural expertise developed early. In the late 60's and early 70's, she grew cannabis seeds from Guatemala, Brazil, the Middle East, Christiania (Denmark), and Africa.

"At first, we didn't know about seedless female marijuana," she said. "Friends who went to America heard about it there, and brought the technique back to Spain. In 1981, I was raising a baby and had a lot of time to devote to my crop, which was grown from seeds from Angola and the Congo. The plants turned into trees 20 feet high. The side branches yielded a half-kilo each. The villagers would say, ?Fernanda, we can smell your plants a kilometer away,' but they never stole from me."

In 1973 in Barcelona, Figuera, growers, and smokers got together to form ARSEC.

"We formed it as a cooperative organization that grew and shared weed, while also exploring ways to make cannabis more available and more politically acceptable," Figuera said. "We were also into research, which eventually included hemp, and we saw the rise of many other organizations that sought to liberalize Spain's laws."

Elliot, the Spanish growmaster enjoys the scent of his towering canna-tree

Freedom challenges

Figuera and other activists, like grow shop guru Jose Molina, explain that Spain's constitution gives considerable protection to what people do in the privacy of their homes.

"The Spanish law says that personal behavior in a private place, and this includes private land and outbuildings, is protected by the constitution," Figuera explained. "The controversial issues are that police are allowed to determine if what you are doing is personal or if it is meant for distribution, which is illegal, and they are also allowed to arrest you if your cannabis activities or possession are outside of your private domain."

Compared to the United States and other hard-line drug war countries, Spain's penalties for those convicted of trafficking offenses or public possession are relatively mild. Public possession of less than two ounces of cannabis is not a criminal offense, although heavy administrative fines can be levied. Possession of more than two ounces, growing for sale, or selling are considered criminal offenses, but prison terms are not as severe as those levied in the US.

Spanish cannabis law has been partially shaped by activists from ARSEC and other organizations. In 1993, Barcelona ARSEC activists publicly stated that 100 people were going to cooperatively grow 225 marijuana plants in an outdoor field, all for personal use (CC#12, Spain: activists growing their own).

Police raided the field when the plants were 7 weeks old, killing the crop and arresting four ARSEC officials. The officials were acquitted in a trial three years later, but prosecutors appealed the acquittal, and in late 1997, the Spanish Supreme Court reversed the acquittal in a harsh ruling that dealt a serious blow to legalization efforts (CC#18, Spain's Supreme Court rules on pot).

Fernanda de la Figuera was arrested in 1995 for growing a pot plantation

near Malaga.

"They were trying to give me five years in prison and tens of thousands of dollars in fines, but my lawyer successfully argued that it was personal use and in accord with the Spanish constitution," she said.

Figuera then organized a regional chapter of ARSEC, called ARSECA, to help other people who ran afoul of the law.

"ARSECA helps people find lawyers to fight such charges, and also pushes on the politicians to change the laws," she said. "We have a thousand members. Politicians have come to our events, such as the Malaga Marijuana Manifestation, a five day protest in April 2003, where we presented a declaration for cannabis freedom to local officials, smoked, danced, and made speeches in public in Malaga, and made an impact on the media and community."

Despite the impact, and despite the fact that 35% of Spain's 41 million citizens smoke marijuana at least occasionally, the government has not further liberalized its cannabis laws.

"The socialist governments and the conservative governments, even if they are wrong on other policies such as the current government's support of the US Iraq war, would like to give Spaniards more cannabis freedom," Jose Molina explains. "They would like to help Spain benefit from the tremendous demand for cannabis internally, and from cannabis tourism. But Spain is a signatory to international drug war treaties, and so our government feels that it cannot liberalize as it would like to."

Regardless, Spaniards and foreigners are increasingly viewing Spain as a haven for marijuana businesses and growing. After many foreign growers were run out of Switzerland, where they were involved in massive seed production grow ops, they fled to Spain, along with dozens of other major seed producers from Holland and other countries.

Molina, Van Schaik, and other cannabis entrepreneurs intend to set up Spain's first-ever cannabis resort. They've contacted government officials about the legality of a private members-only club that would provide cannabis cultivation, education, entertainment, research, medicine and products.

"The lawyers are telling us that if we do this on private land as a club, it's legal," Van Schaik reports. "We have a large investor who wants to help us get a beautiful piece of land near Malaga. People will be able to come here and learn about cannabis, smoke cannabis, grow cannabis, relax with cannabis. We see this happening within a year."

Part of Nol Van Schaik`s Spanish garden.

Banditos and heroes

Van Schaik and I harvested his plants in late September. The stalks were so thick, he had to saw them with a hacksaw.

We had three dozen plants to work on. The varieties included Blockhead, Flo, Skunk #1, Sweet Tooth 3 and 4, Ultimate Indica, Blue Satellite, Golden Leaf, and Old Ed. Most of these had been grown from seed. Van Schaik also had some younger Northern Lights plants, grown from clones, as well as two distinct Thai plants; neither the Northern Lights nor the Thais were anywhere ready for harvest.

Indeed, some of the seed-grown plants, which Van Schaik planted in late March, were also not ready for harvest, but we had to cut them anyway because Van Schaik's garden was being eaten by budworms and caterpillars that burrowed deep into his phat buds. The worm damage looked like mold ? the buds turned black and started to fall apart at the point the worm was working.

We hung the plants to dry in a heated bathroom in the side bedroom of the villa where I was sleeping.

Pretty soon, cannabinoid-laden caterpillars began exiting the buds, and I awoke morning after morning to find myself, my luggage, and my clothing covered in creepy worms. Van Schaik joked about throwing the caterpillars in tequila, as is the custom in Mexico when Mescal worms are placed in tequila.

"They're full of cannabinoids and we can probably get high off them," the Dutchman said as he stomped another worm into oblivion.

Sticky fingers

We visited Fernanda de la Figuera's impressive outdoor garden a few days later. The bulk of her garden consisted of better-developed Indica-Sativa hybrids growing in a large cage near the front of her property.

Figuera's heart has been broken many years in a row, when her large, uncaged outdoor crops were stolen at harvest time. She and her daughter built the cage, determined to protect this year's crop, and had been keeping 24-hour vigil for weeks, along with locking the plants in the cage at night, to prevent rip-offs.

However, a security lapse just after my visit left her property unattended for about four hours one afternoon. Thieves or insiders, who Figuera suspects must have been watching her 24 hours a day, took advantage of the brief time-out to rob her of her plants. They also broke into her home and stole personal belongings and freshly-harvested drying buds.

The loss was particularly devastating to Figuera this year, because she had been planning a year-long travel sabbatical and was counting on having a large supply of buds to see her through.

A few days later, I hiked through thorn bushes to another of Elliot's secret gardens; this one was nestled in a wooded area between two freeways; the sound of vehicles and smell of car exhaust permeated the air.

No banditos had found this garden, which contained 15 tall, mostly-Sativa plants. Some plants were wilting in the hard, dry clay soil. Two friends were supposed to assist in gardening chores, but had dropped out in the heat of the summer, leaving Elliot to shoulder the burden alone.

He had carried in a water reservoir and water for one massive Yumboldt plant, which now towered over his head like a ganja Christmas tree. We estimated that the Yumboldt would yield two to four kilos of dried outdoor bud.

Two sweet flowers, bred under the Spanish sky.

Indoor future

Outdoor growing produces 90% of the marijuana in Spain, but Jose Molina, a grow shop owner and secretary of the Asociacion Andaluza de Comerciantes de Growshops (ACOGROS), says the rip-offs and hard labor experienced by growers like Elliot and Figuera are convincing many growers to begin indoor grow operations.

Molina's well-organized Growsur grow shop in downtown Malaga contains lights, irrigation equipment, nutrients, grow mediums, and everything else an indoor grower needs.

When I attended an ACOGROS/ARSECA conference in the fabled city of Seville, Molina and other grow shop owners discussed educating Spanish growers about the benefits of indoor gardens. There are about 400 growshops in Spain; most of them are located in Madrid and Barcelona.

Some of the shops sell smoking accessories, seeds and cultural artifacts, but an increasing number of them are, like Molina's, professional garden supply stores.

Molina says he is optimistic about Spain's green future.

"The Spanish sun is free, and the climate in some parts of the country is good for growing cannabis 10 months a year, but we see indoor growing as superior because it offers a controlled environment, and avoids the possibility of rip-offs and problems with insects and lack of water," Molina said. "Growers can combine indoor and outdoor growing, using their indoor gardens during cool weather, and also getting a head start on making plants for transplanting to outdoors. Pretty soon, Spain is going to be bigger than Jamaica or Holland as a cannabis growing and tourism destination."

SPAIN FAST REFERENCE GUIDE

BEST TIME TO VISIT

March to October. Temperatures average 68degF (20degC) in winter and 86degF (30degC) in summer.

BEST PLACE TO VACATION

Southern Spain's Costa del Sol. The Mediterranean coast is more fun than the Atlantic coast.

BEST SPAIN TRAVEL AND TOURIST INFO ONLINE

www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/spain

BEST PLACES TO HANG OUT, CHILL, BEACH IT, ENJOY HERB

The Mambo Beach Club (www.mambobeachclub.com) and La Cubana Beach Club (www.chillzonelacubana.com).

BEST PLACE TO RAVE

The island of Ibiza, which features legendary beach raves during spring and summer. Check out www.brianx.com/ibizareview.html

QUALITY AND COST OF SPANISH CANNABIS PRODUCTS

Spanish outdoor is about six to 12% THC, usually overly-dry domestic varieties. It costs $9-$20 US per gram.

When buying Moroccan hashish, look for the dark, chocolate-colored type. Ask the dealer to slice it and see if it has a dark, wet interior, which is a sign of potency.

Also worthwhile, Moroccan golden double-zero hashish. Cost: $10-$25 US per gram.

BEST WAY TO ENSURE YOU WILL HAVE STRONG WEED AND HASH IN SPAIN

Spend a day or two in Holland before you go south to Spain, and buy cannabis there. Bring it with you, as there are no border controls inter-Europe and you will not be searched when you land in Spain.

BEST PLACE TO SMOKE HERB AND GET LAID

Estark 92 Brothel, near La Cubana. 20 minutes south of Malaga at Fuengirola, on the coast.

BEST WAY TO SPAIN FROM NORTH AMERICA

Fly to Amsterdam or London, then take BasiqAir or EasyJet inter-Europe to Malaga.

TRAVEL INFORMATION:

www.spain.info

www.basiqair.com/en

www.bookabed-europe-hotels.com/hotels-in-Benalmadena.htm

BEST PLACE TO STAY IN SOUTHERN SPAIN

Benalmadena.

BEST SPANISH CANNABIS INFORMATION

www.clubfumeta.com

www.solocannabis.com

www.lamarihuana.com

www.arsec.info

www.hempcity.net

Jose Molina: 011 34 952 66 0029 (serious inquiries only)

FUN THINGS TO DO IN SPAIN

Swim, run, bike, hike, get high, parasail, eat, fish, boating, shopping, tanning, historic-architectural-art tours, learn Spanish, horseback riding, golf, soccer, bullfights, sex.

PROBLEMS TO WATCH FOR

Traffic-jams in cities. Most Spaniards only speak Spanish. The Euro is a very pricey currency. The sun is very strong!

For one man in Germany who has been suffering 30 years with the pains of Multiple Sclerosis, the German Court has finally (after his 30 years fight in the Court) granted him the privilege to grow his own Cannabis, but only because other medicines have been determined by his doctor as inneffective for him, and because he cannot afford the outrageous price for Cannabis offered from the Pharmacy, and because Medical Insurance will not pay for it for him.  See the links below:

Article:  https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/cannabis-eigenanbau-urteil-101.html

Commentaries following the Article:  http://meta.tagesschau.de/id/110275/bundesgericht-erlaubt-cannabis-anbau-fuer-schmerzpatienten

So there is now a precedent.  Cannabis, grown in one's home, has been ruled by a German Court to have medicinal value.

For the mother of a friend, I am now encouraged to give her a copy of these articles and to cook-up some Canna-Brownies to give to her. 

She is suffering pains associated with the various bodily damages from her lifetime of smoking, and her pharmaceutical medicines are becoming less and less effective.

I am searching info about growing MJ in Netherlands, i want to know everything about it, but cant find any trustful information.

Please share with me info about: how much plants can i grow indoors, can i grow them in grow box ?

I share my love, with respect Sergei.

I believe there will be a move to the development of very fine strains like in the vine industry or even better. 

So what do you think?

http://extract.suntimes.com/news/10/153/8317/100k-medical-marijuana-supporters-demand-dea-chief-chuck-rosenberg-resignation/

I know they'll replace him with someone equally repulsive but I'd love to see the look on his smug face if they showed him the door. 

http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/legalisierung-von-cannabis-strafrechtler-wollen-drogen-gesetzgebung-reformieren-a-963054.html

-Regards,

Pissed Off Oregonian!

The Dagga Couple has started a process in the Constitutional Court (highest court in SA) and will have a hearing in the next 2 years (if everything goes according to plan). After that the parliament has to be convinced to bring in the necessary changes in law and regulation.

For this we need as many “signatures” as possible. The main focus is on South African citizens, but being backed by a large international audience will only work in our favour.

Please sign our online petition and make a difference, it will only take a minute:

http://petition.daggacouple.co.za

For more information on the Dagga Couple, visit:

http://www.daggacouple.co.za

1/How many Skunk, Nothern lights or White widow is there on the market at different prices? 2/Who created it for the really first time (who accept or not to let it use by other companies)? 3/Would it be better to buy the strain to the breeder who invented it, to the seller who first sold it?

Of course there could be an association of breeders working on the same plant who could sell the same plant on the same name as a partnership. Or it would be only allowed to sell a White widow, a Somango or a Super silver haze adding another one to it, like Brazil x White widow or Haze x super silver haze, and with another name in order to not surf on the name of the Original one. What do you think?... At least changing the name.

Should there be a Copyright on strains? (like music, movies, clothes, ect...) Or not?

"It is already illegal to grow cannabis in the Netherlands, but now also supplying (even water cans and regular soil) and preparations (electrical construction for example) is illegal and punishable, depending on the size and personal vs commercial grows, by jail sentences up to 3 years"


Is this true and how would it affect the business, and the quality of weed in Amsterdam?