Great news! Congratulations to the Strain Hunters team! The website looks good so far and the prices are amazing!

Soil vuol dire Terriccio: strato superficiale del terreno di boschi, prati e campi; è ricco di sostanze nutritive di natura organica e per questo viene largamente utilizzato in floricoltura, orticoltura e giardinaggio.

Thanks Dust! I'll definitely be doing more to keep the Hunters updated on what's happening with the cannabis culture in Italy!

Thanks to you as well Dust! As I said previously, one of the joys of writing is having someone appreciate what you've written! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing future expeditions. Yes, I've seen some of the Live forums and when I have time, I hope to be able to read through them all and keep updated on future Live updates! All the best!

Thanks Bro!

Swaziland Expedition: A Cannabist Reflection

Swaziland Expedition: A Cannabist Reflection

There are so many countries on this gigantic planet, and I would love to learn about all of them if I could, as I love history and culture. I’ve heard very little about Swaziland over the years and I have to admit that I’ve learned more about Swaziland from this Strain Hunters Expedition than from any of my former studies. To begin with, the Strain Hunters idea is truly original and exciting. I discovered the series around Spring of this year while studying cannabis history, culture and cultivation. What a treat! Out of all the videos that I have watched, these are by far the most fascinating and thought-provoking. At first, I just wanted to see the fields of buds! But then I began to understand the intentions of the Strain Hunters team. This is more than just another adventure into the joys of smoking pot; this is about a global culture! The Strain Hunters team are truly trendsetters, and the more I learn about them, the more I can assert this to be true. After smoking the good herb, which is the best way to watch Strain Hunters, I sat back and began to enjoy the journey through Swaziland. The production quality of the video has to be mentioned, as it was top class and should be entered in some documentary film festivals, if it already hasn’t been. The intro was done with style and it got the mind ready for something exciting. The music put me right in the mood and transported me far away from my tiny room in northern Italy. The visual effects made me smile and relax. I really liked when the crew arrived at the first field and decided not to rush into that sea of cannabis. It showed how much these men love what they do and how much they seek to appreciate every tiny aspect of the culture that they have dedicated themselves to. I can’t imagine any cannabis connoisseur who would not have loved to be sitting on that rock taking in the view and expressing their thoughts and insights. One thing that I really love about the Strain Hunters series is the quality of the photography. So many marijuana smokers and indoor growers never have the pleasure of seeing the beauty of a glistening cannabis flower in natural sunlight. We’re so used to smoking dried buds and talking about how "big that cola is," that we forget that these are flowers; beautiful flowers! I love the close up shots of the different strains, with their different colors and qualities. My compliments to the photographer for showing us that these are images of nature and of life’s creativity. I had an insight during the scene when the local grower was explaining the reason why multiple seeds were planted in the same spot. This is to insure that if one seed doesn’t survive, another one or two may. I agree with Franco’s idea that this may be a wasting of seeds and space, and that it would be more efficient to simply plant two, but I also wondered to myself if this could be a technique for discovering which seed has the strongest genetics. For indoor growers who do a lot of cloning, it would be nice to quickly discover which seed, usually out of 3 to 10 seeds, gives you the greatest plant so that you can then clone that plant and have the outcome that you enjoy the most. This is just a curious thought on my part, but would it be possible to plant seeds close together to see which of the plants eventually dominates and thus determine which one you should cloned? Who knows! See what happens when you’re high while watching Strain Hunters! Something that I also enjoy very much about this series is the sharing of knowledge. The team always asks a lot of questions and very often I hear Arjan offering advice to the farmers on how to improve their crops and seed production. We live in this Age of Information and the old days of hoarding knowledge and sharing it with a select few is no longer the way to go. My compliments to the crew for their generosity! Whilst on the subject of sharing knowledge, it was great to hear from Dr. Ben Dlamini, a wise Swazi elder and a treasure of local history. His point about the 1922 decision of Egypt to pressure the Swazi government to criminalize hemp in order to protect the competitiveness of Egyptian cotton was a good reminder that the war against cannabis has never really been about drugs. It was sad to hear that despite Dr. Dlamini efforts to offer free help to cannabis cultivators who were arrested, that these farmers do not reach out to him. I think that if Dr. Dlamini were to have listened to the farmers in the way that the Strain Hunters did, he would see from their point of view that the legalization of cannabis in that country would negatively affect the poorest of the poor who depend heavily on this crop. In fact, I found it very emotional when Arjan and Franco were reflecting on whether legalization in Swaziland was a good idea or not. I found myself torn between my conviction that cannabis should not be illegal and my compassion for those farmers, school teachers, mothers, fathers, children and perhaps 85% of the country who have managed to find a way to create a standard of living in a clandestine cannabis economy. I had never considered this before, and although I still believe in the legalization of marijuana, I think we should carefully approach it country by country, in order to find the best way to bring about that legalization without destroying the livelihood of innocent people. Finally we discovered the Swazi Gold! To be honest, the team didn’t seem too enthusiastic at the sight of the small buds in such a small abandoned field. Yes, they had arrived late after all the good plants had been harvested, but Arjan’s curiosity about whether the original land-race would be appreciated with such small buds and slim branches created some doubt in me. Franco’s response, however, was important because when you have a group of smokers who appreciate a particular strain, then bud size and plant aesthetics don’t really matter as much. In the end, mission accomplished as usual! What a great journey: full of knowledge, beauty, emotions and success. You can be sure that this Swaziland Expedition will remain on my list of episodes to watch again and again. Thank you for the gift of this unique and well produced documentary!

Hey Gaz, couldn't agree with you more! Governments seem to always have their priorities confused. In one of the comments from the Italian articles an upset reader wrote, "mandiamo un aereo della finanza a sorvolare l'albania, di cui non ci frega nulla, poi non si trova un elicottero in Sicilia, ITALIA, per salvare la VITA ad una partoriente, che muore a quaranta anni. Vi sembra normale?" Here's a rough translation, "We send a government plane to fly over Albania, who we care little about, whilst here in Sicily, ITALY, we can't find a helicopter to save the LIFE of a (pregnant) woman in labor, who consequently dies at age forty. Does this seem normal?"

Ciao Laocoo! I've never smoked Albanian weed and I'm sorry to hear that you have had a bad experience with it. I, too, have smoked bad weed from places like Morocco, Mexico and South America. Bad weed can come from anywhere on the planet, and bad weed can also come from unscrupulous drug dealer who add all kinds of junk to their cannabis in order to increase the weight. I don't know about Italy, but growing up in America I learned that the right to bear arms against a repressive government was a normal part of society. Colombians, Moroccans, Jamaicans, Africans, Asians, Americans and even Europeans protect their property with arms. I believe it is their right to do so. I personally don't like violence and always wish that we could resolve conflicts peacefully. What I failed to mentioned is that during that blitz on Lazarat, the police forces came in with snipers and military like units to take over a whole community; and not a small group of drug lords. When 90% of an entire village is involved in growing marijuana, you are no longer dealing with a small drug gang; you are dealing with a way a life for an entire group of people. Cannabis should not be illegal is what the real point is, not whether citizens bear arms to protect their property, livelihood, community and family. I would have liked to have become a journalist because I enjoy writing; I've never claimed to be a journalist. We're all just amateur writers here sharing our opinions. And yes, I do grow my own herbs!

Hello Dust! The post was written by me. I didn't put the sources because they are in Italian. I like to read cannabis news in Italian and then write about it in English. I've always enjoyed writing and I sometimes wonder if I should have studied to become a journalist. Anyway, here are some links to the articles I read in Italian. Lazarat (Albania) da qui viene l’erba che si fuma in Italia Albania, ricognizione aerea della Gdf. Centinaia le piantagioni di marijuana

Thanks to an agreement with the Albanian police, an Italian Guardia di Finanza aircraft has been flying reconnaissance missions over the neighboring territory of Albania where they claim to have discovered more than 500 cannabis plantations ready to supply the European market with a harvest of nearly a thousand tons; a market value of €4.5 billion. This is the same Italian Guardia di Finanza who is supposed to be concerning itself with the financial well-being of Italy and the overall economic health of Europe. With all the money spent on high-tech camera equipment and a very expensive plane, they were able to find what anyone could find with a simple Google search: Lazarat, the cannabis cultivation capital of Europe. That money, time and technology could have been used to contribute to what little efforts are being made to restore the Italian economy. Furthermore, by basically declaring war on a small Albanian village, who depend entirely on cannabis, the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, ironically, is contributing to the destruction of a local economy which sustains men, women, children, schools and everything that these villagers need to survive and thrive. Historically, the Albanian government tended to allow this small community to live peacefully, but now Italy is pressuring them to take military action against farmers who are simply trying to provide for their families and fellow villagers. The people of Lazarat, however, are not willing to have their lifeline cut off. Last year, during an attempted blitz, the Police Commissioner of Lazarat said, “I saw a 70-year-old grandmother shooting at us with a heavy machine gun.” Where does one see a 70 year-old grandmother with a heavy machine gun? I'll tell you where... in a community where its members stick together to protect their family and local economy. The authorities in Italy would like to have us believe that this grandmother is some sort of narco-terrorist. But have they considered that this grandmother has children and grandchildren, and maybe, just maybe, her main concern is the well-being of her future generations and fellow community members. In fact, it is said that up to 90 percent of the village residents — 7,000 in all — are believed to take part in the overall business of cannabis cultivation. How does the Italian Ministry of Economics and Finance plan on helping this village when it ends up with a 90% unemployment rate? After reading many comments posted in Italian on this issue, I can say that the average person in Italy is not happy with this war on cannabis and would much rather see those government funds spent more wisely and compassionately in efforts to revive our economy.

Thanks fellow Cannabists! I appreciate you taking the time to read my posts. One of the joys of writing is, of course, having someone read what you've written!

On the 20th of March 2013 two young men from the town of Ferrara in Northern Italy were absolved by the local Court for possession of 4 cannabis plants found growing in their apartment. Carlo Alberto Zaina, the lawyer who defended the case, challenged the constitutionality of Article 73 of the draconian Giovanardi-Fini anti-drug laws which covers the production, trafficking and possession of illegal drugs or psychotropic substances. The lawyer went further in his defense citing the 2004 EU Council Framework Decision 757 which states that drug offences do not apply “when it is committed by its perpetrators exclusively for their own personal consumption as defined by national law.” The Judge having heard the case decided to announce a final ruling rather than send the case to the Supreme Court to address the constitutionality of the charges against the two young men. Having done so, the Judge has set an important president for indoor cannabis growers in Italy.

Ciao Claudio! I hope you don't mind me jumping on board here. No point in starting another thread from Italy! My name is Tino and I was born in Sicily. My family moved to America when I was 4 years old and I grew up there in New Jersey. That's where I was introduced to the Cannabis Culture in the 80s. I found myself returning to Italy in 2001 and lived in Sicily and Rome for 2 years (6 months in Sicily and the rest in Rome). I then moved to Dublin, Ireland in 2003 because I missed speaking English and because the economy there was better at the time. After the economic crisis in 2008, I began to make plans to move back to Italy and in 2011 I made it happen. I'm now living in the north near Milano with my cousins. I hope to soon see cannabis further decriminalized here in Italy. I've been learning Italian so if anyone needs help with translating, I'm here! I'm really inspired by the work that the Green House Seed Co. is doing and am proud to have Franco, an Italian, as a major part of the team. The idea for the Strain Hunters series was genius!