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This might not sound like the most glamorous destination, but cannabis grows abundantly throughout the Heartland. Feral population of marijuana can be found in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. In just a short drive, someone with a keen set of eyes should be able to pick out a few plants. Locally known as Ditchweed, wild cannabis is widely regarded as schwag with little to no thc. This seems to be supported by studies done by law enforcement:

http://www.briancbennett.com/charts/fed-data/thc-content/thc-content-ditchweed.htm

However, on some forums this is debated, with some stating hash can be made from the large quantities of easily available weed. Since I became interested in the subject matter a few years back, I have kept an eye out for endemic populations of the plant. I have personally witnessed a great degree of phenotypic variation among wild varieties, with all of the main profiles being expressed: distinctly short, ruderalis-esque shrubs, tall, cord-like sativa trees (hemp?), and the squat, broad-leaved indicas. This leads me to believe that no one single landrace dominates the midwest/hearland area; modern cannabis found throughout the area are the descendants of older populations. Although the most frequently expressed phenotype is the branched & bushy DITCHWEED, which is the dominate hybrid of the region, the possibility exists of unique and useful genotypes that have existed in isolation and harken back to earlier populations of historical importance.

From what I know of cannabis' history in this area, there have been several distinct phases in which it was introduced for specific reasons:

Originally introduced in the American Civil War (1860's) as a source of fiber for cordage. This would have been entirely hemp.

Cannabis was a common ingredient in medical syrups used to treat colds, etc. (1900's) What type of genotype was used for these traditional medicinals? I had to be characteristically different from the hemp used earlier, but where did these new plants come from? Selective breeding or introduced?

Cannabis/hemp production was again supported and encouraged by the government. This fiber was used for robe aboard our naval vessels during WWII. (1940-50) Were these crops reintroduced from the remnants of Civil War era fields?

During the 70's the US government launched into the War on Drugs and eradication of wild cannabis goes into high effect.

In the 1980's-90's domestic growers began to wise-up on the science behind marijuana. It is my personal belief that prior to this point, most of the smoked weed was imported from Mexico or Cali and not produced locally. With the increase of knowledge growers began importing high-potency and exotic phenotype strains - kush and autoflowering could have been introduced into the age-old genepool.

Present day - after all of the successive generations of cannabis grown in the American Midwest, what is the result? Despite the double-edged selective pressures of law enforcement and eager tokers, endemic marijuana continues to thrive!

Although outdoor grows considered to be 'successful' wouldn't contribute to the local genetics due to their harvest, they could indirectly produce offspring if the buds were somewhat seeded, the seeds then being planted during following grow seasons. Also, discard seed from high-potency strains grown afar could contribute to the hybridization of established populations. As I said above, I have seen wild plants that have run the gamut in terms of their physical traits.

Could Strain Hunters help shed some light on our fields of green here in central USA? To my knowledge there has never been a study of the genetic makeup of 'ditchweed,' so why is it so commonly dismissed? Seriously, this stuff grows everywhere around here but no one has looked into why that might be. I would love to see these local plants analyzed for their CBD, CBG, CBC, etc. content but our government has taken to shutting down the legitimate labs that would do so. Also, have there been any unique mutations or isolated breeding populations that exist that may be of interest? Considering the potential genetic history the plant has to draw from, plus the rich topsoil and hot summer months over countless generations, wild possibilities exist.

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