BEWARE OF KILLER WEED

Whilst this site is really about hemp, I will on this occasion foray into a discussion about the strain of Cannabis sativa known as weed, marijuana, skunk, pot, dope, or whatever you want to call it. Not being a smoker I am not up on the latest term. However, a friend of mine who is told me some disturbing news about the weed that is on the market here in the UK, where, for some reason, there has been a drought of it since late summer 2006.

He tells me the weed is shinier now, which at first turned people on to it, as a natural shine develops when the resin spills out of the trichomes and imparts a shine. OK, enough technical stuff, suffice it so say it gets a shine, but the shine on the pot now has proven to be from deliberate spraying of some sort. It is now known that it comes from such sources as ground glass, which mixed with oil, and does harm to the lungs; it is believed some have perforated lungs or may have died from this. Another way of shining the dope is to break a fluorescent light bulb and let the gassy mix settle on the weed. This adds weight to the dope, and is being driven by the increase in the price of skunk which has gone from £3,000 per kilo to £4,000 per kilo. Another way to add weight is to use fibreglass.

So what is the solution? I guess it is to either quit or grow your own. (This advice void where prohibited by law...). Or, thirdly, stop dealing with dodgy, greedy dealers.

Just thought I'd post this as a public health service. It is reminiscent of the late '70s when paraquat was sprayed on cannabis fields, and tokers got lung poisoning from this. Some say there is a move to limit the supply of dope so as to force people on to crack and heroin, the supply of which can be more controlled and the top dealers benefit. Funny how after the US invasion of southeast Asia in the '60s the heroin suppply increased, and how after the US invasion of Central Asia the same thing happened.

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HEMP VS HEROIN IN AFGHANISTAN

In 2001, the Taliban decreased heroin production in Afghanistan so drastically that the street price soared. Then the US invaded, and lo' and behold the heroin production soared and the street price went down. Irony keeps right on rolling though, as now, while horse can be found loose on the streets of Camden Town or most other drug bazaars, heroin for the National Health Service is in short supply. You'd think that when the troops confiscate a field of poppies they might turn it over to medical authorities, but no, they just get out the flamethrowers and go to work. Not that the US troops are getting rid of that much.

The House of Lords is looking into the problem and the question came up as to what crop they could replace it with. Afghanistan is known for it orchards and nut plantations, but these take years to get started. Hemp, a perennial which could be harvested easily in 3 months, is a natural solution. This opinion has been put forth many times over the years, perhaps the best example is Marc Deeley's piece in the BBC from November 2004. Deeley, a development worker with Spirit Aid, noted then that Afghanistan produced 75% of the world's herion supply; today it is estimated to be 90%.

Comments on the piece note that the farmers only get 5% of the profits, the warlords take most of it, so eliminating herion would not hurt the farmers so much as the goons with the guns. I'm all for putting them out of business and getting horse off the streets here in Camden. All or most comments were in favour of planting hemp instead of heroin, but we did not see any action from the legislators, did we? Recently, Baroness Jenny Tonge emailed to inquire about the feasibilty of this, and I was pleased to inform her that this was an excellent idea. The British Isles Hemp & Natural Fibres Industries Association will be working on a report on this, portions of which will be published here in the near future.