Domestic and Sinsemilla

The American cannabis that grows wild in many states had its origin in "escaped" seeds from plants originally cultivated on hemp plantations for their fiber. These plants generally contained only minimal amounts of THC, which is true for their descendants as well. They are also relatively high in CBD, and the result, for unassuming smokers who have stopped to pick these plants by the side of the road, is much more headache than high. Wild marijuana goes by such colorful names as Missouri Mud, Nebraska Nonsense, New Jersey Swamp Grass, Kansas Krap, Tahoe Trouble, and Kentucky Blue Grass. The one advantage to wild marijuana is that it has provided enterprising growers who have planted good seeds in the middle of a wild patch almost unparalleled security for their efforts.
    During the 1960s, there were scattered reports of a mythical variety of marijuana known as Manhattan Silvertip, which was said to grow in the sewers of New York as a result of all the seeds frightened users flushed down the toilet during police raids. According to the story, the plants were silver because they received no light.
    Marijuana grown by smokers on their own property has until recently been dismissed as "homegrown" and assumed to be relatively weak, especially by East Coast smokers, who are said to be biased against green marijuana. But the continental United States now boasts a formidable and rapidly growing industry of its own, which is already estimated at a billion dollars a year in retail sales. Fine marijuana is now being grown in a number of states, including Arizona, Nevada, Kentucky, Virginia, Oregon, Texas, and Florida. Marijuana is also grown in New England and even in Alaska, where the cultivation of small amounts is now permitted under state law. There are several reputable books on the market that describe techniques for growing high-quality cannabis both indoors and out, and if the sale of these books is any indication, American-grown marijuana may eventually be sufficient to eliminate this country's dependence on foreign imports.
    The center of the marijuana-growing industry in the United States is in northern California, especially Humboldt County, where growers use the latest scientific methods to produce first-quality crops. California marijuana is not only as good as most foreign varieties but far more likely to reach American consumers in a relatively fresh state, at or near peak potency. Among the best California varieties is one known as Big Sur Holy Weed, which was originally grown from seeds of Zacatecas Purple, a rare Mexican strain.[13]
    Some California smokers believe that marijuana will continue to be grown in the economically depressed areas of the state. In 1979 State Senator Barry Keane, whose district includes most of the growing areas, told The New York Times that marijuana was the second or third largest agricultural crop in his district. "Even some very responsible members of the Chamber of Commerce have asked me whether it wouldn't make sense to decriminalize it," said Keane, "and use it to diversify the economy, broaden the tax base and create jobs in this high unemployment area." It is estimated that a farmer who grows no more than fifty plants can make between $25,000 and $50,000 from the annual harvest. One dealer quipped: "Marijuana is the best thing to hit Humboldt County since logging."
    Today, California's marijuana industry is at a point similar to that reached by its wine industry a few years ago. California marijuana is already considered to be among the best by connoisseurs in the western states, and smokers across the nation are beginning to take notice. The variety that is mostly responsible for this popularity is known as sinsemilla.
    One reason for the enormous success of California marijuana is that the sinsemilla crops are scientifically cultivated. Sinsemilla is the Spanish word for "without seeds" and refers to a disturbance in the natural cycle of cannabis that has been practiced by growers for centuries. Left on their own, male marijuana plants will fertilize the females, which in turn produce high-potency resin to trap the pollen from the male plants. This, at any rate, is the explanation given to the process by most California growers and dealers. Normally, after fertilization, the female plants use most of their energy to produce seeds, thereby propagating the species. But in the cultivation of sinsemilla, the male plants are uprooted before fertilization can occur. According to the growers, the unfertilized female plants, unable to produce seeds, instead continue to send forth resin in search of the pollen that never arrives. "It's like a continual lubrication for a sex act which never takes place," one grower told me; he refers to the sinsemilla plants as "frustrated old virgins." A California smoker says, "I love sinsemilla; it's like smoking pure yearning."