The Herbal Expansion
From the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, some of the finest herb of all time was produced in these “sweet spots.” They included, but were not exclusive to, highland Oaxaca and much of Southern Mexico, Colombia, Thailand, Nepal, many parts of Africa, Afghanistan, Hawaii, Jamaica and the Northern California/Southern Oregon coastal mountain regions. These were the areas from which came the acclimated land race varieties that were the P1 generations of much of the seed genetics available today.1
What made each of these varieties of herb so unique and desirable is the “head” or mental feeling the bud gives. A question often asked of the herb experience is: “Does it have a good head?” (Or a happy, goofy, stony, sleepy, paranoid, nervous head.) Each of the sweet spot regions had its own ganja with its own unique head and palate. This is not often attainable in the limited environments of our indoor grow worlds. But we are getting closer!
Please note that a “good-head” high is not entirely dependent upon set and setting. Up until the late 1970s my “setting” was Detroit, Michigan. And there are few set and settings more depressingly awful than Detroit in the winter. And yet my buds and I were able to get really incredibly high—high enough to rise above the depression of the urban blight. And I attribute much of my anti-depression (and “intact” survival for that matter) to the high quality, good-head herb available to me then. Good-head herb also has a tendency to expand the consciousness of those who use it. My expanding consciousness soon began to learn of an Oz-like land to the west.
Oregon. The promised land, during that period anyhow. Governor Tom McCall had forged a region toward a more common decency. Gov. McCall was the first politician to mandate cannabis law reform in favor of decriminalization. He was also very green in his successful efforts to restore and protect the natural environment. And rumor was beginning to spill about another very green bounty of the region—West Coast Sinsemilla. Hippy-magnet vortices developed all up and down the Pacific Northwest Coast. In and around Humboldt, the Oxbow, the Applegate, Ashland, Eugene, Portland, Olympia, Seattle and Vancouver BC (to name but a very few) cannabis communities sprouted and thrived.
My first bag of sinsemilla came from a reputable dealer in Eugene in 1978. I have been blessed with the knack of making good connections. I believe it has to do with a certain respect of etiquette, the ability to conduct oneself in a professional manner and the ability to recognize the same respect and professionalism (or lack thereof) in others. This dealer had good Colombian for $55 an ounce. I was used to paying $40-$45 an oz. for good Lum back in Detroit, and the “sticker shock” took some getting used to. He mentioned having some “Oregon Sinsi.” “Butler Green” he called it, and it was going for $75 an oz.
“OUCH! $75 an o-z. Man, that is steep!” I thought. But the little bright green bud the dealer gave me to check out had me very curious. It was so different compared to the herb I was used to. It was so fresh and green and sweet! “Will ya’ do a half for thirty-five?” I asked.
“Sure.” The dealer was flexible and I had cash, so I ordered a half of the “Lum” and a half of the “Green.” The dealer went to another room to weigh up the bags while I waited. When he returned he handed me the half of Lum and a fat Ziploc sack of green sinse buds.
“Oh, hey man, I only wanted a half of the green,” I stated.
The dealer, only slightly annoyed with my naiveté, said: “That is a half.”
Holy Moly! I was sold.
By 1979 many people along the West Coast were growing relatively openly in their backyards and other areas. Many folks experienced unexpected bumper windfall harvests in ’79 and ’80. Well cared for plants grew into hefty bushes and yielded over a pound of high quality bud each. It was fun having shelves-full of giant glass jars filled with perfectly matured, manicured and cured buds.
The indoor grow scene progressed considerably during this period as well. Mel, Ed and Murphy did their first “Indoor Under Lights” grow books. Early on it was all fluorescent, Vita-lites and Grow-lux bulbs, High Output and Very High Output systems, and the equipment developed. Some outdoor growers used indoor methods during the off season (winter) to develop and produce the next year’s stock. The first Halides appeared in late 1978, and High Pressure Sodium systems soon followed.
From Outdoors to Indoors to Underground
The late ’70s, up to and including 1980, was truly an era for the expansion of cannabis consciousness. So many things were going so well. There were so many things happening at the time. I am not sure if it was “us” behaving so boldly at the time that spooked the status-quo into electing Reagan, or what. It was probably destined to happen regardless. But the Eighties soon became the evil twin of the Sixties. The foolish flames of the illusionary “War on Drugs” were fanned back into existence to the delight of many a greed-head. Para-military “CAMP” raids on outdoor grows intensified, limiting supplies. As supplies dropped, prices rose. More and more outdoor producers moved indoors. For many, it became a time to hide. For some, it was a time to run.
And the indoor grow industry breathed a life of its own. Advances in equipment technology were regular and swift, and the industry blossomed.
My forte was the breeding of fine herb. My primary goal was always to satisfy my own head. I was one of the lucky few who had access to so many different strains. I’d been saving imported seeds since 1975, which was the basis of my early breed stock. These imports, however, were all Sativa. The first Indica buds entered the market in 1979. These all came from one source in Northern California who had imported the seed directly from Afghanistan. Short, stout, dark, compact and skunky, these plants were totally different than what the industry had been accustomed to. The most desirable features of the pure Indica were their compact productivity and shortened growing season. Indica plants produced large, dense, potent buds very quickly. They soon became the variety of choice for the indoor scene. The pure Indica head was generally much more of a narcotic and sleepy/dreamy body high than anything else.
I was not at all pleased with the pure Indica head. It lacked much of the quality I had grown fond of. I did, however, enjoy the plant’s good growing qualities, along with its potency. So I began “working” with it in 1979. Incidentally, the imported strains I had been working with prior to this were: Golden or Highland and Chocolate Thai2, Purple/Gold Highland Oaxacan, Lowland Colombian Red, High Coastal Colombian Gold, a nice Guerreroan Green Spike, various Hawaiian and Jamaican, a “woody” Mexican Flower-top and a Piney/Citral from India that I called “Gin Blossom.” I had also been working with a few of the more special local treats (from the prized few sinsemilla that had a renegade seed or two in them). Another aspect I attribute to my success is a very sensitive, discerning and educated palate.
After a couple of years of working the breeder’s magic and performing the necessary crosses, the Sweet Kush Indicas arrived in 1981. These ranged in luscious flavors from honey to various fruits and berries. “Blueberry Kush” became the herb of choice for many from then on. Several more years of research and development yielded the floral and blossom flavors of “Flo” and “Blue Velvet.”
The late ’80s and early ’90s were some of the hardest years on us. CAMP escalated to a frenzy and Operation Green Merchant went after the indoor farmers and their equipment suppliers. Mandatory minimum sentences proved to be a further burden on the community. We were forced further underground—deeper and smaller. It was a very rough go for a while there. We were scraping the bottom during those lean years. I quickly learned that the best camouflage in regard to greed-heads was under a veil of poverty, or for those who could afford it, the security of affluence. Then I tenaciously waited for the sun to shine again. That’s how I protected and continued my humble and precious stash. The sun seems to be shining a little bit lately. The clouds are slowly parting in many areas of the world. In parts of