WEED DEALINGS - KEEP YOUR PACLOBUTRAZOL OFF MY NUGS

Fear. It’s been the means for instituting and maintaining the cannabis prohibition. That kind of fear is stupid because it’s manufactured. It plays off of the natural human condition, wherein fear prompts in us a pressing need to respond. Historically that was important because it kept us safe. But when the fear is manufactured it’s not really about safety, and it leads us to abandon compassion, and usually any kind of logic. Just think, if you were in ancient times stalking through some woods carrying a beehive with a bunch of honey you really needed, and a bear started chasing you, you’d probably toss that beehive in an effort to escape. The same way that Harry Anslinger convinced Americans that Marihuna (sic) was capable of turning people into killers and decimating society, and in response we tossed our logic in an attempt to escape a danger that wasn’t even real.

But now we’re realizing that there is reason for real fear in the midst of the cannabis industry. If you’ve ever gotten a headache from smoking weed, then they’ve put the tip in you. Just the tip, but that dick is out there… waiting… lurking. For real though, it’s possible to get some gnarly cannabis. I mean stuff that has been fed unsafe chemicals, stuff that has been sprayed with unsafe chemicals, all in the name of profit.

Think about it, you go to a dispensary, or you holler at homie on the block and what do you get? Green flowers, and maybe they have a name. But what happens if you ask them about how that cannabis was grown? Can they tell you what it was fed? Can they tell you if it was treated with anything? Some of these places are offering cannabis that has been “tested” but that shit is mostly a joke. Most of the places that are doing the testing are not accredited by any regulatory agency, and they don’t want to disclose their testing methods.

Perhaps even more laughable, Harborside Health Collective is supposed to be the leader in the dispensary model, but really they’re full of lots of shit. They “test” their cannabis, and make sure you’re safe. Next to the flowers on display in their cases you can find a little card that tells you about the cannabinoid profile. Supposedly they also test for pesticides. Maybe they actually do. But then, some of their flowers have a card next to them that says something to the equivalent of “Test Pending.” So, before they get the results back you can buy the flowers. Word. Mad safe guys, totally makes everything look legitimate when you’re basically slapping the customer in the face with the risk they’re taking.

Now, I’m not gonna say you’ll die from smoking cannabis that has been grown improperly, but we really don’t know what the long-term affects are. Cannabis does have potent anti-cancer properties, but do you trust that they’re potent enough to protect you against what could potentially be in there? For instance: PG&E (Nor-Cal’s version of FPL, or Con Edison) uses a chemical called paclobutrazol to inhibit vertical growth in trees. It is in no way intended to be used in plants that are being consumed by humans. But, it can be found in two commonly used additives: Phosphaload, and Bush Master. Using these compounds improperly in weeks four to seven of the growth cycle causes the flowers to become denser, harder, and heavier. So, for the unethical grower adding dangerous chemical compounds means more money. And for the careless dispensary, or dude on the block, there’s no way to know that the grower has done this. You tryin' to smoke paclobutrazol? I’m not.

So, it’s kind of funny what Anslinger and Nixon have done right? They took a drug that was basically as safe as can be, and manufactured an environment that has created the potential for it to be harmful. Smoking cannabis can’t hurt you (the smoking can hurt you, but not the cannabis itself). But, smoking high levels of persistent chemicals can hurt you. The only way for those persistent chemicals to get in there is for unethical, or unskilled people to put them there. The only way you’d smoke those chemicals (hopefully) is if you don’t know they’re in there. The only way for you to know that they’re in there is to get your cannabis legally.

Haters gon hate, and humans gon blaze. Since the war on drugs started, I don’t think cannabis has done anything but prosper. Eventually Palpatine had to accept that Jedi rebels were right. How he went about accepting it was unfortunate for him, but he accepted it because he stopped fighting them. Eventually government will have to stand down to the citizens, and accept that we’re right, and that will probably be the biggest step towards safety they ever take in this war on cannabis.

ZACHARY G. MOLDOF

Last week's Weed Dealings, Weed and Fear

Did you enjoy that? Sure you did. Now check out: Christiania Is Illegal Now

Men and Urinals

Drawing in the Danger Zone