Tim Lincecum wins second straight Cy Young

Sports writers have awarded the San Francisco Giants’ Tim Lincecum a 2nd Cy Young award. Meanwhile, the SF Chronicle reports that a judge in Clark County, Washington will not sign Lincecum’s plea deal for his cannabis possession case unless Lincecum appears in court. Perhaps the judge wants the autograph of a two-time Cy Young award winner?

Humm-baby!

No news is not news (the Trin)

L.A. Times reporter Alana Semuels’ article Marijuana growers upend hard-luck California town was published in today’s Los Angeles Times. The article — with help from an unrelated Kevin Hoover quote — misrepresents Hayfork with descriptions such as “The hardscrabble Northern California town has become a hotbed for medical marijuana farming.”

The news from the Trinity Journal which surely drew the attention of the L.A. Times report is of an attempted murder case which was also reported in the Record-Searchlight.

The L.A. Times article does not mention that Trinity County has been in the national news several times during the previous 29 years. Trinity County has been frequently misrepresented by cannabis-related sensationalism and this article is no exception. I have already posted two semi-tabloid articles describing the situation in Trinity County dating as far back as 1980: State pledges to continue war on marijuana growers and Guerrilla tactics used in marijuana war. Today’s L.A. Times article could have been printed 20 years ago if the words “medical marijuana” were replaced with “sinsemilla.”

Botany of Desire: Cannabis

PBS has also released the extended interview.

The Green State

“Pot farmers just aren’t what they used to be” The Ledger – Oct 10, 1982 (part 1)

“Pot farmers just aren’t what they used to be” The Ledger – Oct 10, 1982 (part 2)

Cop Optimism

“Authorities optimistic in war on California pot” The Courier – Dec 21, 1986

Sinsemilla is the Sexuality of Sisters

“Sinsemilla is the Sexuality of Sisters”, Mother Jones Magazine, Apr 82

Bill Stewart’s 15 minutes of infamy. The article also discusses the seedless underground of the sinsemilla trade.

Trimming Demystified

Trimming is a vast subject covering numerous anecdotes and bits of elusive knowledge. This post is not meant to be all inclusive. I won’t pretend to be an authority on these matters.

That said, there are a lot of common misconceptions about trimming. Like most skilled employment, trimming is not a business that is easy to break into without connections. Flocks of would-be trimmers head to the hills each harvest season expecting a high wage and high times. Rarely do the Emerald Triangle dreamers expect the heavy rain, cold floors, and hard times that await them.

The reasons not to seek trimming jobs are numerous. Worthwhile grows seldom hire newbies. One can expect to be blindfolded, driven up a hill, and led to a crowded shack. Gloves and masks may or may not be provided. Untrusted individuals are often not allowed to bring cell phones or any device which appears to be capable of GPS.

Mechanized trimming is changing the profession. Similar to the way the cotton gin changed agricultural processing of the past, trim machines are changing both the role and the skillset of trim crew members. While there is still nothing quite as nice as a professional hand trim, time is money.

The early trimmers were a bit simplistic, dangerous, and cumbersome. The old Trimbox is what most people think of when they think of mechanized trimmers. Another common model is the Trimpro. The latest model employing this general design is the gasoline-powered Trimpro which is a substantial improvement over earlier designs.

The latest crop of trim machines are much better suited for large processing jobs. Newer, high-end trim machines include the Tumbleweed/Samurai and the Twister. Older models employing the tube design can be found for a substantial discount. Due to the increased use of craigslist by cannabis growers, good deals on these machines can be found on the internet.

Each of these machines has strengths and weaknesses. The primary difference between basic designs of these machines is a familiar concept: top load vs. front load. Another factor which many do not consider is the need for more than one person to operate the high-end machines. As can be seen in the videos, even a small amount can become backed up if a single person is operating the machine.

I do not believe that the trim machine will replace the hand manicurist in the near future. Large flowers are so valuable that it makes financial sense to pay for the mint appearance only a hand manicurist can provide. Smallish flowers, also known as “popcorn” bud or “larf,” are the baby carrots of old-fashioned hand manicuring. For those that don’t know, baby carrots are a product of grinding down small, bruised, and misshapen carrots which would otherwise be discarded. While hand manicurists generally do not look forward to trimming popcorn the masochistic trim machine is always hungry for more.

Hummingbird Healing Center

Hank Sims provides us with the scoop on Hummingbird Healing Center, a new Northern Humboldt cannabis collective.

Hank also dropped a link for the club review which lists the various strains they carry. In the interest of strictly entertainment and educational value, I’ll go over what these strains are.

• Trainwreck. An old-school Humboldt original. This is a powerful pain-relieving strain especially for neuropathic pain. Its taste is reminiscent of sour apple candy. Examine any outdoor-grown Trainwreck carefully as it has a tendency to initiate flowering in early July. Indoor should be inspected as well as indoor Trainwreck has a tendency to hermaphrodite if left unchecked. The inexperienced grower may also harvest too early based on overall physical appearance as opposed to microscopic examination. The immature product is a result of the pistils on Trainwreck changing color well ahead of the trichomes. This is valid for most Trainwreck hybrids, especially Pineapple Trainwreck which tends to appear finished weeks before peak resin production. In short, a patient should examine Trainwreck for being underripe, overripe, hermaphrodite, and/or seeded. These irregularities are why quality Trainwreck is in high demand.
• Aota. A North Carolina Rainbow Farm strain. This strain is your basic 50/50 indica/sativa phenotype hybrid. The initials “Aota” stand for “All of the Above” although some say this also stands for AK-47, Orange Crush, Trainwreck, Afghani. Either way, this is an easy growing strain and one can expect a more or less regular product from any given batch.
• Durban Wreck. A Durban Poison x Trainwreck hybrid. Expect a more sativa-leaning phenotype than regular Trainwreck.
• MountHigh Kush. Never heard of this before. Made up?
• Warlock. An Amsterdam indoor variety. This strain is supposedly a result of Skunk #1 x Afghani “bag seed” (literally, seed found in bag of cannabis) from an Amsterdam coffee shop in the 90s which was subsequently bred to produce the Warlock strain. I tend not to believe such stories of casual breeding and lucky finds. Whatever the true origin is, Warlock is reminiscent of Skunk/Afghani with the typical roadkill odor.
• Grapefruit Diesel. This is hybrid of the Grapefruit Indica with Diesel. Grapefruit Indica strains have a unique taste and smell that are unsurprisingly similar to grapefruit. The breeders of this strain, Next Generation Seed Company, use mostly British Columbian genetics, so expect similar as other B.C. indoor strains.
• Christmas Tree. Another name which sounds made up.
• AfWreck. An Afghani/Trainwreck hybrid. Old-school Afghani genetics typically dominate over any early initiation problems, making this strain more dependable and easy to grow for beginners. Expect a combination of a sleepy indica effect with the pain-killing effect typical of Trainwreck.
• Afgooey. One of the most common, run-of-the-mill indoor strains available. It is easy to grow and has a good deal of wiggle room with regards to harvest dates. The genetic composition of Afgooey is of very old-school strains ([Maui x Haze] x Afghani). I cannot understand why this is becoming popular with medicinal cannabis collectives as the rest of the cannabis world knows this strain as a cash crop variety due to its high yield.
• Bubba Kush. I’m assuming “pre 98 Bubba” but I could be wrong. This strain is an extremely dense, pungent strain. The clones are widely available in the Humboldt area. Bubba has the typical sub-hypnotic, sleep-inducing effect of other indica phenotype strains such as Pakistani Hashplant or Romulan. It is generally desired due to the unique and complex taste as opposed to any unique medicinal quality.
• Purple Wreck. A DNA genetics (Amsterdam) hybrid of Purple Urple(or /Urkel) x Trainwreck. This is a particularly interesting seed release from DNA genetics. DNA tends to cross elite clone-only strains to combine a strain with very unique medicinal characteristics (Trainwreck, in this case) with a strain with a different, desirable, and compatible phenotype (Purple Urkel). They have done the same with other phenotype/medicinal crosses such as Snowcap x Romulan which tastes much better than ordinary Romulan and has a more pronounced effect than ordinary Snowcap. Purple Wreck is an excellent strain for those who need the pain-killing properties but don’t want to deal with the inconsistencies of Trainwreck. The tricky-harvest Trainwreck traits are eliminated by the 10-11 week, purple ripeness trait of the Purple Urkel phenotype.
• East Coast Headband. ‘91 Chemdawg x (Mass Super Skunk x Sensi’s Northern Lights). This strain was referred to as simply “Headband” and “Diesel” before 707 Headband and Sour Diesel became common varieties. ECHB should have an anti-opiate dependence and anti-nausea effect similar to other Chemdawg variants.
• U.K. Cheese. A clone-only strain originating in the United Kingdom. This is a Skunk #1 strain with a unique phenotype in that it smells like fine cheese as opposed to a dead skunk. The effect is practically identical to Skunk #1 with a much more palatable taste/aroma.

Green tape

“Marijuana Farmer Having a Hard Time Getting Arrested” Ludington Daily News – Sep 11, 1976

“Just say no”

“Warns Against Marijuana Use” Spokane Daily Chronicle – Mar 2, 1938