2024 ICMAG Growers and Breeders Cup - in Bangkok Thailand - your thoughts please -

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Looking at how the 2 local 'erb shops keep and show their cannabis - in this heat and humidity - in big plastic jars - that are open and closed regularly - for mainly tourists to smell and feel the buds - with 70% relative humidity - I don't think that many of the locals would be buying here - probably growing their own - if they wanted it - and the 'erb that the tourists are buying - doesn't look so good - but I suppose that it's better than nothing - if you can't find anything better -

 

[Donald Mallard]

Wow 450 b per gram is much more expensive than even where I live,
I considered what the humidity etc would do if exposed the weed to it too often, it destroys the delicate bouquets we all enjoy in cannabis making it less appealing to the nose and in turn this affects the appeal in the pipe or joint also.
This is something they will have to work on avoiding and find a way to protect the buds from the hot and humid tropical environment.

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Wow 450 b per gram is much more expensive than even where I live,
I considered what the humidity etc would do if exposed the weed to it too often, it destroys the delicate bouquets we all enjoy in cannabis making it less appealing to the nose and in turn this affects the appeal in the pipe or joint also.
This is something they will have to work on avoiding and find a way to protect the buds from the hot and humid tropical environment.

Ya - was not particularly aromatic cannabis - hard to get a good whiff - unless you broke it up to release the terpines - and even then - not impressive - probably not helped by sun drying too - so relatively bland to the nose - on first impression - smelled faintly of old hay - not dried or cured properly -

 

[Loc Dog]

Ya - was not particularly aromatic cannabis - hard to get a good whiff - unless you broke it up to release the terpines - and even then - not impressive - probably not helped by sun drying too - so relatively bland to the nose - on first impression - smelled faintly of old hay - not dried or cured properly -

Somewhere I read to not grow over 70F to preserve terpenes

At what temperature do terpenes begin to evaporate? | Ask Jane

The most volatile terpenes found in the marijuana plant will start to evaporate around 70° F (filling the air with a pungent aroma).

www.medicaljane.com

 

[Donald Mallard]

Somewhere I read to not grow over 70F to preserve terpenes

At what temperature do terpenes begin to evaporate? | Ask Jane

The most volatile terpenes found in the marijuana plant will start to evaporate around 70° F (filling the air with a pungent aroma).

www.medicaljane.com

In my experience growing outdoors in a hot climate the temperature it is during the grow is far less important than how it is dried and stored
.those last steps are vital to the sustaining those often delicate aromas..

 

[exploziv]

Some more pics from @Gypsy Nirvana :

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Finally - we got some rain this afternoon - cooling and cleaning and freshening up the jungle/beach and atmosphere - a welcome change to the past days of 'Scorchio!'

 

[entropical]

Koh Lanta was my first visit to Thailand. It was there that I realised, my biggest problem in life was choosing what to eat from the menu. Good times. Enjoy your stay!

 

[Loc Dog]

Finally - we got some rain this afternoon - cooling and cleaning and freshening up the jungle/beach and atmosphere - a welcome change to the past days of 'Scorchio!'

Did you get to Krabi?

 

[Donald Mallard]

Koh Lanta was my first visit to Thailand. It was there that I realised, my biggest problem in life was choosing what to eat from the menu. Good times. Enjoy your stay!

Good problem to have hahaha

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Look what I found on my YouTube feed - a company called Cannex putting on a 4/20 event in Thailand this year -

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Did you get to Krabi?

I'm on an island called Koh Lanta - to get here flew into Krabi airport from Bangkok - then was picked up by the Pimalai resort van - then driven for about 50 mins to Krabi port - access to the Andaman Sea - and speedboat/ferry to Koh Lanta's Pimalai resort - about an hour over the sea - lots of limestone formations to view - jutting out of the sea - on the way - wind/breeze - sunshine - a little buffeting and banging when the boat hits a choppy water patch - just along for the ride - so ride it out - to get to the beach - to get to where I will hangout - for the next two weeks or so -

 

[Herbert Chickybaby]

Seeing as I live over here, it's hard to resist adding my two cents. I like the idea of an international pot fair in Thailand, I would probably try to attend or even compete, I'm kind of a newb to growing, but I feel strongly about preserving old heirlooms and few growers, businesses seem to feel that way, so I like the idea of having a clearly defined corner to defend like SE Asian heirlooms and hybrids. I think a festival like this would be a great chance for a group like Zomia to present their whole schtick. That would be my interest as a participant, if that were possible, though it may not be legal as i am not a citizen.

In my 26 years here, whats clear to me is the difficulty of doing anything. A lot of that difficulty is people here express their independence and individuality by simply not cooperating or even obstructing what someone wants to do, even if it benefits them too, and often not because they are particularly against what someone wants but just they feel they have to defend their space by putting a stop to what someone wants if they see they are in a position to do so. Someone else accomplishng something raises the bar for them, they feel they have to also do that thing or feel like they are failing to keep up. One guy might start doing renovations on his house and then everyone in the village feels they have to as well. There's a lot of no, and no can do even for simple things, no just because I can say no and few people seem to want to be even remotely helpful.

There's the more well known obstacle that they really resent foreigners being busy bodies in their country that you'd face tryin to do a festa. Very few Thais seem to like the idea of any of us doing even so much as cooking our own food. I remember I tried to throw a bar-b-que party when we finished building our house. Few attended, it was mostly a few family members, I had gotten all kinds of stuff to cook up for people on the barby, the idea was they could request whatever they liked and I'd cook it up for them and there was also plates of stuff to grab, lots of beer, wine, soft drinks, mixed drinks, som tam salad, my nephew taking care of djing off of Youtube. Very soon people all gathered in front of where i was preparing food, it was early evening, but no one wanted to eat and they didn't want to drink. They all just sort of set up chairs and silently stared at me quite intently and doing absolutely nothing else. I was the only one with a drink, "Didn't anyone want a drink?" No response to that from anyone, and these people were mostly drinkers, only one my sister in law who likes to be the one who goes against the grain. My nephew stopped playing music and after twenty minutes of the group sitting there staring at me, my wife with a very worried look on her face. they silently began to leave one by one. Years later i was welcome to various celbration sthey held at their places, but it was not for me to be acting as a host in their country is what I concluded.

Finally, and even more obvious is that you just have to get the involvement of people who are well connected, particularly with something as controversial as cannabis and still "illegal"/not well tolerated at all in many villages. Though It really seems that its ok as long as they don't see it. Or if they do, it has to be something that someone is putting on who has high status and power and connections. The rich Thai kids who are the only ones who seem gung ho about pot over here are the same as their powerful parents that aren't going to cede their privilidge to a group of foreigners very easily. I suppose they will have to be abe to clearly see there's something in it for them and they would have to be given a large share of the drivers seat for whatever you wanted to put on. That said I think if you hooked up with some very cool and well connected people and with the right people it could work. But cool folks who are well connected is kind of a contradiction as it it is most places, but you never know, you might luck out.

It makes me feel bad, that the ganja traditions were nearly wiped out in Thailand, like most of the rest of traditional culture, like say music and dance. If it were me, I'd try and have some presentations or booths and tables about that and I'd try and pitch it to them like a ganja and folk music and pop festival, or save Thai ganja strains and practices, like say its role in traditional medicine as well as just providing a venue for vendors and having some competitions. It's be great to have it somewhere too like Nakorn Phanom where a lot of it used to be grown. Like by the Mekong River or something.

As for the govt., they are in dissarray and have many more pressing issues these days, so to me its looking like re-criminalizing recreational us may take awile so you guys might b able to slip a festival in there before that happens.

 

[Smeden]

@Herbert Chickybaby fully agree, but then we can try to do something about it? I am pretty sure there are a lot of Thai growers who would like to unite and also learn from other countries + we can learn from them?

ICMAG 420 is very different for me from other events. ICMAG is the un-biased event where the local grower can come and compete and expect a neutral judge/panel/testers.

I have tested a lot of buds from many dispensaries, but my old school feeling still tell me that 70-80% being sold is still imports.

 

[Herbert Chickybaby]

@Herbert Chickybaby fully agree, but then we can try to do something about it? I am pretty sure there are a lot of Thai growers who would like to unite and also learn from other countries + we can learn from them?

ICMAG 420 is very different for me from other events. ICMAG is the un-biased event where the local grower can come and compete and expect a neutral judge/panel/testers.

I have tested a lot of buds from many dispensaries, but my old school feeling still tell me that 70-80% being sold is still imports.

Sorry Smeden, I don't understand what you mean "we can try to do something about it." Do something about what?

I don't agree people have to unite to learn anything, in fact I think people learn better on their own and accomplish things much better on their own.

I also see very little openness to learn anything period let alone learn from foreigners who may be from countries such as my own who were responsible for pressuring the Thai government to make weed illegal, for launching a drug war that culminated in Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ordering all police to shoot and kill on sight anyone they even vaguely suspected of either using or selling drugs.

Most Thai people mostly think they know everything and resent being presented with information that holds a mirror to their attitude and says, "No, you don't know everything." Or they just don't want to know anything. They also resent being showed up by people who know more than they do. The attitude I get when talking to people who have stands selling weed on the street or shops in Bangkok when I talk to them is basically, "OK, look, Mr Knowitall, I have zero interest in talking to you about pot. Buy something or get offa my lawn!" If I looked like an investor or someone who might benefit them hugely, make them rich, yes, I'm sure they are wonderful would do anything you wanted. Of course i am generalizing, but I am not one for organizing things anyway.

I am not impressed at all by the new post-legalization Thai growers. I feel sad that the old farmers are ostracized as dinosaurs, hicks. If I were on a life's mission to be a world class super innovative pot grower I would want to learn from old school farmers. But as far as I can tell, they are completely frozen out.

I'm sorry I don;t mean to sound like an asshole, but the reality in Thailand is not nice. I'm sorry to say too, I'm probably just another one of these bitter ex-pats who can't get anywhere with anyone apart from my Thai wife.

I wish everyone the very best on organizing an international pot festival, though I think its a very tall order, and especially given the fact at any moment very restrictive laws could be in place as to pot's use.

 

[Smeden]

@Herbert Chickybaby I meant "we could try to do something about it" ie. discuss pro's and con's about ICMAG hosting a 420 in Thailand.

I tend to agree with you, the Cannabis community in Thailand is quite aggressive with an unfriendly dialogue. But I still managed to connect with 4 likeminded growers here. We have shared clones and especially right now where I am nuking my grow room for The Borg, it is SO nice that I get my favorite strains back from them.

I have been at IC420 in Amsterdam 3 times and what a blast it was. Friendly people and smiles everywhere.
The basement with all the old furniture, smoking, testing and talking about the effects of each plant.

Could a similar event be held in Thailand. I would like to say yes and the idea of a IC420 on a pristine beach or in a nice resort seems good. But maybe not in real life, since ICMAG is not so well known for Thais and I don't think the translate function works for them, so they can search the forum in Thai language?
Unknown future - Government is another unknown.
And even if an event could be held, it would be nearly impossible for participants to send their tests to Thailand.

Still a nice dream with a IC420 on a paradise beach with likeminded growers.