Designated Growers Corner

[med-man]

i totally thought the same. dont worry moebuds. every industry and trade is filled with shit talkers,

med-man

 

[MoeBudz^420]

Thanx man, best of luck in your endeavours...


Peace

 

[c-ray]

wherever there is money to made we will find charlatans climbing over each other for the opportunity to cleave the last nickel from the last unsuspecting/trusting customer.. and so it is in the weed and seed grey market and soon to be in the commercial weed industry..

for instance the practice of backcrossing with elites often serves the ego of the backcross seed maker, to be able to come up with a reasonable facsimile of a well known and trusted genetic, with a bare minimum of effort.. now the proper thing to do would be to disclose fully the pollen donor used to make the bX so that folks could decide for themselves if they actually wanted the reasonable facsimile, or if perhaps they should wait and see if they can get the real deal cut from someone they know and trust.. as if that is bad enough the makers of said beans often do 2 things that are not right.. one thing they do is to give the beans the name of the elite cut, for obvious marketing purposes, and often without much reference to how little work was needed to create such beans.. the other thing that these nefarious individuals might do is to deny the existence of said elite cuts in their backcross beans and come up with a fancy story about how they created something new and wonderful, how it is the best thing ever, when really it was on the backs of others that these new and wonderful genetics were spawned.. this is only an example, not directed at anyone in particular, because there are so many examples of bean makers doing this.. this is an example of what we have to look forward with the new commercial producers coming on line.. we will see many producers selling the same cut, but with different names, claiming theirs is somehow superior to the others.. we will see lots of backstabbing, and cuttings being hoarded.. producers will slag other producers on line, all for the sake of their ego.. producers will figure out how to work within the grey lines and pump their unsaleable weed (sprayed) out the back door..
it's going to be a dog eat dog world but only on a whole new level

 

[Green Supreme]

Respect, C-ray. Thanks for that. Peace GS

ps. I might add the same sort of thing, about all the "S1's" going on

 

[c-ray]

just keeping it real

from http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/...loops01/retired-city-worker-pleads-to-grow-op

Retired city worker pleads to grow-op

March 18, 2013

By CAM FORTEMS
Daily News Staff Reporter

Dressed in camouflage, a retired City of Vancouver worker quietly tended to his crop at harvest time last fall.

Overhead, an RCMP helicopter noted what looked like a small number of marijuana plants growing on Crown land off Highway 99, near Lillooet.

The next day RCMP swooped in and arrested James Secord, who attempted to flee.

Crown prosecutor Anthony Varesi said police found 13 mature plants that would typically produce marijuana with a street value of about $3,000 to $4,000. Six were already cut down.

RCMP also seized a trail camera set up on a tree. On it were several images of Secord working his crop.

Secord, 68, pleaded guilty Monday to possession of marijuana. Judge Chris Cleaveley sentenced him to a $500 fine.

Defence lawyer Rob Bruneau said Secord is a retired heavy-duty mechanic who worked for the City of Vancouver. He moved to Lillooet to retire six years ago. He suffers from anxiety and arthritis.

"He finds smoking marijuana is helpful to him for those things," Bruneau said.

"He doesn't believe in buying it from the street. He's a strong believer he should be able to grow small amounts if the marijuana is for his own use."

Secord has no related criminal record.

Judge Cleaveley said the lower fine recognizes the man lives on a fixed income.

 

[c-ray]

ps. I might add the same sort of thing, about all the "S1's" going on

well at least with S1s we usually have a pretty good idea of who the mother and mother were, while the customer is not necessarily going to get what they want at least they will have a technically correct genetic pedigree of what it is they are getting (a shadow of an elite cutting, the S in S1 stands for shadow, the number stands for the exponential factor of that shadow, an S2 would be the shadow of a cutting to the power of 2, that much further away from the real deal)

 

[Bodah]

There are some killer Pre98 Bubba S1 phenos floating around that are as good if not better than the original (IE. Katsu, Bombthreat)~ I agree that using self'd and feminized seed for breeding is questionable, but there are some feminized seed offerings that are producing killer plants for the average grower without having to grow out a large population (not breeder)...

B~

 

[med-man]

well, bubba can def be an exception to the rule, as it is very exceptional

med-man

 

[c-ray]

from http://www.vancouversun.com/health/...dients+marijuana+fruitless/8134811/story.html

Letter

Isolating active ingredients of marijuana may be fruitless

March 21, 2013

Re: Marijuana should be made a full-fledged prescription drug, Editorial, March 16

The Sun editorial identifies problems with current regulation of medical cannabis but its solution is naive and impractical. Although the utility of cannabis in whole form has been recognized by government, costly research into the isolation of active ingredients may be fruitless.

Research indicates that eating foods rich in omega-3 acids provides cardiovascular benefits, but that taking pharmaceutical omega-3 supplements does not provide benefit. Cannabis use may be similar.

Cannabis is euphemistically called “weed” for a reason; it is too easy to produce to be amenable to effective regulation.

Instead it could be recognized as a non-commercial herb appropriate for limited production for personal use. This could eliminate the profit that promotes criminal activity and dissipate the safety risks associated with illegal grow ops.

Let Canadians make their own decisions regarding method of use, if any, including potency and purity, and of keeping their physicians advised of the health care decisions they are making.

The Sun’s November 2012 endorsement of the SensibleBC initiative reflects a better approach to this multi-faceted issue.

It is a more practical response than increasing regulation and imposing untenable responsibility on physicians.

Ernie Gorrie, Cowichan Bay

 

[c-ray]

from http://www.canada.com/Licensed+grows+illegal+operations+decline/8132875/story.html

Licensed pot grows up as illegal operations decline

New regulations next year will make shutting down illegal operations easier

BY SPENCER ANDERSON, DAILY NEWS MARCH 21, 2013

The number of illegal marijuana grow-ops in Nanaimo dropped significantly during the last half of 2012, and the city's RCMP detachment says that's due to an increased number of medical marijuana licenses in the city.

The number of illegal marijuana grow-ops dropped 35 per cent between July to September last year compared to the same period in 2011, dropping to 24 violations compared to 37. From October to December 2012, RCMP recorded a 33 per cent decrease in grow-ops, ending up at 12 cases, down from 18 the previous year.

Cpl. Don Helgeson, former head of Nanaimo RCMP's drug unit, says new regulations being brought in by Health Canada next year will make enforcing illegal grow-ops easier in the future.

The feds are changing how people with medical conditions can access marijuana. Currently, patients can either attain medical pot through a government-designated grower, or obtain a license to grow it themselves. Under the new rules, which come into effect April 1, 2014, the residential license would be eliminated and replaced with a license for commercial operators only.

The move also presents a new set of circumstances for law enforcement officials.

According to Helgeson, if police are going to investigate a possible marijuana grow-op, they must first contact Health Canada to check if there is a medical marijuana license designated for the property. If a license exists, police won't investigate further unless there is evidence the terms of the license are being violated.

"What we're seeing is people are taking advantage of the fact that they can get licences, and are applying for and getting them," Helgeson said.

But under the new rules, its unclear if people with legitimate licenses now will continue to grow marijuana, he added. It's also unclear if some licenses will remain in effect beyond the regulatory changeover.

But eventually, no one will have a license for residential properties to grow marijuana.

That means the odds of detecting an illegal grow-op are much higher, he said. However, Helgeson said an increased number of grow-op investigations could also burden police resources.

 

[c-ray]

from http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/03/21/legal-pot-to-be-grown-commercially-in-windsor/

Legal pot to be grown commercially in Windsor?

Doug Schmidt
Mar 21, 2013

A local businessman hopes Windsor can jump in on the ground floor of a Canadian industry so new it hasn’t even started yet, but one which has already caught the attention of police and other authorities.

City council this week received notification that a private application is being made to Health Canada for establishment of a commercial production and distribution facility for medical marijuana, with a location identified in the Windsor Industrial Park north of the airport lands.

“I’m just looking at this like a business person — it’s a very unique opportunity,” Norm Marcoux told The Star.

Because the proposal is at a very preliminary stage, and due in part to the nature of the controlled drug involved, Marcoux was reluctant to divulge too many details. His letter sent to city CAO Helga Reidel, and copied to Windsor’s police and fire chiefs, is marked “private and confidential,” but administration included it in this week’s regular council communications package.

Health Canada currently issues marijuana growing and harvesting licences to thousands of individuals approved by their physicians to use the drug for pain and other medical treatment. But the federal agency has announced that by next March it plans to have a new licensing program in place that will take the marijuana growing and harvesting privileges away from the individual users and consolidate them into a system of commercial production.

Distribution would be similar to other controlled drugs, with users, rather than do-it-yourself, obtaining a doctor’s prescription and then purchasing the medical marijuana from a commercial supplier.

“There have been instances where this program has been open to abuse,” Health Canada spokesman Stephane Shank said of the current program. “We’re now setting up rules and regulations … for the creation of a new industry,” he added.

The final regulatory details for the new system to replace one set up more than a decade ago are still being developed, but Shank said Health Canada has begun accepting applications from interested potential commercial producers. One of the first requirements for applicants under the new Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) is giving advance notification to local municipal, police and fire authorities.

In his notification to the city, Marcoux, who identifies himself as applicant and “senior person in charge,” writes that a licence will be sought for the following activities: to “possess, produce, provide, ship, deliver, transport and destroy marihuana.”

Marcoux, who has an MBA from the University of Windsor, said he has spent years putting together business plans and currently operates a machine shop that employs 30. He said he was “very skeptical” when first approached privately to look into this new venture but that he soon realized it was “an excellent idea that could bring lots of jobs.”

Marijuana, the product at the centre of any such new enterprise, however, is listed under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Those interested in getting involved must pass muster with criminal background and other checks, and Health Canada’s Shank said a high level of security will be expected, as well as the need for detailed records of all transactions.

“As much as we’d welcome a new industry, we would want to make sure it doesn’t create new problems,” said Ward 3 Coun. Fulvio Valentinis. He wants to avoid a repeat of a few years ago when neighbourhoods and politicians were surprised by the sudden proliferation of local methadone treatment clinics that triggered an angry backlash from residents.

“There’s going to have to be some sensitivity to location,” said Valentinis.

“This has just been brought forward to our attention — we’ll be looking into it,” said Don Wilson with the city’s planning department. The methadone clinics, he added, “were very controversial,” with the city reacting, in hindsight, with new regulations, including restrictions on where future clinics can set up.

“Definitely, we’d want to work with (city) officials to ensure the safety of the community is the No. 1 priority,” said Sgt. Matthew D’Asti, spokesman for the Windsor Police Services. “If it’s approved for our community, we’d treat it as any other business,” he added.

Health Canada’s Shank said proponents would have to satisfy municipal requirements. Those would include compliance with any necessary zoning regulations, bylaws and municipal permits or licences.

Ottawa is among the cities already studying whether the new commercial marijuana grow facilities can fit into existing bylaws or whether new rules need to be enacted. Fortification and other additional security measures are being looked at. Regulating signage, for example prohibiting the depiction of marijuana leaves, and dealing with such issues as mould and fungus are among the issues being tackled by that city’s municipal planners and building officials.

Ottawa’s medical marijuana regulation changes are the result of lobbying by police and fire authorities, as well as municipal leaders, stemming from complaints of personal use blossoming into full-blown illegal grow ops. The new rules are intended to tighten Health Canada’s ability to oversee and monitor.

As of the end of December, 28,115 Canadians were authorized to possess marijuana for medicinal purposes, while 18,063 persons held personal-use production licenses.

In Windsor, 154 individuals have authorizations to possess marijuana, while there are 99 personal-use production licences and 12 designated-person production licences (given to non-users on behalf of users).

“This should be more manageable,” city deputy police chief Vince Power said of the new scheme that takes the growing out of the hands of the individual users. Local police said they’re still awaiting word on the final licensing requirements, an effort that Shank said is still underway.

Last year, D’Asti said Windsor police raided 15 illegal marijuana grow ops across the city, which is about the average number for the past five years. One of the 2012 busts is believed to be connected to a medical marijuana user.

“We’re not opposed to this … there’s concerns whenever you’re dealing with the cultivation of cannabis marijuana,” said D’Asti.

Marcoux said he’s “only expressing an interest” at this stage.

“A good business person is always listening to new ideas,” he said.

 

[c-ray]

from http://www.xtra.ca/public/Ottawa/Ch...a_system_unwise_CMA_president_says-13343.aspx

Changes to medical marijuana system unwise, CMA president says

NEWS / Health Canada to proceed with reform despite objections

Bradley Turcotte / Ottawa / Wednesday, March 27, 2013


Posted Image
Health Canada's proposed changes will increase costs and may
make it more difficult for patients to access the "natural
remedy."
(Stock photo)

Health Canada’s proposed changes to the country’s medical marijuana system have some critics, including the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) president and AIDS Committee of Ottawa (ACO) staff, saying the reforms will do more harm than good for Canadians living with HIV/AIDS.

The changes, set to come into effect March 31, 2014, eliminate marijuana cards issued by the federal government and revoke personal production of the plant in favour of licensed commercial producers.

Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq said the aim is to reduce abuse of the system.

In 2002, 500 Canadians accessed the medical marijuana system. By 2012, it served over 26,000 individuals.

Under the proposed changes, patients would rely on a doctor’s prescription to obtain it.

Caleb Chepesiuk, ACO’s manager of education and prevention, says many doctors are not well-educated on the benefits of medical marijuana and this lack of awareness is a constant problem for Canadians living with serious illness. Doctors who do not believe in the benefits of medical marijuana will not write prescriptions, he notes.

“Getting that prescription can really depend on the doctor you have. That learning curve has been a problem for people living with HIV but also for people, in general, accessing the program,” says Chepesiuk, who suggests that if doctors and nurses become more educated on marijuana, having Health Canada removed from the equation could potentially have a positive impact on the system.

“It’s essentially an added layer of bureaucracy. To get a prescription for HIV meds, for example, you don’t have to have Heath Canada’s approval; you just go to the doctor. I think there is some benefit for people to get out of that,” he adds.

The CMA has persistently lobbied Heath Canada to stop the proposed changes, but CMA president Dr Anna Reid says it has not taken any of CMA’s concerns into consideration.

Reid says marijuana is not a prescription drug and this is the CMA’s greatest concern.

“It does not have a standardized dosage or formula that any other drug would have. Our concern is that we are being asked to write it as a prescription without any of the knowledge or research behind it,” Reid says.

There is no other drug on the market that has not gone through an adequate trial process, Reid says, but she is concerned that the proposed changes will leave HIV and cancer patients without an option to relieve their symptoms.

The main benefit marijuana provides for people living with HIV/AIDS is an increased appetite, Chepesiuk says, noting that it can reduce symptoms like wasting syndrome and the toll HIV meds take on the body.

Under the proposed changes, the cost of medical marijuana will increase — a prospect that worries both Reid and Chepesiuk. The increase in cost is due to the requirements of commercial production and for security at the government-sanctioned facilities.

Chepesiuk is most concerned for Canadians living with HIV who rely on disability or social support.

Greg Williams, a manager at BC’s Cannabis Culture, says marijuana is not a drug and he is dumbfounded that our government still treats the “herbal remedy” as one.

“I’m surprised that the adult men and women who call themselves Members of Parliament can’t wrap their heads around this subject and get it corrected. It’s a very bad thing that is going on here in Canada.”

The CMA will continue to lobby Health Canada for a proper system, Reid says.

“We continue to ask them to team up with researchers and potentially pharmaceutical companies to actually do the proper trials and research on medical marijuana so we actually know what we’re talking about and we can safely prescribe it for our patients.”

ACO will host a talk on the medical marijuana program March 28 at 5:30pm.

To RSVP send an email to harm reduction program coordinator Claire Touchette at [email protected] or by calling 613.238.5014, ext 252.

 

[med-man]

we all know for sure that the dg program is done.

ppl may be grandfathered, and i emphasize may.

class action lawsuite may postpone the current proposals, "may"

what are all the dgs going to do with your equipment?

craigslist bc is going to be flooded,

med-man

 

[Green Supreme]

They are gonna get ppl's like I did. Peace GS

 

[tralfaz]

sucks investing all this money into a ppl when its so uncertain may only get a year out of it according to some

 

[Green Supreme]

Lol, guess it's kind of like the lottery you cannot win if you did not buy a ticket. Personally, if they take this all away they cannot take away the things I have accomplished through it. Got to make plants I never thought possible indoors. Peace GS

 

[tralfaz]

that is very true, they cant take away the 20+ years of progress in strains, I just laugh at all the people who have taken loans for PPL from the wrong people... gonna be some growers in the ditches of surrey when their get rich scheme don't pan out

 

[med-man]

i have witnessed 3 millionaires , partner up lol, then all fight over how to grow, then lose all their investment. then taking loans from the wrong people, then fighting over how to grow lol, then losing all that money.

soooo much talk in the bc bud circles. and no walk. "best weed ever" lol haha

med-man

 

[med-man]

and they refused to have me help them, when i had 1200 bulbs of hydro on the go at that point. thats what they call too smart to lose haha

med-man

 

[c-ray]

from http://www.aldergrovestar.com/opinion/letters/202577571.html

Medical grow-ops rile residents

April 11, 2013

Editor:

I am writing this letter to express my serious health and safety concern related to the alarming presence of ‘legal’ marijuana growing operations located in our residential area and other family neighbourhoods within the Township of Langley and other municipalities.

The 2012 information on Health Canada’s website indicates that the licences have ‘grown exponentially’ to 26,000 over the past few years and they acknowledge that this has ‘unintended consequences for public health, safety and security.’ Based on the arrival of a number of new grow ops in our neighbourhood, we can correctly assume that the number of Health Canada licenses since the 2012 report has grown even further.

We recently discovered that the residence next door to our residence is only one of many similar ‘licenced’ production locations in our neighbourhood and within the Langleys. Over the past few months, subsequent to recent sale of the residence, we had noted escalating suspicious activity in the home and large detached garage. We had noticed that the blinds of the home were closed at all times, however, lights on both the exterior and interior of the house were on continually, day and night. Vehicles arriving to and leaving from the residence often tended to come in and out after dark.

Numerous new exterior ventilation units were installed around the exterior of the detached garage within a few feet of our property and were running continuously; additional electrical and water lines were run alongside and into the detached garage; and cameras and motion lights were installed on the building.

Then we started noticing the distinctive skunk smell of growing marijuana. We made a report to the drug division of the Langley RCMP. Unfortunately, the RCMP, though expressing their own frustration, are not able to do anything as there are two licences issued by Health Canada, giving the occupants of this address licence to grow marijuana. The licensees are not required to go through any local permit or inspection process and no one has authority to inspect or regulate these holders of Health Canada licenses.

How can this be allowed to happen in a family oriented residential neighbourhood? This marijuana growing operation and others like it present a serious health and safety concern to us as adjacent residents as well as to our neighbourhood at large. Clearly by the fact that the occupants have had to install perimeter cameras around the detached garage (including some that look into our backyard), they are concerned about potential infiltration of their grow operation, most likely by individuals with criminal intent.

At times the skunk smell of the marijuana is pervasive and unavoidable in our yard and inside our home if we open the windows. The fans and ventilation units adjacent to our fence are running most of the time and cause significant vibration felt through the ground well into our backyard. High-pitched pressured noises are heard from the building at various times of the day and night (likely high pressure CO2 which is used to speed up the plant growth). Other neighbours have noticed power lapses, surges and loss not previously experienced in our neighbourhood. Last week the hydro transformer on the block did a meltdown and neighbours were advised that the power draw on the transformer was now one-third over its designed capacity. This was a serious fire and contamination near-miss for the neighbourhood.

The Canadian Association of Firefighters points out that the rates of fires in or caused by these grow ops are 24 times higher than the average home. Hydro customers had to absorb the cost of a larger replacement transformer to accommodate the electrical draw for the grow op as hydro are obligated to install transformers to meet the draw.

The next day, a municipal water line on the property burst. At cost to taxpayers, Township staff had to come out and repair the ruptured water line.

This experience has been a rude awakening for our quiet residential neighbourhood.

We have been in touch with our local and federal elected officials who are agreeable to hosting a public forum on May 15 (specific times and locations to be announced). I would very much appreciate if you could highlight this health and safety issue in our local paper and help to promote awareness of the upcoming forum. We need our regulatory bodies to take action to ensure these grow ops are relocated out of residential areas to insure our neighbourhoods are safe.

I would be happy to have this letter published as a letter to the editor, however, request that my name and contact information is not included due to potential safety risk.


Neighbours Opposed to Grow Ops (NOGrO), Aldergrove