Russian Roulette
Medical Strain Cannabis - Migraine Pain Relief
Background Legend:
These seeds came to me from a dope fiend and fellow medical patient back from the good ol' days of Overgrow. I was sent the seeds along with a taste of the product and a warning that it was particularly strong and affects could be long-lasting. I ignored the warning and did three massive bong hits which resulted in me being so stoned that I was up for hours on end puking in the toilet, bombed and laughing at the pathetic condition I found myself in. It certainly had the power and power was important for me because I am a medical user searching for the "silver bullet" strain that would kill migraine headaches and not suffer the inevitable tolerance build-up. Off and on, for the last two years, I have been playing with this strain and some of the resulting interesting things that have spun out of it (described later in this report).
Known/Suspected Lineage:
There are some strange things at work here. The original grower was as big of a brainlock as I am when it comes to remembering things, but that's okay, what counts is what we do know about this emerging beauty that could be absolutely essential to the medical cannabis community. The original cross was the Romulan F-1 hybrid from Federation Seeds (an unidentified Southern California Indica crossed with White Rhino) crossed with the Serious Seeds AK47 (a greasy, heavy-hitting Indica having near legendary hitting power). The resulting cross was then crossed to White Rhino (an Afghani Indica crossed with a Brazilian Indica - both of unknown lineage from Greenhouse Seed Company) and sent out to me. I just completed the second grow with the plants from feminized seed that seems to have an interesting trait - self-breeding.
This is the second grow where I have ended up with some buds having swollen calyxes that include seeds. In both cases, there were no male plants in the grow - all females, yet we find some seeded buds. This latest grow (and subject of the report) was with feminized seeds from the previous grow. The issue is that we do not know who the pollen donor is for this final strain because there was some other things growing at the time that were not Russian Roulette and that further complicates the lineage.
Nothing like a little mystique when it comes to a new strain now, is there?
Growing Environment:
My grow room consists of a converted half-bath where I have a 4-station DWC hydroponics system that includes an active reservoir using hydrostatic pressurized return drains (leakproof!), a 300 cfm. centrifugal fan into a CAN33 extractor and a 400 watt, electronically-ballasted kool tube (vertical configuration) with a Ushio conversion lamp. Ambient air temperature ranged from 65F to 75F with the average temperature being a constant 73F in the room. Seeds were popped in paper towel sandwiches using pH neutral water, placed in 1" rockwool cubes and placed in the system. Plants were then grown for 46 days (from date of seed popping) in veg with lighting set at 24/0. This gave us uniform plants that were around 12" to 14" high when they were flipped over to 12/12. Flowering went on for 75 days and this strain can be harvested from anywhere around 65 days onward. I harvested when the trichomes were overwhelmingly dark in order to get more of the good stuff and the potential for all pain management properties I could get out of this remarkable strain. Lucas Formula General Hydro nutes were used with SM-90 for root care and CalMag+ for the incipient case of calcium and magnesium deficiencies that plague my particular growing set-up.
Grow Cycle Observations:
During the vegetative cycle, I noted that nutrient strength has to be limited - in the first 21 days there were no amendments other than SM-90 and 2 tablespoons of CalMag+. This strain is optimized for a pH range of 6.2 to 5.6, but it can tolerate bigger swings as my system tends to yo-yo the pH. In the last 21 days of the veg. phase I ran 0-3-6 the first week and 0-4-8 in the second week and third week. There were no re-tops of nutes due to feeding and replacement.
During the flowering cycle, the nutes went up to 0-6-12 in the second week of flowering and then up to 0-8-16 for the duration. The plants had a full 7-day flush at the end, but my impression is that these plants could be bigger feeders and once you isolate where you want to harvest, pump in the nutes and see what happens.
The odor during veg was almost non-existent with a spearmint skunk odor being observed when the plants were bruised. As the grow persisted, a diesel/benzene overtone crept in and then dominated the remaining grow. The finished product has the classic perfumed, benzene smell of quality pot. This needs a full cure to appreciate, but I have some ready that came out of the dehydrator (only needs to cure) and is quite fit to smoke.
Plant stretch in flower is a full 2.5x stretch and the plants - remember they were all feminized seed - were all uniform phenotypes that form classic Christmas tree Sativa rope buds up the main stem and the secondary stalks. This plant is made to go into a SOG/SCROG configuration because all branches seem to try to streamline and compete against the center stalk cola. This strain likes high levels of light and I would not be afraid to try 35,000 lux at the canopy top to optimize output, while mine was barely 20,000 lux. This plant also responds well to FIMMING. Once you do a FIM cut this strain responds by giving you what you want - a 4-way branch and these 4-way branches are perfect for SCROG grows because the center cola can be topped and then all the grow energy goes into these branches. This will result in fantastic foxtail colas.
Harvest Notes:
The plants were harvested and trimmed down. The final output was one ounce of super-prime medical grade "mongo buds" from the center colas of the plants (saved for private headstash only), three ounces of prime buds and a bunch of popcorn and trim that I converted into hard candy using an ethanol extraction via the boiling water method. The hard candy accounts for about 4 to 5 grams of product that is pure THC and absolutely debilitating to smoke. The final buds are solid crystallized calyxes and the juvenile fan leaves in/around the bud masses are completely enveloped in the stalk glands. This is one of the stickiest varieties I have grown in the past 6 years, with even the mature giant fans having some coverage that can be seen with the naked eye and appreciated.
Smoke Test Notes:
The first smoke test was undertaken when the buds were still on the plant at around Day 54 and consisted of trim waste that included small popcorn buds that were cut from the lower branches that wouldn't have had enough light to be something. The plant material was dried in a dehydrator set to 95F (American Harvester brand) overnight and the resulting buds were about the size of the average guy's pinky fingernail and was loaded into a metal pipe with a metal screen and a cap. One full, lung-burning hit was sucked up and then I waited to see the results which were a soaring sativa high that had hints of mellowness that meant it would be a damn good pain-killer of a strain if it was left to go the distance, properly harvested and cured. A single hit created an affect that lasted a little over two (2) hours and produced a high that did not include the usual heavy dose of racy paranoia that seems to be the hallmark of most Sativas these days. I noted that tolerance build-up did not appear to be an issue, the strain relaxed me enough to induce sleep (I have world record-setting insomnia sometimes) and erase a tension migraine headache at least 50% of the time - 50%!!!
Needless to say, I was super impressed. I had good things happen with the last grow and this one seemed to be headed for superstar potential and I was quite excited. After all, how many of us have been searching for the migraine silver bullet for years without luck?
The final test came yesterday when I did the final extraction on the candy and tested the end product, which proceeded to knock out my evening migraine without any further adeaux or fanfare, leaving me seriously stoned for the rest of the evening - some 4 hours! For those of you who just like knockdown power, this strain is a true one-hitter (thanks to its AK heritage I suspect) and provides a very nice buzz that lasts a little more than a couple of hours with another couple of hours for coming down, nice and gentle. If you make the candy, then be prepared to be seriously blasted out of your shell.
Final Box Score:
And here we are, with the final box score for Russian Roulette.
Hitting Power: 8 - There are harder hitters out there, but not many that you are likely to want to grow. Abuse will give you your first cannabis overdose and I don't recommend it because you can get "too high".
Analgesic Properties: 9 - Great pain management.
Appetite Stimulation Properties: 8 - Okay, so you will get the munchies.
Psychoactive Stimulation Properties: 9 - Color perception changes noted, but not a lot of couchlock. The mental "over-processing" in the brain that is common to marijuana poisoning that is the precursor to serious couchlock was noted.
Medical Efficacy Properties: 9 - Medical patients really need to pay attention to this one.
Ease of Growing: 8 - This strain is friendly to all growers.
Yield: 6 - This is one of the lowest-yielding strains I have grown, but it can do better if you have more light. Should be outstanding outside.
Odor: 8 - Not a lot of odor, but you do need to keep an eye (or nose) on it.
Commercial Potential: 7 - This is killa' pot, but the yield issue must be dealt with a bit more.
Final Notes:
This strain needs work. It needs an expert breeder/grower with much more space than I have and much more time to devote to the task and much better skill sets in order to get everything this remarkable plant can produce. IMVHO, this is one of the best strains I have grown in the past 6 years and one of the strongest hitting strains I have ever smoked - certainly the Top 5 and I have been a medical patient for 6 years and smoked a lot of weed when I was a young and studly lad 30 years ago.
Pictures to follow momentarily...
Medical Strain Cannabis - Migraine Pain Relief
Background Legend:
These seeds came to me from a dope fiend and fellow medical patient back from the good ol' days of Overgrow. I was sent the seeds along with a taste of the product and a warning that it was particularly strong and affects could be long-lasting. I ignored the warning and did three massive bong hits which resulted in me being so stoned that I was up for hours on end puking in the toilet, bombed and laughing at the pathetic condition I found myself in. It certainly had the power and power was important for me because I am a medical user searching for the "silver bullet" strain that would kill migraine headaches and not suffer the inevitable tolerance build-up. Off and on, for the last two years, I have been playing with this strain and some of the resulting interesting things that have spun out of it (described later in this report).
Known/Suspected Lineage:
There are some strange things at work here. The original grower was as big of a brainlock as I am when it comes to remembering things, but that's okay, what counts is what we do know about this emerging beauty that could be absolutely essential to the medical cannabis community. The original cross was the Romulan F-1 hybrid from Federation Seeds (an unidentified Southern California Indica crossed with White Rhino) crossed with the Serious Seeds AK47 (a greasy, heavy-hitting Indica having near legendary hitting power). The resulting cross was then crossed to White Rhino (an Afghani Indica crossed with a Brazilian Indica - both of unknown lineage from Greenhouse Seed Company) and sent out to me. I just completed the second grow with the plants from feminized seed that seems to have an interesting trait - self-breeding.
This is the second grow where I have ended up with some buds having swollen calyxes that include seeds. In both cases, there were no male plants in the grow - all females, yet we find some seeded buds. This latest grow (and subject of the report) was with feminized seeds from the previous grow. The issue is that we do not know who the pollen donor is for this final strain because there was some other things growing at the time that were not Russian Roulette and that further complicates the lineage.
Nothing like a little mystique when it comes to a new strain now, is there?
Growing Environment:
My grow room consists of a converted half-bath where I have a 4-station DWC hydroponics system that includes an active reservoir using hydrostatic pressurized return drains (leakproof!), a 300 cfm. centrifugal fan into a CAN33 extractor and a 400 watt, electronically-ballasted kool tube (vertical configuration) with a Ushio conversion lamp. Ambient air temperature ranged from 65F to 75F with the average temperature being a constant 73F in the room. Seeds were popped in paper towel sandwiches using pH neutral water, placed in 1" rockwool cubes and placed in the system. Plants were then grown for 46 days (from date of seed popping) in veg with lighting set at 24/0. This gave us uniform plants that were around 12" to 14" high when they were flipped over to 12/12. Flowering went on for 75 days and this strain can be harvested from anywhere around 65 days onward. I harvested when the trichomes were overwhelmingly dark in order to get more of the good stuff and the potential for all pain management properties I could get out of this remarkable strain. Lucas Formula General Hydro nutes were used with SM-90 for root care and CalMag+ for the incipient case of calcium and magnesium deficiencies that plague my particular growing set-up.
Grow Cycle Observations:
During the vegetative cycle, I noted that nutrient strength has to be limited - in the first 21 days there were no amendments other than SM-90 and 2 tablespoons of CalMag+. This strain is optimized for a pH range of 6.2 to 5.6, but it can tolerate bigger swings as my system tends to yo-yo the pH. In the last 21 days of the veg. phase I ran 0-3-6 the first week and 0-4-8 in the second week and third week. There were no re-tops of nutes due to feeding and replacement.
During the flowering cycle, the nutes went up to 0-6-12 in the second week of flowering and then up to 0-8-16 for the duration. The plants had a full 7-day flush at the end, but my impression is that these plants could be bigger feeders and once you isolate where you want to harvest, pump in the nutes and see what happens.
The odor during veg was almost non-existent with a spearmint skunk odor being observed when the plants were bruised. As the grow persisted, a diesel/benzene overtone crept in and then dominated the remaining grow. The finished product has the classic perfumed, benzene smell of quality pot. This needs a full cure to appreciate, but I have some ready that came out of the dehydrator (only needs to cure) and is quite fit to smoke.
Plant stretch in flower is a full 2.5x stretch and the plants - remember they were all feminized seed - were all uniform phenotypes that form classic Christmas tree Sativa rope buds up the main stem and the secondary stalks. This plant is made to go into a SOG/SCROG configuration because all branches seem to try to streamline and compete against the center stalk cola. This strain likes high levels of light and I would not be afraid to try 35,000 lux at the canopy top to optimize output, while mine was barely 20,000 lux. This plant also responds well to FIMMING. Once you do a FIM cut this strain responds by giving you what you want - a 4-way branch and these 4-way branches are perfect for SCROG grows because the center cola can be topped and then all the grow energy goes into these branches. This will result in fantastic foxtail colas.
Harvest Notes:
The plants were harvested and trimmed down. The final output was one ounce of super-prime medical grade "mongo buds" from the center colas of the plants (saved for private headstash only), three ounces of prime buds and a bunch of popcorn and trim that I converted into hard candy using an ethanol extraction via the boiling water method. The hard candy accounts for about 4 to 5 grams of product that is pure THC and absolutely debilitating to smoke. The final buds are solid crystallized calyxes and the juvenile fan leaves in/around the bud masses are completely enveloped in the stalk glands. This is one of the stickiest varieties I have grown in the past 6 years, with even the mature giant fans having some coverage that can be seen with the naked eye and appreciated.
Smoke Test Notes:
The first smoke test was undertaken when the buds were still on the plant at around Day 54 and consisted of trim waste that included small popcorn buds that were cut from the lower branches that wouldn't have had enough light to be something. The plant material was dried in a dehydrator set to 95F (American Harvester brand) overnight and the resulting buds were about the size of the average guy's pinky fingernail and was loaded into a metal pipe with a metal screen and a cap. One full, lung-burning hit was sucked up and then I waited to see the results which were a soaring sativa high that had hints of mellowness that meant it would be a damn good pain-killer of a strain if it was left to go the distance, properly harvested and cured. A single hit created an affect that lasted a little over two (2) hours and produced a high that did not include the usual heavy dose of racy paranoia that seems to be the hallmark of most Sativas these days. I noted that tolerance build-up did not appear to be an issue, the strain relaxed me enough to induce sleep (I have world record-setting insomnia sometimes) and erase a tension migraine headache at least 50% of the time - 50%!!!
Needless to say, I was super impressed. I had good things happen with the last grow and this one seemed to be headed for superstar potential and I was quite excited. After all, how many of us have been searching for the migraine silver bullet for years without luck?
The final test came yesterday when I did the final extraction on the candy and tested the end product, which proceeded to knock out my evening migraine without any further adeaux or fanfare, leaving me seriously stoned for the rest of the evening - some 4 hours! For those of you who just like knockdown power, this strain is a true one-hitter (thanks to its AK heritage I suspect) and provides a very nice buzz that lasts a little more than a couple of hours with another couple of hours for coming down, nice and gentle. If you make the candy, then be prepared to be seriously blasted out of your shell.
Final Box Score:
And here we are, with the final box score for Russian Roulette.
Hitting Power: 8 - There are harder hitters out there, but not many that you are likely to want to grow. Abuse will give you your first cannabis overdose and I don't recommend it because you can get "too high".
Analgesic Properties: 9 - Great pain management.
Appetite Stimulation Properties: 8 - Okay, so you will get the munchies.
Psychoactive Stimulation Properties: 9 - Color perception changes noted, but not a lot of couchlock. The mental "over-processing" in the brain that is common to marijuana poisoning that is the precursor to serious couchlock was noted.
Medical Efficacy Properties: 9 - Medical patients really need to pay attention to this one.
Ease of Growing: 8 - This strain is friendly to all growers.
Yield: 6 - This is one of the lowest-yielding strains I have grown, but it can do better if you have more light. Should be outstanding outside.
Odor: 8 - Not a lot of odor, but you do need to keep an eye (or nose) on it.
Commercial Potential: 7 - This is killa' pot, but the yield issue must be dealt with a bit more.
Final Notes:
This strain needs work. It needs an expert breeder/grower with much more space than I have and much more time to devote to the task and much better skill sets in order to get everything this remarkable plant can produce. IMVHO, this is one of the best strains I have grown in the past 6 years and one of the strongest hitting strains I have ever smoked - certainly the Top 5 and I have been a medical patient for 6 years and smoked a lot of weed when I was a young and studly lad 30 years ago.
Pictures to follow momentarily...
