Welcome to Info420!

I wanted to take a few moments to introduce myself. I am info420 and my goal is to contribute to the body of Cannabis related work on SteemIt. My plan is to write some fun articles about specific strains, report back and share my opinion on Cannabis related news with an emphasis on European cannabis news as that is where I am based. If and when I get the chance I will also write about coffee shops, clubs and associations that I visit. I’m also bound to post some Cannabis related memes.

To get started I thought I would form my introduction from a few general cannabis factoids which might interest the reader.

Legalisation

Cannabis decriminalisation and legalisation has been sweeping across the world. Hopefully the UK, where I am originally from, will lighten up it’s Cannabis policy soon and pursue legalisation. I’m not holding my breath though with, at the time of writing, a right wing Conservative government in power who are more concerned with re-introducing Fox-hunting than they are with ceasing to criminalise the millions of cannabis users in the UK.

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/marijuana-world-map-_n_3805800.html

Consumption Levels

It’s interesting that the most prolific users of cannabis are from some of the most affluent western countries. Asian countries are notably absent, which considering the proliferation of the drug throughout Asia probably reflects the very strict anti cannabis laws in many Asian counties. I suspect a graph of average quantity consumed of a cannabis smoker would look very different. And although it is the most stereotypical example, I imagine the average Jamaican smoker consumes considerably more cannabis on a typical day than the average British one. Perhaps I will explore this area in more depth in future.

Being based in Europe, I am especially keen on keeping an eye on this map as it confirms that the movement of cannabis legalisation is going in the correct direction.

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_lifetime_cannabis_use_by_country

Strains

The uninitiated probably haven’t really considered the nature of the Cannabis market and how vast it actually is. One recent count identified 779 strains. But this is just an estimate and doesn’t include the thousands of unique strains that independent growers have developed that they keep to themselves.

A bud of the legendary and much revered strain, Jack Herer. (source: Wikipedia)

Most growers in illegal countries keep themselves to themselves and certainly are not going to be advertising their own strain after all they will be in possession of the mother plant and and bud from any of the plants confiscated by the authorities could be tied to that mother plant so unless someone is doing it commercially they won’t be advertising their own unique strains. Many legendary strains such as Cheese, Trainwreck and NYC Diesel were notorious underground strains which broke out into the mainstream in places where legislation was less strict. Cheese surfaced into the mainstream in the UK during the period Cannabis had been lowered to a class C drug. Trainwreck was well known throughout the west coast of America before the commercial growers produced strains based on this.

I will explore in detail the history behind some of the well known strains. If there are any in particular that you think I should research, please let me know in the comments section.

One of the most complete databases for cannabis strains on the web is Leafly. Look here for more information: https://www.leafly.com/explore

Arts, Culture, The rest….

As a consumer of marijuana for over 25 years my whole outlook on life has been shaped by Cannabis. Much of the music I love has been created by those who share my love of Cannabis. I am open minded and love everything from techno to jazz, from jam bands to dub. I am a musician myself, so you never know, maybe I will post the odd piece up here.

If I see a movie featuring cannabis, whether a bit part role such as the grow room in “Lock, Stock….” to Pineapple Express, then I sit up and take note. By the way, Pineapple Express is a famous strain of Marijuana. I have recently been loving the very understated “High maintenance”. Although I have not yet explored the earlier episodes - I have only seen the most recent series and I thought it was brilliant:

Your Feedback

If there is anything you think I should be researching, writing about, and including in this blog then please, please take a moment to let me know. I am aiming to build a useful resource which will both inform and entertain.

Please follow me to share this journey with me. I’d love to hear from you. I'd love you even more if you up vote or resteem this article <passes joint your way...>