Himalayan villages that grow cannabis

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160201-indian-himalayan-cannabis-farm-photos/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fbp20160202news-cannabis&utm_campaign=Content&sf20180097=1

by Jasamba • 10 years ago

97 65 10 years ago

news.nationalgeographic.com

DiabloD3• 10 years ago

I wonder what effects the mountain climate has on the production and growth of cannabis.

thatcat• 10 years ago

reduced atmospheric pressure increases transpiration and sturdiness but limits growth due to secondary effects.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11538810

deweerdt• 10 years ago

some context: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-teenage-mind/201106...

saiya-jin3• 10 years ago

ah, the places like Manali and Malana bring back fond memories from few years back, a month spent in the area. this stuff grows everywhere wild, I mean EVERYWHERE - even in central park in the middle of biggest provincial city. banning this on state level didn't affect consumption, just gave corrupt police a way to extort some proper cash on those poor tourists that got caught. it seemed that within certain altitude band (say 2000-3300m), this flower was at home (seen it also in abundance in nepal on annapurna circuit).

going to India as backpacker for at least several weeks, ideally months is experience out of this world. so intense, so complex, so different and exotic. After 2 months there, memories of my life back in europe seemed no more than memories of a distant surreal dream. it's a harsh and beautiful place full of amazing people. cannot recommend enough.

as for strength, cannot really compare since the stuff is uber-powerful. but so is moroccan and all other.

edge17• 10 years ago

I know next to nothing about this sort of stuff, but when I was in Nepal even the best stuff was incredibly low quality compared to Californian stuff. I think in California, we spend a lot of time cultivating and perfecting cannabis.

monkmartinez5• 10 years ago

Incredible story. I often wonder what it would be like in my state if Cannabis was declared legal. You see, I go to 911 calls. I can count on my hand the number of times I've been called for an emergency that was directly related to Cannabis.

Alcohol, is another story entirely. Depending on the area, there are days that I would run out of fingers and toes counting the number of calls that are a direct consequence of alcohol. That is, I've never been on a call where someone smokes sooo much cannabis that the thought to stab 3 or 4 people becomes an idea worth executing. Or, more simply, someone that decides to smoke sooo much cannabis that they can no longer control their bowels... in public. Perhaps we should discuss the people that decide to smoke sooo much cannabis where driving into stationary objects like people's homes, bars/restaurants and non-stationary objects like pedestrians and other cars is rather common. Obviously, I don't see this happening with Cannabis, but with alcohol...

Then we get to the people that can't afford beer and whiskey so they start drinking listerine or anything with alcohol and need expensive medical treatment. They can't afford medical treatment either, so taxpayers pay for the listerine and then pay for the treatment.

The list goes on and on... spice is really fun. When a new batch like "King Kong Purple" hits the streets, we all warn our families that we will be coming home exhausted from being up all night as the overdoses roll in every 20 minutes. Trying to get a spice OD on the gurney is a treat no EMS person should miss... They are biting, spitting, often uncontrollably vomiting, smashing their heads against anything (Concrete, pavement, ems personnel, sharp objects), kicking, screaming and are more often that not completely nude and covered in mystery fluids. It's a real treat.

We should really legalize Cannabis. My hope is that everyone just uses that instead of the other stuff that is legal. I know that is naive, but I can hope.

saiya-jin3• 10 years ago

very insightful comment from "the streets", thank you for it!

I presume we all should accept that majority of population has sometimes the urge to let a bit of steam off (or just get wasted), and rather than fighting the flow, those in power should steer it to as-little-harm-as-possible-to-society scenarios.

Jtsummers2• 10 years ago

Perhaps we should discuss the people that decide to smoke sooo much cannabis where driving into stationary objects like people's homes, bars/restaurants and non-stationary objects like pedestrians and other cars is rather common.

I agree with all your points but this one. I think this may become common if Cannabis were legal in your area. I think it's only uncommon right now because people are using Cannabis in their own homes or someone else's home, for the most part.

fatlasp• 10 years ago

(anecdote) I live in Colorado where cannabis has been legal for quite some time. People driving in to stationary objects while high on mj definitely hasn't become any more of a problem than it was previous to legalization (read: its not a problem.)

monkmartinez5• 10 years ago

You are right, but I think we can't say definitively one way or another until we have more data. Personally, I think it is a bad idea to operate machinery when with any potentially mind altering (drowsy, intoxicating, etc.) substances on-board. That doesn't stop people from driving on heavy doses of Nyquil or prescription drugs, believe me. People that have no regard for the law, themselves, and others will continue to do what they do irrespective of what is legal or not. That is just an aspect of free will and the human condition.

jamisteven• 10 years ago

Perhaps you should site some data showing this to be true otherwise your simply puffing smoke out of your ass.

oxide• 10 years ago

I think this is a ridiculous sentiment.

You can often tell who speaks from a place of complete and total ignorance on this subject, the (willfully) ignorant will try so very hard to equate driving shit-faced with driving on marijuana.

They couldn't be more different. Not a popular opinion, I know. It's also an ignorance-free point of view.

betenoire• 10 years ago

uh, er... no.

The only thing alcohol and weed have in common is that they are both drugs. There is no overlap in the effects they have on me, except in the broadest sense: relaxation.

Alcohol makes you think there's nothing you can't accomplish. Weed makes you wonder how the hell you are gonna accomplish anything. And if you are too impaired to drive under weed, you damn well know it.

Driving while intoxicated is always a bad idea (hell, driving is usually a bad idea). But not all intoxicants leave you with the feeling that you can and should drive.

FatalBaboon2• 10 years ago

You seem oblivious to the fact that alcohol being available just about everywhere, unlike cannabis, is highly correlated to the amount of harm being done.

Silfen2• 10 years ago

I don't know where you're from, but cannabis is certainly very available in many parts of the U.S. And much easier for minors to obtain in areas where it's illegal!

glibgil• 10 years ago

You calling OP oblivious is the basest ignorance. They seem pretty well informed, perhaps more informed by reality than anyone else could possibly be. You make the mistake of not accepting that OP has never had to respond to a medical pr safety emergency because of cannabis. You see, somewhere, there many people with lots and lots of cannabis available to them, just like alcohol is available to everyone else. OP has never had to help them. The sample size isn't just 99% percent smaller than alcohol. For OP, it is zero. It never ever happens with the current availability to all or the very high availability to a few. It stands to reason then that it is much safer than alcohol at any level of availability. It is, after all, a very different drug than alcohol

danans• 10 years ago

But is the harm really correlated with alcohol being widely available? It seems like there are several confounding factors, including:

- Excessive consumption (which most people who consume alcohol don't do).

- Excessive consumption + driving

- Mental Illness

It's unclear to me that alcohol prohibition would dramatically reduce harm, when issues like mental health problems and building safer transit systems aren't addressed.

As it is often pointed out, prohibition seems to increase localized harm (as evidenced by the the 1920s prohibition, and the current drug war in Mexico and poor US inner cities), by driving the intoxicant trade into the criminal black market.

monkmartinez5• 10 years ago

The city I work for is roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes from the border of Mexico. I don't have empirical data to show the availability of Cannabis here,, but I suspect its pretty easy to get if you want it. I have heard we are a major hub of Cannabis distribution to the rest of the US from my LEO friends.

I say that to say this; I grew up here and it was significantly easier to get Cannabis (and other stuff) than it was to get alcohol as I grew up. At the time, I didn't keep up with geopolitics nor the drug trade in general. We just assumed our proximity to the border "was somehow related"... Although, this fact may have changed since then.

Further, I would also suspect that if there was major harm being done as a correlation with availability, Fire Service and EMS professionals would be reading about it in our trade journals. As some have pointed out, Cannabis is widely available in Colorado, Washington, and I believe Oregon.

SturgeonsLaw• 10 years ago

It's the nature of the drug, not availability, that causes these problems. Caffeine is even more widely available, yet doesn't have the negative effects.

Jasamba2• 10 years ago

If anyone asks you for a citation, throw them this ;) http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/11/drugs_caus...

simonebrunozzi• 10 years ago

I am involved with a company called EazeUp, that also actively pushes for legalization to happen in the US - and I think precisely for reasons similar to the ones you list.

monkmartinez5• 10 years ago

Some of the names of the products you are selling made me giggle. I can see it now:

Me: "Hello mam/sir, what seems to be the problem today?"

Patient: "Well, I only had a little TrainWreck left, so I mixed it with Gorilla Glue #4 and now I am rekt"

Me: "Soooo... are you having a medical emergency?"

Patient: "No! Heavens no! Did I call 911? Why is there a firetruck and ambulance outside?"

Me: "Ok, we will be on our way. Your Doritos and Oreos are right over there... take care"

andrei_says_• 10 years ago

We should really legalize Cannabis. My hope is that everyone just uses that instead of the other stuff that is legal.

And this is precisely the fear of the huge corporate moneyed law-defining entities that sell and profit from the other highly-destructive, highly-addictive stuff but can't profit as much from an easy and cheap to grow plant.

aakarpost• 10 years ago

Wow! Interesting Story!

justplay2• 10 years ago

i know i will get lot of downvotes but still let me say it anyway.

Everytime i see cannabis thread in HN frontpage, i was quite cynical. It is illegal (in most of the places) and consumption of it cause cancer. It is as harmful as tobacco (or might even more).

Still, i see that the way HN user show interest towards cannabis. Why ? Isn't it harmful ? Am i missing something.

Please enlighten me.

feld• 10 years ago

consumption of it cause cancer. It is as harmful as tobacco (or might even more).

This is very strongly debated. There has not yet been enough study to prove or disprove this, partially due to the fact that it's a Schedule I drug in the USA

It will also depend on how you consume it. Smoking is likely to be what puts you at risk the most.

edit: you deserve to be upvoted so people can actually participate in a discussion you seem to genuinely want to have

saiya-jin3• 10 years ago

eating a cake or two from time to time will not increase your cancer risk in any possible measurable way. burning any plant (or anything for that matter) and inhaling the smoke will put a lot of carcinogens right in your lungs/bloodstream.

bam! enlightened

monkmartinez5• 10 years ago

Being alive is a known cause of cancer. Having a prostate and living long enough is almost like having a contract for cancer. I could go on, but you get the point.

You can't live scared. Just live. Have an upvote.

klibertp3• 10 years ago

Isn't it harmful?

No, it isn't.

Next question?

justplay2• 10 years ago

Why it is illegal than ?

stronglikedan3• 10 years ago

It is absolutely harmful to smoke it.

stronglikedan3• 10 years ago

To paraphrase my Cardiologist, "Don't smoke it. The jury is still out on vaping, so you shouldn't do that either. But you can eat all you want."

kdamken• 10 years ago

'Smoking' would contribute to cancer. Vaping and eating it would not. And while not completely benign, it's not even close to as harmful as tobacco is. I'd recommend doing some research instead of basing your opinions on old timey reefer madness logic.

tw04• 10 years ago

Tobacco isn't the problem, all the other shit they put in with it is.

eip• 10 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQwwGPiyW9M

mycroft-holmes• 10 years ago

I like the way it makes me feel. It's a great way to relax at night after dinner. It also makes me more creative. I come up with cool projects or approach a problem from a different perspective.

voxic11• 10 years ago

Why do you think it causes cancer?

pcmaffey• 10 years ago

Cannabis actually has great potential to treat cancer (it is actively used for this... lots of personal, positive stories...conflicting scientific reports).

It's proven to be medically beneficial (the only known treatment?) for seizures. There are many parents who have moved to Colorado to gain access to CBD (a compound in cannabis) for their epileptic children.

On top of all that, cannabis sales in Colorado just passed $1b. That's a whole lot of tax revenue going to schools, creating jobs, etc.

turbohz• 10 years ago

If it was harmful but more interesting than harmless stuff... what would you do?

neosat• 10 years ago

I'm from one of such Himalayan villages, though I only seldom go back there now.

One important aspect to consider here is people don't necessarily think of it as illegal or a drug. There isn't really 'police' enforcing anything for the local. The local police station has like 1-2 people who pretty much just hang out and are friends with the locals.

Everyone in the village knows each other (sort of) and it is only the adult (males) that will have access to and make it. Teens and children don't really do it because someone or the other will find out and then they are in trouble, so the system corrects itself pretty quickly. I've never heard of a single case ever of overdose or anything like, though it has ruined the productivity and general health of a very large number of people.

blablablksheep• 10 years ago

Agree, i have observed the same thing in another part, same country.

whatsoever• 10 years ago

ruined the productivity and general health of a very large number of people.

Please, can you elaborate on this?

tempodox• 10 years ago

The idea of police raiding for ganja in the Himalayas feels so braindead. They should have better things to do.

anpat• 10 years ago

Specially the Indian police. There are so fucking many problems in the country to take care of. PS: Knowing them, most probably they raid these fields only when they want villagers to pay up.

Carrok2• 10 years ago

The way they produce 'charas' looks... less than sanitary. Mmmm.... skin cells.

Jasamba2• 10 years ago

Agreed, I'm not sure I can look at charas the same way again. It's definitely not hygienic, but still better than tobacco imo.

13of40• 10 years ago

I knew an old guy in Northern California when I was a kid who said he'd made hashish by dressing up in biker leathers and walking through a pot field, then scraping off whatever stuck. (Clever, until you realize they probably weren't using brand new leathers for that...)

pjlegato2• 10 years ago

Er. Do you imagine farmers and chefs all wear gloves and hazmat suits while handling the produce that you eat every day?

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. If the idea of a few skin cells disturbs you, you'd better not look too closely into how food handling actually works in the real world.

Carrok2• 10 years ago

Yes. I work in a legal cannabis facility in Colorado. We wear full gear before coming in contact with any plants.

1024core• 10 years ago

After some time, I bet there aren't enough loose cells to get into the resin. The first batch may have a bunch, but the 10th batch? Probably not so much....

pansinghkoder• 10 years ago

that's me home state :)

peter303• 10 years ago

Cannabis was a roadside weed in Peking. I was an exchange student there in 1979 and some of the European students gathered bags full of it. Leaves are not very potent by modern standards, but it worked.

Himalayan villages that grow cannabis

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