Australia’s largest hemp & cannabis event heads to Melbourne

Source: hydroponics.com.au


HHI Expo, Sydney, May 2017

After 7000+ Sydneysiders descended on the Sydney event in May of this year, Australia’s largest hemp and cannabis event is now heading to Melbourne, hitting the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre: December 2 and 3.

The Hemp Health & Innovation (HHI) Expo & Symposium is everything hemp and cannabis. With a bigger venue and hemp foods officially legal for sale and consumption in Australia from Nov 12, HHI Melbourne will be Australia’s first large scale opportunity to sample, purchase and taste hemp foods.

Other highlights include the largest ratified hemp crop in the Southern Hemisphere, interactive activities for all ages, an array of over 80 exhibitors (oils, fabrics, textiles, clothing, bedding, art, beauty products, building materials, health and medicinal products, plus more), and the Melbourne Cannabis & Hemp Symposium  – where expert local and global speakers will address and answer questions on everything medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp (see speaker list & bios here).

Watch the 2017 HHI Expo Melb promo video here and read about the cannabis state of play in Australia here.  Ω

A huge Missouri marijuana bust or just a pile of ditch weed? This tale has a twist

By LISA GUTIERREZ
Source: kansascity.com

Earlier this month, police in Jasper, Mo., posted pictures and details about a huge pot bust they made outside their town.

“One of the largest marijuana grow seizures in the area,” the police department posted to its Facebook page.

They had help from police in Lamar, sheriffs in Barton and Jasper counties, and the Missouri National Guard. On a hot, humid day, law enforcement officials chopped down and seized about 290 tall, green plants.

All that pot must have had a street value of about $100,000, the Jasper police figured in its Facebook post.

Then that pot bust went up in a blaze.

That’s not pot, the Internet cried. That’s hemp — you know, rope stuff, not smoke stuff.

Scorn from hundreds of people on social media rained down. Folks mocked the cops for bragging about seizing a towering pile of ditch weed.

High Times mocked the department’s “proud-as-hell photos” taken with all that booty.

Within a couple of days the Facebook post — and apparently the department’s entire page — disappeared like smoke but lived on in screen grabs still floating around.

“The Jasper police quickly pulled the post when they realized their guys had come face-to-face with a field of hemp that they thought was cannabis,” wrote High Times.

Legally, it really doesn’t matter, High Times noted.

“Growing hemp is still against the law in Missouri, unless you’re one of the two entities licensed to grow industrial hemp under the Industrial Hemp Farming Act ...

“While the state draws no legal distinction between hemp and marijuana, if you’re in law enforcement, it might be wise to know the difference. Scores of Missouri folks certainly did when they saw their giddy cops on Facebook who were doing the math about the hemp’s ‘street value.’”

When people began speculating about the plants, the Riverfront Times in St. Louis made a Herculean effort to verify whether all those plants were hemp or pot. It interviewed lawyers and sent screen shots to marijuana experts.

The answers were mixed. Looks like hemp. Could be pot. Can’t be sure because it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference until the plant is late in flower, one hemp grower said.

Then the publication caught up with Jasper’s police chief himself, Chad Karr, who shared the back story of the bust and left the Times wondering: “Was Missouri Cops’ $100K ‘Marijuana Grow Seizure’ Just Smoke?”

Karr said the department’s Facebook post wasn’t meant to be a big brag about a big bust. Law enforcement officials had one specific person in mind with the news: a suspected methamphetamine dealer operating in the area, Karr told the Riverfront Times.

Last October, Jasper cops intercepted nearly 5 pounds of Mexican meth they believed was headed ​to the dealer, he said. They nabbed a couple of alleged accomplices but not the main target.

Over the last few weeks police received a tip that their target was growing weed outside of town. So the agencies banded together to pull off a “marijuana eradication” operation, said Karr, who characterized it as a “we’ve got our eyes on you” kind of move.

“He’s very aggressive toward us,” Karr told the Riverfront Times. “And we’re very aggressive toward him.”

“In this telling, the problem for Jasper is that ​its Facebook post found a much bigger audience than just its target,” the Riverfront Times wrote, noting the nearly 1,000 comments on Facebook by the time Karr pulled down the post.

When the Times asked him about that $100,000 “street value” figure he quoted, Karr admitted he’s no expert on marijuana and was estimating conservatively — blowing smoke, so to speak.

He said there were a few buds on the plants that might not have been obvious in the Facebook photos and trails leading out to the field indicated someone was tending them.

The police chief also said he doesn’t care whether people smoke pot.

“I think the misconception is we go to work to bust potheads,” Karr said. “I personally do not. I know what the problem is — it’s opiates and methamphetamine.”

The Hemp Oil Industry Is Booming And This Company Is Positioned To Capitalize

By Michael Berger
Source: technical420.com

The explosive growth of natural remedies for health and cooking combined with the skyrocketing cannabis industry has caused the CBD and Hemp oil industries to become staple products in many Americans lives. Like many emerging industries, there is some confusion about these products. And like many emerging industries, there are some snake oil salesman purposefully praying on the confusion and lack of regulation.

What are the differences between Hemp Oil and CBD Oil?

Hemp Oil

Hemp oil can be derived from the seeds of any type of cannabis plant, whether its marijuana or industrial hemp. The seeds are pressed similar to flax or sesame oil. The THC and CBD count of hemp oil are very low. This is because the varieties of cannabis used to grow for seed oil do not naturally have high amounts of THC and because seeds themselves have a much lower amount of THC and CBD.

Despite the low THC and CBD count, hemp oil is very useful in the home and has many health benefits. Hemp oil is commonly used as a cooking oil and can be refined for high heat cooking. It has a crispy and nutty taste that is also commonly used on salad dressings as a replacement to olive oil. It is a nutrient dense oil that contains a great balance of 3-6-9 omega fatty acids and a lower cholesterol count. In the bathroom and bedroom, hemp oil makes an incredible moisturizer and lotion. It also is commonly used as an ingredient in shampoo and soap (think Doctor Bronners).

The industrial applications of hemp seed oil are pretty impressive too. The oil recently is being used to replace the petroleum used in plastic, making a renewable and biodegradable natural plastic. Similarly, it is used in the production of paints to have a more ecofriendly paint than traditionally petroleum based paints. Hemp bio-fuel has been around for over a century, and recently a former Dell executive named Bruce Dietzin made a hemp carwho’s from is made of hemp and runs on hemp oil!

Despite the lack of highly sought-after CBD and THC, hemp oil clearly deserves a place in the American consumers mind and shelf. Its wide-reaching consumer and commercial applications combined with its eco-friendly nature make it as versatile as oil but without the disastrous environmental implications.

CBD Oil

CBD Oil is an abbreviation for Cannabidiol Oil. Before we dive into the details of CBD, its important to know that there are hundreds of types of CBD compounds found in cannabis, with new ones being discovered rapidly. We’ve only begun to understand their various functions and benefits to the human body, so for brevity’s sack, we’re going to lump all of them into ‘CBD’s’ in this article.

Cannabidiol is a natural compound that is found both in industrial hemp and marijuana. There is a lot of debate as to which is better, which will be discussed further in coming article. What cannot be argued is that both forms of cannabis are capable of producing high quality CBD oil.

Unlike Hemp Oil, which is pressed out of seeds, CBD Oil is extracted in many different ways – often resembling the same methods of THC extraction. These include butane, C02, Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) which is a form of pressing involving the whole plant, and pressure or heat vaporizing known as Rosin. Depending on the desired use of the end CBD product, these methods all have their benefits and drawbacks. It is worth mentioning that there is a school of thought that CBD oil is better absorbed and used by the body when it contains at least a small amount of THC. That may not be possible to discern completely until there is much more scientific research completed.

Regardless of the where and how it is extracted, CBD’s benefits cannot be discredited. Its anti-seizure and anti-epilepsy properties help alleviate the symptoms multiple neurological disorders and neurodegenerative disorders in children and adults – often where traditional pharmaceuticals have little to no effect on the same conditions. Research and testimonials indicate CBD treatments to be effective in fighting cancer. CBD Oil is an effective anti-inflammatory. It has also been used, with great success, to treat anxiety and OCD disorders.

Topically, it is a strong form of treatment for different skin afflictions including psoriasis and dermatitis. It can relieve many chronic forms of pain as both an ingestible and topical.

As if these benefits weren’t enough, new medical uses for CBD Oil are constantly being discovered!

A Company Capitalizing on The Hemp Oil Boom

SanSal Wellness is committed to the research and development of improved, proprietary hemp genetics cultivation and innovation to provide the global community with uncompromised quality hemp products, containing the highest quality, quantity and consistency in the industry.

Sansal’s commitment to enhancing the symbiotic relationship between healthy plants and healthy people ensures that they provide whole plant, broad spectrum cannabinoid-rich hemp products while using only natural protocols, no-till cultivation and sustainable farming methods.

Presently, SanSal’s 140-acre farm in Pueblo, Colorado can produce over 200,000 plants yielding a potential minimum annual harvest of 300,000 to 400,000 pounds of outdoor grown hemp.

In addition, their 20,000 square feet of climate-controlled greenhouses and 12,000 square feet of hoop-houses produce a consistent supply of approximately 5,000 pounds per month of year round indoor cultivated hemp.

SanSal uses advanced, strict natural protocols to cultivate its cannabinoid-rich hemp oil yield from it’s plants. After naturally air drying, only the leaves and flowers richly coated with tricomes are processed with our CO2 or advanced ethanol spray evaporation extractors according to the planned uses for the cannabinoid-rich hemp extracts. Whole plant full spectrum cannabinoid-rich hemp extracts are then further processed using chromatography, biotage, and other techniques yielding pure distillates and other derivatives exceeding 80% cannabinoid-rich hemp with 0% THC.

Whole hemp applications include: vegan capsules in various formulations and strengths; tinctures, in various formulations, strengths and flavors; formulations for sublingual applications, infused edibles; body creams, pain creams, and salves; lip and skin balms; vape oils and pre-filled vape cartridges.

We feel that we have found a true leader in the hemp-oil space that is producing a high-quality product at scale differentiating themselves in an increasingly saturated industry. When evaluating a hemp-oil/CBD company it is imperative to make sure that they are cultivating/producing the product themselves leveraging the best practices for extraction to yield a high quality and consistent product.

Indica vs Sativa: What are the Differences?

By
Source: thcoverdose.com

Pretty much any kind of weed is awesome.

But, when it comes to indica vs sativa which one should you go with?

Today, I’ll show you the difference between indica and sativa when it comes to their high, how they grow and I’ll also dive into what a hybrid strain is.

Plus, a look into the less talked about genus—cannabis ruderalis.

Is There Even a Difference?

When shopping for new buds, everything you see will be labeled indica, sativa or hybrid.

You need to know how you’ll react to each one to make an informed decision.

If you’re looking for a quick answer, cannabis Indica is more of a sedating high, while cannabis sativa is more uplifting/energizing.

Or, so we're told.

But then you have experts like, Jeffrey Raber P.h.d, that claim the difference between indica and sativa is simply morphology, and that there is no difference in the highs.

Well, which one is it?

Do the fancy names and classifications matter?

Let’s take a look at indica vs sativa vs hybrid to find out.

What Is Indica?

Indica plants are use to growing in much harsher environments than their sativa counterparts.

Having to adapt to the cold and turbulent conditions of the kush mountain regions, indica evolved to be dense, short and stubby.

They also evolved to produce thick THC resin to help protect itself from its environment.

Indicas also naturally have high levels of CBD, making them a favorite of many looking for a pain-killing cannabis strain.

What Is Sativa?

The scraggly cousin of indica, sativa, is different from indica, not only in appearance but also in the effects it has on your body, its THC to CBD ratios, cannabinoids and terpenes.

Sativa is often paired with coffee thanks to its naturally uplifting properties.

The plants grow to be tall and lean with leaves that have a thinner face, very much unlike the typical indica marijuana leaf you see plastered all over bongs and grinders at festivals.

The Difference Between Indica and Sativa

There are two camps when it comes to the differences between indica and sativa: those who boldly claim that all indica and sativa give you a certain high and those starting to test and see if it boils down to more than just the different species of the same genus.

After all, some sativa cannabis can give you the “indica” high, and the same goes vice versa.

But we’ll dive more into this research in just a bit.

For now, let’s take a look at the differences that we know.

Geographic Origin

Indica

First named in 1785 by, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Indica was named after where the plants were collected—India.

I briefly mentioned earlier that indica evolved in the kush mountains.

More specifically, it grew wild in the areas between 30° and 50° latitudes.

This climate is susceptible to intense, cold winter and warm summers.

Sativa

Sativa was named earlier than indica, 1753, and was first thought to be the only species of cannabis.

It originates from areas that are between 0° and 30° latitudes.

Namely, equatorial regions of Mexico, Colombia, Thailand and Southeast Asia.

Being subject to the harsh heat of these areas, sativa evolved to be long and lanky to conserve water.

Leaf Shape

Thankfully, you don’t have to do chemical composition tests to tell the species apart.

You can easily tell the difference between indica and sativa by their leaf shape.

Indica leaves are broad and thicker.

More akin to the prototypical marijuana leaf you see everywhere.

Sativa leaves, on the other hand, are skinny and scraggly like the rest of the plant.

You won’t have any luck using this method to identify a hybrid, though.

They can have a mix of the two or one or the other.

Sativa vs Indica High

The biggest reason we want to compare the two most important cannabis genus is to help get the kind of high or symptom relief we are looking for.

And, while the debate is still ongoing about whether it’s the species of the plant or the terpenes/cannabinoid make up of a plant that determines this, we can still look at the ways we commonly categorize the two different plants.

The Effect

Indica

Cannabis indica will generally give you a more relaxed, body high.

The calm, sedating effects are ideal for when you're looking to chill out after a long day, binge-watch Netflix or sleep.

It’s also known to enhance sensations such as sound, taste and touch.

Sativa

Sativas tend to be more of a cerebral, energized high that can lead to an increase in creativity and a more psychedelic high.

This high is perfect for anyone looking to smoke early in the day without feeling like a zombie the rest of the day.

It’s also a great high for reading, writing and making art.

Symptom Relief

Just wanted to drop another disclaimer here before we look at the symptoms a particular genus can help with.

The result will vary from strain to strain, and this should just be used as a general guideline to help you in the right direction.

Indica

• Relieving pain
• As a muscle relaxer
• Headaches and migraines
• Insomnia
• Seizures

Sativa

• As an energy boost
• Problems focusing
• Mood disorders such as depression
• Mild aches and pains

Which one has more THC?

Now, thanks to the advancement in breeding were able to achieve cannabis plants with up to 51% THC.

That’s crazy.

But what about when we just look at pure strains?

Well, one study has, and they found that, on average, indica strains tend to be significantly higher in not only THC but CBD as well.

The big flaw with this study is that it only looked at six different strains.

Leafy.com has over 720 indica strains and 1177 sativa strains as of 2017, and the number is only going to keep on growing.

We need a bigger picture and thanks to data that’s being collected by cannabis testing labs I’m sure we’ll get it.

Indica vs Sativa: Flavor

With the rise of legal marijuana, breeders have been able to really hone in on their skill.

Not only do they focus on THC levels and CBD levels, but they also consider flavor.

Of course, you have your famous strains named after their flavor such as, Blueberry, but most distinctions in flavor are very subtle.

Cannabis flavor comes down to one thing and one thing only, and that’s terpenes.

You can see exactly how they affect flavor by looking at this graphic by, Leafly.

To generalize for the sake of simplicity, indica flavors tend to fall into the sweet category (blueberry and strawberry) while sativa plants produce an earthy, pine flavor.

The Differences in Growing

Where you are really able to tell the difference between indica and sativa is when you are growing them side by side.

Never will you be able to see such definitive differences.

Indica vs Sativa Buds

Indica buds are dense, and they also tend to condense themselves in clusters around the nodes.

The buds internodal gaps are almost non-existent.

Indica buds are known for being the buds with the strongest odor too.

With sativa buds, It’s pretty common to have a reddish hue when grown in warm environments and purple when grown in colder climates.

They also are far more spread out on the branches.

You can expect them to weigh less than indica after drying because they are less dense buds.

Plant Height

Indica strains are the best cannabis strains to grow indoors.

Commonly growing to be 3 to 6 feet tall they make the perfect plant for closets or grow tents that have a defined ceiling.

You can grow Sativa indoors, but be prepared to fight it and do some extensive plant training.

Believe it or not, sativa cannabis can grow up to 20 feet tall.

Many breeders like to mix indica into sativa strains to try and tame this height.

Flowering Time & Yield Size

Indica cannabis has a much faster flowering time than sativa coming in at between 8 to 9 weeks.

This is even faster than autoflowering plants that are usually around ten weeks.

It’s not just the fast flowering time that makes indica a favorite of many growers.

They also boast larger yields.

Sativa plants will usually flower between 12 to 14 weeks making them the longest flowering species of all.

The fact that most sativa plants take longer to grow and yields less has made breeders insert some of those traits into indica strains to get a better-growing plant while maintaining a sativa high.

And that brings us to our next topic—hybrids.

Indica vs Sativa vs Hybrid

When browsing the local dispensary, it’s not just indica and sativa you’ll see behind the glass.

Hybrids will also be proudly on display, and the brings us to our next question.

What is a Hybrid Strain?

Hybrid strains aren't new to the cannabis scene.

As master breeders began the search for the perfect cannabis, they started to selectively pick traits from various indica and sativa strains creating hybrids of the two.

Hybrids can fall into any of three categories:

• Sativa-dominant Hybrids
• Indica-dominant Hybrids
• 50/50 Hybrids

Hybrids can be the best of both worlds.

Let’s look at one of the most popular hybrid strains of all time—Blue Dream.

Blue Dream is a sativa-dominant strain forged from mixing Blueberry indica with sativa Haze.

This combination gives you a relaxed body while also giving you a light head high—creating a perfect, calm euphoria.

A hybrid strain like this can provide quick symptom relief all while avoiding the sedative side effects.

Popular Hybrid Strains

Hybrids are a lot of smokers favorite because you can blend the many effects from different cannabinoid profiles.

Here are some of the most popular hybrid strains:

• Blue Dreams
• OG Kush
• Pineapple Express
• White Widow
• AK-47

Indica Strains

Although there’s a lot of strains with no rhyme or reason to their names, a lot of indica strains take up the moniker, Kush, after the Kush Mountains from which they were born.

Here are a few of the popular Indica strains:

• Grandaddy Purp
• Northern LIghts
• Purple Kush
• Blue Cheese
• Afghan Kush
• White Rhino
• Hindu Kush
• Super Skunk

Sativa Strains

Sativa strains are all over the place with their names.

The only real common thread you’ll see is that a lot are named haze (I’m not sure why, if you do let me know!).

Here are a few of the most popular sativa strains:

• Sour Diesel
• Green Crack
• Jack Herer
• Strawberry Cough
• Purple Haze
• Lemon Haze
• Alaskan Thunder Fuck
• Lamb’s Bread

What are Ruderalis?

Wait, there is a third species of cannabis?

Yes!

Ruderalis is never talked about thanks to its low THC levels.

But, it’s thanks to them and breeding that we’ve made huge strides in growing cannabis.

First identified in 1924, cannabis ruderalis was discovered in southern Siberia by the botanist, Janiszewski.

While studying cannabis, he happened across these plants that showed a more weedy growth compared to other strains.

This new species was smaller than the others—hardly ever growing taller than two feet.

And it reached flowering much quicker than either indica or sativa—only 5-7 weeks after seed.

Sativa and indica lean on a photoperiod to determine when it starts flowering, while ruderalis depends solely on the maturity of the plant.

This means while you can keep an indica or sativa plant in vegetative stage indefinitely by keeping your grow lights on long cycles, ruderalis will ignore the light cycle completely and start flowering.

Master growers have taken advantage of this to create autoflowering seeds that dramatically reduce the time it takes to harvest a particular strain.

More weed in less time is never a bad thing.

It’s not just the flowering time breeders use ruderalis for.

They are hardy and shorter than the other species, so they are often used to help curb the crazy heights of sativa.

But, that’s not all ruderalis is good for.

While they may be low in THC, they make up for it in CBD.

Some medical cannabis users grow ruderalis for the CBD, and some breeders use this genetic trait to create CBD heavy strains.

We Need More Research Done

The fact of the matter is, we just don’t know what makes the highs different, yet.

Thanks to the federal prohibition, we just haven’t had the chance to study it properly.

That is all starting to change, though.

Now, in states where it is legal, universities, such as the University of Colorado, are now giving scientist the green light to study marijuana properly.

This is huge for cannabis.

We need these studies to help lead the drug policy reform.

We do know that THC alone produces an energetic high that we often associate with sativas.

But, many indica strains have much more THC than a lot of sativas and still produce that couch-lock high.

So, can it be so cut and dry as indica vs sativa?

Or should we be looking strictly at the cannabinoid levels and various terpenes in strains to make distinctions between cannabis?

Conclusion

When it comes to indica vs sativa a lot is still unknown.

We need more studies done on the different effects of the two, so we can provide a better experience for recreational users and better medical care for medical users.

Hopefully, with states legalizing marijuana, we will start to see real progress made that will tell us if it’s the strains or the cannabinoids and terpenes that we need to focus our attention on to make the best cannabis we can.

Did I miss any differences between indica and sativa?

Can you tell the difference in highs?

If so, let me know in the comments below!

Cannabinoids - The Ultimate Guide to Cannabis Medicine

Source: nzhia.com

The chart below is from the New Zealand Hemp Industries Association website.