AIUI it used to be fairly commonly grown as an ornamental.
Though opinions obviously vary. – I think it’s a pretty plant, myself; though it’s been way more than long enough for the statute of limitations to run out since I’ve seen one.
I’m not entirely sure I even want the quality of stuff they sell at dispensaries. It’s gotten massively stronger than it used to be, no?
I suspect I could grow significantly better quality than I was used to in the '70’s. Not sure whether I will, though.
Growing the plant is really easy. ‘It’s called “weed” for a reason.’ But growing high THC content, and/or growing a particular balance of THC and other components, is apparently another matter.
That’s another possible issue. Even if I had my own, I wouldn’t now use very much; and I’m no longer hanging around with lots of people who get stoned all the time. (Most of those people, like me, just eventually tailed off and now rarely or never get stoned.)
So even one plant might well produce more than I’d know what to do with.
But then I’d just have way more capsules than I’d use.
– if New York regulations, when they finally get around to producing them, do say that children must have no access: I wonder whether that means that they’ll forbid outdoor growing, at least without a lot of heavy duty fencing and locks involved.
But there’s a difference between just growing it, and growing it well. My housemate planted a tobacco plant this year (for Native Canadian religious reasons), and while it did grow, it didn’t produce the big leaves you see on commercial tobacco plants.
Locally we have one store that’s been around since at least the 1980s, offering growing equipment “…so you can grow fresh tomatoes all year 'round!”
It’s been amusing the last few years since pot was legalized, as now all their radio ads are basically, “Finally! We can just admit you’ve been growing weed this whole time!” Everyone knew, but of course it was all "wink and nod tomatoes " for decades.
I supported myself for a couple of years by growing and selling weed back when it was a felony. Now that its legal, I buy it in the store. If I grow my own, that is all I will smoke. When I got to the store, I have a choice of strains and strengths. I like having the choice and the option to being home different varieties.
If any of y’all were near me, I’d give you some. But I don’t know anyone IRL with whom I could broach the subject.
There are a couple of office services guys who look like they partake, but I don’t dare bring it up at our office, a conservative law firm. I even feel iffy typing about this subject here at work.
This surprises me. I’d always heard that weed grows, well, like a weed. There was a story when I was in college, that the campus police found a cannabis plant growing under a window in the Art building, and surmised that someone had been caught blazing and dumped their stash, which took root and grew.
It’s legal here, but I don’t bother to grow it. And yes I do grow my own vegetables. If I wanted some I would probably go to the dispensary and buy it rather than taking up valuable garden space in my yard that I’ve allocated for food production.
Taxonomically, it’s an herb. You could throw some seeds in the ground and it will grow but it needs to be cultivated and carefully trimmed and treated for pests and the male plants need to be removed (you can buy seeds known to be females these day though), etc to get any kind of good quality. They are annual plants so they have to be planted in the Spring and harvested in the Fall unless you grow indoors where you use lights to mimic the seasons and that is a whole 'nother level of complication.
I buy clones (seedlings) from a local dispensary, put 'em in barrels with good quality potting soil, and then fertilize them with organic stuff now and then as they grow. Spray them with oil/soap spray to discourage caterpillars. When they start to bloom, I switch to “Tiger Bloom”, a light fertilizer that’s supposed to encourage heavy flowers.
So far, they’ve grown very well. I did accidentally starve this last season’s crop, because I didn’t know my potting soil hadn’t enough nutrients for the hungry plants. As soon as I gave them some handfuls of organic fish/kelp food, they bounced right back.
I do worry about theft, too, because when they come into flower the distinctive smell might lure thieves to look over the backyard fence and make off with them. So far so good, though.
It actually feels pretty good that we can now have adult conversations about weed. The country’s remaining drug warriors don’t have a lot of credibility.
Actually, a few of us have been utilizing that sort of thing to grow stuff other than marijuana. Really. Although yes, pot growing has immensely helped the home hydroponic gardener regardless of cropl
More likely it grew from seed of “wild” hemp, a plant low in THC which was extensively cultivated for fiber back in the day, and still is relatively common on the edges of fields and roadsides.
That’s exactly the metaphor I was gonna use. I have access to 40 years’ experience of home-friendly growing techniques, complete with notes on “why” for all the “how to”, as well as cultivars lovingly developed over the same time span. I could definitely have a desirable private or commercial product if I cared to. But I don’t care to for the simple fact that I can’t possibly use that much without making some significant lifestyle changes. I don’t think I’ve used as much as one average plant in my lifetime.
Also, the people I know who do grow their own have a sort of ‘prepper’ vibe to them. They’ve got their guns, their cammo, their weeds, and the haughty paranoid ‘just you try and take it from me’ attitude. To which I just shrug and say, “ok” and head to the store to get my supply of whatever it is they hoard so jealously. Of course, just as with users of the Devil’s Lettuce, I’m sure there are more who do grow that don’t feel the need to be children about it.
Yeah, about 10 years ago I bought a humongous “compact” fluorescent bulb and fixture from an outfit called “Hydrofarm” for starting vegetable seeds during the winter. I was pretty sure I ended up on some kind of list. Nowadays, a search for “grow lights” gets hundreds of hits on Amazon.
I live in a high rise so it isn’t even an option. Even if I had the space, it’s a quick walk to the dispensary and I’ve never been into gardening or growing anything.
A good friend of mine had an indoor grow operation in his bedroom in the early 90s. He was paranoid as hell. We were good friends and smoked together all the time and it was years before he showed me his garden. He would drive fifty miles away to buy his lights and supplies and always pay cash.
Before it was legal, I had a food stamp client who showed me his monthly $500 electricity bill for his two bedroom apartment. He claimed to be self employed and was selling fresh herbs and spices. Sure he was.
