Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jul 2013
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Column: Ask a Stoner
Copyright: 2013 Village Voice Media
Contact: http://www.westword.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters
Website: http://www.westword.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616
Author: William Breathes

DOES IT MATTER IF MY WEED IS ORGANIC?

Dear Stoner: My friend is a cultivator who is very proud of the fact 
that s/he grows an entirely organic product, outdoors, no chemical 
fertilizers, etc. Is this really an issue? I noticed that six of the 
approximately forty medical marijuana business adverts in Westword 
proclaim that they market an "organic" product. Also, one business 
advertises "No Greenhouse Garbage." Is this also an undesirable 
element in medical marijuana?

CapHillChar

Dear Char: Sounds like you've got a pretty good friend. The short 
answer to your question is yes, stuff like organic nutrients and no 
chemical pesticides is important - but how important depends on the 
type of person you are.

Think of it like food: You're putting this plant into your body in 
one form or another (that's the point, right?), and ideally you'd 
like it to be as close to natural as possible. But just as they are 
with food, not everyone is always so picky about what they put in 
their body. How do you think McDonald's and most medical dispensaries 
on Federal stay in business? Like the hormone-fed cattle at McD's, 
some dispensaries will pack warehouses with plants and blast them 
with nutrients to increase the overall yield per plant and maximize 
the profit for the time and energy spent.

That's not to say that growers can't use non-organic nutrients and 
pull off a good, clean, healthy product - plenty do. Besides, the 
word "organic" can be a misleading catch-all used more as a branding 
gimmick than anything else. But still, my take is that natural, 
organic and in soil is the way to grow.

Indoor vs. outdoor/greenhouse is another debate best left to the 
preference of the smoker, but implying that all greenhouse bud is 
garbage is overly dismissive. Grown well and with care, greenhouse 
herb powered by the rays of the sun can be indistinguishable or 
better than cannabis grown under artificial lights that pale in 
comparison to what Mother Nature can offer - as I'm sure your friend 
will be glad to show you come harvest time this fall.

But there is a kernel of truth in this theory: Greenhouse bud in 
Colorado hasn't always been the best quality when compared to the 
indoor herb people out here are used to (Peace and Medicine/Budding 
Health comes to mind), and many dispensaries have given it a bad 
name. But some dispensaries definitely do greenhouse right. The last 
time we tried Grassroots Grown in Denver, for example, we were 
definitely impressed.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom