Pubdate: Thu, 22 Oct 2015
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Column: Ask A Stoner
Copyright: 2015 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: Herbert Fuego

WHAT IS CANNABIS RUDERALIS?

Dear Stoner: I've heard about indica and sativa, but the words 
"cannabis ruderalis" were in an article, and I'd never heard of that 
before. Is there another type of pot out there?

Wes

Dear Wes: Maybe and maybe not. I'm much more of a stoner than a 
scientist, but the subject of ruderalis is an interesting one, to say 
the least. Cannabis ruderalis is much like the Pluto of the cannabis 
family. Some scientists and pot experts believe that because of its 
different growing cycle and physical properties, it is indeed its own 
species of cannabis. However, the majority of scientists believe that 
C. ruderalis is a form of C. indica that adapted to the cold weather 
and lack of sunlight in its originating lands of Eastern/Northern 
Europe and Northern Asia, and a 2005 study on diversity in cannabis 
genetics supports that theory. But that doesn't make it any less distinctive.

Unlike the tall sativas and stocky indicas we're used to seeing, the 
feeble ruderalis plant is short and slight, with very little THC and 
CBD. In fact, the word "ruderalis" comes from the Latin term rudus - 
roughly translated as "lump" or "rubble." Ruderalis plants also 
flower based on maturity, not sunlight, and that's where things get 
interesting. The plants flower up to thirty days after the seeds are 
sown, regardless of how much light they get. This process, called 
auto-flowering, makes life much easier for outdoor cultivators and 
those in cold climates. If an outdoor grower can successfully breed a 
ruderalis plant with an indica or sativa counterpart, keeping the 
auto-flowering, weather-resistant qualities of the former and the 
THC/CBD content of the latter, then he or she could have five 
harvests instead of one.

It should be noted that some scientists believe that all forms of 
cannabis are the same species because they can interbreed, but that's 
a whole other debate.

Dear Stoner: How do I get an official badge to work in the marijuana industry?

Young Thurgood

Dear Thurgood: Getting a badge for the marijuana industry is similar 
to getting a foodhandler's card, but because selling pot isn't as 
common as waiting tables, it still takes a little digging to find out 
how to become official. You can get an application at colorado.gov/ 
pacific/enforcement/medical-marijuanaoccupational-licensing, but you 
have to submit it in person, with a $150 fee, at the Marijuana 
Enforcement Division office, where you'll be fingerprinted and 
undergo a background check. And that's required of everyone, from 
store managers to budtenders.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom