The Annual High Times Global Cannabis report is in! The report, which covers several parts of the United States, Canada, Morocco, South Africa, Australia, Amsterdam and Mexico is such interesting reading. It provides a rare glimpse into foreign cultivation techniques and sums up how 2010 affected growers worldwide.

Following is an excerpt from the High Times report regarding Northern California, and written by Hue Jielder of Ukiah. However, I do recommend you read the entire report for a full understanding of how cannabis is cultivated and distributed globally. In this critical time, when it seems as if international attitudes toward cannabis are being re-evaluated, it seems more sensible - even essential to pay attention to our neighbors, close and far. Here in Northern Cali we can already see how mainstream and current the issue of cannabis use is by looking at the widespread prevalence of medical marijuana which has become of late, more of a fully legitimate part of our economy. To read the entire report, visit here.

“Many Northern California growers have come to expect the unexpected during the transitional (and temperamental) months of May and October. However, even by that standard, this year’s cold nighttime temps and rain deep into June caught many growers in the Emerald Triangle (Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties) by surprise.

But weather was merely one of the many challenges facing outdoor NorCal growers this year. As HIGH TIMES held its first annual US-based Medical Cannabis Cup in late June, helicopters scoured national forests and private lands for evidence of large-scale grows. Although gardens exceeding 99 plants are illegal by any standard, the sheer number of cannabis plants in Northern California often forces the authorities to focus on grow ops that involve 200 or more plants.

Come September, as happens every year on US 101, the California Highway Patrol will attempt to intercept the river of marijuana flowing north to south. Even though indoor cultivation is still considered king in California, indoor and outdoor growers alike will find it nearly impossible to sell their product at its usual market value for many months to come. For California growers, the dominant question is not whether the market will get flooded this fall, but rather how low prices will go when it does. And with legalization on the table, few can claim to know what comes next.

In places like Mendocino County, which is known for its organic wine and weed, sophisticated compost blends are oftentimes trucked into remote regions at 10 cubic yards per load. Given NorCal’s tendency toward terrain that’s heavy with clay soil (and holds only moderate levels of organic matter), the safest bet for outdoor growers is always to replace the soil rather than try to amend it. Thus, outdoor farmers dig out and refill huge plots quite often or utilize various aboveground containers that are usually very large in volume (25 gallons or more).

However, techniques for the remediation of organic soil mixes are becoming more widespread among veteran growers. This isn’t solely for environmental reasons: On very large scales, these organic grow techniques reduce year-to-year recurring costs across the board. Soil, nutrients and even pest control (via compost tea) can all be generated using common everyday trash. Even some indoor organic growers are catching on by culturing worm farms in their growrooms.

With the widespread proliferation of dispensaries in the state, it’s become increasingly difficult to pin down any given strain as being associated with any particular region. That said, NorCal growers are always on the lookout for early finishers to beat out both the fall rains and the soon-to-be-flooded bud market. Whereas the conversation-inspiring Bubba Kush, the eyelid-closing Granddaddy Purple and the chronically crippling OG Kush once reigned supreme, growers have since diversified in a million different directions in search of huge yielders (such as the Diesel hybrids). Growers are also turning to strains exceptionally high in CBD, like Harlequin and Cannatonic.”

To the outside world, Northern California may seem unified in its support for marijuana and marijuana-law reform. However, the region remains just as deeply conflicted as it was back in the early ’70s, when San Francisco hippies brought the plant up north in their attempt to escape urban living. Even as the rest of the country has become more aware of marijuana’s medical utility, many NorCal locals continue to scapegoat “doper hippies” for all sorts of societal ills. The ultimate irony here is that, were it not for the cannabis industry, many of these counties would have been plunged long ago into the direst economic conditions.”
—Hue Jielder, Ukiah, California