Swaziland Expedition: A Cannabist Reflection

[The Cannabist]

There are so many countries on this gigantic planet, and I would love to learn about all of them if I could, as I love history and culture. I’ve heard very little about Swaziland over the years and I have to admit that I’ve learned more about Swaziland from this Strain Hunters Expedition than from any of my former studies.

To begin with, the Strain Hunters idea is truly original and exciting. I discovered the series around Spring of this year while studying cannabis history, culture and cultivation. What a treat! Out of all the videos that I have watched, these are by far the most fascinating and thought-provoking. At first, I just wanted to see the fields of buds! But then I began to understand the intentions of the Strain Hunters team. This is more than just another adventure into the joys of smoking pot; this is about a global culture! The Strain Hunters team are truly trendsetters, and the more I learn about them, the more I can assert this to be true.

After smoking the good herb, which is the best way to watch Strain Hunters, I sat back and began to enjoy the journey through Swaziland. The production quality of the video has to be mentioned, as it was top class and should be entered in some documentary film festivals, if it already hasn’t been. The intro was done with style and it got the mind ready for something exciting. The music put me right in the mood and transported me far away from my tiny room in northern Italy. The visual effects made me smile and relax.

I really liked when the crew arrived at the first field and decided not to rush into that sea of cannabis. It showed how much these men love what they do and how much they seek to appreciate every tiny aspect of the culture that they have dedicated themselves to. I can’t imagine any cannabis connoisseur who would not have loved to be sitting on that rock taking in the view and expressing their thoughts and insights.

One thing that I really love about the Strain Hunters series is the quality of the photography. So many marijuana smokers and indoor growers never have the pleasure of seeing the beauty of a glistening cannabis flower in natural sunlight. We’re so used to smoking dried buds and talking about how "big that cola is," that we forget that these are flowers; beautiful flowers! I love the close up shots of the different strains, with their different colors and qualities. My compliments to the photographer for showing us that these are images of nature and of life’s creativity.

I had an insight during the scene when the local grower was explaining the reason why multiple seeds were planted in the same spot. This is to insure that if one seed doesn’t survive, another one or two may. I agree with Franco’s idea that this may be a wasting of seeds and space, and that it would be more efficient to simply plant two, but I also wondered to myself if this could be a technique for discovering which seed has the strongest genetics. For indoor growers who do a lot of cloning, it would be nice to quickly discover which seed, usually out of 3 to 10 seeds, gives you the greatest plant so that you can then clone that plant and have the outcome that you enjoy the most. This is just a curious thought on my part, but would it be possible to plant seeds close together to see which of the plants eventually dominates and thus determine which one you should cloned? Who knows! See what happens when you’re high while watching Strain Hunters!

Something that I also enjoy very much about this series is the sharing of knowledge. The team always asks a lot of questions and very often I hear Arjan offering advice to the farmers on how to improve their crops and seed production. We live in this Age of Information and the old days of hoarding knowledge and sharing it with a select few is no longer the way to go. My compliments to the crew for their generosity!

Whilst on the subject of sharing knowledge, it was great to hear from Dr. Ben Dlamini, a wise Swazi elder and a treasure of local history. His point about the 1922 decision of Egypt to pressure the Swazi government to criminalize hemp in order to protect the competitiveness of Egyptian cotton was a good reminder that the war against cannabis has never really been about drugs. It was sad to hear that despite Dr. Dlamini efforts to offer free help to cannabis cultivators who were arrested, that these farmers do not reach out to him. I think that if Dr. Dlamini were to have listened to the farmers in the way that the Strain Hunters did, he would see from their point of view that the legalization of cannabis in that country would negatively affect the poorest of the poor who depend heavily on this crop. In fact, I found it very emotional when Arjan and Franco were reflecting on whether legalization in Swaziland was a good idea or not. I found myself torn between my conviction that cannabis should not be illegal and my compassion for those farmers, school teachers, mothers, fathers, children and perhaps 85% of the country who have managed to find a way to create a standard of living in a clandestine cannabis economy. I had never considered this before, and although I still believe in the legalization of marijuana, I think we should carefully approach it country by country, in order to find the best way to bring about that legalization without destroying the livelihood of innocent people.

Finally we discovered the Swazi Gold! To be honest, the team didn’t seem too enthusiastic at the sight of the small buds in such a small abandoned field. Yes, they had arrived late after all the good plants had been harvested, but Arjan’s curiosity about whether the original land-race would be appreciated with such small buds and slim branches created some doubt in me. Franco’s response, however, was important because when you have a group of smokers who appreciate a particular strain, then bud size and plant aesthetics don’t really matter as much.

In the end, mission accomplished as usual! What a great journey: full of knowledge, beauty, emotions and success. You can be sure that this Swaziland Expedition will remain on my list of episodes to watch again and again. Thank you for the gift of this unique and well produced documentary!

[TheOne]

Nice post brother!

[Dust]

very nice writing man glad to read it and to see you enjoyed it that much Many mores to come And if you haven't already, have a look over here you will find all the Live threads of the expedition http://www.strainhunters.com/forums/forum/10-strain-hunters-live/

Have a good day!

[The Cannabist]

Nice post brother!

Thanks Bro!

[The Cannabist]

very nice writing man glad to read it and to see you enjoyed it that much Many mores to come And if you haven't already, have a look over here you will find all the Live threads of the expedition http://www.strainhun...n-hunters-live/

Have a good day!

Thanks to you as well Dust! As I said previously, one of the joys of writing is having someone appreciate what you've written! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing future expeditions. Yes, I've seen some of the Live forums and when I have time, I hope to be able to read through them all and keep updated on future Live updates!

All the best!

[ganjalover]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M5Ok8a6o1g#t=900

[Bam-Bhole]

Wise words here Cannabist. In many countries small time croppers and those who make a living by juggling the weed fear legalization 1 Even i do..lol

Once a product is legal to sell + produce it becomes a big business and only big farmers can grow the quantities, that the big factories need. At the same time taxes must be paid, which higher the prices for the customers and lowers the price of the weed. If you still grow the tax police will start catching small time farmers and ask very high financial payment or jail. So the situation gets worse than ever. The product will be processed and mixed with enhancers . Nothing good will come from legalization. That is not what FREE THE HERB means. Even in the Netherlands only coffeeshop owners can make a living from selling weed/hash. The housedealers and street vendors must sell hard drugs + pills if they want to make a living AND that is imo still the best way to deal with the disribution of cannabis atm. Look how much pressure is put on home growers in the Netherlands. same situation in Canada. Seems that in colrado and Cai both the small time home grower and the big shops can co exist. But I doubt that will last a long time..

So best say FREE THE WEED instead of Legalize It. Peter tried to help all of Jamaica when he said I will advertise It. Buikd schools, hospitals, help the poor ad needy but no government I know of (maybe BHUTAN) would actually help poor people with money coming from the weed trade. Let the people earn that money themselves !