History of marijuana strains

White Widow is a legendary marijuana strain known by the vast majority of stoners. Who hasn't heard of it? Who has not tasted the White Widow or some cross of the White family? Many old-school stoners right now are sure to have memories of their first trips - to Holland - with White Widow.

White Widow is considered a hybrid between a Brazilian Sativa Landrace plant and a South Indian Indica, a genetic that appeared on the scene in 1995 like a hurricane, winning the Dutch High Times Cup at a time when plants like Skunk, Northern Lights or Haze dominated the scene. Today we tell you everything we know about its origin.

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The so-called 'Malawi cob' is an ancient method of transporting and curing cannabis that has been used by the people of this part of Africa for centuries. However, nowadays, it is very difficult to find grass fermented in this way or a genuine traditionally cured cob. In fact, the fame of the Malawi Gold cannabis strain has led to its demise, as the high demand for this legendary strain has resulted in a market where any quality of this herb can easily be sold.

Traditional curing methods are no longer necessary and are all but forgotten, as any product stamped 'Malawi Gold' can be easily sold, with buyers from all over the region queuing up before the buds have even matured. The overall quality of the weed is now seed-filled and uncured, for sale to tourists looking to get their hands on this type of cannabis.

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Every now and then, very rarely, a new strain will burst onto the scene and completely change the rules of the game, as was the case with genetics such as Skunk, Haze or Northern Lights. The appearance of these outstanding strains not only represents a step forward in cannabis breeding, but they can have such an impact on consumers that they quickly reach mythical status, something that is even easier today than it was a few decades ago.

Indeed, on one hand, these genetics often become the foundations on which dozens of new hybrids are developed, some more balanced than others, but always presenting new and exciting traits in the offspring. On the other hand, and as any cannabis consumer will know, the appearance of one of these "superplants" inspires a real fever to try it and grow it, thus elevating it to the Olympus of the cannabis gods. This is the case of the strain that concerns us today, a legend in every sense of the word: Chemdog, also known as Chemdawg.

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The history of cannabis cultivation and use in Nepal goes back centuries, being one of the countries with the longest cannabis tradition in the world. Nepal is located in the heart of the Himalayan mountain range, wedged between China and India and within its borders lie 8 of the world's 14 mountains over 8,000 metres high. It is therefore a mountainous country with impressive water reserves, which, in addition to the annual monsoon season, means that cannabis grows wild without any problems.

Over the centuries, Nepal has made a name for itself in cannabis culture for several reasons, such as its spectacular sativas, its incomparable handmade hashish or charas, and the natural way in which consumption was handled by the authorities (as well as the arrival of western tourists attracted by precisely these reasons) during the 60s and early 70s. Today we are going to take a closer look at this wonderful and beautiful country to learn more about its history in relation to cannabis.

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Any fans of American cannabis genetics will already know of the Jungle Boys, a Los Angeles-based collective of growers who aim to produce high-quality, clean, and potent cannabis. They are known in particular for discovering and breeding amazing White Fire OG phenotypes, but also for the famous Mimosa and many other cannabis strains.

These days, they are an essential part of the North American cannabis scene, offering high-quality cannabis buds and extractions in several dispensaries in the United States, in addition to producing a whole range of derivative products, as well as a catalogue of seeds of their best-known varieties.

Today we are going to discover the history of the Jungle Boys, the origin of their adventures, from the first lamps in the garage to the installation of grows with several thousand lights, the opening of dispensaries, the production of seeds and merchandising, the lawsuits... and of course we will also tell you all about the notoriety that the Jungle Boys enjoy today.

Early steps of Ivan from the Jungle Boys

Today, the Jungle Boys are very likely one of the most popular breeder collectives in the US However, they have a turbulent history full of tribulations, so today we invite you to discover their history and, in particular, the journey of Ivan, the enthusiast behind this popular collective. A story full of twists and turns, from discreet grows in a garage at the beginning to installations with hundreds of lamps, a dispensary, corruption problems, legal battles with the city of Los Angeles... and finally the well-deserved success.

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Purple Punch, from the best Californian dispensaries to the world

From time to time, we cannabis lovers start wondering about the origins of certain strains. On many occasions, this curiosity about the origin of certain genetics comes because they have reached a high level of popularity among users, while other times it's because these strains are sweeping the board at cannabis cups or because we can suddenly find them in the best dispensaries or cannabis clubs of our cities.

Another reason for our curiosity could be that this strain has been newly added to the catalogue of our favourite seed bank. Well, this time we are going to dedicate an article to telling you more about the well-known Purple Punch, in particular about one of the most popular clones or cuts that have come from it, the "Alpha Cut".

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This week began with the sad news that GG4 co-creator Joesy Whales aka Don Peabody, had died. He passed away in Las Vegas on May 6th at the age of 69 years old, doing what he loved most, and is survived by his wife, Angela, and their two children. We'd like to take this opportunity to pay our respects and pass on our deepest condolences to his family and at the same time, tell you a little about his enormous impact on cannabis culture.

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Zamal, cannabis from Reunion Island

Cannabis or marijuana is a plant that currently can be found in all corners of the world. There is clear evidence that the cannabis plant originated in the Eastern/Central Asian regions. Then, it spread to the Middle East, and afterwards, to both the African and American continents.

Over the centuries, through traveling and commercial activities, humanity established cannabis cultivation in areas where it didn’t grow naturally. A perfect example of this expansion is Zamal, the strain that reached Reunion Island and acclimatized to the point of growing spontaneously as a pure landrace for over two centuries.

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Mr. Nice Seedbank, a project by Shantibaba, Nevil and Howard Marks

Almost 20 years have passed since Mr. Nice Seedbank was founded in 1998 by Scott Blakey, Nevil Shoenmakers and Howard Marks. Scott and Nevil, former partners of Arjan Roskam in the Green House Seed Company, decided to share their strains by creating a new seed company that quickly earned its place in the market and which got the name of the alias of the third partner, Howard Marks. At the time when feminized seeds were entering the market and demand was increasing every day (in countries like Spain and thanks to grow shops people were starting to grow their own pot), Shantibaba (Scott) and Nevil developed some of the most popular genetics of that time, like Black Widow (their own version of the White Widow), Neville's Haze, La Niña or the renowned Critical Mass.

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What's the story of Haze?

Haze is, probably, the most grown and renowned 100% sativa hybrid throughout the world. Its origins date back to the early 1970's in the region of Santa Cruz, California (USA).During this time, two brothers known as the "Haze Brothers" (R. Haze and J. Haze) cultivated and crossed different cannabis lines using seeds of the best imported sativa strains, most times offered by their friend and neighbor Sam "The Skunkman".It all began with a hybrid between a landrace sativa from Mexico and another landrace from Colombia. One year later, the best females selected from this hybrid were crossed with a landrace strain from southern India. Finally, the female offspring of this new hybrid was crossed again with a landrace male from Thailand.

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Origins of Diesel cannabis strains

In recent years, Diesel strains have become, by their own merits, one of the most popular cannabis genetics, seeked by growers and users both for its intense and special taste and for its strong effect, mainly caused by THC contents which can exceed 20% in most specimens. As it often happens in the world of cannabis, the exact origin of this genetics is uncertain, although one of the most commonly accepted theories tells us that it'd be directly related to the Chemdog and, later, also to the OG Kush marijuana.

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The Skunk gene pool

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The history of Northern Lights

The Northern Lights cannabis strain is, probably, one of the most renowned and appreciated Indicas around the world. Winner of countless awards and born as pure Afghani for the first years, it seems like some Thai Sativa genetics were added to its genepool at some time, what probably accounts for the fruity taste and intense cerebral high for which this variety is known. In this way, and despite it is a mostly Indica strain, Sativa phenotypes are found from time to time, rare individuals with spectacular features.

According to most sources, it is believed that it was created on the 70's by a breeder known as "The Indian" on an island near Seattle, WA, although others claim that the strain originated in California before The Indian started growing it. The story goes that there were 11 Northern Lights plants (labeled #1-#11), being #5 and #1 the best ones, all of them truly Afghani plants with strong Indica features: resinous, compact, dark green and very stable.

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About the Blueberry cannabis strain

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Dutch Passion Think Different auto grow review

Dutch Passion have seen their automatic ‘Think Different’ variety become one of their best sellers, more popular even than some of their established photoperiod varieties which have been on sale for years.  It has been surprising to see how quickly the best automatics have become so popular so we followed a Think Different grow review by European grower ‘Tang’ to find out more.

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Orange Bud is still at the top of Dutch Passions best seller list 25 years after she was introduced, you will still find her in the coffee shops of Amsterdam and she remains a favourite Orange Skunk selection.  How does a variety remain iconic for so long?  Alchimia took a trip to Amsterdam and met the Dutch Passion team to ask them for some inside information.

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