INTRODUCTION

by Angela Bacca

“After legalization, elementary botany classes could use this guide as a casebook for learning about a common plant.”

—Raymond A. Sokolov, New York Times book review of Marijuana Grower’s Guide, by Mel Frank and Ed Rosenthal, April 16, 1978

The earliest iterations of this book were a call to action: “Overgrow the Government.”

In 1971, President Richard Nixon formally declared the War on Drugs, and in 1973 he created the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), one of several agencies that would receive ever-increasing federal funding for the purpose of eradicating illegal drugs and the illegal drug trade. Of the many weapons used in the war against marijuana production and use, the US government sprayed both domestic and Mexican-grown crops with Paraquat, a deadly pesticide.

In 1978, the Washington Post summed up the policy in a column titled “Marijuana Outrage.” “The irony is simply this: the government that failed over many decades to convince the public that marijuana was dangerous finally has helped make it dangerous.”

When Marijuana Grower’s Guide by Ed Rosenthal and Mel Frank was published in 1974, it was the first-of-its-kind gardening guide about the cannabis plant since federal prohibition began with the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. It was more than a DIY gardening book; it was a guide to active protest.

In turn, the American grow-your-own movement flourished in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As the preface to the 1984 edition of Marijuana Grower’s Handbook by Ed Rosenthal put it, “The more the government stepped up its eradication attempts aimed at imports, the more mini-gardens and mini-farms began to develop in the U.S. In simple-to-understand language, Marijuana Grower’s Guide made experts out of hardening hobbyists.”

Generations of growers around the world would learn to grow cannabis by reading and sharing Ed’s early books, articles, and “Ask Ed” columns, which originated with the founding of High Times Magazine in 1974 to answer readers’ cannabis questions. Nearly 50 years later, new and experienced cultivators around the world are still reading his columns in their local cannabis publications and sending Ed their questions, photos, and observations from their unique home gardens.

Cannabis grower-researchers inspired by these early writings fueled the global innovation and study of indoor agriculture. Through artificial lighting, climate controls, and hydroponics, not only did indoor gardeners evade law enforcement, but they provided the controls necessary to experiment, breed, and innovate.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ed was a prominent advocate in the creation of the nation’s first medical cannabis laws, first with the passage of Proposition P in the City of San Francisco in 1991 and next as a part of a broader coalition to support the passage of California’s Proposition 215 in 1996, the first state-level medical cannabis law in the United States. Both measures were championed by the late Dennis Peron, to whom we have dedicated this edition of the Grower’s Handbook.

This early regulation-free legislation in California led to the proliferation of cannabis gardens, varieties, innovations in cultivation practices, by-products, and methods of ingestion. It also solidified California as the epicenter of the burgeoning global industry. The Marijuana Grower’s Handbook was updated in 1998 to include new technologies, as more and more growers found their way to the cannabis plant and indoor cultivation.

In the early 2000s, the first city-sanctioned dispensaries and grow operations appeared in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Ed was deputized by the City of Oakland to oversee the large-scale production of starter plants (clones) to supply state legal growers through these storefronts.

In 2002, the DEA carried out several predawn raids on San Francisco dispensaries and Ed’s Oakland home publishing office, where he was arrested and put on trial as the “kingpin” of a major illegal drug operation. The judge barred Ed’s defense from testifying that he had been deputized by the city or that the operation was in compliance with local ordinances and state law.

Using the Yippie tactic of drawing attention to injustice through spectacle, Ed attended his federal trial in a “Wizard of Weed” costume. The international media attention this garnered helped swell the crowds of protestors outside the federal courthouse.

“They had to lie in order to win, so who was actually on trial?” Ed asked. “By the time it got to The New York Times, the law was on trial.”

The jury was forced to convict Ed on the evidence presented, but many jurors publicly denounced their verdict when they learned the government had barred them from hearing the truth. The public backlash from the political prosecution and public statements from jurors largely factored into Ed’s June 2003 sentencing to one day in federal prison with credit for time served in a local jail the day of the arrest.

“This is day one in the crusade to bring down the marijuana laws. The federal government makes no distinction between medical and recreational marijuana. They’re right, all marijuana should be legal,” Ed said in a press conference after the sentencing, vowing to fight his conviction despite the lenient sentencing. The appeals would continue unsuccessfully until 2007.

I started working for Ed in the summer of 2008 at the end of the George W. Bush era, which was characterized by the sort of political prosecutions against state-legal cannabis that Ed endured. My first project was a revised edition of Marijuana Grower’s Handbook. Early on in the production of the book the newly inaugurated Obama administration signaled a sea change in federal priorities regarding cannabis. The so-called Ogden Memo stated the new administration’s look-the-other-way policy on state medical cannabis laws.

A flood of growers and aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs made their way to Oakland to attend classes at Oaksterdam University and learn from Bay Area pioneers in the business, including Ed and Dennis Peron. Oaksterdam’s founder, Richard Lee, put up over $1 million of his own money to place a legalization initiative (Proposition 19) on the California ballot in 2010. While we went to print that year truly believing cannabis would be legal within months, the narrow defeat of Proposition 19 paved the way for the successful passage two years later of the first adult-use legalization laws in Colorado and Washington state.

While the previous edition of this book ushered in the Green Rush, this edition comes at a time when marijuana, now exclusively referred to as “cannabis,” has mainstreamed. Real and meaningful research is being conducted on cannabis cultivation, genomics, medicine, processing, and use. Most people who will pick up this book can grow legally, either for personal or for medical use or as a licensed commercial grower. More and more schools offer courses on cannabis cultivation.

This book is for everyone: the home grower, those looking to get into the commercial industry, and especially for seasoned educated growers who wish to continue to learn and expand their techniques and knowledge. It’s designed to be a useful educational tool that breaks down general concepts and explains and applies them for both home and commercial gardens. While some may choose to read it cover to cover, others will use it as a staple reference in the garden, for the answers to any and all of their questions lie within these pages.

Last time we knew the contributions and reviews from a handful of credentialed scholars, academics, and researchers added to the legitimacy and respect of the book. Still, most contributed their writing under pseudonyms or (as requested) reviewed content without recognition. This time, we are particularly proud of the accomplished contributors who have made this edition the new groundbreaking standard for all cannabis grow books to come and who can finally claim their bylines.

This edition adds two coauthors: Dr. Robert Flannery of Dr. Robb Farms, and the author of this introduction, Angela Bacca.

Dr. Robert Flannery is the first PhD in the United States with technical training and expertise in commercial cannabis cultivation. He has a PhD in plant biology with an emphasis in environmental horticulture and a specific expertise in hydroponic crop optimization for cut-flower production from the University of California at Davis. Dr. Flannery has managed commercial horticultural cultivation since 1999. While working on his doctorate, he began advising cultivators throughout Northern California on modern horticulture practices.

I have been editing and writing cannabis-specific content ever since I was a student journalist at San Francisco State University in 2006. I edited and managed the 2010 edition of Grower’s Handbook while working on an MBA at Mills College and (with Ed) supporting the Proposition 19 campaign in any way I could. Since that time I have edited several books and magazines in the field and specialized in long-form journalistic coverage of the economic and political rollout of commercial cannabis markets in different states from a business, horticulture, economics, and ethics perspective.

In addition to contributions from Dr. Robb and me, what makes this edition so special are all the outside contributors and editors who have ensured that Cannabis Grower’s Handbook is the most thorough and comprehensive cannabis cultivation guide available.

Part I: The Cannabis Plant describes how cannabis produces its range of effects in humans, outlines the plant’s taxonomy and history, and breaks down cannabis varieties and basic breeding.

In the previous edition of the book, one of the nation’s leading cannabis researchers, under the pseudonym G. Lee PhD, wrote about how cannabis works with human physiology. In this edition, Dr. Gregory Gerdeman is able to formally claim his byline and update the content to reflect the advances of scientific understanding over the last decade. Dr. Gerdeman is a neuroscientist and educator who has the distinction of studying the endocannabinoid system (ECS) for nearly three decades. His graduate research included some of the world’s first discoveries that endocannabinoids act as “retrograde messengers” that regulate synaptic plasticity in the brain, findings that have become a foundation to modern understanding of the ECS and the neuroprotective actions of cannabinoids.

Corrections to common misconceptions about female cannabis flower anatomy were provided by Mel Frank, the co-author of the original Marijuana Grower’s Guide (1974).

In the review of cannabis varieties, we have included an expanded feature on autoflowering plants by Jeff Lowenfels, a “reformed lawyer” and author of Teaming with Microbes and the whole Teaming With book series. These quick-harvesting varieties have emerged as the most intriguing new cultivars in many commercial markets and home gardens, and cannabis breeders are producing more and more of them.

Our terpene section has been expanded to include new research and newly identified cannabis terpenes. This content was revised by the team at Royal Queen Seeds and Ellen Holland, a longtime cannabis journalist and editor who contributed greatly to the production of this book.

This edition also includes a chapter on basic breeding by Professor P of Dynasty Genetics and Will Ferguson. Supplemental information about genomic testing, breeding, and cannabis intellectual property was provided by Dale Hunt, JD, PhD, of Plant & Planet Law Firm and Breeder’s Best. Content about producing diploid and triploid seeds was provided by Emery Garcia of Oregon CBD.

Part II: The Limiting Factors explains the key inputs that drive the process of photosynthesis and therefore plant growth: light, carbon dioxide, water, oxygen, nutrients and fertilizers, and air temperature, humidity and qualities. Each chapter breaks down basic concepts, techniques, products, and how to apply this information to the garden.

The Light chapter was revised and expanded by Jake Holley, who at the time of first printing is earning his PhD in horticultural biology with a specialty in plant lighting at Cornell University, where he conducts research. This chapter received further technical review by Bruce Bugbee, PhD, professor at Utah State University and founder of Apogee Instruments. The Water chapter was revised and edited by Rosa Raudales, PhD, a professor at the University of Connecticut. The Nutrients & Fertilizers chapter was revised and edited by Neil Mattson, PhD, professor at Cornell University. The Air Temperature, Humidity & Qualities chapter was revised by the authors with contributions from Oaksterdam University horticulture professor Joey Ereñeta, Autumn Karcey of Cultivo, Inc., and Brandy Keen.

Part III: Setting Up the Garden covers choosing a plant growth medium and/or nutrient-delivery system as well as the basic elements of indoor and outdoor garden design for personal and commercial operations. Because there is no one right way to grow, we included a showcase of garden profiles that cover a range of styles, from fully organic regenerative outdoor gardening techniques to high-efficiency indoor gardens.

The Soil chapter was revised by Brian Malin of Vital Garden Supply, with supplemental information about regenerative farming, living soils, and permaculture provided by Jeff Lowenfels.

The Hydroponics chapter has been revised and expanded by Neil Mattson, PhD, professor at Cornell University.

Basic small- and large-scale indoor garden setups were written by Bill Faulconer, author of Design & Build a Room to Grow: Money Can Grow on Trees, with scaling considerations provided by Justin Arriola of Automated Growth Solutions. Extra considerations for indoor design optimization and electrical safety were provided by Joey Ereñeta of Oaksterdam University.

In the last part of this section we have included a showcase of alternative gardens, growing styles, and strategies from growers we admire: the late Dennis Peron, Dan Vinkovetsky (formerly Danny Danko of High Times), Daniel “Old E” and Brian “Bleezy” Eatmon of Mendo Dope and Mark Grayshock of Greenshock Farms, Remo aka @UrbanRemo, Sunshine Cereceda of Sunboldt Grown, Tyler LeBlanc of Apollo Green, Kristin Nevedal of the International Cannabis Farmers Association, Autumn Shelton and the Brand Family of Autumn Brands, Jeremy Babbitt of 918 Oklahoma Grown and Andy Unruh of Sticky Flower Farm, Trent Hancock of Creswell Oreganics, Marty and Laura Clein of Martyjuana, Wendy Kornberg of Sunnabis, and Chris Trump. These profiles were written by the authors unless otherwise noted.

Finally, for the first time we have included an overview of concepts of sustainability, for all types of gardens. This content was provided by Dale Sky Jones, chancellor of Oaksterdam University, and other Oaksterdam faculty, with supplemental content by the authors.

Part IV: The Plant Life Cycle focuses on each stage of the plant’s life cycle: propagation, vegetative growth, and flowering. These chapters were written by the authors and edited by Jay Kitchen of Uptown Growlab. Jay is the author of Uptown Growlab’s The Kitchen and the 2021 Cannabis Annual. After a career as an administrative law judge in New York City, Jay came out of the cannabis closet and relocated to the Pacific Northwest, where he hosts the popular Uptown Growlab live show on YouTube.

Finishing and flushing products and processes are covered by the authors.

Part V: Harvesting & Processing details the harvesting process, how to choose a harvesting date, and all the different ways the crop is processed after it has been cut down.

The process of ripening is covered by the authors, with original study on the evolution of the chemical profile found in the trichomes throughout the flowering process by Caleb King, Thomas Blank, PhD, and Reggie Gaudino, PhD, of Front Range Biosciences, and Kymron DeCesare and Donald P. Land, Ph.D, consultants to Front Range Biosciences.

Picking, trimming, drying, curing, and storing were written by the authors with editorial review by Clayton Stewart, an environmental technologist, post-harvest specialist, and consultant who has worked with large-scale commercial facilities in Canada. Clayton also wrote the Automation chapter and originated a study on drying and curing to expand this section.

To close out this section, the authors cover solventless extraction and concentration methods.

The appendices cover propagation methods: cloning, tissue culture, producing seeds, and regeneration, as well as a pest and disease guide designed for problem-solving in the garden.

The Pest & Disease appendix was revised by integrated pest management expert Saul Alba. The Cloning appendix was revised by Ellen Holland. The Producing Seeds appendix was written by the team at Humboldt Seeds.

The guide to tissue culture was written by Bill Graham of Microclone Tissue Culture. Bill is a founding member of the Cannabis Group of the Society of In Vitro Biology.

Finally, we have included a list of incredible garden consultants who contributed to the production of this book, a thorough glossary, and extensive bibliography and resources section.

While the laws, tools, and techniques will continue to evolve rapidly after the publication of this edition of Ed’s best-selling cultivation guide, now the Cannabis Grower’s Handbook, the fundamentals will never change. We hope that new and experienced growers who pick up this book will continue the legacy of innovation and social change that inspired the readers of the first and subsequent editions.

In the introduction to the 2010 edition Ed warned, “Using marijuana isn’t addictive but growing it is.” Over the last 50 years cannabis has become the gateway to gardening for many people in many more places. Although cannabis will not be truly legal until everyone has the right to grow their own, we hope the publication of this new edition leads to further research, understanding, and freedom of this world-changing plant.

Foreword to Marijuana Grower’s Guide, 1974

Over the past 10 years there have been revolutionary changes in the values of young people. The empty materialism of the fifties and liberal idealism of the sixties have been washed away by a pragmatic re-evaluation of lifestyle and political structure.

To a great extent this is the result of the widespread use of the psychoactive herbs and drugs which burst upon the scene in 1967. These substances seem to break down the ego and defense mechanisms and allow individuals to re-evaluate the sets and set perceptions based upon behavior patterns no longer relevant.

Marijuana, the most popular of the psychoactive herbs, has helped millions of people to a broader understanding of themselves. It is for precisely this reason that governments all over the world view it as a dangerous drug. How can they control their people if they see through the hypocrisy and self-serving purpose of the leaders’ actions?

The use of marijuana has become so widespread that the government’s repressive efforts, such as Operation Intercept, have resulted in almost total failure, and contempt for the inept efforts by the rulers of a system which hears its death-knell but does not understand the sounds.

However, the economic system which makes marijuana seem like just another commodity, rather than the sacrament that it should be, must be replaced. This book will help you make marijuana free.

FREE GRASS FREE YOURSELF FREE THE WORLD