Over the span of all my years of smoking Marijuana, I always found ways to get my camera closer to my subject. I did it the "on a budget" way and at the time I thought I was awesome (I wasn't). Either way, I still have the files saved and am lucky enough to be able to see strains that I used to smoke way back when. Mind you, the pictures are crappy and most are not in sharp focus. But having a small window to look into the strains of the past is such a wonderful thing to have. My only regret these days is not writing my thoughts down about each strain as I smoked them. The only ones I could describe in great detail are the ones I rendered my "top favorites". Man, when I think back to the first Afghani's and Trainwreck's I used to smoke on, it makes my mouth water. I have yet to find an Afghani that matches the quality, taste, and smell of those from back then. Believe me, I am still on the hunt for them lol. Now when I talk about these strains from the past, keep in mind that I acquired them on the streets and not at a medical collective (I was young). My dealer at the time informed me that most of the buds he sold me were grown hydroponically and came from the Humboldt area. I dearly envied these growers. My envy slowly evolved into a young mans dream to grow with the best of them. I had always wanted (still kind of do) to move to Humboldt and plant massive fields of Marijuana. I could picture myself in a rocking chair, in the middle of two huge Marijuana trees, rolling the blunt of the best weed! Someday my friends, someday.. Since becoming a medical Marijuana patient, I have been trying to hunt down one particular strain that I loved so much back then. TRAINWRECK! I have been to a handful of dispensaries and came across some pretty close renditions of the strain. I have came across the smell I remember so well, although not as strong. The trainwreck I remember had a smell so strong it would make your head ache if you kept your nose in the bag too long. No joke!I find comfort in the thought that I will find her someday. And when I do, I am going to roll the fattest blunt and smoke myself into the memories of the past. I have been toying with the idea of documenting and reviewing strains for all these years. I have always had a passion for writing and photography (and smoking). What I came to notice is that good reviews are hard to find these days. Most are bland and only tell you what you already know. Its like when you go to a collective and ask the bud-tender "How is the Fire OG today?" and he answers with "It's fire!". It leaves you wanting more every time. At the end of the day, its up to the person buying (donating) to make the best picks for his particular flavor. But what about those who don't posses the knowledge to appropriately pick a strain for whatever ails them? This is where reviews and a bud-tender's knowledge come into play. I've lost count of the times when a patient next to me asks for a recommendation about what particular strain to pick for a certain symptom and gets answered with wrong information. Is that his fault? Partially. The bud-tender is most at fault for not having more knowledge on the subject and being able to better advise him on his strain choice. Not everybody is an experienced smoker. Some are new to medical Marijuana and need guidance to fully benefit from it. We need to spread knowledge about our wonderful medicine! I always run across people that speak of Marijuana as a poison. I wonder to myself, "How can they be so ignorant?".I've seen highly educated people compare Marijuana to drugs like crack and cocaine and always ask myself, "How can someone so smart, be so stupid?". It's ignorance... There's none so blind as those who will not see. I am an activist, I fight for what I believe. Those who know me, know that I am always willing to drop knowledge on any particular subject. Especially Marijuana! And there's nothing I hate more than an ignorant fuck who's not willing to listen for the sake of argument. We need to keep ourselves educated. But more importantly, we need to keep others educated! Knowledge is power folks.
Pictures attached: Afghani from back in the old days shot with a 2 megapixel kodak and The Ridge OG from 2011 shot with a Nikon d5000
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