Vacation in Colorado and Washington

Wow, election week.  Maybe your candidate(s) won, maybe not.  To be perfectly honest I’m not really sure that we know whether we’ve won or not until they actually take office and start doing things.  Along with the candidates, you probably also had the opportunity to vote for other things, like whether your state constitution should include an amendment saying that a marriage should be between a man and a woman or whether IDs should be required for voters to vote (those were the two on the Minnesota ballots).

For us horticulture types there was one vote that really made us happy.  In Colorado and Washington they voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use.  OK, I should come clean – I’ve never smoked marijuana.  Been around it, sure, but I have never actually partaken.  At this point in my life I don’t think I’d bother with it regardless of whether it was legal or not.  So why am I, and other horticulturists, so excited about it?  If things work out this is a new crop to work on, and new crops are fun.  Breeding, growing techniques, maximizing productivity, etc.  Shoot, maybe there will even be new grants for this stuff to fund the work.  And imagine the fun that we extension types will have writing about it!  I can’t wait.  

6 thoughts on “Vacation in Colorado and Washington”

  1. Even more exciting for crop research is hemp which used to be a huge midwest crop early last century. I doubt any serious breeding and crop development work has been done on it in the US since then.

  2. And there’s still the fundamental problem that marijuana is illegal under Federal law. So don’t look for any major USDA grant opportunities…

  3. The party’s over here in Washington. Heck, it never got started.
    To All Extension Personnel:

    Although I-502 has passed making marijuana use and possession legal under certain circumstances in Washington; federal law still considers the growing and possession of marijuana illegal. This means that our personnel must refrain from being in possession of the plant for diagnostic purposes, and shall avoid consulting visits to grow sites and other educational efforts that directly support the cultivation and management of cannabis. The policy stated below remains in effect as long as the possession and cultivation of cannabis remains a violation of federal law. Failure to adhere to federal law could place our federal formula funds for Extension at risk, as well as exposing our personnel to federal prosecution. The policy below shall remain in effect for the future, and any change in this policy will come directly from the Dean Bernardo or Association Dean Koenig.

    The current WSU Extension policy on cannabis is as follows:

    WSU Extension personnel shall not provide diagnostic services or advice / information on the cultivation of cannabis. Until there is reconciliation of both federal and state law on the legality of this crop, we will not engage in any Extension or Outreach activity to support the cultivation or management of this crop. This applies to any cannabis grower, whether licensed for medical marijuana or not.

  4. This just in: University of Minnesota staff excited about studying marijuana growth. Class enrollment jumps 175%.
    Film at 11.

  5. @Dr. Chalker-Scott

    “Bummer”lockquote>November 10, 2012
    by
    JaniceThere has already been an amazing amount of plant breeding done on this crop. To be able to grow it exclusively indoors while maximizing quality -impressive! I’ve always wondered what these breeders could be achieving if they worked in legitimate industry on a food crop!

  6. There has already been an amazing amount of plant breeding done on this crop. To be able to grow it exclusively indoors while maximizing quality -impressive! I’ve always wondered what these breeders could be achieving if they worked in legitimate industry on a food crop!

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