Below are some excerpts from the:
"MARIJUANA GROWERS HANDBOOK"

General Information
In 1969, Richard Nixon initiated Operation Intercept, a pro-
gram designed to stem the flow of Mexican marijuana into this country. The program forced Mexico to use paraquat on its marijuana fields. In similar actions, pressure was put on Thailand, Colombia, and Jamaica to curtail imports to the U.S. Domestic smokers became increasingly alarmed at the reports of lung damage after smoking paraquat-sprayed marijuana. In fact, at the time, Dr. Carlton Turner, currently President Reagan's Drug Policy Advisor, developed a kit to determine whether the marijuana a smoker had purchased was contaminated. In addition, infections were reported from smoking imported marijuana which was con- taminated by animal feces and mold. In this climate of health fears and supply shortage, Ed Rosen- thal and his colleague Mel Frank wrote Marijuana Grower's Guide, which was the most monumentally successful book of its kind ever published. Domestic cultivators took the technology found in Marijuana Grower's Guide and developed their own indoor and outdoor plots, no longer willing to rely on foreign supply. 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 gardening hobbyists. Marijuana cultivation technology has accelerated since Marijuana Grower's Guide was written. Advances in lighting technology, hydroponics and propagation left a void of serious literature on the subject.

Marijuana Growers Handbook is a completely new book which covers all phases of cultivation, including state-of-the-art techniques. Most experts agree that U.S. growers are the finest in the world. They can get a good yield from the smallest space and have developed hybrids of incredible quality. This indicates that many growers use sophisticated techniques. This book was written to help these people with their gardens, as well as helping novices who are growing for the first time. The Wall Street Journal recently estimated that there are between 20 and 30 million regular users of marijuana in this country. Other sources put the figure at 50,000,000 users of marijuana in this country. High Times calculates that 50% of the marijuana used in this country is domestic. Marijuana will not go away. Cowardly and reactionary politicians who have maintained prohibition will soon see marijuana legalized. Realistic politicians who see the damage that the marijuana laws have done to the society will change the laws so that they can tax and regulate marijuana. Only home growers will be free of the market and government regulation. We are ready for legalization, too. We have the technology for growing superior marijuana and the tools for doing it. Marijuana prohibition was initiated because of the people who smoked it. The laws continue in effect today for those same reasons. Politicians don't like people who think for themselves, are independent, and who recognize bullshit. They would prefer for each citizen to become a subject, a ward of the state, who is depen- dent on government for making his/her life decisions. Marijuana tends to let us develop different sets and set perceptions, to see the world a little differently. To change not only what we think but how we think. That's what scares the regulators.

Growth and Flowering
The cannabis plant regulates its growth and flowering stages by measuring changes in the number of hours of uninterrupted darkness to determine when to flower. The plant produces a hor- mone (phytochrome) beginning at germination. When this chemical builds up to a critical level, the plant changes its mode from vegetative growth to flowering. This chemical is destroyed in the presence of even a few moments of light. During the late spring and early summer there are many more hours of light than darkness and the hormone does not build up to a critical level. However, as the days grow shorter and there are longer periods of uninterrupted darkness, the hormone builds to a critical level. Flowering occurs at different times with different varieties as a result of the adaption of the varieties to the environment. Varieties from the 3oth latitude grow in an area with a temperate climate and fairly early fall. These plants usually trigger in July or August and are ready to harvest in September or October. Southern African varieties often flower with as little as 8 or 9 hours of darkness/15 to 16 hours of light. Other 3oth latitude varieties including most in- dicas flower when the darkness cycle lasts a minimum of 9 to 10 hours. Jamaican and some Southeast Asian varieties will trigger at 11 hours of darkness and ripen during September or October. Equatorial varieties trigger at 12 hours or more of darkness. This means that they will not start flowering before late September or early October and will not mature until late November or early December. Of course, indoors the plants' growth stage can be regulated with the flick of a switch. Nevertheless, the plants respond to the ar- tificial light cycle in the same way that they do to the natural seasonal cycles. The potency of the plant is related to its maturity rather than Chronological age. Genetically identical 3 month and 6 month-old plants which have mature flowers have the same potency. Starting from seed, a six month old plant flowers slightly faster and fills out more than a 3 month old plant.