North West Grower Profile #1 “Demosthenes”
February 14, 2011 § 1 Comment
Demosthenes, after the great Greek orator, is one of the many talented Cannabis cultivators that grace the North West. True to his namesake, when he visits Medical Marijuana forums his time is usually spent banging out angry diatribes about the nature of Washington State’s ‘Rip-Ops’-his name for the collectives and co-ops that have sprouted up all over the North West. Demosthenes rails against the medical Cannabis access points that set any donation above 10$, claiming this is nothing more than plain ‘robbery’.
Demosthenes with his prized 'Rainbow'
Which is how I met him. After posting a review for ‘Jack Herer’ (a 15$ medicine from Suzie Q’s) on THClist his comments came flying in. After round 1, I had been accused of being a paid ‘shill’-a person who writes fluff reviews for organizations or products, then later of supporting ‘thieves’-my positive review of the 15$ donation. Despite his subtle communication techniques, I sensed I had tapped into a sensitive issue. In full journalistic fervor I contacted Demosthenes-a small gamble to see if this man could really produce the top shelf medicine he claimed, and a chance to make a well-rounded contribution to the debate.
At times, an aggravated presence online, patients may find a surprisingly altruistic provider on the other side of the computer. Demosthenes alone provides consistent quality medicine for 7 cancer patients and, when he can spare some, people in need whom he knows personally. Albeit, a little bristly and narrow at times, Demosthenes has clear intentions and his intense persona makes for a perfectionist gardener. Currently the only time a patient will find Demosthene’s work in co-ops is in edibles by Hash Candy King.
Demosthenes is currently most occupied with his standby, ‘Rainbow’. Dried, Rainbow pays homage to its title with a menagerie of greens, oranges, yellows, and of course, purples. When smelling you can expect a bouquet of grape, and a surprisingly pleasant astringent odor akin to fresh paint. The high is relaxing with a mellow body high and an ‘up’ state of mind-but still ready to zone out. Demosthenes is very familiar with Rainbow, his colleagues in Northern California created it. Grower’s Statement: “Originally Rainbow was God’s gift (or ‘The Purps‘) crossed into Purple Elephant and stabilized, then re-bred into a purple strain called Demeter, then stabilized and crossed back into God’s Gift. It is a very strong disease resistant, pest resistant strain that carries a productive high from some of the top genetics from Cutting Edge Solutions in Santa Rosa, California. I brought it to Washington State and have been successfully growing it here for 4 years now.” (full review coming soon)”
I was also given a bud of Dutch commercial strain k2 from an early plant that had just entered the window for ripeness. This ‘white’ strain bears its family name in very light greens that almost appeared mottled. k2 features an excellent diverse smell with bold notes of citrus and pine that waver between acrid and a muskier characteristic-perhaps coffee or tobacco. k2 also features excellent bud formation, dense and supple-leaving my sample bud weighing in at 1.2 grams. ( full review coming soon)
For you growheads, enjoy a casual tour of Demosthene’s garden, courtesy of Jameson from NW Greenthumb:
Patients who don’t have (or want) access to a collective depend on people like Demosthenes for reliable medicine, medicine that he has consistently asked a 10$ donation for- he claims market value of higher. About the Rainbow he says,”I only agreed to sell the purple for $8 after all these years to make a point. If the dispensaries ever got a hold of it…they would charge $15″ . I may not agree with his idea that medicine above 10$ is cut-and-dry robbery, or for that matter with his communication skills, but I will align myself with his demand for co-op transparency, and passion for patients.
-Seattle Cannabis Journal
[...] we have Demosthene’s representations of Diesel, Kush, and [...]