Clarke RC: Marijuana Botany USA 1982 - 198pp

Disclaimer: "The material in this book is presented as information which should be available to the public. The publisher does not advocate breaking the law. However, we urge readers to support NORML in its efforts to secure the passage of fair marijuana legislation."

The book contains forewords from Richard Evans Schultes and Mel Frank. The preface contains a brief history of cannabis and an account of potential agricultural uses.

Chapter 1 is an account of the life cycle of cannabis. It is written in botanical language using Latin terms which (although explained) would tend to confuse the general reader. There are diagrams of all the major stages in the life cycle.

Chapter 2 - sexual and asexual propagation - discusses the deliberate cultivation of cannabis for seed, including careful recording of the types of pollen and female plants used. There is a lengthy section about taking cuttings, including rooting media, soil selection, and different methods (e.g. air layering) of producing cuttings and clones. There is a brief discussion of grafting, and information on pruning, and physically training the plant to grow in particular ways.

Chapter 3 is an 70 page manual on the genetics and breeding of cannabis for specific traits (height, colour, flowering time etc.), including various dominant/recessive characteristics, and other genetic information. This is unlikely to be of interest to the casual grower, more so to the professional botanist.

Chapter 4 discusses maturation and harvesting, the effect of photoperiod on flowering in temperate and tropical latitudes (with a diagram often reproduced elsewhere), as well as biochemical information on cannabinoid biosynthesis, timing of the harvest, and factors influencing THC production. There is a section on harvesting, drying and curing.

There are appendices on taxonomy and nomenclature (classification of cannabis), ecological factors, sex determination, glandular and non-glandular trichomes, cannabinoid biosynthesis, growth and flowering. There is a glossary, bibliography, and index. Two pages of advertisements for other publications.

Comment: I would not describe this book as a growers guide as such, although the information may be used by growers to produce or improve their crop. It is more of a botanical reference work, well-researched and technical in language, academic rigour and subject material. It does not amount to a step-by step guide to growing cannabis, containing no instructions on setting up a growroom or on cultivation techniques.