We finally know where “Nigerian” weed comes from 🥳
Also, Wilde tries "Canadian loud" in Canada
Hi, fellow green-lover,
First of all, I want to give a shout-out to L, who left a detailed comment (which we’ll share below) on the question from our last newsletter — where does the weed in Nigeria come from? I read it as I tried a new strain called “the God bud.” The strain made me want to dance. I also wanted to be by myself and reflect on my thoughts. It’s a bit heavy, so I coughed a couple of times, but all in all, it’s a great strain. (Thank you, Capt.)
I want to know what your favourite strain is. Share with me and we’ll feature you in our next letter.
— May
This is a pretty impressive answer to “Where does Nigerian weed come from?” by L. We enjoyed reading it so we’re sharing it with you too.
Most “Nigerian strains” are what are known as landrace strains. This means they are somewhat indigenous to Nigeria. Landrace strains have been left to grow and acclimatize to the terroir of the area they’re growing in, [and] they’ve had little to no interference from humans…disturbing the adaptation process that makes them true landraces. These strains are Sativa by morphology, meaning they have thin long leaf blades, as they have ample sunlight over here and didn’t need to grow broad leaves to absorb more sunlight like their Indica counterparts. However, these seeds were brought from around the world so it’s near impossible to say exactly which strains made it here and became landraces over time.
Side note - [Nigeria] used to smuggle weed to the Netherlands early when cannabis started growing in popularity, it was of course not great quality either here or in Amsterdam. It was packed with seeds as we still have now in the local market. Amsterdam went ahead to become a juggernaut in the cannabis market. The cause of the seeding is a mixture of unstable genetics [due to] improper breeding techniques or male and female plants being left to grow together in the same space, allowing pollination to happen, hence underdeveloped, badly seeded buds with low to no cannabinoid and terpene content.
One of the popular still-existing landraces is [Durban Poison], a true Sativa from South Africa. They were able to preserve these genetics despite it being shipped across the world and cross-bred with many other strains to create exciting hybrids. Durban Poison is still one of the most popular landrace strains today. Due to the amount of cross-breeding that has been done, Sativa and Indica have become inaccurate ways to describe cannabis as they merely describe the physical attributes of a plant. A more accurate way to know what you’re consuming and how best to describe why you like it is the terpene profile of the strain.
Thanks for this answer, L!
– Wilde
Kpoli’s corner
If you follow us on Twitter, you’d see that we post smoking reminders at 4.20. Some days ago as I was typing the tweet, it occurred to me that I didn’t know the origin of 4.20. I did some research and here’s what I found:
In 1971, one of their brothers-in-law, Gary Newman, gave five students — Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Gravich — a treasure map to find a cannabis crop on some plot of land. Newman and his friends had planted the weed for personal use but soon they were worried that the police would catch up to them, so they hid it and made a map for anyone interested in finding it.
The five boys took the hunt seriously. They called themselves The Waldos, and every day after classes, they’d signal each other using the code, “4.20, Louis” to get together for the search. They never found the stash, but 4.20 stuck like white on rice.
You can read more about it here.
— May
News at 4.20
‘Cannabis - Health or Wealth’: An NDLEA Twitter Space
I took the liberty of joining the space to hear what they had to say. I’d say I was a bit impressed with the level of intelligence displayed by the speakers. The panel included the Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, Dr Kemi Olunloyo, Dr Lola Ohonba from WCIhealth, an alternative health and wellness hub that focuses on marijuana and psychedelics, Omoyele Sowore, a renowned activist amongst others. It was an insightful conversation even though the first part of it focused on pointing out the dangers of marijuana.
Dr Kemi talked about her patients in the US who used synthetic marijuana to get better as prescribed by doctors. She also pointed out that for the decriminalization of cannabis to happen in Nigeria, research studies have to be conducted and those need funding. Does our government have any intention of funding such projects? Do we even have the money to? She also implied that most people want it legalized for recreational purposes.
The 4th speaker, Nejeeb Bello Oyarese raised an important point to counter Femi when he said that we shouldn’t hold back on legalising the drug because we are worried about criminals consuming and abusing it — that would happen either way.
You can listen to the whole thing here. I want to know what you think.
Personally, I’m glad this conversation happened. It was more knowledgeable than I expected. It might not mean anything right now, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s like a drop of water in an ocean.
— May
Relatable content
I don’t know about you but you gon watch me smoke on my close friends story
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Product Spotlight
Sup sup guys! I wasn’t in the last newsletter because I had to hop across continents. Hint: I’m in a country that allows you to possess up to 30 pounds of cannabis at a time. Needless to say, one of my first stops was a cannabis store. The dispensary, called Delta 9 had a wide selection of sweet buds which we could choose from the catalogue. The “menu” displayed the types of cannabis (Sativa, Indica or hybrid), the brand, the THC percentages, quantity and their costs.
The staff were very knowledgeable when I asked for recommendations. I bought the Lemon Royale, a sativa strain and Romulan, an indica. The buds were quite nice, although a bit heavy on the senses.
Expect a deeper dive into the strains I’ve tried in other episodes.
– Wilde
Storytime
The week before I moved, I was thinking about the aroma of weed. It has a distinct flavour that you either like or don’t. Me, I liked to smoke up in my room. Apart from it being my safe space, I like giving my room that dank flavour. It mixes nicely with my diffuser scent and my personal musk-perfume combo. When I go out after a long day of errands or a long weekend of doing Lagos, I like to come back to that distinct smell that is solely mine, unrepeatable anywhere else in the world. And on those days, I'm grateful for life’s little perks, like the green bud.
- Wilde.
Before we go, here’s our question for the week: What’s your favourite strain in recnt times and why?
P.S: We know this letter came in super late. The truth is that Wilde and I were going through it last week but we are better now and already working on our next letter. Forgive us, okay?
Don’t forget to share this letter with someone who enjoys weed as much as you do. Keep sending us pictures of your best joints. We always want to see what you’re smoking 💨
Until our next letter,
Wilde & May 💫.