FREE 18+ For adults only. Soft Secrets is published six times a year by Discover Publisher BV Netherlands
Issue 3 - 2011
News from around the world
In this issue: A WINTER IN ROSALES Jim Brown’s account of over wintering in Ceuta, the duty free Spanish Enclave that stands opposite the Rock of Gibraltar on the North coast of Morocco. Although not on the normal tourist routes, P.P.Rosales is a great place to meet the locals, both Spanish and Moroccan. Accommodation is cheap although not entirely free. The P.P. in front of Rosales stands for Prison Penitentiary.. ››
POT BEARS AND DOPEY CROCODILES: ECO SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR GARDEN
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PERSONAL SECURITY This article takes a look at some of the latest tactics and methods of detection deployed by ‘the state’ and some of the ways growers can minimise their chances of being nabbed. ››
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HYDRO OVER HAND WATERING: AEROPONICS Aeroponics may be seen by a percentage of growers as too expensive, complicated or advanced to be considered as a method for growing at home. In reality, the aeroponic systems available to the home grower are straightforward to use and cost little more than any other hydro system. ››
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PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEEDS Today, it’s not just Chanel, Prada and branded cigarettes that are being faked and pirated. The names and intellectual property of well-known quality weed strains are being increasingly ripped off too – but without the protection in law granted to legitimate businesses. Soft Secrets spoke to Simon, old school seed breeder extraordinaire and owner of Serious Seeds ››
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In late 2010, BBC News and other major media organizations reported that police raiding a marijuana farm in Canada were astonished to find black bears guarding crops. At first, officers were frightened that the animals might be dangerous but the bears did not behave aggressively. They just played around with the cop car and wandered off. Then they sat and watched the raid. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested two people and confiscated more than 2,300 marijuana plants. When officers realized the friendly beasts were used to human contact and just happy to be around, they even decided to pose for pictures within a few feet of the pot bears. “They were tame, they just sat around watching. At one point one of the bears climbed onto the hood of a police car, sat there for a bit and then jumped off,” said sergeant Fred Mansveld. “We also found a pot belly pig and a little raccoon sleeping on the bed in the house. It was friendly, it tried to climb one officer’s leg. The pig was a little frantic at
the sight of police, but the raccoon was pretty laid back about the bust and took it all in stride.” Later, the police issued a statement that “a pair of marijuana growers used a team of wild animals including black bears, raccoons and pigs to guard their illegal drugs operation near the US-Canadian border.” This strange tale became even stranger after someone stole the confiscated pot from the police locker and tried to protect it with sticks of stolen dynamite, rigged with homemade fuses. The officers also found a grenade, a 12-bore shotgun, and two rifles. The Marijuana stash was seized again. The owners of the Happy Farm have been arrested on charges of production and possession of a controlled substance. They are also facing animal cruelty charges. In Canada, feeding bears is illegal as it increases the likelihood of bears coming into towns and cities to look for food. Officials say the wild guardians of the garden may have to be put down. However, public pressure is growing to protect the bears and British Columbia’s Environment Minister Barry Penner says the government is now looking at options to save the bears.
covered on the 10th March; a young alligator named Wally and his owner were busted among the plants. The sensitive press immediately dubbed the beast ‘the watchgator’. There was actually no evidence of animal abuse; on the contrary, the animal had been “very well cared for” according to the animal welfare hostel Wally was taken to – “perhaps even a little too well” (see photo).
MEDI-WEED NEARLY OVERTAKEN VIAGRA The American marketing bureau Sea Change Strategy has estimated that sales of medical marihuana in the USA will top 1.2 billion Euros in 2011. Such sales will put the green alternative close to overtaking sales of Viagra; the erection pill is good for an annual 1.3 billion dollars in the USA.
WALLY THE WATCHGATOR The combination of drugs and animals is always good for a bit of emotion, as the media well know. With hardly any time to digest the Canadian grow-op guarded by bears story, we are already blasted with the latest case of cannabis-related animal abuse. In the annex of an illegal medi-weed shop in Riverside, California, a grow-op was dis-
If the black market is included, the cannabis industry could be bringing in anything between 13 and 25 billion Euros per year. Continues on page 3