A cannabis paradise waits at the end of harvest

You’re filthy.

You smell like vitamins and sh*t. It’s hot, too, at least 90 degrees outside, and you can feel it. The fingernails on your one hand are sticky with resin, the fingernails on the other hand are caked with dirt. Both hands are sore from sudden moments of dexterity to cut only the correct leaf.

That’s just your hands: Your knees, back, and neck are no better. As you struggle and squirm beneath a canopy of thick green foliage, the temperature dips for a moment and the coolness of the plant is shared with your skin, a brush with refreshment.

There’s sweat everywhere. There isn’t a place the sweat hasn’t soaked. It’s not all bad, though; the wind is picking up and the smells of the farm across the street waft to the backyard, those earthy smells that are so similar to white pepper and cilantro.

A car hasn’t driven past the house, or anywhere around the neighborhood for that matter, for hours. You can hear the slightest stir in the air, little sounds of a twig falling from the top of a tree, or the nearby koi kissing the top of the pond, making a tiny popping sound that for an instant is so intense it overcomes the gentle splashes of the waterfall.

All the while, a snip here, a snip there, maybe an honest-to-goodness cut of a branch every once in a while. For just a moment, you stand up and light the joint rolled just for you, as thanks for all your hard work. Then you straighten your back and stand as upright as possible while taking in a deep hit. You look around at the verdant shrubbery and know that months of work are paying off. Heck, you grew what you’re smoking right now, and it’s good.

That is the experience of tending to a marijuana garden and I love every moment of it. I have enjoyed marijuana ever since I was way too young, but have enjoyed growing it for the past five years. Gardening itself is something from which I derive a great amount of pleasure; I even inherited my mom’s green thumb. Growing plants just comes naturally, but there are just some plants that are more fun to grow.

Every summer I have my basil, lavender, oregano, thyme, rhubarb, tomatoes, onions, blueberries, clover, lemon cucumber … the list goes on; however, my favorite plant to grow is marijuana. At first I grew the plant illegally, but eventually I was able to legally grow it under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program.

When I first started smoking, I just did it because it felt good and eventually a lot of my friends were, too. Thirteen years later, it’s socially acceptable and I, for the first time ever, have found myself discussing marijuana more openly. While it used to be all about getting high, now there is more to it. I have seen the medical, practical, and recreational uses in a much more responsible and informed way and that has made my experience with marijuana a rich one.

For all the personal growth I’ve had, the volunteering I’ve done, and the campaigning that will continue, I really enjoy the process for growing more than anything else about marijuana.

In the beginning, there is a clone. There are so many little steps to cloning a plant. It requires a certain precision, a ruffed-up version of precision. When I clone a plant, it’s like starting a song over that I really like. A razor blade in my hand, carefully inspecting the mother plant for the right physical traits of a healthy clone, I really get to know her during this process.

My mind is asking so many questions and remembering so many little things. That branch is too thin. This top soil looks a little lame. That leaf is a little yellow. Did I just see a f*cking gnat? Is that mold? Should I use this plant? That’s not mold, it’s just a piece of fuzz and that gnat was just an errant coffee ground. All of that and more is racing through my mind, but it’s a natural thing. More than just flow, it’s like doing the same math problem over and over again using similar but different methods to get the same solution each time.

When the clone is selected, I use the freshly sterilized and unused razor blade slip right through the slim stem. It’s dipped in rooting hormone and set in some dirt for a few weeks. This is done to multiple mother plants and many clones are made.

And the journey toward another sweaty, well-earned reward begins.