This is my first/last/only post to this forum. Moderators, I think I’ve cleaned this info up enough so it will not violate your TOS but if you have any issues with the content of this post, please do not edit it, just delete it. I’m not pimping/hawking a commercial site or selling anything. I have no desire to be moderated but I do realize I am your guest here, so I’ll act accordingly.
My nym (anonymous name) is Charles U. Farley. I was born in the same state as Owsley Stanley, went to the same junior high and high school as Hunter S. Thompson, and I’m a Fugitive From Injustice. I sprouted my first seeds in 1970 after reading A Child’s Garden of Grass but didn’t really get plants to flowering until the next year when I bought A Connoisseurs Handbook of Marijuana.
In the mid 90’s the Usenet alt.drugs.pot.cultivation (adpc) newsgroup became an international forum for sharing info, uniting people in BC with those in the NL, with those in the UK, with those in OZ, with those in the US. For the first time in history, people from all over the world were sharing their knowledge of growing and developing cannabis via a INTERconnected NETwork. That’s not all they were sharing. Respect to Edith, Ratchet and AKA for keeping it real for newbs. Also, gratitude to ph and NPKaye who did their best. I didn’t grow like they grew (hydro/ScrOG) but I did appreciate how they presented their reasoning. Funny thing, I always learn more from those who I disagree with than from those who always agree with me.
Another invaluable resource in the late 90’s was the Web based forum of the British Columbia Growers Association (BCGA). Someone by the nym of Vic High established the site to bring together local people who were interested in growing, cultivating and developing cannabis. It didn’t stay local for long. Soon people found out about it via adpc and fantastic information, as well as seeds, were doing the cross border shuffle. This of course drew the attention of law enforcement organizations (LEO) and soon they were sniffing around trying to identify who was doing what and where they were doing it. I wonder what happened to Aeric77? Can’t find any info now on how his bust was resolved. Even though the forum was moderated, Vic did it in the most excellent way possible. Face it, people become unbelievably brave when they’re behind a keyboard and easily transform into jerks. Objectively dealing with opinionated jerks is difficult, Vic did it with grace and dignity.
<snip portion on Blunt Brothers in BC - discovery of Northern Lights>
The Seed Bank section of overgrow.com was kind of moderated by someone with the nym Gypsy Nirvana in 2000. He also sold seeds. Long story short, he would ship to the US and wasn’t in BC or the NL but the UK, so no extra scrutiny from US Customs. He also guaranteed an unopened package of Sensi Northern Lights. A transaction was safely and successfully completed. Paid $120 USD for 10 seeds. Many thanks to Gypsy Nirvana for having the… ah… fortitude… to mail completely sealed, expertly camouflaged cannabis seeds to the U.S. when almost no one else would.
I decided not to participate in overgrow, cannabisworld, etc. because of security concerns after the passage of the Patriot Act (have to bite my tongue and not say anything else on that one). I had fought the good fight long enough in adpc and besides, there was no way to do what was necessary to post or in the blinky, emoticon saturated environments of Web based fora.
That’s when I realized I had reverse engineered Northern Lights.
I want to say again that I have much, much respect for the creator of Northern Lights, NL Seattle Greg. I have read everything I can find that he has posted online and I totally understand why Northern Lights is the legend it is. A Viet Nam vet who developed it for over fifteen years before Nevil even heard of it. He worked it because he needed it for PTSD. Without even being aware of NL Seattle Greg’s existence, I have followed a similar path. Much respect to Nevil Schoenmaker for taking the work of NL Seattle Greg and further developing Northern Lights to refine and standardize it into a monumental, foundational developmental stock of cannabis. Respect to Ben Dronkers for further refining and sustaining Northern Lights and keeping the genotype intact until I could purchase it in 2000.
When I received the mail from Gypsy Nirvana in 2000, I had been cultivating cannabis indoors for almost 15 years and outdoors for almost 30. Standing there looking at the three genotypes of cannabis that came together to form Northern Lights made me wonder, how many other people had worked with just one type of cannabis for almost 20 years?
I’ve developed a completely non-commercial website (no ads, no links, no endorsements, absolutely no bull***t) that documents what I’ve done, how I’ve done it and why I’ve done it. It’s located at southeastlights.org. The readers of this forum may find some of the information contained there useful to them, most probably will not. After all, I’m an old geezer now, what do I know? I don’t even use the New Super Improved Blueberry Bloomer Bud Booster. I have not participated in any type of online forum since 9/11 and as you can probably tell, I’m not going to start back up now. However, I do occasionally visit them so I can stay up to date, so feel free to post any comments or criticisms you may have. As I’ve said, I learn more from those who disagree with me than from those who agree with me.
I just won’t respond here, as I don’t do well in moderated environments.
Even though the U.S. government has always made me feel like one, I’m not a criminal. I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve grown a plant that has never harmed or killed anyone and used it as a way to stay centered and focused in happiness, rather than being trapped in the reality of the death and despair I have witnessed. There’s nothing wrong with using cannabis after you realize you’ve come home from work with brains on your shoes from a long night in the ER.
I’m considered a criminal because I grow a plant that has never harmed or killed anyone. I live in fear of going to jail for growing my own plants because I refuse to fund organized crime. I’ve never sold cannabis to anyone yet I can be put in prison for years. Somehow, it makes sense for the U.S. government to allow alcohol and tobacco that are known, proven killers to be legal but I can go to prison for cultivating cannabis? That is utter insanity and a complete injustice.
I remain, a Fugitive From Injustice,
Charles U. Farley
