RE: The debate
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
I like to use analogies, when possible. Ed Rosenthal (I actually have correspondence with him), Jack Herer, Jorge Cervantes and others are true RockStars in the cannabis world. Elvis, McCartney, Lennon, and Hendrix....here's where the analogy starts.
Was Elvis the best singer/performer the world will ever see or ever has seen? How about Lennon? Is Jimi still the best guitarist the world has ever seen?
No....but no one can deny that not only did they make their place in history, but they also defined an entire genre of music and popularized it in a way that hadn't been seen before. While there are better singers today, and better guitar players, NO ONE can deny that these rockstars paved the way for others to follow.
That's who we're talking about when we invoke Ed Rosenthal, or Jack Herer. These men were willing to literally live in cages in order to further the cannabis cause. 'Nuff said. They are rockstars, and far be it from me to have anything negative to say about any of them! Did they grow the best cannabis the world has ever seen? Probably not....but they were willing to go to jail for it.
Hydroponics: Is it sustainable? Is it the healthiest way to cultivate? I say no on both counts.....but the simple fact of the matter is that hydroponics brought cannabis to the masses! Without hydro producing all that bud in all those basements/warehouses all over the country we WOULD NOT BE LOOKING AT LEGALIZATION TODAY.
Hydroponics has been a fantastic blessing to all of us, either directly or indirectly in that it has opened to the door to home cultivation....which is what most of us do.
I grow 40-50 or so plants at a time, sometimes less. Dutty grows several hundred percent more than that! He's placed in a cannabis cup......he pays good money to get his stuff tested and he's trying to improve all the time.
Dutty is "in the arena" in a big way. Hobby growers can criticize, but it is not they who deserve credit or recognition for pointing out ways that Dutty (or Ed Rosenthal!) is falling short! While they might make a valid point, the simple fact is that Dutty has grown more weed in the last year than many here will grow over their lifetimes.....and he's not even in the same league as Ed, Jack or Jorge.
So, I humbly offer the following unsolicited advice:
1.) always respect those who grow cannabis, no matter how they grow it.
2.) Learn from the success and failures of those who have gone before us and try to do better.
3.) with regard to learning from those who have gone before, realize that in a years WE will be the ones "who have gone before" and others will come along and improve on what we've done....
Respect those who have broken down barriers at huge cost to themselves! Take the knowledge they have provided and use it to improve.
The bottom line is that the consumer wants the best product. Dutty knows more about getting quality cannabis out to many people than almost anyone here, including me!
So.....let's all embrace every aspect of cultivation and find a fit that works for us, based on our palates, budgets, ethics and ideals.
That is my unsolicited advice!
