Green Common Sense in Soft Secrets!
Interview with M. B. S., Romanian hemp activist.
Soft Secrets: How’s it growing? Please introduce yourself to our Readers.
M.B.S. : My name is M. B.S. I am 31 years old and I am coming from a beautiful forgotten piece of heaven, called Romania.
I have a Master’s Degree at Polytechnic University of Timisoara and 5 years of working background, all of this accompanied by a burning passion for cannabis from which I gave birth to my small seed company called Green Common Sense and a cannabis seeds website. (www.greencommonsense.ro).
How’s life in general, and for a grower and a smoker in particular, in Romania?
Smokers and growers don’t have an easy life in Romania. When I started the university was worse than present times, you could stayed a whole night at the police station for a Joint. I know people that ended up in jail only for having two testimonies that stated that they sold cannabis, without physical proofs.(Nowadays you can’t go to jail only for testimonies).
Decriminalization was proposed and nowadays if you are caught smoking you are going to pay a fine, more or less, depending on the city tolerance as well.
You live in Amsterdam now, why did you move?
Romania is where I was born, were I had my first cup of water, but after living, working for more than 5 years there, I’ve realized that my chances are limited. It’s hard to afford a decent life even if you have a well paid job; rent, food, utilities, everything is overrated, especially when you look at your paycheck.
Besides that a bad governance is reflected in different aspects of society, starting from bad administration of funds, corruption, a poor health system with low wages and inadequate conditions, the promotion of non- values and the ability to offer start-ups to some selected individuals that give social standards and remunerations that they not merit and the list can go on and on.
My girlfriend, after getting her degree at the West University from Timisoara, had a development opportunity in The Netherlands and we moved together in search of a better life, in order to build a future together and for an open minded environment.
We’ve moved to Amsterdam for more chances related to our professions, economic balance and the possibility to start putting things in the right direction considering the cannabis movement in Romania and not only.
How do you like it in the Free City?
It’s a big city with a lot of opportunities but also crowded and noisy sometimes, but the feeling of lighting up a joint freely and being able to do that without any unpleasant situations is wonderful.
Any plans to go back? Travel? Stay in Amsterdam?
I will go back someday, but for now I am building up my professional status in Amsterdam and plan to stay for some time.
How old have you been when you smoked your first joint?
Everything started when I was in 10th grade of High school, in 1998 to be more specific.
I was asked by a neighbor of mine around the age of 40 at that time to help him with a software related problem at his computer considering the fact that I was studying Computer Sciences in High school.
I resolved the problem and by the time I was doing that I felt a new fragrance, the one that lightens up your senses immediately.
I’ve asked what it was I’ve had my answer and then I’ve asked if I can smoke and it happened.
Did you like the experience? Did you know from the start you’re gonna get involved in the hemp scene?
I loved the experience, though was my first experience and many people say they can barely feel something.
If the weed is good, you will feel it. I’ve smoked Afghan my first time, was from a friend of the neighbor from Serbia.
It warmed me up from toes to the back of my head and then for an hour I was cemented on my neighbor’s couch, enjoying ‘the Bliss’. After that the munchies kicked in and I devastated the fridge home and I was also caught by my mother with everything from it on the table. .
I did not know that I will get involved in the hemp scene, but I knew from the very first moment that will be a part of my life.
How long have you been involved in the hemp scene?
Smoked my first joint in 1998, started to grow from 1999 and opened a small seed company and a website since march this year. I never felt that I was doing something wrong and I would never feel that.
I believe that every citizen of the planet has the right to grow a plant and use it like a medicine, spiritual purposes and also recreational as long as this will not harm anybody, not even the self.
I’ve grown from 1999 for personal purposes, only with organic fertilizers and mostly outdoors.
The ‘hands on experience’ was completed by reading materials from different specialty web sites and books.
What are your reasons to be a cannabis user? Medical, religious, recreational?
I’m a medical cannabis user (due to my medical history: Asthmatic Bronchitis, Migraines) and I use it with success to beat migraines and to be able to breathe better, having dilating effects on airways.
I am a recreational user as well and I also think Cannabis will never stop to amaze you and to let you perceive, achieve spiritual positive states of being and be able to access and vibrate with the universal consciousness.
What are your views on legalization?
I agree that cannabis is something that can’t be freely sold on the market without any regulations.
I believe that regulating the growing of cannabis, possession and use for personal purposes will cut down the wings of black market and will limit the access to mature people only in an association, club, coffee shop.
Besides the regulation regarding personal purposes, the regulation of medical use is mandatory and I believe this in order to have a healthy system of production, logistics and medical standards of cannabis assuring quality of the final product and an easy access for people in need.
Regulating cannabis will have a positive outcome for the people with medical needs , will be profit generating for the state budget, cuts down the profits of organized crime organizations and their power, only by assuring a better quality and definitely a better price and access to it.
By regulation of cannabis the state has a control over the use of it and cuts the access of immature citizens to it from the black market.
What are your predictions for the future of cannabis in Romania and world-wide?
I believe in good people together, so the regulation is on its way in the whole civilized world.
Will Amsterdam stay the capital of the marijuana movement?
Definitely Amsterdam will stay the capital of the marijuana movement, has a history related to it starting from the ‘ 70 s and maybe further more back in history, since Dutch colonized South Africa.
At least three main ingredients that can be found in composition of a lot of winning strains today have been developed or stabilized in The Netherlands.
The Netherlands made really important steps towards a better world related to cannabis movement and not only.
Have you ever had any legal problems as a result of your work?
I’ve never had legal problems as a result of my work with cannabis.
I’ve always grew in small quantities for personal use and organic only.
My small seed company is based in The Netherlands but the actual work of selection and ‘breeding’ is made in Spain, where the law allows it.
Are Romanian laws strict when it comes to drugs?
Decriminalization was proposed, but in present time is illegal to be in possession of cannabis, smoking it, growing it and anything related to its use, but most of the time is unenforced; you pay a fine if you are caught smoking.
Cannabis seeds and the commerce of seeds is legal.
What is your advice for Western visitors and tourists not to get into trouble while staying in Romania?
People are smoking weed in Romania but it’s not the type of European country where you can find cannabis at the dealer from the corner of the street.
Though in the capital of Romania you can find street dealers but I would not advise to buy from them due to lack of quality, or even worse, fake grass or hash or if you are lucky only a smaller quantity that you have paid for.
The best thing is to have a Romanian smoking friend and he will help you; otherwise you have to rely on the street dealer and your eye to spot them.
Is cannabis popular in Romania? What are the prices for weed, hash?
When I’ve started the University in 2000 was not that popular, I mean people were smoking it but in small circles and the prices were varying at that time from 5 to 7 EUR / gram, mostly outdoor weed.
I’m pretty curious about some statistics related to people that are smoking cannabis vs non smoking ones and also the ones that have tried.
Nowadays it’s more popular and more and more people from different social categories are smoking cannabis or at least tried it. The prices nowadays increased to up to 12, 13 EUR/ gram due to the fact that a lot of weed imported or grown indoors.
Tell us some interesting or funny story from the Romanian drug culture.
The oldest traces of using cannabis not only for fiber lead to Romania and are dating from 5.0000 years ago.
“The archeological record documents that stone-age man was not only familiar with cannabis’ fibers, but also with the effects of burning the plant as well. Oxford archeologist Andrew Sherrat, points to the use of cannabis incenses at a grave-site of a group known as the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the Kurgans, who occupied what is know Romania 5,000 years ago. The discovery of a smoking-cup which contained remnants of charred hemp seeds at the site documents that 3,000 years before Christ humanity had already been using cannabis for religious purposes for millennia.” Chris Bennet – Cannabis in the ancient world.
Another important aspect of Romania related to Hemp history, is that before 1990 was the biggest producer of hemp in Europe and 2nd worldwide being overgrown by China only.
At that time Romania had hemp on 40.000 acres and nowadays maybe on 2.500 acres.
I have to mention Dracula because of the western shaped story of our beloved Vlad Tepes knowned as Vlad Draculea or Vlad Dracul to let other know the true story behind the name.
The name Dracul camed from his father which was part of the Dragon Order, a military religious society established by Sigismund of Luxemburg from 1387 and can be compared to the society of Teutonic Knights.
Blood, gore and an unseen honesty is present in our history and related to Vlad Tepes ( Dracula), the son of Vlad Dracul only because of his methods of punishment.He use to let the people who disobeyed the law to be hanged in a spear, stucked through them until they die.
Not an easy death but maybe we need a Vlad Tepes in Romania these days to show also the positive aspects of my country and the kindness and honesty of real Romanians.
Romania is a beautiful country with undefined tourism potential a lot of history related to one of the oldest developed populations from Europe and the birth place for Roman empire.
It’s believed that also one of the oldest writings in the world was found in Romania but unfortunately not prooved yet due to the complex analisation of writings(age related).
The writing dates from 5500 BC according to some historians and the next oldest are from 3200 – 3500 BC, egiptian, summerian and harrapa.
The history, traditions and inimaginable landscapes and natural reservations(one of the biggest in Europe) of Romania should attract a lot of tourists.
But first things first, we need an adequate infrastructure.
Would you do it all again if you had a chance? I mean, are you happy with your life and the choices you made?
I would definitely do it again and I’m happy with my life and the choices I’ve made towards cannabis activism and not only.
Do you prefer hash or weed? Any favorite strains?
I prefer weed but I enjoy smoking a good hashish as well.
Favorite strains : Super Silver Haze, Neville’s Haze, White Rhino, La Nina, 6th Sense and I can add a few more.
Anyway it’s an adequate smoking time for each strain, depends on your schedule and things to do.
What inspires you?
A complex world that it’s not related only to material things and have the possibility to make us feel the universal positive vibe, if we allow it, and makes the complexity as simple as a feeling of belonging to a whole.
Your plans?
In the near future I will live and work in Amsterdam and comute to Spain to sustain my passion and help people in need through my activities.
A bit further plans implies a normal family life, a small sustainable house with a freshly organic vegetables and cannabis as well.
Anything to add? Plese share your motto with us, your final words of wisdom.
Cannabis is just a small part of a bigger idea called freedom!
Source: Green Common Sense
LINK – GreenCommonSense in SoftSecrets
