i read somewhere greece was the worlds largest hash producer 100 years ago, so i'm wondering how much knowledge and old storys about that is left ? pls tell some storys
the myth is that after the prohibition the screening technique and some genetics went overseas to libanon and from there to morocco....
Lot's of stories,lot's of myths and lot's of urban legends for the cannbis cultivation ,here.
I can tell you one thing though :
Kalamatan Red Bud .
A local -and very-very-very rare to find on the "market" -sativa landrace with blood-red pistils .
Probably that strain alone was the reason for the prohibition of cannabis here in Greece.
Check what this (not a greek ) guy wrote on a forum about it :
"Kalamata is located in central/southern greece and its worldwide known for the production of the finest olives an olive oil , soil and climate allow for perfect maturation . Cannabis from that area is considered to be of the finest and selected local stuff is also exported , some even make it to Holland but its sold under diff names most of the time as all export and any drug trade/offense is highly illegal etc in greece and laws are harsh etc so everyone stays low ..
Thats why not many people dont really know these great genetics , all locals do though even if they do not smoke.I remember Breeder Steve was interested in moving his breeding facilities down there for the excellent weather and sunshine but due to harsh laws he said he finally chose swiss at the time.
Anyway the kalamata strain is grown for the amazing trippy up high it has , its some of the most intense rushy psychedelic highs though the high is not the most long lasting , usually lasts like 1.5-2.5 hrs, feels longer though , time perception is distorted along with sound and vision.Its a real mood changin herb and always gives those uncontrollable laughing attacks ( which I have to say is something I find to bit true with the nevs girl I have atm). Personally I find that these plants hold the fine qualities of the best landrace sativas and they are acclimatized for hundrends of years and finish quite fast.
I was always interested to try to find what the origins of these landrace sativas are , so I had posted a thread over ic (
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=60136) asking for people to help identify the origins , by sharing their input and comments regarding the characteristics and the similarities they see with other strains like Thais etc.Most greek strains have a pine/lemon but and other aromas in the mix , can be meaty and there are also some roasted coffee bean smell undertones as well. But its overall pine-cone and fruity-citrus like.Flowers are long but compact, like with some african sativa strains , and the flowering times and structure also resembles some of these fast sativas . Me and others can also detect mainly Thai and maybe SAmericans , like Brazilians or Colombians. A grower over ic said judging from the looks , he believes these are Thai genetics that where acclimatized in the area of Ethiopia , many speculations and there can be multiple truths as the Kalamata has been in an area that has been an active exchange trading center/port for thousands of years and its only natural that many different genetics have made it there.
By the description I had given Shanti about the plants , seeds (big , light , no stripes/spots whatsoever) , flowers and smoke & effect description he mentioned that its a Thai I m describing but not all.These plants finish Sept/Oct at 37o and they are grown in dry , very hot areas that during July can have temps that go even up to 40-45c during July/August.There are both plants that give green (light lime green) flowers and there are some that give flowers with a deep red hue when the flowers are done.Similar high , greens are bit more up in the high usually tho the reds can be more strong and long lasting .funnily there was a report over CW about Kalamata . dont have the post but goes like this ,.
.so there was this guy from Oz who used to buy lots of imported sativas during 70s and 80s and he used to go to an open market to buy where always tons of fresh stuff arrived . He said there was some of the finest cannabis sold there , from S Americans, Africans to Nepalese temple balls and Thai sticks of the highest quality , etc .. etc..
So he sees a bag labeled Kalamata Red and he went to ask the guy as it was priced twice as the rest , and he was told to try some and see for himself .. Long story short he reported it to be some of the best smokes , up to par with the finest cannabis of the time and to be honest I was surprised to read such a report as I didn't really believed these genetics were sold abroad back then and would have made it so far , as the production is bit limited from what I know . I didn't know that they were world famous back then and I sure didn't expect to read about Kalamata on a forum , as literally there no serious info on greek strains online and most greeks that post online grow only hybrids.. And those(old/aged farmers) that cultivate the landraces don't usually have internet at home lol Anyway one thing is certain there are definitely some hidden gems to be found so I am on a long Quest"
http://www.mrnice.nl/forum/5-strain-base/1392-kalamata.html
That is a well guarded landstrain here in Greece.
I know a case that they shot dead somebody who tried to smuggle four ( 4 ! ) seeds of that strain
out of the territory that is cultivated for at least 200 years .
I was lucky couple of times and actually tried that herb .
The myth is real ,yeap!
Took about one week afterwards, for my dog to stop talking back to me ...
Cheers.
Questa è pura ignoranza, non sanno di cosa parlano cazzo, perchè difficilmente uno si prende un grammo alla volta di cannabis, cè un sacco di gente che minimo si prende 25g alla volta, mentre con la coca funziona al contrario..
so from 2 little plants you could get like 2 kilograms of cannabis LOOL
)... Congrats to the greek people ! 
