BC Bud ('Beasters') is a generic term for several varieties of potent cannabis grown in the Canadian province of British Columbia. This is not to be confused with 'Beasters' commonly found in the Northeast, which is low grade, seedless cannabis often contaminated with mold. The term has almost become a brand name, especially in California, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, to where most of the province's cannabis is exported. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration considers BC production to be a major problem, given the porous United States-Canada border^[1], and has launched several major initiatives to cut down on its flow, including collaborative operations targeting marijuana activists such as Marc Emery.^[2]

A study released on October 4, 2006 by the University of Victoria Centre for Addictions Research of BC and Simon Fraser University Applied Research on Mental Health and Addictions indicated Cannabis use is more widespread among British Columbians than the rest of Canadians. ^[3]

However, a high tolerance for cannabis use in BC and an awareness of the role of it as an export cash crop (worth an estimated $6 billion annually^[4]) has tended to make it difficult for Canadian or American authorities to interfere effectively. This remains a significant point of contention between the US and Canada, and is one of many US-Canada border problems driving changes to both nations' policies.^[5]

The early history of cannabis production was centered in hippie communities in the Gulf Islands and Kootenay area, in climate conditions perfect for outdoor growing. It is believed that much of the cannabis currently sold for export originates from hydroponic grow-ops in the Lower Mainland, with significant amounts still added by outdoor growers throughout the province.^[6]

BC has many compassion clubs, head shops and activists challenging the current legal and social views on cannabis. Larry Campbell, a Canadian senator and Vancouver's former Mayor, has called for the decriminalization^[7], and even legalization^[8], of cannabis in British Columbia.

From a commercial point of view, the fact that many growers in BC informally cooperate to keep quality high, while competing fiercely in an illegal business, is of interest to some in the agricultural economics community, as well as students of trademarks, agricultural policy, black markets, and agorism. Like Bordeaux, France, a region synonymous worldwide with an intoxicating export, in this case Bordeaux wine, British Columbia is increasingly known for the premium quality of its marijuana.^[9]

It should also be noted that Beasters potency does not match the premium strains that BC does not export, or the ones popular in Cannabis clubs and abudant in the streets of California. Beasters are commonly referred to as the "lows of the highs" by consumers. In the Cannabible, the author explains why beasters are looked down upon by connoisseurs, one of the main reasons being its long and tedious "burn out" phase.

See also

• Illegal drug trade

References

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Beasters". Image Credit.

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