18.

6 Grafting

One of the most persistent myths in marijuana lore concerns grafting Cannabis to its closest relative.
Humulus, the hops plant of beer-making fame. The myth is that a hops scion (shoot or top portion of the
stem) grafted to a marijuana stock (lower stem and root) will contain the active ingredients of marijuana.
The beauty of such a graft is that it would be difficult to identify as marijuana and, possible, the plant would
not be covered under marijuana statutes. Unfortunately, the myth is false. It is possible to successfully graft
Cannabis with Humulus, but the hops portion will not contain any cannabinoids.

In 1975, the research team of Crombie and Crombie grafted hops scions on Cannabis stocks from both hemp
and marijuana (Thailand) plants 205. Cannabis scions were also grafted to hops stocks. In both cases, the
Cannabis portion of the graft continued to produce its characteristic amounts of cannabinoids when compared
to ungrafted controls, but the hops portions of the grafts contained no cannabinoids. This experiment was
well-designed and carried out. Sophisticated methods were used for detecting THC, THCV, CBD, CBC, CBN,
and CBG. Yet none of these were detected in the hops portions.

The grafting myth grew out of work by H.E. Warmke, which was carried out for the government during the
early 1940's in an attempt to develop hemp strains that would not contain the "undesirable" drug 58. The
testing procedure for the active ingredients was crude. Small animals, such as the water flea Daphnia, were
immersed in water with various concentration of acetone extracts from hemp. The strength of the drug was
estimated by the number of animals killed in a given period of time. As stated by Warmke, "The Daphnia
assay is not specific for the marijuana drug ... once measures any and all toxic substances in hemp (or hop)
leaves that are extracted with acetone, whether or not these have specific marijuana activity." Clearly it was
other compounds, not cannabinoids, that were detected in these grafting experiments.

Unfortunately, this myth has caused some growers to waste a lot of time and effort in raising a worthless
stash of hops leaves. It has also leg growers to some false conclusions about the plant. For instance, if the
hops scion contains cannabinoids, the reasonable assumption is that the cannabinoids are being produced in
the Cannabis part and translocated to the hops scion, or that the Cannabis root or stem is responsible for
producing the cannabinoids precursors.

From this assumption, growers also get the idea that the resin is flowing in the plant. The myth has bolstered
the ideas that cutting, splitting, or bending the stem will send the resin up the plant or prevent the resin
from going down the plant. As explained in our discussion of resin glands in section 2, these ideas are
erroneous. Only a small percentage of the cannabinoids are present in the internal tissues (laticiferous cells)
of the plant. Almost all the cannabinoids are contained and manufactured in the resin glands, which cover
the outer surfaces of the above-ground plant parts. Cannabinoids remain in the resin glands and are not
translocated to other plant parts.

We have heard several claims that leaves from hops grafted on marijuana were psychoactive. Only one such
case claimed to be first hand, and we never did see or smoke the material. We doubt these claims. Hops
plants do have resin glands similar to those on marijuana, and many of the substances that make up the
resin are common to both plants. But of several species and many varieties of hops tested with modern
techniques for detecting cannabinoids, no cannabinoids have ever been detected 212.

The commercially valuable component of hops is lupulin, a mildly psychoactive substance used to make beer.
To our knowledge, no other known psychoactive substances has been isolated from hops. But since these
grafting claims persist, perhaps pot-heads should take a closer look at the hops plant.

Most growers who have tried grafting Cannabis and Humulus are unsuccessful. Compared to many plants,
Cannabis does not take grafts easily. Most of the standard grafting techniques you've probably seen for
grafting Cannabis simply don't work. For example, at the University of Mississippi, researchers failed to get
one successful graft from the sixty that were attempted between Cannabis and Humulus. A method that
works about 40 percent of the time is as follows. (Adapted from 205)

Start the hops plants one to two weeks before the marijuana plants. Plant the seeds within six inches of each
other or start them in separate six-inch pots. The plants are ready to graft when the seedling are strong
(about five and four weeks respectively) but their stem has not lost their soft texture. Make a diagonal
incision about halfway through each stem at approximate the same levels (hops is a vine). Insert the cut
portions into each other. Seal the graft with cellulose tape, wound string, or other standard grafting
materials. In about two weeks, the graft will have taken. Then cut away the unwanted Cannabis top and the
hops bottom to complete the graft. Good luck, but don't expect to get high from the hops leaves. {Smoking
any plant's leaves will give a short, slight buzz.}

Grafting
Intergeneric grafts between Cannabis and Humulus (hops) have fascinated
researchers and cultivators for decades. Warmke and Davidson (1943) claimed
that Humbles tops grafted upon Cannabis roots produced ". . . as much drug as
leaves from intact hemp plants, even though leaves from intact hop plants are
completely nontoxic." According to this research, the active ingredient of
Cannabis was being produced in the roots and transported across the graft to the
Humulus tops. Later research by Crombie and Crombie (1975) entirely disproves
this theory. Grafts were made between high and low THC strains of Cannabis as
well as intergeneric grafts between Cannabis and Humulus, Detailed
chromatographic analysis was performed on both donors for each graft and their
control populations. The results showed ". . . no evidence of transport of inter
mediates or factors critical to cannabinoid formation across the grafts."

Grafting of Cannabis is very simple. Several seedlings can be grafted together

into one to produce very interesting specimen plants. One procedure starts by
planting one seed ling each of several separate strains close together in the same
container, placing the stock (root plant) for the cross in the center of the rest.
When the seedlings are four weeks old they are ready to be grafted. A diagonal
cut is made approximately half-way through the stock stem and one of the scion
(shoot) seedlings at the same level. The cut portions are slipped together such
that the inner cut surfaces are touching. The joints are held with a fold of
cellophane tape. A second scion from an adjacent seedling may be grafted to the
stock higher up the stem. After two weeks, the unwanted portions of the grafts
are cut away. Eight to twelve weeks are needed to complete the graft, and the
plants are maintained in a mild environment at all times. As the graft takes, and
the plant begins to grow, the tape falls off.