A New Type of Cannabis?

So I found this article randomly today. Thought it was interesting and wonder if there is anything we can benefit from?

I would really love to get my hands on some of this "Super Sativa" if it really has more THC than a Sativa heh.

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AS POLICE and dope smokers know, there are two types of cannabis. Cannabis sativa sativa is mainly used to make hemp, while the indica subspecies is prized for its tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, which produces the "high". But now Australian researchers have discovered a third type of cannabis, called rasta. Simon Gilmore of the Canberra Institute of Technology catagorised 196 sample plants according to the DNA in their mitochondria and chloroplasts. The samples included plants grown for drugs and hemp as well as wild varieties from Europe, Asia, Africa, Mexico and Jamaica.
The results showed three distinct "races" of cannabis. In central Asia the THC-rich indica predominated, while in western Europe sativa was more common. In India, south-east Asia, Africa, Mexico and Jamaica the rasta variant predominated. It looks similar to the sativa subspecies, but generally contains higher levels of THC.
Since the study was of DNA rather than a formal taxonomic study, Cannabis sativa rasta is not yet an official new subspecies: the name was the result of a competition in Gilmore's lab. Their work is expected to appear in the journal Forensic Science International later this year.


http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18725175.200

DNA research uncovers new cannabis strain

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Researchers in the ACT appear to have found a previously unidentified type of cannabis plant which they have dubbed 'rasta'.

There are currently thought to be only two types of cannabis, one prized for its rope-making qualities, the other cultivated for its drug properties.

New Scientist reports that Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) scientists categorised almost 200 cannabis plants according to their DNA.

CIT spokesman Simon Gilmore says he and colleagues at the institute's Centre for Forensic Science appear to have uncovered another sub-species of the plant.

'Rasta' is not dissimilar to the sativa sub-species but New Scientist reports that it contains more THC, certainly more than the indica sub-species that is used for rope-making.

Mr Gilmore says it could be an ancient line they have identified through DNA.

"What we might be uncovering is really an ancient relationship," he said.

"Cannabis has been used a lot by humans in the last few thousand years and while we have a signature that there might have been three different types of cannabis, what could have happened with human cross-breeding [is] that those distinctions could have been lost by now.

"Three different mitochondrial DNA types in the cannabis that's grown these days, it might imply that cannabis had been domesticated on three separate occasions.

"It seems the first use was for food - cannabis seeds are highly nutritious apparently but not all that tasty."

Mr Gilmore says the object of studying 200 plants was to find markers to track the origins of illegal cannabis.

what about ruderalis you missed that one out as well

Id rather make hash then rope out of my sativa personally... lol

ruderalis may be shit but with it introduced alot of people in the upper northen hemispheres can produce an outside crop..
thats where the autoflower plants come from..

so should there be 4 and not 3 if this new type is proved to be a new type

indica,sativa,ruderalis,and rasta ?

It's already been proven to be a new type, they compared the DNA and it's unrelated. Also supposed to be nice. I tried to get my hands on some I really did.

Weird. I just came upon this today too. Any one know what strains are rasta (if any)?

SMOKEDATKU$H said:

Weird. I just came upon this today too. Any one know what strains are rasta (if any)?

Click to expand...

Well I found it because last night I smoked something called "Rasta Berry" with a friend.

I was trying to see if I could find a report on it because it was the amazing! I was high for like 5-6 hours which for me is a long time. I usually only stay stoned for 2-3 hours then mild residual afterwords.

He always has different stuff he grows and is always pretty rare but always not made up names. They are usually just old local strains that have been in my area for a long time.

Well of the past three he has pulled out on me, this one I couldn't really find by this name.. but I found that info.

So... maybe I smoked some rasta dna =).. who knows.. I will have to ask him next time I see him.

i seen in a tread somewhere in another forum that it was a spoof.
or an april foolsday trick and that somebody had make this up,not
sure if its true.does sound abit fishy with it being called "rasta"

flashgee said:

i seen in a tread somewhere in another forum that it was a spoof.
or an april foolsday trick and that somebody had make this up,not
sure if its true.does sound abit fishy with it being called "rasta"

Click to expand...

Well its not really that fishy it being called rasta if you read the article.. They say its not the official name, just the "term" they decided to call it in the lab. They could have called it George or poopie just the same.

"Since the study was of DNA rather than a formal taxonomic study, Cannabis sativa rasta is not yet an official new subspecies: the name was the result of a competition in Gilmore's lab."

Hey guys this poopie fucks me up!

i just googled "cannabis type rasta" and got a link to "newscientist.com"
that has an article on it site dated 20th september 2005 about this new
"rasta" type of cannabis.its now 2009 and as far as i know there are no
seedbanks or breeder that are selling this new type of cannabis. you would
of thought that all the seedbanks would of jumped onto this "rasta" weed"
arjan over at greenhouse would kick himself if he miss out on all the custom
he could have by selling this "rasta".you would of thought that some one out
there would be selling it,even if it was not stable you would thing some one
would be selling it,to rake in all that £$£$£ by being the 1st or one of the 1st
to sell it.

Well it pretty much is Sativa by all means by the report however the DNA proves it to be different... If the article is true however.

Some of us are already probably growing some Rasta

That would make sense, but not many breeders are actually aware that cannabis rasta is a different species so they also call consider them to be Sativa. I'm not sure the last part about the taxonomy of rasta being similar to indica. I think based on height, you could differentiate the rasta from an indica with narrow leaves. Mexican and african strains (considered sativa) also produce a high that is considered more 'trippy' and their buds look different than indicas (but probably not without exception. Such strains are more than likely actually rasta given this new information, but they do have much longer flowering times, up to 120 days compared to less than 60 for indica. (not sure if that's a taxonomy difference). Either way, the legal status of cannabis obviously impedes better understanding of this issue. The real experts on cannabis are breeders and they are usually not aslo scientists. Fasdl 00:52, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

Pretty much any seedbank would be able to fly someone over and have them snook back somewhow within a week.

I'm calling "Bullshit" on this one !!!
Why? , whynot .

even if the breeders thinks that the new rasta type is a kind of sativa
and think we have been growing rasta unwittingly for ages .you
still think they would of jumped on it for the sales they would get
for people wanting to grow it....i for one am interested in this rasta
cannabis...lol

yeah flas you are right about arjan he would have to have it, breed it ( personaly himself.. like have intercoarse with it ), color code it , then procede to fuck it up so bad by trying to feminize it no one would ever want it..

What a terrible name !

People will assume that this variety of Sativa comes from Jamaica.

When in reality is origin is prolly somewhere in Asia.