JORGE CERVANTES
HORTICULTURE & ADVOCACY
Jorge Cervantes is one of the most recognizable names in cannabis cultivation . His famous book Marijuana Horticulture : The Indoor / Outdoor Medical Grower ’ s Bible can be found on the bookshelves of marijuana horticulturists the world over . Cervantes ’ s real name is George Van Patten . He created his infamous alias — which includes a notorious disguise with a black beret and dreadlocks — during the 1980s . As Cervantes rose to the forefront of marijuana cultivation advocacy efforts during the prohibition-heavy era of the War on Drugs , his disguise and alias were necessary measures of survival . Over the last 35 years , Cervantes informed entire generations about cannabis horticulture and techniques through his books , compiling the first known work dedicated to indoor gardening . Cervantes ’ s fabled relationship to the cannabis plant began during the 1970s . During this time , he experimented with illegal , guerilla grow operations in the mountains outside of Santa Barbara , CA , as well as indoor grows in Portland , Oregon . After experimenting heavily with various indoor gardening equipment set-ups and techniques , Cervantes realized that there was a total lack of information available on the market concerning his trade . As a result , while operating in secrecy as well as under an assumed identity for the first time , Cervantes wrote and self-published the first book on indoor marijuana growing , Indoor Marijuana Horticulture . To put this notion in perspective , cannabis gardeners in 2017 can effortlessly access volumes of information on cultivation from endless resources online and in print , and get detailed nutrient formulations and feeding schedules from hydroponic shops . Things were quite different 30 years ago . Cervantes also set the foundations for the modern hydroponic store and culture , starting his own shop called Jorge Cervantes ’ s Indoor Garden Store and contributing to the technological advancements of indoor cultivation equipment . To elaborate , Cervantes designed and sold his own HID lighting systems , eventually inventing reflective hoods . Reflective hoods are now used in almost every growroom in the entire world , as they supply cannabis plants with 40 per cent more light than previous technologies . Point being , the modern grow book , cannabis magazine , and hydroponic store would not be what they are today without the brazen , secretive efforts of Cervantes during the 1980s and 1990s . During the first couple decades of Cervantes ’ s career , marijuana cultivation was highly illegal and brought with it severe legal punishment . This notion was reflected in the US government ’ s stance on hydroponic stores and grow books during the 1980s and ’ 90s . To elaborate , Cervantes reported in a 2012 blog post that hydro shops , as well as himself , in the 1980s could have received “ RICO racketeering ” charges for openly selling cannabis cultivation books in conjunction with grow equipment and nutrients . To add to the overall intensity of these scenarios , Cervantes also stated , “ I remember many times when the owners of hydroponics shops would not stand in the same room as me ” due to the notoriety he had received as an underground , outlaw marijuana growing advocate . Today , Cervantes is still recognized as an authority on everything cannabis cultivation . Over the years , he has regularly contributed cultivation knowledge to such magazines as High Times , THC , and Cannabis Culture . He received the Lester Grinspoon Lifetime Achievement Award from High Times in 2012 due to his passion and advocacy for marijuana cultivation . Finally , he published his latest and most comprehensive book in 2015 , titled The Marijuana Encyclopedia .
Photo by Jorge Cervante / Wikimedia Commons
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CERVANTES ALSO SET
THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE
MODERN HYDROPONIC STORE
AND CULTURE , STARTING
HIS OWN SHOP CALLED “ JORGE
CERVANTES ’ S INDOOR GARDEN
STORE ” AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS OF
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INDOOR CULTIVATION EQUIPMENT . myhydrolife . com grow . heal . learn . enjoy . 57