Marijuana Plant in Union Square May be Intentionally Planted

Marijuana Plant in Union Square May be Intentionally Planted

New Yorkers are used to seeing many odd things as they walk down the street, piles upon piles of trash, people sleeping on the sidewalk in the middle of the day, bizarre posters and bills, but full form marijuana plants growing in grassy areas downtown are easy to overlook, but would shock most New Yorkers, not an easy feat.
Apparently marijuana plants in Union Square have been common knowledge for some New Yorkers for a while. Jona McNally, a student who often hangs out with friends and skateboards in Union Square, says he and his friends noticed the plant during the summer time. “We were leaning against the rails near the Gandhi statue and someone pointed it out. We couldn’t believe it was real and just growing there.’ McNally said he and his friends checked up on the plant once in a while, whenever they were in the area, and that it seemed to be thriving. Then one day around mid July it was completely gone, at who’s hands Jona and friends are still unsure, it could have been the parks department removing it, or perhaps thrifty consumers excited to find a free stash. McNally still keeps an eye on the plants progress when he passes by.
Danny Danko, Senior Cultivation Editor of High Times Magazine, a monthly periodical for marijuana enthusiasts, is an expert in horticulture especially relating to cannabis. After examining photos of the Union Square plant he comments that it is “ defintely cannibus sativa.’ But he is quick to add it is not the expensive strains discussed in his magazine, but seeds ‘people find in their pot and toss.’ The plant has since been eradicated, though it is probable that more plants will grow if the seeds are planted deep enough within the soil. Danko adds, ‘t's kind of a 4/20 thing: a celebration and form of protest from cannabis community. This could be that or it could be it grew from seeds that were discarded. It's doubtful someone expected to harvest it; it's likely it's either accidental or a protest.”
The cause of this marijuana plant, and similar growths on 1st Avenue and 2nd Street as well as Ditmas Park, and even on the median of Park Avenue, as Danko points out, is still unknown, though opinions of where and why the plant originated differ wildly.
A police officer could not be reached at the 06th Precinct, the police district that covers Union Square, but the station’s receptionist believes the department’s opinion on the plant growth is that it is the result of irresponsible marijuana smokers, who are sloppy while smoking and coincidently drop little seeds in fertile areas which leads to full plant growth.
There are also more underground theories, one of which states that there was a call for city smokers to purposely plant seeds in public places. Kenneth Nicholas, a theater intern in New York recalls another student’s argument for the legalization of marijuana during a Public Speaking class at Ramapo College. “Part of his speech touched on a sort of underground movement that called for pot users to throw their seeds out the window, or on the ground, anywhere that they could germinate and grow. The idea is that if everyone "spread their seeds" then, in several years, there would be huge amounts of wild marijuana growing all over the country, making it next to impossible, or at least difficult for the government to control and regulate.”
Nicholas believes that a great number of people do throw their seeds on the ground, he remembers working at the King Richard’s Renaissance Faire in Massachusetts last year and the entire backstage area sprouting with marijuana plants. He says, “I don’t think it’s carelessness. At least some of the growth is coming from people throwing their seeds intentionally.”
A reader comment on an NBC New York article about the growth posted on June 15, 2010 illuminates that at least some people are passionate about the cause. The poster, identified as ‘Facebook User’ writes, “It's HIGH time to start tossing seeds out where ever you go...in the city park, downtown, shopping malls, police stations, state capitols & other gov't bldg's -- any place where there is fertile ground. Let my people grow!” The article also has commenter’s leaving slogan’s like ‘Spread Your Seeds, Free the Weed.’
The Union Square Park Department could not be reached for comment.