Blue Gandalf. The alchemist of cannabis in the mountains of the Rif
Mr. Digby, an English man who has been living in the mountains of the Rif (Morocco) for more than 40 years, in one of the old hippies who really know everything about cannabis and its resin. Already is a legend; but he already was widely known 20 years ago.
The cannabis resin in Morocco is a business that moves up to 15,000 million US dollars per year. Moving among humble peasants and important businessmen, Blue Gandalf, the Magician, has always been respected and admired among weed lovers in the area and abroad.
If in any doubt, Mr. Digby is a kind of black gold alchemist who uses to hang around with a fabric bag that contains up to 8 different types of hashish. Each one has its own description and name in addition to specific organoleptic properties.
Some resins are dark brown and other more yellowish. But they all are super high quality hashish that he made with his own hands. Some are very narcotic and let you sleepy while others are more cerebral and psychoactive. He has resins for all tastes and different times of day and night. Smoking a few puffs you stay in a “super high” state. Blue Gandalf gets his hash from the plantations of the Rif mountain range in northern Morocco.
He is known as Blue Gandalf because he remembers the mythical character of Tolkien in “The Lord of the Rings”. But his real name is Mr. Digby and he is a British citizen who has made Ketama his home for 40 years. With more than 60 years of age, he is always dressed in hippie clothes and has a white beard that gives a very distinguished touch.
Despite his age, he walks among the rocks of the mountain with the agility of a goat and his face always shows a broad smile. Although he was born in Shrewsbury , a small town neighboring Wales, he left his homeland 45 years ago and, after spending years living in different places, landed in Ketama; the cradle of the best hashish.
In Ketama the lords of hashish live together with the peasants who cultivate marijuana. It is the area that has the most hashish in the world. They export up to 40,000 tons per year. The vast majority of this resin enters Europe through Spain.
In the 80s, Blue Gandalf was dedicated to bringing acorns of this resin to Spain. With the increase in demand, the quality of hashish is now much worse. The peasants who grew potatoes and corn are losing their lands so that the drug lords can cultivate more.
Blue Gandalf knows how to move around unknown paths and twists where it is almost impossible to find police controls. In the small towns of the area, it attracts the attention of the mixture of humble peasants and individuals who drive high-end sports cars. Gandalf estimates that around 250000 families live of hashish in this area.
During the harvest season, thousands of peasants from the Atlas Mountains come down to work for very low wages. They are paid 50 dirhams (5 Euros) a day plus room and board. The little more than 2000 inhabitants of Ketama live throughout the year with the money they earn working in the harvest season.
