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departments
38
Bob Speaks!
Pop culture icon Kevin Smith dishes on his secret to staying organized. On the Cover: Photo by Ben Leuner/AMC
10 Letter from the Editor Our federal government is wrong . . . but not always. 12 News Nuggets Cannabis makes headlines here, there, everywhere—and we give you the scoop—PLUS our latest By the Numbers. 30 Strain & Edible Reviews Our ever-popular sampling of amazing strains, edibles and concentrates currently provided by your friendly neighborhood dispensary. 42 Destination Unknown It’s wet, it’s wild—welcome to the playground for the rich and beautiful: Uruguay’s Punta del Este. 44 Profiles in Courage Our latest feature provides insight into the life—and struggle—of a medical cannabis patient near you. 46 Cool Stuff From a Waffle-Making Typewriter to the The Zapper, if it’s a cutting-edge product or cool lifestyle gear, we’re all over it.
features 16 A New Wave? Dispensaries in Vallejo cite legal precedent and fight back! 18 Regulators! Mount Up! Assemblyman Tom Ammianos pushes to regulate the industry. 22 Real Showmanship Just give Muggs two turntables—and stand back. 26 Totally Technical This time, The Dillinger Escape Plan had more freedom to be creative. 6 CULTURE • MAY 2013
50 Recipes Spring has sprung—and so will this light and refreshing menu inspired by Mother Nature’s greenest season. 54 Shooting Gallery These are the green-friendly things we saw you doing recently. 56 Entertainment Reviews The latest films, books, music and more that define our culture. 58 Let’s Do This Our wrap-up of some of NorCal’s coolest events.
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letter from the editor
Vol 4 IssUE 11
Publisher
Jeremy Zachary
GET YOUR CLICK HERE
www.iReadCulture.com
Roberto C. Hernandez Editor-In-Chief
A
Study in
Contradiction
Editor-in-Chief
Roberto C. Hernandez
Arts & Entertainment Editor Evan Senn
Editorial Contributors
Dennis Argenzia, Omar Aziz, Sarah Bennett, Jacob Browne, David Burton, Michael Carlos, Grace Cayosa, Jasen T. Davis, Rev. Dr. Kymron de Cesare, Alex Distefano, David Downs, Carolina Duque, James P. Gray, Lillian Isley, David Jenison, Liquid Todd, Kevin Longrie, Dan MachIntosh,Meital Manzuri, Sandra Moriarty, Damian Nassiri, Keller O’Malley, Arrissia Owen, Paul Rogers, Jeff Schwartz, Lanny Swerdlow, Simon Weedn
Photographers
Steve Baker, Kristopher Christensen, John Gilhooley, Amanda Holguin, Khai Le, David Elliot Lewis, Mark Malijan Patrick Roddie, Michael Seto, Kim Sidwell
Interns
Joe Martone, Derek Obregon
Cannabis has no medicinal value. Cannabis has medicinal value. Which one of these statements is true? Ask someone who has studied cannabis and you’ll get a pretty clearcut answer: the chemical compounds of the cannabis plant offer a whole host of health benefits. It does have medicinal value. But ask some of the narcocrats running the federal government— say the Drug Enforcement Administration, the White House, etc.—and you’ll get the same ol‘ party line, ripped straight from the pages of the Controlled Substances Act: “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” And yet . . . and yet . . . our own federal government contradicts itself. Yes, the same government that tells us cannabis cannot be used as medicine is the same government that provides hundreds of pre-rolled joints to the four surviving participants of its Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program—a program that’s been in place since the 1970s and was specifically set up to provide Americans with government-grown cannabis to treat a medical disorder. When President Obama was interviewed by Barbara Walters last year, all he could lamely say when asked
about legalizing cannabis is stuff like: “this is a tough problem” and “there are a number of issues that need to be considered.” Meanwhile, as patients suffer through life, seek relief and clamor for access to a plant that grows naturally, there are other folks who spend their time sharing and dispensing the truth. Just ask the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health, and these agencies will talk to you about cannabis’ “direct antitumor effect” or about the patients who were able to “obtain relief” for their cancer or neuropathic pain . . . thanks to cannabis-derived medicine. Talk to the National Center for Biotechnology Information or the National Library of Science and they’ll share with you info about how “moderate marijuana use is associated” with reducing the risk of cancer. Did I mention that these last four organizations I just mentioned are part of the federal government? The same government that says the exact opposite? So if our own government can’t make up its mind—who can patients turn to and trust with factual, relevant, propaganda-free information about medical cannabis? You’re holding it in your hands right now, my friends. Enjoy this issue. c
Art Director
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Culture® Magazine is published every month and distributes 30,000 papers at over 700 locations throughout the Bay area. No articles, illustrations, photographs, or other matter within may be reproduced without written permission. Culture® Magazine is a registered trademark of Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. 2175 Sampson Ave. | Suite 118 Corona | California | 92879 Phone 888.694.2046 | Fax 951.284.2596 www.iReadCulture.com
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unanimously voted to adopt a new ordinance banning all outdoor cannabis cultivation, CBS San Francisco reports. The lead up to this vote involved about four months of debate as well a dozen protestors voicing their opposition to the new ordinance, many of them being MMJ patients. City Attorney Mike SF researchers: Cannabidiol Coon, who drafted the ordinance, inhibits the growth of said that the bill is primarily aggressive tumor cells designed to provide a defense for Researchers at the California homeowners opposed to the smell Pacific Medical Center say their of outdoor cultivation. studies indicate cannabis could “I think the council struggled be the next tool in the fight with the decision because it’s against cancer, according to The difficult to find a middle ground,” Huffington Post. he said. “I think the council sincerely “We found this one wants to protect the rights of compound had a specific effect medical marijuana patients and the on metastatic cancer cells, very rights of the general public who aggressive tumor cells,” researcher don’t use medical marijuana.” Sean McAllister said. “We find Concord banned dispensaries in when you treat [cancer] with 2005. [cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis], Mendocino County officials you down regulate the expression agree to release MMJ of this protein, and that inhibits growing records—but no the disease process.” names The team has been testing Mendocino County officials have cannabidiol, also known as CBD, agreed to release records of its on animals and found that the MMJ growing program—but chemical compound inhibited the won’t divulge the names of the growth of tumor cells. They believe people who applied for permits, this may be due to the plant’s according to MercuryNews.com. natural defense mechanism. The program—which allowed “So maybe the plant is qualified growers to cultivate making these compounds to up to 99 plants if they agreed combat the development of to regular inspections and met insects and we can use the certain conditions—ended March compound to target cancer cells 2012 after federal officials warned that act like embryonic cells,” Dr. county officials that allowing such Pierre Desprez, another CPMC researcher, said. The research team is seeking funding to begin tests on humans, emphasizing brain and breast cancer.
THE STATE
cultivation put the city in violation of federal law.
THE NATION Attorney General: Massachusetts towns and cities cannot enact MMJ bans
Cities and towns in Massachusetts cannot enact bans on MMJ dispensaries, according to a decision from the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, according to 90.9 WBUR. Such a ban—Coakley’s decision read—would “frustrate the purpose” of the medical cannabis law—Question 3— voters approved last November. Cities, however, are permitted to enact zoning bylines and other dispensary regulations, according to Assistant Attorney General Margaret Hurley. Hurley said Massachusetts’ MMJ law “could not be served if a municipality could prohibit treatment centers within its borders, for if one municipality could do so, presumably all could do so.”
3460, a bill that aims to regulate surplus MMJ as well as ensuring that qualified patients can receive the medicinal plant. This bill also requires a background check for business owners, as well as documentation of how much MMJ a facility receives and from which state-registered grower they get it from. If passed, HB 3460 would also require MMJ outlets to test their cannabis products for impurities.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley says he is likely to approve cannabis “research centers”
Maryland might become the next compassionate state. State lawmakers last month approved a bill that would allow MMJ programs to set up shop at participating medical research centers in the state, USA Today reports. Gov. Martin O’Malley has said he expects to sign the bill into law. The programs are not expected to be operational until 2016.
Oregon introduces new medical cannabis regulations
Oregon’s largely unregulated medical cannabis industry could be facing some changes. State lawmakers have proposed HB
Despite opposition, Concord City Council votes to ban outdoor growing
Get ready to become an indoor grower. The Concord City Council 12 CULTURE • MAY 2013
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THE WORLD UK researcher: Crime and drug use do not increase because of cannabis reform
Foes of cannabis—who claim that there is a distinct link between cannabis use and crime—have no friend in UK criminologist Alex Stevens. The criminology professor recently refuted several media reports claiming that reducing penalties for cannabis possession has led to increases in drug use, crime and health problems. Saying such statements are unfounded and based on faulty data, among other things, Stevens says cannabis use and crime actually decreased since the plant was reclassified in 2004 by the government as a less dangerous substance. Steven cited the British Crime Survey—which estimated crime fell by 17 percent since 2004—and the “Survey of Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Young People in England,” to back up his conclusions.
by the numbers
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The percentage of Americans who were against legalization in 1991: 78 (Source: Christian Science Monitor).
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The percentage of Americans who supported legalization in 1969: 12 (Source: Gallup Poll).
1
The number of dispensaries that Santa Cruz’s MMJ regulations allow: 2 (Source: Santa Cruz Municipal Code).
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The percentage of Americans who say cannabis should be legalized: 52 (Source: Pew Research Center).
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The number of dispensaries that currently exist in Santa Cruz: 1 (Source: Santa Cruz Municipal Code).
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The estimated number of attendees who gathered at Hippie Hill last month to celebrate 420: 10,000-15,000 (Source: San Francisco Chronicle).
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The estimated value (in hundreds of millions of dollars) of California’s MMJ market: 700 to 900 (Source: Marijuana Business Factbook 2013).
The estimated number of cannabis users in Uruguay: 150,000 (Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek).
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The monthly cannabis “ration” (in grams) that a Uruguayan 18 years+ could register for from the federal government: 30 (Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek).
The estimated dollar amount (in billions) that legal cannabis sales will generate this year in the U.S.: 1.5 (Source: The Huffington Post).
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The estimated value (in billions of dollars) of California’s MMJ transactions: 1.3 (Source: mmjbusinessdaily.com).
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Natural Vibrations
A participating medical research center would be required to specify the types of conditions it would treat and the criteria by which patients would be allowed to participate. The center would provide all patient and caregiver data to the state health department. The department could make this data available to law enforcement. State Delegate Dan Morhaim told USA Today that Sinai Hospital in Baltimore and John Hopkins have expressed an interest in participating or are considering it. “Maryland has taken a small step in the right direction, but more steps are necessary for patients to actually obtain the medicine they need to alleviate their suffering,” Amanda Reiman, a policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, said in a statement.
The percentage of Americans who say cannabis should remain illegal: 45 (Source: Pew Research Center). The percentage of Americans who were pro-legalization in 1991: 17 (Source: Christian Science Monitor).
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The estimated dollar amount (in billions) that legal cannabis sales will generate by 2018: 6 (Source: The Huffington Post).
International Cannabis & Hemp Expo It’s that time to celebrate the greatest plant in the universe. Described as an “Inclusive, Educational Medical Cannabis and Hemp Event,” INTCHE is really for anyone and everybody who revels in the powers of cannabis. Speakers include the venerable and legendary Ed Rosenthal, and organizers have also set up a room just for collectives as well as a full patient consumption area. When you’re not having knowledge bombs dropped on your cortex, head on over to the Wonders of Cannabis Rolling Contest (it’s just like it sounds) and see if your spliff-constructing skill set is up to snuff. Do you have what it takes to be judged the Best Roller of the Bay? Your favorite dispensaries (Elemental Wellness and Berkeley Patients Group) will be there repping, so don’t get left out. Don’t forget to take time to savor the sweet sounds of the musical lineup, featuring Jazz Mafia, Native Elements and Sunday headliner Natural Vibrations.
IF YOU GO
What: International Cannabis & Hemp Expo. When/Where: May 18-19 at Old Hyatt Cinema, 1304 Bayshore Hwy., Burlingame. Info: Tickets are $15 (one day), $20 (both days) or $300 (VIP). Go to www. intche.net.
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FLASH
Waste of Resources
“The lesson for other jurisdictions is that we should stop wasting our resources on prosecuting lawful medical cannabis cases,” attorney Joe Rogoway says. “The term ‘medical cannabis prosecution’ should be an oxymoron at this point.”
“A Teachable Moment” Dispensaries survive a local police crackdown in Vallejo, with lessons for the entire state {By David Downs} Dispensaries hoping to fight local police sweeps might want to look to Vallejo, where dispensaries and their attorneys have successfully fended off charges stemming from a major sweep in February 2012. According to several Northern California attorneys who specialize in MMJ cases, law enforcement in the bankrupt town has wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars raiding and prosecuting Vallejo clubs only to see each and every case get dismissed this spring. “Attempts to stymie Vallejo medical marijuana have failed,” attorney Omar Figueroa tells CULTURE. “Apparently there are more dispensaries now than before.” The Vallejo rout bodes well for dispensaries in other battleground cities, too, attorneys say, because any collective can use the defenses raised in Vallejo. The
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story illustrates how cops have lost a powerful tool to harass lawful dispensaries, and it comes down to a single major court decision. Back in 1996, Californians approved medical defenses against cannabis crimes like growing and possession. Those protections expanded from patients and caregivers to collectives in 2003. But anti-MMJ cities dug in their heels, sometimes arguing that cancer patients must grow some pot to be lawful members of a collective. This “make ’em grow it” theory led to the 2012 conviction of San Diego dispensary operator Jovan Jackson. Jackson and patient lobbying group Americans for Safe Access appealed, arguing patients needn’t plant cannabis to be lawful collective members; indeed, the whole point of a collective is such that some can grow for all. A California Appellate Court
agreed on Oct. 24, finding that “the collective or cooperative association required by [state law] need not include active participation by all members in the cultivation process but may be limited to financial support by way of marijuana purchases from the organization.” The Appellate Court overturned Jackson’s conviction, so San Diego appealed to the Supreme Court with support from the District Attorney’s offices of Sonoma, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and The League of California Cities. On Jan. 16, the California Supreme Court declined to review or “depublish” the Fourth District Court of Appeals ruling in People v. Jackson. In other words, patients don’t have to grow to be lawful members of collective. They can pay cash for it. That decision stymied Vallejo law enforcement’s plans. Back in February 2012, the Vallejo Police Department raided at least six dispensaries—sometimes repeatedly—and charged their operators with cannabis sales, arguing some patients were not growing, hence the entire club was illegal.
Over the winter, defense attorneys used the fresh People v. Jackson decision as a shield, and it has worked. Better Health Collective and Life Advanced Services beat the rap. Red Dog Green’s charges were dropped in February, according to lawyer Joe Rogoway. Greenwell dispensary’s case was dismissed before the preliminary hearing in March, says Figueroa. Vallejo dispensary operator Matthew Shotwell, star of Discovery Channel’s Weed Country, also got off. “Given the facts of this case . . . the people feel they cannot prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Deputy District Attorney Jack Harris [reportedly] told Solano County Superior Court Judge Allan Carter on March 21. Vallejo PD’s sweep was a total rout, says Paul Armentano, a Vallejo resident and national spokesperson for NORML. “Cases have now been dismissed in every dispensary raid brought by VPD in their 2012 sweep. That concludes our game. Thanks for playing.” The rout is also a teachable moment for all California law enforcement, Rogoway says. “I think it’s because of . . . People v. Jackson. [Vallejo prosecutors] just couldn’t prove [dispensaries had committed] any crime.” c
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FLASH
Rules of
Engagement
AB 473: Assemblyman Tom Ammiano’s vision for standardized regulations {By Jasen T. Davis}
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measure basically treats cannabis like alcohol. It would create a “Division of Medical Cannabis Regulation” that would control how the plant is grown, delivered and sold statewide, with taxes from cannabis sales funding it all. Ammiano, who represents the 17th Assembly District, has been a strong supporter of legalizing cannabis. “Where marijuana rules
Say What?
Ever since the Compassionate Use Act became law in 1996 medical cannabis has had the potential to become a very big business in California. There are thousands of dispensaries operating throughout the state providing significant amounts of MMJ to patients every year, but, the argument goes, without standardized regulations to protect the industry it’s wide-open for abuse by local and federal authorities. Last year, dozens of cities across the Golden State attempted to ban cannabis sales with dubious city council rulings and conflicting district regulations, while raids by federal authorities like the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation closed clinics, incarcerated caregivers and left many citizens with nothing but illness, uncertainty, misery and pain. It’s possible that Assemblyman Tom Ammiano—a staunch MMJ supporter—could have an answer to this dilemma. Ammiano, a Democrat from the Bay Area, recently introduced AB 473, a measure that would enact regulations for the medical cannabis industry throughout California. Although the details are still being worked out, the
“I don’t consider [cannabis] to be any worse than having a beer.” —James Franco
are concerned, California has been in chaos for way too long,” Ammiano says. With so many cities, counties and courts contradicting each other when it comes to regulation, it’s a fair argument to say the industry needs some regulations to establish order. “Cities have been looking for state guidance, dispensaries feel they are at the mercy of changing rules and patients who need medical cannabis are uncertain about how their legitimate medical needs will be filled,” Ammiano says. “This is a concrete plan that will keep medical marijuana safe. We will get it into the right hands and keep it out of the wrong hands.”
Been Here Before Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has attempted to pass a bill similar to AB 473 before, one that would also have established MMJ as a bone fide business. Last year, AB 2312 would have allowed cooperatives, collectives and other related businesses to cultivate, transport, sell and more. However, Ammiano withdrew the bill a week before the state Senate was to debate it; it was receiving criticism from both sides of the aisle and advocates weren’t fond of late amendments that were added on.
Of course, not everyone is going to be happy if measure AB 473 becomes law across California. Because the proposed Division of Medical Cannabis Regulation would fall under the auspices of the Department of Beverage Control, taxes will have to be paid, rules will have to be followed, and a new bureaucracy may be born. On the other side of the coin, in Colorado—where similar regulations and a similar agency have been passed—federal agencies have largely backed off of raiding growers and operators that adhere to such regulations. The strongest supporters of legalization argue that cannabis shouldn’t be any more controlled than ginseng or dandelion greens. And although medical cannabis patients can grow their own medicine under the Compassionate Use Act, there is a general feeling that regulation will only make life more difficult for an industry that’s survived for 17 years with minimal regulation. But as wild as the west has been, law and order may be inevitable if patients want to have guaranteed access to their medicine, especially with a potential federal shadow overarching everything. c www.tomammiano.com
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TUNES
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Bass Head Culture gets down and dirty with one of cali’s most notorious DJs {By Liquid Todd} He may not be “hardest working man in show business” but after producing a steady stream of music— both for himself and an impressively long list of music industry A-listers—Muggs is certainly one of them. And with a new dubstep inspired album, Bass For Your Face, the original DJ for Cypress Hill and leader of LA art collective Soul Assassins has fully embraced the latest in electronic dance music sounds and styles.
new ideas to incorporate. Dubstep is the sound of the moment so why not make an album with some of those sounds on them? But it’s hard for a guy like Muggs to stray too far from his hip-hop roots. “This record has dubstep, there’s dub, there’s hip-hop. There’s glitch. Just different musical elements,” Muggs says. “I’m not putting any barriers on the music. But with this particular record instead of going real dance with it I kept it more hip-hop. It was more for
“One hundred percent,” Muggs agrees. “Coming out of the late ’80s with guys like Mantronik—the stuff he was doing on the fucking drum machine, you know, was like, damn.” When Muggs looks back on the early days of Cypress Hill he remembers a chaotic whirlwind of continuous live performances punctuated by short studio interludes. “You know it went from being in the studio every day to being on tour for two years non-stop,” he says. “The first album took us three years—it was our whole lives on there. The second album we did in two months. And you know, looking back, we was just young f*@king angry kids, man. We was just doing it. We were on autopi-
came from inside or out. Muggs took his own route, using his selftaught—and suddenly very much in demand—studio skills to launch his production career. “Right after that first Cypress Hill album I guess we had the sound of the moment and everybody wanted some of that sound,” Muggs says. “So I started working with everybody and I really got more into production at that point. I was DJing parties making $100 a night. “But then I started producing and they started giving me $5,000 checks to be in the studio for fucking eight hours and I was like—are you f@*king kidding me?” Muggs has an impressive list of production credits—by any measure. The Beastie Boys, Depeche Mode, Goodie Mob, U2, Dr. Dre, Wu-Tang Clan, but when you ask him to name a track he’s produced for someone else—something he’s really proud of creating—he comes back to the infamous track he did with House of Pain. “I really liked ‘Jump Around,’” Muggs admits. “That shit won’t
Viccenial Victory
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Cypress Hill’s massive second album, Black Sunday, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and went on to go triple platinum. The first single, “Insane in the Brain,” was one of those songs you just couldn’t avoid—even if you wanted to—and nobody did. To celebrate, the Hill—who continue to play together to this day—is re-releasing the album on vinyl. “Cypress can be on tour with anybody because we harness that rock and roll energy,y so the touring don’t stop,” Muggs says. “And we started production on a new album as well.” “I travel a lot and I DJ a lot, and I’m always looking for new music to play and different stuff to put in my sets,” Muggs explains. “I play a lot of instrumental music from all over the world. And I got to the point where I was like, f*@k, I’m playing a lot of electronic tracks and I want to be able to play my stuff instead of just remixes I made. That inspired me to start the process.” “There are a lot of production techniques that I never even bothered learning because I don’t need it for what I do,” Muggs admits. “So in the process of making this album I picked up some new tricks—learned some new stuff, which was fun. It definitely stimulated the brain, man. When you’ve been making music as long as me it starts to get boring so I’m always looking for new challenges,
the hip-hop heads to make them open their ears to electronic music where a lot of them still won’t give it a chance. So this record was really targeted for that audience, as opposed to a dance crowd.” The hip-hop audience is a notoriously tough crowd to get into new sounds. But it didn’t used to be that way. For a while back in the early ’90s hip-hop was arguably the most innovative form of EDM. “Back in the day, when I was coming up in the game, a lot of hip-hoppers had a house track on their album,” says Muggs. “It was kind of mandatory. In ’88 . . .’89.” The ’90s have come to be remembered as the “golden age” of hip-hop. It was the sound you heard booming out of everyone’s cars. It was exciting and innovative and everybody was trying out new sounds.
lot. I don’t think we came up for a breath from ’90 to ’96.” Muggs points out that touring back in the pre-Internet, cellphone-less early 1990s wasn’t as cushy as it has become today. And there are always a swarm of opportunists ready to pounce on a hot new artist. “We didn’t have the best managers,” Muggs says. “We didn’t have the best people around us. We didn’t have any good role models. We had managers and lawyers that looked at us like a money-making machine and they were saying, You can’t stop now.” We had managers making bad deals so they could get as much money up front as they could—not expecting us to have a long career.” But Cypress Hill survived the fame, the industry jackals and the pressure of it all—whether it
go away.” Through all the tours, the radio shows, the promotional junkets and endless hours in the studio, Muggs keeps on spinnin‘. But when it comes to putting the “DJ” in Muggs, he prefers to keep it simple on stage. “Two turntables, a couple of effects boxes and a lot of skill,” he says. “I bring my turntablist background, my battle background. You know, if you see Jimi Hendrix you’re gonna want to see him do some tricks on his guitar.” But he’s been around long enough to know what’s really important. “You want to see some showmanship,” he says. “Bring the energy, bring the music, read the crowd . . . take chances.” www.djmuggs.com MAY 2013 • CULTURE 23
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TUNES
Killer
Music The Dillinger Escape Plan returns to school the metal masses
ON STAGE
{By Alex Distefano} a rabid fan base, built through relentless touring over the past 15 years and five studio albums of some of the most genre-bending, mind-altering, über-technical “metal” the world has ever heard. While definitely heavy, the band’s sound isn’t easily categorized. Though many have attempted
Say What?
With an eagerly anticipated album out this month, The Dillinger Escape Plan has an entire year and a half of sold-out touring ahead itself, according to vocalist Greg Puciato. “This is the first time in almost 10 years that we’ve recorded a record back to back with the same lineup and that made a huge difference for us as a band,” Puciato says of new album One Of Us Is The Killer. “When you have to get a new member, you have to teach them everything from scratch. This time around we had more freedom to be creative, and nothing to do between tours except to write music with [people] we already knew that were in the band.” The Dillinger Escape Plan— also featuring founding member/ guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Liam Wilson, drummer Billy Rymer and guitarist James Love—has
“The only thing pot does for me is it gets me to stop thinking. Sometimes I have a brain that needs to be turned off. Some people are just better high.” —Justin Timberlake
to label the band, Puciato merely says his band’s discography pivots around an insane amount of precision, passion and insanity/ intensity that go into every one of Dillinger Escape Plan’s live shows. The band is also scheduled to participate in Revolver Magazine’s Golden Gods Awards, a metal awards show, and will perform along with Stone Sour, Anthrax, Metallica and other heavy acts. “Last year we were nominated and won—which was a surprise,” Puciato says. “We’re playing this show because it’s a cool opportunity to get in front of a more metal audience again. We’ve never played with Slayer or done Ozzfest or [Rockstar Energy Drink] Mayhem [Festival]. And I feel like the traditional metal crowd knows the least about us. That’s kinda funny, since we’re considered a metal band but never spent much time catering
May 19 at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. to that tag. In fact, we ran against it deliberately so we would never get stuck because you never know—10 years ago we might want to sound like Portishead.” In June, The Dillinger Escape plan is scheduled to perform at the Orion Music + More festival in Detroit, which features Metallica, Deftones and other marquee bands. “Playing with Metallica is something I thought of as a kid,” Puciato says. “It was the end-all be-all at that time of my life . . . We’ve been doing this for many years now but we’re still humble and stoked to share the stage with Metallica.” c www.dillingerescapeplan.org
Green Letter Date
Talk about perfect timing. The Dillinger Escape Plan is exhausted from their nearly perfect performance at the three-day New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, which took place on (wait for it) April 20. With that date in mind—plus a lineup that included Opeth, Katatonia, Terror, Hatebreed, Suicidal Tendencies, DRI, Shadows Fall, Anthrax, Municipal Waste and Exodus—frontman Greg Puciato admitted more than one member of the band was thoroughly satisfied with that day, and that performance. “We couldn’t be happier to play this year; there were so many great metal bands all three days. Ten years ago we used to do a lot of metal shows like that then we tried to break out of that to avoid getting pigeonholed into being that type of metal band. But now it feels good to go back to play for those crowds again.”
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Big Pete’s Treats Peanut Butter Minis We’re cookie monsters around here at CULTURE and even we were impressed with the taste and quality of Big Pete’s Treats Peanut Butter Minis. Part of a set of Big Pete’s Treats that includes chocolate chip, snickerdoodle and pecan toffee, the six mini peanut butter cookies come stacked in a professional plastic wrapper with helpful dosage and ingredients, so we know they’re made with just the essentials: an indica medical marijuana strain, butter, flour, sugar, eggs, peanut butter, vanilla and baking soda. They have a great golden look and smell like rich, buttery peanut butter. Hard and brittle and crumbly in the hand, they taste delectable: sugary, floury, peanut buttery; with that hint of herb. Patients are taking these low-strength edibles for mild insomnia, pain and anxiety.
Amsterdam’s Widow Easily the most inviting hairy old widow we’ve seen, Amsterdam’s Widow from San Jose’s Amsterdam’s Garden is like cannabis history in a jar. White Widow is a famous, Cup-winning strain first developed in 1987. Allegedly a cross of a Brazilian sativa and a south Indian hybrid, White Widow is synonymous with ’90s marijuana. It won the High Times Cannabis Cup in 1995. Amsterdam’s Widow was grown 100 percent organically with no additives and she is a unique beauty: soft and airy with these very, very long blond-brown pistils. Amsterdam’s Widow smells equally light. Notes of fresh cut hay and a minty tang mingle just a hint of dank, and the smoke is the lightest of the bunch this month—slightly sweet with a tangerine tang. Such hybrid medicine is used to treat a variety of conditions like tension and stress, and to stimulate appetite in AIDS patients.
Fruit Punch Kush The most exotically delicious-tasting of all this month’s flowers, Fruit Punch Kush lives up to its name with a thick, fruity, syrupy smell and taste—the origins of which are a mystery. MedMar in San Jose offers the indica-dominant strain, which has been tested by SC Labs at 20.4 percent THC, and it looks like a Kush. The nugs are dense, spiky little golf balls with short green hairs and light orange pistils. The smell is a pungent, dank, fruit stank. Grinding releases its hashy notes, but smoking it is like whiffing a nice Hawaiian Punch. We don’t know how they got something like a sativa Sweet Island Skunk into this Kush, but we’re OK with it. Patients use indica-dominant flowers like this to treat depression, pain from chemotherapy or diabetes.
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Blue Dream La Vie This is no mere dream, this is an Inception. Vastly dwarfing anything we’ve seen in months, our nug of Blue Dream La Vie (available at La Vie MMX in San Jose) weighs in at over 12 grams, on account of not only its size, but its density. The more the merrier. The strain Blue Dream is one of California’s most popular—a largely functional, 50-50 hybrid sativaindica mixing the global sativa blend Haze with DJ Short’s indica Blueberry. At its best, Blue Dream looks light green and near-blue, with orange pistils and a thick powdery coating of trichomes. Blue Dream La Vie’s look was on-point, but we could have used more of its archetypal soft, floral smell and taste: a mix of blueberries and fresh-cut hay. Anxiety patients absolutely adore this hybrid and so did we. If this is a dream, do not wake us up.
Hasheys Cannacino Starbucks’ Frappucinos are one our indulgences, so we were intrigued by the medical cannabis version of the hit caffeinated beverage. Hasheys’ Cannacino delivers 50 milligrams of THC in the regular strength size and 200 mgs of THC in the “Doppio” strength, but we suggest you stick with regular strength. Each comes with a double shot of Arabica coffee mixed with half and half, and sugar bonded to kosher vegetable glycerin cannabis extract (which is faster-acting than oil-bonded extracts). It looks and tastes like a store-bought Frapp: cafe-colored and milky, with the nutty, bitter, rich coffee taste balanced by the sugar. The 50mg version has a hint of cannabis extract, while the 200mg tastes medicinal—like a strong medicated brownie. Patients are drinking cannabis edibles to treat muscle spasms, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.
Enhanced Dutch Crunch With decades of breeding experience behind them, it’s hard to beat the Dutch, or for that matter, Enhanced Dutch Crunch from Enhanced Energies in Vallejo. Dutch Crunch is a mix of Jack Herer and Dutch Treat, two Netherlands-bred strains with a sterling reputation around the globe. Jack Herer is named for the famed hemp activist and has won several Cannabis Cups thanks to its candy-sugar, pine and spice taste and ebullient sativa effects. Combined with the indica Dutch Treat—and you’ve got a real contender on your hands. Our Enhanced Dutch Crunch has been super-sized and is extra-dense and dark. It has a thick, syrupy, candy-sweet-pine smell that wonderfully translates to the taste buds. Very strong, Enhanced Dutch Crunch tests at 22.9 percent THC by SC Labs, good for patients suffering from Crohn’s disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and back spasms.
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concentrate reviews Super Melt White Fire #3 HHCC in San Jose offers more than 40 concentrates, but standing out amongst the pack is its Super Melt White Fire #3. This super-melt is bright orange and comes in little malleable balls that are easy to dab up. The smell is very strong, indicating the presence of many of the original White Fire #3’s terpenes—or aromatic molecules. The concentrate is made from a strain of The White crossed with Fire OG, meaning it’s got the extrastrong lemon-fuel smell of an OG, with some extra sweetness and hash notes from The White. Unlike less refined concentrate, Super Melt White Fire #3 liquefies under heat, so it requires special smoking utensils or a bowl of greens underneath it. Patients use these super-concentrated indica-based medicines to deal with serious pain from chemotherapy or spinal cord injuries, or to treat symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol or opioids.
Girl Scout Cookies Honeycomb All American Cannabis Club has emerged as one of the premier sources for high-grade concentrates in San Jose, and even it is stoked on the new A2C2 Girl Scout Cookies Honeycomb. This is a concentrate of Girl Scout Cookies—a smash hit indica-dominant hybrid strain that mixes OG Kush, Durban Poison and Cherry Pie. Cookies has this complex trademark smell combining all three to somehow conjure the thick, rich aroma of a minty-baked good. A2C2’s Girl Scout Cookies Honeycomb producer keeps the flowers’ flavors alive. The blond, light color is also phenomenal on these crumbling wafers. The material is hard to stick to a dab, but easy enough to drop on a nail, where it quickly smokes light and smooth yet packs the GSC taste. Patients are using indica-dominant concentrates like these to treat nausea, PMS and glaucoma.
L.A. Confidential Shatter by South Bay Xtracts South Bay Xtracts in San Jose offers a prime example of a popular shatter concentrate with their L.A. Confidential Shatter—a heavily processed product (from Silicon Valley ARC in San Jose) that’s often so hard and brittle that it breaks when handled, hence the term. The source material, L.A. Confidential, is a blockbuster indica from DNA Genetics mixing to Afghani strains for a 100-percent indica effect. We get very little in the way of smells from this extract, but it looks translucent as colored glass, indicating high quality. Very sticky and much easier to work with cold than at room temperature, it’s very easy to dab up little hits of this concentrate, which taste very light and smooth, with a spice, hash and incense-like aftertaste. Patients use such strong indica concentrates as anti-spasmodics, or to treat symptoms from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Legal Disclaimer
The publishers of this publication are not making any representations with respect to the safety or legality of the use of medical cannabis concentrates. The reviews listed here are for general entertainment purposes only, and are intended for use only when medical cannabis is not a violation of state law. Please consume responsibly. Concentrates are legal and covered under Washington’s State Medical Use of Cannabis Act (Measure 692), SB 6032 and SB 5798, and are considered a form of medical cannabis (WRC 69.50.101). Without a medical professional’s recommendation, possession of concentrates can be a felony (WRC 69.50.204).
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Being Blunt
On the Screen Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie screening May 2 at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco.
Filmmaker and cannabis icon Kevin Smith dishes about why he converted to the cannabis cause by David Jenison
If Hollywood horror movies taught us anything, it’s don’t bully the wrong kid if don’t want him to slash everyone to bits at the high school reunion. Enter Kevin Smith, the indie filmmaker who got a seat at the Hollywood table but not on a Southwest airplane. The indie icon plans to retire the director’s chair in 2014, but he’s basically donned a hockey mask for his current slate of podcasts and live events. He humorously trashes Bruce Willis, Tim Burton, Jon Peters and others he worked with, and God help the person who admits too much, like the assistant who said Prince shops for his clothes in the boys department. His regular podcasts include “Hollywood Babble-On” and “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old,” and his classic Q&A events are often released on DVD. Many of his films are stoner classics, but if he gets his wish to make Clerks 3, it will actual be his first comedy movie as a regular cannabis user. Naturally, this interview begins with Smith’s late-age conversion.
You did not become a regular cannabis user until Seth Rogen got you into it at age 38. This begs the question, what references did you use for your stoner characters and dialogue? What a great question because, in looking back, the present me wants to call out twentysomething-year-old Kevin Smith as a f@#kin’ fraud. “You don’t know what you are talking about, man!” When I watch those movies now and hear the references to weed and stoner culture, it is clearly written by somebody who thought, “I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I’ve heard these words.” Now I would re-write it a bit different, and those flicks would spend a lot more time talking about weed. There would always be this moment when someone soliloquies like Linus talking about Jesus in A Charlie Brown Christmas, but in this instance, the soliloquy would be about weed and how good it is and how everyone should get off its back. Thank God I didn’t have that much education [on weed], or we would have spent a lot more time dealing with it back in the day. As far as references, a lot of it was just guesswork, and some was based on stuff [Jason] Mewes would say during his brief tenure as a stoner before moving on to heavier stuff. I based the character of Jay on who he was at age 16 or 17. That was Mewes as a crazy force of nature. There was a panel in this
old Dennis the Menace cartoon book where the neighbor Mr. Wilson saw Dennis walk by and said, “There goes that Mitchell kid. He’s like a sonic boom with dirt on it.” I loved that, and I always remembered it, so whenever I heard of Mewes, I was like, “There he goes. He’s a sonic boom with dirt on it.” I lost the thread of the question. What were we talking about again? What references you used for your stoner characters. Oh God, we got so far-flung from that. Basically, it was the Jason Mewes of my youth. I remember everything he would say. Your brain freezes things that it recognizes as currency, and you cannot spend it because you don’t know it yourself. Whenever I heard something, I was like, “I’m going to pack that away. This is inside information. This is one of those stoners, and he knows the terminology.” It was like having an insight into a
“Naturally, [cannabis] should not just be for people who are terminal cases. It should be for anybody.”
culture that I wasn’t a part of, but it was definitely a young, 16-year-old Jason Mewes who fully informed all my marijuana references in those movies, even up to the ones later in life. By Clerks 2, I still wasn’t a stoner. Was I? No, I did Zack and Miri [Make a Porno] after that. Do you believe in the legitimacy of medical marijuana use? Oh, hands down, absolutely, in terms of the physical comfort, in terms of inducing appetite in those who don’t have. Set aside the physical medicinal, the psychological medicinal you cannot discount. What it can do for somebody, where it can take them, and I’m not just talking about, “Hey man, it’ll take you on a whacky high journey.” Think about the people for whom medical marijuana is usually recommended, and you are talking about extreme cases. I don’t think I’ve encountered anything in my life that has made me more okay with the notion that one day I’m going to pass from this world than marijuana. If someone is going through something medically traumatic or facing down their end, heavens, [give them] anything that is going to make the transition easy. Naturally, it should not just be for people who are terminal cases. It should be for anybody. It rearranges your mind. At least it did for me. For years, people fed me the same propaganda that you’ll smoke weed and sit there on MAY 2013 • CULTURE 39
the couch and just watch movies, but for me, it is a great organizer. How does cannabis make you more organized? If you think about the brain as a series of folders that you keep creating, weed for me is like a program that puts them all in order alphabetically and allows you to prioritize what is important. That is how I’ve been able to spin so many plates the last few years. My medicinal problem is that I have problems sleeping, and if that is doing it for somebody who has mild medicinal needs like myself, imagine what it can do for people who have absolute medicinal need. Instead of filling them with yet another synthetic narcotic put together chemically in a lab . . . I don’t want to get all stoner on ya, but there is a reason it just grows naturally. It doesn’t have to be produced. It’s not like, “It can only grow in a certain place.” I think nature is always trying to take care of us, and it provides at all given times. We have cannabinoid receptors in the brain, which don’t have many other uses. It points to, I believe the idea that weed is something we are all naturally supposed to be ingesting. Of course, it has a cultural stigma, but that seems to be slowly sliding away. Tell me about the Q&A events you do around the country. I grew up listening to comics. My father worked at the post office, and he would bring home all these comedy records. He said he bought them from a friend who sold them out of his trunk at lunchtime, but I bet my old man took a few from the Colombia Records Club as they came through the mail. I love comedians, and I have too much respect for what they do to ever consider myself in the same league. Those cats have a real job, and I’m a carpetbagger. I just consider myself, “Oh, I made those movies and answer questions about them,” but the podcasts and live stuff enable me to be more like a comic. I am able to be more observational and tell more 40 CULTURE • MAY 2013
“I believe the idea that ‘cannabis’ is something we are all naturally supposed to be ingesting. Of course, it has a cultural stigma, but that seems to be slowly sliding away.” stories, like, “When I was working on the Prince documentary . . .” You really take it to celebrities in these events. Is the idea to let people see what happens behind the curtain in Hollywood? Yeah, totally. You should pull back the curtain. When I started doing the Q&As, I always felt I needed to answer questions the way I would have wanted them answered. I have been to a few panels and Q&As, and nobody wants to dish. For me, I would want to know details. I would want to know who is an asshole and who is not. You also have “Hollywood Babble-On” with Ralph Garman, which features segments like Movies That Will Suck. How do you pick which segments you do each week? Ralph is definitely the author of “Hollywood Babble-On,” and I’m the guy who sits there and reacts. The content changes every week based on the news, of course, but we hit all the favorite bits. I know he swapped out Creepy Clown for doing the Green Lantern oath
through a variety of different voices and characters. You can totally expect David Bowie, and I’ll be grabbing my own boobs and trying to suck them, as per usual. Do you think Clerks 3 will happen? I’m happy to do the movie. I love these characters, and I built my entire adult life—in the imaginary world, in the real world—on the backs of Dante and Randal. I have stories to tell, and I have one that closes it all up. Jeff Anderson, who plays Randal, absolutely has to signoff and jump onboard. He is Randal. It’s not like you can just recast him, and why would
Too Fat to Fly
What’s the price of cheap airfare? Apparently, harassment and discrimination. Smith was removed from a flight after being judged that he was too obese to fly safely, though Southwest tried to justify this with contradictory (and privacy violating) statements. Smith dubbed them “The Greyhound of the Air” and has not flown with them since.
you want to? It is a journey that a few of us have taken together over the last 20 years. That would be me, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran, Scott Mosier and David Klein. If I can keep that core together, I have something special to begin with, but I couldn’t imagine doing it without Jeff. His whole thing is, “I didn’t want to do the second one, and then we did it, and I liked it a lot. But for the same reason I didn’t want to do the second one, and now at the crossroads of the third, why do we need to do it? Is there a need to tell the story?” I guess he is our Jiminy Cricket who keeps us honest. We are hopefully slowly cruising toward a 2014 start and finish, so I essentially have a year to convince him. The story is good. The story will convince him once he reads it—hopefully, hopefully—but I have a backup plan. Russians don’t take a dump without a backup plan, as they told us in The Hunt for Red October, so you always got to have something to back you up. 2014 is the 20th anniversary of Clerks, and we’re going to mark it in some way. Hopefully it will be with a movie, but if not, it will be with something else. c www.facebook.com/ YesThatKevinSmith, seesmod.com/groovymovie V I S I T U S AT i R e a d C u l t u r e . c o m
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destination unknown
Czech Vantage
Point
Uruguay’s Punta del Este offers travelers South Beach-style sights and soundtracks “If you want to get wild on the beach, the place to come is Punta del Este,” said actress Natalia Cigliuti in a 2001 Wild On E! episode showcasing Uruguay’s top destination. That year, LeBron James played for the Fighting Irish, the first Harry Potter debuted in theaters and Shaggy topped the music charts (twice), while Punta del Este’s international draw was primarily from Buenos Aires and south Brazil. The crowds were wild and wealthy, but it was media outlets like E! that took the town global. A dozen years later, North American and European jetsetters join the Punta crowds for a party that’s sexier, ritzier and more exclusive than ever. “It is a playground for rich and goodlooking people,” says Tamie Sheffield, a world traveler who brokers tickets to select Playboy Mansion parties. “Punta was just for South Americans before, but now it’s worldwide. If you happen to be ‘in the know,’ the villa parties are absolutely insane.”
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Punta del Este is a South Beach-style city that sits on a peninsula, but the designation typically refers to a stretch of coastline extending 20 miles northeast to Jose Ignacio. Along the way, La Barra is a Hamptons-meets-Ibiza town whose famed Bikini Beach overflows with perfectly bronzed Brazilian and Argentine women and self-important men trying desperately to meet them. DJs spin house music on the sand to provide a daytime soundtrack, and when the clock strikes midnight, meticulously groomed crowds flock to the local clubs. Punta’s fame clearly stems from its glitterati-packed nightlife and unfairly blessed bodies because the local beaches are solidly mediocre. Still, the scene goes bonkers from mid-December to early March, and to quote the Lonely Planet travel guide, “Tan it, wax it, buff it” before even considering a visit. With an underwhelming beach, Punta sounds like a hotspot with a limited shelf life, but its enduring legacy is diverse and multi-generational. Brigitte Bardot, the
By David Jenison
Rat Pack and Che “Freakin‘” Guevara were all early fans, and more recent visitors include Bob Dylan, Madonna, Robert De Niro, Simon Le Bon and Leonardo DiCaprio. Colombian singer Shakira rocks a ranch in Punta, and Naomi Campbell and Gisele Bundchen are rumored to have vacation homes. The travel press now calls it the “St. Tropez of South America,” though there are drawbacks to a crowd that admires Kim Kardashian more than Exene Cervenka. Punta del Este, for some, sounds more hellish than shelling out $17 to see Schwarzenegger in The Last Stand. Rented sports cars, yacht-packed marinas and the $100-million Trump Tower construction all feel faker than that rug sitting atop ol‘ Donald’s dome. Still, CULTURE readers who disdain the “scene” may soon have another reason to visit. By the year’s end, Uruguay is likely to become the first country to legalize cannabis. Uruguayan president Jose Mujica is the leading proponent for a new law that would allow citizens to purchase, possess and/or grow established legal amounts. The 77-year-old leader, who donates 90 percent of his salary to charity, believes that cannabis prohibition enriches organized crime, promotes violence and drains the state coffers, and the government launched a three-month public forum on April 4 to educate its citizens. Proactive ideas include a National Cannabis Institute that directs the income from sales into education and health. The proposed law only applies to citizens, so Amsterdam-style “coffee shops” may not emerge, but it is a symbolic step for a continent weary of ineffective U.S. drug war tactics. In the meantime, cannabis is readily available in Punta del Este, and discreet smokers are typically left alone. c
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profiles in courage Patient: Jakki H
AGE: 32
Condition/ Illness:
Neurofibromatosis Type 1
Using medical cannabis since: 2003
Are you an MMJ patient from the Bay Area with a compelling story to tell? If so, we want to hear from you. Email your name, contact information and details about your experiences with medical cannabis to courage@ireadculture.com.
Why did you start using medical cannabis?
I started using medical cannabis because of my NF1, which is a tumor disorder that causes tumors to grow along the nervous system. My disease is very painful and unpredictable, my neurofibromas range in size and location on my body. I have had eight surgeries to remove countless tumors throughout my body; from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet—some weighing as much as 8 pounds.
Did you try other methods or treatments before cannabis?
I have always had chronic pain, and for years had been misdiagnosed. I have been given pretty much every pharmaceutical for pain—from patches, to shots, to pills . . . I have found healthier ways to ingest my medicine, such as vaporizing with my Extreme Q or eating my favorite edibles like the Peanut Butter Swirl Trikom Treats I eat to relieve my pain and relax my nerves in a safe, healthy and delicious way.
What’s the most important issue or problem facing medical cannabis patients?
I believe that, unfortunately, most people are ignorant to all the benefits of this plant, and if their only source of information is a media that refers to medical cannabis as “pot” or “weed” and the medical edibles I eat—like Trikom Treats—as “pot laced” brownies and not seriously as medicine, it is unlikely anyone will give this wonderful plant the chance and credit it deserves.
What do you say to folks who are skeptical about cannabis as medicine?
First I mention [that] I understand their reservations and then share my story with them about how it has completely helped me cope in a natural way with the pain I experience daily. c
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cool stuff Waffle-Making Typewriter Typewriters may be retro . . . but waffles never go out of style! Enter Chris Dimino’s Waffle-Making Typewriter— made with the body of an actual Smith-Corona Coronamatic typewriter. It started off as a one-off and will soon be mass-produced. Would you like some maple syrup to go with your QWERTY? www.chrisdimino.com
DabR If reliability, durability and versatility are the hallmarks of tomorrow’s portable vaporizers, than DabR has the market cornered today. Capable of vaporizing everything—herbs, flowers, oils, waxes—this pen vape is truly a four-in-one accessory that handles any patients’ needs under all circumstances. Flowers or extracts— DabR goes above and beyond. ($99.95) www.dabrusa.com
The Zapper Teach friends not to play with toy guns using The Zapper—a novelty shock lighter from City Rock Smoke Shop in Santa Clara. The Zapper patiently waits for its victims, because everyone likes using a gun-shaped lighter. Soon enough, close friends and loved ones will pick up the device and squeeze the trigger, delivering an uncomfortable jolt. (The hammer lights the lighter.) Make your getaway to avoid reprisals. ($5.99) www.cityrocksmokeshop.com
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By Aunt Sandy
Menu:
Soupe a l’Oignon (French Onion Soup) w/Infused Croutons Spring Green Salad w/Italian Dressing Apple Crisp Sweet Tea
Whether spring brings us sunshine or snow, it’s always a good time to celebrate the season that reminds us of nature’s fabulous powers of renewal and rebirth. To ease us away from winter’s grip, we’ve come up with this light, refreshing menu. Season’s greetings.
Sandy Moriarty is the author of Aunt’ Sandy’s Medical Marijuana Cookbook: Comfort Food for Body & Mind and a Professor of Culinary Arts at Oaksterdam University. She is also the co-founder of Oaksterdam’s Bakery. 50 CULTURE • MAY 2013
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Soupe a l’Oignon (French Onion Soup) Serves eight 1 1/2 lbs. (about 5 cups) yellow onion, thinly sliced 3 tablespoons Canna Butter* 1 tablespoon Cannabis Infused Oil** 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon sugar 3 tablespoons flour 2 quarts of boiling brown stock (or canned beef bouillon) 1/2 cup dry white wine, cognac or dry sherry Salt and pepper to taste Cook onions slowly over low hear in a heavy bottom, 4-quart covered saucepan with the Butter and Oil for 15 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to medium and stir in salt and sugar (it helps the onions to brown). Cook for 45 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions have turned an even, deep golden brown. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for three minutes. Turn off the heat and blend in the boiling stock (or bouillon). Add the wine, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer partially covered for 45 minutes. Set aside uncovered until ready to serve. Then reheat to simmer. Garnish with Infused Croutons.
Infused Croutons 1 French baguette 1/2 cup Canna Butter* Garlic salt Slice the baguette into cubes, enough to make about three cups. In a skillet, melt the Butter. Toss in the bread cubes and toast until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Season with garlic salt.
Spring Green Salad Serves eight Iceberg lettuce Red leaf lettuce Spinach Romaine Endive Watercress, etc. Wash a selected choice of greens for your salad and dry well. Break into pieces and put it into a large salad bowl. Garnish your salad with your choice of cherry tomatoes, olives, beets, carrots, cucumber, fennel slices, celery, red or yellow peppers, onions, nuts, pickles, capers, etc. Serve with Infused Croutons and Italian Dressing.
Italian Dressing
4 tablespoons wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 12 tablespoon Cannabis Infused Oil** 2 pinches of pepper 1/2 tablespoon minced parsley 1/2 tablespoon minced chives 1/2 tablespoon minced tarragon 1/2 tablespoon minced basil
Pour all of the ingredients together in a jar. Replace the screw top on the jar and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to blend thoroughly. MAY 2013 • CULTURE 51
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Apple Crisp Serves SIX 4 cups sliced tart apples 2 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup Canna Butter* 1/2 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon cinnamon Vanilla ice cream (optional)
Bake in an ovenproof dish that you can serve at the table. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pare, core and slice apples into a 9-inch pie pan or dish and add lemon juice. Work the flour, brown sugar, Butter, salt and cinnamon with a pastry blender or with your finger tips. The mixture must be worked so that it does not become oily. Spread these crumbly ingredients over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold and garnish with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.
Sweet Tea 4 bags of your favorite tea 1 quart of water 1/4 cup Cannabis Infused Simple Syrup*** Ice cubes Spring of mint, lemon wedge, etc. as garnish
Combine water and your favorite tea bags in a glass jar. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove the tea bags and add Syrup. Serve over ice cubes. Garnish with mint, a lemon wedge . . . or Infused Rum.
Cannabis Infused Oil** 1 cup cooking oil 1 1/4 ounces low to average quality dried leaf cannabis or 3/4 ounce average dried bud Place cannabis in a slow cooker. Add oil. If necessary, add a little extra oil in order to just cover the cannabis. Cook on low for six to eight hours, stirring often. Strain through cheesecloth to remove plant material. For further purity, strain through a coffee filter. Store in the refrigerator for up to three months.
Canna Butter* 1 cup unsalted butter 1 ounce low to average quality dried leaf marijuana or 1/2 ounce average dried bud 4 cups water Bring water and butter to boil in a small pot, lower heat to simmer. Simmer gently for about 1 1/2 hours. Mash and stir frequently to extract all THC from the plant material. After cooking, use cheesecloth to strain the butter/water mixture. Pour about 2 cups clean boiling water over the leaves in the strainer to extract every last drop of butter. Squeeze plant material well to remove as much liquid as possible. Chill the butter/water mixture in the refrigerator until the butter has solidified (1 to 2 hours). Separate butter from water and keep butter in the refrigerator (or freezer for longer storage) until needed.
Cannabis Infused Simple Syrup*** 1/2 oz. cannabis buds 1 cup sugar 1 cup water In a saucepan, sauté the buds in sugar and water over medium heat for 20 minutes. Strain the buds. Pour the remaining green-colored syrup into a glass container. Let it cool and refrigerate.
Legal Disclaimer
Publishers of this publication are not making any representations with respect to the safety or legality of the use of medical marijuana. The recipes listed here are for general entertainment purposes only, and are intended for use only where medical marijuana is not a violation of state law. Edibles can vary in potency while a consumers’ weight, metabolism and eating habits may affect effectiveness and safety. Ingredient management is important when cooking with cannabis for proper dosage. Please consume responsibly and check with your doctor before consumption to make sure that it is safe to do so.
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Shooting Gallery iREADCULTURE.com GET YOUR HITS HERE
Oaksterdam on the Green (Photos by Amanda Holguin)
HempCon San Jose (Photos by Amanda Holguin)
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Inside my Medicine Cabinet by Lee Materazzi
entertainment reviews She & Him Volume 3 Merge Records Hipster queen Zoey Deschanel, and neo-folkster/alt-country genius M. Ward have returned with their ensemble She & Him, to bring us their third installment of original and gorgeous material. Volume 3, much like their previous two albums, is a wonderful return to the glory days of classic, large-sounding pop records, like the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds or any album that Phil Spector produced. Volume 3 also shows Ward and Deschanel evolving their sound to incorporate more contemporary influences and styles. The enveloping sonicsoundscapes of soaring string arrangements and swirling background vocals are still intact, along with vintage-toned guitars and basses. The record seems to be less of a tribute to their influences than previous efforts, and more of a distinctive vision for the duo that draws on classic stylings while creating something wholly unique. Volume 3 shows continued growth from She & Him and proves that the group is more than just a pair of famous names, but instead a songwriting and production duo of which to be in awe. (Simon Weedn)
Memoirs of Dennis Peron: How a Gay Hippy Outlaw Legalized Marijuana in Response to the AIDS Crisis By Dennis Peron & John Entwistle, Jr. Medical Use Publishing House Upon first impression, Dennis Peron comes off like a disrespected pothead, complaining about the way life has (mis)treated him at the start of his biography, Memoirs of Dennis Peron: How a Gay Hippy Outlaw Legalized Marijuana in Response to the AIDS Crisis. However, when this wide-ranging book eventually gets to the section where Peron fights for passage of California’s Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, where marijuana is “legalized” as medicine— particularly to help heal the pain and suffering caused by the AIDS epidemic in Peron’s San Francisco hometown—his image is subtly transformed from that of a loser, into a true leader. This book is part biography, part marijuana legalization manifesto and Peron (with John Entwistle’s editorial help) sometimes cannot decide if he’s writing a political opinion piece or a life story. However, it’s difficult to blame Peron for his tendency to digress because political causes are his life story, so the book would be incomplete without these various activist elements. With these editing flaws aside though, this book nevertheless offers an essential historical snapshot of one peaceful warrior in America’s lengthy war on cannabis. (Dan MacIntosh)
Cloud Atlas Warner Bros. Siblings Lana and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix Trilogy) return, along with Tom Tykwer (The International, Run Lola Run), to direct what was thought to be an un-makeable film adaptation of bestselling novel Cloud Atlas. Along with an exquisite cast of stars including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon and Hugh Grant, who take on a variety of rolls, the Wachowskis and Tykwer majestically weave together six unique stories that stretch across the fabric of time to show how the actions of an individual can ripple out to affect the actions of those in the future. In what can be best described as a period-piece meets folk-tale meets sci-fi action movie, the directors manage to create a film that is both lucid and well thought out. The only thing that can take a bit of getting used to is the narrative style, which jumps between periods and stories from time to time, without warning. However, for the viewer who can adjust to the unique storytelling, the reward is a gorgeous and epic tale, which not only dazzles the eyes, but also presents an interesting philosophy on human existence. For these reasons, Cloud Atlas is definitely not one to miss. (Simon Weedn) 56 CULTURE • MAY 2013
artMRKT San Francisco artMRKT San Francisco, the Bay Area’s premier contemporary and modern art fair, will feature 70 galleries from around the globe, bringing some of the world’s most intriguing artists and galleries to the City by the Bay. In showcasing historically important work alongside relevant contemporary pieces and projects, artMRKT will create an ideal context for the discovery, exploration and acquisition of art. Now in its third year, artMRKT SF has intrigued and inspired visitors, gallerists, collectors and enthusiasts. artMRKT will have six amazing and inventive installations by renowned artists and collectives including Taro Hattori, Klari Reis, Randy Colosky, Laurina Paperina and more. This art fair will also feature programming and events to engage residents and art lovers at every age, including SF Jazz High School All-Stars Combo performance, performance art by Michele Pred, artist talks, a charity auction, panel discussions on theory and art history, art tours and workshops as well! One of the most noteworthy art fairs nationwide, artMRKT is a great source to explore what interesting trends and techniques contemporary art is exploring now.
IF YOU GO
What: artMRKT San Francisco Contemporary and Modern Art Fair. When/Where: May 16-19, Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion, 2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco. Info: Tickets $20-$150. For details or to purchase tickets visit www.art-mrkt.com/sf.
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let’s do this Our picks for the coolest things to do around town Gay Date Night & Cinco De Mayo Celebration, May 3 Try something new with your partner: seek out other fun, like minded people to cap off the week. And enjoy a margarita while you’re at it. Amor is in the air, no? Pisco Latin Lounge, San Francisco gaydatenight.eventbrite.com
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, May 4 Let’s do the time warp again! How can you not, as this film (the longest running movie ever) has become such a cultural institution that the Smithsonian has a permanent copy? Weird and wacky with just the right blend of snarky audience participation, this classic is a bucket list hit for everyone. Camera 3, San Jose cameracinemas.com
Rolling Stones, May 8 The phrase “living legends” comes to mind when describing these guys. You know who they are even if you don’t listen to them, and you need to fix that if that’s the case. These tickets have a reputation for selling out incredibly quickly, so snag a piece of history before it fades away. HP Pavilion, San Jose hppavilion.com
One Shot x2, thru May 12 What do you get when you assemble a collective of the area’s best photographers? This isn’t a trick question—it’s really good art. This exhibit was designed for artists to break the norm and capture something that’s not usually their style. Calumet Photo, San Francisco bapc.info
Bay Area Black Comedy Festival, May 13 No, it’s not specifically a comedy festival with humor that crosses the line, though it may do that incidentally. It’s an exhibition of the best up and coming African-American stand up comics. See them before you have to pay for their HBO specials. Waterfront Hotel and other venues, Oakland blackcomedycompetition.com
AMGEN Bike Tour Stage 6, May 17 Bicyclist! Well, a huge collection of bicyclists racing quickly. Give them your support and let them know you’re a fan. It’s for
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a good cause. San Jose www.amgentourofcalifornia.com
Maker Faire, May 18-19 Make something new! Break out of your consumerist routine and discover invention first hand with the people here. San Mateo County Events Center, San Mateo makerfaire.com
FanimeCon 2013, May 24-27 Nerds, geeks and lovers of animation unite! It’s a convention just for you, come in costume or come as you are. San Jose McEnery Convention Center, San Jose www.fanime.com
Sissy Spacek Live, May 20 Meet Carrie, the psychokinetic girl who had the worst prom ever. Or, you can talk to the woman who immortalized her on screen about her life and being an actress. Just in time for the reboot, too. California Theatre, San Jose sanjosetheatres.org
Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg, May 23 King of beat poetry and rhythm, civil rights pioneer and genius. See his photography and get a closer view into his unique psyche. The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco thecjm.org
China’s Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor’s Legacy, thru May 27 Living mysteries abound here. No one quite knows why theses warriors were made or what they were for. At the very least, they look cool. Asian Art Museum, San Francisco www.asianart.org
Skull and Bones NightLife, May 30 Putting together a jigsaw puzzle is a tepid Thursday night. Watching scientists trying to reassemble an orca whale’s skeleton is more than unforgettable—and on display here. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco calacademy.org
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Give It A Rest
While cannabis can be used to help people diagnosed with cancer and AIDS, many patients and medical professionals have found that ingesting the plant can also have an affect on insomnia and sleeplessness. While not fatal, lack of sleep is a very serious condition—one that can have a major impact on your physical (and mental) well-being, influence your productivity and general quality of life. If you are considering using MMJ for insomnia, here are some things to keep in mind.
If you prefer flowers, note that an indica’s sleep-inducing effects will kick in fairly quickly. That two-hour movie you put on—well, you might not make it through the end.
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Consider using indica or indica-dominant strains. Sativa strains are the ones that are typically uplifting and energizing—some patients find them useful as daytime medicine. Indicas, on the other hand, generally make you sleepy.
Edibles take longer to kick in (as little as 45 minutes, as long as an hour or two). Therefore ingest well in advance. Edibles tend to be pretty potent, so plan on getting a good (and long) night’s sleep. V I S I T U S AT i R e a d C u l t u r e . c o m
Illustrations by Vidal Diaz
Insomnia can be dangerous if left unchecked. High blood pressure, stress, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure and other ailments have been linked with insomnia.
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Chuck Shepherd
News of the
Weird LEAD STORY— UNDOCUMENTED LIVING
; Undocumented immigrant Jose Munoz, 25, believed himself an ideal candidate for President Obama’s 2012 safeharbor initiative for illegal-entry children, in that he had been brought to the U.S. by his undocumented parents before age 16, had no criminal record and had graduated from high school (with honors, even). Since then, however, he had remained at home in Sheboygan, Wis., assisting his family, doing odd jobs
and, admittedly, just playing video games and “vegging.” Living “in the shadows,” he found it almost impossible to prove the final legal criterion: that he had lived continuously in the U.S. since graduation (using government records, payroll sheets, utility bills, etc.). After initial failures to convince immigration officials, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in March, Munoz’s lawyer succeeded—by submitting Munoz’s Xbox Live records, documenting that his computer’s Wisconsin location had been accessing video games, day after day, for years.
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GOVERNMENT IN ACTION!
; Among the lingering costs of U.S. wars are disability payments and compensation to veterans’ families, which can continue decades after hostilities end. An Associated Press analysis of federal payment records, released in March, even found two current recipients of Civil War benefits. Vietnam war payments are still about $22 billion a year, World War II, $5 billion, World War I, $20 million, and the 1898 SpanishAmerican war, about $1,700. ; Each year, Oklahoma is among the states to receive $150,000 federal grants to operate small, isolated airfields (for Oklahoma, one in the southern part of the state is so seldom used that it is primarily a restroom stop for passing pilots). The payments are from a 13-year- old congressional fund for about 80 similar airfields (no traffic, no planes kept on site), described by a February Washington Post investigation as “ATM(s) shaped like (airports).” Congress
no longer even requires that the annual grants be spent on the actual airports drawing the grants. ; During the massive February Southern California manhunt for former Los Angeles cop Christopher Dorner, nervous-triggered LAPD officers riddled an SUV with bullets after mistakenly believing Dorner was inside. Instead there were two women, on their early-morning job as newspaper carriers, and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck famously promised them a new truck and arranged with a local dealership for a 2013 Ford F-150 ($32,560). However, the deal fell through in March when the women discovered that Beck’s “free” truck was hardly free. Rather, it would be taxable as a “donation,” reported on IRS Form 1099, perhaps costing them thousands of dollars.
GREAT ART!
; Sculptor Richard Jackson introduced “Bad Dog” as part of his “Ain’t Painting a Pain” installation at California’s Orange County Museum in February. Outside, to coax visitors in, Jackson’s “Bad Dog’s” hind leg was cocked, with
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gallons of yellow paint being pumped onto the building. “We’ll see how long it lasts,” he told the Los Angeles Times, “but you never know how people will react.” “Sometimes, people feel they should protect their children from such things, then the kids go home and watch South Park.” ; Australian dilettante David Walsh’s 2-year-old Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart is acquiring a reputation for irreverence. Among the exhibits is Greg Taylor’s “My Beautiful Chair,” which invites a visitor to lie next to a lethal injection chair and experience a countdown, mimicking the time it takes for execution drugs to kill (and then flashing “You Are Dead”). Also, at 2 p.m. each day, a “fresh fecal masterpiece” is created by artist Wim Delvoye, in which a meal from the museum’s restaurant is placed into a transparent grinder that creates slush, turns it brown, and adds an overpowering defecation-like smell. The resulting “masterpiece” is channeled into (also transparent) vats.
DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
; U.S. political consultants may recommend to their candidates gestures such as wearing an American flag lapel pin. In India, the advice includes creating the proper suggestive name for the candidate on the official ballot. Hence, among those running for office this year (according to a February Hindustan Times report): Frankenstein Momin, Hamletson Dohling, Boldness Nongum and Bombersing Hynniewta, and several Sangmas (related or not): Billykid Sangma, Mafiara Sangma, Rightious Sangma and Winnerson Sangma. More confusing were Hilarius Dkhar and Hilarius Pohchen and especially Adolf Lu Hitler Marak.
PERSPECTIVE
; Some Third-Worlders eat dirt because they are mentally ill or have no meaningful food. However, diners at Tokyo’s upscale Ne Quittez Pas eat it because it is a trendy dish prepared by prominent chef Toshio Tanabe. Among his courses are soil soup served with a flake of dirty truffle, soil sorbet and the “soil surprise” (a 66 CULTURE • MAY 2013
dirt-covered potato ball). (Spoiler alert: It has a truffle center.) Tanabe lightly precooks his dirt and runs it through a sieve to eliminate the crunchiness.
POLICE REPORTS
; In some jurisdictions, a driver can be presumed impaired with a blood alcohol reading as low as .07 (and suggestively impaired at a reading below that), but according to a WMAQ-TV investigation in February, some suburban Chicago police forces allow officers to work with their own personal readings as high as .05. (While officers may be barred from driving at that level, they may not, by police union contract, face any discipline if they show up for work with a reading that high.)
READERS’ CHOICE
; In March, Jose Martinez pocketed an $8,000 settlement with California’s Disneyland after he was stranded on a broken It’s a Small World ride for a half-hour in 2009. Because Martinez is disabled, he could not easily be rescued and was forced, he said, to listen to the “It’s a Small World” song on an endless loop until help arrived. (2) A woman and her son doing yard work at their home in Texarkana, Texas, in March “cleverly” dealt with a menacing snake by dousing it with gasoline and setting it afire, but of course it slithered away—under brush next to their house. Moments later, according to an Associated Press dispatch, the home caught fire and burned down, and their neighbor’s house was heavily damaged.
SNAIL MAIL: THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT
; Wait . . . What? A startup company in Austin, Texas, also serving San Francisco, promises to take its customers’ incoming U.S. mail three times a week, photograph it and deliver it back to the customers via mobile phone app, for $4.99 a month. The company, Outbox, provides some value-added services, removing the customer from junk-mail lists and paying bills. Still, Outbox’s unorthodox business model assumes that a growing number of people absolutely hate opening, filing V I S I T U S AT i R e a d C u l t u r e . c o m
or discarding pieces of paper. Co-founder Will Davis told CNN in February that at least he does not fear competition: “No one is crazy enough to do what we’re doing.”
OOPS!
; College basketball player Shanteona Keys makes free throws at a 78 percent rate for her career, but on Feb. 16, she weakly shanked one of those 15-foot shots, causing it to thud to the floor about eight feet short of the rim—the worst collegiate freethrow attempt of all time, according to several sports commentators who viewed the video. Keys explained to Deadspin.com that she always brings the ball close to her face when she shoots, “and my fingernail got caught on my nose, so I couldn’t follow through correctly.” Her Georgia College (Milledgeville, Ga.) team lost to rival Columbus State, 70-60. ; Research Hurts: Between 2002 and 2010, according to the March BJU International (formerly British Journal of Urology), an estimated 17,600 patients came to U.S.
hospital emergency rooms reporting genital injuries from trouser zippers (presumably by accident, but researchers took no position on that). Seven authors (six from University of California, San Francisco) took credit for the report, funded by a National Institutes of Health grant, and found that “zip” wounds were only about one-fifth of emergency penile injuries.
FAMILY VALUES
; Rachel Hope and Parker Williams, both apparently intelligent and attractive, decided to procreate and fully raise a child together— even though neither has romantic intentions toward the other. Their relationship is likened to a business one, according to a February New York Times profile, in which they do their respective biological duties, separately, and then each basically outsources half the subsequent child-rearing to the other. Said another parent in a similar relationship: “When you think about the concept of the village, and how the village was part of child-rearing for so many cultures . . . it makes total sense.”
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