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departments 6 Letter from the Editor Concentrates might be the latest trend . . . but they’ve been around for centuries.
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Punk to the Core
Hardscrabble icon Henry Rollins tells it like it is. Just stand back. Photo by Heidi May
8 News Nuggets Cannabis makes headlines here, there, everywhere—and we give you the scoop—PLUS our latest By the Numbers. 16 Destination Unknown Morocco’s magic includes the (in)famous “Hippie Trail.” 18 Profiles in Courage Our latest feature provides insight into the life—and struggle—of a medical cannabis patient near you. 20 Strain, Edible & Concentrate Reviews Our ever-popular sampling of amazing strains and edibles currently provided by your friendly neighborhood dispensary.
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feature 12 Conflicting Conundrum Cannabis concentrates are legal here . . . but won’t be there.
35 Legal Corner “Big Pot” comes to Seattle, attorney Hilary Bricken explains. 42 Cool Stuff From the Magical Butter botanical extractor to Sativa Valley Essentials Cannabis Body Lotion, if it’s a cutting-edge product or cool lifestyle gear, we’re all over it. 46 Recipes Whether you rock the gas, the charcoal, the electric (George Foreman, anyone?) or the portable, fire that grill up! 50 Entertainment Reviews The latest films, books, music and more that define our culture.
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letter from the editor
Vol 5 IssUE 1
CULTURE Publisher
Jeremy Zachary
GET YOUR CLICK HERE
Roberto C. Hernandez Editor-In-Chief
www.iReadCulture.com
Editor-in-Chief
Roberto C. Hernandez
Arts & Entertainment Editor Evan Senn
Editorial Contributors
Ancient Medicine One of the things that strikes me about medical cannabis is that it is—to quote an old song—“a manysplendored thing.” No matter what your condition, no matter what your ailment, no matter what symptom or disease is affecting your quality of life, there’s a form of cannabis for it. For many patients, smoking flowers is the go-to medicating method. For others who can’t or don’t want to inhale smoke there are edibles. Those who want to keep cannabis’ psychoactive properties at bay can turn to topical creams or perhaps CBD-rich strains that are high in body relief, low in head change. But what about patients who are seriously suffering from heavy-duty ills and conditions, such as neuropathic pain or that down-to-thebone pain from cancer and/or chemo? What then? Patients who need to reach for the big guns also have something to turn to, something that, when all is said and done, has been around for centuries actually: concentrates, glorious concentrates. You see, while budder, wax, oil, shatter and other forms of concentrates seem to have exploded in popularity in our community over the past couple of years . . . really, they are all just new forms of ancient medicine. Hash (or hashish) is the original concentrate . . . or to put it another way, concentrates are the refined, new-school versions of the stuff Nepalese workers have been hand rubbing for centuries. Yes, I said “centuries.” We started with temple balls . . . now we have globs and dabs. In fact, the history of hash being used for medicinal (as well as recreational) use goes back to at least the 3rd millennium BC, according to some scholars. Don’t assume that the popularity of concentrates is something new—it’s not. Consider this: During the 1840s in Paris, a group of writers, aesthetes, poets and similar types would gather to experiment with hashish. And the group was far from shy when it named itself— what else—The Club of Hashish-Eaters (these guys were ingesting edibles!). French writer Charles Baudelaire wrote a book in 1860 that
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Dennis Argenzia, Omar Aziz, Stephanie Bishop, Hilary Bricken, David Burton, Michael Carlos, Grace Cayosa, Jasen T. Davis, Philip Dawdy, Alex Distefano, David Downs, Carolina Duque, James P. Gray, Lillian Isley, David Jenison, Liquid Todd, Kevin Longrie, Dan Macintosh, Meital Manzuri, Sandra Moriarty, Damian Nassiri, Paul Rogers, Jeff Schwartz, Alan Shackelford, Lanny Swerdlow, Arrissia Owen, Simon Weedn
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Steve Baker, Kristopher Christensen, John Gilhooley, Amanda Holguin, Audrey King, Khai Le, David Elliot Lewis, Ryan Mazrim, Patrick Roddie, Kim Sidwell
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Kim Johnson, Derek Obregon
Art Director
Steven Myrdahl
Graphic Designers
Vidal Diaz, Tommy LaFleur
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Account Managers
Shane Harms, Justin Marsh
Account Executives
Jon Bookatz, Gene Gorelik, Beau Odom, John Parker, Dave Ruiz, Kim Slocum, April Tygart
Office Manager Iris Norsworthy
detailed his experiences with hashish. American writer Fitz Hugh Ludlow, in 1857, wrote The Hasheesh Eater. In the U.S., roughly between the 1860s and early 1900s, legal hashish smoking parlors (a Turkish influence) became the rage. At one point, hashish was so revered in Arab lands, that one poet lavishly praised its fabulous properties: . . . its intoxicating aroma conveying to you by way of your nostrils its exhilarating effect. No wine or tonic could generate Such a heavenly sensation. “Heavenly sensation.” I like that. We’ve come a long way, concentrates . . . but in a sense, we’re right back where it all started, no? For patients, concentrates (which are just another form of MMJ, remember), offers us relief, healing and the quality of life that no wine or tonic could generate. Enjoy our 710 Issue!!!! c
Office Assistant Jamie Solis
Social Media Manager Evan Senn
IT Manager
Serg Muratov
Distribution Manager Cruz Bobadilla
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according to proposed city rules, in residential, historic and small neighborhood commercial areas.
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, mayors: Back off, federal government!
THE STATE Seattle committee approves indoor cultivation the size of football fields
A Seattle city committee has given a green light to indoor commercial cannabis grows that would allow up to 50,000 square feet—about the size of a football field—of crop cultivation in certain industrial areas, The Seattle Times reports. The proposals rules, however, would prohibit growing in areas that are closest to the Port of Seattle and maritime businesses. Such businesses comprise nearly half—46 percent—of Seattle’s industrial land. The North Seattle Industrial Association opposed the plan, but on business terms and not because of cannabis. Association president Eugene Wasserman told The Times that such grow operations will drive up property values and rents for existing businesses. “Our members are afraid of being priced out,” he told the newspaper. “We have nothing against marijuana.” Councilmembers said they are allowing large grows because land for smaller operations is hard to find, and large grows will help bigger farms lower productions costs and prices. Councilmembers Nick Licata, Sally Clark and Bruce Harrell voted in favor of large indoor cultivation. Councilmember Sally Bagshaw voted against it, but because she thought such cultivation should be limited to 10,000 square feet. Large grows would be prohibited, 8 CULTURE • JUly 2013
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn joined the US Conference of Mayors last month in urging the federal government to respect local cannabis laws. The conference passed a resolution saying “that federal laws, including the Controlled Substance Act, should be amended to explicitly allow states to set their own marijuana policies without federal interference; and that until such time as federal law is changed, The United States Conference of Mayors urges the President of the United States to reexamine the priorities of federal agencies to prevent the expenditure of resources on actions that undermine the duly enacted marijuana laws of states.” The resolution had 18 co-sponsors, including Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and San Diego Mayor Bob Filner.
money and discriminates against African Americans—even though blacks and whites use cannabis at roughly the same rate, according original research by the ACLU. More than half of all drug arrests in this country are related to cannabis, according to the group’s research. Of the 8.2 million arrests between 2001 and 2010, nearly 90 percent of them were for simply possession. The research also indicates that, despite the roughly same rate of usage, blacks are nearly four times more likely than whites to be arrested for cannabis. In Iowa, Washington, D.C., Minnesota and Illinois, African Americans were 7.5 to 8.5 times more likely than whites to be arrested. The ACLU estimates that about $3.6 billion was spent on enforcing cannabis laws.
THE WORLD France takes the first step in clearing the way for cannabis-based medicines
Viva le France! The country that gave us the Statue of Liberty and saved our butts during the Revolutionary War has found its compassionate side. France recently modified its public health code to allow the use of cannabis-based medicines, including the plant itself. Up until now, non-industrial uses of cannabis had been prohibited. However, cannabis-based medicines must still be approved by the country’s National Medical Safety Agency. The changes allow “the production, transport, export, possession, offering, acquisition or use of specialty pharmaceuticals that contains one of these (cannabis-derivative) substances.” But even with these changes,
THE NATION ACLU: Cannabis-related arrests and enforcement is racially biased
Arresting people for having cannabis wastes billions in taxpayer
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observers and cannabis medicine proponents expect it will be some time before such medicines made their way into the hands of patients and the sick. “The law allows us above all to unblock the process of launching research into cannabinoids,” Philippe Gaertner, a spokesman for a French pharmacists union, told English-language French news site The Local. “I’m not sure we’ll have these medicines on the market quickly.”
Former Mexican president Vicente Fox supports legalization, regulation
Mexico’s former president (and former Coca-Cola executive), Vicente Fox, publicly announced his support for legalizing and regulating cannabis, arguing that it would deal a blow to violent drug cartels by taking away their profits. The former head of state even suggested he would consider cultivating once the plant was legalized. “I am a farmer,” Fox told reporters at his Fox Center in central Mexico’s Guanajuato state. “Once marijuana is legitimate and legal, I can do it.” Fox was president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006
“Work In Progress” for the conservative National Action Party. Roughly three years ago, he joined several other former Latin American leaders to advocate for cannabis decriminalization. “Marijuana with adequate controls and with legalization can perfectly well be an operating, legal industry [in Mexico] that would take millions of dollars away from the criminals,” Fox said.
by the numbers
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The amount of money (in millions) that former Microsoft manager Jamen Shively raised to create a cannabis business and brand in Washington state: 10 (Source: CBS News).
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The size (in square feet) of cannabis growing operations that Seattle officials recently approved: 50,000 (Source: The Seattle Times).
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The amount of monthly profit (in dollars) Shively’s business plan says each of his “pot stores” would generate: 120,000 (Source: CBS News).
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The length of time (in months) that Olympia’s moratorium on collective gardens and other cannabis-related operations is scheduled to last: 12 (Source: The Olympian).
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6
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The state’s proposed cut (percent) at each level of retail cannabis sale: 25 (Source: The Olympian). The suggested limit on how many cannabis licenses each license holder could have: 3 (Source: Washington State Liquor Control Board).
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How length of time (in days) that the State Liquor Control Board application period for cannabis retail sales and growing will last: 31 (Source: The Olympian).
The amount of money (in billions) spent on raciallybiased cannabis arrests: 3.6 (Source: Sacramento Observer) The percentage of drug arrests in 2010 that were for cannabis: 52 (Source: ACLU).
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The number of people (in millions) arrested for cannabis between 2001 and 2010: 7+ (Source: ACLU).
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The number of lives lost in Mexico due to drug cartel violence: 70,000 (Source: The Huffington Post).
The estimated amount of money (in billions of dollars) that U.S. states spend every year on enforcing cannabis laws: 3.6 (Source: Yahoo News).
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The length (in months) of the relationship that a qualified patient from New Hampshire would need to have with a physician before being approved for cannabis: 3 (Source: ConcordPatch).
Bherd Gallery artist John Osgood presents a live progression of his painting process during the month of July. Canvases in progress will be hung from the walls throughout July as Osgood goes from start to finish as the month progresses. During the art opening the artist is encouraging audience participation by suggestions color, composition and subject matter, while he creates in real time. John Osgood’s artwork has a street-style feel with an urban design and is inspired by street art, as well as Picasso’s cubist period, the work of Basquiat and Pollock. John is a painter, muralist and illustrator. Uniquely, his studio is located inside Bherd Studios Gallery, in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. Bherd Studios Gallery is an urban and contemporary art gallery featuring emerging and mid-career artists from the Pacific NW. Bherd dedicates itself to exploring and exhibiting new contemporary art in Seattle and supporting local arts.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: “Work In Progress” live painting exhibition with John Osgood. WHERE/WHEN: July 12-August 2. Bherd Studios Gallery, 312 N. 85th St., Suite 101, Seattle. INFO: Free to the public. For more information visit www. bherdstudios.com.
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FLASH
Mixed Messages The rules for concentrates seem startling different when it comes to medical vs. adult-use {By Stephanie Bishop} New draft rules for adultuse retail establishments were published recently and have created a contradiction with the legalities of the sales of concentrates in cannabis retail establishments in Washington State. Due to the large amount of feedback provided by
the public to ban hash and other forms of concentrates, the rules exclude the language necessary to allow these products to be sold in retail establishments. Patients (and adult uses) take note: This decision could keep concentrates in medical storefronts and retail sales in the black market..
“Hash will not be allowed for sale at the retail stores,” attorney Henry Wykowski wrote in an email newsletter a few weeks ago. “According to the draft rules WAC 314-55-079, ‘marijuana extracts, such as, hash, hash oil, shatter and wax can be infused in products sold in a marijuana retail store,
but RCW 69.50.354 does not allow the sale of extracts that are not infused in products. A marijuana extract does not meet the definition of a marijuana-infused product per RCW 69.50.101.” If you’re setting up to be a retail outlet, this means that sales of concentrates are permitted as long as they are a medible or a tincture—the concentrate is infused info the food item or product itself. So, you can buy something with hash oil . . . but you can’t buy hash oil by itself? But remember, patients, this proposed, no-concentrates rule applies to the retail side of the coin—not MMJ. Hash and concentrates are permitted in collective gardens and access points, so not allowing sales in the retail establishment, the argument goes, effectively leaves concentrates and hash wide open in the very black market the law seeks to abolish. The reasoning behind the new language in the rules is unclear as the Washington State Liquor Board has stated they have no opinion on concentrates being sold in retail establishments, but are concerned with working within the exact letter of the law. Attorney General Bob Ferguson did not respond to CULTURE’s request for clarification regarding this legally thorny issue. However, the Washington State Liquor Control Board announced that it would be revising the draft rules to reflect a uniform definition for usable cannabis in light of the fact that it has received hundreds of complaints from local residents. The new rules will be published on July 3. c
Letter of the Law Legal heads who want to read it for themselves, take note regarding Washington’s rules on Retail Outlet Licenses: The “Retail sale of useable marijuana and marijuana-infused products in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3, Laws of 2013 and the rules adopted to implement and enforce it, by a validly licensed marijuana retailer or retail outlet employee, shall not be a criminal or civil offense under Washington state law.” In other words, “marijuana” and “marijuana-infused products” will be legal for adult use for folks 21 and older. And the state’s Uniform Controlled Substance Act defines “marijuana” as “all parts of the plant Cannabis” and “the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin.” So hash and concentrates are legal according to state law . . . and illegal according to a proposed state ban possibly coming down the pipeline.
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destination unknown
By David Jenison
Blazing a Trail The “Hippie Trail” and Rif Mountains are just a few examples of Morocco’s magic Back in the day, Paul Bowles, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Tennessee Williams and the Rolling Stones all spent time in Morocco, a popular stop on the infamous 1960s Hippie Trail. William S. Burroughs, who heavily indulged in the ancient cannabis confection majoun while living in Tangiers, even made the Moroccan city a main setting in his epic novel Naked Lunch. Instability during the so-called Years of Lead caused setbacks, but the African country regained its footing in the ’90s, and the New York Times declared “A ‘Hippie Trail’ Stop Goes Mainstream in Morocco” in 2006. The country’s popularity is on the rise, and cannabis culture is a major attraction. Lonely Planet: Morocco writes that the U.S. is the only country to produce more cannabis, and the United Nations says Afghanistan only recently surpassed Morocco as the largest producer of hashish. Today, travelers walking Morocco’s magical streets will repeatedly hear offers of kif or kief, which is local slang for cannabis and hashish. Those who medicate often head to Chefchaouen in the northeastern Rif Mountains, which is where the bulk of the cannabis is grown. Hikers can trek past enormous kif fields, though the response from cannabis cultivators can range from 16 CULTURE • JUly 2013
direct sales to throwing rocks. Production in the Rif region dates back to the 15th century and was tolerated up through King Mohammed V, who took the throne following independence from France and Spain in 1956. Cannabis became illegal in the 1970s, and the U.S. and European Union continue to put pressure on the government to eradicate fields and punish offenders. In 2003, the U.K. Guardian claimed that cannabis is unofficially Morocco’s top foreign-currency earner, so that annoying Starbucks hipster will probably shave his crusty beard before the Moroccan government seriously cracks down on kif. Still, what crackdown does exist can adversely affect careless tourists. Here are the kif-related rules for tourists: Absolutely do not try to take cannabis out of the country, even on boats to Spain, as the international pushback from border seizures forces Morocco to punish “smuggling” with severity. Inside the country, only carry enough that can be easily tossed at the first sign of risk. Police officers tend to excuse tourists with a fine, but jail time is a possibility. Try to avoid buying from city street vendors as they often overcharge or inform the police, and do not buy while already medicated because hustlers like to take advantage of the potentially paranoid. Instead, be proactive in connecting with
like-minded locals (taxi drivers do not count) who can provide assistance in purchases or invites to partake in safe settings. Cannabis culture is huge in Morocco, and locals might even smoke publically in bars, but tourists should always exercise caution and common sense. The Rif Mountains will be high on many readers’ list, but where else should an erstwhile traveler visit? Film buffs might enjoy Rick’s Café in Casablanca, while fans of the Beat Generation should hit Tangiers. Riad-filled Marrakesh is the country’s international tourism calling card and the inspiration for Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Marrakesh Express,” while the rock archways of Legzira make it the country’s most beautiful beach. Several national parks also dot the Atlantic coastline, but those willing to get really sandy can head south to experience the Western Sahara desert by camelback. Just as Turkey straddles Europe and Asia, Morocco is a gateway country for Europe and Africa, and its resurgence continues to attract Western tourists. Moreover, it is an excellent place to experience the kif that inspired many of the 20th-century’s most brilliant literary and musical minds. c www.visitmorocco.com
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profiles in courage Patient:
Gina Garcia
AGE: 39
Condition/ Illness:
Anorexia, chronic pain and severe nausea, panic/anxiety disorder
Using medical cannabis since:
Photo by Kristopher Christensen
Apri 2007
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Are you an MMJ patient from Washington 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?
First and foremost, I’m not someone who wants to take pharmaceutical drugs for my issues. I feel more comfortable using Mother Nature’s gifts of herbs to aid me in my illnesses. I feel grateful to have this alternative to prescription medications, and it has wonders for me and my health.
Did you try other methods or treatments before cannabis?
Yes. For many years I was taking prescription medications for my illnesses. I had a negative reaction and horrible side effects to all of them. Twentyseven medications later—and feeling like a guinea pig—it was suggested by my psychiatrist to become a patient. So glad I did!
What’s the most important issue or problem facing medical cannabis patients? I would have to say the federal government and [its] regulations.
What do you say to folks who are skeptical about cannabis as medicine?
I always go back to my teenage years when my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I watched her in so much pain and agony as this disease slowly took her life. With all the meds she was put on, the cannabis was the only thing that allowed her to hold down her food and help her to sleep a little more comfortable. I am grateful cannabis was available to her while she was here. c
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strain, edible & concentrate reviews GET YOUR CLICK HERE
www.iReadCulture.com
Pecan Pot Pie Oh good, someone has gone and done it: made one of our favorite pies into a medible, in this case a miniature pecan pot pie. This Pecan Pot Pie, made in-house by the Tree House Collective in South Rainier Valley, is very tasty but without that too-sweet Karo syrup taste. But no one cares about flavor when it comes to effects, right? Well, this little pie was strong enough that we found one dose was all we needed to stave off pain for four hours. It’s smooth in effect with onset at about one hour, and it’s only slightly activating, so experienced patients could easily benefit from a double dose.
Bubble Gum CBD The indica hits just keep coming in Western Washington, and if there’s an overall trend it’s that CBDs are back in the old indica lines (after being shunted aside by growers in the ’90s), right where they belong. This Bubble Gum CBD strain—there are many Bubble Gums out there—from The Healthy Element in Lacey tests at just under 11 percent in CBDs. That’s quite high for flower, as you’ll more commonly see CBD levels of 0.5 percent to 1 percent in a good medical strain. But more CBDs are better, and this indica-dominant hybrid of Afghan and Columbian Sativa is flat-out awesome. It’s effective at treating pain and spasms. Neither too activating or too sluggish in effect, you might be able to use this as a daytime medicine for anxiety, stress and overall pain. And, like all high-CBD strains, you’ll experience a deeply calmed sense to your mind and body.
Jimi Hendrix Like its namesake, you’d expect any strain dubbed Jimi Hendrix to be strong and mellow all at once. There will be no disappointment here, as this three-way hybrid of Purple Haze, Madonna and Sugar Skunk is strong, heady and very activating in the way of all great sativas. (Note: There’s much disagreement on the precise genetics of this strain, a conversation we’re in no position to advance.) We mean this in a good way because this example from Puyallup’s Medigreen Access Point is a great daytime medication, especially on overall pain where effects last one hour. Despite its power, Jimi Hendrix is a light, almost flavorless 80/20 sativa dominant. This is a very activating strain, so it’s a good one for daytime and project time and, while it won’t make you kiss the sky, you’ll be nowhere near the ground. It’s also known to be useful for anxiety and overall stress.
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GET YOUR CLICK HERE
www.iReadCulture.com
High CBD Fully Activated RSO
Cotton Candy Kush
We’d like to be able to tell you how this Rick Simpson Oil extraction was performed, but we cannot. It was done via a proprietary hot process by a science wizard, say the folks at Canna Rx in Fremont, and involved no alcohol, no CO2, no solvents. The proof, as always, is in the use and this one clocks in at 52 percent CBD (the highest percentage we’ve ever seen in a concentrate) and 37 percent THC, so you’d expect a nice, blissful experience. And that’s exactly what we got with this oil that was very smooth on inhalation and exhalation and knocked out our pain and anxiety for a full two hours.
This excellent indica should come with a warning label. “Warning: Cotton Candy Kush is Captain Couch Lock!” Yes, this strain from Tacoma’s Green Hills is super strong and drowsiness inducing, so it’s a go-to strain for insomnia and anxiety, as well as general stress relief. Its genetics are Afghani crossed with Blueberry and it gives off a sweet, slightly gaseous odor. In flavor, there is indeed a slight hint of cotton candy. But back to its power. Cotton Candy Kush super-medicated us and we have decades of cannabis experience, so it’s highly liable to super-medicate you as well. Keep its use to evenings and nights and stay the heck away from operating any machinery. Then you can truly enjoy its excellent pain-killing properties that go on for a good 90 minutes while you’re glued to the couch.
Grape Ape Shatter Grape Ape is another of our favorite medical cannabis strains, but maybe all you need to know is that this shatter tests at 72 percent THC, according to Analytical 360. It’s very easy to handle for dabbing purposed. Dabbed, it’s very smooth, almost tasteless and produced no coughs. Pain relief was immediate and deep seated. This shatter from Cannabis Club Co-op in Tacoma kept us pain-free for two hours and knocked down our spasms. This is a great concentrate.
Kryptonite OG #7 Kryptonite OG #7 has a big reputation as a very strong indica, and this example from Patient Care Network in Georgetown is true to form. It’s an old-school indica that does what old-school indicas do—deliver exceptional pain and spasm control while putting a patient’s butt firmly on the couch or straight to bed. Lightly floral in aroma, the effects are close to immediate and, take note, Kryptonite OG #7 affected us for over two hours. That’s a very long time for medicine in flower form. So we guarantee that if you have problems getting shut eye, then this strain will help you. Just be ready for its fast-acting ways. With qualities like those, it’s likely also a good choice for anxiety. Obviously, you should keep this strain’s use to non-working hours. Novice patients, take note: This is not the strain for you to start with!
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Private Reserve OG Honeycomb Wax We hear that Private Reserve OG is a big deal in the Bay Area, and for good reason since it’s one of the super select phenotypes of the original OG Kush. In concentrate form, it produces one of the smoothest waxes we’ve ever dabbed. Private Reserve OG Honeycomb Wax—available from Seattle Quality Collective in North Seattle—easy to shape for the nail, its pain killing effects were instant and lasted for two hours—no couch lock or distractions, either. This one also eliminated our pesky peripheral spasms, so this would be a good choice for any patient with spasm conditions.
Violator Kush Hash Oil This hash oil from Green Solution in Puyallup is so pliable it almost feels like an old school Lebanese hash. It’s another smooth one with nary the hint of a cough upon dabbing. Violator Kush is one of our favorite strains in flower form, so it’s nice to see what it can do as a concentrate and the answer is plenty. “Buh-bye” to spasms and pain with this one. It’s clear headed and not sleep inducing in its effects, and, like its flower momma, it can be moderately activating.
OG Kush Bubble Hash Platinum OG Kush This is one of several excellent concentrates we tested this month and was easy to handle for dabbing purposes. From Dab City in Rainier Valley, this Platinum OG Kush didn’t produce any coughing or irritation and had a sweet flavor on its finish. It proved to be mellow in mental effects—not too activating, not snooze inducing. Pain relieving effects were almost instantaneous and lasted for two hours and our spasms disappeared as well. Anything that makes our spasms go away is something we recommend to our friends. So, friends, go get this.
We love old-school bubble hash and we worship at the altar of OG Kush, so just the thought of bringing our two joys together in a concentrate had us ecstatic. This example from Columbia City Holistic Health in Columbia City is a nicely made full melt hash, and it’s easy to form into a useable shape for combustion or dabbing. This OG Kush has a pleasant fruity taste. Analytical 360 tested it at 49 percent THC, which is very high for a bubble hash. Combusted and dabbed, its effects were clear headed with a bit of couch lock. This is a great concentrate for overall pain, spasms and insomnia.
House Concentrate This is the first time we’ve seen Dutch Treat—one of the classic daytime meds—in a concentrate, and here it is crossed with Sour Grape. The resulting concentrate, available at Northwest Alternative Collective Care in Olympia, tested at 63 percent THC and bum rushed all the pain and spasms out of our body for two hours. What’s more, its Dutch Treat side comes out in the form of sweet sativa uplift, so this is one of the rare concentrates that you could use during waking hours. his concentrate isn’t super activating, so it would work for those with anxiety issues as well.
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Simply Dab-ulous
One of the fortunate things about the world of medical cannabis is that there is something there for everyone: flowers, edibles, tinctures, topicals . . . and concentrates, glorious concentrates! In honor of this potent, centuriesold form of medicine that patients are turning to in droves, CULTURE presents our inaugural “710 Issue.” While the names, consistencies and types vary, let us never lose sight of one critical fact: concentrates are medicine. Enjoy.
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ISSUE
Concentrates 101 By Charmie Gholson As “dabbing” builds in popularity, concentrates have become more widely available. Many patients find high potency medical marijuana concentrates particularly effective in treating chronic and debilitating conditions. One “dab”—or small glob of concentrate— vaporized in the morning can alleviate the symptoms of Crohn’s disease or multiple sclerosis, for example, for a good part of the day; whereas smoking flowers would be required much more frequently to achieve levels of relief. Throw in the added benefit of a delivery method that offers folks fast, powerful relief without having to combust plant matter and it’s no wonder patients across the country are turning to these highly potent cannabis extracts instead of smoking flowers. Concentrates are produced by separating the active ingredients, trichomes and resins, from the cannabis plant. Three common methods for doing so are dry sift, solvents and solvent-less methods.
+ TYPES
Dry sift methods have been used for thousands of years. Trichomes are extracted by filtering cannabis through silkscreens and collecting the crystals. This substance is called kief, which can be pressed together to form hash. Bubble Hash (a solvent-less method) is made by churning or blending flowers, trimmings and leaves in a large container with ice and water. The cold temperature and vigorous mixing separates the cannabis resin from the plant. Then it’s filtered out, collected, dried and cured. Bubble hash can be vaporized, rolled into a joint or smoked out of a pipe. Solvent extracts: Use of solvents such as alcohol, CO2 and butane to chemically extract cannabinoids. Butane Honey Oil or BHO is one of the more widely available and popular solvent extracted concentrates. According to Dablife.com, BHO is a “concentrated cannabis extract made by pushing liquid butane (which liquefies easily) through a tube packed with frosty buds. The resulting solution is a mix of oils, waxes, cannabinoids, terpenes, and sometimes chlorophyll.” (Note: this procedure is complex and we’re very much over simplifying, so please don’t try this at home without proper instruction and ventilation. Also, in some MMJ states, BHO is illegal to make, but not to possess) BHO can be dried and whipped into “budder,” which is waxy and dry. Wax is made using butane gas as the extraction solvent. Texture and
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color are key factors in determining the quality of the wax—the more golden and crumbly, the better. Wax that’s dark and contains liquid may contain leftover solvent and plant matter. In CO2 extraction or Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) the solvent is pushed through the plant matter at a high pressure and separates the matter precisely, which isolates only the purest essence of the cannabis. The result is pure, transparent, amber oil.
+ DABBA DO
Once the concentrate is made, you can now “dab” which is the term used for dropping or dabbing small amounts of the concentrate onto an astronomically heated surface, and then inhaling the vapors. The special glass pipes used for dabbing are known as oil rigs. The oil is dropped onto a nail (typically made of titanium) heated with a blow torch until it reaches the perfect temperature, then the concentrate is vaporized and smoked. You may also use a vaporizer pen (or vape pen) which is more convenient and easy to use than an oil rig, although both methods produce roughly the same effect. Concentrates do carry some concerns such as: safety during processing; ensuring the product is tested and free of solvents; legality issues, but by taking proper precautions with ventilation while producing the concentrates, as well as ensuring the solvents are all removed from the material, the use of concentrates can provide health benefits and relief to the folks who need it most. c
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ISSUE The Traits of a Good Concentrate A Patient’s Guide to Hash, Wax, Budder and Beyond By David Downs Hundreds of thousands of patients across the country are using more and more hash, kief, “wax,” “shatter” and other forms of concentrated medicine. The explosion of concentrates’ popularity is only equaled by how unregulated the market is. As a service to CULTURE readers, we consulted experienced concentrate buyers from leading dispensaries nationwide—as well as the best hash makers and lab managers testing the stuff—to develop a “Patient’s Guide” for determining the traits of a good ‘trate.
+ ANCIENT FUTURE
Hand-rolled hash (charas) as well as dry-screened (kief) and watersieved (bubble hash) concentrates have existed for millennia, historians note. But over the last three years hash-makers have adapted for cannabis industrial processes similar to those used to extract vegetable oil, as well as vanilla or essential oils found in coffee and other food items. These methods all use some medium (a solvent, cold water, C02, etc.) to strip off cannabis’ external glands—called trichomes. Trichomes contain the plant’s psychoactive and therapeutic molecules, like THC and CBD, plus aromatic molecules called terpenes. Terpenes give OG Kush and Grand Daddy Purple their distinctive smell. Concentrates are divided into non-solvent (kief, bubble hash) and solvent. The names of solvent types of concentrates come from their consistency (and, to an extent, appearance): wax, budder, shatter and oil. Patients add concentrates to joints or bowls, or vaporize them on a health stone, nail, skillet or in a vape pen. Ideally, trained chemists in a lab-grade setting are using safe, Class 3 edible solvents like n-butane or isopropyl alcohol to strip trichomes from the plant. Then, controlled heat and atmospheric pressure is used to purge all residual solvent from the concentrate. But the field is unregulated, so in reality, “this stuff is so all over the place,” says Dave Hodges, owner of All American Cannabis Club in San Jose. Hodges buys hash for the 3-year-old collective and uses about a gram of wax a day. “The best concentrates start with the best herb,” notes Rhett Jordan, owner of Native Roots Apothecary, as well as Rasta Bubble and Native Roots Extracts in Denver, Colorado. That means fresh trim or bud that is free of pesticides, fungicides and other contaminants. 32 CULTURE • JUly 2013
+ FLAME TEST
Most club buyers use a flame test to see how a concentrate reacts. The best solvent hash vaporizes in a “smooth boil,” says Jordan. Sizzles, pops and crackles indicate water, residual solvent or other issues. Concentrates should not catch fire—or spark. “I call it fireworks,” says Moore. “That is a bad sign,” Jordan adds. V I S I T U S AT i R e a d C u l t u r e . c o m
+ SKUNK FUNK
+ FOLLOW THE LIGHT
Even with a great strain, shoddy hash-making can lead to mold. It’s a plague on bubble hash, says Josh Wurzer, owner of SC Laboratories, which tests thousands of California concentrates per month. Mold on hash is often white, furry and appears in a main patch. The smell is a dead giveaway. “It smells like sour milk,” says Paul Moore, manager for The Healing Leaf Collective Garden in Lake Stevens, Washington. Solvent-based concentrates don’t have the same mold problems as bubble hash, says Wurzer, but wax, budder, shatter and oil can come with their own special baggage. “Light color, dry texture and good smell,” is Hodges’ short-hand for good solvent hash.
Pure THC-A is a crystalline solid that is translucent white, amber or cream, and crumbly—and the best waxes are just that. Wax and budder should be as light as possible, and semi-translucent. “Lighter is better,” says Hodges. Strain type and the trichome color can influence a concentrate’s hue, experts say, but if it’s a “dark, black blob,” Wurzer says, something is off. The color may be plant pigment, leaf, dirt, the effect of excess temperature or—worse—mold. Shatter should be as clear as stained glass and have “no bubbles,” says Jordan. “No bubbles, definitely not in shatter,” says Moore. Bubbles mean water or residual solvent, experts say. “And water equals mold,” says Hodges.
+ NOSE KNOWS
The best-made concentrates will “capture the essence of the flower,” says Wurzer. Waxes and budders are the most aromatic and shatter is the least, but will smell like its source strain when vaporized. Shoddy solvent hash makers use cheap butane or propane contaminated with sulfur, mercaptan and other chemicals whose telltale smell is a dead giveaway. “It just stinks like a leaky heater,” Wurzer says. “That smell is an indication that it’s toxic.”
+ GHOST OF THE FLOWER
Great hash should taste “strictly like the strain it came from—whether it be an OG or a Haze, you can tell,” says Moore. Sub-par product can taste stale, bitter, burnt or chemical-laden. And solvent hash should never be stored on wax paper, Hodges notes. “It’ll taste like a f*#@ing candle.”
+ MORE THAN A FEELING
Wax should be dry and crumbly, experts state. Gooeyness or wetness in a wax, budder or shatter indicates the presence of something other than trichomes. Shatter should generally behave like glass at room temperature and shatter or snap. The consistency of different types of oil varies widely. Hodges examines oils by smearing a dab out on a piece of white paper, looking for light color and zero particulates. The best oil is Clear Concentrate, says Rick Pfrommer, manager of Harborside Health Center in Oakland. Totally seethrough with zero residual solvent, “Clear is just phenomenal,” he says.
+ WHERE AND HOW TO GET
Read online reviews of concentrate sellers on Yelp, WeedMaps, StickyGuide and elsewhere, Pfrommer says (CULTURE’s concentrate reviews are also an excellent source of information). Patronize established businesses that test for residual solvents like Harborside Health Center does. And grill your budtender, says Moore. “If you’re asking a lot of questions and your budtender doesn’t know, maybe they should,” says Pfrommer. c
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By Hilary Bricken
Say What?
legal corner
“There are so many reasons to end the prohibition on marijuana.” —Rick Steves
City Council Panel Makes Clear that “Big Pot” is Permissible in Seattle For weeks now, the public has seen countless images of massive grow operations located in Colorado, some of which house up to 10,000 plants in a single commercial space. Many I-502 stakeholders wondered whether Washington would follow suit by allowing large-scale growing operations. While Washington’s state Liquor Control Board (LCB) has not yet enacted or proposed any limitations on production for growers, a panel of Seattle’s City Council spoke loud and clear a few weeks ago when it approved a new cannabis zoning ordinance that would allow medical and recreational cannabis growers to locate themselves in industrial spaces of up to 50,000 square feet. In May, the LCB released its first round of draft rules for I-502. Notably missing from those proposed rules were any hard and fast limitations on production for growers. Nonetheless, a very hot topic in Washington’s cannabis community as of late is the authority of cities and counties to regulate above and beyond
with I-502. Thus far, it is clear that some cities are confident in their ability to continue to regulate for cannabis, whether MMJ or recreational, while other cities have not stated at all how they will deal with the upcoming recreational market. Nonetheless, Seattle has indicated that its chosen path is to welcome large-scale cannabis production. Specifically, indoor-cannabis growing operations as large as “a football field” would be allowed in Seattle in some industrial areas under the city’s new cannabis zoning laws. It’s important for I-502 stakeholders and MMJ growers to note, as reported by The Seattle Times, that the proposed rules would prohibit large “indoor farms” in the industrial sanctuaries closest to the Port of Seattle and maritime businesses, which comprise 46 percent of Seattle’s industrial land. The North Seattle Industrial Association was none too happy about the proposed cannabis ordinance and, as such, stated its objections to the city council at its May meeting. Though the Association does not have any personal issues with cannabis, the group’s
president, Eugene Wasserman, stated that “[the Association’s] members are afraid of being priced out,” resulting from concerns that property and rental values would be driven up by an influx of cannabis growers moving in. In response to the Association’s objections, the council reasoned that “growing operations as big as 50,000 square feet . . . are warranted because the real estate needed to have many smaller indoor farms is scarce, and economies of scale achieved by larger farms might lower production costs and pot prices. [And that] big farms might be easier to secure, as well.” Darby DuComb, of the City Attorney’s Office, also noted that the purpose of the new zoning ordinance is to make Seattle’s rules compatible with both the medical and recreational systems. Despite the initial city panel passage of Seattle’s generous cannabis zoning ordinance, I-502 stakeholders must still grapple with the cumbersome 1,000-foot rule when looking for space (as should all cannabis industry participants thanks to the feds’ 1,000-foot sentencing guidelines). c
The Canna Law Group is a practice group of Seattlebased law firm, Harris & Moure, pllc. The Canna Law Group focuses on cannabis business law and litigation under both medical and recreational cannabis laws in Washington State. The Canna Law Group can be contacted via phone or web at (206) 224-5657 or www.cannabislawseattle.com.
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Ever since the death of Mark Twain in 1910, the country has been in constant need of homegrown, brutally honest authors to gaze upon our world with X-ray perception and tell us the real truth of how we are doing things right or wrong, regardless of who we are or the extent of the backlash. Henry Rollins is a musician, performer and writer that has been doing just that with his regular journalistic contributions to magazines such as Details, LA Weekly, Vanity Fair and The Huffington Post. Along with his stand up comedy, spoken word performances and YouTube series, “WordswithMeaning!” Rollins’ critical observations have been the perfect vehicle for a sustained, uncompromising assault on hypocrites, idiots and pundits on both the left and the right at a time when everyone else seems to be lining up to kiss a large amount of corporate and/or government ass to make a buck. Although the term has been used so many times it is nearly a cliché, “Renaissance Man” is the best way to describe the modern American philosopher known to the world as Henry Rollins. He’s been the lead singer of the legendary hardcore punk band Black Flag, and was the frontman for the critically acclaimed, commercially successful Rollins Band. He’s also performed alongside Robert DeNiro in Heat, played a cop hunting down Charlie Sheen in The Chase, appeared on David Lynch’s cult classic Lost Highway, and held his own as a central antagonist on the cable TV epic outlaw biker series Sons of Anarchy. While Rollins was doing all of that he also won a Grammy for Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag, and authored the spoken-word classics Black Coffee Blues and Think Tank. After getting his start in radio in 2004, Rollins had been heard many times over the airwaves, where he combines knife-sharp analysis with cutting-edge music for the massively perceptive. What’s next for a man with a career as intricate, illustrious and revolutionary as Henry Rollins?
I am sure you have a lot going on right now. What projects are keeping you busy? The super boring job of proofreading and editing a lot of material. One of the books I have coming out is easy to wrap up, but the others will take a lot of surgery. Editing books takes a lot of time in between working, meetings and auditions. That’s what I do when I’m not touring. I’m also looking for employment. It’s hard to imagine a person as prolific as yourself looking for a job. It’s a non-tour year. Last year I did nearly 190 shows. It gets to the point where shows are still coming in, but the tour is booked so your calendar gets pretty marked up. Now it’s a non-tour year, I’m in this interesting position of having some solid jobs, I have a lot of contract stuff to do, but I still have to look for employment.
That necessitates pitch meetings and auditions. Yesterday I was in a line 30 people long auditioning just for a microscopic role on a television show. We’ve mostly been pitching ideas for shows that I might be plugged into. It is an interesting position, one year you are the guy, you are on the billboard, the marquee and the next year you are in line hoping some casting person who doesn’t know you will throw you a bone. It’s good, though. That it keeps you humble. What kind of show would you want to do? I could easily imagine you as the History Channel equivalent of Anthony Bourdain. I’d like to do a show that tells you where and how the history books got it wrong—just an entire series where we point out the facts and reveal how history is written by the winners, so of course the winJULY 2013 • CULTURE 39
white area. It’s always in the grey. That’s obviously the case in a lot of places. Since we are already there, why not just legalize it? It’s stupid how someone with cancer pain has to worry about being arrested. If marijuana can help, why wouldn’t you want them to feel better? Why would you be okay with them being in pain? If you can help someone, right now, why won’t you? We are supposed to promote the general welfare; it says so in the Preamble to the Constitution.
ners give themselves a white hat. For example, if you tell a person in rural American that we lost the Vietnam War, you’ll be eating your dinner through a straw in your neck because he’ll break your jaw. But if you go over to Vietnam today, the Vietnamese have moved on. They are very sure they won that war, because they survived it. That’s how they think. “We are still alive, so you didn’t beat us.” What I mean is . . . there are a lot of ways to look at any historical event. You don’t touch cannabis, but you support its legalization. What is your honest opinion about this controversial topic? Smoking marijuana, in my opinion, is a monumental waste of time, but I’m not going to slap it out of your hand. But I not only want it legalized, I want it decriminalized. At least then you won’t go to jail for smoking it. I see marijuana as just another stimulant. I fear alcohol. It fuels a guy up so he punches his wife and drives his car into a tree. I’m afraid of a person buying two AR-15s and shooting up a shopping mall . . . that guy should get marijuana. I fear stupidity in America more than I fear someone buying weed. My question is: Will the states 40 CULTURE • JUly 2013
have the intestinal fortitude to retroactively free the black prisoners who are unfairly incarcerated for using marijuana if it’s legalized? Why is it that cannabis is still illegal in America? Because brown-skinned people grow, sell and use it. A lot of those Fox News assholes smoked it in college, but now they use coffee and martinis, so it’s only for faggot hippies. “I’m a responsible chemical dependent. I use booze. It’s just five martinis.” Pot, by comparison, is messy. You are buying a plant from someone that is not in a vacuum sealed, federally-approved package at the local 7-11. Besides, everyone out there is buying weed right now, anyway. Why not just legalize it? What is the cannabis legalization movement doing wrong? [T]he reason why the legalization movement is such a clusterf#@k is because there is no clear political plan. The first time I saw medical marijuana, I was at a friend’s house. His mother would smoke these government-approved medical marijuana cigarettes. My friend would steal them. Medical marijuana is never in a black or
What is your best advice for proponents of cannabis legalization? As a non-smoking, marijuana decriminalization proponent, I would go at in as sensibly and legally as I could. Take into account the people who oppose you. They count on you to be unkempt, sloppy, illegal and high. Don’t go into an intellection battle high. Go in with your facts and figures and stats tattooed on your brain pan. When you do that, an opponent will still have to respect you for it. Fortunately, the world is changing. The President actually mentioned the word “gay.” That set a precedent. In 100 years they will talk about Barack Obama and how he said, “Gay brothers and sisters.” That took a lot of brass. In a political world, if you say that you smoke cannabis you might as well be say you like to make it with little kids and sheep. All the other side has to say is,
“My opponent wants your son to get high at school.” Why can’t someone say, “My opponent likes wine so he wants your son to get drunk at school.”? But they are elected officials. They are in a very precarious position. I get a second chance, if I screw up. They don’t. If someone loses an election, he doesn’t get to come back. You can say you back gay marriage, but that is as red hot as you get. Saying yes to marijuana has to no longer be seen as “He said what!?” Your country is changing very rapidly, though. If I was writing for a cannabis-based magazine, I would be showing that marijuana smokers are not the funny characters the media always depicts, but that they are doctors and lawyers . . . professional, responsible people, just like the people who drink four beers and watch the game after working at the office all day. In this transition to a weed economy, there is going to be a drunken sailor syndrome. When you take a sailor off the boat he’s going to drink his paycheck. There’s going to be a transition. As Joseph Stalin said, “When you cut wood, chips fly.” Someone will abuse weed. It’s going to happen. They are going to drive recklessly, have THC in their blood, and a bunch of people will overreact because of it. But let’s face it, cannabis is already out there. Legalizing it will not change it too much. c henryrollins.com
Henry Rollins activism knows no bounds. Whether it’s championing for gay rights—he once hosted a “WedRock” benefit concert in support of same-sex marriage—to helping out with veterans causes, Rollins is passionate straight down the line. The writer/performer took up the cause of the “Memphis Three”—a case involving the unjust imprisonment of three young men accused of murder. The “Three” were finally released in 2011, after 18 years in prison, with Rollins saying, “My joy at hearing the news is however tinged with frustration that it took so long and that there is a person or persons who still need to be brought to justice.” 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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cool stuff Blade Runner Style LED Umbrella Finally—the only time it’s good luck to open an umbrella indoors! Ripped straight from Ridley Scott’s existential-sci-fi flick , these futuristic umbrellas are just the thing to keep you dry on the way to the noodle shop. Comes white or blue LED shaft. Say, you look rather Replicant-y . . . ($9.99-$24.99) www.thinkgeek.com
Sativa Valley Essentials Cannabis Body Lotion This lovely smelling coconut-lime moisturizing lotion from Sativa Valley Essentials in Sequim is designed to be a moisturizer that helps reduce pain throughout the body, and we can assure that it works well. Hand crafted and with all-natural ingredients (such as shea butter and lavender), this moisturizer ought to be a boon for patients with arthritis, foot pain and other kind of joint pain. sativavalleyessentials@live.com
Magical Butter Think you need to be a chemist or a cook to create some powerful extractions? With time-tested power of the Magical Butter botanical extractor, you’ll be at the top of the class creating your own homemade oils, tinctures, lotions and more. Open the lid, put in your botanical ingredients, press a button, let it cycle and pour out the good stuff through a filter. Done. It doesn’t get easier than this. ($174.95) magicalbutter.com
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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.
Menu:
Grilled Shrimp Makes 4 servings 25 large uncooked shrimp, unshelled, slit and deveined 3 cups dry white wine Juice of two lemons Black pepper to taste 6 shallots, chopped 4 garlic cloves, crushed 1/4 cup Cannabis Infused Olive Oil* 6 skewers, soaked in water for two hours Combine all the ingredients (except for skewers) in a medium-size bowl. Stir to coat the shrimp thoroughly. Let marinate at room temperature for about three hours. Skewer about four shrimp per skewer. Place on the grill, over medium heat. Turn when sides are pink. Baste with the remaining liquid (marinade) to keep shrimp moist. They are cooked when firm and pink in color.
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. 46 CULTURE • JUly 2013
Grilled Shrimp Cheesy Polenta Barbeque Broccoli
By Aunt Sandy
Cheesy Polenta Makes 4 servings 6 cups water 2 teaspoons salt 1 3/4 cups yellow corn meal 3 tablespoons Canna Butter** 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add salt and gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender. Stir often for about 15 minutes and turn off the heat. Add the butter and cheese and stir until melted. Serve immediately.
Barbeque Broccoli Makes 6 servings 3 heads of broccoli 1/3 cup Cannabis Infused Olive Oil* 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1/4 onion, finely chopped Juice of 1 lemon Cut off broccoli stems 1 inch below the florets. Starting at the stem end, slice each broccoli head lengthwise into 3 slabs. In a large baking dish, whisk together the Infused Oil, garlic clove, onion and lemon juice. Coat the broccoli on both sides with the mixture. Let marinate at room temperature for one hour. Preheat the grill to medium heat. Remove broccoli from the marinade, shaking off excess liquid. Grill covered for about 3 minutes on each side, until lightly charred and crispy-tender.
Canna Butter** 1 cup unsalted butter 1 ounce low to average quality dried leaf cannabis 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. 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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For our complete recipes go to ireadculture.com.
Gas or charcoal, sauce or dry rub—no matter what your preference, it’s always a good time to fire up the ol‘ barbecue this time of year. If it’s grillin, expect your weekend get-together to be thrillin‘. Try out this scrumptious, backyardfriendly smorgasbord of delish dishes, courtesy of your neighborhood friendly briquette.
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entertainment reviews The Transplants In A Warzone Epitaph After eight long years, punk rockers Tim Armstrong, Travis Barker and Rob “Skinhead Rob” Aston return with their long awaited third Transplants record, In A Warzone. While the project has always been characterized by a blending of punk rock, hip-hop and at times, dub and reggae, In A Warzone sees the band making more of an attempt at a straight forward punk album by the trio. While the band’s self-titled debut and follow up Haunted Cities could at times be a little heavy-handed with conventional hip-hop’s topics of excess and the high life, Transplants seem to have little time for that on In A Warzone. The record’s style and delivery are more urgent and each song seems to be more about the group’s worried views on society and world events than the guns, girls and drugs that were common themes on previous releases. The music itself is heavy-hitting, insistent and at times a bit abrasive, easily bringing to mind the wars—both literal and metaphorical—that the band sings about. All in all, this is a record that will most definitely appeal more to the fan of the punk rock side of The Transplants’ music. However, fans of its hip-hop flavor need not be disappointed, there are still several tracks that incorporate their brand of rack, just a bit on the heavier end of things. (Simon Weedn)
Protect Your Garden: Eco-friendly Solutions for Healthy Plants By Ed Rosenthal Quick American Publishing When Ed Rosenthal talks, people listen. And when Ed writes a book, naturally, growers sure as hell pay attention. And they should. Rosenthal’s been schooling the masses on how to grow the best cannabis and his latest tome, Protect Your Garden, offers novice green-thumbers an effective tool to keep pests, diseases and environmental stresses from mucking up your lovely crops. As scientifically grounded as a biology textbook, yet easy to follow due to its airy layout, large print and an abundance of photos, protecting your green without harming Mother Nature just got ridiculously easy. Moles messing with you? Try predator urine or castor oil. Want to keep your plants free of the tobacco mosaic virus? Keep cigarette butts far, far away. Say “later days” to toxic pesticides and “hi” to natural solutions for your indoor, outdoor or greenhouse grow. (Matt Tapia)
Swimming to Cambodia Cinecom Pictures Dir. Jonathan Demme Finally, after many years of waiting, Shout!Factory have made writer, actor and monologist Spalding Gray’s masterpiece Swimming to Cambodia, available on DVD. Directed by Jonathan Demme (Philadelphia, Silence Of The Lambs), the film version of one of Gray’s most famous monologues was originally shot in 1987 and features an interesting score by renowned experimental performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson. The monologue itself revolves around Gray’s stories and observations about his experience acting in the role of U.S. Ambassador’s Aide in the 80’s masterpiece, The Killing Fields. The stories see-saw between humorous adventures with a zany film crew, Thai marijuana, prostitutes and deep, heavy, emotional observations and history lessons about the bombing of Cambodia, the rise of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, and the ensuing Cambodian Genocide. At times, the film can get a bit tedious and confusing with Gray’s delivery of this material which comes in his slightly manic, East Coast, mile-a-minute talking style. However, Gray manages to always hold it together, giving breaks and beats at appropriate times to allow the audience to soak in the massive amounts of information he puts out. For the average person that has never seen a one-man show, Swimming to Cambodia might take a bit of getting used to. However, for the patient viewer, one is rewarded with a gripping, captivating story delivered with unparalleled craftsmanship by one of the world’s great monologists. (Simon Weedn) 50 CULTURE • JUly 2013
Courtney Love in concert
Courtney Love is a creature of her own distinct breed. Well known for her contributions to the punk revival of the ’90s (as well as unintentionally keeping gossip mags afloat with new content for the entire duration of her career), she’s now back on the scene, newly transformed and on her ninth life. Her highly publicized bad girl motif, highlighted by her colorful love affair with the late great grunge god Kurt Cobain, helped propel the eccentric bottle-blonde into success two decades ago. Now, 48, but basically still going on 25, she returns to the stage, taking front and center as a solo act with something to say. Love will be performing songs from the now disbanded, Hole, archive playing hits from the albums Live Through This, Celebrity Skin and Nobody’s Daughter, as well as a few solo jams.
IF YOU GO:
What: Courtney love in concert. When/Where: July 23 at The Moore Theatre 1932 Second Ave., Seattle. Info: Visit stgpresents.org/moore.
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The godfathers of “stoner metal” are back in action! Black Sabbath—the band that single-handedly helped bring metal to the masses—recently launched its world tour studio album, 13. The band is sporting its original line up of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, and the new release picks up immediately where the band left off with eight sprawling songs (five of them are over eight minutes long) that will get fists pumped and devilhorns thrown. “God Is Dead?,” the lead single from 13, includes some of Osbourne’s most probing and controversial lyrics to date. He drills deep into questions about God’s place in the order of things as troubled times give way to terror attacks in the name of religion. This reunion could not be sweeter—for them or for us. Sabbath has several North American dates lined up for August, including shows in Detroit, Seattle San Francisco, Irvine and Los Angeles on Sept. 3. www.blacksabbath.com c
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CULTURE Quiz
HEAD COUNT
?
Time to rev up your brain cells, folks. Take this official CULTURE quiz and test yourself to see how much you know about cannabis. For each question you answer correctly, give yourself 5 points.
more than Republicans?
is the name of the 4 What author of The New Jim Crow
who is pro legalization?
cannabis be effective to 5 What is Dronabinol? 2 Can treat diabetes?
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ANSWERS
A South Carolina lawmaker has recently proposed legalizing medical cannabis—true or false?
Democrats tend to favor 3 Do pro-cannabis legislation
1. True, state Rep. Todd Rutherford. 2. Possibly, according to recent British research. 3. Yes. 4. Michelle Alexander, associate law professor at Moritz College of Law, Ohio. 5. Another name for Marinol, a synthetic form of THC.
1
?
?
Now Rate Yourself: 5 points: A few classes at Oaksterdam University won’t even help you. 10 points: Are you even a patient? 15 points: Keep medicating. 20 points: Impressive. Almost ready for the big leagues. 25 points: What do you want—a prize?
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Chuck Shepherd
News of the
Weird LEAD STORY— EYE OPENER
; Chengdu, China, barber Liu Deyuan, 53, is one of the few who still provide traditional “eyeshaving,” in which he holds the eye open and runs a razor across the lids’ inner surfaces. Then, using a thin metal rod with a round tip, he gently massages the inside of each lid. Liu told a reporter for the Chengdu Business Daily in April that he had never had an accident (though the reporter apparently could not be enticed to experience the treatment himself, preferring merely to observe), and a highly satisfied customer reported afterward that his eyes felt “moist” and
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his vision “clearer.” A local hospital official said eye-shaving can scrape away scar tissue and stimulate the eyes to lubricate the eye sockets.
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
; One of April’s most popular Internet images consisted of face shots of the current 20 contestants for Miss South Korea—revealing that all 20 appeared eerily similar, and Westernized. Commented one website, “Korea’s plastic surgery mayhem is finally converging on the same face.” Wrote a South Korean commenter, “Girls here consider eye surgery just like using makeup.” Wrote an-
other, “I loved this episode of The Twilight Zone.” The country has the highest rate of cosmetic surgery per capita in the world. ; Michinoku Farm of Tokyo finally agreed in May to withdraw its whale meat dog chews, but only after angering environmentalists for having favored the country’s pampered canines over endangered North Atlantic fin whales, which were the source of the chews. The meat was purchased from Iceland, which openly defies the international moratorium on whale meat. (Japan officially disagrees with world consensus on which species are endangered.) ; A marriage-encouraging initiative in the Sehore district of India’s Madhya Pradesh state awards gifts and financial assistance to couples agreeing to wed in mass ceremonies, but the country also suffers from a notorious toilet shortage. Consequently, the district announced in May that to qualify for the government benefits, the groom must submit to officials a photo of himself beside
his own toilet to prove that he and his wife will have home sanitation.
LATEST RELIGIOUS MESSAGES
; Recurring Theme (People Purporting to Speak for Islam): (1) A Saudi judge ruled in April that it was finally time for Ali al-Khawahir, 24, to suffer for stabbing another boy in the back when Ali was 14. The victim was paralyzed, and under Saudi justice, Ali must also be struck with paralysis or else raise the equivalent of about $260,000 to compensate the victim. (2) Saudi cleric Abdullah Mohamed al-Daoud in May urged his 100,000 Twitter followers to “sexually harass female cashiers” to discourage them from working outside the home. (He is the one who urged in February that babies be veiled to protect them from sexual harassment.) ; Closer to God Than You Are: (1) Crystal McVea, author of a recent book chronicling her near-death experience, told a Fox & Friends TV host in April that among her most vivid memories of the incident was
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getting so close to God that she could “smell” him. (2) In May, Anna Pierre, a candidate for mayor of North Miami, Fla., announced on her Facebook page that she had secured the endorsement of Jesus Christ. That would be doubly fortunate for her since a month earlier, she had complained that unknown people had been leaving bad-luck Vodou-ritual feathers, food scraps and candles on her doorstep. (Jesus’ stroke is apparently not what it used to be: She finished seventh in the race.) ; Religious Messages From All Over: (1) A catering company in Leicestershire, England, became a holy site in May after the Hindu owner found an eggplant that resembles the elephant-headed Lord Ganesh. He said that he prays to it now twice daily and has so far welcomed about 80 visiting worshippers. (2) As part of his recent U.S. tour, the Dalai Lama, introduced to a University of Maryland audience by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, greeted the governor on stage by rubbing noses with him.
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QUESTIONABLE JUDGMENTS
; Expectant North Carolina parents Adam and Heather Barrington (who is due in July) have disclosed that they will accept underwater midwifing from the Sirius Institute of Pahoa, Hawaii, which arranges for the mother to swim with dolphins pre- and postnatally. “It is about reconnecting as humans with the dolphins so we can . . . learn from one another,” said Heather. Said Adam: “Dolphins are very intelligent and healing, which . . . calms mother and baby . . . “ Biologists writing for the Discovery Channel, however, reminded readers that underwater births are extraordinarily dangerous and that dolphins are “wild animals” that gang-rape female dolphins and “toss, beat and kill small porpoises.” Said another, the Barringtons’ plan is “possibly the worst idea ever.” ; Local Governments at Work: (1) Washington, D.C., began registering its dogs this year by their primary breeds and, faced with many owners
who claimed not to know their dog’s heritage, quixotically settled on the Mexican hairless dog, or “xoloitzcuintli” (pronounced “show-loweats-QUEENT-lee,” according to The Washington Post) as the breed that will be listed in city records for those dogs. An official said the decision might encourage owners to learn more about their dog’s breed. (2) Of all the businesses that could fall out of favor with a local government, it was the restaurant Bacon Bacon that was shut down in May by the city of San Francisco—because of neighbors’ complaints about the smell! (The fragrance of bacon is widely experienced as entrancing all across America.) A petition to overturn the ruling was underway at press time. ; More than 50 Iowa sex offenders have open-carry gun permits, thanks to a 2-year-old state law that requires any disapproving sheriff to demonstrate “probable cause” in advance that a sex offender will use a gun illegally in order to reject his application. Before that, a sheriff could use a sex offender’s previous felony conviction as sufficient cause. Said Washington County Sheriff
Jerry Dunbar, “(J)ust the presence of a gun on a hip could be a threat to get (sex-crime victims) to cooperate.”
PERSPECTIVE
; Congress established the Interagency Working Group in 2009 to set guidelines on advertising healthy foods to children, and public comments on the guidelines are now being posted. General Mills appeared among the most alarmed by the IWG proposals, according to its comments on the Federal Trade Commission website (as disclosed by Scientific American in May). Of the 100 most commonly consumed foods and beverages in America, GM asserted, 88 would fail the IWG standards, and if everyone in America started following the health recommendations, General Mills would lose $503 billion per year in sales—unless, of course, it altered part of its product line.
LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS ; Dennis Gholston, 45, with outstanding traffic warrants in Pennsylvania, decided in May
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that, even though alone in his car, he could not resist using a high-occupancy vehicle lane (HOV) on the New Jersey Turnpike near Carteret. His decision was even more unsound because, according to the officer who stopped him for the HOV violation, Gholston was hauling about $4,000 worth of heroin in the car, and he was charged with intent to distribute.
A NEWS OF THE WEIRD CLASSIC (DECEMBER 2009)
; But What If the Device Falls Into the Wrong Hands? A 55-year-old British man whose bowel was ruptured in a nearly catastrophic traffic accident has been fitted with a bionic sphincter that opens and closes with a remote controller. Ged Galvin had originally endured 13 surgeries in a 13-week hospital stay and had grown frustrated with using a colostomy bag until surgeon Norman Williams of the Royal London Hospital proposed
the imaginative operation. Dr. Williams, who was interviewed along with Galvin for a November 2009 feature in London’s Daily Mail, wrapped a muscle transplanted from Galvin’s leg around the sphincter and attached electrodes to tighten or loosen its grip.
VERY PERSONAL HYGIENE
; Orestes De La Paz’s exhibit at the Frost Art Museum in Miami in May recalled Chuck Palahniuk’s novel and film Fight Club, in which lead character Tyler Durden’s principal income source was making upscale soap using discarded liposuctioned fat fetched from the garbage of cosmetic surgeons (thus closing the loop of fat from rich ladies recycled back to rich ladies). De La Paz told his mentor at Florida International University that he wanted only to display his own liposuctioned fat provocatively, but decided to make soap when he realized that the fat would otherwise quickly rot. Some visitors to the exhibit were able to wash their hands with the
engineered soap, which De La Paz offered for sale at $1,000 a bar.
THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
; As recently as mid-May, people with disabilities had been earning hefty black-market fees by taking strangers into Disneyland and Disney World using the parks’ own liberal “disability” passes (which allow for up to five relatives or guests at a time to accompany the disabled person in skipping the sometimes-hours-long lines and having immediate access to the rides). The pass-holding “guide,” according to NBC’s “Today” show, could charge as much as $200 through advertising on CraigsList and via word-of-mouth to some travel agents. Following reports in the New York Post and other outlets, Disney was said in late May to be warning disabled permit-holders not to abuse the privilege. ; After setting out to create a protective garment for mixed martial arts fighters, Jeremiah
Raber of High Ridge, Mo., realized that his “groin protection device” could also help police, athletes and military contractors. Armored Nutshellz underwear, now selling for $125 each, has multiple layers of Kevlar plus another fabric called Dyneema, which Raber said can “resist” multiple shots from 9 mm and .22-caliber handguns. He said the Army will be testing Nutshellz in August, hoping it can reduce the number of servicemen who come home with devastating groin injuries. ; “Ambulance-chasing” lawyers are less the cliche than they formerly were because of bar association crackdowns, but fire truck-chasing contractors and “public adjusters” are still a problem—at least in Florida, where the state Supreme Court tossed out a “48-hour” time- out rule that would have given casualty victims space to reflect on their losses before being overwhelmed by home-restoration salesmen. Consequently, as firefighters told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in May, the contractors are usually
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“right behind” them on the scene, pestering anxious or grief-stricken victims. The Sun-Sentinel found one woman being begged to sign up while she was still crying out for her dog that remained trapped in the blaze.
UNCONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS
; Researchers writing recently in the journal PLoS ONE disclosed that they had found certain types of dirt that contain antimicrobial agents capable of killing E. coli and the antibiotic-resistant MRSA. According to the article, medical “texts” back to 3000 B.C. mentioned clays that, when rubbed on wounds, reduce inflammation and pain. ; Researchers writing in May in the journal Pediatrics found that some infants whose parents regularly sucked their babies’ pacifiers to clean them (rather than rinsing or boiling them) developed fewer allergies and cases of asthma. (On the other hand, parental-cleansing might make other maladies more likely, such as tooth decay.)
LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATORS
; Until recently, apparently, gene mutations were considered merely freaks of nature, but that was before Myriad Genetics obtained binding U.S. patents for mutations it discovered—now known as BRCA-1 and BRCA-2. Those mutations were in the news in May when actor Angelina Jolie announced that she had chosen to have a double mastectomy based on the presence of the cancer-causing mutations, which she had learned of through a Myriad Genetics test costing about $4,000. There is no price competition for the test, due to the patent, and Jolie, along with oncologists and OB-GYN doctors, fret that the test is too expensive for tens of millions of women around the world whose lives could be saved by knowing their status. ; Archeologists discovered in May that a construction company had bulldozed 2,300-year-old Mayan ruins in northern Belize—sim64 CULTURE • JUly 2013
ply to mine the rocks for road fill to build a highway. A researcher said it could hardly have been an accident, for the ruins were 100 feet high in an otherwise flat landscape, and a Tulane University anthropologist estimated that Mayan ruins are being mined for road fill an average of once a day in their ancient habitats. Said another, “(T)o realize” that Mayans created these structures using only stone tools and then “carried these materials on their heads” to build them—and then that bulldozers can almost instantly destroy them—is “mind-boggling.”
FINE POINTS OF LAW
; A woman in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood reported to a local news blog in May that she had seen (and her husband briefly conversed with) a man who was operating a “drone” from a sidewalk, guiding the noisy device to a point just outside a third-floor window in a private home. The pilot said he was “doing research” and, perhaps protected by a 1946 U.S. Supreme Court decision, asserted that he was not violating anyone’s privacy because he, himself, was on a public sidewalk while the drone was in public airspace. The couple called for a police officer, but by the time one arrived, the pilot and his drone had departed, according to a report on the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
PERSPECTIVE
; Army Major Nidal Hasan went on trial in June for killing 13 and wounding another 32 in the notorious November 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas, but his 43 months in lockup since then have been lucrative. WFAA-TV (Dallas-Fort Worth) reported in May that Maj. Hasan has earned $278,000 (and counting) in salary and benefits because his pay cannot be stopped until he is convicted. By contrast, some of the 32 surviving victims complain of difficulty wrenching money out of the Army for worker compensation and disability treatment— because the Army has refused to classify the spree-shooting as a combat-similar “terrorist attack” 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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(in favor of terming it the politically correct “workplace violence”).
PEOPLE WITH ISSUES
; (1) John Allison, 41, who was arrested inside a Hannaford’s grocery store in Massena, N.Y., in May, first aroused suspicion as an anticipated shoplifter, but it turns out that all he wanted to do was to remove a pepperoni from the meat case, rub it on his penis and put it back. He was charged with criminal mischief. (2) David Beckman, 64, was charged in DuPage County, Ill., in May with misdemeanor animal cruelty after he allegedly sexually abused his pet peacock, “Phyl.”
LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS
; Three men committed home invasion of a Houston residence on May 14 and, although two escaped, one wound up in the hospital and under arrest. The three men kicked in a door and shut the resident in an upstairs closet while they ransacked the
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home, but they failed to inspect the closet first and thus did not realize that it was the resident’s handgun-storage closet. A few minutes later, the resident emerged, locked and loaded, and wounded one of the men in the shoulder and leg.
READERS’ CHOICE
; (1) Bryan Zuniga, 20, was (according to a deputy) weaving in traffic in his SUV in May near the St. Petersburg, Fla., city limit, but instead of submitting to the deputy, he fled on foot and eventually climbed a fence to a water-treatment plant—and apparently disturbed an alligator residing in a pond. Zuniga was treated at St. Petersburg General Hospital for bites to his face and arm. (2) In Albuquerque in May, Luis Briones, 25, became the most recent person arrested for distracted driving—after he crashed into another car while engaged in sexual intercourse in the driver’s seat. (His naked lady-friend was thrown from the car, but not seriously hurt.)
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THE MITES ATE THE CHEESE
; The Food and Drug Administration proposed recently to limit the quantity of tiny “mites” that could occupy imported cheese, even though living, crawling mites are a feature desired by aficionados. (“Cheese is absolutely alive!” proclaimed microbiologist Rachel Dutton, who runs the “cheese laboratory” at Harvard University.) In fact, cheese is home to various molds, bacteria and yeasts, which give it flavor, and sellers routinely use blowers to expel excessive critters, but the FDA now wants to limit them to 6 bugs per square inch. However, according to a May report on NPR, lovers of some cheeses, especially the French Mimolette, object, asserting both an indifference to the sight of mites creeping around—and a fear of taste-loss (since the mites burrow into the hunk, aerating it and extending the flavor).
IRONIES
; Energy West, the natural gas supplier in Great Falls, Mont., had tried recently to raise awareness of
leaks by distributing scratch-andsniff cards to residents, demonstrating gas’s distinctive, rottenegg smell. In May, workers cast aside several cartons of leftover cards, which were hauled off and disposed of by crushing—which released the scent and produced a massive blanket of odor over downtown Great Falls, resulting in a flurry of panicked calls to firefighters about gas leaks. ; Well, Of Course! (1) The Ypsilanti, Mich., City Council voted in May on a resolution that would have required the members always to vote either “yes” or “no” (to thus reduce the recent, annoying number of “abstain” votes). The resolution to ban abstaining failed because three of the seven members abstained. (2) Doctors told a newspaper in Stockholm in April that at least one of Sweden’s premier modeling agencies, looking for recruits, had been caught passing out business cards adjacent to the country’s largest eating-disorder clinic, forcing the clinic to change its rules on patients taking outside walks.
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