DOPE MAGAZINE COLORADO NOVEMBER 2015 ISSUE 10 "THE PAST TO PRESENT" ISSUE

COLORADO | NOVEMBER 2015 | ISSUE #10 | THE PAST TO PRESENT ISSUE | FREE

CAMPAIGN ZERO

STRAINS ARMANGNAC

Ensuring Accountability

CONCENTRATE SOUR D LIVE RESIN

BRANDING BUD The National Brands Emerge

EDIBLES CHEEBA CHEWS

STORE

THE GREEN SOLUTION

RACIAL DISPARITY IN THE AGE OF LEGALIZATION

DEFENDING OUR PLANT EVERYWHERE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ISSUE 10 | NOVEMBER 2015 THE PAST TO PRESENT ISSUE

STATE DIRECTOR NOTE But sometimes, I still sit and reminisce.

Then think about the years I was raised, back in the days -Ahmad

STRAIN

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ARMANGNAC

12

EDIBLES

CHEEBA CHEW

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RECREATIONAL STORE

THE GREEN SOLUTION

24

CANNA-NEWS

CONSISTENCY ACROSS STATELINES

PIECES

THE LUNA MOTH

44

DOPE NEWS

30

CANNABIS WORLD NEWS

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CANNA-NEWS

IN FOCUS: MIKE SMIGIEL

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CONCENTRATE

SOUR DIESEL LIVE RESIN

GARDEN

COLORADO HEMP PROJECT

56 CANNA-NEWS PRIVATE PRISONS

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“Drug deals” by nature are inherently dangerous situations; emotions run high, tempers flare, weapons become relevant and quality of product is suspect. If you remember “the tip”, “over-yonder”, “LJ’s Crib” or any other vaguely described location where you used to score herb, then you no doubt can appreciate the development of the cannabis industry and the ability to purchase quality cannabis in safe and friendly surroundings. Stories of guns being drawn, pistol whippings, shaken confidence and hairy situations with the law while picking up are told with a sense of pride in a ‘made it out alive’ sort of way in our new economy.

For modern cannabis consumers being shorted isn’t intentional, you don’t have to roll your own joints, options range beyond standard $30/60 or $60/120 price points, and plastic is accepted.

As a young buck, seeing and smelling purple in cannabis for the first time was literally a breath of fresh air and a sight for sore eyes. What was referred to as ‘Purple Haze’ could have just as easily been Mids lightly brushed with a grape-scented marker. We wouldn’t have known any better at the time and it didn’t stop us from paying with our allowance money while smoking in double-time.

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SOCIAL CAUSES CAMPAIGN ZERO

Today, Roy G. Biv is represented in strains of cannabis that originate from far off lines of longitude and latitude.

Sold in more visually pleasing locations and packaging, the days of purchasing a sandwich bag of shake in the alley next to the dumpster are long gone; the game has changed.

But the more things change, the more they stay the same.

70 TECHNOLOGY

HISTORY OF ONLINE CANNABIS FORUMS

52 FEATURE

DR. CARL HART

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CANNA-NEWS

CANNABIS AND RACE

Cannabis is still a Schedule 1 drug. Alcohol, tobacco and firearms kill our parents, siblings, friends, people we never liked and strangers we’ve never considered yet still receive the “Good Ole’ America” treatment when pushed back upon.

Despite the lives being improved and saved by cannabis, too many brains have been washed into thinking that the plant is evil. Correlation does not imply causation; the gateway theory persists.

Minorities are still arrested and incarcerated at alarming rates for cannabis possession and narcotic pharmaceuticals are still prescribed to infants, children and teens before they are allowed to make their own decisions. FDA approved THC pills are available with a doctor’s prescription, and have been used to mask cannabis consumption for those ‘on paper’ since they became available on the ‘legal’ market.

The black market thrives in Colorado. Cannabis flower, edibles and concentrates are being diverted to any number of states. Prohibition stokes entrepreneurial flames and the minds of the next generation of cannabis innovators are just being turned onto the notion that cannabis and hemp can save the world.

Press on.

Stay DOPE,

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Emmett H.W. Nelson Colorado State Director

Expires 11/30/15. DO1115

PRESIDENT

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

EVAN CARTER

NATHAN CHRYSLER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SALES MANAGER

JAMES ZACHODNI

SHANON MELICK

STATE DIRECTOR EMMETT H.W. NELSON

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS ANTHONY DIMEO DAVE HODES

ART DIRECTOR BRANDON PALMA GRAPHIC DESIGNER CHARM DOMACENA AD DESIGN

SHARON LETTS JOSH KRAUS MITCH SHENASSA STEVE MARASCHINO CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS JAMIE KRAUS

DOPE DESIGN AGENCY LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER ALLIE BECKETT MANAGING EDITOR/COPY EDITOR

JENA SCHLOSSER

DOPE is a free publication dedicated to providing an informative and wellness-minded voice to the cannabis movement. While our foundation is the medical cannabis industry, it is our intent to provide ethical and researchbased articles that address the many facets of the war on drugs, from politics to lifestyle and beyond. We believe that through education and honest discourse, accurate policy and understanding can emerge. DOPE Magazine is focused on defending both our patients and our plant, and to being an unceasing force for revolutionary change.

ALEXIS EMBREY SALES EXECUTIVE GRIFFIN W. SMITH

WWW.DOPEMAGAZINE.COM

ART DIRECTOR APPRENTICE

ALISON BAIRD

NARISSA-CAMILLE PHETHEAN ONLINE EDITOR MEGHAN RIDLEY

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

OPERATIONS ASSOCIATE KATE KELLY

CEO SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

DAVID TRAN

DALLAS KEEFE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR JONATHAN TEETERS

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT JENIKA MAO

COVER PHOTO:

PROUD MEMBER OF

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TM

TM

TM

ARMANGNAC

STRAIN

WRITER • JOSH KRAUS | PHOTOS • JAMIE KRAUS

GENETICS PROVIDED BY: GOOD MEDS TESTED BY: STEEP HILL LABS

22.99% THC

Pronounced ahm-on-yak, this lesser-known strain takes its name from the Armagnac grapes of Southwestern France and its lineage from DJ Short’s distinctly fruity Grape Kush and Krome’s The White, producing a very potent indica hybrid.

THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS Although higher doses may induce drowsiness, it’s an ideal strain for patients seeking medicinal relief without compromising their physical and mental faculties. Said quite often to provide full body relief from aches and pains, patients also report it softens the blow of their anxiety and depression.

LOOKS If your nativity scene diorama is missing some festive vegetation, a dense Armagnac nug will work in a pinch.

These medium to large-size buds look an awful lot like tiny Christmas trees; trichomes blanket greenery like shimmering snow, as red hairs poke out like twinkling ornaments.

FLAVOR While Armagnac’s aroma is like a blast of cool winter air, its flavor takes on the refined sensibilities of its namesake.

A sizable draw produces a sweet caramel opulence comparable to the fumes of a strong brandy. The taste is rich and full, held together by an essence of earth and berry.

AROMA There is an evergreen freshness to Armagnac’s aroma that is simply delightful. Notes of sweet fruit and tangy citrus linger in the background, resulting in a hat trick of nosetingling thrills. It might not smell quite like a rich glass of merlot, but you’ll be sniffing the stuff like a sommelier all the same.

EFFECT AVAILABLE AT • GOOD MEDS ENGLEWOOD • GOOD MEDS LAKEWOOD

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A good Armagnac buzz is pillowy soft and pleasantly cerebral, but getting stoned off this sophisticated strain is less a sprint to the finish and more a casual stroll through a meadow of soothing sensations. Like a glass of top-shelf vintage, Armagnac’s high takes its time, allowing you to appreciate the nuances of its therapeutic, full body caress.

WRITER •ANTHONY DIMEO

PHOTOS • ALEXIS EMBREY

EDIBLES

RECREATIONAL

CHEEBA CHEWS STAYING TRUE TO THE CLASSIC CHEW

O DATE, medical patients in Colorado have been the only lucky few in the state able to procure Cheeba Chews. The tasty taffies had their debut back in 2009, and at that time they started as small operation and home grow in Boulder.

No one at that time realized the heights to which their small batch infusions would climb.

The potency of Cheeba Chews has much to do with the company’s unique cannabis extract formula that was one of the first to use all of the plant’s valuable materials, eventually leading to a Cannabis Cup “Best Edible” victory in 2011.

To offer themselves to the new adult rec market, Cheeba Chews had to go back to the drawing board. Their goal was to find out how to create the same consistency and taste as their medicinal offerings, while still adhering to the strict standards set by Colorado. Since

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Cheeba Chews were previously hand-mixed, the research and development of a depositing machine was the breakthrough they needed to now create single-serving 10 mg doses. These portions are in 80 mg blister packs that separate each dose and help curb any accidental ingestion. Now anyone in Oregon over the age of 21 can enjoy the variety of options Cheeba Chews offers with their indica, sativa, hybrid, and CBD Chews.

The creamy chewiness of each dose stays true to the original, and several effective products from them will be hitting the recreational market in the coming months, including their Green Hornet Gummies. After all it’s about time everybody gets to enjoy these Cheeba Chew Colorado classics, with new products ® set to launch in early 2016.

REC STORE

350 SOUTH POTOMAC ST AURORA, CO 80012 (720) 501-2371 OPEN DAILY 8:00AM- 9:45PM

THE GREEN SOLUTION - POTOMAC Takin’ Care of Business HE GREEN SOLUTION

franchise holds it down on the Front Range with some of the top stores in the recreational game today. Located a few minutes away from the airport, this Aurora location is a most-convenient stop for any tenderfoots looking to dip their toes into a “cannabis experience.”

At The Green Solution, the process is streamlined with each customer getting their own identical browsing station to view an array of meticulously displayed products. The budtenders are men and women in black that guide shoppers through the everexpanding galaxy of recreational cannabis. They readily kick down knowledge about their other of-

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ferings that may be a little more alien to the average Joe Bowlpack, such as concentrates and edibles.

Nectar Bee, formerly known as Infuzionz, manufactures all of the concentrates and the majority of the edibles at all TGS locations, producing many ridiculously tasty choices and price options.

In their flower section, there is a wall of informative LCD screens that, from faraway, appear to display Ivan Drago’s punching power, but instead actually shows each strain’s cannabinoid info and flavor profile. On one of the screens displays Presidential Kush, just one of the many Cannabis Cup People’s Cup-winning strains available at TGS.

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For those ballers or potential party heroes out there looking for a 24K Gold Caviar joint, or perhaps the “Trifecta” aka Saul & Dale’s cross joint from Pineapple Express, The Green Solution carries quite a few types of novelty pre-rolls that not only create a welcome reaction, but a strong buzz to go with it.

Establishments such as TGS are successfully legitimizing the cannabis industry, so the rest of the nation can follow suit; a sentiment to which Casey, the store’s GM remarked “We are business as usual here, we just happen to sell a very interesting product.” ®

WRITER •ANTHONY DIMEO

PHOTOS • JENA SCHLOSSER

“ESTABLISHMENTS LIKE TGS ARE SUCCESSFULLY LEGITIMIZING THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY, SO THE REST OF THE NATION CAN FOLLOW SUIT.”

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WRITER•DAVE HODES

CANNANEWS

DESIGN•BRANDON PALMA

S THE steady march toward full cannabis legalization rumbles across the country, the buzz grows stonger among entrepreneurs, who now reach to seize every opportunity in a new American industry. Accelerating spurts of development continue to occur at an increasing frequency and pace. It’s not only that a substance previously illegal is now legal in four states and D.C., the very heart of our nation.

This social change extends deeper into the American psyche. This whole new legal cash crop carries with it an unprecedented level of social change. It’s reaching into the very roots of the failed war on drugs, into sentencing reform for non-violent offenders and most importantly, into what it means to be a criminal, and who the criminal element really is. For centuries in this country, and continuing today, that criminal element often assumed to be a black man.

In 1808 in Washington, D.C., where nearly 1,000 free slaves lived, and hundreds of other owned slaves were helping to build the federal buildings, a city ordinance stipulated that “No black person, or person of color, shall be allowed to walk about or assemble after ten o’clock at night.” Part of the “black code” set of laws that continued through the 1800s in various cities in the south, is was designed to control the growing black population. This began with a long cycle of unjust incarcerations and arrests that continue today.

The US incarcerates more of its citizens than any other country in the world. According to the Drug Policy Alliance (a national organization that promotes drug policies based on health and human rights), in 2014 there were 700,993 arrests for marijuana possession.

Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, points to the massive racial disparity in these arrests, “In New York, young white people are actually more likely than African Americans to use marijuana, but African Americans compose 85% of those arrested for marijuana possession.” He says the war on cannabis creates a climate of fear and oppression in communities of color. “The reality is that for many Americans, particularly young men of color, a minor cannabis offense, no matter how it is dealt with, is a gateway to a lifetime of civil and criminal punishment, discrimination, fines, debt, unemployment and constant harassment by the police. The only way to close this gateway is with legalization.

It is the only way to stop people from entering

black codes in the 1800s, and largely ended this punitive, unjust and racist system.” in the mid-1960s. “You now have millions To some African American youth today, of people, largely people of color and mostly feeling controlled by law enforcement is often young black men, who now can be legally disnothing new. The evidence of that control is criminated against in employment becoming more availand in housing,” says Piper. “They able to everyone, as can be denied the right to vote, and ever-present phone be denied welfare benefits and cameras reveal deeper, public housing. Those were all sometimes disturbing of the things that the civil rights truths about a larger movement was fighting for.” problem. Videos of As more states legalize, there Freddie Gray being has been an increase in commuting treated like a sack of sentences for those doing time for trash before his death cannabis arrests. “Commutations following a rough ride are starting to become more of an in a police van, or the issue in states that have legalized footage of Eric Garner, cannabis. You have that juxtaposichoked to death on tion between people who are now the streets of New making money selling cannabis, York raise new pro- B I L L P I P ER , D I R EC TOR OF NATIONA L while there are people in prison for found questions.

AF FA I RS FOR THE having done the same thing,” Piper “The primary says. “So I think we are going to relationship, that most D RU G POL IC Y A L L I A NC E see a greater effort to get people African American who are in prison out of prison.” people have with this The change in drug policies country for the majormay be slow to come and Piper ity of our lives, is one points out the obvious, “We are up of confinement and against a lot of vested interests in the drug war. containment,” Asha Bandele, the Director of The private prison industry, the drug testing the Advocacy Grants Program for the Drug industry, the pharmaceutical companies that Policy Alliance. “The marijuana laws and give money to the legalization opponents. The other drug laws are just the most recent manistruggle is really between the social justice festation of that.” advocates on one hand, and the drug war profiAs legalization grows and the cannabis teers on the other. It’s between those who want movement spreads, discussions mainly focus on the disparity between cannabis, race and ar- to reduce incarceration and misery, and those who seek to profit off it. I think we will win rests. “I think linking arms and aims with other that battle slowly.” social justice issues is equally as important There has been talk that as he exits office as is the work on the reform of the marijuana next year President Obama may reschedule laws,” Bandele says. “You can reform that and marijuana (not deschedule – that would take something else will pop up. So as much as this an act of Congress). Perhaps he may also paris an effort to shift policy, it is also an effort don some non-violent offenders. Piper clarifies to shift the hearts and minds about how Black the situation stating “Even if the president people are viewed in America.” pardons thousands of cannabis offenders, She says cannabis arrests and other drug they’ll have the offenses on their records, and policies decimate communities because it there would be a news story with their names isn’t just the people in prison this effects, it’s in it, but one step at a time.” the people left behind. “You don’t just take Bandele believes the legalization of one person out of the community and make it safer.” That is not what happened. Whole fam- cannabis can boost small towns where the economy has been decimated by the cycle of ilies were destroyed. Children are less likely incarcerations. “Let’s make the country whole to have two parents around now than they did again.” during slavery.”

Piper says cannabis arrests have created a new sort of Jim Crow environment. He refers to a set of segregation laws that followed the

I THINK WE ARE GOING TO SEE A GREATER EFFORT TO GET PEOPLE WHO ARE IN PRISON OUT OF PRISON.

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Aroma and Resin Enricher

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WRITER•DAVID PALESCHUCK, PRESIDENT, NEW LEAF LICENSING

DESIGN•BRANDON PALMA

BRANDING BUD

MANY ANALYSTS BELIEVE IT’S JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE MORE STATES REFORM. THE SPREAD OF LEGALIZATION WILL OPEN UP NEW MARKETS UNTIL THERE’S A REGULATED OPEN MARKET AND A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD. David Paleschuck

TTITUDES surrounding cannabis

STEREOTYPES Who is the cannabis consumer and what is their lifestyle? Is there just one type of cannabis consumer? Are images of Cheech & Chong, Harold & Kumar, Willy Nelson & Snoop Dog all stereotypes of cannabis smokers? To push it further, is “smoking” itself a stereotype of cannabis consumption?

are undergoing a shift in American public opinion. A report by Pew Research Center released in 2014 demonstrates widespread support for legalization, and also shows support for cannabis jumping from 30% at the start of the millennium to 52% at the time of the study.

As voters and lawmakers seek to reform laws, policy makers will have to address many difficult questions about regulation, production, sales, distribution and consumption.

There are generally two types of cannabis consumers: MEDICAL CANNABIS: Those with a state issued license to consume cannabis to reduce

INDUSTRY ACTIVITY

PRODUCTS & USAGE

Recent articles from The New York Times, The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times, among others include promising statements like “23 states have legalized medically,” “Colorado sales totalled $700 million in 2014,” “three states plus Washington D.C. have legalized recreationally” and “Cannabis Basics™ (and other cannabis brands) have received their trademarks from the US Trademark Office” Founders Fund, run by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, has invested millions into the industry, as has Y-Combinator, a business accelerator that helped get Reddit, Airbnb and Dropbox off the ground. At the entrepreneur level, business owners are creating many new products and most seek clarity on how to market & protect their brands legally and ethically, especially when particular legalities must be handled on a state-by-state basis.

LET’S LOOK AT THE FACTS…

With two specific segments, one can see the need for two distinct product strategies.

“Medical cannabis”, with its need for ailment specific cannabis therapies, and “Recreational cannabis”, where the plant is considered an “adult substance” and marketed like alcohol and tobacco to 21+. Each serves a distinctly different demographic, when most brands tend to focus on one or the other. Josh Kirby, President of Oakor,™ and maker of cannabis sublingual breath strips says, “Due to federal policy surrounding interstate commerce with infused cannabis products, our strategy is two-fold: formulate consistent cannabis products; and license those formulas and our brand to reliable licensees...because of regulations, brand & product licensing allows us to minimize parallel processing, reduce risk, and leverage local talent and knowledge within each market.”

Other notable cannabis licensing deals in the recreational market include Privateer Holdings, a multi-million dollar “cannabis fund” now aligned with the Marley Family for a new cannabis product brand called Marley Natu-

pain or symptoms of an ailment such as cancer, arthritis, fibromyalgia, etc. They typically consume edibles, and sub-lingual tinctures and use topical lotions, oils and they may avoid smoking cannabis due to their ailments. Often they choose cannabis products that have had their psychotropic component (THC) removed, while maintaining the pain-relieving cannabidiol (CBD) component.

RECREATIONAL CANNABIS: Those that are 21+ without a state issued license. They typically consume cannabis through smoking, vaporizing, and may often be seeking a ‘high’.

rals.™ It’s a full line of products, ranging from cannabis flower to infused topical lotions and oils, and it’s launch is on track for year’s end.

Many analysts believe it’s just a matter of time before more states reform. The spread of legalization will continue to open up new markets, until there’s a regulated open market and level playing field that will contain a whole new generation of brands. We’re sure to see an increase in the number of strong brands very soon across product categories, ranging from pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes to infused topical body lotions. That being said, as public awareness & acceptance of the plant ramps up, we could see a surge of well established brands developing cannabis products of their own.

So is Bob Marley the next Marlboro Man? Will there be a ‘cannabis section’ at Whole Foods,® where high profile companies like Aveda® and Dr. Bronners® create entire lines of relaxing infused body lotions? Although these questions can’t be answered now, it’s clear the public will seek consistency in the quality of cannabis products, just as they would with any other consumable good.

[As business owners and entrepreneurs protecting our intellectual property is paramount. The August 25th 2015 Federal Trade Mark Registration granted to Cannabis Basics by the USPTO is quite a beautiful sign of the times!” Ah Warner, CEO/Founder of Cannabis Basics ] dopemagazine.com ISSUE 10 THE PAST TO PRESENT ISSUE

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WE’VE FRESHENED THINGS UP. LAUNCHING DECEMBER 2015

SEE DOPE. READ DOPE. BE DOPE.

DOPEMAGAZINE.COM The all new DOPE Magazine website will be your one-stop-shop for all things cannabis. Read the latest issue of DOPE on our cutting edge digital edition of the magazine, shop for all your favorite DOPE gear, keep up on current events with our daily blogs and earn badges as a frequent user for even more exclusive access. Things are about to get DOPE!

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CANNABIS CONCENTRATES Past, Present & Future WRITER•DUTCH MASTER DESIGN•BRANDON PALMA

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MOROCCO, LEBANON, INDIA – THESE REGIONS HAVE BEEN NOTORIOUS FOR ANCIENT HASHISH PREPARATORY TECHNIQUES RANGING FROM THE SCREENBEATING/ SIFTING OF DRY PLANTS TO HAND RUBBED CHARAS OBTAINED FROM LIVE PLANTS, THE LATTER BEING HIGHLY-PRIZED.

[A Brick of Hashish]

the cannabis community many are under the false assumption cannabis in its concentrated form is a recent development. Popular media outlets regurgitate “facts” about the sudden upsurge in THC content – perpetuating a modern reefer madness. They claim that never before in history have humans seen the high THC levels we are currently witnessing in today’s concentrates.

Any cannabis-consuming historian will say though, that this is far from the truth, as humans have been interacting with this plant for over 10,000 years, and often in its extracted, concentrated form. While ancient techniques have a difficult time achieving lab-grade purity, there is extremely strong (60%+ THC) hashish and concentrated forms of cannabis currently produced around the world via methods handed down for generations. Given humanity’s rich history and understanding of ancient cannabis extraction techniques where is extraction headed? By exploring a bit of the past and a tad of the present, we will hopefully be afforded a glimpse into the future of cannabis concentrates.

Morocco, Lebanon, India – these regions have been notorious for ancient hashish preparatory techniques ranging from the screen-beating/ sifting of dry plants to hand rubbed charas obtained from live plants, the latter being highlyprized. Many of these very techniques were utilized in these regions hundreds (if not thousands) of years prior, with the tradition being handed down to younger successive generations. These areas are no stranger to cannabis concentrates – with cultural traditions rich in cannabis history.

It is important to note, up until the 1970’s these areas (India, in particular) allowed and tolerated cannabis use for medicinal and religious purposes – even allowing it to be sold in government shops. While officially these areas have criminalized cannabis use, after bowing to international pressure, cannabis consumption is still quite common and moderately tolerated, with regions of Northern India still serving the popular beverage bhang, a cannabis-infused lassi-type drink.

Unfortunately, many of these ancient techniques have become rather endangered due to draconian anti-drug policies.

In the 1960s Western Culture begins to see mass consciousness experimentation and with it, the widespread consumption of cannabis.

Academia became a hotbed for radically new ideas and the molecular pursuit for the elusive psychoactive constituents in cannabis, named cannabinoids, began. Although Roger Adams discovered THC in 1940, it was not popularized until Raphael Mechoulam’s THC synthesis in

GROW

[ A man smoking hookah ]

1964. With this came greater inquiries into the possible potentiation of CBD and THC, the two primary active cannabinoids found in cannabis.

Readers of popularized cannabis publications of the time became bombarded with all sorts of odd gizmos and gadgets claiming to do just the sort – performing various reactions such as the ISO2 by Thai Power, an “at-home isomerizer,” which allows the user to isomerize CBD to Δ9THC. With greater acceptance and tolerance to cannabis consumption beginning to permeate throughout The West, a greater understanding of the plant as a whole rapidly becomes a reality.

Cannabis concentrates finally emerge in the form of Honey Oil, with manufacturing brought up to quazi-laboratory standards.

What we begin to see at this moment in history is an exponential increase in the knowledge about cannabis due to mass collaboration, albeit rather clandestine. Today, in a world of legal cannabis consumption we are seeing the emergence of a “concentrate culture” – aficionados whose primary method of consumption is with cannabis concentrates.

Illustrious $3,000+ dab rigs, electric nails, rosin presses, the countless novel inventions abound. In Washington State, new regulations have effectively ushered the extraction scene into focusing on new “solventless” extraction methods. Also, mega-conglomerate extraction companies are beginning to dominate due to legislation that eliminates the cottage-industry aspect. With other “green” states choosing to take a different approach to cannabis extraction regulation, it will be interesting to see how Washington State fares on the national level.

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[ PHOTO BY • Kdaniel Ellis ] >

ITH DAB culture pervading

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WRITER•R.Z. HUGHES

Incoming!

Airmail Cannabis A family of five living in Nogales, Arizona, less than a mile from the Mexico border, had an unexpected delivery through the roof of their carport. A 23-pound brick of cannabis, presumably dropped by an ultralight aircraft, missed it’s attempted target and came hurdling through the night sky to land with a crash on top of the family’s dog house. While it is not uncommon for smugglers to drop their illicit loads in the desert, this egregious error by the pilot marked the first time it came in such close proximity to a residence.

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Deputies Target Okra Farmer In Georgia A man in Cartersville, Georgia got a rude awakening last month when the Governor’s Task Force for Drug Suppression showed up on his front porch armed to the hilt with a chopper hovering over his house. Retired Dwayne Perry happens to enjoy growing okra in his backyard with his much-deserved free time. This innocuous act caught the eye of overzealous, undertrained officers doing aerial sweeps of the area. While he wasn’t detained, and they apologized, Perry is rightfully upset with the Georgia State Patrol as this type of irresponsible raid has led to much grislier ends under different circumstances.

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Indiana Tries On Goofy Anti-Ganja Goggles When the powers that be attempt to educate our youth about drugs, illegitimate fearmongering and scare tactics is commonly the main approach. Hancock County, Indiana, has purchased a new technology for their Youth Council designed to mimic the cognitive impairment after smoking cannabis. In reality, a green lens makes it nearly impossible to see the color red, which in a driving simulation makes red lights, stop signs, and inexplicable urban lasers invisible. While cannabis has never produced color-blindness in users, this brazen lie may no doubt stick with these kids, promoting less-than-educated decisions in their futures.

GRAPHICS •BRANDON PALMA

Baked In The Balkans?

Something is in the air over southeastern Europe and it smells like a big bag of sticky reefer. Within the last few months there have been moves to adopt medical cannabis in both Bulgaria and Croatia, with neighboring country Serbia hosting a massive protest in the name of MaryJane. This news comes at a time when Albania, a nation that shares borders with Serbia and is quite near to Croatia, claims to have eradicated 99% of cannabis within their borders. Croatia had the groundwork to theoretically begin prescribing medicinal cannabis last month, and a Bulgarian MP recently brought a bill that legalizes cannabis for patients to the parliament.

Karachi’s Cop-On-Cop Crime There is serious tension between law enforcement agencies in Pakistan as the AntiNarcotics Force (ANF) has twice raided the offices of the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC), seizing over 200 kilos of hashish and a couple kilos of heroin. Officials in the port city of Karachi have been cracking down on “the local drug mafia,” said to include members of their elite police force. While it looks like the AVCC is caught red-handed, it could very well be that the AVCC originally confiscated the hash because the ANF was engaged in illegal activity, but from this far away it’s difficult to tell which group has its hands in the international hash trade.

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CANNANEWS

WRITER•DAVE HODES

IN FOCUS: MIKE SMIGIEL

[ PHOTO • MICHAEL D. SMIGIEL JR. ELKTON, MARYLAND ]

EPUBLICAN PARTY member, lawyer and former Marine Mike Smigiel is on mission. He wants to honor the Constitution and the will of the people. He considers himself a libertarian, a conservative on fiscal issues and a champion of the fourth and tenth amendments stating “I am as liberal as the constitution says I can be, and as conservative as the constitution says I can be.”

As a former delegate in the Maryland legislature, where he spent a dozen years, Smigiel worked across party lines to pass more bipartisan legislation than any other Republican in the Maryland legislature. Some of that work resulted in the passage of a cannabis decriminalization bill in Maryland that he co-sponsored, one of just two Republicans from a list of fourty co-sponsors. The bill was introduced in February, 2014 by Heather Mizeur, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Maryland at that time. Mizeur lost the election but is steadfast in her support of cannabis legalization.

Smigiel is running for Maryland’s 1st Congressional district seat in 2016 against Maryland Republican Representative Andy Harris. Harris,

a three-term congressman, gained notoriety in the legalization community in D.C. for his attempts to block the legalization effort in the district by inserting a rider into a congressional omnibus spending bill that passed in December, 2014. The rider barred the district from legalizing and regulating cannabis, and nullified the legalization initiative that had been approved by 70% of the district voters.

The initiative remained in place after a review period elapsed with no additional action, and legalization began on February 26, 2015, with a tax and regulating structure still to be determined as a result of the ongoing interpretation about what the rider really means. As a consequence, Harris has quickly become a target of what’s wrong with politicians when it comes to legalization efforts, their interpretation of the constitution, and their push back against the will of the people.

Q DOPE: You are working now

Q DOPE: You would think that

on getting into the primary to run against Andy Harris, who has been very vocal about his position on both medical and recreational marijuana. Why are you looking to get back into the fray of rule making?

the positive things that have happened in Colorado – especially the reported tax revenue in 2014 ($70 million in taxes and licensing fees), would change politician’s opinions. It seems like the discussion about what works is already over.

A

MIKE SMIGIEL: I think that the federal government has absolutely no right whatsoever in being involved in the issues of medical and recreational marijuana. I try to explain to every Republican that you can’t say that you stand for the tenth amendment, and you can’t stand up for individual state’s rights while you support the law enforcement, or the establishment position, against the legalization of marijuana or against the state deciding that they want to either legalize or decriminalize or accept medical marijuana.

These states should go through the process.

Q DOPE: What is the source of your beef with Harris?

MS: Andy Harris clearly showed that he thinks he knows better than the people.

The people of D.C. said that this is what we want to do – legalize cannabis, but then Harris interjects his views [that legalization leads to increased teen drug use.] If he is a conservative and he thinks it’s so important that he interjects those views, why won’t he then say, “OK, this is so important. We are going to make sure that the tenth amendment is supported,” but he decides that he is going to override the vote of the people over the legalization in D.C., and interject his own point of view there. Then he goes on the radio and makes the statement that they are also going to take a look at what they are doing in Colorado and California and Texas and Washington, and that they are going to take a look federally at trying to have the feds come in and stop it.

That is absolutely anathema to everything that I believe in, in the individual state’s rights. If you have that experimentation with the policies in other states, you can adapt that which works and reject that which doesn’t work.

A

MS: Well Harris is being disingenuous now. He said let’s forget everything I said before and now, instead of being against cannabis, I am now going to the forefront of saying that we need to do a study. He says that we have to put the pharmaceutical companies in charge of the study, and that is absolutely wrong. They can now make certain plants that are tailored with the THC content and the cannabinoid content so that you can direct it towards a specific ailment, like a child with epilepsy. [ PHOTO • ANDI MORONY, ANNAPOLIS MARYLAND ]

A

SMIGIEL IS RUNNING FOR MARYLAND’S 1St CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT SEAT IN 2016 AGAINST MARYLAND REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE ANDY HARRIS.

We are able to do this without the help of the pharmaceutical company coming in and saying that you have to have it in pill form – which is everything that they can control and from which they make a profit. So it’s disingenuous for him to take this position that he is now somehow procannabis, when in fact he is pro-pharma.

Q DOPE: What is your

plan of attack for the upcoming elections?

MS: Support the idea of state’s rights.

No matter what state you are in, turn your eyes away from your state border and look to D.C. Take out Andy Harris. If that message goes to every senator, to every congressman in every state that you are next if you don’t adhere to those constitutional protections of the people and you don’t stand up for them, you are next. Congressmen want one thing: to be reelected. If they realize when speaking out against the marijuana industry, that they lose the ability to enjoy all of those benefits of being a congressman, they will stop attacking the industry.

A

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PHOTOS • JENA SCHLOSSER

GARDEN

COLORADO HEMP PROJECT

THE FUTURE FOR FOOD, FIBER, AND FUEL

“WE ARE HERE TO HEAL THE WORLD WITH HEMP.” 36

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O EAST ON 71, then turn right at the church and the fruit stand. These are the most detailed directions you’ll receive if you’re ever invited to visit Colorado Hemp Project’s 60-acre field outside Pueblo. Of course, there are multiple church&fruit stand combos, but if you pick the right one, you’re in for a real treat.

Past a mile or two of standard-issue farmland lies a sprawling jungle of 12 to 15 foot tall hemp plants. The stalks are thick and hardy, with ridges like an oversized churro, and the leaves are long and serrated, much like those of their cannabis brethren. The dominant smell is sweeter than weed, however, with a scent that’s more fresh than pungent.

This particular field was planted two years ago using 7 to 10 pounds of hemp seed per acre. Now approaching its second harvest, the crop’s yield and quality are expected to be higher than the last. This is because

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hemp is a volunteer crop, meaning it replants itself.

“It grows better and better each year,” says Dani Fontaine, co-founder and co-owner of Colorado Hemp Project, “and 98% of the crop is harvested for something.” In fact, hemp has over 25,000 uses, from clothing products and building materials to fuel and medicine. It rivals graphene in energy storage capabilities, and one acre of hemp can produce four times more paper than one acre of trees.

“It’s the future,” Fontaine says. “Well, the present and the future.”

Colorado Hemp Project was established in 2014 with the goal of kick starting the Colorado hemp industry. They’ve already made great strides in organizing hemp farmers, and continue to sell a wide variety of CBD tinctures, capsules, patches, and edibles. In fact, if you’ve recently purchased a local hemp product, chances are Colorado

Hemp Project had something to do with it.

When the organization is out to spread the love of hemp on a grand scale, no one is left off their radar. Fontaine tells the story of a man she met who lived near one of her fields. He’d been stung by an unknown insect a few weeks prior, and his hand had swollen up and turned black. After trying a variety of remedies with little success, Fontaine gave him some hemp oil. A week later the swelling was down and the color was back to normal.

“We’re here to heal the world with hemp,” Fontaine says, and it looks like they’re off to a ® good start.

WWW.COLORADOHEMPPROJECT.COM dopemagazine.com ISSUE 10 THE PAST TO PRESENT ISSUE

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dopemagazine.com

WRITER •KELLY VO

PHOTOS • GEOFFREY DONNE

#END420SHAME

CANNABIS IS NOT COCAINE olarity and fear defines the cannabis industry. In 2012, of the 1.5 million drug arrests in the US, almost half (48.35%) of those arrests were for cannabis possession and use. It’s no wonder that it’s rare to find an individual who feels ambivalent.

You either hate it or you approve of it.

Naysayers see cannabis as a gateway drug where all of the supposed benefits are hearsay. They believe that if cannabis is legalized across the country, kids will become dumber, drug overdoses will skyrocket, and the destruction of the world as we know it will follow.

Proponents view Cannabis as nonaddictive, safe for consumption, and medically beneficial. They see little-to-no negative side effects to cannabis use and believe that the benefits far outweigh any potential risks.

So, how do we bridge the gap? First, the United Stated must declassify cannabis as one of the most dangerous types of drugs on the market—a Schedule I drug.

Even cocaine, Oxycodone (derived from the same poppy plant as heroine) and Vicodin don’t receive Schedule I classification though they claim 16,000 lives each year. By classifying cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug, the US has forbidden officially sanctioned research, increased punishment for use and possession, and has unequivocally stated that cannabis meets two specific criteria: • There is currently no accepted medical use • There is a high potential for abuse The classification seems ironic considering that there are over 42 different diseases and medical conditions that are currently being treated with medical cannabis including nausea, headaches,

P

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muscle spasms, fibromyalgia, bowel distress, cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and chronic pain. William S. Eidelman, MD—a medical cannabis doctor in Southern California—had this to say, “I have been repeatedly surprised at [cannabis’] wide range of medical effects. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory, it lowers blood pressure, it dilates bronchial airways (making it a good treatment for asthma), it is anti-epileptic, it is beneficial in autoimmune diseases like Chron’s, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc.”

Dr. Allan Frankel has found similar results with his patients. “I’m still shocked by many of the clinical responses we get. Knowing the possibilities of CBD and other major and minor cannabinoids, I was certain pursuing [cannabis] would be of great benefit to my care of patients.”

For both Dr. Eidelman and Dr. Frankel, the most surprising use of cannabis is its aparent ability to treat cancer, “not just the nausea and loss of appetite caused by cancer treatment, but cancer itself,” Eidelman states. So, if cannabis clearly doesn’t fit the first criteria required for a Schedule I drug, how about the potential for abuse?

The Journal of the American Medical Association has found that the states that have implemented medical marijuana experienced a 25% decrease in opiate overdoses, while overdoses increased in the states without medical marijuana.

In California, from 2010 - 2012, there was a 60% greater decrease in drug arrests compared to the rest of the US (23% vs 14%). It seems that the potential for abuse is also low with cannabis. So, how is it classified as a Schedule I drug?

It always leads back to an incorrectly associated shame, lack of understanding,

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and fear. In the early 1970s, when the Controlled Substance Act was first implemented, cannabis was considered a negative social issue and not a dangerous drug.

President Nixon didn’t know how to classify cannabis so it was automatically placed as a Schedule I substance, awaiting further review. Unfortunately, opponents, such as Sen. James Eastland, could not see past the negative stigma. “If the cannabis epidemic continues to spread at the rate of the postBerkeley period,” Sen. Eastland stated, “we may find ourselves saddled with a large population of semi-zombies.” While Sen. Eastland had no proof or legitimacy to his claims, his viewpoint won, and cannabis remains a Schedule I drug.

Now it is finally time to move past the overwhelming divide between sides to find a sustainable future for cannabis. When DOPE asked Dr. Frankel and Dr. Eidleman if there was one thing they would like

“ THE PUBLIC HEALTH BURDEN

OF CANNABIS USE IS MINOR COMPARED WITH ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, AND OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS. A RECENT AUSTRALIAN STUDY ESTIMATES CANNABIS USE CAUSED 0-2% OF THE TOTAL DISEASE BURDEN IN AUSTRALIA—A COUNTRY WITH ONE OF THE HIGHEST REPORTED RATES OF CANNABIS USE. CANNABIS ACCOUNTED FOR 10% OF THE BURDEN ATTRIBUTABLE TO ALL ILLICIT DRUGS, 10% OF THE BURDEN ATTRIBUTED TO ALCOHOL, AND ONLY 2-5% OF THE BURDEN TO TOBACCO.“

THE UNITED STATES MUST DECLASSIFY CANNABIS AS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS TYPES OF DRUGS ON THE MARKET—A SCHEDULE I DRUG. EVEN COCAINE, OXYCODONE (DERIVED FROM THE SAME POPPY PLANT AS HEROINE) AND VICODIN DON’T RECEIVE SCHEDULE I CLASSIFICATION EVEN THOUGH THEY CLAIM 16,000 LIVES EACH YEAR.

everyone to understand about cannabis, they both agreed that knowledge and understanding is vital. “There is no need to be afraid of cannabis,” Dr. Eidleman says, “It is a miraculous substance.” Dr. Frankel followed up with, “I would like everyone to know that cannabis, like any other medicine, can be dosed predictably…and very effective.”

In order to #End420Shame, cannabis must first be declassified as a Sched-

ule I substance. Then, with valid medical research and active proponents fighting for legalization using unarguable statistics and compelling stories, we will #End420Shame once and for all.

If you have a compelling cannabis story to share, write us at kellyv@dopemagazine.com or share it on our Facebook page or Twitter account @ ® DOPE_Magazine.

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WRITER •JOSH KRAUS

PIECES

PHOTOS • JAMIE KRAUS

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n an unfortunate twist of biology, Luna Moths are born without mouths, so honor them by using yours to smoke as much as humanly possible from the tube-worked Luna Moth glass piece.

Blending exceptional utility with abstract artistry, flameworkers Shane Smith and Jason Hoyes have crafted a truly remarkable piece of cannabis paraphernalia. This veritable sculpture depicts a lime green luna moth, wings spread, perching on a red and white mushroom. A cut circ is rooted at the mushroom’s base, and a custom 18mm male hand ground joint rests atop its head. Other small wonders can be found throughout the picturesque scene, including a sculpted caterpillar, a cocoon, and six blades of grass.

Smith and Hoyes pulled all the color tubing themselves, and hollowed out the majority of the piece, so smoke could travel throughout. Now if that isn’t impressive enough, the moth’s wings are blown using

ISSUE 10 THE PAST TO PRESENT ISSUE dopemagazine.com

Slyme Green, a notoriously challenging substance that easily bubbles, fades, or even collapses if not fashioned with skilled hands.

The men those hands belong to are based out of North Carolina, and they’ve been in the smokeware industry for over a decade. Smith is a self-taught glass artist who infuses the colors, textures, and shapes of the natural world into his work.

Hoyes specializes in functional and nonfunctional glass art, and is known for his vivid color schemes and imaginative texture patterns. The Luna Moth is a culmination of their combined talents, and was the first piece they collaborated on after their falling out some years back. At 13 inches tall, 8.5 inches wide, 16 inches long, and nearly 20 lbs this is one of the largest and most intricate pieces the duo ® has ever produced.

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QUANTACANN2 - STEEP HILL LABS Testing Made Easy

WRITER •R.Z. HUGHES | PHOTOS • SEAN CORBOY

Potency testing has been an integral part of the effort to bring cannabis out of the shadows as a socially acceptable and responsible product. Sending out individual samples for every strain and every batch can be tedious, especially for those growers looking for slight differences in their product within a window of a few days to determine optimum harvest timev. Steep Hill Labs has made this process much easier with the Quantacann2, a remote testing device that puts the results in your hands within minutes.

Dr. Don Land, the

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Chief Scientific Consultant for Steep Hill, explains how the Quantacann2, now available for lease in Washington, is able to give such immediate analysis. A desktop spectrometer, it looks like a large black box. Fill up the test cup and place it on the instrument for one to two minutes and the rapid throughput produces results instantly. It gauges the potency with a technique known as diffused reflectance infrared spectroscopy. In simpler terms, as a light shines through and reflects off of the sample, the device collects data about the chemical composition.

With only infrared light penetrating the sample, it is never destroyed, consumed, or altered in the testing process.

The Quantacann2 tests for THC-A, THC, CBD-A, CBD, CBN, and moisture content, comparing the results with past samples in their database to get a true reading. This is a tool designed for dialing in harvests and finding elite genetics. Dispensaries have also been utilizing it as a way to check product as it comes in the door, ensuring that the 25% THC strain is ® as advertised.

ISSUE 10 THE PAST TO PRESENT ISSUE dopemagazine.com

DR. DON LAND Dr. Land is the Chief Scientific Consultant for Steep Hill, guiding and evaluating their processes and business practices from a scientific standpoint.

He received his PhD from UC Irvine where he developed new techniques in both spectrometry and spectroscopy, earning him a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship in Germany – all before he was 28! Currently a tenured professor at UC Davis, Dr. Land founded Halent Labs, later merging with Steep Hill in 2013, to become one of the highest quality medicinal cannabis research and testing firms around.

WRITER • LAEL HENTERLY

PRISON PROFITEERS The Lobby Against Legalization REPORT BY “THEA 2006 BUREAU OF JUSTICE

STATISTICS ESTIMATED THAT 13% OF STATE INMATES AND 12% OF FEDERAL INMATES ARE SERVING TIME FOR CANNABIS VIOLATIONS. “THAT’S UPWARDS OF 50,000 AMERICANS BEHIND BARS FOR VIOLATING MARIJUANA LAWS,” SAYS ARMENTANO. NORML CALCULATES THE ANNUAL COST TO INCARCERATE THOSE CANNABIS-CAPTIVES AT MORE THAN $1 BILLION.

”

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HE WAR ON DRUGS allowed cerate those cannabis-captives at more than

the for-profit prison industry to flourish; now the private-prison companies’ lobbyists want to keep tough-on-crime laws in place — and cannabis offenders behind bars.

In the 1970s John Knock helped import a lot of cannabis into Canada. The money was good and the risk moderate: it was cannabis, not cocaine, and he was moving it into Canada, not the United States, where the War on Drugs was quickly picking up steam. But when President Ronald Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 into law, mandating mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders, Knock saw the writing on the wall. By 1987, he was out of the business.

In 1994 the drug game was far behind John; he was living in Hawaii and taking care of his young son while his wife completed her PHd. Then the indictment came down: Knock had been fingered as a weed importer in a conspiracy case unfolding in Florida. He fled to Europe where he was arrested in 1996 and fought extradition until 1999. In 2000 he was found guilty of conspiracy to traffic marijuana in a jury trial. The sentence: two life sentences plus an additional 20 years.

Knock had no prior convictions; no history of violence. “They even stated at sentencing that there were no victims,” says Knock’s sister Beth Curtis.

Knock is far from the only person stuck behind bars for committing a cannabis crime.

There’s no exact count because, “annual data does not break down drug sentences by type of drug,” says Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, a marijuana reform lobbying group. A 2006 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that 13% of state inmates and 12% of federal inmates are serving time for cannabis violations. “That’s upwards of 50,000 Americans behind bars for violating marijuana laws,” says Armentano.

NORML calculates the annual cost to incar-

$1 billion.

As prisons filled with non-violent drug offenders, the number of people locked up in the US grew from 196,429 in 1970 to more than 1.6 million in 2009, according to a 2011 report from the Justice Policy Institute. As the prison population ballooned, governments turned to nascent for-profit prison companies to house the overflow, and house they did. In 1980 private prisons hardly existed; by 1990 the US had 7,000 inmates locked up in forprofit facilities; by 2009 that number had climbed to 129,000.

The War on Drugs, and its resulting incarceration boom, hasn’t effected all equally.

Minority communities have borne the brunt of the burden. Numbers released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2013 indicate that a black man in the US has a one-in-three chance of incarceration within his lifetime. For white men the odds are one-in-seventeen. In the same year minorities made up a whopping 60% of the prison population, and although a 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that black and white people use cannabis at similar rates, and an ACLU analysis revealed that black people were nearly four times as likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than their white peers.

The two main private prison corporations — the GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America — have benefited immensely from draconian drug policies and the resulting prison population boom, and if drug or sentencing laws change it could hurt their bottom line. “Changes with respect to the decriminalization of drugs and controlled substances could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted, sentenced and incarcerated, thereby potentially reducing demand for correctional facilities to house them,” writes the GEO Group in a 2010 Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

“Our company does not lobby for or

against, or take any position on, policies or legislation that would determine the basis for, or duration of, an individual’s incarceration or detention,” says CCA spokesman Jonathan Burns. GEO Group’s Executive Director Pablo Paez says his company also doesn’t take a position on criminal justice policies.

The numbers tell a different story, though.

In April the Washington Post reported that since 1989 GEO and CCA have contributed more than $10 million to political candidates and spent almost $25 million lobbying the government. A 2011 Justice Policy Institute report found that private prison companies have influenced and helped draft tough on crime laws like “three-strikes” and “truth-insentencing”. The private prison lobby is also one of the main players in the anti-legalization movement, according to research by opensecrets.org.

“They lobby on sentencing reform, crime and justice issues, and immigration,” says Paul Wright, director of the Human Rights Defense Center.

Lately the tide has been turning against private prisons. In September, US Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders introduced legislation geared at ending all government contracts with private prisons within two years. “We have got to end the private prison racket in America,” said Sanders during a press call announcing the Justice is Not for Sale Act. With recreational cannabis shops now nearly as ubiquitous as coffeeshops in Washington and Colorado, it’s easy to forget that tens of thousands of people are still serving time for cannabis violations— many in forprofit prisons. As attitudes towards the plant change in the US, Curtis says she remains hopeful that Knock— and the other cannabis convicts — will be released some day. “We just visited him for his 68th birthday,” says Curtis. “He’s not violent, he’s not dangerous, and ® he doesn’t need to be in there.”

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WRITER •JOSH KRAUS

CONCENTRATE

SOUR DIESEL LIVE RESIN

PHOTOS • JAMIE KRAUS

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GENETICS When schools start teaching cannabis history, Sour Diesel will have its own chapter. Descended from Chemdawg and Northern Light, this legendary sativa was first bred in the early 90s, and has since achieved iconic status for its fast-acting cerebral effects – which are only amplified in this powerful live resin.

LOOKS

Easily mistaken for a lump of brown sugar, some may want to put this over oatmeal. This golden brown concentrate comes in appetizing crystals of dark yellow and creamy brown, and although lacking stickiness, it loads onto a dabber like a dream.

AROMA

As the smell of coffee may entice one to awaken in the morning, the smell of Sour D may encourage many to get baked. This concentrate’s powerful aroma douses partakers with its diesel fuel odor and lemony citrus tang. When it comes to aroma, Sour D is a hall-of-famer.

THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS

FLAVOR

Quick to take effect and with staying power, Sour D live resin has many patients claiming hours of relief from a variety of ailments. Best known for its unprecedented euphoric properties, many also say it is also helpful for their stress, anxiety, depression and mild aches and pains.

As one of the industry’s more accurately named cannabis products, it should come as no surprise that Sour Diesel tastes somewhat like gasoline. As live resin concentrates are extracted from freshly harvested plants, that pungent flavor is only amplified.

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EFFECT

Invigorating, cerebral, energizing, mind-expanding; these are just a few of the adjectives Sour D has earned over the years, and DANK’s live resin might encourage you to add a few more words to that dictionary.

FEATURE

B L ACK L I VE S M ATT E R

ONE NEU ROSCIENTIST’S MISSION TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD

AS THE STORY GOES, Dr. Carl Hart was living a good life as a successful black man when his past came back to haunt him, and that’s where this story begins. Why did I use the descriptor “black” when he is clearly a successful man?

In more than one story researched online his tag line came with the color of his skin. One can easily speculate it’s the very same reason our prisons are lopsided with black non-violent offenders.

Statistics show the same amount of people, white or black, consume and sell the same amount of drugs and the failed War on Drugs isn’t changing the discrepancy many simply call discrimination.

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WRITER•SHARON LETTS

PHOTOS•EILEEN BARROSO

To begin again, Dr. Carl Hart is a neuroscientist, a best-selling author, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at Columbia University. His first effort to explain the failed War on Drugs and the misinformation surrounding it, High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of SelfDiscovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society, is at once a memoir, a book on drug policy, and a primer on the science of drugs. The work also won him a PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award – one of the most prestigious awards given for physical and biological sciences today.

John Tierney of the New York Times called High Price, “A fascinating combination of memoir and social science. Wrenching scenes of deprivation and violence accompanied by calm analysis of historical data and laboratory results.”

Hart compiles the painful facts from his own life, but it’s to explain the failed War on Drugs from the black perspective, coming himself from a poor neighborhood of color in South Florida. The work’s accolades focused on his “empirical evidence,” impossible to deny, ripping U.S. policy public perceptions to shreds in the process.

“High Price reminded readers that some of our most respected members of society were (and perhaps still are) pot smokers, including the last three occupants of the White House,” Hart says from his home in New York. This, and other data, is helping to change the perception of the typical pot smoker from the ‘Doritos-eating’, lazy, couch potato – to you and me, responsible citizens.”

His memoir recounted the morning he was presented with a paternity suit by a woman he had fathered her 17 year-old son with, now leading the troubled life he once fled from in his old neighborhood. It had been a one-night stand and he remembered the young woman sneaking him in through her bedroom window, in lieu of her mother’s watchful eye.

He had been studying drug addiction from a neuroscientist’s perspective from his seat at Columbia, and was now facing that world in a very personal way. He learned his son had dropped out of high school, fathered several children with different women, sold drugs, and allegedly shot someone. With two small children already at home, the newly appointed Associate Professor at Columbia had his parenting

THE STATISTICS IN BLACK & WHITE • 2001-2010: 8 Million Arrests • 88% for possession of drugs • Cannabis arrests, 52% of arrests • Cannabis possession, 46% of arrests • 2010, one cannabis arrest every 37 seconds • States spent over 3.6 billion on enforcement of possession • Blacks are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested in every region • Blacks & Whites use cannabis in similar rates, wealthy or poor • In more than 96% of counties with more than 30K people where only 2% are black residents, arrests are higher for blacks From the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) report, “The War on Marijuana in Black & White” June, 2013 work cut out for him.

From his website he writes, “I’d wanted to teach my children everything I hadn’t known as I grew up with a struggling single mother, surrounded by people whose lives were limited by their own lack of knowledge. I wanted them to go to good schools, to know how to negotiate the potential pitfalls of being black in the United States, to not have to live and die by whether they were considered ‘man’ enough on the street. I also wanted to illustrate by my own example that bad experiences, like those I had as a child, aren’t the defining factor in being authentically black.”

He began questioning his own path. How did he go from a black kid on the street with “learning difficulties” in elementary school, to an Ivy League professor?

He admits to doing all the wrong things he barely studied but to pass high school; he carried guns, and deejayed in Miami within the ranks of Run-DMC and Luther Campbell, dodging bullets with the best of them; he witnessed “drug related homicides” at 12, losing a friend to gun violence; he witnessed his cousins stealing from their mother for crack – watching his neighborhood fall to addiction in the early 80s. How did he make it out?

“I had five sisters – all older than me and they functioned as surrogate mothers,” he explained while on PBS’s The Tavis Smiley Show. “I had a grandmother that was really strong who doted on me, who wanted to make sure I didn’t go off the beaten path – even though I did, I didn’t want to disappoint my grandmother or my sisters in any major way.”

Sports also played a role, not via a scholarship, but with the added incentive of keep-

ing up at least a 2.0 GPA, enabling him to play basketball, and subsequently allowing him to graduate. Hart said mentors were everywhere, but a supportive counselor in high school saw his potential and encouraged him to join the Air Force.

“In the Air Force I served all my time overseas in Japan and England,” he shares. “Being in England was critical because it was an English speaking country with a social critique of the U.S., particularly regarding race issues. I had to go to England to learn about race relations in the U.S.” Empirical evidence points the longest finger at the discrimination that follows the failed War on Drugs, with the only winners in the war being law enforcement budgets and privatized prison profits, according to Hart, with poor neighborhoods suffering and wealthy ones seemingly left alone.

Former U.S. Marshall and Drug Enforcement Agent (DEA) Matthew Fogg infamously appeared in a video clip produced by documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films, stating the wealthier demographics of most raids are purposefully avoided.

“I started noticing that most of the time we were hitting urban areas,” Fogg explained.

“I would ask, ‘Well, don’t they sell drugs in Springfield and places like that?’ Statistics show they use more drugs out there than anywhere. He said, ‘You know, if we start messing with them we’d be in real trouble – those are doctors and lawyers, they know people. If we start locking up their kids they’ll start jerking our chain.’ He said, ‘they are going to call us on that, they are going to start shutting us down, and there goes your overtime.’”

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OBAMA’S VISIT WAS LARGELY SYMBOLIC. YOU CAN’T EAT SYMBOLISM, NOR CAN YOU MAKE LOVE TO IT. WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF SYMBOLISM. IT’S TIME FOR SUBSTANCE.

One strong piece of evidence that the failed War on Drugs targets those less fortunate is the very law supporting the convictions of both crack cocaine and powdered cocaine. As a scientist, Hart says the two substances are the same, yet penalties are much harsher for crack, found in lower income neighborhoods.

Tavis Smiley offered up the adage, “Crack on

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the streets, cocaine in the suites.” A vast majority of arrests for crack cocaine involve African Americans, and Hart wisely theorizes that if a vast majority of cocaine users who look like members of congress started getting arrested for cocaine, the laws would change.

“The law itself isn’t racist, the enforcement of the law is,” Hart continues. “If we place law enforcement in neighborhoods of color you are going to catch people committing crimes. I live in a relatively upscale neighborhood in New York. If you place law enforcement in my community, particularly when it’s time to take the kids to school, you’ll catch them breaking the law every time – they speed, they sell drugs, but they aren’t getting caught because law enforcement is not there.” The crux of the problem, Hart clarifies, is not in the drug use itself, or even in the manufacturing and selling of it. “In this country we are led to believe it’s the drugs that cause communities to be how they are. The vast majority of people who use crack cocaine – something like 80-90% of them - do so without any problems. They work, they pay taxes. So when you have this small percentage of people who have problems, you can’t blame the drugs.”

So what’s the problem, you ask? Why the disparities between crack and coke? Why are there more black men behind bars for pot than white men? If it’s not the drugs, what is it?

“As a scientist, you are asking me to think like an idiot,” Hart laughs at the ridiculous prospect of even trying to answer the question intelligently. The disparities are as glaring as the discrimination, from a scientific view point. “The War on Drugs has not failed. The U.S. would not have stayed with a policy for more than 40 years if it was a failure. The policy has been hugely successful because law enforcement has, and continues to, benefit handsomely. Each year we spend more than $25 billion in the effort and most of it goes to law enforcement.”

The same can be said for the privatized prisons, prosecutors, and drug treatment providers, with Hart adding media, researchers, politicians, filmmakers, and even comedians to the mix of those benefiting from the war on drugs.

“The only groups not benefiting are drug users – especially if they are black – and the people who love them,” Hart concludes.

Currently the professor is on sabbatical from Columbia working on his second effort, a book on decriminalizing and managing drug

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use, rather than incarceration. Programs that register and manage heroin addiction have been running with great success in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. With more than 20,000 people a year dying of opiate overdoses alone in the U.S. each year, something has to give.

When asked if he feels President Obama’s recent visit to a privatized prison will make a difference in drug policy, he didn’t even have to think about it. “Emphatically, no,” he says.

“This visit was largely symbolic. You can’t eat symbolism, nor can you make love to it. We have had enough of symbolism. It’s time for substance. It would be more beneficial – more substantial – if the president pushes for federal legislation decriminalizing the possession of all drugs, as they’ve done in Portugal and the Czech Republic. In this way, we would immediately decrease 1.2 million arrests each year – or the total amount of people who are arrested for simple possessing a drug.” While Hart feels some may be hopeful about President Obama’s recent visit to a Federal prison, and the subsequent release of approximately 6,000 nonviolent drug offenders, who had sentences reduced by an average of two years, he advises we still have a long way to go. “While this is a step in the right direction, I would remind people that we have more than 2.3 million of our citizens behind bars and that we already without this recent move - release more than 10,000 prisoners every week in this country.

In short, the recent release of the 6,000 prisoners is a small – very small – step. Giant steps are needed.”

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CANNANEWS

WRITER•SHARON LETTS

CAMPAIGN ZERO Ending Police Violence in America BLACK LIVES MATTER, NOT A MOMENT, A MOVEMENT “Moving the hashtag to the streets”

HE CRUSADE to end police violence against people of color in America begins with statistics, or what Dr. Carl Hart refers to as, “Empirical evidence. More than one thousand people are killed by police every year in America,” he states, “Nearly 60 percent of victims did not have a gun, or were involved in activities that should not require police intervention, such as harmless ‘quality of life’ behaviors or mental health crisis.”

Campaign Zero was launched by Black Lives Matter activists Samuel Sinyangwe, Brittany Packnett, DeRay McKesson and Johnetta Elzie.

The organization’s website displays a graphic of the current 2015 calendar year, January through September, stating there has only been nine days that the police have not killed someone. The stats on police killings in other countries pale next to the U.S., with a reported 1,100 people killed at the hands of those enlisted to “Protect & Serve,” compared to six in Germany, two in the UK, six in Australia, and zero in Japan.

Some ways to encourage transparency and accountability within law enforcement in your community:

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SOME WAYS TO ENCOURAGE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY WITHIN LAW ENFORCEMENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY: End “broken windows policing,” for minor crimes or activities that can lead to overpolicing.

Community oversight, where residents hold officers accountable via a civilian oversight structure.

Establish standards for reporting police use of deadly force, revise and strengthen policies.

Monitor how police use force and hold them accountable.

Independent Investigations of police violence, and mandatory body cams.

Community Representation: increase the number of officers who reflect the communities they serve.

Training in interacting with communities that preserve life.

End for Profit Policing via quotas for tickets and arrests, and end high-speed chases.

Demilitarization, ending the war zone at civil protests.

Fair Police Contracts, remove barriers to effective misconduct investigations, with civil oversight.

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The movement, spurned by often unexplained and harsh abuse of people of color by law enforcement, began after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed by neighborhood patrolling volunteer, George Zimmerman. What began as an online connection-building forum by three women, Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, and Alicia Garza, turned into a platform for empowerment. According to its website the three women wanted to “spark dialogue among black people, and to facilitate the types of connections necessary to encourage social action and engagement.”

Co-founder Garza writes, “Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.”

The founders created the movement in an effort to “rebuild the Black liberation movement,” and reinstate the basic human rights and dignity so many blacks in this country are deprived of. It’s an acknowledgement that black poverty and genocide is a state violence, and that “one million black people are locked in cages in this country – one half of all people in prisons

or jails – is an act of state violence.” The list of “state violence” against blacks in America is a long one, and the organizers surmise, “#BlackLivesMatter doesn’t mean your life isn’t important – it means that black lives, which are seen as without value within white supremacy, are important to your liberation.

Given the disproportionate impact state violence has on black lives, we understand that when black people in this country get free, the benefits will be wide reaching and transformative for society as a whole. When we are able to end hyper-criminalization and sexualization of black people and end the poverty, control, and surveillance of black people, every single person in this world has a better shot at getting and staying free. When black people get free, everybody gets free.”

Funny man Ngaio Bealum has graced the stages of weed festivals and cannabis cups coast to coast, appearing in television shows, such as Doug Benson’s “Getting Doug with High,” “The Sarah Silverman Program,” and recording “Weed & Sex,” a comedic CD that needs no explanation.

and plenty of jokes to follow. “Working weed into my routine happened organically,” says Ngaio. “They tell you to talk about what you know. I know weed, and the history of weed, and what it’s like to lead a cannacentric lifestyle.” Though he’d like to see more of the African American community at cannabis events, he says it is happening slowly. “I just joined the Minority Cannabis Business Association. Our goal is to get more women and people of color involved in cannabusiness.”

A common belief throughout the cannabis community is the feeling that the War on Drugs is actually a war on its people, and Bealum agrees. “The private prison industry is unconstitutional and un-American,” he says. “No one should make money from human suffering, and folks deprived of their freedom.

Private prisons lead to more prohibitions and longer sentences – just to increase the bottom line – and that should be abhorrent to any right thinking person. Decriminalization [of cannabis] would go a long way toward decreasing the systemic racism and abuses of authority we have in this country.”

NGAIO BEALUM Comedian, Activist, Writer, Chronnisseur

KYNDRA MILLER Attorney, CannaBusiness Law, Inc.

The son of hippie parents, Bealum gathered a lifetime of comedic material growing up on the culturally diverse streets of San Francisco – but it wasn’t all fun and games. “ My neighborhood was racially mixed and pretty cool, but there were some ass hats,” he shares. “My sixth grade teacher told me, ‘nigger kids don’t belong in the gifted program,’ but overall I had a good time.”

Bealum says while all black people are his role models, there have been a few white folks in the mix. “Langston Hughes, Sherlock Holmes, Fred Hampton, Lee Morgan, and Moms Mabley, come to mind.” Weed didn’t enter into the equation until college, with burning joints a favorite method of delivery

Kyndra Miller was born in Rochester, New York, but raised by a single mother in Palo Alto, California. A predominantly white community in the late 1970s and 80s, Miller says the climate of the Stanford University town was liberal and culturally diverse.

“Growing up in a predominately white, financially wealthy neighborhood provided me with an opportunity to obtain a top-notch public education at the primary and secondary levels,” she explains. “It also gave me an academic advantage when I matriculated to the University of California, San Diego.”

From a social perspective, Miller says all of her friends growing up were white. “I learned to love and trust people that looked

THESE AND OTHER RACIAL HEALTH DISPARITIES ARE NOT THE RESULT OF SOME UNIQUE DEFECT OF MELANIN CONTENT.

different from me at a very young age,” she continues. “In hindsight, I realize that this ability is why I’m successful today.”

The only black role model Miller said she had was her mother, Deidre Miller. “This woman is fierce!” Miller shares. “She started a Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology at the University of San Francisco as a single mom. She is my first love, my first BFF and my primary role model. My mother taught me to love all people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or economic status. She set me up for success from the very beginning.”

Miller began practicing law in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry, but soon moved into cannabis business law, with two offices, representing clients in Los Angeles and San Francisco. She’s been a patient out of necessity since a teenager.

“My consumption was medicinal from the very beginning, as I faced some challenges with eating properly. Smoking cannabis works best for me, though I am excited to learn about alternative consumption methods, like vaporizing and eating edibles.” Miller’s activism to end the prohibition of the plant began in 2009, first with NORML, then the NORML Women’s Alliance (NWA). Since she grew up in a white demographic, she was undaunted by the predominately white cannabis community. The women’s groups are appearing to make more headway with minority communities, and Miller says the NWA’s logo features a woman of color. “I think the solution is rather simple. The more people of color that speak out publically about cannabis prohibition, and occupy seats in the board rooms and executive offices of cannabis businesses and organizations, the more we will see them participating in the industry,” Miller says. “I’ve seen more women and people of color participating in cannabis cups and rallies,

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but I wish there were more black speakers on the circuit. I’d like to see more successful black entrepreneurs – the fact that anyone can still count on one hand the number of ‘black’ cannabusinesses is just sad, but that’s true for most industries.”

DR. CARL HART Author, Professor & Neuropsychopharamacologist Columbia University, New York

Dr. Hart’s past was made public after penning his best-selling book High Price.

Brought up by a single mother with eight kids in a predominantly black and poor south Florida neighborhood, Hart’s work includes personal stories from his past, with critics applauding him for his honesty.

“I didn’t want young black men and women thinking they had to be perfect to get where I’m at, because I’m by no means perfect.”

PBS Talk show host Tavis Smiley questioned the professor on his appearance, stating he would never guess by looking at him he was a professor at Columbia, to which Hart replied, “You have to be the best at what you do. If you aren’t the best, you aren’t getting away with it. I work at being the best that I can, in order to be myself.” Hart says his dreads are also a nod to the Rastafarian movement, where he explains he initially learned to question authority, something he’s grateful for now.

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“If all the young brothers understood what dreadlocks were about, why we wear them – they would begin to think critically.

Politics of respectability has done so much harm. There’s this notion that black people have to be so much better than white people.

If we paid more attention to how black people think and not how they look, when faced with a potentially dangerous situation, they might have better people skills.”

Smiley posed the question, “Why should people listen to you if you look like a drug dealer?” To which Hart replies, “I encourage people to be smart and think for themselves.

I don’t feel the need to physically smack someone down for disagreeing with me, I’ll smack them intellectually.”

The Black Lives Matter campaign, he says, brought up some valid albeit, painful realities. “The facts are black women can live three years less than white women; the difference between black and white men is nearly five years. In the United States, being black can be bad for your health. This is an inescapable fact, especially when you consider the following people and circumstances surrounding their deaths: Kathryn Johnston, Tarika Wilson, Trayvon Martin, Eric Gardner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, and Freddie Gray. These and other racial health disparities are not the result of some unique defect of melanin content. They are the result of the racial discrimination that operates dayin and day-out, hour-by-hour, in this country.

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DRUG WAR FACTS sixth edition, by Douglas A. McVay

Cannabis activist, journalist, and executive director of the non-profit Common Sense for Drug Policy Doug McVay created the “Drug War Facts” website in 1998 in an effort to provide evidence from government and other accredited sources on the failed War on Drugs in the U.S. Its mission is to debunk myths and misinformation surrounding the failed policies plaguing its people for decades. It also advocates drug management policies rather than incarceration.

According to drugwarfacts.org, “Black males had higher imprisonment rates across all age groups than all other races and Hispanic males. In the age range with the highest imprisonment rates for males (ages 25 to 39), black males were imprisoned at rates at least 2.5 times greater than Hispanic males and 6 times greater than white males. For males ages 18 to 19 - the age range with the greatest difference in imprisonment rates between whites and blacks - black males (1,092 inmates per 100,000 black males) were more than 9x more likely to be imprisoned than white males (115 inmates per 100,000 white males). The difference between black and white female inmates of the same age was smaller, but still substantial. Black females ages 18 to 19 (33 inmates per 100,000) were almost 5x more likely to be imprisoned than white females (7 inmates per 100,000).”

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CANNANEWS

WRITER•JESSICA ZIMMER DESIGN•BRANDON PALMA

TIPPED SCALES RACIAL DISPARITY WITHIN THE WAR ON DRUGS

OR DECADES America’s war on cannabis has disproportionately affected African Americans. Politicians, professors, law enforcement officers, and drug policy reform lobbyists agree that change will require the improvement of police practices, at least partial legalization for medical use, and the modification of laws and regulations regarding a wide variety of subjects like immigration, driving and voting privileges, child custody, employment, housing, student loans, and the sealing of criminal records.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)’s 2013 report on cannabis enforcement, The War on Marijuana in Black and White, African Americans were 3.73x more than likely than whites to be arrested for cannabis possession. This is true even though both blacks and whites use cannabis at similar rates. The data that formed the basis for the report was collected between 2001 and 2010.

Jon Gettman, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Shenandoah University who collected a considerable amount of the data, says a primary cause for the disparity in arrests is a style of policing called ‘broken windows’. It involves aggressively responding to small problems in a neighborhood to show that people care about the neighborhood,” Gettman explains. “The policing helps deter more serious crimes. If there’s a broken window and no one fixes that window, people will throw rocks

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and break other windows. The idea is that you create a more civil, more orderly community.”

Gettman says across the country, law enforcement officers have “prioritized” areas for broken windows policing where members of the African American community live and work. “Marijuana possession arrests have no impact on the drug trade, and they’re a bad habit on the part of police officers,” he says. “Legalization removes the temptation to indulge in that bad habit, and will reduce tension, friction, and hostilities between police officers and residents of various communities.”

Danielle Keane, political director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), says legalization is key. “If people were not considered criminals for possessing cannabis, the police wouldn’t be in these neighborhoods.” She also suggests that retroactive expungement of criminal records, for individuals convicted of cannabis possession, should be adopted in states that have legalized the plant. This will ensure that these individuals will not be monitored by probation officers for cannabis-related offenses, or have cannabis possession used as a reason to deprive them of the custody of a child, OR have cannabis possession used to strip them of their voting and driving privileges.

These individuals will also become more eligible for student loans, housing, and employment.”

WE NEED TO EXEMPLIFY BASIC PRINCIPLES. OUR POLICE DEPARTMENTS SHOULD BE BOTH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE, AS WELL AS KNOW THE PEOPLE THEY SERVE.

She clarifies the organization’s intent stating, “NORML is based on huge, extensive grassroots networks throughout the country. We see how important it is to have these conversations about racial disparity.”

In Florida, Michigan State Senator Vincent Gregory (D-District 11) says there is no question that legalization would reduce the number of arrests in the African American community, but despite this, some residents in those communities do not support legalization. Gregory served as a law enforcement officer in southeast Michigan for 29 years. He says it is important to remember that these communities have been “hit hard by drug use,” and explains, “There is a fear in communities that drug use may become even more prevalent if we legalize cannabis. Many ask ‘How is it going to help us?’” He suggests other steps that can be taken that include requiring law enforcement officers to issue warnings, instead of conducting arrests.

Law enforcement officers can also be trained to form good relationships with residents and business owners. Maintaining ongoing conversations between proponents and opponents of legalization allow everyone to share concerns. Gregory is motivated by America’s shifting attitude toward legalization. Change has built bridges between Republicans and Democrats. In the past, Michigan Republicans were staunchly opposed to cannabis. Now numerous Republicans, including Michigan State Representative Michael Callton (R-District 87), support legislation to improve access and regulation of therapeutic cannabis. He suggests improving police practices may prove to be a greater challenge. Traditionally, law enforcement agencies are given great autonomy in terms of deciding what changes they will make. They are also given the power to decide how they will enforce local laws and regulations.

Carlyle Holder, president of the National Association of Blacks in

Criminal Justice (NABCJ), shares some of Gregory’s views. The NABCJ is primarily composed of black professionals in the field of criminal justice. He lives in central Florida and served 27 ½ years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons of the U.S. Department of Justice.Holder says the NABCJ is opposed to legalization. “As long as people continue to be incarcerated for cannabis, I cannot even begin to consider the topic of legalization. The federal government, which trumps state law, hasn’t even made an attempt to address the legalization of cannabis.” Holder also says the NABCJ sees medicinally used cannabis as a different issue, one on which the organization has yet to formalize an opinion. “I think medical marijuana is a nexus to legalization.”

In November 2016, Florida voters may again consider legalizing more strains of cannabis for therapeutic use other than just Charlotte’s Web. Holder says much of the “over-policing” of lower-class neighborhoods with regard to cannabis possession has to do with economics. “In middle-class communities, we see less enforcement. In higher-end communities, the residents will not let the police patrol and harass them.” He explains that changing the quality of life in lower-class urban neighborhoods will reduce the number of cannabis possession arrests. “In these neighborhoods, black men from the ages of 18 to 24 are on the street, because there’s nothing else for them to do. Schools in these areas are underfunded. America has to make a massive investment in these neighborhoods.” He also suggests police practices need to improve, and that they should implement the recommendations of The Final Report on The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

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Media, Community Policing and Crime Reduction, Officer Training and Education, and Officer Safety and Wellness.

“We don’t want police departments like the one in Ferguson; the lack of diversity in that department was clearly a recipe for disaster. We need to exemplify basic principles. Our police departments should be both representative of the communities they serve, as well as know the people they serve,” says Holder. “We want the law to be fairly and consistently applied. The quality of justice should be equal across the board.”

New York City, which in the past three decades was notorious for having disproportionately high numbers for Black and Latino cannabis possession arrests, is seeing change because of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 2014 decriminalization of possession. In November 2014, De Blasio began requiring police officers to issue a person in possession of 25 grams or less of cannabis a summons, rather than arrest them, provided the person has no warrant and has identification. The number of misdemeanor cannabis possession arrests dropped from 7,110 between January and March 2014 to 2,960 between January and March 2015.

Unfortunately, the racial disparity for possession arrests has persisted.

In the first quarter of 2015, the statistics for arrests were as follows: 1,494 Blacks (50.47% of the total); 1,130 Latinos (38.18 percent of the total); and 228 Whites (7.70 percent of the total).

Kassandra Frederique, New York policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), a national nonprofit organization that supports drug policy reform says “We can’t just move arrests to tickets and think that the problem will be addressed.”

Frederique points out that New York City

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police officers have a history of not obeying directives related to arrests in Black and Latino communities and comments that “Creating different accountability structures for law enforcement is essential.” She also says it is important for Black and Latino communities to discuss how to monitor law enforcement officers.

The DPA’s long-range goal is to see cannabis legalized at the state level, “with an economic justice perspective.” The organization has lobbied for The Fairness and Equity Act, a comprehensive piece of legislation that will change many ways that New York State treats individuals with cannabis possession convictions.

“People remain incarcerated for past cannabis possession offenses. They are not able to get public housing. They can lose custody of their children. They are denied certain statuses as immigrants.

They can’t pass employment security checks. They are denied student loans,” she explains.“Republicans in the New York State Senate are [being] really dense about this issue. They have not been interested in acknowledging the impact of cannabis-related arrests, especially on young people. If we don’t deal with the past and change the laws, we will not be acknowledging the impact that cannabis prohibition has had on people of color,” says Frederique.

Alyssa Aguilera, political director of Vocal NY, a nonprofit organization that does community organizing in low-income neighborhoods in New York City, says her organization has partnered with the DPA to advocate for legalization and The Fairness and Equity Act. “The end goal is to end the war on cannabis so no one is arrested for having small amounts for personal use,” Aguilera says. “In the meantime, we are making ef-

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forts to [encourage] the de-prioritization of those arrests. In a lot of places, cannabis possession means a ticket, or fine, or summons rather than being pulled through the entire criminal justice system.” Aguilera suggests changing police practices will help with lowering the number of African and Latino arrests. “Still, I think there’s a lot of animosity and distrust; it will take time to repair relationships. The police are literally in watchtowers over communities, and they still engage in aggressive behavior.”

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ROAD TRIP

WRITER•SHARON LETTS

VIRTUAL ROAD TRIP: Garden City, Kansas The Shon a Banda Story LTHOUGH seventy percent of residents in the mid-western State of Kansas support cannabis as medicine, two bills presented this past year still failed to win approval in the state’s legislative session.

The Marijuana Policy Project (MMP) calls Kansas’ cannabis laws “Draconian,” with the smallest spec of pot landing its residents in jail for up to a year with a thousand dollar fine. A second offense with another crumb and you could face felony charges and up to three years in the pen, drained of one hundred thousand dollars in fines.

According to the Rand Corporation, studies have found harsh penalties do not reduce drug usage, and all the money in the world thrown at the miserably failed War on Drugs won’t deter humans from partaking. What if you are in an illegal state such as Kansas, though, and you have been enlightened to plant-based medicines, specifically cannabis, where other traditional meds have failed? What if it was the

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only thing that helped? Would you do it anyway?

A recent interview with rocker Melissa Etheridge (Dope Magazine, October 2015) found the artist’s only hesitancy in using cannabis for cancer symptoms was the fear of losing her children. Even though she was in a legal state to do so, the real fear was there. She had heard the horror stories of Child Protective Services taking children away from legitimate patients in legal states, let alone states like Kansas.

“That part was scary,” Etheridge said. “I was being helped by this plant, and I was in a legal state, but I still had that fear that they could come and take my kids.”

Kansas born Shona Banda was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in 2002. Also suffering from autoimmune deficiency, she said took every medication they gave her. When the meds stopped working, she tried another, then another, until multiple gastrointestinal surgeries became her only option.

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According to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, there is no known cause of the chronic ailment that affects more than 700,000 Americans between the ages of 15 and 35. While family history plays a part in contracting Crohn’s, environment and diet seem to also play a role, with it appearing most frequently in developed countries.

Similar to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s suffers present with persistent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, urgent needs for bowel movements, abdominal cramps and pain, sensations of incomplete evacuation, and constipation (obstruction). Daily symptoms can include fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, and the loss of a normal menstrual cycle.

While diet and stress can aggravate symptoms, irritants are not thought to be the cause of the disease. Crohn’s appears to weaken the immune system, with the patient unable to fight off the mildest of inflammation and infections. A cocktail of prescription meds is often needed to quell myriad symptoms.

The good news is cannabis helps. In a placebo-controlled study, published by the American Gastroenterological Association, researchers found patients who were administered cannabis (via smoking only) went into “complete remission” from all symptoms of Crohn’s disease. Three patients were weaned from steroid dependency, with all reporting improved appetite and sleep, and no significant side effects.

Numerous patients are now on the green

THEN BANDA’S HUSBAND BEGGED HER TO TRY CANNABIS, AND THE CHILDREN SAW HER BEING HELPED BY A PLANT THEY WERE ALL TOLD WAS DANGEROUS.

train of wellness, traveling to legal states for healing. Many stay in their home states however, preferring to be surrounding by family, and taking their chances with persecution if caught. Shona Banda tried to stay put initially, but the plant material in her home state was not inspiring, to say the least.

“When I first started to smoke for pain it was around 2003,” Banda shares. “Finding cannabis was hard at times, however, even ten years ago it was possible. Everyone knows someone, no matter the geographical location you live in. The quality wasn’t always great, but I had been in pain for so long I was praying for sleep or death at that point.” Her two kids watched her go through eleven surgeries in seven years.

At one point she was taking 52 pills a day, including Remicade, at a cost of one thousand dollars a month.

The lengthy warning list on the FDA approved drug states a possible side effect of “spontaneous pneumothorax,” or partial lung collapse, which sent Banda to the hospital for nearly two months.

Most of her kid’s young lives were spent watching their mom suffer greatly. Then Banda’s husband begged her to try cannabis, and the children saw he being helped by a plant they were all told was dangerous.

“I was a D.A.R.E. child and would have nothing to do with it,” she explained. “One day I was puking in the toilet and my husband was holding my hair back for me, saying he had brought me a joint to smoke. He pleaded with me to understand that this helped cancer patients, and if I had those same symptoms I should

About that same time the feel the same relief.”

Stanley brothers were growing Banda said she reluctantly what would become Charlotte’s took the offer out of sheer desperation, and as the pain left Web, a CBD strain used to make oil for kids with epilepsy, her body after just smoking a but Banda was just slightly small amount, she literally fell ahead of her time. to the ground sobbing in relief, Her husband’s infidelity and disbelief. and subsequent separation had “Cannabis had taken my Banda struggling to survive pain away better than anything in the high priced state, and I had ever been given by a she was forced to pack up and physician,” she explained with go back home to Garden City, enthusiasm. “It was like finding Kansas. out Santa was not real as an “I just want to survive, I adult. This green cigarette had want to provide, and I want to done so much for my cramping grow and live with my children,” and pain, my thoughts were she says. “That is no crime. spinning in my head as I That is sheer will. That is what realized I had been lied to my love is, to do whatever it takes entire life. This was the best to stay alive and provide for thing for me and it was illegal.” your children. The only crime Soon she was vaporizing here was forcefully taking a to get cleaner medicine into child from his mother. her weakened lungs, and began The story in the media making medicine via oil to said that her 11 year-old-son ingest, putting her condition spoke up during a D.A.R.E. into complete remission. event or anti-drug rally at “I had seen the movie, Run school. The truth is it was from the Cure, and I knew I a mock counseling session needed to eat this in a pill, just involving the entire class with like real medication.” many different topics. Her Run from the Cure is Rick son’s responses were directed Simpson’s story - re-creator at teaching the counselor why of the strong cannabis oil that his mother did not believe puts cancer and other serious “marijuana” was bad. He also let ailments into remission (Dope, the counselor know that in the July 2015). family home they referred to In 2010 she penned the plant as “cannabis.”

Live Free or Die detailing her It was a bold move by struggles and how cannabis a naive child to defend his helped her with Crohn’s mother, her health, and her disease. She and husband medicine. What followed was moved the family to Colorado, anything but civil. Her son and Banda soon became an was taken from the class, Child advocate for legalization. An Protective Services (CPS) was association with Rick Simpson called, and he was questioned and the Phoenix Tears extensively by the Garden City Foundation began, and Banda Police Department about the worked on the second version processes of medicating. The of his story with Run from the only problem was the substance Cure II. was not considered to be “My oil was the first ever medicine by the interrogators, tested for CBD in Colorado, and his mother was being and I have been the only oil accused of being a dealer, not maker Rick Simpson himself the healer she was. has ever endorsed,” she shares.

Banda says that what “However, while there, no one was interested in CBD only oil.” became an “interrogation” of dopemagazine.com ISSUE 10 THE PAST TO PRESENT ISSUE

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her son without her or the father’s knowledge by the Garden City Police Department was leaked to the press by the department itself.

“It would not be farfetched of me to say that law enforcement will lie,” she continues.

“It would not be farfetched of me to say that law enforcement in Garden City acts routinely in favor of the State, or as in my particular case, they were simply ‘enforcing law.’ We do not see civil servants; we do not see protectors of oath.”

“To Protect & Serve” was thrown out the proverbial window as her son was taken from her and her medicine was confiscated. Banda was put in jail with bail set at $50,000, the State of Kansas moved forward with criminal charges of “manufacturing, distributing and processing marijuana,” and her parenting skills became in question.

Banda says the “blatant police force on

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behalf of the state has become rampant across the nation,” and she hopes her case will bring some much needed attention to the more human side of medicating with cannabis for severe illness.

The report derived from the interrogation of the child claimed he was subjected to abuse and neglect in the home by having to watch people process or trim cannabis, his mother and others using it as medicine, and having to observe the making of the medicine. In the context of Kansas law, where fines and jail time are levied for having a seed in your pocket lining, perspectives on cannabis healing get a bit muddled.

Hope came via the receipt of a Child In Need of Care (CINC) request September 30th, with charges being dismissed and the minor child returning to his mother’s care.

The state’s criminal preliminary hearing is now set for November 17th of this year, with politician Ron Paul defending Banda on the Ron Paul Institute’s website, stating “If there ever was a ‘poster child’ for the absurdity of the drug war, the case of Shona Banda must be it.”

Looking at upwards of thirty years in prison for pot in the Draconian State of Kansas, Banda is countering with attorney Matt Pappas, filing a federal suit against everyone involved in the questioning of her son or in taking him away, and those who chastised her for “manufacturing and processing” the good medicine that saved her life.

Those named in the suit are, the State of Kansas; Govenor Sam Brownback; Kansas Department of Children and Families

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Department (KDCFD); Phyllis Gilmore (KDCFD); Garden City Police Department (GDPD); James R. Hawkins (GDPD); Garden City USD 457 (GC Unified School District); Tyler Stubenhoffer (GCUSD); “DOES 1 to 10 (defendants not yet named).

Among the many infractions Banda is siting as a parent, is the fundamental right to make parenting decisions even when the court may be forced to disagree based on State law, citing Troxel (530 U.S. at 65, 72-73) “…

Due Process Clause does not permit a state to infringe on a fit parent’s fundamental right to make child rearing decisions simply because a court disagrees with the parent or believes a better decision could be made.” (Rogers v.

Rogers, 2007 WI App 50, 300 Wis.2d 532, 731 N.W.2d 347 ¶ 18.)

For this writer, whose work focuses on cannabis medicine and healing, it’s painful to watch legitimate patients getting lifesaving help from cannabis in illegal states, only to become persecuted for finding relief where traditional treatments have failed them.

Cannabis is now believed by many to be the most proactive medicine anyone can use today, and Banda’s message that self-taught knowledge is crucial to being healed is more relevant than ever.

On a personal note, after doing away with breast cancer and ten prescription meds for multiple thyroid disease and menopausal symptoms, would I – could I - ever live in an illegal state? Realistically, I could, as the medicine is there. Would I be taking a chance of being persecuted for my good medicine? Yes, I would, as many are.

“Cannabis is the safest, most non-toxic substance on the planet, period,” Banda says emphatically. “It puts cancer into remission, cures disease and illness and stops pain. It’s an essential nutrient for the human body and our endocannabinoid system – it is food. All plants have cannabinoids or CBD-type compounds, it just so happens that in cannabis they are most abundant. We just need to let our people grow.

Live free always!”

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CANNA-HEALTH CANNANEWS

” High quality extracting is being perfected by this generation and will surely leave its mark in the history of the cannabis industry. “

ANNABIS CONSUMPTION in the United States has evolved in the past fifty years. These days cannabis can be enjoyed in most any way, shape, or form. However, in the smoker’s world it comes down to two things: cannabis and extracts. Cannabis flowers seem increasingly rare at cannabis conventions. Social media is filled with news feeds of dab hits and sensual photographs of a processor’s latest endeavor. Hash-like substances have been consumed all over the world for thousands of years, but the United State’s recent obsession with all things extracts is relatively new.

When the United States was founded, everyone grew hemp as directed by law. In the 19th century, smoking cannabis for its euphoric effect was having its moment in France, but that didn’t translate over much to the United States at the time. It wasn’t until after the Mexican Revolution in 1910 that cannabis consumption caught on here. Immigrants brought cannabis from Mexico and introduced many Americans to smoking culture. This is when the derogatory word “marijuana” was created as conservative media outlets attempted to highlight Mexican origin of cannabis, and to discourage anti-immigrant groups from supporting its use. Cannabis could be readily found in jazz clubs and speakeasies at time.

Attacks against cannabis smokers were racist from the start. Fear mongering led to the inclusion of cannabis in the Uniform State Narcotic Act in 1932. This Act more or less kept recreational cannabis use in the dark until its reemergence in 1960’s. Recreational consumption in the 1960’s and 1970’s was truly the birth of experimenting with different forms of consumption in the United States. Alice B. Toklas brought edibles to the mainstream with her “Alice B. Toklas Brownies”. The bong as we know it today was emerging, and was written about for the first time in a 1971 issue of Marijuana Review. Hash was being consumed as well but it wasn’t until early 2000’s that it began to be extracted in the form that is most common today.

Hydrocarbon extractions are a cleaner way to smoke and expose the body to fewer carcinogens than conventional flowers. The methods of concentrate consumption has been highly controversial. This is largely due to the fact that to outsiders, the process may resemble hard drugs and paraphernalia. Also, the news is lit up with stories of amateur extractors starting fires and in extreme cases, blowing themselves up. However, the fact is that extracts are here to stay and this chemistry-based art form is attracting whole new groups of smokers and talented extractors are the current rock-stars of the cannabis processing industry.

Cannabis extracts have been consumed and processed for decades in the US, but the rise of concentrates to the top as a “smokers choice” of sorts, is relatively new. Demand for all types of extracts is undeniable to both recreational and medical producers. The original draft of the recreational cannabis law in Washington didn’t allow any kind of extracts to be sold unless they were infused into edible or topical products. However, the Liquor Control Board could not deny that this law set precedence for a new cannabis black market, and eventually the law was revised.

Washington medical cannabis is still not allowed to process extracts using butane.

Interestingly, this feels like a gentle nudge by the state to send previous medical consumers down the recreational road. Legislation will need to stay one step ahead of the game to continue to provide a safe and clean product for cannabis smokers across the state. High quality extracting is being perfected by this generation and will surely leave its mark in the history of the cannabis industry.

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CANNANEWS

ONLINE

CANNABIS COMMUNITIES

ECHNOLOGY HAS always offered

a necessary layer of anonymity and distance to conversations about illegal substances, from its earliest implementations to the recently exposed dark web of anonymous networks like the Silk Road.

In 1971 or 72, when the internet we know now was still a dream, and a handful of engineering colleges were connected through a proto-network called Arpanet. Engineering students from Stamford used the network to coordinate a pot deal with their counterparts across the country at MIT. Twenty years later, hundreds of thousands of secure anonymous transactions were coordinated over Silk Road—an anonymous darknet marketplace for cannabis and thousands of other more sinister substances.

THE EARLY DAYS OF ONLINE CANNABIS COMMUNITIES

Before the safety of medical and recreational markets, cannabis cultivation was a strictly clandestine and generally solitary practice. Outside of pockets of freedom like Amsterdam and Northern California, there was little opportunity for growers to safely in-

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teract with each other to discuss the craft. Security was the paramount concern—both from law enforcement and would-be thieves—and every conversation about cultivation (especially with a stranger) was risky.

By the 1980s, a novel solution presented itself: geographically disbursed communities of common interest could connect their computers to electronic Bulletin Board Systems via telephone lines to communicate relatively anonymously. For the first time, growers could draft and digitally publish information for other growers, compare notes, and communicate to trade genetics with likeminded individuals. There was no master index of these Bulletin Board Systems and the world wide web hadn’t yet manifested in earnest, so an aspiring user needed to get the dial-in number from an existing user. This personto-person transmission of the BBS dial-in number ensured a basic amount of security: no one could accidentally wander on to one of these systems, and new users were generally vetted for their personal references.

The decade was a pivotal point in American and Global culture as the computer revolution reached family living rooms across the nation. Services like Prodigy, American Online and Compuserve joined the dial-up BBS

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network to connect users to the early internet, including a disbursed message board system called Usenet and the early stage World Wide Web. Usenet newsgroups flourished for thousands of specialized topics, and since the late 80s, “questionable” topics like sex and mind altering substances were relegated to the alternate hierarchies of Usenet, where rules were considerably more lax than mainstream channels. These alt.drugs and alt.cannabis newsgroups became repositories, and incubators of techniques and knowledge stored in text files distributed relatively anonymously (and almost instantaneously), allowing for the first crudely written, and even more crudely illustrated, instructionals to be disseminated.

By the 1990s, both Internet-based personal computing and the final era of black market cannabis were on their way to becoming culturally established, and the two trending forces soon came to overlap. In the late nineties, Weedbase established itself as the first web-based forum site, where growers and smokers could connect and share info, tips and photos. By 1998, a few of the regulars had started talking about starting their own forum dedicated to cultivation, which led to the creation of Overgrow.com.

WRITER •STEVE MARASCHINO

OVERGROW.COM THE GOLDEN AGE OF CANNABIS FORUMS

When members of Weedbase began the discussion of starting a cultivation focused forum in late 1998, they could have had no way of knowing what they’d just set into motion.

Overgrow.com combined unique features that encouraged community interaction and a cultivation-based focus, at a time when browsing the web was becoming a normal American activity.

As digital photography and file compression improved, this became the first genuine peerbased platform where cultivators could share high quality images of their gardens, genetics, and finished buds.

This open exchange of ideas and associated photographic proof led to two trends that have become major factors in online cannabis forums: cooperation and competition between growers. Through Overgrow, thousands of growers worldwide connected and swapped information, lore, and genetics—for the first time, there were hundreds of seeds and clones being traded, shared, and explored in groups that could collect notes and information for each other and those running the same strains in the future. Pointers on plant preferences, comparative experiments, and group phenotype hunts suddenly became possible. At the same time, standards started to emerge on how to share “smoke reports” on finished grows, and how to document problems encountered in the garden for crowd-sourced problem solving.

Overgrow flourished and Heaven’s Stairway, the associated seed market, served as a central hub for seed genetics from around the world to be sold to the US and Canada. At its height, the forum had 75,000 users, most of them active on a regular basis, with the seed market funding the costs associated with maintaining the site.

Unfortunately it all came tumbling down.

In January 2006, Richard Calrizian (the handle of the administrator responsible for the seed sales) was raided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for selling and distributing cannabis seeds. News that authorities had seized their servers and user information reverberated through the web, and most users immediately went underground, many dismantling grow operations in fear of follow-up raids.

THE NEXT GENERATION

After the fall of Overgrow, some users disconnected entirely in fear of being linked with

the next takedown, while others reshuffled their identities and set off for alternate forums. One was the forums attached to International Cannagraphic magazine (known as ICMag), run by a seed distributor known as Gypsy Nirvana. The other was the THCFarmer forums, linked to the SeedBay marketplace, run by an administrator known as Logic.

ICMag, which was already operating with limited attention, took off immediately after the Overgrow raid and became a hub for many of the refugees. With discussions focused on every sub niche of growing from small cabinet grows to large vertical stadium setups and living organics to DIY hydroponics, it became the hub where new strains, new techniques, and new personalities won the interest of the cannabis world. Strains like Girl Scout Cookies, Golden Goat, Bruce Banner, Gorilla Glue, and countless others made their first appearances and started winning growers’ hearts on the pages of ICMag. Personalities like Rare Dankness’ Scott Reach and the Cannabist’s Ry Prichard first established their reputations and networks in the digital corridors of ICMag. THCFarmer similarly supported a community of breederand growers, many of which have come to greater prominence in the past few years. From OGRaskal and his White Fire OG, to Swerve and his work with Cali Connection, to Loompa’s Headband and Krome’s the White, and of course Obsoul33t and his Alien and Franchise genetics lines, “The Farm” has been a launchpad for the current generation of seed company brands and genetics. The associated SeedBay site became home to seed auctions fetching as much as $2,000 per pack for legendary genetics that would be coveted by collectors and breeders for years.

CANNABIS COMMUNICATION IN THE ERA OF SOCIAL MEDIA

As medical and recreational cannabis became increasingly accepted and legal, in many states growers, breeders, and extractors began to turn to mainstream social media channels like Facebook and Instagram to continue these trends of competition and cooperation.

Facebook plays hosts to hundreds of public, private, closed, and secret groups for every aspect of cannabis. Instagram has become the defacto proving ground for old and new growers alike, offering a convenient platform for users to show off their work and curate their images with hashtags.

GRAPHICS •BRANDON PALMA

While growers’ infatuation with strains like Gorilla Glue #4 and Girl Scout Cookies can be traced to the forums, the consumers’ fascination can generally be credited to Instagram. Similarly, the rapid dissemination of new trends and techniques like rosin (solventless hash oil) and no-till organic growing can largely be credited to the compelling formula of Instagram, where every text-based claim is based on the visual proof of an image as a starting point.

Today, social media sites grapple with their policies regarding cannabis pages and content.

Instagram has performed multiple account sweeps aimed at cannabis accounts in illegal markets, prompting the creation of services like MassRoots and marijuana.com, but so far Instagram has been mostly hands-off to accounts depicting activities that are legal in their area.

Facebook has taken a mixed approach as well, generally allowing cannabis content to proliferate in the absence of community complaints, but cooperating by providing information at the request of law enforcement. There is no doubt mainstream social media channels will continue to facilitate more discussions with more participants than ever before over cannabis, but it’s unlikely that these conversations will be carried with the passion, conviction, or concentrated expertise that marked the legendary threads from the golden age of cannabis forums.

“Instagram has become the defacto proving ground for old and new growers alike, offering a convenient platform for users to show off their work and curate their images with hashtags.”

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CANNANEWS

“While private prisons seemed like a solution to failing state facilities in the mid80s, their track record since then has borne out the premonitions of their science fiction predecessors: with a constant eye on the bottom-line, for-profit private prison companies have a history of cutting spending wherever possible to maximize profits. “ 76

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WRITER •MITCH SHENASSA

HIRTY FIVE years ago, private

prisons were strictly the province of dystopian science fiction: cold and mercenary human storage facilities where brutality flourishes in the absence of government observation or regulation. By 1985, they began to emerge as a reality in the United States—often living up to their dreadful fictional reputation.

The 1980s saw the introduction of the War on Drugs, which caused a sudden and dramatic explosion in the arrests, convictions, and incarcerations of non-violent offenders.

Politicians walking the political tight-rope of appearing tough on crime while grappling with the stark fiscal realities of the economic recession were quick to embrace the Drug War ideology and carry the mantra of mandatory minimum sentences. Additionally, laws like the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act, the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, and the adoption of three strikes laws forced courts to impose prison sentences for non-violent crimes, and mandated longer average sentences, turning spare prison beds into a commodity. In states like California and New York, where aging centuryold prisons were overcrowded far beyond their intended maximums, private prisons offered a solution to the overcrowding.

In 1980, 220 of every 100,000 Americans was incarcerated; by 2008, that rate grew more than 340% to 756 of every 100,000.

In the same period, crime rates fell sharply; from an all time high of 6,000 per 100,000 in 1980 to around 3,500 per 100,000 in 2008.

While crime fell by half, more Americans than ever before were being locked up. Today, nearly 1 in 100 US adults is in jail or prison.

While private prisons seemed like a solution to failing state facilities in the mid-80s, their track record since then has borne out the premonitions of their science fiction predecessors: with a constant eye on the bottom-line, for-profit private prison companies have a history of cutting spending wherever possible to maximize profits. This has led to prison environments with maggot-infested food, third-world healthcare, and undertrained skeleton crew staffs managing prison populations at a 50 or 100:1 prisoner to guard ratio.

THE CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA

America’s oldest for-profit prison corporation, Corrections Corporation of America, has been endangering both prison populations and the public with their cost saving measures from the outset. CCA has allowed for scores of inmate escapes and accidental releases resulting from staff errors, failure to follow protocol, general understaffing, and prioritizing the bottom line over the security of facilities.

The underpaid, untrained staff operate without meaningful oversight, incubating a culture of criminality and abuse. Dozens of CCA employees have been found and convicted of operating drug rings in their prisons, from low level guards to security chiefs and wardens. Even more troubling is the violence and degradation ladeled out by corrections staff to inmates: in multiple instances, CCA guards were found to have urinated or defecated in food or drink that was served to inmates; guards in CCA facilities have time and again been convicted of serial sexual abuse of inmates; and findings of staff violence towards inmates are perpetual.

PRIVATE PRISONS IN COLORADO: A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL Corrections Corporation of America is Colorado’s choice of private prison contractor, operating four facilities in the state: Bent County Correctional Facility in Las Animas, Crowley County in Olney Springs, Huerfano County in Walsenburg, and Kit Carson in Burlington. CCA lobbied heavily in Colorado, contributing $200,000 since 2008. As a result, Governor Hickenlooper signed a deal with CCA in 2012, ensuring the private prison 3,300 inmates at an annual taxpayer cost of $20,000 each, for a total of $66 million.

All this while Colorado’s crime rate has been dropping rapidly. By 2009, Colorado’s prison population declined to 20,000 inmates – a 27% decrease. The decline led the state to close five state-run prisons, while other state facilities operated with empty beds in order to fulfill the agreement with 3,300 inmate agreement with CCA, because the state’s contact includes an occupancy guarantee to the prison business. The executive director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition has estimated the state has wasted no less than $2 million by paying CCA to house prisoners its own facilities could handle.

GRAPHICS • BRANDON PALMA

One of these Colorado CCA facilties, Kit Carson, has been a case study in the failure of private prisons. It opened in 1998 amidst reports of sex scandals, employee-operated drug rings, and savage violence. A judge ruled that staff, not inmates, were responsible for the escalation of violence in a riot the following year. Employees who were dismissed for miscounduct were routinely rehired to repeat their abuses, while budget cuts led the prison to remove all medical staff from the facility.

In 2001, prison officials refused to fill a prescription for an inmate with a hereditary heart defect, leading to his death. Since then, the prison has been enmeshed in scandals over everything from the sexual abuse of inmates to their fatally unsafe transport in CCA vehicles.

NOT BLOWING SMOKE

The impact of CCA lobbying extends beyond skimming the public coffers. The private prison industry has been throwing money at politicians to serve their interest for three decades, urging them to support laws that will put more people behind prison walls for longer.

CCA has consistently lobbied to support mandatory minimum sentences, to prevent Freedom of Information Act requests from applying to their facilities, to encourage the incarceration of undocumented immigrants in the case of any law enforcement encounter, and to push for so-called “truth in sentencing” laws that prevent rehabilitated prisoners from being granted parole. In each of these cases, CCA has emphasized its bottom line over public safety, the rehabilitation of inmates, the prevention of crime, or the good of the taxpayer.

In light of Colorado’s legalization of cannabis, the concern over private prisons is escalating.

Statewide crime rates are down by as much as 10% since legalization, and arrests for cannabis posession have dropped by a remarkable 84%.

While these statistics are good news for average citizens, they’re no doubt troubling to a private prison industry that is financially dependant on criminal convictions. With less non-violent drug offenders to profit from, the CCA will no doubt resort to its tactics of lobbying state government for concessions to make up for the lost revenues, whether by targeting undocumented immigrants, or billing tax payers for empty beds in their atrocious facilities.

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WRITER •KELLY VO

CANNANEWS

PHOTOS • WANDA JAMES

CANNABIS AND RACE TWO PASTS & TWO FUTURES INTERTWINED

“DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE, DEPENDING ON YOUR ZIP CODE,THAT DECIDES WHETHER YOU’RE GOING TO BE A MILLIONAIRE OR WHETHER YOU’RE GOING TO DO HARD TIME FOR CANNABIS, AND THAT IS RIDICULOUS.” 78

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ANNABIS AND RACE GO handin-hand. They are impossibly intertwined, and the connection isn’t positive. According to a study completed by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in 1990, half of those arrested in California for cannabis possession were nonwhite. In 2010, the ratio saw an increase to 64% nonwhite. Looking at it another way, cannabis possession arrests for teenagers of color rose from 3,100 in 1990 to 16,400 in 2010—an arrest surge 300% greater than the population growth of nonwhites.

It may be easy to think, “Well, more nonwhites must use cannabis,” but cannabis use is equally distributed between the white and nonwhite populations (14% and 12% respec-

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tively). The unfortunate truth is that California’s Black population is 10x more likely to be imprisoned for cannabis, 12x more likely to be imprisoned for a cannabis felony, and 3x more likely to be imprisoned for cannabis possession. Furthermore, Denver’s arrest rates have fallen overall since the legalization of cannabis, while the arrest numbers for African Americans in Denver are experiencing an increase according to public records.

It’s not all just facts and figures. Wanda James, the President of the Cannabis Global Initiative and owner of Simply Pure, she has felt the personal impact from the disparity in cannabis arrests. It’s one of the main reasons she entered the industry. “I’m in the industry because when I met my brother in 1999, and

he told me that he was doing ten years for possession of cannabis, I didn’t believe him,” Wanda says. “All my friends got high, and I had never known anybody to get arrested. That being said, my friends ranged from middle-class to wealthy. We would sit on the front steps of the dormitory rolling joints and the Colorado State University police would walk by and say, ‘Hey guys, put that away,’ but no one was arrested.”

When Wanda heard her brother’s story, she knew it was worth investigating, but when she talked to a few attorneys, they revealed that her brother’s experience was far from extraordinary. In fact, it was and still is the norm. In 2012, almost 750,000 people were arrested for cannabis related crimes—nearly half of all drug arrests—yet 23 states have passed medicinal cannabis use and four states and the District of Columbia allow for the legal sale of cannabis. “Depending on where you live, depending on your zip code, that decides whether you’re going to be a millionaire or whether you’re going to do hard time for cannabis, and that is ridiculous.” When it comes to race, Wanda says, “it isn’t just arbitrary. We’re targeting poor neighborhoods that happen to be black and brown.”

The statistics back her up. The NAACP reveals that while African Americans represent only 12% of the total population of drug users in the US, they represent 38% of those arrested for drug offenses, and 59% of those in state prisons for drug offenses.

It’s no wonder that African Americans have been hesitant to enter the cannabis industry as owners and leaders. In Colorado, beyond Wanda and her husband who own Simply Pure, there is only one other licensed black cannabis business owner. “Everyone else who owns happens to be white, and they’re making millions and millions of dollars,” Wanda says.

“There’s this feeling that what works for white people won’t work for us,” and based on the statistics, they have a right to feel nervous. One in 15 African American children will have a parent in prison compared to 1 in 111 white children. So how can things change? It starts with elected officials. “I really want Black and Latino elected officials to understand that if

“I really want Black and Latino elected officials to understand that if they support the continuation of cannabis prohibition, they are supporting the most racist laws in American history. What they are doing is sending our children to prison.They are putting children that look like them in prison.

There is no other way to slice it, and it is wrong on every level.” they support the continuation of cannabis prohibition, they are supporting the most racist laws in American history. What they are doing is sending our children to prison.They are putting children that look like them in prison. There is no other way to slice it, and it is wrong on every level.”

Beyond elected officials, Wanda sees women in the industry as the place where the power lies. “It’s women that are going to change this industry. We’re the mothers of babies with epilepsy; the mothers of sons who are arrested. I think that female-led lobbying efforts are extremely powerful because elected officials have a hard time looking at moms and saying, ‘Well, you just want to get high. That’s why you’re fighting for this.’ Mothers can say, ‘No, I want my baby to grow up healthy, and my child with epilepsy have a life that’s not so drugged up they’re walking through life like a zombie.’”

When it comes down to it, the budding legal cannabis industry presents an excellent opportunity for women and minorities to change the relationship between race and cannabis for future generations.

“This is a brand new industry,” Wanda says with enthusiasm. “It’s an amazing industry for women and minorities to take hold of. It’s time for us to come around and understand that we need to own the products and not just use them. You don’t have to grow weed to be a part of the industry. There are writers. There are designers. The face of cannabis looks like me. It looks like my husband. It looks like you. Anything you can do in any other industry, you can do in cannabis. Jump on ® board. Let’s do it!” dopemagazine.com ISSUE 10 THE PAST TO PRESENT ISSUE

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