DOPE MAGAZINE NORCAL ISSUE #7 "THE HOLIDAY ISSUE" by DOPE Magazine

Discover your

GOLDEN GATEWAY

Always grown by premium California farmers. Always tested and sealed. Pesticide free. Mold free. Always a consistent, bold, California experience.

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THIS IS CALIFORNIA CANNABIS

a spirit, a lifestyle, a state of mind.

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Potency Testing Done Right We at Sequoia Labs know you need results that matter to you. We don’t combine numbers to acheive a higher total, we offer factual numbers based on our wet lab analytics and proven standards to let you know exactly what you are getting from your cannabis meds.

GC Potency

Questions about the new California Cannabis regulations? Contact us to get the information you need about lab testing your products today!

Want to know the exact amount of cannabinoids you get when ingesting heated cannabis products? GC or Gas Chromatograph testing actually heats the sample as it’s running to let you know exactly what you ingest when it’s heated. Perfect for analyzing smokable products.

Other Services Sequoia Labs offers plenty of other services for your cannabis testing: -Pesticide Screening

HPLC Potency

Want to know how many cannabinoids are in your product without heat applied? HPLC or High Pressure Liquid Chromatography is the way to go as it is not heated through analyzing and therefore is great for edible products as well as tinctures and other infusions. ‘Total THC’ and ‘Total Cannabinoid’ levels are also available through HPLC analysis. Questions? Contact us today! -Nutritional Labeling

-Microbiological Analysis

-Terpene Profiles -Nitrogen Packaging

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TARANTULA /təˈran(t)SHələ/ noun

a rare, ﬁre pre-roll comprised of the top 1% of lab-tested ﬂowers, CO2 wax, hash, and kief, rolled in raw natural paper. Emanaang with a robust natural taste, these pre-rolls are excepponally smooth and extremely potent. Tarantulas are exclusive, “one-of-a-kind” and made only by GanjaGold.

TABLE OF CONTENTS ISSUE 07 | DECEMBER 2015 THE HOLIDAY ISSUE

STRAIN

GELATO #41

EDIBLES

HEAVENLY SWEET MEDIBLES

BRANDING BUD CANNABIS PACKAGING

BUSINESS

STATE DIRECTOR NOTE

GREEN RUSH CONSULTING

DOPE NEWS

CANNABIS WORLD NEWS

CONCENTRATE STRAWBERRY COUGH

DISPENSARY

BLOOM ROOM

CANNA-NEWS

COOKING WITH CANNABIS

FEATURE

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

CANNA-NEWS CROWD-SOURCING

ROAD TRIP

SANTA CRUZ

This month is our holiday giving issue. In staying true to the theme, we checked in with our friends and advertisers to see what they are doing to honor the spirit of giving this season, and we are delighted to highlight some of our favorite stories here in this issue. Continuing this month with our #End420Shame article series meet a compassionate caregiver who dedicates his life to helping others relieve the pain and anguish from their medical conditions, and we see how individual caregivers across our great state are helping end the stigma around cannabis use with their tireless efforts to be of service to those in need. From toy drives at dispensaries, to food drives where patients are encouraged to donate canned goods in exchange for free medibles, cannabis industry professionals are pulling out all the stops this season to show that our industry really cares about helping others. This is an exciting time in the evolution of cannabis in America, as more states pass medical access laws and some are moving to recreational legal status, completely revolutionizing the economies in their states. Just the other day, California’s Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom told Bill Maher on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” that Newsom is confident recreational cannabis will pass in California in 2016. Here in California, as well as in the recreationally legal states, the shame and stigma around purchasing cannabis is being replaced with the more celebratory notion of a cannabis-themed holiday season. You will see the inspiration shining through in our stories as well as some of the creative ads running this month. The holidays are here, and there is no more need for cannabis users to hide in the shadows. The evolution of cannabis infused products means the therapeutic benefits of cannabis are now available to patients in any form they desire.

64 CANNA-NEWS BALI VASWANI

52 FEATURE

GIVE AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE: CHARITABLE GIVING WITHIN THE CANNABIS COMMUNITY

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POLITICAL AMOEBA MUSIC

Whether you prefer to smoke or vape your cannabis, ingest edibles, use sub lingual tinctures, enjoy a lollipop or other candy, or even sip some cannabis-infused tea or other hot or cold beverages, there is now a cannabisinfused product available to suit your preferences and needs. This is cause for celebration! Enjoy our great content this month, get to know the inspiring individuals, products, brands, and stories we are featuring, and if you are so moved, consider participating in some gift giving activities in your community. Stay DOPE. Evan Kopelson, California State Director

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PRESIDENT

CEO

EVAN CARTER

DAVID TRAN CHIEF BRANDING OFFICER

STATE DIRECTOR

JAMES ZACHODNI

EVAN KOPELSON

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATE SALES MANAAGER

JONATHAN TEETERS

JASON ROSENBERG SALES REPRESENTATIVES

OPERATIONS ASSOCIATE

ERIC ERLANDSEN

KATE KELLY

BRAD FRYE ART DIRECTOR

CONTENT COORDINATOR

BRANDON PALMA

ASHLEIGH CASTRO DESIGN DIRECTOR

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

CHARM DOMACENA

RON MULLINS CAL GREENFIELD

AD DESIGN

ASHLEIGH CASTRO

DOPE DESIGN AGENCY

ADAM RITZ

MANAGING EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

ALISON BAIRD

SHARON LETTS

MICHAEL MANNING

DAVE HODES

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

KIMBERLY CARGILE

ONLINE EDITOR

RADIOHASH

MEGHAN RIDLEY

RON MULLINS R.Z. HUGHES

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

DAVID PALESCHUCK

DALLAS KEEFE

EVAN KOPELSON

EMAIL US AT INFO@DOPEMAGAZINE.COM WANT TO ADVERTISE?

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ADMIN. EVENTS COORDINATOR JENIKA MAO

COVER PHOTO: SUSANNAH GROSSMAN

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STATE EDITOR

DAVID BAILEY

DEBBY GOLDSBERRY

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.

PROUD MEMBER OF

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DOPE Magazine and the entire contents of this magazine are copyright 2015 DOPE MAGAZINE LLC, all rights reserved and may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or part without the written permission from DOPE Magazine LLC.

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Feel The

POWER OF THE PUNCH!

Highly Potent Medical Marijuana Candy Made with the Highest Quality Cannabis Lab Tested Always Consistent

To Order: Order@kushypunch.com

www.KushyPunch.com

WRITER •RADIOHASH

PHOTOS • ASHLEIGH CASTRO

STRAIN

GELATO #41 PROVIDED BY COOKIES SF TESTED BY: SC LABS

29.07 % THC 0.06% CBD

GENETICS Straight from the Cookies Family, there is no doubt about the quality of this strain. A gorgeous and deliciously potent mashup of Sunset Sherbet (Girl Scout Cookies x Pink Panties) and Thin Mint Cookies (Durban Poison x OG Kush) organically grown in soil.

AROMA After appearance, smell is one of most important factors used to judge the quality of cannabis flowers, and Gelato smells like an absolute dream. The aroma heavily favors the Girl Scout Cookies genes that dominate this strain, sweet and earthy like fresh baked bread, but it also features sweet fruity notes as well as lavender and a hint of pine.

EFFECT This is a hybrid strain that leans towards indica. Reports of a heavy euphoric body high are common with tales of alertness. THC levels are extremely high in Gelato, and one’s own tolerance will certainly play a role in determining the individal’s experience. This is most definitely a dreamy strain for kickin’ back and relaxing.

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT • COOKIES SF SAN FRANCISCO, CA

THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS Extremely high in THC, reports of very heavy relaxing effects on the body seem common, without excessive clouding of the mind. Especially attractive to those with high tolerances, Gelato helped my pain drift away as a pleasantly warm body buzz set in.

LOOKS These gorgeous flowers come in dense nuggets exhibiting the many fall colors of the Emerald Triangle during the harvest: brilliant greens, oranges, golds, and purples. Breaking the bud open reveals a dense, sticky interior bursting with frosty trichomes and a rainbow of color.

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FLAVOR The delicious flavor is reminiscent of something found in those high-end gelato shops serving strange and exotic flavor combinations. Gelatterias tend to offer some unusual yet tasty blends, and that’s exactly what you’ll find when smoking this. Citrus sweet, like GSC, earthy notes are evident on the exhale.

Your holiday solution

ALL WRAPPED UP

Heavenly Sweet Medibles offers over 150 medible varieties, all of which are made with the highest quality ingredients, lab tested, and dosed and labeled appropriately. Our priority is your care. heavenlysweetmedibles.com |

b x @heavenlysweetmedibles

In compliance with CA H&S code 11362.5 and Prop 215.

EDIBLES

WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER •ASHLEIGH CASTRO

MUNCHIES FOR THE HOLIDAYS HOLIDAY TREATS. ADULTS ONLY!

MAKING THE HOLIDAYS AS EASY AS... 1 It is recommended to consume 18mg until the proper dosage is found. Personal dosage is easily applied to Heavenly Sweet edibles. Their Squookie, a square cookie, takes the headache out of dividing round cookies. 2 Heavenly Sweet makes an effort to have special edibles available during the holidays. 3 Although their name harkens to dessert goodies, they also offer breakfast cereals, pizzas, and other more savory treats.

HE HEAVENLY SWEET idea evolved from a serious lack of quality edibles back in the day. Remember when everything just tasted like green? Quality control in cannabis infused confectionary products was unheard of back then, and has only surfaced more recently. Fortunately for us, companies like Heavenly Sweet came on the scene with a desire to elevate cannabis treats for the good of all. Heavenly Sweet’s holiday line finally partners gift giving with medicated delicacies to elevate the expectations of holiday shoppers. The snack pack comes complete with Peppermint Bark, a Ginger Squookie and White Chocolate Munch, all containing 147mg THC/pack-

age. This assortment sure to tantalize the sweet tooth of cannabis lovers is sold in beautiful holiday wrap, all ready to go. Not so keen on holiday sweets? These were exceptional, even if they weren’t cannabis infused. The Peppermint Bark was most favorable. Not shy on medication, the dark chocolate balances the sweetness of the white chocolate and sugary peppermint bits. The Ginger Squookie is nice because it is square, making it easy to control the individual dose. These really do taste like home baked ginger snaps, so we decided to stick them in the oven for a moment to bring the freshly baked taste to life! The White Chocolate Munch mixes

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popcorn, peanuts, pretzels and M&M’s coated in snowy white chocolate. Messy but delicious, it’s a perfect mix of sweet and salty. Heavenly Sweet, “the medicine you eat” prioritizes consistent potency and portion control. With proper dosage we felt a calming warmth, but with such a variety it may be hard to control yourself. I’m one hundred percent for peace on Earth and goodwill to all men, but don’t go overboard and end up soaring through the skies somewhere with Rudolph and Blitzen. Try just a nibble of any edible at first. Medicate responsibly, and celebrate the holidays down here on ® the ground with the rest of us!

Just because it’s grown in Humboldt doesn’t mean it’s good. If the geographical name alone were a promise of quality, anyone could grow premium cannabis. But we think it takes a lot more than that. Like fertile soil, rain water, fresh ocean air, and natural California sunlight. It also takes unwavering dedication to the growing methods established by the farmers who put Humboldt on the map over 50 years ago. We’re True Humboldt, a collection of local farmers living up to the legend. Try us and you’ll taste, smell, and experience the difference.

Visit truehumboldt.com to learn more.

WRITER •RON MULLINS

PHOTOS •ASHLEIGH CASTRO

DISPENSARY

BLOOM ROOM GENEROSITY IS BLOSSOMING

UST OFF MINT PLAZA in downtown San Francisco sits Bloom Room, a compact, fullservice dispensary that has been operating since 2013. Bloom Room offers over 15 strains of medicine – all tested by CW Labs – ranging from $25 to $60 per eighth with tax included. It’s high-end strains like Papaya, Durban Poison and Ambrosia that keep people coming back to Bloom Room. The collective also carries a great assortment of edibles. We just had to pick up the Kushy Punch gummy squares to see what all the fuss is about. With over a dozen top quality concentrates, many in retro-style metallic matchboxes, patients benefit from a plethora of services. There’s free massage, free product demos, workshops, reward cards, and giveaways for veterans. Bloom Room also offers free half-eighths of medicine to qualifying low-income patients. This holiday season, there’s no shortage of cheer at Bloom Room. They kick off the season early by handing out free gift bags to patients who show up in costume over Halloween weekend. Right before Thanksgiving, Bloom Room holds a charity drive with patients getting a free pre-roll and lighter for their donations. The last two holiday seasons, Bloom Room collected several barrels of nonperishable food goods for the San Francisco and Marin Food Banks. This year, they’re teamed up with the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program to provide toys during the holiday season to kids aged 12 and under who suffered a loss due to fire. Older children will receive gift cards. Through December, patients will receive a free half-gram sample of high quality meds when they bring in an unwrapped, unused toy. Bloom Room is accepting donations of sports equipment, arts and crafts items, baby care items, toys, iPods, books, and game systems with a game included (please, no toy guns or weapons). The free med samples are amazing and it’s for a good cause, so make sure to bring a toy with you throughout the month of December. Bloom Room cares for its patients as well as its neighborhood, and they do it all with joy, compassion, and fervor. The holidays will be brighter for many people thanks to the generosity and community of the good folks at the Bloom Room ® cannabis collective.

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“This year, Bloom Room has teamed with the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program to provide toys during the holiday season to kids aged 12 and under who suffered loss due to fire.”

471 JESSIE ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA OPEN MON-SAT 11AM-9PM & SUN 12PM-7PM BLOOMROOMCOLLECTIVE BLOOMROOMSF.COM dopemagazine.com ISSUE 07 THE HOLIDAY ISSUE

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eative zone Facebook 1 . Get in your cr utrients logo on N r te as M ch Dut l design 2. Download The drawn or digita nd ha be n ca – t to qualify irt ed on the t-shir 3. Design a t-sh ud cl in be t us m brand name asternutrients 4. Our logo or page @dutchm ok bo ce Fa r sign on ou 5. Post your de es’ wins! ith the most ‘lik w n sig de he T . 6

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info@dutchmasternutrients.com | DUTCHMASTERNUTRIENTS.COM *Design submissions close December 31, 2015. Design must be posted on Dutch Master Facebook page to qualify. Design must include Dutch Master logo or brand name to qualify. Voting ends January 30, 2016 5pm PST. Each ‘like’ on a qualifying design counts as one vote. The design with the highest number of votes at the time voting ends will win $300 1st prize. The design with the second highest number of votes at the time voting ends will win $200 2nd prize. Cash prizes will be paid to winning entrants via Paypal on January 31, 2015. Winners must have a Paypal account to redeem prize. Each entrant understands and agrees that upon submission of your design, all rights to the design are assigned to Dutch Master Nutrients LLC, granting a worldwide right to reproduce, sell, transmit and display the design, in whole or in part, an unlimited number of times, in any and all media.

GARDEN

MASTER BREEDER MOJAVE RICHMOND

OR THIS month’s garden feature, I had the distinct pleasure to sit down with master breeder and cultivation consultant Mojave Richmond and talk about whatever he wanted to share with our readers. I had just reviewed Mojave’s strain Zeta for our SoCal November issue and dubbed Zeta the “best medicine ever,” for its long lasting effects that include enhanced focus and productivity, and decreased appetite – pretty much the opposite effects of OG Kush, which is one of Zeta’s main components – so I’m excited to discuss that, as well

as get a glimpse into what he is doing now. We met at Urth Caffe in Beverly Hills and our conversation ranged from growing to breeding, to the future of the cannabis industry. We discussed terpene profiles, gene pools, and why, according to Mojave, “not all terpenes are good terpenes.” Mojave describes himself as “a breeder who’s become a consultant, who is now trying to facilitate the creation of a valid cannabis agricultural economy.” I asked Mojave where it all began for him as a breeder. “Well back in the day,” he said, “there was cannabis all over the planet…” and

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then, due to prohibition and the demonization of cannabis by the US government, many of the world’s Landrace varieties were destroyed. When the Netherlands decriminalized cannabis, many growers moved there and started to breed and cultivate. The thing was, Mojave explained, the weather in the Netherlands is usually cold and not always very sunny. So, indoor growing really took off during those years. Mojave said he began noticing the effects of inbreeding on the cannabis gene pool pretty early on and it concerned him, which inspired him to begin breeding.

WRITER •EVAN KOPELSON

“I’VE BEEN A BREEDER FOR 22 YEARS, AND MY WHOLE FOCUS ALL ALONG HAS BEEN ONE DAY ‘THIS IS GONNA BE A LEGAL PLANT, AND IT’S GONNA BE AN AGRICULTURAL PLANT.”

Young growers at the time were excitedly working with the new Dutch seed strains – predominately Skunk #1, Northern Lights, and Haze – so Mojave decided to take his California heritage library of old school seeds, and he began breeding in Holland. It was here in the late 1990s that Mojave created the famed plant S.A.G.E. and then years later he crossed S.A.G.E. with OG Kush to create Zeta. Several years after that, Mojave’s continued breeding experiments created Big Sur Holy. Each of Mojave’s creations aims to recreate the distinctive phenotype/chemotype profiles he remembers from some of the lost California Landrace varieites of what we now call Sativa. I asked him about one picture he gave me that features a cluster of ladybugs, “At the time of the picture, they were all the rage, but Ladybugs are not the best method to get all your spider mites,” Mojave told me. “It’s great to have a ladybug population in your garden, but what happens is, if it’s indoors, the ladybugs

PHOTOS • MOJAVE RICHMOND

fly into the sun, which is your light, and they incinerate. If it’s outdoors, they’ll also fly into the sun, which is your neighbor’s garden. So either way, it’s not very effective, but they’re pretty to have around; they might even contribute. If you’re lucky, they’ll stay around for a while and create a population there and breed, and that’s what you’re seeing in that picture there, a little clustering of them.” When push comes to shove, Mojave said he would rather talk about breeding than growing, because the knowledge is already out there about growing, and it really at this point is about getting new knowledge out there to the world. “How I grow now is irrelevant,” Mojave said. “I’ve been a breeder for 22 years, and my whole focus all along has been one day ‘this is gonna be a legal plant, and it’s gonna be an agricultural plant’, and therefore I should know how to grow this plant on that scale, and I should be ready for that when the time comes.”

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GROW

EMERALD HARVEST Si mpl e, Ea sy Success

NEW brand of premium fertilizer is building a following in the hydroponic world with their easy to use base nutrients and supplements. Emerald Harvest launched their product line on April 20th of this year and already, it’s being received with pleasant surprise by growers who seek to maximize yields. Founded by Robert and Sharon Higgins along with David Pratt, the rate of growth for the start-up company, with less than ten core employees, is staggering. Their products are already sold in twelve states and Canada with registration pending in many more. As every hydroponic grower knows, the nutrient market is saturated with tons of companies, each of which offer multitudes of formulas, boosters, and enhancers. Are all of the bottles really necessary? How can a grower tell which brand will actually produce results and what makes those products different? When it comes to the Emerald Harvest line of products, the difference is in the quality of the ingredients and the implementation of a streamlined feeding system. They offer a professional 2-part and a 3-part base nutrient series that makes it simple to unlock your garden’s full potential. These easy-to-use fertilizers give your complete a complete nutrient profile while minimizing

bottle space and waste. Packaged in growerfriendly smart bottles, none of the precious nutrients are lost due to spillage, as any drips are caught and cycled back into the bottle, much like a jug of laundry detergent. For indoor gardeners looking for a little something extra, Emerald Harvest also offers seven supplements specifically tailored for different aspects of your plants well-being. The lead chemist at Emerald Harvest, Dr. Dave, is a dedicated craftsman with a lengthy history in organic chemistry and cannabis cultivation. Taking the highest selling products on the market and determining what they all have in common, Dr. Dave formulated a new, compact line of supplements to give growers exactly what they want. The King Kola bloom booster has amino acids derived from hemp seed, a natural and more effective alternative to the bovine byproducts used in other hydroponic nutrient lines for the same purpose. This is the first such product to utilize hemp protein and the results speak for themselves with huge, impressive colas. Their labels are some of the most aesthetically pleasing in the industry, in fact Emerald Harvest took home first place for the 2015 Maximum Yield best overall design for the artwork on their Honey Chome – a resin and aroma enhancer. The artistry on the

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outside of the bottles hints at the artfully concocted formulations they contain inside. While their line of fertilizer isn’t entirely organic yet, they use as many natural ingredients as they can combined with microbial life, kelp, alfalfa, hemp, and many other plant-based nutrients. The hemp seed in the King Kola is a highly effective natural chelator, helping the plants to uptake and assimilate nutrients and get the most out of their feeding. Emerald Harvest works side-by-side with the regulators each step of the way. They know that regulations play a crucial role in the fertilizer industry; without them, someone could produce and market a fake product. They understand that every grower has different opinions and needs, and to that effect, they never push entire product lines or treat stores like cash cows. Instead Emerald Harvest is busy building a corporate culture based on respect among competition, and a premium product line. With the overwhelmingly positive response they’ve received this year, they’re looking to change the hydroponics industry long-term, for the better. [ www.emeraldharvest.co ]

WRITER •R.Z. HUGHES

PHOTOS • EMERALD HARVEST

“THE BLOOM BOOSTER HAS AMINO ACIDS DERIVED FROM HEMP SEED, A NATURAL AND MORE EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO BOVINE BYPRODUCTS.”

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BRANDING BUD

WRITER •DAVID PALESCHUCK, MBA, CLS

CANNABIS PACKAGING AND ITS RELATION How Cannabis Is TO QUALITY & Packaged Affects Its Flavor, Potency CONSISTENCY & Efficacy P

UBLIC OPINION is changing around cannabis in general, and there is concern from lawmakers, consumers & patients alike regarding dosing and consistency. The Journal of American Medicine (JAMA), published a recent article in June 2015 titled, “Cannabinoid Dose and Label Accuracy in Edible Medical Cannabis Products”, and summarized that “edible products from three major metropolitan cit-

ies including Seattle, San Francisco & Los Angeles - (oddly, Denver was not included) – though unregulated, failed to meet basic label accuracy standards for pharmaceuticals. Greater than 50% of products evaluated had significantly less cannabinoid content then labeled, with some products containing negligible amounts of THC.” Because of the inconsistencies, such products may not produce the desired efficacy and/or relief required.

Other products contained significantly more THC than labeled, placing consumers at risk for experiencing adverse effects; because medical cannabis is recommended for specific health conditions, regulation, consistency and quality assurance are required. So why is this? Taking a look at currently accepted cannabis packaging shows the need for the industry to learn from mainstream consumer packaging and preservation.

ROLE OF PACKAGING Packaging plays a vital role in preserving cannabis throughout the distribution chain. Without packaging, the processing of cannabis can become compromised as it is contaminated by direct contact with physical, chemical, and biological contaminants. In recent years, the development of novel cannabis packaging (modified atmosphere & active packaging) has not only increased the shelf life of cannabis, but also their safety and

quality - therefore bringing convenience to consumers. Directly related, and interlinked, with cannabis packaging is the concept of shelf life - the length of time that perishable items are given before they are considered unsuitable for sale, use, or consumption. Consumer packaging is essential and pervasive, and it performs a number of disparate tasks. It protects from contamination and spoilage; it makes it easier to transport and store

cannabis, and it provides a uniform measurement of the contents. By allowing brands to be created and standardized, it makes advertising meaningful and large-scale distribution and mass merchandising possible. Consumer packages with dispensing caps, re-closable openings, and other features make products more usable and convenient. Three primary and interconnected functions of packaging are Containment, Protection and Communication.

Communication

Containment

Protection

There is an old saying that “a package must protect what it sells and sell what it protects”; that is, the package functions as a “silent salesman.” The modern methods of consumer marketing would fail were it not for the messages communicated by the package through distinctive branding and labeling. Consumers make purchasing decisions using the numerous clues provided by the graphics and the distinctive shapes of the packaging.

This function of packaging is so obvious as to be overlooked by many, but it is the most basic function of packaging. Cannabis products must be contained before they can be moved from one place to another without being damaged.

This is often regarded as the primary function of the package: to protect its contents from the outside environmental effects of water, water vapor, gases, odors, microorganisms, dust, shocks, vibrations, compressive forces, etc. For the majority of consumer products, the protection afforded by the package is an essential part of the preservation process. Freedom from harmful microbial contaminants at the time of consumption can also be influenced by the package.

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PACKAGE ENVIRONMENTS Packaging has to perform its functions in three different environments that include physical, ambient & human. Failure to consider all three environments during package development results in poorly designed packages, increased costs, consumer complaints, and perhaps product rejection by the consumer.

Physical Environment This is the environment in which physical damage can be caused to the product, including shocks from drops, falls, and bumps; damage from vibrations arising from transportation; compression and crushing damage from stacking during transportation or storage in warehouses, retail outlets, and the consumer’s home.

Ambient Environment This is the environment that surrounds the package. Damage to the product can be caused as a result of the effects of heat & cold, microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, molds, yeasts) and macro-organisms (rodents, insects, mites, and birds), which are ubiquitous in many warehouses and retail outlets. Contaminants in the ambient environment such as dust and dirt can find their way into the product unless the package acts as an effective barrier.

Human Environment This is the environment in which the package is handled and cognitively understood (or not) by consumers. In the case with medical cannabis patients, many need easy-to-open packaging due to their condition(s). Designing packages that work for everyone requires knowledge of human vision, strength, dexterity, memory and intellect – not to mention the characteristics of the packaging materials and the natural course of organic degradation.

PACKAGING CANNABIS For all the effort dedicated to producing quality cannabis flower, few within the industry are taking advantage of commonly used best practices in other industries concerned with freshness & shelf-life, particularly as it relates to nitrogen flushed packaging of their cannabinoid rich flowers. Oxygen is a major culprit in degradation & spoilage. The most effective way to prevent oxygen damage is to remove the oxygen and replace it with an inert gas like nitrogen. For marijuana and its cannabinoids, the exposure to oxygen tends to convert THC to the CBN cannabinoid – creating oxidized weed. Conversely, inert gas such as nitrogen, does not allow for the conversion of the THC cannabinoid. When food browns, its components join with oxygen, or oxidize, much as iron does when it rusts. The presence of oxygen allows molds, yeast and aerobic bacteria to survive and degrade perishable products. Modifying the composition of the internal atmosphere of a package improves its shelf-life. Similarly, cannabis can be nitrogen packed and sealed for freshness.

Food handlers call this Modified Atmosphere Packaging, a technique used for prolonging the shelf-life of fresh or minimally processed foods. In this preservation technique the air surrounding the food in the package is changed to another composition. Doing so helps prolongs the fresh state of the product. Modified Atmosphere Packaging slows the natural deterioration of the product. Research and development has proven that nitrogen-flushed cannabis packaging preserves THC. In the absence of this process, marijuana that is exposed to oxygen and other gases in everyday environments, THC oxidizes into CBN cannabinoid, which lowers the value of the product as well as its potency. Nitrogen flushing is currently the only known methodology for keeping marijuana rich in THC by stopping the oxidization process. Whether it is for medicinal use to ease pain and stimulate the appetite, or for recreational use such as what we currently see in Colorado and Washington, the loss of THC by exposure lowers its chemical efficacy.

“ Nitrogen-flush packaging marijuana is the only method any serious venture should consider when deciding to undertake all the hard work that goes into growing marijuana properly. “ Dax Colwell, Dama Cannabis Products One would think, that if cannabis entrepreneurs are willing to thousands and in in some cases, millions of dollars for the best strains, the best environment in which to grow, hire the best growers, trimmers, etc., they wouldn’t want their investment ruined by incorrect product packaging. Nitrogen generators for cannabis packaging are not just a good idea — they are essential to the entire industry and the quality of products brought to market.

Further, with the public’s health, safety and money at risk, there is little reason for cannabis patients and consumers not to demand nitrogen-flushed packaging. As the cannabis market(s) continue to grow, so too will external scrutiny and (hopefully) self-regulation. Cannabis products, their packaging, labeling, dosing and consistency will no doubt play a critical role as it relates to the growing acceptability among consumers and lawmakers alike.

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CANNANEWS

CANNABIS company that gives thousands to charity is just what the doctor ordered to help change the perception of the industry. Call it kismet. Call it karma. Call it a calling that has resulted in $350,000 raised by a single cannabis cvompany for a charitable organization and watch how heads turn. Industry insiders realize it’s a natural fit – cannabis and charity. This industry was founded by caring people, and is currently being driven by caregivers using it for medicinal purposes. It’s growing because of the passion of those caring people, and the drive of entrepreneurs who are changing not only the business goals of the industry, but the perception of how those goals will be achieved, and how society will benefit. Ryan Cook is the general manager of the Clinic Marijuana Center in Denver, opened in September of 2009, it’s one of the earliest established, and fastest growing cannabis medical and retail stores, with over 100 employees in six locations in Denver. Soon there will be two in Nevada, and one in Illinois. He found his passion for raising money for charitable organizations a long time ago when, as a young teen, he witnessed a friend dealing with multiples sclerosis. Cook saw the destruction caused by

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WRITER •DAVID HODES

this terrible, neurological disease with no known cause or cure. Progressive MS was taking the life of his friend’s father, and he saw firsthand how his friend, the Clinic’s master grower Jay Price, changed from loving son to careful caretaker. “My buddy spent his youth being a caretaker for a loved one with this disease,” Cook says. “That makes a person very mature very quickly.” Then, in college, Price began dating a woman who quickly became his girlfriend and would soon be his wife. “On the fourth date, she let him know that she had been recently diagnosed with MS,” he says. Treatment for the disease was phased out for her over time, down from the seven pill regimen she had been on, to a combination of just one pill and medical cannabis for the last nine years now. Cannabis is a natural choice for MS, because typical MS medications can have serious side effects, including liver damage, flu-like symptoms, hair loss and the risk of viral infection of the brain. By 2009, those who treat MS and the society itself were coming around to using cannabis for treatment of tremors and spasms associated with the disease. The

“COOK SAYS HIS EMPLOYEES EMBRACE THE CHARITABLE OPPORTUNITY, SPREADING THE WORD ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND RAISING MONEY PERSONALLY THROUGH THOSE CONNECTIONS.”

national MS organization currently supports using medical cannabis for the treatment of MS. The American Academy of Neurology even recommends using a cannabis extract to treat the pain associated with MS. Cook’s experience with his friend proved to be just a prelude to the future community outreach of his dispensary, where cannabis use to effectively treat diseases like MS and epilepsy, has begun to play a more important role in the evolution, and credibility, of the cannabis business - as just another enterprise with products people want and need, looking to give back to the community. Cook decided that the Clinic would be involved in the MS walk in 2010, in part because he believed that MS is one of the best charitable organizations where the money donated is properly used. “For us being a marijuana and cannabis company, it is a little bit of a challenge to go out and find benefactors that we can provide money to,” he says. Organizations that have national affiliations, like MS, can feel as if it is very difficult to take money from a marijuana company, but that acceptance is coming, slowly. “We just need to realize that we have come that far and we have so far to go.” Cook says his employees embrace the charitable opportunity, spreading the word on social media and raising money personally through those connections. “It’s great that we have the ability to raise money and awareness like that, and that is why we decided that we were going to take this one step further from just doing the walk.” The Clinic put on a golf tournament in 2010, then decided to make

GRAPHICS • BRANDON PALMA

the golf tournament a charitable event using the MS as their benefactor. They now do both the MS walk and tournament each year. The Clinic just had their sixth golf event in August – a sellout - and raised nearly $100,000. “We have upwards of 300 to 400 people attend one of those golf events, between sponsors and golfers and everyone else.” He also says that other companies came out and attended the event. Participating as golfers or sponsors, their participation boosts cannabis business acceptance as mainstream business. “So to be able to use the credibility of the MS organization I think is extremely helpful,” Cook says. “When I talk to people about what we are doing, who we are doing it for, and why we are doing it, I think it makes it easier to get over some of those hurdles of misperception of the industry by telling about our work with MS.” Cook says that as they expand into Illinois and Nevada, each dispensary will have the option of picking some local charitable organization and spending time developing a relationship. “We know that we are still going to do some work with the MS society, but we are also going to branch out,” he says. “We have received some information from some other organizations up to this point. So no decision has been made yet but we are very excited that we have that ability. I think we are human beings regardless of whether or not we are in the cannabis industry,” Cook says, “And so I think it’s good for us to be a part of those kinds of charitable events, to show that we are good people and a good industry.”

TIPS ABOUT HOW TO MAKE A CHARITABLE CANNABIS CONNECTION Make an appointment to sit down with a representative. Tell them who you are and why doing charitable work matters to you.

Talk to them about how your group can help now and in the future (event planning, brainstorming other events)

Choose an organization you believe in. Research what they do with their funds.

Reach out directly to the organization.

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WRITER•R.Z. HUGHES

U.S. Base A Pipeline for Japan’s Pot Japanese customs agents uncovered a major shipment of cannabis that had been sent to an American service member at Yokoto Air Base in western Tokyo. The box contained over three pounds of pot and was confiscated after the changing hands twice – the member of the U.S. Military apparently had no idea what was in the package. While Japan has notoriously strict drug laws, this hasn’t always been the case. Much like the US, Japan relied on cannabis and hemp during WWII as foreign fibers were difficult to import. Cannabis was a cornerstone of Japanese culture, with references in their oldest books of poetry and ninja training, until after the war when the Americans outlawed it along with martial arts.

No Justice for Zach Hammond A 19-year-old South Carolina man was shot and killed by a police officer earlier this year after a “bust” went horribly awry. Zach Hammond was with a friend who was selling a small amount of cannabis and accidentally sent a text about the purchase to a state trooper rather than the actual buyer. Instead of getting a warrant and going about it like a responsible public servant, the officer escalated the situation and ended up shooting Hammond twice in the back within ten seconds of leaving his vehicle. The officer in question was let off with no charges claiming he felt at danger of being run over. At no time was he ever in danger and any threat was due to his ridiculously aggressive action.

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Massive Case of the Munchies A young man in Youngstown, Ohio called police to report that he was too high and couldn’t feel his hands. What sounds like a cautionary tale about cannabis smoking is in fact a cautionary tale about the dangers of processed snack foods and the bodily havoc they can wreak if binged upon. Police arrived at the residence to find the man curled on the floor groaning, surrounded by a smorgasbord of chips, cookies, and candy. The guy did the right thing by calling 911 for a medical emergency but a heart attack from his sodium-rich diet seems a more likely culprit than an herbal overdose.

DEA Targets Tribal Hemp The Menominee tribe of Wisconsin is reeling after a huge raid by the DEA in late October that destroyed some 30,000 plants. The tribe argues that it was industrial hemp and that they sought transparency in their operation every step of the way, but, the Department of Justice claims that they were producing cannabis for sale off of tribal lands. Even if it had been cannabis, this raid is an affront to tribal sovereignty and has damaged the already tenuous trust between the federal government and Native Americans as the feds gave tribes the freedom to decide for themselves whether or not to produce and market cannabis within reservations.

Iran on the Brink of Legalization?

Branson Tries to Keep UN Honest on Drug Policy Outspoken billionaire Richard Branson released a document from the UN calling for the decriminalization of all drugs a week before it was scheduled to be presented at a conference in Kuala Lumpur. He claims he did it so that they couldn’t back out at the last minute; now it is out there for people to see. They did, however, withdraw it due to pressures from an unnamed nation saying it was only intended to facilitate discussion. While they may not have the backbone to stand by their research, at least the UN seems to be moving toward policies of harm reduction rather than criminalization.

With all of the political posturing the goes on between Washington and Tehran, it’s no wonder that many American’s views about Iran are that of a hardline conservative religious state. While Iran does have incredibly harsh penalties for drug traffickers – including death – the Islamic Republic has a surprisingly progressive stance towards users and treatment. Saeed Sefatian, a high-ranking member of the Expediency Council which acts as an advisory board to the country’s leaders, has proposed a plan to grow state supervised cannabis and poppies giving the government control over the supply of what are now considered to be illicit drugs. They hope to reduce prison populations by 60% and reduce addicts that now number around five million.

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HEALTH

CANNABIS INFUSED TOPICAL PRODUCTS Ch ang i ng Treatments for Inj u ry, Pa i n, and Ma ssage

ANNABIS TOPICAL products are quickly becoming a popular alternative to over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription pain relief medicines. Used by many to treat a wide variety of injuries and pain, they are also gaining quick respect from many in the massage therapy industry. Cannabis creams are especially helpful to athletes, who employ them for acute injuries, sudden injuries usually associated with a traumatic event such as a fall; and chronic injuries, which develop after an individual engages in a sport or exercise for a long time. Mary Lynn Mathre, a registered nurse (RN) and certified addictions registered nurse (CARN), as well as the president and a founding member of the American Cannabis Nurses Association, a New Jersey nonprofit organization that supports education and application of herbal cannabis says, “Topicals, for the most part, are really safe. They work locally and have minimal risk. I can’t even fathom someone would have a problem with [the cannabis in a] topical, even when it’s really potent.” Ramona Rubin, cofounder of Doc Green’s Healing Collective, a California collective based in the East Bay which produces cannabis creams, said the only concern she has seen from users is minimal pain among some users with past nerve damage. “A few people have reported some pain using our lotion. This might not be a bad thing if their nerves are starting to grow again. The lotion might be helping to stimulate and regrow those nerves,” says Rubin. Cannabis topicals typically have no side effects. OTC and prescription pills and creams have a wide range of negative side effects, from skin irritation and damage to stomach pain, nausea, ulcers, gas, and diarrhea. Topical products can often be combined safely with other medications.

Many OTC and prescription creams, particularly those that thin the blood, do not interact well with other drugs. Greta Gaines, a country music singer, professional snowboarder, and CEO and president of OmniCanna Health Solutions, a Colorado Springsbased company that produces the therapeutic topicals, says they have a subtle delivery. She explains, “It’s almost like you put it on and forget about it. Later on, you realize that you feel very good.” Most cannabis topicals take effect within 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the carrier oil used and many understood, and unknown factors. They generally last for between two to four hours. Mary Jaye Simms, a massage therapist and head of the spa and education departments of Apothecanna, a Denver-based company that produces cannabis topicals, points out some OTC and prescription pain relievers, including Icy Hot and Tiger Balm, “have that very quick, flash and burn effect.” Sims explains, “For 15 minutes, your skin is highly irritated, numb or tingling, then there is a brief period of relief from the pain, and then nothing.” Cannabis creams generally do not cause a user to become intoxicated. Dahlia Mertens, founder of Mary Jane Medicinals, a Denver-based company that produces cannabis topicals says, “I’ve heard of one percent of people feeling a little bit stoned. I think it’s more that they are feeling relaxed.” Topical cannabis is not known to cause a positive test on a blood or urine drug screen. Rubin notes, “We’ve taken people who are total

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“THE NUMBER ONE USE WAS FOR ARTHRITIS AND SORE MUSCLES, AND THE NUMBER TWO USE WAS FOR HEADACHES. THE CREAMY TOPICAL CAN BE APPLIED IN SMALL DABS TO THE TEMPLES.”

WRITER •JESSICA ZIMMER

cannabis novices and had them use ridiculous amounts of our topicals. They’ve taken a test and passed.” It may be possible though for cannabis topicals to cause a positive result on a hair follicle drug screen, but this has not been clinically demonstrated. The phytocannabinoids cannot enter the bloodstream and affect the brain. Cannabis topicals are most often used to treat pain, inflammation, arthritis and rheumatism, soreness, burns, and cold weather ailments, such as chafing. Mathre says phytocannabinoids, plant-created substances in the topicals “work just like our own endocannabinoids.” Endocannabinoids are natural substances produced by the body that bind to receptors in cell membranes. An increase in the intake and binding of endocannabinoids can decrease the amount of pain that an individual feels. “If we take [in] extra endocannabinoids, that helps our system work even better,” Mathre explains. “The topicals work with the body. They are natural, as opposed to a chemical that falsely powers something.” These products typically contain one or more phytocannabinoids; typically tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabiniol (CBD). The amount of the cannabinoid and ratio between the different types determines the power of the product. The topicals are made by mixing the phytocannabinoids with essential oils, like lavender or peppermint, with a fatty base such as shea butter. The oils help the phytocannabinoids penetrate the skin and decrease pain and inflammation. Rubin says cannabis topicals can help with motion, mobility, and flexibility. “The three founders of our collective really started this, and did all of our early product testing while snowboarding in Lake Tahoe. If you apply it before physical activity, you’ll get less sore.” Doc Green’s recently conducted a survey of 80 patient-members. The collective determined that about 16% of those people

used the products for sports injuries. Rubin says “The number one use was for arthritis and sore muscles, and the number two use was for headaches.” The creamy topical can be applied in small dabs to the temples. Elizabeth Sampey, a professional endurance and mountain bike athlete based in Crested Butte, Colorado, says she started using infused cannabis topicals in 2013, after she suffered a severe shoulder injury in a bike crash. “For insurance reasons, I had to wait about three months to have surgery. During that time, I was still riding my bike and doing my work as a personal trainer. I don’t like narcotics and ibuprofen was chewing at my stomach. When I started using cannabis topicals, it cut the pain enough that I was able to ride, coach, and do my training.” Sampey says she now recommends the soothing products to many people that she meets. “At first, they’re usually taken aback. They think it’s just for potheads,” she says, “But I’ve had no negative feedback about it. I recommend it to athletes as well. The only way it affects your [athletic] performance is to eliminate the pain.” Sampey says that before using cannabis topicals, she experienced pain so strong that she could not form thoughts. “When you’re in pain from an injury or from overuse, your brain will focus on that. This form of pain relief allows your mind to get on to other things.” Gaines says she uses cannabis topical products to avoid the exhaustion and mental drain that accompany pain. “I have to be on my game. I don’t want to be high while snowboarding,” she clarifies. Mertens says topical cannabis also has another benefit: it can be used in small amounts. “It accentuates the pain relief so people don’t have to take as much [OTC medications].” She says the topicals also relax the body, which allows people to sleep more soundly. “Sleeping is such an important part of healing. If you can get people to rest, that’s a really big part of the process.” James Kennedy, founder of Apothecanna, says employing cannabis creams in massage therapy has changed the way that people are viewing cannabis. Apothecanna has partnered with LoDo massage, a Denver-based massage and private yoga studio, to offer massages that integrate one or more of Apothecanna’s products. He says “You’ve got to call them (LoDo) weeks in advance. [Massage with cannabis topicals] has been written up nationally

DESIGN • BRANDON PALMA

and in The Denver Post. We’ve had great responses. We’re introducing a lot of people who maybe have never used a cannabis product, and it changes peoples’ minds about it.” Simms says before she started using topicals infused with cannabis, she was only guessing as to whether the experience would offer the client relief. “As a massage therapist, you tend to use Biotone, Bengay, Icy Hot; what is professionally available to use. We (massage therapists) are not able to use prescription products unless the client’s doctor gives us permission.” She paused and then she says something that really drives home how huge these products will be for massage therapy. “Before, I used to say a ‘Hail Mary’ and hope I could help a client. There is so much left to chance. After I started using cannabis creams topicals, I knew I could help them.” She says giving clients the opportunity to think clearly and move beyond their pain has been “so wonderful.” “I’ve been doing the majority of my testing of infused topicals on my existing clients with whom I have built trust,” Simms says. “I know how their body has been behaving, and what’s worked for them, and what hasn’t. That helps me figure out what to do next.” Most of the sources interviewed for this article state they are in favor of larger clinical trials on the power, uses, and possible side effects of cannabis infused topicals. Mathre says it can be difficult for a patient to discuss cannabis creams with their doctor, “Physicians, because they have the power to write a prescription, are intimidated by the federal government. Nurses are generally more open [about discussing medications].” She says patients who are interested in using cannabis topical products to treat pain should first question their doctor on the function of the endocannabinoid system. If the doctor does know, or wants to learn, this is a good indication that they are open to discussing cannabis creams. “If the physician says, “I don’t want to learn,” go find a new physician. Patients have been kicked out of clinics and refused opiates because of their use of cannabis,” says Mathre. Behind closed doors, however, physicians and other health care professionals appear to be having more fruitful discussions about cannabis infused topical products. Mathre explains, “I’ve had very few doctors be dismissive. Most of the doctors are like, “Wow, that’s amazing. Tell me how it’s working.”

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CANNANEWS

WRITER •DAVID HODES

CANNAKIEV CAN-DO

REDEFINING A CLASSIC DISH WITH CANNABIS

SING CANNABIS for pastries or

other similar desserts and snack-foods is great, but what about the everyday foods that you would eat for a nice dinner? That was the question posed to Chef Mike Rakes, a 2008 graduate of Oaksterdam University and a former executive chef for some of the country’s best white-linen tablecloth restaurants. More than extra taste in fluffy cookies or pastries, cannabis can also make a perfect ingredient for a savory dinner dish. Chef Rakes apprenticed in the kitchen of Gilbert/Robinson restaurants in 1980, working his way up through their fine dining division in various assistant chef and executive chef assignments for the upscale seafood restaurant, The Bristol, in Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis and Atlanta. Back at the company’s flagship high-end restaurant in Kansas City, Plaza III, Rakes did research and menu development in the G/R test kitchen for fine dining and specialty restaurants. Later, he opened a few Italian

and brewery restaurants, and, in 1998, was the culinary instructor at Miami Dade Community College. He is now a consultant to the restaurant business from his kitchen in New Rochelle, New York, specializing in new restaurant openings of brew pubs, Italian, fine dining, seafood and continental/French restaurants. He is also a medical marijuana patient. “Cooking with cannabis can be all over the place,” Rakes says. “There are many cannabutter recipes on YouTube that you can check out, for example, but no one seems to agree exactly on the best way to make it.” He says, that with most cannabis infused recipes, cannabutter is typically at the heart of the experience. Using the natural melting and infusion abilities of cannabutter is a great way to bring the cannabis taste into and throughout the main component of the meal. “I chose chicken Kiev because it is representative of the large immigrant culture in New York,” Rakes explains. “Kiev is the capital of the Ukraine, and there is a large population of people from

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Eastern Europe in New York.” He points out that he likes this recipe because the cannabutter can be used for other recipes as well. “I like to make a half pound of cannabutter and roll it up, to keep in the freezer for future use. Later, it can be tossed with pasta and vegetables.” Rakes says that the earthiness of the cannabutter complements the garlic and tarragon in the chicken Kiev. “It gives it another layer of flavor that adds to the overall flavor profile of the dish. I like to think of the cannabis as another herbal flavor to enhance a savory dish.” The cannabis offers just a hint of that earthiness mixed in expertly with the garlic but not overpowered by it. Once consumed, the diner senses the usual dinner after-glow from a good meal, but with a more subtle sense of comfort and an all-body buzz not unlike the sensation that a diner would get from a bottle of good red wine.

CHICKEN CANNAKIEV WITH ASPARAGUS Al a Ch ef Mi ke Rakes CANNABUTTER Total Preparation And Cooking Time = 1 Hour Ingredients: ¼ Ounce high grade cannabis leaf 1 Stick of butter Preparation: Grind herb in either coffee grinder, mortar and pestle or whatever method you prefer. Melt butter over very low heat. Add decarbed cannabis. Simmer on very low heat 45-50 minutes. Stir often. Do not brown the butter. Strain through a cheesecloth otver a strainer over a bowl. Pick up and twist the cheesecloth to squeeze out the remaining cannabutter. Refrigerate or use immediately.

CANNAKIEV BUTTER Total preparation and cooking time = 20 minutes Ingredients: 8 tablespoon cannabutter, room temperature. 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon fresh terragon, chopped ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon white pepper Preparation: Combine ingredients in bowl. Mix with blender or whisk until all ingredients are well incorporated. Place on waxed paper and roll into a ¾-inch log. Place in freezer until set (or at least two hours).

CHICKEN KIEV WITH ASPARAGUS Total preparation and cooking time = 3 hours Ingredients: 5-7 stalks of asparagus. 4 boneless, skinless chick breast halves. Salt/pepper to taste. 8 tablespoons cannabutter with garlic and terragon, frozen. 1 cup flour, all purpose in large bowl. 2 eggs, beaten, with one tablespoon water, in large bowl. 1 and 1/2 cups Panko (also called Japanese) breadcrumbs in large bowl. ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs in large bowl. 3-4 cups oil for deep frying (canola, peanut or vegetable oil).

Preparation: Trim asparagus to eliminate the tough, wood part of the stalk. Steam it for 12-15 minutes then season with salt and pepper, or melt cannabutter over it when served. Pound chicken breasts to 1/8-1/4-inch thickness. Season one side with salt and pepper. Place 2 tablespoon cannakiev butter in upper middle of chicken. Roll from tail end of chicken breast, folding chicken sides over to completely enclose butter. Refrigerate the folded chicken seam side down for at least 2 hours (or overnight). Heat oil to 350 or 375 degrees. Dredge (or coat) chicken in flour bowl.

Dip in egg mixture bowl. Dredge (or coat) in breadcrumbs bowl. Deep fry on each side 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Take deep fried chicken out of oil and place on an oven rack. Let rest for 5 minutes. Check temperature with thermometer. If it’s not 160 degrees, place it in oven at 350 degrees until it is up to temperature. Plate asparagus and chicken kiev. Add small dish of cannakiev butter.

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LIVE THE DOPE LIFE DOPE PREMIUM CANNABIS PRODUCTS NOW AVAILABLE

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This one-of-a-kind pipe is a great present for the friend that loves science and hates coughing. The sleek design fits comfortably in any pocket and it is virtually impossible to break. The design is based on the principles of fluid dynamics with tiny dimples that create micro-vortexes, which cool and clean the smoke long before it reaches your lungs, leaving them comparatively cool and clean. It is also convenient for smoking on the go; load the bowl at home, slide the top over, and you’ll be ready to take your Genius anywhere. www.geniuspipe.com

JAYN GRENE SKINCARE PRODUCTS This all-natural, all-organic line of body products leaves nothing to be desired – except you. The body butter is non-greasy and smells great, leaving skin soft and supple. Their other two products are formulated for beard health. Beard oil and beard balm help keep men’s facial hair healthy and styled throughout the day. If your follicles need some friendship, or you know a hirsute fellow in need of some herbal love, all of Jayn Grene’s products are ideal stocking stuffers. www.jayngrene.com

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TRAVEL

ALASKA’S DEVELOPING CANNABIS LANDSCAPE: Th e Recreation a l State Th at Desperately Need s Med i ci ne

WRITER •LINDSEY RINEHART

LASKA HAS a small, albeit fascinating, cannabis industry. Driven by the need for medical cannabis, their network of collectives is continuing to grow under an affirmative defense law known as Ravin. In an effort to move forward, Alaskans passed a recreational petition, and the rules were still being finalized at press time. There were many controversial rule proposals for the recreational law. Since it will deeply impact patients, consumers, and stakeholders, activists have been concerned about rules being made without consideration for proper cannabis education. The Alaskan cannabis industry can help over 100,000 people develop a safe access program, bolster tourism through harsh winter months, and help deflate the state’s predicted deficit of $3.7 billion in 2016. Until the rules are finalized and licenses are available, commercial cannabis operations will still be considered illegal in Alaska. Waiting in the wings are potential canna-businesses preparing to operate. Beautiful home grows trying to go commercial—such as local grow company ArcticBlue Farms and edibles company R.C. Tinderbox—have full lines developed and ready to go. Thriving grow stores like Southside Garden Supply are already helping the industry boom, and E-Blunt is here, with an extract company that already has branches in other legalized states. All these businesses have big plans, buildings, and equipment, and are eagerly waiting for the go-ahead to get started as soon as licensing is available. According to Bruce Schulte of The Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Legislation, regulating the Alaskan industry has many challenges. “Time has been our greatest challenge from the start. The board was appointed halfway through the nine-month regulatory period defined in our voter initiative, so we had to hit the ground at a full sprint. The challenge has been to give the regulations due consideration while meeting the deadlines mandated by the initiative, the state’s constitution, and applicable statutes.” He spoke of other challenges the board faced: “While the measure to legalize or regulate [cannabis] did pass, it wasn’t a landslide vote, and we really did have to remain sensitive

to the 47% of voters who did not vote yes.” Those voters, he said, had a “legitimate interest” in the outcome, and the coalition wanted to keep that in consideration. Schulte told me he was confident that, although they would meet the deadlines assigned, they knew the regulations wouldn’t be final. “I think everyone involved recognized that this will be an ongoing process, and that we’ll likely need to refine the regulations over time.” He recognized and explained a need to adjust as the industry is established, in order to improve the regulations over time. “Some people are concerned that Alaska doesn’t have a designated medical marijuana program. I view that as a benefit, because we weren’t hobbled by a legacy program that might have been very narrow in scope. Instead we can have a full-range industry without the confusing and contradictory regulations that other states have wrestled with. Many of us will undoubtedly offer products specifically for the medical consumer and I would hope that the regulations will encourage and promote that success,” he continued. Still, he remains optimistic for the upcoming industry. “I find a lot of this exciting but, in particular, I look forward to seeing a lot of talented growers, extract artists, bakers, and other entrepreneurs coming forward to operate a lawful cannabis business, free from stigma and legal hassles. Being kind of old-school myself, it’s fascinating to see how far the cannabis culture has evolved in the past 30 years.” Some business owners feel that they are safe to operate under what is known as the Ravin Act, which provides an affirmative defense to medicinal growers. They have all utilized private club rules, which aren’t as explicitly clear in regard to cannabis. Ravin allows six plants to be grown per patient, including for a family member who has a qualifying condition. Jeremiah Emerson of the Alaska Cannabis Collective said, “A known problem in Alaska is that much of the government only sees all cannabis as recreational, while most of the local culture views it as medicinal, and won’t hesitate to explain that the laws are backward. To further complicate the situation, the medical knowledge base needs to be further developed to help the state’s patients.”

DESIGN • BRANDON PALMA

Jessica Jansen of Cannafarm Co-Op, a group of like-minded cultivators and extraction artists, is an activist fighting for patient rights in Alaska while the recreational industry develops. She has taken issue with the proposed rule of a 76% cap for THC in concentrates, deregulating clubs, and the suggested milligram limits in edibles. The regulations as drafted are troublesome to many Alaskans, and her public comments on the issue are clear with their defense. “Alcohol has a 76% limit in Title 4 of the Alaska Statutes. The arbitrary THC potency cap of 76% is a dangerous proposition. Creating this restriction will feed the black market and people will be inclined to create these stronger products in a non-commercial environment. The 76% cap is unrealistic, as most concentrate products available in legal markets in other states only begin testing in at 76%, and average somewhere in the high-80 percentage,” she said. “You can achieve a 90% product with $50 worth of materials bought locally, in your own home, with very little time or effort. This is something that is being done now, and is not in the best interest of public safety. If authorities were to allow these products to be manufactured in a legal, regulated environment and available to consumers, there would be no need for people to seek these products from the illegal market—or to make it themselves with the risk of explosion or having a toxic end product.” Not everyone is willing to wait to do business until the rules are finalized. Many entrepreneurs thought they had found ways to serve the developing industry early. Some Alaskan canna-business owners faced scrutiny after they opened cannabis-friendly businesses in Anchorage, most stating they saw voids in the cannabis community that needed to be addressed. At the center of the debate are “private clubs.” Theresa Collins, co-owner of Pot Luck Events, is part of a team that was the first to open a cannabis-friendly events center in Anchorage. The Alaskan rules and regulations do not explicitly allow clubs; they were also not initially forbidden, however. Collins recognized the need in the community for a safe place to use cannabis. Providing an events cen

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ter where people could safely partake seemed like a great way to fill the void. She defends her business and the service that it provides. “We started Pot Luck Events to provide a safe, fun, and healthy environment for our members to consume and share cannabis,” she said. “We saw the need for places like ours to be available to people that had nowhere else to consume, especially medical patients. We all saw this is as an opportunity to explore the social aspect of cannabis and desired to be a practicum for the state.” Collins said she had no idea how much Anchorage needed a business like hers, but her membership has soared. Pot Luck Events currently has over 1,800 members, who would no longer be able to medicate and consume recreationally, should her business be shut down. She believes her business and others like it could also benefit the tourism industry in Alaska. In a later draft of the rules and regulations by the Marijuana Control Board, the banning of “marijuana clubs” appeared after the board learned of her business. The board said that Theresa Collins, Joshua Tyson-Bird (Green Rush Events), Sarah Backlin, and Dee Edward (Northern Heights), were all sent cease and

desist letters ordering their businesses to close. However, Collins never received the letter at her business address. Green Rush Events, Pot Luck Events, and Northern Heights do not sell or dispense cannabis and are private social clubs. Northern Heights was allegedly forced to close after the property owner’s liquor license on the same property was threatened. Pot Luck Events and Green Rush Events remain open to their members. Michael Crites of ACDC Delivery, Rocky Burns and Larry Stamper of Discreet Delivery, and Charlene Egby (also known as Charlo Green) of the Alaska Cannabis Club were all raided for “starting cannabis-dispensing businesses as private clubs.” Egby’s club was raided twice: once in March and once in August. During those raids, Egby’s property, including vehicles, was seized. She is facing 24 years in prison but remains open in order to provide safe access. ACDC and Discreet Delivery have also had several vehicles removed at gunpoint. The Anchorage Police Department acted under forfeiture laws because the companies continued to operate. In August, Anchorage Police—in full swat gear—entered Rocky Burns’ home, with

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his children present, and raided it, allegedly pointing weapons at them in the process. His business partner, Larry Stamper, was horrified to find his father’s ashes dumped out, after a raid of his personal residence by the Anchorage Police Department. Rob and Julie Martin provided testing through their company, AK Green Labs, to help keep cannabis safe for consumers and patients. Because the regulations weren’t yet in place to allow for such labs, they shut down voluntarily. They also own Southside Garden Supply, which has three Anchorage locations, and have licensing for their concentrates company, E-Blunt, which they have established in other states. Risking licensing for future businesses was not something this power couple was willing to do. Ryan Smith of Alaska Hydro Gardens provided free medical-grade cannabis to patients in need, and was advised by his lawyer at the time that doing so was legal. He was called out by the Juneau Empire (a local newspaper), even though he was technically operating under the Ravin Act, which allows medical cannabis plants. The medicine at his grow was all carded for patients, and he had met the requirements for the growers to use the

“ I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING TALENTED ENTREPRENEURS COME FORWARD TO OPERATE LAWFUL CANNABIS BUSINESSES, FREE FROM STIGMA AND LEGAL HASSLES. “

space for patients. With a retired officer present, Director of the Marijuana Control Board Cynthia Franklin told him that he could face prosecution and lose future licensing options if he didn’t shut down his medical cannabis operation. “We screened all of our patients prior to accepting them into our program, at an offsite office from the collective grow, and only accepted people who really needed access to safe medicine,” Smith said. “At the time, I was asked to shut down our garden or there would be severe consequences. Since then, I had to witness the loss of two of our cancer patients. I personally told them I would continue to help them, but unfortunately these families did not have the ability to cultivate in their own home. I referred them to some of Alaska’s free donation programs. The feeling of being powerless to help sincerely makes it feel like I personally

let them down.” Jana Weltzin of JDW, LLC represents many of the people in the developing Alaskan cannabis industry. “Alaska has a certain mystic charm—it’s beautiful yet unforgiving, bountiful yet barren, booming yet unchanging. Alaska has seen more cycles of rushes than most of its counterparts—gold rush, oil rush, fishing rush, and now—the green rush,” she said. “Whatever this new rush turns out to be, you can be sure the ones who ‘make it’ will be the ones who believed in themselves and remembered to be kind and honest on their way to the top. I look forward to the uphill journey ahead.” She is not alone. DOPE will offer continued coverage of this exciting time, and we hope that you will join us for the ride!

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BUSINESS

WRITER •DEBBY GOLDSBERRY

GREEN RUSH CONSULTING TRAILBLAZING THROUGH THE STATES

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PHOTOS • RAMIN RAHIMIAN

N THE CROWDED FIELD of cannabis consultants, few names stand out, but Green Rush Consulting of Oakland is gaining recognition for a winning formula. With talented inhouse staff, they employ innovative consultants headed up by boundary-pushing leaders motivated to serve clients and community. Green Rush guides clients through the difficult application processes to open cannabis facilities. After their clients win approval, Green Rush helps them set up and operate by providing ongoing services like coaching, marketing and compliance management. “The State applications keep getting more complex and competitive,” says Sarah Cross, co-founder of Green Rush. “They find new hoops of fire to throw at us, but we thrive on challenges, and we’ve been able to pivot on a daily basis while building this company. Building the right team has been essential.” Green Rush was founded in 2012 by Cross, and her then partner Zeta Ceti (they’ve since been married). It was her very personal experience, helping her mother deal with the symptoms of cancer that spurred her dedication to medical cannabis. “The medicines were so harmful. So, we started working with a naturopath, and found someone to make cannabis oil for my mom. Before long, she was weaned off oxyicodone,” says Cross, “and she was able to laugh and be herself before she passed.” The consulting firm has already found success in Illinois, where their client, Harbory of Marion, secured a dispensary license. The town’s 93-year-old mayor cut the ribbon at their grand opening celebration in October. “We are wrapping up the final stages of getting them open right now,” says Cross. “They were the first dispensary to be licensed in the entire state, and Harbory will be open to serve members in November.” Green Rush is also “eyeball deep in Maryland applications right now,” says Cross. “We are working with several clients there on dispensary, processing and cultivation licenses.” Green Rush Consulting leads with their values: integrity, innovation, stewardship, diversity, and unity. “For every decision, we go back to these values, and if it doesn’t match at least three of them, we don’t do it,” says Cross. “These values infuse everything we do. For example, we use them to choose our staff. Green Rush employs people who match the clients we want to represent. Our goal is to help build a diverse industry that supports marginalized communities and is supportive across the board. We also have plans to help lower the barrier to entry into the cannabis industry, as it is freakishly expensive to apply for cannabis permits.” In-house experts at Green Rush come from a variety of different backgrounds, including cannabis experts like author Ellen Komp, and branding and marketing manager Amber E. Senter. “We hire for our weaknesses, and I feel like it is paying off,” Cross explains. “Each staff member is intuitive about these permit processes, and they are curious about how to push forward best practices with our clients to create the best applications.” Green Rush also uses expert consultants including long time cannabis advocate Rick Pfrommer and Amanda Reiman, who run the cannabis division of the Drug Policy Alliance. Cross elaborates, “This is what we think is unique about Green Rush. Here in Oakland, surrounded by such depth of information and experience, we take advantage by drawing from a growing list of specialized experts and spread this knowledge across the country.” Every month, Green Rush also emphasizes their support for the cannabis community by hosting the First Friday Cannabis Industry Happy Hour in Oakland. Cross lights up, “Back in May, we started to invite the cannabis industry to Lake Merritt each first Friday of the month, because we wanted to actually see the people who make up our community,” she explains. “There needs to be a place on Friday afternoons where people who do not want to drive can get together and have a little smoke if they want. The first time we did the event there were eight people, the

“They find new hoops of fire to throw at us, but we thrive on challenges, and we’ve been able to pivot on a daily basis.” second had 30 people, and the third was 150. Now, each are between 100 and 150 people. It’s beautiful, free, and very inclusive. All you have to do is show up and be a part of the community.” She believes these Oakland events could be a model for other cities, “This is a way for people to get together and meet, and to support each other in business.” Green Rush has also started to focus their attention here at home, helping clients with California cannabis licenses. The state finally passed a set of comprehensive implementation laws for the 19-year-old Compassionate Use Act, also known as Prop 215. By 2018, every cannabis dispensary, cultivator, and processor will have to apply for a state permit. As other states from coast to coast move cannabis legalization, experts at GRC will stay busy for the foreseeable future. Sarah Cross looks forward to the day her home state of Missouri finally changes their medical cannabis laws. “We already helped open the first dispensary in Illinois. Now, with St. Louis right over the river, I want to be able to tell my grandchildren one day ® that I opened the first dispensary there, too.” dopemagazine.com ISSUE 07 THE HOLIDAY ISSUE

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CANNANEWS

EVERYBODY IN! Rad i ca l Incl u sion Bri ngs Those Experi enci ng Autism Back Into Th e Workforce

ADICAL INCLUSION is about intentionally making the effort to include

everyone in an activity or experience, regardless of whom that person is or what they believe. For each movement and group this will mean something different. The LGBTQ community was long ostracized and even outlawed for going outside the bounds of what was considered normal sexual behavior. But the Supreme Court ruling in early 2015 legalizing same-sex marriage has brought LGBTQ people back into the fold of mainstream society. Speaking outside the Supreme Court at the time of the decision, Stu Maddox of San Francisco told YouTube channel McClatchy DC, â&#x20AC;&#x153;You know the decision is going to be about equality, but then when you hear it, you really do feel more equal.â&#x20AC;? This is radical inclusion in practice. Society benefits by making the community larger, eliminating prejudice and fear, while the LGBTQ population steps out from the margins and radically changes how they view themselves.

WHO BENEFITS FROM RADICAL INCLUSION? While we can all benefit from radically inclusive policies, groups who cannot speak for themselves benefit the most. Those experiencing special needs often find themselves at society’s margins without a voice. Thankfully, there are many organizations who seek to integrate these people into the mainstream. While he was program director for a special needs organization, Bill Morris couldn’t help but notice the tenacity and focus with which a group of young autistic men approached the task of pulling apart computers. The experience led Morris to create a socially responsible business, Blue Star Recycling. The company recycles used computers and employs 35 people, over two-thirds of whom have a diagnosed disability. Morris is quick to point out, “There’s no charity involved here, these guys are just phenomenal workers. In six and a half years, we’ve had no turnover, no absenteeism, and no lost time for accidents. The industry is notoriously bad on each of those counts, so this is an incredible workforce.” A business that performs well using a predominately autistic workforce is impressive, but what’s more difficult to measure is how radical inclusion has affected Blue Star’s workers. A study by the CDC in 2011 found that one in four young people with autism is completely isolated. For some, this means they haven’t spoken with a friend in over a year. Robbie Roppolo, production manager at Blue Star’s Denver facility, says he has seen dramatic changes in his workers. “What I’ve seen is that these guys, when they come in, they’re in this shell. They won’t make eye contact with each other or with me. But after working here for a while you can tell they’ve become more animated.” Roppolo believes that engaging in meaningful work transforms his workers, because they finally feel valued. At the end of each work day the group comes

WRITER•SCOTT PEARSE

together to shout out the number of computers they were able to process that day. “The guys are proud. They know there is a minimum of 15 computers they need to do in a day to sustain their wages.” People with disabilities face a 90% unemployment rate, and the community is largely dependent on Medicaid SSDI benefits to make ends meet. By identifying a talent among an underutilized workforce and employing radically inclusive policies, Blue Star Recycling has seized business opportunity while improving the lives of their workers. Bill Morris says most of his workforce “has gone from sitting at home to now holding leadership roles within the company. The 90% unemployment rate isn’t tied to disability, it’s the result of a lack of opportunities.”

“IN 6 ½ YEARS, WE’VE HAD NO TURNOVER, NO ABSENTEEISM, AND NO LOST TIME FOR ACCIDENTS... THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE WORKFORCE.“

WHY RADICAL INCLUSION IS IMPORTANT When the ten principles of the Burning Man festival were written in 2004, the first principle enshrined was radical inclusion: “Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.” This principal has lead to an explosion in festival attendance, with people using the guidelines to further their own ends. At the most recent Burning Man festival a trend emerged of “plug and play” camps, where attendees pay someone to create and install their camp. These camps exist despite the importance the festival places on self-reliance; many elders of the movement consider these camps anathema to Burning Man culture. Yet despite the friction with Burning Man festival veterans, excluding or scolding attendees that haven’t yet learned from the experience of attending, would be to the detriment of the festival as a whole. This is why radical inclusivity should never be considered easy. The Burning Man movement has gained so much momentum that it may need to alter its version of radical inclusion, not to increase discrimination, but to properly educate festival attendees about the festival’s founding principles.

– Bill Morris, Blue Star Recyclers

HOW CAN WE PRACTICE RADICAL INCLUSION? The medical cannabis community has been very inclusive in the battle for safe access to cannabis, advocating for the wide range of medical benefits to be available to all patients. As cannabis transitions toward legalization nationwide, it will be interesting to see if an inclusive ethos remains part of the community’s makeup. The lesson of radical inclusivity is that everyone benefits when all are included.

[ The Burning Man camp ground grid layout as seen from above. ] dopemagazine.com ISSUE 7 THE HOLIDAY ISSUE

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WRITER •KIMBERLY CARGILE

HEALTH

SHARING IS CARING Rol e Mod els for th e Indu stry

s California’s medical cannabis industry grows, a few good collectives are leading the way in giving back to their communities. The cannabis industry has followed a nonprofit model encouraging collective and community growth over corporate profits since the passage of Proposition 215 almost twenty years ago. But some collectives go the extra mile, placing special emphasis on sharing the love. As the industry has grown, a few good collectives have led the way in giving back to their communities. Berkeley Patient’s Group, Can-

na Care in Sacramento, and the Los Angeles Patient and Caregivers Group are all examples of how dispensaries can support charities that in turn support their patient base, their local communities and the medical marijuana industry as a whole. Sean Luse, longtime patient advocate and Berkeley Patient Group’s Executive Operations Officer, believes strongly in the importance of dispensaries giving back. “We like to work with charities close to us within the City of Berkeley,” Luse says. “We like to focus on charities that can help our members, charities like AIDS advocacy groups and the Women’s Cancer Research Center. We also give to charities that work on broader community, such as the Berkeley Food and Housing Project that addresses homelessness right on our doorstep.” Luse has some advice for new dispensaries about their responsibilities to the local community. “Every business that has some level of success and has the means should do more than just make money, but should be a produc-

tive part of the community and give back and try to improve that community in which one works. It is particularly important for medical cannabis businesses because we are often looked at as a negative aspect to a community.” Up in Sacramento, Canna Care Director Lanette Davies is developing a reputation as something of local Mother Teresa. She became a patient’s rights advocate when her daughter, suffering from serious illness, was given a pediatric recommendation for cannabis from Stanford University Hospital. Since 2005, Canna Care has been actively engaging charities, and the list of organizations they support is long and far reaching. Davies remembers how difficult it was at first to get charities to accept donations from the cannabis industry. “People did not want to be associated with us,” Davies says. “Even the AIDS groups were so afraid of losing their federal funding if they openly allowed anything with cannabis. It was a fear, and a legitimate fear because the federal government was so hostile.” Davies did not give up, and Canna Care is now on its sixth year of hosting a Toys for Tots Christmas program at the dispensary. Toys for Tots may be run by the Marines, but on this one day a year a medical cannabis dispensary and a far-flung arm of the federal government have agreed to focus on the needs of the community. The event feature holiday food, pictures with Santa, Christmas trees, prayer, spiritual strength, and Christmas presents for over 200 families in need. Davies believes that it is our industry’s responsibility to give back and make the world a better place to live for all. To the south, Don Duncan is President of the Los Angeles Patient and Caregivers group he founded in 2004. Duncan strongly believes that dispensaries and collectives need to support charities. “We come from the old school

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dispensaries, activist minded operators, on the streets protesting. We started the dispensary with an act of civil disobedience as our business model.” Duncan encourages dispensaries to open their checkbooks for organizations that support our industry, such as Americans for Safe Access and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “If you are in the industry of cannabis you have to acknowledge at some point the fact that it’s illegal is what makes your commodity very valuable,” Duncan says. “In my mind, it is not ethical to make money off the prohibition of cannabis – you have to give something back. We need to be doing something to help the victims of the drug war, to balance the scales a little bit.”

GIVING IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR CANNABIS BUSINESSES BECAUSE WE ARE OFTEN LOOKED AT AS A NEGATIVE ASPECT TO A COMMUNITY.

Ti ps for Dispen sari es th at Want to Gi ve Back:

Engage your patients and ask them which charities they would like your organization to support.

Talk to local politicians such as City Council members to find out which local charities need help.

Join forces with your neighbors to make a larger local impact.

Top Rea son s a Pati ent Shou ld Su pport a Dispen sary th at Su pports Ch arity: 4

Every dollar is a vote to make things better.

Support charities that support the medical cannabis movement.

Your business supports the community not just the business owner.

After decades of criminalization and stigmatization, cannabis users know what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like to need a helping hand.

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WRITER •RADIOHASH

CONCENTRATE

PHOTOS • ASHLEIGH CASTRO

STRAWBERRY COUGH PROVIDED BY HYDE ST. EXTRACTS

GENETICS

LOOKS

Strawberry Cough’s lineage is a bit hazy; urban legend tells of Haze and Strawberry Fields genetics. An 80/20 sativa-dominant hybrid made famous by breeder Kyle Kushman in the early 2000’s. Hyde St. Extracts creates an intense strawberry tasting shatter from Strawberry Cough, vacuum purging their product for 72-hours for purity and taste.

Hyde St. Extracts are packaged discreetly in a tin rectangular canister resembling sophisticated mints, with yellow lettering on a black background. Slide the cover back and unfold the parchment paper and the product looks like a melted root beer hard candy. Hyde St. Extracts delivers Strawberry Cough in a thick, clean, translucent bronze shatter.

THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS Just like a sweet, ripe strawberry, this concentrate is sweet and brings a smile and effervescent positivity. A few minutes after smoking, users report that heavy mood elevation can already be felt. This strain is said often to help keep a clear head, which can also assist with the reduction of stress and anxiety.

FLAVOR It can be tough finding an extract with flavor that matches what you expect after reading the label. Hyde St. Extracts does well not to diminish the flower’s natural flavor. Immediately, my taste buds detected a thick, rich, sweet strawberry flavor with a touch of wintergreen. Yes, this tastes every bit like Strawberry Cough should.

AROMA A slight scent of spicy-sweet strawberries gives a clue as to what kind of treat is in store with Strawberry Cough. When sampled, the smoke was nearly odorless in the room, bearing some similarity to a steam fountain or humidifier, with a faint earthy sweetness that disapates quickly.

EFFECT Being sativa dominant, this extract is pleasing to the mind but tends to bring very little noticeable effect on the body. Popular for those looking to face an active day with a clear head and a positive mood, Hyde St. Extracts does not disappoint in delivering all the effect expected from the flower from which it’s extracted.

TESTED BY: STEEP HILL LABS

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• BARBARY COAST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA • BLOOM ROOM, SAN FRANCISCO, CA • GREEN SOLUTIONS, SACRAMENTO, CA

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.â&#x20AC;? Jack London (American Writer, 1876-1916)

WRITER •SHARON LETTS

PHOTOS • ANTHONY CAMERA

FEATURE

HE UPRISING of the medical cannabis community really began in hospice with the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco in the late 1970s, as friends and loved ones cared for each other in lieu of family or even health insurance to cover the covert, misunderstood, and highly prejudiced ailment. If you didn’t go home to die, you were cared for by sympathetic hospice caregivers, savvy to using cannabis for myriad symptoms from the disease – namely pain, waste-away syndrome and chronic nausea. Within the cannabis community there is often an urgency to help each other with this plant, for once enlightened to its healing properties, many are compelled to share the knowledge. That’s charity. That’s giving at its finest. The failed War on Drugs has now actually brought many together for the greater good, with the plant helping many through terminal illness in the face of persecution.

AMERICANS GIVE Charity was originally brought to America from England. What we called “thrift shops” are referred to as “charity shops” across the pond. The London Charity Organization Society (COS) filled a need in industrialized England, where poverty was high in metropolitan areas, and no different at the turn of the century in America. Charities were said to be specifically created to help bring back a sense of community to workers who were often miles from home in modernized and impersonal cities. America is a generous country. Its people gave $358.38 billion to more than 1,521,052 charitable organizations and 86,192 foundations in 2014, with a 7.1% increase from the year prior, according to the National Philanthropic Trust (NPT). Corporations,

often frowned upon for skirting taxes via loopholes, actually gave a record 17.77 billion to charity in 2014 – a 13.7% increase over 2013’s tally. That said, corporations pale in comparison to the single individual American, who forks over the most cash to charity, at 258.51 billion given during the 2014. The NPT also reports 64.5 million adults volunteered a total of 7.9 billion hours of service, with a value of $175 billion, with the top four activities listed as selling items to raise money; food collection and distribution; general labor transportation; and tutoring or teaching. The top four volunteering communities were in religion, education, social services, and health.

WOMEN HELPING WOMEN Women are the surprising victors in the new and emerging cannabis industry, and are no strangers to charity and giving. Mainstream magazine covers like Newsweek declare the female faction dominating an entire market for the first time in history. Time Magazine boldly declared there is no “grass ceiling” for women in the industry, while the Chicago Tribune reports 36% of executive roles in the legal market are now held by women (per data collected by industry rag, Marijuana Business Daily). Women and apothecary historically go hand-in-hand, so it’s only natural the ladies are stepping up in this nurturing market. Keeping their aprons on and balancing good business practices in high heels, they are ignoring the “good-old boys” clubs altogether while creating their own places of power. Women Grow was founded one year ago by Jazmin Hupp and Jane West in an effort to help women come together in an industry traditionally dominated by men. The old adage, “if you build it, they will come” was never truer than within this networking mecca, inspiring chapters to form in more than 35 cities in the U.S. and two

in Canada via Toronto and Vancouver. Co-founder and CEO Hupp shared that in order to allow more women to travel and attend its “Signature Networking Events,” Women Grow has committed five percent of all ticket sales toward scholarships since its inception, as well as working closely with industry event partners to allow more to attend major conferences and events. “When I first became interested in cannabis I started researching the industry and quickly realized the knowledge I needed was not available locally,” Hupp shared. As an adult with good credit, Hupp said she was able to put thousands of dollars of travel and conference costs towards having an informed strategic understanding of the industry – but adds many people do not have that edge available to them. “We wanted to find a way to make important on-the-ground experience accessible to individuals who couldn’t otherwise afford to attend. Often that one leg up makes all the difference between entering a new field, or staying out.” Many of Women Grow’s scholarship recipients agree, stating they would never have been able to be a part of this industry without the help.

[ Linsey Pecikonis of Refined Bud marketing agency with wife Niki Smolter. ]

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UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL Jamie Goswick is owner of Canna Media Works, a Michigan-based marketing and advertisement agency specific to the cannabis industry. An email prompted her to apply for a scholarship to the “Cannabis World Congress Business Expo” (CWCB) in Los Angeles this past summer. An additional gift of $250 from Michigan NORML helped with lodgings and transportation, allowing her to attend. “My experience was amazing and I will be forever grateful,” Goswick shared. “I made a ton of new connections with both clients and partnerships, including discussing starting up a second chapter in Michigan. When I returned I got to work, and our first signature networking event is January 7. West Michigan is about to see a side of cannabis they didn’t know existed!” A total of 200 women received scholarships to the CWCB Expo in Los Angles, and Linsey Pecikonis of Refined Bud, a marketing agency specializing in the cannabis industry, is another grateful recipient. “Gifts of this nature rarely happen in other industries,” Pecikonis said of the scholarships. “I’m incredibly grateful to the Women Grow team for recognizing the importance of supporting women entrepreneurs. They’ve given me, and so many others, the chance to grow and thrive in this industry — an industry that very few women dare enter a decade ago.” Women Grow member Christa Schadt is founder and owner of “Bliss,” a Canadian-based company that produces a THC infused lubricant said to increase and enhance female sexual pleasure. She had been making it for herself for about a year when she decided to share it with friends. After attending Vancouver’s first Women Grow chapter meeting, she said it changed her life and gave her a career. “I have always felt intimidated by the male-dominated cannabis industry here in

Canada, and was very happy that I finally met like-minded women who were also trying hard to get ahead in this sector,” she shared. “I’ve been able to make quite a few new friends in a short amount of time. The connections empowered me to continue to market my product and certainly made me feel a lot more self-confident.” A scholarship to the CWCB Expo in Los Angeles proved invaluable, reinforcing Hupp’s vision of making a difference by bringing women to top markets. “I spent a lot of energy preparing a business plan, sample packaging, and business cards,” Schadt recalls. “I was nervous, going someplace on my own not knowing anyone, but I’m so glad I went. I learned a great deal about the industry in the states and met a lot of new and interesting people who I am still in contact with.” One of the more heartwarming scholarship recipients from last year’s highly successful Women Grow Leadership Summit up in the mountains above Denver was Hazel Bagwell Tyler, who had just been hired by Clean Green Certified as marketing director and crop inspector for the Emerald Triangle (Humboldt, Trinity & Mendocino counties). The milestone was two-fold; firstly, Humboldt County has been traditionally one of the more covert regions for its cash crop, so venturing out in real time was huge in itself to Tyler. The fact she joined social media the same weekend spoke volumes. “The experience was life changing, as I received the scholarship and was hired as inspector in the same month. Our chapter chair couldn’t make it, so I represented Humboldt County. Networking is huge, and a lot of information is still shared by word of mouth in this industry. Being able to meet people face to face creates a priceless relationship, and to show my gratitude I’ll be sponsoring someone for next year’s summit.”

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[ Jamie Goswick, owner of Canna Media Works, a Michigan based marketing and ad agency specific to the cannabis industry. ]

FINDING A PLACE For a child who literally grew up traveling on the road via a motor home, raised by hippie parents, Jazmin Hupp said she believes now that her parents were on to something. “All of those ideals turned out to be what we needed to be sustainable as a society,” she surmises. “I grew up in an environment that valued cannabis as medicine, organic food, and renewable energy. It turns out the hippies were right. I chose cannabis at 16, at a time when my compatriots were choosing alcohol.” Hupp said when she was in college she read advice for businesswomen that advised others to act like men: wear a power suit, lower your voice, and learn golf. She was preparing to follow the advice that would place her with wealthy people in her cohort. “Then I met a woman CEO who led as a woman, instead of a woman imitating a man. She was clearly a woman, leading, and it was the first time I had ever seen that.” Hupp acknowledges through this woman she discovered a way of leading that’s authentically feminine. “She showed me that I could use my strengths as a woman to my advantage, instead of treating those strengths as detriments. I realized [women’s] abilities to collaborate and listen were an advantage – something mainstream culture has only finally begun to accept and value.” Bringing the nurturing side of women to the boardroom is a trend that promises to become the norm, as women lead in this new and emerging industry. Women Grow is proving to be the leading, and nurturing mother figure, giving women that “leg-up” and hopefully inspiring our male counterparts to follow-suit – so to speak.

WEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;VE FRESHENED THINGS UP. LAUNCHING DECEMBER 2015

SEE DOPE. READ DOPE. BE DOPE.

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CANNANEWS

WRITER/PHOTOS •SHARON LETTS

CROWD-SOURCING Tips and Tricks from Master CANNABIS P itchman, Robert P latshorn W

[ Robert Platshorn said of he and friend Louie Marchese together at the MMJ Business Conference & Expo in Las Vegas (Nov. 2015), “two old smugglers swapping tall tales from our pirate days.” ]

[ Robert Platshorn and Jeff Mizanskey, with son Chris, at the MMJ Conference in Las Vegas (Nov. 2015). Mizanskey served 20 years for distribution of poundage with no chance of parole, recently released. Photo credit: Johnny Green ]

ITH BANKS and lending insti-

is the only organization using TV, radio, tutions’ hands tied for loans to the billboards and print to educate seniors and the majority of voters on a national scale.” cannabis industry, and patients Now some may actually think that golosing everything in raids with subsequent ing from an As Seen on TV hawker to pot lengthy trials, crowdsourcing has become a pitchman is a stretch. A little known (highly viable option in asking the community for financial help. Everything from raising funds for comparable fact in my mind) is the bridge infamous television Evangelist Billy Graham cannabis oil to treat cancer, to patients relocatmade, from being the top selling Fuller brush ing to a legal state, to paying for legal fees, or man in the country to the most successful starting-up a medibles business, has often been crowd-sourced within the cannabis community. TV preacher in the world. A sell is a sell. Formerly known in the black market as Drug War survivor Robert Platshorn has “The Big Tuna,” Platshorn’s mode of operendi been advocating for the plant ever since his for transporting poundage was within the release following a 30 year prison stint he large cavities of tuna fish via a fleet of fishserved for meeting the supply and demand ing boats he commandeered off the coast of of America’s favorite herb in the 1970s. Florida. He and his cronies’ story is told in His day job, prior to the import business a book he penned, The Black Tuna Diaries, that would land him in prison, was king also made into the movie, Square Grouper. of television infomercials, hawking wares Released into the general population in nationally with great success. This skill 2008 at the age of 64 as a senior citizen, Platsset has proven crucial in his fight to end horn began a campaign to educate the elder prohibition in his home state of Florida and population of the country. The Silver Tour is beyond, with crowdsourcing and social mea 501 c3 non-profit that works to enlighten dia becoming invaluable fundraising tools. and educate the gray haired sect on good “The mantra seems to be, ‘if people only medicine across the country, using the less knew the truth, it would be legal,’” Platsexpensive platforms of social media, emails, horn said. “Surprisingly no one and no radio, local television spots, and billboards. organization had ever attempted to educate the public, especially the most important voting bloc – seniors, by using real commercials and mass media. The Silver Tour

[ Hundreds of senior citizens attend “Rally in Tally,” sharing stories of healing in an effort to change Florida laws on cannabis. ]

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FUNDING GREED & EVIL

[ The Silver Tour uses crowdsourcing as a funding tool, via radio, local TV, and billboards. The Israel reference targets the large Jewish population in Florida. ]

GRANDMA’S GOT WEED The older sect still reads newspapers, they still listen to the radio, and they watch local television. Platshorn knows his demographic, yet raising the funds to spread the word is still a hard sell. His many projects began with a Kickstarter campaign to fund a show for local television titled, “Should Grandma Smoke Pot?” One of his most successful campaigns, the video that features two elderly ladies smoking pot for the first time, went viral, changing public perceptions forever, and inspiring knock-off clips of other seniors, and even retired law enforcement officers, smoking for the first time.“I raised $10,000 to finish “Should Grandma Smoke Pot?” Platshorn shared. “But I do not recommend Kickstarter, as you must reach your goal or get nothing. [I found] that they force you to use Amazon to collect funds, are difficult to deal with, and take months to process. I think I received about $8,200 from ten thousand raised.” Indiegogo was the next platform chosen, and Platshorn said he signed up but didn’t like the terms and decided to go elsewhere. Platshorn decided to hit the road with, “Grandma Lobbies for Medical Marijuana,” and raised $10,000 in finishing funds using Go Fund Me - his favorite site to date. “Go Fund Me was the easiest to use, fastest payout, and you receive funds even if your goal isn’t reached,” he said. “This allowed me to go ahead with all projects even when donations fell short.” Platshorn explains that with Go Fund Me, $91.80 is garnered for each $100 donated, after its processor “We Pay” deducts charges, he said, “it’s a much better return than Kickstarter.” The trip surrounding “Grandma Lobbies for Medical Marijuana” was a huge success, with Platshorn fully crediting The Silver Tour’s efforts to then Attorney General Eric Holder’s subsequent memo stating the Feds would not interfere with state’s compassionate care programs in medically legal states.

His next project is a new book titled Greed & Evil, now available on Amazon. Touted as “the missing link to cannabis legalization,” the book exposes the “corrupt self-serving side of the anti-marijuana propagandists,” listing groups such as D.A.R.E., Straight, Inc., Partnership for a Drug Free America, and SOS as culprits in spreading misinformation about cannabis. Platshorn outs private prisons, along with alcohol and drug industries in his tell-all of the under belly of the failed War on Drugs in America. The book campaign has only raised $3,600 to date, with a goal of $10,000, but Platshorn was able to complete the project with a small personal loan, publishing smaller editions.The Silver Tour hit the road again in 2014, with The Grand Rally in Tally featured more than 400 senior citizens making their way to the steps of Tallahassee’s City Hall in peaceful protest, while sharing their own use of cannabis as medicine publically. “The goal was to raise $25,000, we raised $11,000, and I was able to produce a very strong rally with that amount, because it wasn’t necessary to provide buses and vans – everyone brought themselves. Funds were spent advertising the event on radio and billboards, the venue, a pre-event party and lunch buffet.”

[ Robert Platshorn travels the country speaking out against the prohibition of cannabis. ]

The current project near and dear to Platshorn’s heart is Cannabis Facts, a series of radio spots educating the public on good medicine, but the campaign has had a slow start for the good it can do. “The goal with the radio series was to raise $50,000, so far we have about $20,000,” he said. “This has paid for more than four thousand, 60 second radio spots on top stations in a dozen states. I hope to raise a great deal more to continue the campaign up to the 2016 elections.”

[ Mike Boutin, America’s top grower and star of the Discovery Channel’s “Weed Country,” with Robert Platshorn and the late “El Fumo,” (a infamous west coast pipe maker) in front of the first “recreational” marijuana store in Washington State. ]

I HEARD IT ON THE RADIO The frustration in raising funds for a radio campaign is in getting people to understand what a cost effective platform radio is for educating the senior population on good medicine in this country. “Using crowdfunding takes work,” he explained. “Without a strong following on social media or a good mailing list, it’s nearly impossible to succeed.” Platshorn also shared the obvious, that the average American will never see a single activist post calling out the truth of cannabis on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, and that most of the cannabis activists on social media are preaching to the choir, so to speak. “Considering the universal praise and the success The Silver Tour has had, bringing millions of seniors out of the closet and into the activist ranks. I really expected donors to flock to the one organization that has proven itself to deliver by far the biggest bang for the buck,” he continued. “Especially now, in the face of the organized opposition that is ramping up the biggest anti-marijuana campaign since Harry Anslinger. We are so close to ending prohibition, but it may not happen without a major public education campaign.” For all his frustration, he’s made a huge difference to the seniors in this country with The Silver Tour. Florida’s stats on legalization are stronger than ever, with Florida’s own Sun Sentinel reporting upwards of 84% of registered voters approval of cannabis as medicine (April, 2015). “When we started The Silver Tour four years ago, seniors in Florida would not even discuss the medical use of cannabis,” Platshorn surmised. “I’m happy to say, things have changed. Seniors are an easy sell, but no one was using the media to inform them. Using TV, radio, live shows and billboards changed minds quickly. The most difficult part is raising the money for our campaigns.”

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Happy Holidays To One And All

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ROAD TRIP

WRITER/PHOTOS •SHARON LETTS

SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA

Historic F irst in Compassionate Care at WAM M Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana

HE CITY of Santa Cruz sits on

scenic Highway 1 just north from Monterey Bay, encompassing breathtaking Pacific Ocean views and dense redwood forests. Mission Santa Cruz was established in 1791 following the Mexican-American War on the heels of California’s addition as the 31st State in the Union. Just under three hours from San Francisco to the north and less than an hour from San Jose, Santa Cruz has the advantage of being near metropolitan areas with a decidedly Northern California culture in the mix. The entire community could pretty much be dropped into the heart of the Emerald Triangle to the north and feel perfectly at home. The city became incorporated in 1866 and today its population is just under 60,000. Industries of the past included lumber, gunpowder, lime, and agriculture. Organic agriculture is huge in the area – encouraged in the 1980s by Bay area local foodie extraordinaire Alice Waters. The University of California at Santa Cruz is famous for its horticultural

[ WAMMfest ]

department, hosting iconic and past pioneering organic farmer Alan Chadwick for many years in its hilltop garden classrooms. Today the county’s above board cash crop is the tourist trade, arriving seasonally for the temperate coastal climate, enjoying the historic Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk with its equally historic white wooden roller-coaster in operation since 1907. The breakdown of “top employers” for the region listed in Wikipedia shows the university employing 7,693, the County with 2,351, and the city toting 776. There’s no mention of its covert cash crop of cannabis thriving since the 1970s with hundreds, if not thousands, employed in its operations since then. Valerie Coral and then husband Mike began farming cannabis as medicine in 1974 to quell Valerie’s epilepsy, after Mike literally stumbled upon a study while sitting in a hospital office. “The study was buried by Nixon,” Valerie explained. “We were busted five times, but they could see we weren’t drug dealers and I was medicating for epilepsy.” We speculated how it came to be that the information about cannabis and epilepsy didn’t surface nationally until CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta produced documentary “Weed” in 2013 that profiled the children helped in Colorado. She could only say she’s not a salesperson. Sadly, within the covert community of cannabis, it took legalization in the Rocky Mountain high state to allow medicine makers to feel comfortable enough to share their techniques and stories. Valerie sites she was encouraged to use

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cannabis as medicine for her epilepsy by the late physician Dr. Tod Mikuriya. Hired by the U.S. Government in 1967, Dr. Mikuriya’s job was to debunk Dr. Raphael Mechoulam’s findings of cannabis as medicine after isolating THC at the University of Tel Aviv in Israel in 1964. “Dr. Tod,” as he was known, could not debunk the claims and spent the rest of his life advocating for the plant (Dope, July 2015), historically co-authoring Prop. 215 in California in 1996 with Valerie on the team. “Dr. Tod was a revolutionary and a hero,” Valerie said. “He walked away from the financial security and respectability of a physician in America and spoke the truth, uncovering the lies behind the failed laws surrounding this plant. He exposed the rhetoric.” So educated were the Coral’s they set up shop in 1993 - a solid three years prior to Prop. 215 being voted into effect, with no apologies. They created the non-profit, “Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana” (WAMM). Today WAMM is the longest running cannabis collective in the country, serving Santa Cruz’s sick in a co-op-style environment, where the work and medicine are shared and no one goes without. We needed to create a place where patients could access medicine whether they have money or not,” she shared. “Of course we need to meet the cost of production, but you must understand – there are patients who have mortgaged their homes to pay for traditional therapies like chemotherapy. They lose everything when they get sick; we just wanted to be a safe place where they could get relief with this plant.”

Patient’s pick-up their medicine in the form of flower, tincture, oil, [ Valerie Coral ] topicals and medibles during weekly meetings, where information is shared and education on healing is provided. Once a month the collective hosts a membership potluck, and that’s where Valerie says the real healing takes place. “What the meetings and potlucks do is provide a sense of community within the collective,” Valerie explained. “The weekly meetings drive data collection and conversations about the bigger picture of health. It’s not a ‘take two of these and call me in the morning’ process. No one is standing with one hand on the door knob with a hurried explanation of why you are sick.” Valerie insists it takes more than prescribing a pill to heal a community. The regular Bingo competition is prescribed for fun. It’s a fiercely competitive and bonding treatment, and if someone fails to show up, a welfare check follows – but they call it “connecting.” “It takes connecting to heal each other, it takes a village to heal the village, and it takes that village to heal a nation,” she added. “When you are sick and poor you don’t have funds to eat well, and if you aren’t eating well, your chances of healing lessen. We also work with the food bank, which works with local organic farmers. It’s a whole foods and whole medicine process to wellness within our community.” Medicine is made as needed for whatever ailments present within the membership. This is understood in the world of homeopathy and certainly within the cannabis community. When using cannabis as medicine there are as many delivery methods, or applications of the plant, as there are maladies. “Being a collective we aren’t profit driven,” Valerie explained. “We don’t make a type of medicine, then market it by saying, ‘here, you need this.’ If someone is suffering from cancer we’ll provide the oil, if someone needs a tincture, we’ll make it to their specifications – whether it’s for sleep, pain or what have you.” Critics have countered by stating Valerie and crew have been practicing medicine without the proper licensing – a common conundrum in the cannabis community, as dealers are slowly being recognized as healers in the world of plant-based medicines. No one questions Grandma with her chamomile tea and nettle tincture, but add cannabis to the equation and the proverbial kettle boils over

“IT TAKES CONNECTING TO HEAL EACH OTHER, IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO HEAL THE VILLAGE, AND IT TAKES THAT VILLAGE TO HEAL A NATION.” with misinformation and unfounded fear. “What we really do here is empower others to heal,” she continued. “Healing is not just one thing. There is no single formula for everyone, and while this medicine is extremely effective, it also works on subtle energies and the subconscious. I call it ‘Phyto-therpy.’” Valerie explained Phyto-therapy and her philosophy of healing within the body and plant-based medicine, explaining we are a set of systems and our good health depends on the way those systems interface with one another. “The pathway for our systems to communicate becomes burdened by toxicity and its degradation of the body, time and aging. My feeling is there are many plants, that we have evolved with, that our bodies can utilize with similar modalities as cannabis.” As with any long-term cannabis business, life hasn’t been perfect, but the plant has prevailed. In 2002 the farm and office were raided for the last time, with the collective winning in court and a new sense of security ensuing.

“The government made us revolutionaries,” she laughed. “It’s a great feeling now, knowing they won’t interfere with our work any longer.” Though laws, raids and even divorce have both challenged and empowered the little collective that could, Valerie said the future looks green for Santa Cruz and its cannabis community, with just one fear outstanding in the new and emerging market. “One word, greed,” she informed. “There’s nothing wrong with making money. If you have a bowl full, pass it. I just don’t think anyone should make millions off the backs of sick people. It’s up to those already working as healers in this industry to guide, support, and inspire. We also need to continue to be inspired ourselves, and know that we are all connected - that we all really want the same thing – to be healed with this plant.” Elizabeth Jauer has been a member of WAMM for three years, joining post breast cancer tumor surgery for the strong cannabis oil Valerie has named, “Milagro Oil.” The oil

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[ Natural bridge in the sea at Santa Cruz, California ]

is made per the more commonly known “Rick Simpson Oil” (RSO) specifications, with the plant cooked down in a solvent (Dope, August 2015). “I was diagnosed with a Methylation gene mutation,” Jauer shared. “I read an article from an oncologist saying THC may regulate Methylation deficiency in cancer patients. So here I am consuming this beautiful Milagro oil.” Jauer said she stopped taking the oil for a couple of months and felt “somehow less healthy,” so she decided to keep going on the preventive treatment. “I feel much better after resuming the oil. I also felt a lump coming back in the same area where I had the surgery, so I increased my intake, detoxed, worked on my diet, my emotions, etcetera, and the lump went away.” To find out if the oil indeed made her cancer go and stay away, Jauer said she’ll need to have a PET scan, and her insurance won’t allow it. “I feel so fortunate to have met Valerie so early in my cancer journey,” Jauer added. “I

remember telling her that I’ve never tried cannabis before – not even one smoke! I will always remember that special day. For me, the healing started at the moment I met her. She was so compassionate, intelligent, educated, informative, funny and loving! When I listened to her I realized I was hearing 30 years’ worth of cannabis science from an experienced botanist. It was amazing.” The advantages of being the oldest collective in the country are many, and WAMM has seen decades of enlightenment to the healing properties of the plant. “People move to this area because of the energy,” Valerie shared. “They desire to be in a beautiful place, close to the ocean and forests, with an abundance of organic food. The younger generation fueled by the university keeps our energy fresh and the creativity alive. The older generation needs to listen to their language and poetry. Overall, I feel like I’m living in the kind of community I’d like to die in. The healing village is alive and well in Santa Cruz.”

[ WAMM Members ]

[ Members of WAMM join hands in blessing the season’s bounty. ]

[ WAMM in front of Santa Cruz Cty Hall ]

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CANNANEWS

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WRITER •MITCH SHENASSA

PHOTOS • COURTESEY OF BALI VASWANI

ALI VASWANI has followed an interesting career path, dabbling in several industries (investment funds, software, television and news) and living all around the world (Jamaica, China, and the United States) along the way. Taking a finance position from lifetime friends the Marley family, he is now the president of Caribbean Operations for Marley Coffee. He found himself living in Denver in 2012, at the cusp of recreational marijuana legalization. Upon setting up the Marley Coffee headquarters in Denver (chosen for its young and eco-friendly culture), he found something he wasn’t expecting: a learning opportunity nestled within Colorado’s medical marijuana market. When Vaswani first visited the Denver medical marijuana dispensary The Herbal Cure (THC), a he was reminded of the estate around the Bob Marley Museum, where he keeps his Jamaican offices. “I could just envision this big compound,” he says, “with a full tour, a museum, a coffee shop, a gift shop, and of course a ganja shop.” Soon after moving to Denver, Vaswani took another professional leap from Marley Coffee to Colorado’s cannabis industry. He is now the chief ganja officer at Ganja, Inc., The Herbal Cure, and Optional Premise Cultivation (OPC). He says, “In the growing market, I believe you’ll have to become either an attrac-

GRAPHICS • BRANDON PALMA

tion or just a convenience.” Vaswani’s goal is to become an attraction, and he plans to do so by solidifying THC’s Jamaican connection. For instance, he commissioned a massive mural on a building—visible to 200,000 commuters every day—of the Jamaican flag behind the Lion of Judah, his paw resting on a cannabis seed. Having learned a great deal about the industrial cultivation and extraction of cannabis in Colorado, Bali was keen to lend his expertise to his native Jamaica, when the government announced limited research trials in partnership with two Jamaican universities. The Jamaican government has granted cannabis cultivation licenses to two of the country’s universities. The University of the West Indies (UWI) has formed 12 research partnerships with groups that will be cultivating for various projects; and the University of Technology (UTech) has formed an exclusive partnership with Bali’s venture, Ganja Labs. Ganja Labs received the green light to break ground on its cultivation and extraction facilities in November of this year. The first priority is to implement modern professional horticultural techniques to cultivate 28 strains in both indoor and outdoor, as well as greenhouse environments. The first round of research will use seven varieties each of sativa, indica, hybrid, and cannabidiol (CBD) strains. In doing so, they hope to draw con-

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clusions about the effects that different cultivation environments have on yields and percentages of active constituents. This will be the first controlled university study ever done to compare cannabis cultivation techniques, and Ganja Labs intends to release the results in an academic journal. Bali’s goal is to analyze the cost of production against the yield results, in order to establish an affordable nationalized price point on cannabis for Jamaicans. “Right now, the average price for an ounce of good Jamaican outdoor ganja on the black market is $3,000 JMD. “We expect our research will give us the evidence to keep that price point in a legal market. I think that makes sense as a national price point—$3,000 JMD an ounce for outdoor, $6,500 JMD an ounce for greenhouse, and $10,000 JMD an ounce for indoor herb,” (that’s about $30, $65, and $100 in American dollars). Ganja Labs is one of a small handful of players in a uniquely Jamaican cannabis industry. Long held cultural beliefs and practices about cannabis are evolving, as the realities of a formal industry are setting in. “The Rastas in the hills have been cultivating ganja for generations, and they should have their place in the industry,” Bali says. “The government that’s in power right now is the People’s National Party, which is a socialist government, so they are considering issuing cultivation licenses in one-acre lots, to make sure small farmers can compete with bigger businesses.” To clarify, the PNP is a democratic socialist party. As he plans to grow cannabis on the coffee-free segment of the Marley estate,

Balicontemplates the evolving attitudes he’s seen on the island. “You know Jamaicans have a very natural, organic culture. When I first came back from Colorado with a vape pen, everyone said, ‘That’s Babylon! You suckin’ in fumes,’ and things. They thought Colorado’s method of industrialized production was too chemical and not natural enough, but once they try it, they all come ask me for some. Even the Rastas that hang out at the Bob Marley Museum—they know it’s a stronger high and a better flavor.” The future of the cannabis industry in Jamaica is brighter by the day. The country has been discussing the export trade for years, but international law still prevents them from exporting high-THC cannabis. The demand for CBD products as health supplements is strong, and growing around the world, and Jamaicans have high hopes for cultivating and exporting high-CBD and hemp varieties for global export. This area of Ganja Labs’ research is especially promising, as the license for CBD and hemp production allows cultivation over unlimited acreage. If Bali’s team is able to establish a cost-effective production method, the financial benefits for Jamaica could be significant. “There is so much possibility for the future, for all aspects of the industry,” Vaswani beams. “We can change so much financially for the Jamaican people. Right now, the U.S. imports guano and seaweed and coconut coir from the islands, mixes it into soil, bags it, and we have to buy it and bring it back. In the next few years, we’ll move to all locally-sourced materials for our soil—we’ll make it a totally Jamaican ganja industry.”

”THe Rastas in the hills have been cultivating ganja for generations, and they should have their place in the industry.”

POLITICAL

AMOEBA MUSIC

AN INNOVATIVE CANDIDATE FOR BERKELEY’S DISPENSARY LICENSE

HERE IS A TOUGH competition underway for the single available cannabis dispensary permit in Berkeley. Five remaining groups are locked in a battle of public hearings and grading systems, with the ultimate goal of winning the vote of the City Council. Amoeba Music is a standout candidate, competing against a mix of dispensary chains and small nonprofits for a retail license worth millions in sales each year. Amoeba wants Berkeley to replicate the success of the Oaksterdam model. Back in the 1990’s, Oakland’s downtown area was largely abandoned to crime before Richard Lee opened the Bulldog Coffeeshop cannabis dispensary and Oaksterdam University. Crime dropped, the streets became safer, and other supportive businesses – especially restaurants – moved in. Slowly but surely, Oakland became a travel destination, even garnering the #5 spot on the annual list of Places to Go

published by the New York Times. Marc Weinstein, co-founder of Amoeba Music, believes the cannabis community can also revitalize Berkeley. “Telegraph Avenue has been suffering due to the location of big box stores in the area and from the competition presented by Amazon and other online retailers,” says Weinstein. “Plus, the University of California Berkeley is putting focus on the west side of campus, rather than on Telegraph Avenue and Sather Gate, which has historically been the entrance to campus. Area restaurants and bookstores have closed, and a major fire four years ago left a gaping hole in the streetscape which has yet to be repaired.” Having a medical cannabis dispensary on the street will make the area a place “people go out of their way to visit again,” says Weinstein. To compete for the permit, Amoeba’s founders formed a nonprofit organization, the Berkeley Compas-

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sionate Care Center. They plan to dedicate half of their current store space to the dispensary. “The educational model we will use devotes a large amount of floor space to the products. This is to give patients enough time to ask questions without feeling rushed,” Weinstein says. “Most current dispensaries are built on the model of waiting in line and asking questions of your cashier. With this new concept, people who are current users will get more informed, and those who are new to medical cannabis use get better results right from the start.” The plan is to revitalize Telegraph Avenue, and to make sure it stays a place “with personality that represents the whole city” of Berkeley, says Weinstein. “We are creative retailers who run three large stores. Everyone loves working there for a reason, because they are allowed to be themselves. It is a culture that is very

WRITER •DEBBY GOLDSBERRY

unlike a chain store, and the medical cannabis business, with its focus on diversity and care, is something that comes naturally to us.” Listening to music while consuming cannabis is an age-old custom, and music has long proven to be therapeutic. The American Music Therapy Association says it can be used to manage stress, alleviate pain, improve communication, and promote physical rehabilitation. And, as Weinstein points out, “there has been an obvious connection between music and the cannabis culture, going back certainly thru the 60’s. The record stores in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s were often the only place you could buy paraphernalia, like rolling papers and pipes. They carried those for a reason, as the cultures live side by side. Both bring a lot of joy to life, and have historically gone hand in hand.” With hard sales of music down by 50%, getting the dispensary permit might be the only way to save the Amoeba in Berkeley. “This is our first store, our momma store, that we are trying to save,” says Weinstein. “We had 88 employees in 2005 and are down to 35 now. With the dispensary permit, we could hire 75 people in the first year if the busi-

ness survives. This would certainly be a neighborhood serving business and a draw for all of the other area businesses.” Amoeba has been actively supporting cannabis reform since 1996, when local advocates were collecting signatures for the Compassionate Use Act, Proposition 215. “We have always been interested in the issue. Back in the 90’s, we helped with the community activities going on around the store, sponsoring reform concerts,” says Weinstein. “But, it was when we started doing research for permit application three and a half years ago, and after we opened a patient evaluation center at our store on Haight Street, that we understood the importance of medical marijuana and wanted to get involved.” The block of Telegraph Avenue on which Amoeba is located has long been neglected. Three of the four street corners are dilapidated, empty buildings or burned out lots. The grungy street scene, where dealers sell drugs to anyone wandering past, keeps customers away. According to Weinstein, the dispensary will make the neighborhood safer. “We have learned that in Denver and Los Angeles, where crime and dispensaries were studied closely, crime goes down where medical cannabis is licensed and sold.

PHOTOS • ASHLEIGH CASTRO

And, there are no studies that state any actual fact to prove otherwise,” he says. “Locating a dispensary at Amoeba will help clean up the Avenue in a big way. It will put eyes and ears on the street, with lights, cameras and security staff on a block that has been historically very hard to manage. The people who are currently selling low budget cannabis on the street will be put out of business.” If successful in securing the permit, Amoeba will be able to continue their long history of giving back to the Berkeley community. They are already one of the city’s top taxpayers, but they also support important local nonprofit groups like the Center for Independent Living, the Julia Morgan Center, the Berkeley Arts Festival, and the Berkeley High Music Department. At least one other candidate applying for the Berkeley permit is likable, and the process is highly competitive. But likability will not save Berkeley, and the Telegraph community needs help now. Unlike the other candidates, Amoeba is local and all of the funds raised will be put directly back into our community, rather than in the pockets of “big cannabis” and other outside interests. That is something ® that should matter in this process.

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CANNANEWS

F I N D I N G P E A C E T H R O U G H C U LT I VAT I O N

“CANNABIS IS NOT ON THE LIST OF VA-APPROVED MEDICATIONS AT THIS TIME, SO VETERANS ARE FINDING CREATIVE WAYS TO GAIN ACCESS TO IT.”

WRITER •ABIGAIL ROSS

ETERANS, AND those currently serving, experience higher rates of anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, insomnia and substance abuse than civilians. The United States Department of Veteran Affairs estimate that PTSD afflicts almost 31% of Vietnam veterans, 10% of Gulf War veterans and 11% of veterans from the war in Afghanistan. Although the United States Department of Affairs is designed to provide veterans with healthcare, they are notoriously backed up with patients. This often means veterans with mental health issues can be on a very long waitlist to receive healthcare, which may be a reason that suicide rates remain so high within this community. As a result, some veterans have chosen cannabis as their medicine of choice. Last month Congress passed the Fiscal-Year 2016 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill with an amendment, which will enable doctors to prescribe medicinal cannabis to Veterans. Funding is still un-available for cannabis but it feels like progress nonetheless. In California, Santa Cruz Veterans Alliance (SCVA) is providing California military veterans with top-quality, lab-tested medical cannabis. Veterans Jason Sweat and Aaron Newsom founded SCVA in 2011. Sweat served with the United States Army from 1996 to 2006. Newsom served with the Marine Corps in Afghanistan in 2004 and 2005. After being diagnosed with PTSD, Newsom found that growing cannabis had the same therapeutic effect on him that smoking it did. Newsom used his GI bill to obtain a degree in horticulture with an emphasis on organic agriculture. Sweat also recognized cannabis’ medicinal benefits in relation to the traumas of war. Sweat and Newsom met through the Farmer Veteran Coalition and continue to be strong supporters of their mission. Their similar experiences were the motivation behind bringing awareness to cannabis’ role in helping veterans through cannabis cultivation and distribution.

GRAPHICS • BRANDON PALMA

ated the Veterans Compassion Program (VCP). VCP allows veterans to receive medical cannabis for free. Participants fill out a form and meet twice a month. The meetings serve both as a time for support groups, and a medicinal exchange. Each veteran receives around four to five grams per meeting, depending on their needs. Local canna-businesses also donate cannabis flowers, edibles and other products for medicinal use to the VCP. “Helping other veterans…Hearing another veteran say it is changing their quality of life for the better,” is what Sweat says makes it all worth it. SCVA started with three or four veterans and has grown to over 180 participants. Sweat and Newsom also play active roles in their community. They have helped launch other veteran cannabis organizations such as Cannabis Corps, Weed for Warriors and Monterey Veterans Alliance. They organize beach cleanups through Save Our Shores, are active members in the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and are members of the Santa Cruz County Cannabis Cultivation Choices Committee. SCVA veterans also hold holiday community barbeques and Christmas drives. They are currently working on a rollout for a veteran community volunteer group, which will incentivize veterans to participate in the community by providing them with free cannabis for every hour served. Cultivators like the SCVA are important to recognize, because they are the driving force in de-stigmatizing cannabis in local communities. Educating people, about how cannabis is truly changing people’s lives for the better, is the beginning of changing the public mindset. Newsom states, “We want to do our part to show the community that we are responsible, compassionate, dedicated and active members of society.” SCVA is getting out to the public and giving cannabis the good name it deserves. Congress’ decision to open conversation around access to medicinal cannabis for veterans is a result of beautifully organized grassroots efforts. Veterans are undeniably working to move cannabis in the right direction.

Through SCVA, Newsom and Sweat cre-

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CANNANEWS

CANNACHARITY An Intervi ew with Steve DeAngelo

HE CANNABIS INDUSTRY is often

described as revolutionary, dynamic, and cutting edge, but one thing we’re rarely accused of is being too generous, and that’s a problem. The cannabis community, particularly in California, is incredibly giving. No one understands this better than Steve DeAngelo, co-founder and Executive Director of Harborside Health Center. One of the founding fathers of the industry, DeAngelo has over four decades of activism and advocacy on behalf of the cannabis movement under his belt. The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Fortune have all featured stories on DeAngelo’s work in cannabis.

WRITER•KELLY VO

His dispensary strives to be an example of generosity within the industry. Taking a patient-centric approach, Harborside is committed to helping out people who walk through their doors as well as other needy residents of Oakland. Since opening in 2006, Harborside has contributed to over forty-five charitable organizations and programs, but it all started with only one goal in mind - help those in need. “I try to take the lessons that cannabis teaches us seriously,” DeAngelo says. “One of those lessons is to be kind to people, to share with people, to be generous.” Harborside started out by helping their patients. “In the beginning days we couldn’t afford a lot of charitable activities, so we started where we saw the most need – with our patients who were unable to afford medicine,” DeAngelo remembers. “The first thing we did was create our Care Package Program for low-income patients. We wanted to make sure that when people came to Harborside, even if they couldn’t afford medicine, there would be a way for them to get it.” The success of their Care Package Program was only the beginning. Soon they created a supplementary program called the Patient Activist Resource Center. “That program rewards patients who do an hour of activist work with a gram of medicine,” DeAngelo says. “Sometimes people don’t meet the ‘needs test’ for the Care Package Program but they’re still in need. With the Patient Activist Resource Center, we’ve been able to accomplish two goals at once: (a) make sure the patients have the medicine they need and (b) make sure that we’re pushing reform forward and standing up for our rights and the rights of our patients.” With their patients’ needs taken care of, Harborside then began reaching out to the greater Oakland community. They participated in National Night Out to help make their neighborhoods safer and joined a gun buy-back

program to get weapons off the streets. They adopted families in need, collected food for the Alameda County Annual Food Drive (almost four tons every year), provided warm coats and blankets to the poor, and heavily contributed to cannabis advocacy programs including Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Americans

“IF WE LOOK BACK IN 20 YEARS, AND ALL WE HAVE TO SHOW FOR OUR EFFORTS IS BIG PILES OF MONEY, THEN WE WILL HAVE BLOWN THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY OF OUR LIVES,” for Safe Access. “Basically, we look for every opportunity to demonstrate that cannabis – when it’s done with conscious intent and responsibility – can be of benefit to communities instead of harmful,” DeAngelo says. “I think that’s one of the major reasons that we’ve been able to make progress in California and across the country.” What about taking the next steps towards making an even greater impact though? Can cannabis generosity extend beyond the borders of cannabis organizations and their immediate

PHOTO•ROBYN TWOMEY

community? “The one story that really jumps out for me is the story of the Canna Moms,” DeAngelo says. “I was at a speaking engagement in Florida a couple of years ago, and I ran into a group of four mothers, all of whom had severely ill children. They were attempting to medicate them with cannabis, but because they were in Florida, finding cannabis, especially cannabis that they felt was safe, was difficult. We flew them out to Oakland, put them up in a hotel for a couple of weeks, and had them work with us to figure out the very best formulations and delivery mechanisms for their kids. Then, we set them up with a large amount of medicine to take back home. That was a tremendous experience. Our idea was that they would come out here, and we would use our expertise to help them. What we found was that it was really a huge learning experience for us and very inspiring.” Cannabis knows no boundaries. Race, sex, political party, or location, it doesn’t matter. If you’re in need of cannabis, you’re a part of a generous community that wants to help. Steve DeAngelo’s hope is that the generosity of California’s cannabis community continues long after January 1, 2016, when cannabis organizations will no longer be required to maintain their nonprofit status. “I would say that if we look back in 20 years, and all we have to show for our efforts is big piles of money, then we will have blown the greatest opportunity of our lives,” Steve says. “We are the earliest pioneers. We have the ability to set the standards that this industry will live by for decades to come. Let’s build something that we can really be proud of. Let’s build something that when we are talking to our kids and our grandkids, we can say that we created something really worthy of this planet.

Being generous and giving back to the community is not just a matter of being a good person, it’s a matter of good business,” says Steve DeAngelo. “The days when you could just throw up a billboard or put a jingle on the radio and be successful are over. In an era where consumers – by pushing a few buttons on their phones – can figure out what your track record is, how you make your products, how you treat your workers, and how you interact with the community. It’s time for companies to make sure that their practices are in alignment with the values of their consumers, or they’re not going to be successful.”

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WRITER•KELLY VO

Cann a bis Is n’t Selfish E’RE ALL a bunch of losers, at least according to Google. Losers is the most popular suggestion when you type the phrase ‘marijuana users are’ into the search engine. When you exchange marijuana users for potheads or stoners, the search results are even worse of course. We’re annoying, boring, lazy, stupid losers. There’s another term that doesn’t show up on in the search results, but is often applied to ‘stoners’ by those who don’t use cannabis themselves: selfish. Whether it’s because some of us are supposedly inconsiderate of non-smokers, or because we allegedly preach the benefits of cannabis while ignoring some of the drawbacks, cannabis users are widely perceived by outsiders as selfish. That perception would be laughable if it weren’t so frustrating. The medical

cannabis community isn’t lazy or selfish; it’s open-hearted and giving. Take the example of Damien Gutierrez, a medical cannabis caregiver in southern California. In 2007, he was a simple cannabis supporter standing in front of LA City Hall and Van Nuys Courthouse. “I preached the benefits of cannabis,” Gutierrez says. “I made my voice known at the cost of being profiled by the police, but I realized that I wanted to do more to help people.” As he interacted with the faces of cannabis — the cancer patients, the bedridden, the terminally ill — he decided to increase his positive impact by becoming a caregiver. “The most rewarding part of becoming a caregiver is the ability to watch a person be healed, or their pain relieved, with cannabis. In my mother’s dying years, she experienced extreme pain, dementia, and more. I reduced

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her pain with cannabis.” Gutierrez and thousands of medical cannabis caregivers like him are the exact opposite of selfish potheads. They give their time and energy to help those less fortunate, and they are not the only examples of selflessness. Much of the dispensaries and cannabis organizations across California have made it their goal to give back to the community and help others. Brian Bjork, CEO of the Marin Gardens cannabis collective, says the industry industry has a unique opportunity to make a difference. “It’s not all about the money,” Bjork says. “It’s about really giving back. That’s what a true collective is — a group of people who all work together to focus on the patient experience rather than money and big business. We’re trying to change the stereotypes about cannabis. Some people have the wrong idea, and we’re trying to change that.”

“THE MOST REWARDING PART OF BECOMING A CAREGIVER IS THE ABILITY TO WATCH A PERSON BE HEALED, OR THEIR PAIN RELIEVED, WITH CANNABIS.”

A large part of Marin Gardens’ business focuses on their charitable contributions. They give to the Center for Domestic Peace, the Marin Community Foundation, the Marin Humane Society, the Ritter Center, Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, and the Wounded Warrior Project. As if that were not enough, this December they’re kicking off another charitable project, the United Patient’s Group. Bjork says that Marin Garden’s isn’t alone in their charitable efforts. “Marin Gardens is just one drop in the bucket of positivity and trying to spread the good word.” Earlier this year, two dispensaries, Care by Design and AbsoluteXtracts, teamed up to donate $10,000 to victims of the devastating California forest fires. “It was a spontaneous and impromptu thing,” a worker at Care by Design says. “The fire was – in some cases – literally in our backyard. We know many people in the Cobb Mountain and Lake County areas who have been displaced or have lost their homes. It was appropriate for the industry step up.” For Care by Design, it was about seeing a need and stepping in to do what needed to be done. But their mission to give back to the community through supporting Nurses for Safe Access and Grow for Vets goes beyond simply figuring out how they can make an impact. It’s also about making a statement. “For our patients’ sake, we need to be suc-

cessful at bringing the plant out of the black market and establishing a place for it among other medications,” says Care by Design. “To do that, cannabis product makers and cultivators need to be model corporate citizens. Our support for the community and patient assistance programs is an essential part of that.” In addition to these organizations, there are many others who have made it their mission to change how the world views cannabis users and distributors. But how can the cannabis industry make sure that our generosity is spotlighted? “There should be more transparency, discussion, and involvement with community members who don’t see how the cannabis industry is helping,” says Bjork. “There’s an opportunity to demonstrate that we’re not a bunch of drug dealers or people making a bunch of money; we’re actually giving back to the community. We should open up our books and show them what we’re doing. We need transparency.” As for Gutierrez, his advice is, “Never forget the true cannabis patient. The person who fought in a traumatic war and now has PSTD or insomnia. The family member who is a zombie due to required pharmacy medications. Everyone is human. Everyone deserves a chance at life. Give someone hope. Never lose the compassion and drive to help others.”

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CANNANEWS

5 WAYS TO GIVE BACK TO THE CANNABIS CAUSE

1. WRITE

OR MANY, the holiday sea-

son brings up thoughts of gift giving, charity work, and helping others. As we contemplate how to give back to our community, those of us whose lives have been touched by cannabis may wonder how we can help support this meaningful cause. Here are five ways you can give back to the cannabis community this holiday season:

letters to your representatives to let them know how cannabis has helped you or others that you care about. It’s so important for our government officials to know about these positive cannabis experiences, and to see support for cannabis in their constituency. You could also write a letter to someone in prison for cannabis crimes. Knowing that there are people out there who support them and are working to change cannabis law can be an immense comfort, and a beautiful gift. If you aren’t sure where to start, check out the Patient Activist Resource Center at Harborside Health Center or your local dispensary. You can learn there about how to participate in this type of activist work, and even get rewards at the dispensary for your participation.

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2. BE PRESENT at a local town hall meeting or cannabis advocacy group. When localities decide to make a new cannabis policy, they usually hold a town hall to hear the opinions of the local population. It is vitally important to have voices in favor of pro-cannabis policy at meetings like this. Often, it is only the industry players who show up to these meetings, but it’s important for our officials to know that the patients, their friends, and their families are also in support of pro-cannabis policies. Go to a meeting and voice your support. Share your stories of how cannabis has helped, or how cannabis prohibition has hurt you and the people you care about. In a meeting like this, every voice makes a huge impact, because so few people actually attend. So be present and make a difference in your community.

WRITER• DR. EMILY EARLENBAUGH

3. DONATE

4. TALK

5. SUPPORT

to cannabis advocacy. There are a lot of amazing cannabis advocates out there who work tirelessly to help push forward the cannabis reform that is happening across the country. Many are volunteers who put aside their own projects to champion the cause of many. Giving them appreciation and financial support is a great way to help spur on the cause. Other advocates work tirelessly to help individuals find the cannabis products that they need, even when money is tight and the product needs to be donated. Because cannabis is rarely covered via insurance, regular cannabis treatments can be expensive. Donations to support cannabis treatments for those in need can make a lifesaving difference.

to everyone you can about why you support cannabis. Sometimes it can be scary to talk about cannabis with people when we aren’t sure how they will react (or we think they will react poorly). There are a lot of mixed messages out there about cannabis. But, when people hear real life stories about cannabis helping those they know and care about, it can help them to understand what cannabis is really about. When someone hears how much cannabis has helped those with debilitating or lifethreatening illnesses, they often begin to support the medical use of cannabis. Public support for cannabis continues to drive forward positive change, so the more people you can expose to the positive aspects of cannabis, the better. We can win over the public, one story at a time.

cannabis collectives that have compassion programs. Some collectives have compassion programs where they offer free cannabis to those who need it but can’t afford to purchase it. Again, without insurance covering the bill, cannabis can be expensive. Still it can make a life or death difference. So, support collectives with compassion programs and you can support their lifesaving efforts every time you donate for your own medicine.

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