DOPE Magazine - Western Washington - The Women's Issue - December 2017

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DECEMBER 2017 | THE WOMEN’S ISSUE

EDITOR’S LETTER T

his December marks a first for us here at DOPE Magazine. In your hands is our first ever issue dedicated specifically to Women. TOKiMONSTA, a Los Angeles-based Music Producer, graces our cover and openly discusses her third full-length album, Lune Rouge, and what it’s like recovering from brain surgeries that left her unable to comprehend her greatest passion: music. She’s back in full force and has brought listeners one of her best albums to date!

Diving in, this issue highlights British trans activist Charlie Craggs and her globe-trotting Nail Transphobia campaign. She sets up pop-up manicure shops and, acting as manicurist for a day, talks openly about what it’s like to be trans. She’s manicured children and grandmothers alike, educating the public one session at a time. We also touch base with trans activist Buck Angel to discuss men, feminism and his vagina. This piece is an exploration of privilege, feminism and a man’s place in the feminist sphere.

We catch up with the ladies over at Titan Hemp, Amy Ansel and Tanya Hart, to discuss why hemp hasn’t taken over the world yet. They’re currently working alongside True Hmong Global and over 4,000 local Thai farmers to secure the future of hemp production. Pairing this with Titan Bioplastics, their sister company focused on sustainable production sciences—definitely something worth writing home about.

TOP VIDEOS

TOKIMONSTA

UNDER A NEW MOON.

KANYA SESSER

NO LEGS, NO LIMITS.

Our travel writer visits Ibiza to discuss cannabis on the notorious party island, and Jonah Tacoma reports back on his travels to Oregon, where he had the pleasure of visiting local cannabis grows.

This issue is packed with stories and products from the very people who make this industry possible—Women. Don’t forget to check our website during the month of December for an indepth look into more fascinating females in the cannabis space.

CHEF MIGUEL

FOOD AS A LIVING ART.

Stay DOPE! The DOPE Editorial Team

To view these and more DOPE videos, visit: DOPEMAGAZINE.COM/VIDEOS

RECENTLY CORRECTED ARTICLES We would like to note two errors made in our October and November 2017 issues: In our piece on Humboldt Legends in October, we erroneously noted that they have been growing since the 1980s. They have been growing since the 1970s. In our November Eastern Washington garden review on Bodhi High, we incorrectly spelled the owner’s name Sam Kannell. It is in fact, Sam Kannall.

DOPEMAGAZINE.COM DOPE MAGAZINE AND THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THIS PUBLICATION ARE COPYWRITTEN BY 2016 DOPE MAGAZINE LLC. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY MANNER, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM DOPE MAGAZINE LLC.

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THE WOMEN’S ISSUE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECEMBER 2017

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FEATURE BRITAIN’S RISING TRANS ACTIVIST CHARLIE CRAGGS

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CULTURE THE FUTURE OF CANNABIS IS FEMALE

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LIFESTYLE DOPE ON THE ROAD WITH JONAH TACOMA OREGON-GROWN

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EDITOR’S CHOICE THE LEVO MACHINE

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TRAVEL IS THERE WEED IN IBIZA?

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#SCOUTEDBYDOPE

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FEATURE THIS IS WHAT A FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE

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FEATURE TITAN HEMP AND BEYOND

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COVER FEATURE MUSIC PRODUCER TOKIMONSTA: UNDER A NEW MOON

COVER PHOTOGRAPHER: JORDAN SWENSON

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CULTURE VAN DER POP MEETS DOPE

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GROW WHY WE USE THE FEMALE PLANT

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CULTURE THE CINEMATIC EVOLUTION OF THE FEMALE STONER

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INDOOR LIGHTING SC

CE

C O V E R F E AT U R E

WRITER / LUNA REYNA PHOTO / JORDAN SWENSON

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I

f you follow astrology or believe in the power of the moon, you know this year birthed many divine lunar marvels, including the Great American Eclipse on August 21st. The last time the moon totally eclipsed the sun from coast to coast was almost 100 years ago, and like any new moon, a solar eclipse represents the end of one cycle and the beginning of something new. Lunation that appears red has a message all its own; red is often affiliated with stubbornness, confidence, courage, passion, aggression, honesty and standing out in the spotlight. A red moon is said to represent selfawareness and our ability to survive and thrive, both of which encapsulate the story behind TOKiMONSTA’s latest release, Lune Rouge, meaning “red moon” in French. “A red moon is a rare and pretty awesome event from a scientific perspective,” she told us, “and to me means significant change.”

Producer and DJ TOKiMONSTA was born Jennifer Lee to Korean immigrants. She sat across from us at Ace Galler y in Los Angeles, fitting right in with the collection of contemporary art. Lee is a woman who always speaks with intention. Comfortable, but not outspoken; easygoing but direct. Lee’s last nine releases have propelled her from creating beats in her dorm room on Fruity Loops software to traveling the world, producing unique albums with their own individual soundscape and story.

Each album keeps you captivated from start to finish, a feat few artists can accomplish in an industry that seems focused on the next big single.

Lune Rouge is her third full-length album, recorded after two brain surgeries for a rare neurovascular condition called Moyamoya.

The procedures left her unable to comprehend language: “I could still think thoughts,” Lee explains, “but all the words I knew were gone.

I even tried texting people, and my texts were complete gibberish. It was almost like suddenly I spoke a different language than everyone else.” She had to relearn to walk, and most devastating of all, she was unable to comprehend her greatest passion: Music. “All music just sounded like noise,” she recounted to Pitchfork recently. “I remember being like, ‘Ooh, this is weird! This is metallic, harsh nonsense to me.’”

Her recovery was grueling, but there were more struggles to come. Body reeling from surger y, she suffered perhaps the most universal ache: “My boyfriend broke up with me—after my surgery, after taking care of me,” Lee reveals. “I got dumped by someone I loved a lot while I was still recovering from surgery, still slightly unable to walk, still working on my language, still unable to make music.” But being the woman she is, she took the blow with elegance and grace and created art from the heartbreak. “That moment was probably the worst I’ve ever felt in my entire life. But that sadness allowed me to regain some clarity. I knew I had to overcome it.”

And she did, painting a picture of grief and triumph with fellow artists like Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna. “We could talk for ages when we got in the studio together,” she told us. And as she noted in the press for her new album: "I'm super grateful to have created a song with Yuna . . . I was a fan of hers for a while, so I have to shout out the world wide web for allowing two people on different continents the ability to create together. The message of the track is really more than unwanted phone calls, but the idea of people deciding to show up only when they need you.”

The last verse of their collaborative song, “Don’t Call Me,” illustrates their message of anger and weariness at a two-faced ex: “Funny how when you see you're glowing up, Wanna try and make it up Suddenly just showing up Where were you when I was crying?

Left me on the floor just dying Can't come to the phone, realign Now you wanna be my friend, but I ain't buying it”

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“I AM GRATEFUL EVERYDAY FOR THIS LIFE I GET TO LIVE. I WOULD SAY EVERY CITY HAS GIVEN ME SOMETHING SPECIAL I GET TO HOLD ON TO FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.” 24

Lee has never been one to shy away from a challenge, however. Don’t let her gentle demeanor fool you. She has shattered barriers for women and women of color in the electronic music industry, often unknowingly, explaining time and time again that “[she’d] rather be last in someone’s top 20 producers than be their top female producer.” Lee doesn’t want a pass because she’s a woman, but simultaneously understands that “electronic music is traditionally 1) male and 2) white,” as she explained to Kore Asian Media. “There aren’t a lot of minorities, period, in dance music, and even fewer women . . . As a role model, I want other women to see what I’ve done and know that they can do it, too.”

“I don’t think I deserve any passes, either,” she continues. “Don’t book me just because I’m a female producer. But when it comes to integration, let’s fight for it—let’s get women into the Top 10 DJs of the world list.” Lee understands that there’s still room for intersectionality in the electronic world: “It’s something I’m aware of and try not to focus on outwardly, but I’m proud of the music I make. If it touches you, there’s nothing more important.” Lee’s contributions to the electronic music scene have illuminated how powerful women in the industry can be— when they’re given the chance.

With influences like Björk and Missy Elliot, we should expect nothing less. Both have been powerhouses in their own right for decades, and artists Lee hopes to work with one day.

“They have always been my childhood heroes,” she proclaims. “They set themselves apart by being explicitly unique and different, yet not pretentiously so. The autonomy they have in how they control their craft is also something I respect a lot.” Depressingly, in 2016 it was estimated that only roughly seven percent of the Audio Engineering Society’s members

were women, and no woman has ever won a Grammy for producer of the year for a nonclassical piece. Even Björk had to set the record straight that she did indeed produce much of her 2001 album, Vespertine, explaining, "It feels like still today, after all these years, people cannot imagine that [a] woman can write, arrange or produce electronic music."

Ultimately, we’re currently experiencing yet another shift in consciousness and women are leading the charge, ready for progress. Lune Rouge, like the eclipse or a red moon, is about more than astronomy or music—it’s about culture. It has the potential to elevate us in celebration of duality and enlightenment. Just as many see the 2017 Great American Eclipse as a gift to our divided nation, we should also see the raw release of Lune Rouge as a disruption to the autonomy men have held over the music industry, and recognize the beauty behind the generosity of Lee’s latest release. “I faced some of the most difficult and uplifting moments of my life,” imparts Lee. “Seeing myself at the edge of my own mortality and how I chose to move past [it] is a story told in this album. Each song is its own story and vision, and the album is this overlaying theme of personal freedom and joy.”

“As a woman, I am proud and happy with who I am,” Lee has shared—as all women should be— and we are proud to highlight her as the cover of our Women’s Issue. With the music and film industries finally openly discussing the value of women in their respective fields, as well as recognizing systemic problems that place less value on women than their male counterparts, we hope this shift in consciousness will lay the foundation for men to stand with women; for women to work together until there is real accountability and an acceptance of an equal artistic evolution.

FOR MORE OF TOKIMONSTA, VISIT: WEBSITE: TOKIMONSTA.COM SOUNDCLOUD: @TOKIMONSTA INSTAGRAM: @TOKIMONSTA

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F E AT U R E

“WE ARE MORE THAN PUNCH LINES AND PUNCHING BAGS” WRITER / KATIE CONLEY

PHOTO / COURTESY OF CHARLIE CRAGGS

“O

mg as if! Acting like I’m Beyoncé or something.” I’m emailing with C h a r l i e C ra g g s , a 2 5 - ye a r - o l d British transgender activist and current rising star. She’s responding to my excitement about doing a story on her, and for all her accolades—creating the Nail Transphobia project, filming a reality docu-series with HuffPo called New Activists, profiles in publications from The Guardian to Vogue, a recent book launch—Charlie remains humble.

And hilarious.

Her Nail Transphobia campaign is what started it all. Nail kit in tow, with the goal of using “nails as a catalyst for conversation,” Charlie travels “around the U.K. to galleries, museums, festivals and schools/colleges, basically just public spaces,” and sets up a pop-up manicure booth. Charlie does strangers’ nails for free and answers any questions they have about what it’s like to be trans, hoping to shed light on her experiences one manicure at a time. She wants the campaign to be “accessible to everyone,” hence her preference to set up shop in public.

“If I was throwing private events in private spaces,” she maintains, “mostly just LGBTQ people, feminists and progressive people would come.” All the proceeds from her line of nail decals, available on the NailTransphobia Etsy page, help fund Charlie’s Angels, her “free self-defense classes for trans and non-binary femmes.”

Violence against members of the trans community has increased in recent years.

According to The Independent, a U.K.-based publication, hate crimes against members

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of the trans community saw a “sickening 170 percent rise” as of summer 2016. When Charlie holds discussions via Nail Transphobia, she wants to bring about social and political change; with her self-defense classes, she’s trying to save lives. “I’ve painted the nails of people of all different races, religions, sexualities and genders, from 5-year-olds to 85-year-olds,” she explains. She’s bringing her campaign to the U.S., and her goal for 2018 is to “do more international events and take my message further.”

Her book, To My Trans Sisters, is out now.

As an editor, Charlie collected nearly 100 letters from trans women—a sort of “‘What we wish we knew,’ from how to deal with that five o’clock shadow to how to deal with transphobia,” she tells me. The letters are penned by figures from “80-year-old tech pioneer Lynn Conway, [whose] inventions changed the way the world works to America’s Next Top Model’s Isis King, who changed the way the world sees us as trans people. I like to call it an ‘encyclopedia of trans excellence.’” In her typical, hilariously brash style, she jokes, “It’s a really good book, you should definitely buy it . . . and I’m not just saying that because I wrote it and the royalties will be paying for my boob job. JK, Miss Thing!” Miss Thing being me. She zigzags effortlessly between cheeky humor and unfaltering passion.

Reflecting on her hopes for the future of trans representation in the media, Charlie notes that “positive representation of trans people in the media is so important; it helps the public to understand trans people, but also helps trans people to understand

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“PEOPLE THINK THERE’S ALL THESE NEW RULES WHEN DEALING WITH TRANS PEOPLE, AND THAT THEY HAVE TO WALK ON EGGSHELLS, BUT ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TREAT US THE WAY YOU’D TREAT ANYONE ELSE.” – ACTIVIST CHARLIE CRAGGS

themselves and see their potential.” We have movies and television shows such as Tangerine, Transparent and Orange is the New Black, but we still have a long way to go. “For so long,” Charlie continues, “the only time you’d see us in the media was when we were being mocked or when we’re being killed, and this has a damaging effect on both the public’s perception of us and our perceptions of our own selves as trans people. But we are more than punch lines and punching bags.”

I ask Charlie how she feels about being in the spotlight, and she retorts, “It’s about fucking time.

I have a lot to say.” And she doesn’t take her new platform lightly, recognizing that social media has made it easier to spread her message—“anyone anywhere in the world can make a post about something they feel passionately about, and it has the potential to go viral and be seen by millions of people”—but has also led to slacktivism, people pretending to care about a cause while putting in a minimal amount of effort; a few retweets here and there bookended with a pat on the back.

But how can we become allies to those in the trans community? Charlie states that “it’s pretty much common sense, and just a case of treating us like anyone else . . . People think there’s all these new rules when dealing with trans people, and that they have to walk on eggshells, but all you have to do is treat us the way you’d treat anyone else; you (hopefully) wouldn’t ask any other stranger about their genitals or what surgery they’ve had, you (hopefully) wouldn’t listen to your friends and family make bigoted comments about any other marginalized group. It’s really that simple.” Speak up when you hear ignorant comments, and intervene if you see someone being harassed in public. Silence condones hate.

Her burgeoning fame does have some strange drawbacks. Charlie tells me that there’s an odd conspiracy theory out there, scribed by a deranged, transphobic author, that she is actually Twilight actress Kristen Stewar t. Yep. The anonymous author believes an Illuminati-esque group farms out gorgeous celebs to pose as trans people to normalize male attraction to trans women. “It’s scary,” Charlie admits, “but also flattering . . . Just to confirm, though, I’m not Kristen Stewart. If I was,” she jokes, “I wouldn’t be doing this interview because I’d be too busy sucking Robert Pattinson’s dick.”

My final question entails what’s next on the docket for Charlie Craggs. “Girl, a rest hopefully,” she quips.

“I’m exhausted!”

FOR MORE OF CHARLIE CRAGGS, VISIT: WEBSITE: NAILTRANSPHOBIA.COM INSTAGRAM: @CHARLIE_CRAGGS ESTY: @NAILTRANSPHOBIA

TO MY TRANS SISTERS IS AVAILABLE AT: AMAZON.COM WATERSTONES.COM FOYLES.CO.UK

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C U LT U R E

AN EDUCATIONAL EVENING WITH STYLE WRITER / ANDREA LARSON

H

ave you ever wondered what your sister, friend at the gym or fellow PTA parents would think of you if they knew you consumed cannabis? Fear of judgment, being misunderstood and unfair stereotypes are all valid reasons as to why many women still hide their cannabis use. We are slowly beginning to expunge many of these fears, however, as cannabis becomes normalized and understood on a medical level. Van der Pop SESSIONs were designed to shed light on the power of the plant and educate women on why they shouldn’t be ashamed of turning to a legal, non-pharmaceutical option for dealing with stress, depression, anxiety or pain—and the list goes on. DOPE staff had the privilege of attending a Van der Pop SESSION, and despite working in a

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PHOTO / JORDAN SWENSON AND JIM LANGER pro-cannabis environment, we all left the SESSION with a better understanding of what it means to be a woman who uses cannabis in 2017.

As the ladies arrived at a beautiful loft space in downtown Seattle, they were greeted by women who are making a living—and killing it, I might add—in the cannabis arena. We mingled as we took in the breathtaking view of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains before breaking into small groups for an evening of fabulous, handson tutorials. Each station, hosted by female professionals, gave us the opportunity to learn something new about not only ourselves, but the brilliant happenings in cannabusiness.

STATION 1 | BOND / VASHON VELVET Duni Disston of BOND and Susie Gress of Vashon Velvet sat on a bed tucked away in a nook in the loft. The setting was well-suited for the topic at hand—sex. Yep, sex.

Vashon Velvet is in the business of growing artisanal, boutique cannabis in Washington State. Susie spoke of cannabis’ ability to reignite intimacy between couples, and they currently grow and harvest a strain that cannabis consumers are raving about.

Some of Gress’ close friends, originally skeptical of smoking weed again (for many, it had been decades since their last puff) gush to her about her strain’s ability to bring them closer to their partner than they had been in years. It was almost as if they were reignited with their youth, reliving their younger years with their partner.

Disston excitedly spoke to us of the wonders that BOND Sensual Oil has provided her clients; couples who had lost their spark came together for an experience unlike anything they’d felt in a long time. Many of the SESSION attendees, while shy at first, began asking questions about some of their intimacy concerns. In the end, that is why April Pride, Van der Pop Founder, began bringing woman together under one roof to discuss cannabis.

SESSION is a safe place where woman can share their needs, feel supported and walk away with solutions to some of their most basic needs.

STATION 2 | LEVO Chrissy Bellman, LEVO Founder, and Olivia Harris, COO, had a treat in store for us: infused Pistachio Matcha Snack Balls. And the best part? We got to make them ourselves. We pulled up our sleeves with big smiles on our faces—it felt like baking cookies with grandma again, but this time our cookies had an extra special ingredient. The LEVO machine is incredible, and having had the pleasure of seeing the device in action more than once, I can state that with certainty. Chrissy and Olivia are one-of-a-kind, and were there to answer any infusion or recipe questions we had. Making cannabis treats in the kitchen with friends is not only fun, but a healthy get-together where everyone gets to leave with a goodie bag in tow.

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STATION 3 | VAN DER POP A VdP SESSION is designed to offer women a safe place to consume cannabis and talk about their cannabis use in an open, non-judgmental environment. VdP Founder April Pride spoke to us about her initial concerns moving into the professional cannabis space. As a mother, she wanted to create a company that was viewed as a forward-thinking business entity built on traditional business models. She spoke to us the evening of our SESSION and shared with us some of the new products VdP is creating. We had the opportunity to try out VdP’s innovative new beauty line that includes sleek, odor-concealing Italian leather stash bags, balms, serums and even CBD capsules for the woman on the go. The best part of the evening was the sense of community April has created through the VdP SESSION; she’s an inspiration in the cannabis arena, and a true advocate for what it means to be a working woman today.

If you’re looking to attend a VdP-hosted SESSION in your area, sign up for the VdP newsletter at vanderpop.com/sign-up-for-cannabis-news WEBSITES LEVO: LEVOOIL.COM BOND: BONDSENSUALOIL.COM IG| BONDSENSUALOIL VASHON VELVET: VASHONVELVET.COM FB| @VASHONVELVET

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C U LT U R E

GENDER, RACE AND DISENFRANCHISEMENT IN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY WRITER / CHRISTINA CASSEN

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WOMEN IN CANNABIS It’s clear that the cannabis industry is a burgeoning one, and we’ve all heard the encouraging narrative that women are leading the way in the green arena. But is it true? We can look to author Hanna Rosin, who recognized the rise of the economically powerful woman and the associated cultural shift with her 2010 article in The Atlantic, “The End of Men,” which she followed with a book of the same name in 2012. Rosin explores the ways in which the U.S. patriarchy is ending, and how women are becoming the more dominant sex: “Men dominate just two of the 15 job categories projected to grow the most over the next decade: janitor and computer engineer. Women have everything else— nursing, home health assistance, child care, food preparation.” Apparently, women now have cannabis, too.

Marijuana Business Daily published a report in October 2015 that showed 36 percent of executives in the cannabis industr y are women, compared to a 22 percent average for all U.S. industries. Then, from August to September 2017, they published four installments of a series of charts regarding women and minorities in the cannabis

industry; the updated statistics show 27 percent of executives in the cannabis industry are women, compared to a 23 percent average for all U.S. industries. While it’s encouraging that the cannabis industry is more populated with women than other enterprises, should we be content with these figures—and potentially complacent? After all, according to the U.S. Census, 50.8 percent of the country is female, so the cannabis industry is hardly equal—yet.

It’s worthwhile (or, at least, it’s fun!) to explore why the cannabis industr y is so female-dominated. Whether or not you believe that the female cannabis plant has an agenda to bridge the gender gap and feminize our culture, we have evidence that the latter is underway. Women are uniquely poised to suppor t the female cannabis plant by normalizing it with our families and communities, make smoking weed as normal as drinking wine, and raise the next generation without the stigma currently associated with cannabis. Women are also well-suited to the more compassionate side of the industry, particularly with medical cannabis, having historically played the role of nurturer and caretaker.

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MINORITIES IN CANNABIS Are women excelling in the cannabis industry while minorities are being left behind? What role are women playing in the whitewashing (or ushering in the gentrification) of the cannabis industry? Historically, Latino and black men have been the ones mass incarcerated by the War on Drugs. We know that systematic racial prejudice drove cannabis arrests in communities of color; the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch report that in 39 states that provided sufficient data, black people are four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people, although they use cannabis at similar rates. The word marijuana itself (or "marihuana" in some cases) has received a negative connotation as a result of a 1937 federal campaign to criminalize cannabis by associating it with the people of Mexico.

In a 2017 report, Marijuana Business Daily revealed that "the percentage of minorities holding executive positions at cannabis businesses stands at 17 percent, according to first-of-its-kind data," compared to a 13 percent average for all U.S. industries. DrugWarFacts. org reported in 2015 that 33,280 people whose most serious offense was a drug charge are incarcerated in state prison, and the Drug Policy Alliance provides further detail that the “proportion of people incarcerated for a drug offense in state prison who are black or Latino . . . is 57 percent.�

There are an estimated 19,000 black and Latino people incarcerated in state prison whose most serious offense

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was a drug charge.

According to Marijuana Business Daily, there are at least 165,000 workers in the cannabis industry, and we can extrapolate that 44,550 of the total are female, given the assumption that women comprise an average 27 percent of the cannabis industry. Imagine the impact if every woman in a position of power within the cannabis arena hired a black or Latino person who was previously jailed for a drug charge—we could change the tide of racial inequality and begin to repair the effects of systematic racial prejudice associated with the War on Drugs. Women may not be the majority in cannabis yet, as evidenced by unequal and recently reduced female representation, but women could make an impact by partnering with those who have also faced adversity, rising together for true equality. *To read more on the criminalization of Mexican people The Latino Threat by Leo Chavez is a great starting point.

WE ’ RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER White women seem to benefit from this recent feminine cultural shift, as well as the varied opportunities in the booming cannabis industry—more so than their minority counterparts. White women should consider the impact of their success and how they can help the minorities who came before them in cannabis. We have the opportunity to set a precedent of equality in the cannabis industry if we are mindful and consciously drive towards this intention. Meanwhile, cannabis maintains its illegal, Schedule I federal status. The Drug Enforcement Administration considers crystal methamphetamine, cocaine and PCP to be safer than toking up. We have the opportunity—and responsibility—to continue to fight the stigma attached to cannabis. Women will shape the future of our beloved plant and its blossoming industry. Join us.

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I

t was just past noon and we were making good time as we crossed over the Columbia river into Portland, Oregon. Fall was settling in, and many of the outdoor grows that dotted the landscape were already being prepped for harvest. While recreational cannabis came to the state in 2014, Oregon was the first state to decriminalize simple possession, setting the groundwork for a full-scale paradigm shift in the U.S. Our destination was Blissful Botanicals, a 3,000-plant outdoor grow just outside Oregon’s largest city. We stopped by Clay Wolf Extraction in Clackamas to link up with good friend and longtime industry regular Pat Emerson before heading further into the rural countryside.

While tales of California’s Humboldt Triangle a re wo r l d - re n ow n e d , t h e g row s c e n e i n Oregon has been quietly exploding for years.

Temperatures have been consistently rising in the area—and across the country—causing California’s coveted green belt to slowly migrate north. The migrating climate became a doubleedged sword as grape growers began to follow the shift north, finding themselves in direct competition with cannabis farmers over the agricultural land required for licensed outdoor grows in the state.

We asked Pat what it was like to be a part of the cannabis community in Oregon. “After seven years,” he told me, “it’s still an honor to be in an industry based on helping people.” Pat got his start in the legal industry just as I had—both of us began as volunteers. I smiled to myself, thinking about how differently things could have gone.

I’d been a small time pot dealer for most of my life, bouncing from one school to another—and eventually from one jail to another. By the winter of 2011, my daughter was four years old. I was beginning to abandon all hope of a life outside the ordinary. I was running a small landscaping

business I had started in college, and winters in the Pacific Northwest meant little to no work.

My plan to subsidize my income with a small basement grow was not going as well as years past. Medical cannabis was in full swing, and there was no competing with dispensaries that carried more flavors than an ice cream shop.

It was time to join the movement, and I walked into the country’s first cannabis farmers market and volunteered to work for free.

Back to Oregon. We veered off onto a small country road, heading east for a pit stop at Old Apple Farm. It was a surprise stop and my first visit. A row of giant hoop houses dominated the scenery, and some of the crew were tossing hatchets at a large cedar round as we pulled in.

Michael Getlin introduced himself as the owner and I was struck by how young he was. No one on the farm seemed to be over 30. The place had a sort of commune feel that immediately put me at ease, allowing me to relax from the long morning on the road. Farm dogs intertwined themselves between our legs, making circles through the pack of newcomers as they made their own introductions. Michael fired up a giant barbeque pit before leading us towards the rows of hoop houses.

As we finished our tour of the gardens and prepared for lunch, I found myself thinking back to what had attracted me to a career in cannabis.

And it wasn’t the free weed or a chance at fame.

What started as a way to supplement my income ultimately led me to something greater. We had a community in cannabis, and it didn’t matter if you were black, white, yellow or brown. If you believed in the plant, then you were one of us.

You had a place. America had been divided long before we were born; cannabis was a chance at something more for a generation that had otherwise been marginalized.

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It was another half hour on the road before we would reach our destination at Blissful Botanicals. The harvest was in full steam, and some 2,000 plants were already being processed as we arrived.

Piles of untrimmed branches filled the shop tables and an army of young trimmers and farm hands buzzed around like bees, paying little mind to our intrusion. Owner and head grower Eric lead us through the shop doors and into the sun to see the remaining thousand plants.

“This is the fun part,” he grinned. “This is where all the work comes together and we get to see the final product. It’s the wild west right now. It’s a new industry, and we’re still getting everything figured out.” He led me down the small hill into the large, open air garden. A 12-foot security fence marked the perimeter. Just like the last farm, these were young kids getting their start in the world.

Eric didn’t seem to be a day over 25 and oversaw his million-dollar operation with an optimistic enthusiasm that seemed to pervade the workplace.

Pat locked me in a bear hug, his 6’5” frame nearly squeezing the air out of me as we said our goodbyes and prepared for the trip back home. The road that led us both here had not been a straight one—but ultimately, it took us down the same path. For us, cannabis was a fork in the road, a divergence from the mundane into the exciting possibilities of a world where two poor kids, born to poor parents, could suddenly find themselves carving a niche in an eight billion-dollar industry.

FOR MORE OF JONAH TACOMA, VISIT: WEBSITE: DABSTARS.COM INSTAGRAM: @JONAH_TACOMA

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WHY WE USE THE FEMALE PLANT WRITER / DAVID BAILEY

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M

ost people know that weed comes from a female plant, and if you didn’t, you do now! What most people don’t know is why. I’ve heard guesses ranging from “females grow buds and males are hemp plants” to “the males impregnate the females, so we get buds”; both are catastrophically wrong. What’s the deal with male and female plants, and why does it matter?

The main reason, plain and simple: We don’t want seeds. The lovely flower we’ve all come to know and love is grown to be ‘sin semilla,’ or without seed. The way you keep the seeds out? Keep the males out. When males release their pollen, this pollen sticks to the female pistils (the little white hairs you see growing out of cannabis flowers), which act as the plant’s sexual organs. And you know what comes next…babies! Once the female flowers are pollinated, they push all their energy into seed production. This is where problems begin to arise.

When female cannabis plants start to

develop seeds, they slow their production of cannabinoids (chemical compounds such as THC and CBD)—usually the reason we’re growing the plant to begin with! The higher the seed production, the lower the amount of cannabinoids produced. Aside from a less potent product, the weight to value ratio is thrown off. The seeds are heavier, making the apparent density heavier, and all you get is more seed and less of what you wanted (cannabinoids).

Now, this isn’t to say male cannabis plants are bad—you’re probably wondering how we even keep creating crops if we kill all the males.

Cloning has become the preferred method of propagation for most cannabis growers, due to the consistency of the genetics and a zero percent risk of males entering the grow space. By cutting off a small branch from a vegetative plant and placing it in an ideal soil environment, it will grow roots and begin to vegetate itself: A clone. This technique has been used by all types of vegetable growers for decades!

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Breeders and certain hemp producers, however, demonstrate praise for male cannabis plants typically reser ved for females. For breeders seeking the next best combination of genetics, males play as crucial a role as females in genetic outcome; males are often judged by their vigor, growth style and scent. Similarly, many international hemp farms produce hemp seed for oil, fiber, protein and more, and the only way to get seeds is to have males pollinate the females.

Much like breeders, the higher the quality of males, the better the subsequent harvest will be—notwithstanding various environmental factors, of course.

As far as the flower, bud or ganja you grab from your local pot shop? That’s always going to be female. Yes, even CBD flowers are only female. So the next time someone tells you seeds in your sack is a good thing, or that “hemp plants are only male,” let them know they better stop lying about your favorite lady—Ms. Sinsemilla is the only thing you’ll be putting in your pipe!

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C U LT U R E

FROM VAMPY VIXENS TO LAID BACK CHICKS AND PTA MOMS WRITER / LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS

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F

rom Reefer Madness to Pineapple Express, marijuana has been depicted on-screen for decades. But while the dude with the doob has become a trope, ladies’ par ts in these films have either been exaggerated into ridiculousness or downplayed into oblivion. As more and more women become cannabis users, will they finally get their fair share of stoner screen time?

In the late ‘30s, a slew of films warned of the deathly menace of marijuana.

During this era, Federal Bureau of Narcotics head Harry J. Anslinger mounted his antimarijuana campaign, largely fueled by sordid stories about the horrors of marijuana; he testified before Congress that marijuana causes “women to seek sexual relations.” A slew of films warning of (and wallowing in) the menace of demon weed immediately followed.

T h e s e p re a c hy p o t m ov i e s a l l owe d characters (and audiences) plenty of sin and sex before a final five minutes of repentance.

In Marihuana, a group of ladies declare, “We tried their giggle water, now let’s try their giggle weed!” and wind up stripping for a nude swim, leading to vague images of naked white backsides in the water overdubbed by endless, shrill laughter.

Weedsploitation movies featured two kinds of women: The platinum-blonde pot pusher and the big-eyed brunette who gets her life ruined by dope. Both appear in Assassin of Youth. Doused in peroxide and mascara, Linda struts into a party, whips off her cape and pulls out a handful of doobs, announcing, “No credit—cash offers only,” surrounded by a bevy of evening-gowned young ladies clutching bills. At the same time, sweet young Marjorie smokes a joint—

then sets her clothes on fire, tries to stab her boyfriend and lapses into a coma.

During the ‘40s, marijuana paranoia gave way to the horror of war, but at the end of the decade, She Shoulda Said No brought weedsploitation back with a dash of protoreality TV: Star Lila Leeds, who was caught in a highly publicized pot bust with Robert Mitchum. The arrest emphasized his badboy image and brightened his star power, but the bad girl label immediately ended Leeds’ career. Here, she begins as a naïve dancer putting her brother through college, but winds up as a dope-dealing trollop, puffing and passing through a series of droll montages, horror-movie Theremins whining menacingly as the smoke rises. It was a kickoff to the ‘50s, when tight-sweatered loose ladies indulged in the devil’s lettuce in movies like High School Confidential and on the covers of pulp novels such as Reefer Girl.

Through the ‘60s and ‘70s, the sexual revolution and the rise of the drug culture turned the potentially dangerous druggie into a simple, sexy stoner chick. From the girls in the graveyard with Peter and Dennis in Easy Rider to the groupies that latch onto Cheech and Chong in Up in Smoke, they’re along for the ride, defanged versions of the sex-anddrug-crazed vamps of the ‘30s.

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Women smoking pot made it into big-budget films with 1980’s Nine to Five, about three secretaries versus their boss. The scene in which Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton toke up on some Maui Wowie and share surrealist fantasies about overthrowing the asshole in charge is the film’s comedic zenith. It also provided the rare filmic glimpse of grownass, successful women getting high to unwind and enjoy themselves— something Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign would soon put a stop to.

The ‘90s brought in a new batch of stoner movies—Friday, Half-Baked, The Big Lebowski—but women remained on the sidelines, often with a slightly disapproving gaze. The few who managed to roll with the boys were throwbacks to the ‘70s, both in cutoffs-and-a-bong style and (lack of) substance; Bridget Fonda in Jackie Brown, Milla Jovovich in Dazed & Confused. But there was 30 minutes of real women smoking on a 1993 episode of Roseanne where Roseanne, her husband and sister try to relive their hippie days by getting stoned—each one with their own distinct high style, from goofy to paranoid to “This isn’t working!”

With the new millennium, ladies began playing a less passive role. The 2002 British film Saving Grace concerns an upper-class British widow whose husband has not only left her bereft, but broke. She applies her green thumb to her gardener’s straggly pot plants and grows a huge, healthy, mortgage-paying crop. She even hits London to sell it, dressed up in a white suit and picture hat like teatime Superfly—the drug-pushing sexpot in it for dollars and debauchery turned into a humble housewife trying to keep a roof over her head.

A similar plot also powered the series Weeds, although this time the pot-dealing widow was younger, prettier and in California. The show’s ads styled star Mary-Louise Parker in a similar busty pinup style to the girls who used to grace ‘50s novels, and her move from mom paying the bills to mogul, felon and cartel associate puts her closer to the wicked women of the ‘30s.

“WITH THE RISE OF WEB SERIES AND STREAMING SERVICES, THE FEMALE BUD BUDDY COMEDY FINALLY HAD A PLACE TO BLOSSOM.”

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The aughts were about the stoner adventure/comedy, although as a dudes-only genre. In 2009, Smiley Face offered a female protagonist, with Anna Farris as an unemployed actress who eats a plate of pot brownies and embarks on a strange, solo journey through L.A. Unlike Harold, Kumar, Franco, Rogen or any of the Hangovers, all of whom emerge from their shenanigans unscathed, Farris ends her exciting day with a suspended sentence and a few hundred hours of community service.

With the rise of web series and streaming services, the female bud buddy comedy finally had a place to blossom. While not every episode of Broad City is centered around cannabis, it usually wafts across the screen at some point each episode. And, for all the overthe-top nuttiness, the show is rooted in smoker reality, from the friend who never has their own weed to being out and scrounging through your apartment for stray nugs, to getting high and busting your credit card at Whole Foods.

And as consuming marijuana has become more common among older women, TV has followed suit.

Grace and Frankie brought back those potsmoking O.G.s, Fonda and Tomlin, as a mismatched but devoted pair of pals—of course, hippie artist Frankie is a regular cannabis consumer, but when uptight businesswoman Grace gets high with her daughters, it shows how women are really smoking now.

Netflix’s Disjointed stars Oscar-winner Kathy Bates as a California dispensary owner; it’s a 30-minute laugh track that drips with hippie references and pot puns. As marijuana merges into the mainstream in society, it also becomes part of mainstream media: The dangerous dame pushing the demon weed has become a mellow mom proffering pot brownies. After all, when Hollywood gives you a sitcom, it’s means they’re no longer scared of you—and no one else is, either.

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A R TEIDCILTEO TR I’ TS L CE H O I C E

THE LEVO MACHINE OIL INFUSION MADE EASY! WRITER / LUNA REYNA

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PHOTO / COURTESY OF LEVO OIL

lthough the LEVO machine may look like a colorful espresso machine, it’s actually a sleek, easy-to-use oil infusion appliance. LEVO uses controlled heat to transfer flavor, scent, color and nutrients from a variety of botanical ingredients (cannabis flower, for example) into the carrier (oil or butter) of your choice. No mess, no stress and complete control over not only the dosage of your infusion, but the strain as well.

From oils and butters for cakes and cookies to salad dressings and dips, the LEVO machine makes infusing your own ingredients simple and fun.

But the benefits don’t stop at cannabis infusion. The LEVO machine can infuse any herb—rosemary, basil, clove, even fruits and vegetables—making it impeccable for homemade wellness products such as body scrubs, massage oils, salves, lip balms, facial serums, hair treatments, body creams and soaps. The topical possibilities are limitless, as are the gift opportunities for friends and family; flower-infused olive oil for the siblings and a homemade, lavender-infused body scrub or rosemary hair treatment for mom makes holiday shopping a whole lot easier. The best part? No messy straining or cleanup. The LEVO Machine comes with dishwasher-safe components that pop right out, leaving your kitchen clean—more time to enjoy your creative infusions!

There are no emulsifiers, solvents or additives required to infuse, and no pre-set temperature and time settings, allowing you creative control over your recipe. For novices, there’s an extremely helpful Time & Temperature Calculator on the LEVO website. Select your herb and oil of choice and a handy chart displays everything you need to know about the infusion, as well as important ingredient information to ensure your pairing choice will be successful. Classy aesthetics aside, the simplicity of the LEVO machine alone makes this a worthwhile purchase.

The full autonomy and control you have over your ingredients, allows you to personalize your ingestion method and enjoy the medicinal benefits of cannabis and other herbs. We are overthe-moon elated with the LEVO machine!

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MY HUNT FOR CANNABIS ON THE NOTORIOUS PARTY ISLAND WRITER / SESHATA

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I

biza is world-famous for its high-paced, frenetic atmosphere and clubbing lifestyle—not usually my “thing,” but as one of my best friends was celebrating her birthday, I was persuaded to join in on the action for a few days. While I was there, I set aside some time for fact-finding about the local cannabis scene to see what Ibiza has in store for the everyday stoner. We stayed in Sant Antoni de Portmany, the island’s “original party town,” which is situated on the northwest of the island. Like many other Spanish holiday destinations, it’s absolutely full of English tourists, with a healthy sprinkling of Italians, Germans and Dutch.

Unlike other destinations such as Magaluf or Benidorm, Ibiza does have a certain air of sophistication. In general, it attracts a more affluent, “classy” crowd—the lavish nightclubs charge high prices for both entry and drinks, and attire is expected to be smart and sexy. The island’s main party towns get astonishingly crowded during the summer, but it’s less likely to be full of half-naked, vomiting British teenagers than other holiday hotspots. We avoided the peak-summer crowds on this visit, opting to wait until the

first week of October to attend the closing parties of the big clubs. The clubs themselves were full of late-season partygoers, but the streets were otherwise peaceful and relatively empty of tourists.

Being distracted by clubs, alcohol and ner ve-grating house music, I didn’t do anything cannabis-related for the first few days. I did keep my eyes open for signs of people smoking weed, but didn’t really notice much at all—at first. I started to wonder if Sant Antoni was even weed-friendly. Maybe with this much house music, the only available drugs would be cocaine and MDMA! I had often been told of Ibiza’s cannabis growing community, but I was obviously in the wrong part of the island.

While slightly drunk and stumbling homewards on our third night, however, I randomly encountered a Gambian dude who kindly offered to help me out with some herb.

We negotiated a jaw-droppingly exploitative “tourist” price for his tiny bags of dark-green, leafy schwag. As soon as we’d exchanged cash for goods, I made my excuses and went off to find my friends, who’d impatiently wandered off by then.

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Getting back to our apartment, I realized the bud was practically unsmokable—but given my semi-drunk state, I didn’t really care so much. Toking resentfully on my subpar, blindingly-expensive joint, I resolved to find something better the next day. Of course, once I was focused on the mission, things started to fall into place pretty quickly. I managed to find my first local Spanish contact and made arrangements to meet later that day. Unfortunately, high winds elsewhere on the island meant my motorcycle courier couldn’t make it to me. I went back to the drawing board.

Walking along the beach later that day, I quickly detected the fragrant aroma of top-shelf herb. The fine scent appeared to be wafting from a shirtless tattooed guy standing on the beach, overlooking the bay. He turned out to be a grower, originally from the U.K., and was more than happy to help me out—providing I kept any identifying information to myself. He confirmed what I’d been told several times previously: Ibiza is full of growers and extract artists.

Finding decent product is easy most of the time, and the local climate yields outdoor crops of particularly high quality.

Finding this new friend ticked a much-needed box for me, but I still had to complete my final stage of investigation into the local scene. Readers are no doubt aware that Spain has a large number of Cannabis Social Clubs scattered around its territories. I’ve personally covered the scene in the Canary Islands, Barcelona and the Basque Country, so I wanted to find out more about local clubs. According to Weedmaps, there are nine Cannabis Social Clubs on the island: Six in Ibiza town, and three in Sant Antoni. Throughout Spain, clubs are all members-only and make it policy to only serve local residents.

In locations such as Barcelona, however, it can be very easy to circumvent the “local resident” rule and gain membership to multiple clubs. In more closed-off locations it can be much harder, but good networking can help get one’s foot in the door. In some cases being a journalist helps; in others, it has quite the opposite effect!

I asked my Spanish friends for a connection to a Sant Antoni club, but was disappointed. I tried to email, text and call the most promising club on the list and got nothing in return but silence. I decided not to go and turn up on the doorstep, figuring it’d be a wasted trip.

Eventually I managed to get a contact to a highly-rated club in Ibiza Town, the island’s capital. I was running out of time on the island, but on my way to the airport I managed to make a quick detour to stop off and say hello. Out of respect for the establishment, I am not able to give any concrete details about the place itself. The scene in Ibiza is tightly-closed, and the club owners have to deal with suspicious law enforcement agents. However, I can say that the staff were friendly and helpful, the weed appeared to be of high quality, and the establishment was clean and beautifully designed.

On this sophisticated party island, it seems that the cannabis clubs also maintain top-shelf standards! We can only hope that Spain continues to liberalize its laws so we can all visit these remarkable establishments in a free and open environment.

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PURPLE MONKEY AND HUMBLE PRIDE GLASS INFUSED TEAS AND WHIMSICAL, PRODUCE-THEMED PIPES! WRITER / LUNA REYNA

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urple Monkey owner Wy Livingston is a self-proclaimed foodie and tea-lover; she’s traveled Europe and Asia to engulf herself in the culture, and even picked tea in Japan’s plentiful tea fields. Based out of Colorado, Purple Monkey and its parent company, Better Baked LLC, felt launching a THC-infused tea line only made sense. Besides tea, Purple Monkey makes infused sweeteners, with coffees, cocoas and creamers to soon follow. “You don’t have to teach someone how to drink tea and coffee,” Livingston explains. “It’s part of their daily ritual, so if they are looking for a discrete way to elevate, it’s the perfect product.”

The varying flavors come in both recreational and medicinal dosages, with the option of adding Infused Honey Buzz Sweetener for more kick to your beverage. As winter approaches, a warm cup of tea is perfect to cozy up with on a quiet morning or rainy evening. With caffeinated (Earl Grey) and herbal (Strawberry Kiwi and Monkey Mango) options, there’s a tea for any time of day!

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F E AT U R E

ACTIVIST BUCK ANGEL ON MEN, FEMINISM AND HIS VAGINA WRITER / SCOTT PEARSE

W

hen Buck Angel walks into a room, you’d likely notice nothing out of the ordinar y. The well-muscled physique, the shaved head and the tattoos may make the timid a little wary. But in conversation, that perception quickly changes. “I talk about my vagina all the time,” he reveals. Buck is many things: Man, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, adult film performer, human rights activist—and formerly a woman.

PHOTO / ELLEN STAGG

Though Buck always considered himself a feminist and had an outspoken role as a woman he describes as a “butch dyke,” it was after he transitioned that his true role in feminism became apparent. “When my outside matched my inside,” he explains, “I was able to understand myself better than I ever had. I was able to be a man who embraced his past as a woman.”

With great privilege comes great responsibility “My whole life changed when I became a man,” Buck acknowledges. “People acted so differently to me. A lot of men don’t know they’re privileged because they’ve always been privileged. Now that I’m a man, I can literally walk wherever I want to walk and never have fear. But if I was the person I was before, I would never feel comfortable doing that. People say awful things to you when you’re a butch woman with tits.”

Buck may have gained the privilege inherent to men, but his path is by no means as smooth as someone who has retained their gender from

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birth: “I receive threats from people because I’m a man with a vagina. My vagina makes people go insane.”

“I’m a man, you can see I’m a man,” he continues. “I walk the world very masculine, no one has a clue. Even when I get naked sometimes, people don’t know what they’re seeing. That said, I get into situations where people think they’re being fucking cool and talk shit about women. Of course, they don’t know that I used to be a woman. Now what do I do?

Do I say something? As a feminist man, I have to say something.”

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'

A man s place The question of where men fit into the feminist movement is contentious. It’s a women’s movement, and it would be problematic for men to be prominent at its forefront. Having lived as both genders, Buck brings a unique perspective to the question of how men can best aid women in the movement toward equality.

“I have a chance of having a bigger voice,” says Buck. “As men, we already have a voice. It’s a very difficult thing, because some women will get upset about men even having this conversation. This is what I believe: If men don’t start having a conversation, we will never see true change.”

“My history does make me entitled to have an opinion,” Buck asserts. “Many people will say that when I transitioned I lost my right to this conversation, but I lived as a woman for 28 years, and I still have a vagina. And not to say my vagina is feminine, because it’s not. But I lived a life as a woman.”

Men as allies The problem with men being involved in this conversation is that our male voices already take up so much space. The male voice is perceived as credible, informed, respected.

This assumption of competence doesn’t often apply to women until they prove they’re capable of the same qualities. But without the space, without inherent privilege, where do women stand in the fight against the patriarchy?

Buck’s solution? Men need to give over some of the space they currently occupy. “Sometimes we’re going to have to use our male privilege to open doors,” Buck explains. “I’m in such a unique, powerful space to see this from both sides. That’s why I encourage my male friends—if you hear anything that makes you cringe, it’s your job to speak up and support women. Having gained male privilege, I couldn’t imagine myself not using it.”

“THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE: IF MEN DON’T START HAVING A CONVERSATION, WE WILL NEVER SEE TRUE CHANGE.” – BUCK ANGEL, TRANSGENDER ACTIVIST AND EDUCATOR

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When we come together Feminism’s goals are as numerous and varied as the issues women face simply because of their gender. Women are denied access to jobs, paid less than male counterparts, experience less physical security than men; history is not complete without understanding their subjugation and oppression. A woman’s experience is impossible for men to truly comprehend.

Unless, of course, you were once a woman.

Buck has such an important role to play in this conversation, a n d h e e n c o u ra g e s m e n t o get active and get educated: “Feminism needs men in order to move forward, and I don’t think that’s an anti-feminist statement.

In order to create equality, we need to all be on the same page.”

A voice in any conversation is a privilege—and it’s what you do with your privilege that counts.

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W

e’ve all heard the call for a hemp revolution—ever ything from replacing our paper and cotton clothing to the powder in our protein shakes; even switching composite plastics to hemp or some variation thereof. Many have gone as far as to say that hemp could save the world.

And they’re not wrong. After all, hemp has a seemingly never-ending list of uses that only grows larger by the day. For example, it cleans and nurtures the soil it grows in, matures in as little as three to four months, is naturally resistant to pests, molds and mildews, and could effectively replace multiple heavily polluting industries. If all this is true, however, and Jack Herer illuminated the hemp-laden path of the future 32 years ago, why the hell isn’t everything hemp? Why are we still making cotton clothes, clear-cutting forests for lumber, and worst of all, making tons of plastic each year that cannot biodegrade, be recycled or largely even reused?

Now this is where most would expect a rant about The Man keeping us down. Not to say those arguments don’t have some validity, but there’s a simpler problem holding hemp back: production. Everyone wants hemp, but affordable hemp isn’t currently available.

Without an existing large-scale hemp production industry, processing and final products are substantially more expensive than less sustainable products. And as we all know, price is king. Without a way to get rid of hemp, farmers aren’t incentivized to grow it, so unless a government or massive corporation steps in, it almost seems like an impossible problem—to most.

What if you could unite Thailand’s thirst for sustainable agriculture and a higher GDP with

Western manufacturing and consumerism?

Imagine connecting 4,000 farmers over 350,000 acres of land to grow industrial hemp, simultaneously combining existing technologies in hemp graphene, bio-plastics, bio-fuel and more with the primary producers and purchasers in need of said goods. Going green is en vogue, but so far no one has been able to deliver a reasonable, sustainablyminded business model.

Titan Hemp, a Seed to Sale™ hemp company and their sister company, Titan Bioplastics’ a bio-composite company, have bridged this gap. Uniting decades of experience in global alliances, distribution, bio science and brand development, they saw over the fog of red tape. While most hemp companies focus on marketing the final product, they neglect to highlight the green replacement capabilities hemp has long been championed for. By pairing a scalable industrial production and processing model with the support for scientific advancements, Titan Hemp and Titan Bioplastics will provide industry leaders with a sustainable alternative that’s price equivalent, even competitive.

Most businesses start from the ground up.

In the case of hemp, a traditional business might grow the plant, process it and create hemp-derived products, all with the hope of someday making it big enough to expand their efforts. A typical ‘ground up’ business model doesn’t have a chance against corporate structures like cotton or plastics manufacturing; these big businesses can effectively shut out the competition, and have practically engrained themselves into the fiber of almost everything we purchase.

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P l a s t i c s m a n u f a c t u r i n g i s a s eve ra l h u n d re d - b i l l i o n - d o l l a r i n d u s t r y t h a t ’s developed rapidly over the past 15-20 years.

Unfortunately, this industry is also the leading cause of material pollution, resulting in as high as 6.3 billion tons of plastic waste since its creation. Along with the need for an ever-adaptable product, substantial investments into the machinery and science of bio-plastic productions are crucial. By providing a one-for-one, interchangeable and sustainable alternative ingredient blend that can be utilized in existing equipment and processes, Titan Hemp and Titan Bioplastics effectively replace unsustainable products and processes with sustainable ones.

Amy Ansel and Tanya Hart, Titan Hemp co-founders, have a way of seeing through problems that have held up generations of hemp activists. They combined their entrepreneurial spirits with decades of experience, pairing the corporate world with international connections. Each possessing their own specific assets and abilities, the duo is unstoppable—and it shows in their success. Barely a year and a half has passed since embarking on the project, yet these two women have unfolded a juggernaut of a mission.

Now back to Thailand. Titan Hemp has secured an exclusive Alliance Partnership with True Hmong Global, representatives of Highland Research and Development Institute (HRDI) and True Hmong’s 4,000 locally

contracted farmers, to grow up to one million acres of industrial hemp annually. This will make Thailand the largest hemp-producing country in the world before they even achieve 50 percent growth capacity. Because of Thailand’s specific hemp phenotype, which is bred to finish quickly, the crop can be cycled three times annually in the tropical climate, allowing farmers full-time, year-round work.

Not to mention, farmers make more money per acre, yet another incentive to grow hemp at the local level. The HRDI was created by the Royal Program as a governance over the nation’s industrial hemp program, based on Queen Sirikit’s 2003 initiative to monetize industrial hemp, while simultaneously working towards the minimization of chemical use in farming and manufacturing. After 13 years of slow growth and movement, thanks to Titan Hemp, the project is finally underway. With this said, Titan isn’t stopping in Thailand, they are continually developing industrial hemp pipelines, including within the USA, Uruguay, Peru, EU and Canada.

With projects moving forward (and quickly opening a new market), Titan has also directed their energies toward development partnerships, like with one of the world’s leading bio composite scientists, David Abecassis and their JV, Titan Bioplastics.

Perhaps the most exciting opportunities available are in the production of hemp plastic composites and hemp graphene. Graphene is a strong, atom-thick layer of carbon with

I believe you can better understand the vision and direction of a company when you know who’s standing behind it. The lifelong dedication and trajectory of these two women gives as much (or more) virtue to their works as the noble mission behind it.

AMY ANSEL In the early ‘90s, Amy received an internship with Microsoft straight out of high school. Her passion for technology quickly developed into a career managing global partnerships both for and with Microsoft. While fulfilled and challenged by her career, Amy knew it was time for a change. As a Washington native and long-time Seattleite, she boldly ventured into the cannabis and hemp space: Amy became the first female voice on AM radio reporting about the cannabis industry, and has continued to open doors and minds ever since. Her experiences abroad and exponential success in technology, alongside h e r h e m p a d vo c a c y, g a ve b i r t h t o t h e s e e d s o f Titan Hemp.

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TANYA HART Tanya is a native of the UK, but has spent a lifetime in the US, with nearly three decades working in the wine industry. She built a number of successful businesses, including a chain of fine wine shops and a restaurant, consulted, travelled extensively, and appeared regularly on local Chicago TV as a wine expert. Tanya moved her family from Chicago to Seattle in 2014 to be close to family. Like many hemp entrepreneurs, Tanya’s passion for the product opened doors, and her drive and vision for a global environmental agenda around hemp, earned her recognition. Tanya’s brother introduced her to Amy and recognizing the strength of their business backgrounds and vision, they became fast friends and business partners.

potential uses for improved performance in solar panels, water purification systems, batteries, touch screens and above all, super capacitors. Current graphene production costs are barely affordable on a research level at $2,000/g (roughly $1.8 billion/ton), whereas hemp bio-waste graphene can be produced at a measly cost of $5,000/ ton. Titan’s affordable and sustainable hemp supply allows the exploration of this technology on a whole new plane.

We may be 32 years late to Jack Herer’s hemp revolution, but it’s better late than never. Titan Hemp and Titan Bioplastics are aligning hemp production and manufacturing with consumer-demanded products and research—the major stumbling block that has held back industrial hemp. Instead of focusing on a single problem or solution, these two women looked beyond to what could be and built from there. The advancement of the hemp industry in technologies, production and consumer goods will quickly begin to share a common thread, and I believe it will start with Titan.

WEBSITE: TITANHEMP.NET WEBSITE: TITANBIOPLASTICS.COM

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ush Valley teamed up with Rockstar Farms to create one of the best concentrates to ever bless my eNail.

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“WE’RE ALWAYS ASKING OURSELVES, ‘HOW CAN WE CAN MOVE TO A BETTER VERSION OF HIGHER LEAF?’” – MOLLY HONIG, HIGHER LEAF CO-OWNER 86

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igher Leaf has provided customers with great cannabis since 2015, and will reach even more consumers with their second location in Bellevue, which opened this past year. Molly Honig, one of the owners, spends her days managing the weekto-week operations of the Higher Leaf empire.

Molly, her husband and a few other partners dove headfirst into the cannabis industry with no experience when I-502 became a reality.

They “believe in personal choice,” and by supporting the cannabis industry feel they can help others make their own choices regarding the plant. “We’re always asking ourselves, ‘How can we can move to a better version of Higher Leaf?’” remarks Molly.

The Bellevue location was designed to reflect their mission: Provide a place for people to make their respective cannabis choices, with great customer service and a relaxed environment. Guests can either browse the display cases at their leisure, or jump straight in line to be helped personally by one of the friendly budtenders waiting behind the counter. Every customer is given their “moment” to engage with a budtender for a tailored one-on-one interaction, no matter what they’re looking for.

Molly emphasized that cannabis “is a plant for everybody,” and “anyone can walk in [our store] and feel comfortable.” The team at Higher Leaf has gone above and beyond for their customers, from their cycling daily deals to their online ordering system. They’ve even managed to turn outside experience inward, bringing technology to the cannabis industry; Molly’s husband custom-programmed a system to automatically update their paper menus, allowing for the greatest menu accuracy possible. Higher Leaf has taken the time to understand how to best help their customers, and their efforts have clearly paid off.

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“OUR GOAL IS TO CREATE HIGH-THC STRAINS THAT HARVEST EARLY, WITH HIGH BUD-TO-LEAF RATIOS.” – TOM BUGGIA, WEEDBUSH LOVERS OWNER AND OVERSEER OF PRODUCTION

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T

he successful passing of I-502 inspired many to uproot their lives to become part of the green rush here in Washington State. Tom Buggia left California to find his own way in this brand new industry, and since 2015 Weedbush Lovers has been proving he made the right decision.

As Owner and Overseer of Production, Buggia is very involved in the grow process—despite having no professional gardening experience.

He made it a point early on “to learn from the mistakes made by the first farms [in the industry].” Driven by the new opportunities and challenges in this cannabis space, Buggia put down roots in Othello, Washington to establish his brand.

Just east of Othello sits a sprawling, 30,000-square-foot farm with rows of cannabis set in pots of soil alongside full greenhouses. “We focus on one big harvest with two smaller harvests alongside [the big one],” says Buggia. With less than a dozen people doing everything from harvesting to processing to marketing, Weedbush has

become a tight and efficient Tier III operation.

Their hard work is paying off, and Weedbush products can now be found on store shelves from Bellingham to Spokane.

“We’re tr ying to stand apart with the genetics we produce,” notes Buggia as he explains the farm’s breeding program.

With an obvious emphasis on the science of cannabis plants, Buggia seeks to breed new strains with all the best characteristics for optimizing production. “Our goal is to create high-THC strains that harvest early, with high bud-to-leaf ratios,” explains Buggia.

To realize this goal, he reached out to the University of Washington to find horticulture students who were interested in joining the cannabis revolution. Weedbush Lovers stands apart as a company actively trying to shape the genetic future of cannabis in Washington State.

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PROFILE

RAP’S RISING STAR GIFTED GAB WRITER / JAKE UITTI PHOTO / TINA BALLEW

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W

hen Gabrielle Kadushin (aka Seattlebased rapper Gifted Gab) was 15, she smoked her first blunt. “I was with my older brother,” she recalls. “He took me to a party and we were smoking in the car. And I was trippin’—I remember screaming at the top my lungs that I wanted apple juice and Funyuns!”

Since then she says she’s rarely taken even a few days off between getting high. And while for some that may hinder productive output, for Kadushin, one of the Emerald City’s most prolific lyricists, it’s all good. “I think hip-hop and weed are very synonymous,” she asserts. “Weed has always been a part of music in general, really.”

For Kadushin, who has worked in most facets of the weed industry, including budtending and working as a trimmer, cannabis remains an important part of her day-to-day. “I have a very close and intimate relationship with cannabis,” she laughs.

But even before the days of breaking up bud and rolling it in a Swisher, Kadushin has rhymed.

As a kid, she would listen to albums with her older brother, who is six years her senior, and his friends. She quickly learned she had a knack for absorbing lyrics. “I can’t put a reason behind it or why,” she remembers, “but I could listen to a song once or twice and know the lyrics to it.”

As she grew up, she would write rhymes with her best friend, “talking shit” about the other girls in her grade at school. On other occasions she’d recite the lyrics she heard on popular rap albums—much to her mother’s chagrin. “I would constantly get in trouble for that,” she recalls, laughing. As an adult, Kadushin developed a dense, verbiage-packed writing style. Her rhymes recall the old school giants like Biggie Smalls and Big L; she raps with forceful bravado, and her YouTube videos climb into the tens of thousands of views.

But between sessions, you can find Kadushin— who will be releasing her next record in early 2018—with a blunt or two in hand, pondering the events of the day. “I’m smoking right now,” she says. “I’m partial to the blunts. They’re durable; they don’t go out easy like joints do. I take two to the face, and I’m good.”

WEBSITE: GIFTEDGABMUSIC.COM TWITTER: @GIFTED_GAB

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PROFILE

WRITER / JEFFREY RINDSKOPF PHOTO / COURTESY OF LESLEY HAZLETON

D

on’t call it an -ism.

“I hate the word agnosticism—as though we need one more -ism in the world,” says Lesley Hazleton, whose most recent book, Agnostic: A Spiritual Manifesto, argues for the legitimacy and humanity of the religious stance so often derided as wishy-washy by atheists and fundamentalists alike.

But Hazleton rejects this black-and-white view of faith, just as she rejects the illusion of certainty that often breeds prejudice in so many of those dreaded -isms. She speaks eloquently on the dangers of conviction and the virtues

100

of doubt, through a mid-Atlantic accent that seems lifted straight from an old Katherine Hepburn film.

Hazleton was born in England but currently lives in a houseboat on Lake Union in Seattle, having spent some of the interim reporting from Jerusalem, immersing herself in religions to which she doesn’t subscribe and writing about the places where the personal and political intersect. DOPE caught up with Hazleton , who blogs as the Accidental Theologist, to learn a little more about her approach to faith as outlined in her empoweringly uncertain manifesto.

“WHEN YOU TAKE SOMETHING FOR GRANTED, YOU STOP THINKING ABOUT IT. TO ME, THINKING IS BEING ALIVE, QUESTIONING IS BEING ALIVE. DOUBT IS BEING ALIVE.” – AUTHOR LESLEY HAZLETON

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DOPE Magazine: Many of your previous books looked at religious figures through a historical context, so how was it different writing your version of a manifesto?

Lesley Hazleton: I thought, okay, a manifesto, I’ll just rattle this off in a matter of months, because surely that’s how manifestos are written. Then when I started working on it, I realized I have to basically invent a whole new way of talking about this, because it doesn’t really exist yet. The agnostic stance has been defined by its opponents—adamant believers and adamant non-believers—who think being agnostic is sitting smackdab in the middle of a straight line, or straddling a fence with a spike sticking straight up your ass.

I can’t think of a more depressing way to think of the world than thinking of it as a straight, two-dimensional line. I decided to leave that line on the ground and take off from there, to make it three-dimensional, or four, or five. I was faced with creating a language to think about all this. That was daunting.

What are the values of the agnostic stance?

It’s open, it’s curious; it never allows you to fall back on an easy position. It is difficult, and therefore interesting, and always challenging. Doubt, which most people seem to be terrified of, is essential to it. I think it’s incredibly dangerous when people are convinced that they’re right. I think conviction is very, very dangerous, because it’s a dead-end of thought.

You’re not thinking anymore. You’re sure you’ve got it right, and they’ve got it wrong.

Again, it’s this binary mode of thinking—yes or no, God exists or does not exist, which is such a dumb question because it presumes we all know what we’re talking about when we use that three-letter word, which itself is a kind of pet name for everything we don’t understand. It’s metaphysical shorthand for everything we don’t grasp but sense—a sense of awe, a sense of wonder, a sense that we can’t take our existence for granted. When you take something for granted, you stop thinking about it. To me, thinking is being alive, questioning is being alive. Doubt is being alive.

What do you see as the benefit of accepting the mystery of those questions?

It’s not accepting the mysteries, but delving into them. I write to explore. It’s exciting; it takes you places you didn’t know you could come to. Really, it takes me to infinity, which I know terrifies most people. But I find it immensely consoling that I’m less than a speck in what we call the universe, as though there’s only one, as though the universe we can see is the absolute limit.

I remember writing that mine is a very strange kind of manifesto, because most manifestos are written to say “this is how things should be,” and what I wrote doesn’t provide answers. It explores, finds more questions, and asks you to go further. That, to me, is the delight of it. Imagine if you had all the answers! You might as well be dead. What’s to live for, or to think about? When someone thinks they know it all, you know how incredibly boring they are?

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PROFILE

WHISTLEBLOWER VICTORIA STARR ON DOING THE RIGHT THING WRITER / KATIE CONLEY PHOTO / CAITLIN CALLAHAN

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harmacists don’t typically advise their patients to utilize the healing properties of cannabis. Testing concerns, lack of federal legalization and a general absence of solid research from the U.S. tend to keep the healing plant outside the realm of prescribed medicine. Enter Victoria Starr. A registered pharmacist, she now acts as a consultant and educator to clients, politicians and doctors through NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Southwest Washington, and has par tnered with Oregon-based Gesundheit Foods to create an upcoming line of high-end edibles.

The reason she no longer works for Big Pharma? She exposed her former employer’s unethical practices, resulting in one of the largest pharmaceutical settlements in American history. Starr was instrumental in taking down Janssen, a subsidiary of pharma giant Johnson & Johnson, and its inaccurate marketing of Risperdal, an antipsychotic drug. The story is soon to be chronicled b y G e o r g e C l o o n e y a n d t h e c re a t o r s of Making a Murderer in an upcoming Netflix documentary.

When I spoke with Starr, she had just returned from a trip to Morocco where she took cooking classes and explored the local cuisine. She adores yoga, cooking, gardening and throwing lavish dinner parties for her friends and family. Cheer ful and frankly honest, Starr’s authenticity is hard to deny.

She is a woman who knows her own heart.

I asked if she missed working in the pharmaceutical industry. “Oh, I knew it wasn’t for me,” Starr quickly responded. She felt uncomfortable being forced to push Risperdal onto children and the elderly, in part because the drug wasn’t meant to be a “catch-all, cure-all” drug—yet that’s how it was being presented to clients. Nearly two hundred lawsuits have been filed against Johnson

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& Johnson for the resulting gynecomastia (breast growth in boys) that came from Risperdal use.

These days, Starr advocates for the use of cannabis as part of one’s healing journey through her work with NAMI—if it makes sense for the patient’s symptoms. A sufferer of Chronic Lyme disease, she experienced debilitating pain in her day-to-day life before experimenting with the healing properties of cannabis. “It was very much the type of pain that made me unable to have an active lifestyle, to do the things I love,” she recalls. Her husband suggested they visit a dispensary to see if they could find a product to alleviate her symptoms, but the trial and error of finding the right balance of THC and CBD became an issue. She missed going on hikes with her dogs, doing yoga, paddle boarding.

“I didn’t have the energy to see what was going to work,” Starr says. “It’s unfortunate.

What do you try? As a pharmacist, I was interested in looking at specific strains— specific ways I could get a dose, or a specific ratio of CBD to THC, and I kind of experimented with that. It was really difficult.” It took Starr over six months to find her perfect combo: A ratio of 4:1 CBD to THC that mitigated pain, without noticeable psychoactive effects.

Industry standard concerns led Starr to partner with Gesundheit Foods—a Portlandbased company focused on high-quality, fresh ingredients—on a line of infused products.

Edibles are often the safest option for those who suffer from auto-immune disorders, as they cannot smoke cannabis. “We need another avenue to get this medication into us,” Starr explains. “With the formation of Gesundheit, we’ll be able to have a consistent product, a healthier product, and we can actually directly formulate very specific medicines.”

“LET YOUR INTUITION GUIDE YOU. JUST FOLLOW IT. IF IT’S FOR THE GOOD OF ALL, YOU CAN’T GO WRONG.”

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The Gesundheit Foods cannabis line will stay away from the sugary baked goods that saturate the current edibles market, and instead focus on organic, non-GMO ingredients. “No junk,” emphasizes Starr.

I n f u s e d b eve ra g e s , c o c o n u t o i l , p o s t workout powders and even spreads such as margarine, peanut butter, jam and hazelnut are all in the works at Gesundheit. Their facility boasts a 5000-square-foot kitchen, and they plan for the space to act as an experimental venue where guests can sample and test new creations. The company also intends to give back to the community and donate to mental health foundation organizations.

Her desire for precision dosing undoubtedly comes from her own struggle to find the correct cannabis prescription, as well as her work with clients at NAMI, most of whom are in their 20s and 30s and use cannabis to self-medicate. She consults with patients and recommends strains she believes will be beneficial to their specific symptoms. “People have always used cannabis for a recreational high, to get stoned,” Starr notes. “But for me, it’s more interesting [to look at] the medical aspects of it, breaking it down, to help with the different problems people might have.”

Doing the right thing seems hardwired into Starr’s DNA. She reflects on her time as a whistleblower and the uncertainty of her decisions: “I honestly felt like a small, insignificant person when the investigation started,” she remarks. “I was so young and naive, but I knew that what was happening was wrong, and I was willing to speak up.”

Whether its globe-trotting, her advocacy work, or experimenting with new edible concoctions, Starr is content with the path her life has taken. “So much of what I do comes from an irrepressible passion to help others live better lives,” she explains. “I feel that each and every person has a unique gift to share. It is held deep inside. The goal is for each of us to tap into that gift. Let your intuition guide you. Just follow it. If it’s for the good of all, you can’t go wrong.” Starr says she has zero regrets about her decision to leave Big Pharma. “Being in the trenches is more exciting to me.”

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INTERVIEW

WRITER / JEFFREY RINDSKOPF

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PHOTO / TINA BALLEW

s the primary author and campaign director for Initiative 502, Alison Holcomb was instrumental in legalizing marijuana in Washington state. She then transitioned into a national role as the ACLU’s director for the campaign to end mass incarceration.

Today, she’s back as the ACLU of Washington’s Director of Strategy, still fighting injustices that afflict the nation at large. When DOPE called to speak with her, Holcomb was between meetings, discussing newly-imposed restrictions on women’s access to birth control—only the latest assault on civil liberties from an administration that’s made work at the ACLU eventful, to say the least.

DOPE Magazine: How did you transition from working on I-502 to being the national director for the campaign to end mass incarceration?

Alison Holcomb: It flowed from that work—from our perspective, the effort to end cannabis prohibition is the first step to ending the War on Drugs, which is a critical component to reducing the overuse of the criminal justice system to address what are essentially public health matters. When the national ACLU had an opportunity to impact that at a broader scale, I was invited to go work with them in October 2014, tailoring policy proposals to reduce incarceration. I did that through the end of 2016, and a big piece of the work was working with stakeholders in Oklahoma to get two ballot initiatives passed last year—one that reduced the penalty for possession of any drug from felony to misdemeanor, and the other directing the savings of the state criminal justice system back to the counties for investment in preventative and rehabilitative community programs.

Did you learn anything from working on I-502 that you’ve applied to a broader scale?

I think so. A lot of what’s important with these large problems that seem immovable is to spend the time upfront, identifying the questions and concerns that voters and stakeholders have about major changes in policy—especially with cannabis legalization, since you’re talking about something that remains a crime under federal law. Doing the work to engage with a really broad spectrum of stakeholders was critical to moving that campaign forward, and I think it really helps us in terms of minimizing the amount of fear and opposition we might otherwise have faced.

“. . . THE EFFORT TO END CANNABIS PROHIBITION IS THE FIRST STEP TO ENDING THE WAR ON DRUGS, WHICH IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT TO REDUCING THE OVERUSE OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM . . .”

– ALISON HOLCOMB, ACLU OF WASHINGTON’S DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY

In 2010, the ACLU set a goal of cutting incarceration rates in half by 2020. How’s that goal looking, seven years in?

When I was working on it last year, we were trying to achieve that ambitious goal working on a state-by-state basis. Oklahoma became a significant target, because it has the second highest incarceration rate and is a very conservative state. So trying a policy a shift there that could be adopted elsewhere was a way we saw catalyzing broader change, by investing in one location.

Under President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a major proponent of expanding the war on drugs, how has the fight against mass incarceration changed?

While there’s a lot of concern about the rhetoric, the reality is that most criminal justice law enforcement happens at the state and local level. The states have been ahead of the federal government for a number of years in making significant criminal justice reform, and I don’t see that changing. I don’t see any states deciding to jump on the bandwagon and return to the status quo that hasn’t been serving anybody particularly well.

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ARTS

WRITER / E. SOMES PHOTO / COURTESY OF A-WOL DANCE COLLECTIVE

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en Livengood’s unstoppable relationship with dance began at the age of ten. A foundation in ballet and jazz progressed into a more modern, contemporary style in high school and college, even while practicalminded parents pushed her to pursue a traditional career. While attaining a degree in Nutrition, Livengood’s heart kept dancing until she found aerial. The freedom of flight took hold for Jen, and she was instantly “obsessed with being in the air,” as she says. She found

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aerial dance to be an intoxicating way to get her endorphins flowing, defying gravity and doing what she loved…dancing!

Livengood’s enthusiasm for aerial dance, which is encompassed in the circus arts, is one type of dance that is socially available and inclusive. People who might not fit into other forms of dance can find acceptance and inspiration from aerial. The multidimensional experience of mathematical thinking and tying oneself up with ropes and silk fabrics,

“AERIAL EMPOWERS DANCERS TO DEFY BOUNDARIES, TO FIND AND BUILD THEIR OWN STRENGTH WHILE WORKING ALONGSIDE OTHER PASSIONATE ARTISTS.”

silk fabrics, coupled with physical movement connected to music, can be a fulfilling experience for both mind and body.

The A-WOL Dance Collective was founded by Livengood in 2003 with the help of three fellow aerialists, and their success has been tremendous nearly 15 years later. The days of rehearsing in nightclubs and churches are gone; rigging from the rafters of unheated warehouses has been replaced by a permanent headquarters. What began as four artists has evolved into a multi-faceted organization with 15 professional A-WOL dancers, as well as a group of 12 pre-professional dancers known as FlyCo, 18 junior aerialists comprising Aeros and more than 120 youths and teens enrolled in 10-month lesson programs.

Livengood believes the success of the organization springs from the spirit of collaboration and ownership the company fosters in its members.

The skill and beauty of the dancers is palpable, whether watching them effortlessly swinging in the air or mending a costume five minutes before going on stage.

A e r i a l e m p owe r s d a n c e r s t o d e f y boundaries, to find and build their own strength while working alongside other passionate artists.

The pride and joy of A-WOL is their annual outdoor Art In The Dark event that takes places every summer in West Linn’s Mary S. Young Park.

More than 2500 people view this show annually, which begins at dusk as a fully illuminated aerial performance with sets fully rigged from the trees and live musical accompaniment.

Livengood’s devotion to the art of aerial dance is embodied in the A-WOL Dance Collective and all of its dancers. She has proven that the power of dance is truly limitless.

513 NE SCHUYLER ST PORTLAND, OR 97212 (503) 351-5182 FACEBOOK: @AWOLDANCE INSTAGRAM: @AWOLDANCE AWOLDANCE.ORG

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LIFESTYLE

GANJA GODDESS GETAWAY WRITER / CHRISTINA CASSEN

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PHOTO / CIERA LAGGES

icture this: An overnight glamping retreat for female-identifying individuals—or goddesses—using cannabis as a power ful therapeutic tool to enhance spiritual practice and promote creativity. This is Ganja Goddess Getaway (GGG).

GGG started in August 2016 with a mission to help connect women to one another and to the cannabis plant. The organization’s main values are inclusiveness and radical self-love.

The GGG sisterhood is diverse: Goddesses come from all walks of life, including the LGBTQ+ community, traveling from around the world to attend the event in California; mothers and daughters bring a true familial vibe to the gathering. Some women arrive solo and quickly form new and lasting friendships, while others bring no or limited experience with cannabis and leave dabbing alongside the more experienced goddesses.

GGG events feature gif t bags and a seemingly unlimited supply of herb in all its glorious forms, including flower, passed joints and blunts, edibles, topicals and a dab bar. GGG retreat activities have included educational workshops, women in cannabis panels, belly dancing and yoga classes, horseback riding, hiking, swimming, arts and crafts, campfire and s’mores, drum circles, sound baths, massage and holistic therapy such as healing intuition and hypnosis. And the food at GGG is on point! Deliciously unreal meals and snacks satisfy goddesses’ munchies and the temptation to indulge— although there are always healthy vegan and gluten-free options, as well.

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Ever y Sunday at 4:20 P.M., connect with the goddesses on social media (#SisterSeshSunday) and “sesh with your sisters with the purpose of fostering radical self love in each of you, then take that goddess energy and spread it everywhere.

That’s how women smoking weed with a purpose can change the world!”

During the kickoff of the GGG retreat I attended this fall, founding CEO Deidra Bagdasarian, or “Miss Bliss” of Bliss Edibles, set the mood for the weekend by warmly welcoming the goddesses and dropping this wisdom: “Cannabis is like a mirror, in that she will show you your true self and hold your hand as you fix yourself.” Goddesses are empowered to use cannabis to connect to the divine within, so that she may more deeply connect with others in this place of unity and oneness. Cannabis helps us to truly discover ourselves, shed our masks and open ourselves to genuine human connection. Personally, I felt welcomed, loved and at peace in a safe, soothing space where we celebrated cannabis without shame. I left my first GGG experience feeling transformed.

GGG expresses our fundamental right to an altered state of consciousness, and illuminates the path for women to explore the healing and transformative power of cannabis. Goddesses are encouraged to bring the GGG sense of community home to spread to all: Friends, family and the world at large, including those outside of ganja. GGG recognizes that women are uniquely poised to support the female cannabis plant by normalizing it with our families and communities, to make smoking weed as normal as drinking wine, and to raise the next generation without the stigma currently associated with cannabis.

Simply put, the women of GGG are using cannabis to become the best and most authentic version of themselves. Anyone can get high; for this tribe of goddesses, however, it’s less about blazing and more about blossoming—together.

INSTAGRAM: @SISTERSESHSUNDAY INSTAGRAM: @GANJAGODDESSGETAWAY

Check out GanjaGoddessGetaway.com for GGG’s upcoming schedule in California (“Weed Prom” in Oakland in December, Couples Retreat in February, Northern and Southern California Retreats in March, and Ganja Mamas Retreat in May). GGG hopes to expand outside of California in 2018.

“CANNABIS IS LIKE A MIRROR, IN THAT SHE WILL SHOW YOU YOUR TRUE SELF AND HOLD YOUR HAND AS YOU FIX YOURSELF.” – DEIDRA BAGDASARIAN, GANJA GODDESS GETAWAY CEO AND “MISS BLISS” OF BLISS EDIBLES 125

BUSINESS

AN UNWAVERING FORCE IN THE FACE OF ILLNESS WRITER / CAMILLE OCHOA PHOTO / ASHLEIGH CASTRO

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n a recent sunny morning in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco, I met with my friend Anna Wyatt for lattes. I listened as she described what she wants to accomplish with her new event hosted by The Betty Project. “I want everyone to feel like they can share a part of themselves that matters, you know? I want to create a safe zone for these women,” she explained in her North Carolinian accent, green eyes sharpening as she looked at me. I couldn’t help but smile as I nodded. To know Anna is to love her.

In a crisp white shirt over fitted blue jeans, her soft blond curls perfectly framing her face, even the barista can’t keep his eyes off her. She is a beautiful woman— and not just on the outside. This morning’s meeting is to discuss new Betty Project events, just one of the ways Anna brings people together with cannabis. This new party is set to be held at the legendary Avedano’s Meats, up in the hills of Bernal Heights, the perfect venue for an intimate gathering. She’s been shopping at this quaint, woman-founded establishment for years, and it’s easy to see why. Both businesses, though in completely different industries, are closely aligned, adamant in serving nothing but the best to their communities.

Growing up in North Carolina, Anna and her friends referred to marijuana as “Betty” whenever they wanted a

joint or two. When she relocated to San Francisco with her husband, they began to grow some of the finest cannabis in California. Years later, they still fondly call their mother plants “Betty,” and after legalization, creating a brand called The Betty Project was a no-brainer.

I first worked alongside Anna and her team at the High Times Cannabis Cup in 2016. Our tent was the happening spot to be, and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased, or because we’d created a nice lounge with throw pillows and cheese and crackers; it was the way that Anna makes you feel, as though you’ve known her for years. Everyone took turns sharing his or her cannabis stories, and you couldn’t help but feel flattered by what a great listener she is.

That was the same weekend the Kitchen Table Tapes was born, a series of short movies featuring Anna’s patients sharing their amazing and emotional stories right in their own kitchens. After viewing some unedited first takes, I couldn’t help but feel the chills. In a world filled with of every kind of desensitization imaginable, if something happens to break through, it really touches our hearts. Those emotions are what drive us out— sometimes in droves of hundreds of thousands—to rally for legalization or reform.

“I WANT EVERYONE TO FEEL LIKE THEY CAN SHARE A PART OF THEMSELVES THAT MATTERS, YOU KNOW? I WANT TO CREATE A SAFE ZONE FOR THESE WOMEN.” – ANNA WYATT, FOUNDER OF THE BETTY PROJECT

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And that’s what this project is all about.

Shining a light on each patient’s journey, finding out what they’re going through, then pheno hunting until right the kind of cannabis for their specific symptoms is found. Even though more and more companies are shying away from the expenses of growing, The Betty Project has dedicated entire rooms to genetic development alongside their cultivation rooms. “Knowing what you want makes the search for genetic superiority that much more fascinating,” is what Anna always says when people ask about her newest strain, the Lono Haze—a beautiful, high-CBD Hawaiian strain (Bwanana) crossed with Blue Cheese— decidedly excellent for easing inflammation and stress.

In an industr y where the landscape changes monthly, and in a city where the tech industry has overwhelmed small businesses, Anna Wyatt is an unwavering force. She remains undeterred, passionate and ready as ever. As I sit here editing this article, I receive a text from her confirming our meeting for later today. We’re going to the Mission, where I’ll introduce her to an 88-year-old oil painter.

After 20 years of taking sleeping pills, his side effects are getting worse. I reached out to Anna the moment I left his building last week, thinking, ‘If there’s anyone who will hear someone’s story and help, it’s her.’ When I mentioned he’d been limping from a recent fall (yet another side effect from the pills), she asked when we could pay him a visit.

It takes a genuine healer, someone who truly believes in the power and potency of their product to be able to tirelessly reach out to patients time and time again. Yet this is the cornerstone The Betty Project is built on, and this is the reason I know that this is a brand that not only will survive but thrive.

WEBSITE: THEBETTYPROJECT.COM TWITTER: @BETTYPROJECT INSTAGRAM: @THEBETTYPROJECT

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RECIPE

DECADENT DARK CHOCOLATE CLUSTERS THE PERFECT HOLIDAY CANNACANDY! WRITER & PHOTO / LAURIE AND MARYJANE

D

oes chocolate make you happy? Wait, let me answer that: Yes, it actually does. Dark chocolate has significant health benefits, both mental and physical.

Dark chocolate—the darker, the better—is a significant source of antioxidants and lowers blood pressure. Chocolate also boosts serotonin levels, which helps with depression.

If chocolate is your jam, then this dessert has your name written all over it.

Dark Chocolate Clusters: Creamy, crunchy and chewy! The tender raisins in this recipe add a touch of sweetness. These clusters make a delicious holiday gift for the special woman in your life. Or man, ‘cause men are special, too!

For more of Laurie and MaryJane, visit: LAURIEANDMARYJANE.COM

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INGREDIENTS Yield: 30 clusters 2 cups Melted dark chocolate 2-4 tbsp. Canna-butter or canna-coconut oil, melted 3/4 cup Toasted slivered almonds 1/4 cup Toasted coconut flakes 1/4 cup Raisins

INSTRUCTIONS Place the melted chocolate in a glass bowl, then add the infused oil or butter. Stir well. Add almost all of the ingredients, leaving just a handful’s worth to sprinkle over the chocolate before it sets. Place the candies on parchment paper by the heaping teaspoon. Immediately sprinkle with the remaining nuts, coconut and raisins. Let them set for at least an hour before eating.

GLASS

DELLENE PERALTA'S STYLISH, SCORCHING GLASS WRITER / PHOTO / WIND HOME

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ellene Peralta has been on the torch for some time now. As a matter of a fact, I would call her an OG glass worker—and one of the best around, to boot.

She first started in 1996 and has been creating one-of-akind pieces ever since. Dellene cites Clinton Roman as an inspiration from back in the day, explaining that he taught her how to make old school gold and silver pipes.

Dellene loves the infinite possibilities that come from working with glass; her creativity and artistic approach can instantly be seen in her work. She’s known for her high heel shoe rigs and dichroic applications, but Dellene also

makes carb caps, pendants and fun sculptures. Most of what she makes are solo works, although she sometimes undertakes collaboration pieces with other artists.

She can make any piece for any budget, ranging from one hundred to thousands of dollars. You can find her work for sale in shops around the country, including Holy Smoke, Mary Jane’s and Gathering Glass in Washington state, and at Amazon Organics, MellowMood, Hotbox and 42degrees in Oregon. She can also be contacted for the occasional custom piece.

ARTIST DELLENE PERALTA INSTAGRAM: @DELLENEPERALTA

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