OCTOBER OCTOBER 2020 2020
THE STATE OF NEVADA CATASTROPHICALLY FAILED US. IT’S JUST NOT RIGHT AND WE DESERVE BETTER.
refused to answer any questions
-Ross Miller, plaintiff attorney
destroyed evidence
World War Weed
billions of dollars in hurts marijuana the public licenses that’s not how marijuana should be sold in our community
unfair, illegal process redo a patently unfair and illegal process
violations were swept under the rug
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ROSS MILLER
hurts the public played favorites significant unfair advantage
ere swept under
on the legal battle for Nevada’s recreational marijuana dispensary licenses
that’s not how marijuana should be sold in our community
the Department failed to follow the law
distrust in government unfair, illegal process destroyed evidence violations were swep
efused to answer any questions
orites World
War Weed the Department failed to follow the law
refused to answer any questions
destroyed evidence
Introducing
Select Elite Live Oil Available at
Curaleaf Blvd. 1736 S. Las Vegas Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89104 (702) 727-3187 Store Hours: 9am – 3am daily
Acres 2320 Western Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89102 (702) 399-4200 Store Hours: 7am – 3am daily
curaleaf.com/locations/#nevada | selectbetter.com For use only by adults 21 years of age and older. Keep out of reach of children.
@curaleaf.usa | @select.better
@curaleafNV
Curaleaf Nevada
SUSTAIN YOUR STATE AWARD WINNING VAPES, TINCTURES AND CONCENTRATES
from the editor
Publisher Guy Bertuzzi, guy@elevatenv.com Editor-In-Chief Beth Schwartz, beth@elevatenv.com Creative Director Brooke Bertuzzi, brooke@finetheagency.com Contributing Writers /Photographers: Justin Alexander, chefs Melissa Parks and Laurie Wolf General Sales Manager: Mark Damkroeger, mark@elevatenv.com
ELEVATION PUBLISHING LLC Chief Financial Officer Cassandra Lupo FINE THE AGENCY Partner Kelli Maruca, kelli@finetheagency.com
elevate nevada magazine makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors, false data or omissions. elevate nevada assumes no responsibility for any claims or representations contained in this publication or in any advertisement. elevate nevada magazine does not encourage the illegal use of any of the products or advertisements within. Reproduction in whole or in part strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. To subscribe to elevate nevada, visit elevatenv.com/subscribe 7120 Rafael Ridge Way, Las Vegas, NV 89119 Phone: 702.280.0363 | Email: info@elevatenv.com
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In the last two issues we’ve gotten back to the basics of cannabis—with everyone from novices to avid consumers in mind. Our September issue was a beginner’s guide, themed as A Time to Explore, offering a primer to those interested in giving cannabis a try. We have followed that issue up with one that zeroes in on topics specifically developed for the more advanced user. So, in this, our connoisseur issue, we feature a product review on concentrates and extracts, starting on page 10. We also endeavor to find out who is considered a cannasseur with the help of industry experts in our feature “Are you a cannabis connoisseur?” on page 29. Although these themes weren’t originally on our 2020 editorial calendar, the Covid-19 health crisis and ensuing pandemic caused us to pivot. Driving our pivot was learning about the disconcerting uptick in deaths in Clark County involving fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine. At the end of July, the Southern Nevada Health District released stunning data that showed in just half a year, the county nearly tied the number of fentanyl deaths for all of 2019. Between January and July, fentanyl killed 63 people in Clark County, a 125 percent increase from the 28 deaths that occurred last year during the same time, according to the SNHD. “It is important for people to be aware of the growing public health risk fentanyl poses to our community,” Dr. Fermin Leguen, acting chief health officer for the health district, said in conjunction with the release of the report. “It can be fatal, and it can be found in other drugs.” After learning of the harrowing
number of deaths that have resulted from fentanyl in the first half of 2020 and taking Dr. Leguen’s warning to heart, the team at elevate decided it was time to revisit the basics of cannabis. Operating under the theory that the deaths were a result of people either experimenting or being just plain bored during the self-isolation resulting from Covid-19, we wanted to present readers with information about cannabis versus deadly opioids such as fentanyl. One of the key medical aspects of cannabis, which was included in our September issue, deals with the body’s endocannabinoid system which contains CB1 and CB2 receptors. The placement of these receptors is why cannabis overdoses are impossible as they are not present in the basal regions of the brain that are responsible for heart and respiratory functions. Stay safe out there and if you missed the September issue, go to elevatenv.com/ digital-issue. Finally, our cover story this month, “War World Weed,” is not geared to cannabis users at all but is instead an article that every Nevadan should take 15 minutes to read. In the exclusive interview with attorney Ross Miller, readers are given a glimpse into the twoyear legal fight surrounding Nevada’s recreational marijuana licensing process. It has been a complicated case that didn’t receive much press coverage so Miller’s insight will not only surprise you, but also dismay and dishearten. Very on-brand for 2020 as it rolls on.
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Football Season is here! Be ready for every game and get your Game On. Buy Camino Blackberry Blitz Gummies at MedMen, Planet13, The Source, Oasis and other local dispensaries. Join our “Game On” Tailgates at select rotating dispensary locations every Friday afternoon before home games for fun, food, games, and swag giveaways! Tailgates will be announced the week before each home game. Follow @MADEBYKIVA for the tailgate dispensary location details. For Use only by adults 21 years of age and older. Keep out of reach of children.
5MG THC PER GUMMY TERPENE PROFILE: LIMONENE, BETA-CARYOPHYLLENE, LINALOOL
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Cooking Cannabis WILD MUSHROOM PAPPARDELLE WITH PEAS & GOAT CHEESE
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elevatenv.com | october
COURTESY OF CHEFS LAURIE WOLF AND MELISSA PARKS
October 17 is National Pasta Day. There are many fun ways to celebrate the popular carb including inventing your own pasta shape. There are approximately 350 different types of pasta around the world, so mimic your favorite one or invent a unique pasta shape. Other ways to celebrate could include hosting a spaghetti dinner or indulging in your favorite pasta dish. Another way to celebrate the day is trying out a new recipe such as this delicious canna-infused recipe from “Herb: Mastering the Art of Cooking with Cannabis.”
INGREDIENTS (makes 4 servings):
DIRECTIONS:
14 ounces wild mushrooms, (i.e. chanterelles, morels, maitakes or whatever is seasonal) ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 shallots, minced 1 garlic clove, minced 4 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature ½ cup vegetable stock sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 1 lb. pappardelle 1 10-ounce package of frozen peas, thawed and drained 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese zest and juice of ½ lemon 4 tsp. rémoulade cannabutter* ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley, for garnish
Rub the mushrooms gently with a damp paper towel to remove any dirt (do not run them under water—they will get soggy), and coarsely chop them. Bring a large pot of liberally salted water to a boil for the pasta. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté until they begin to turn light golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms have softened, and released most of their liquid, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in goat cheese. Add vegetable stock and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the mushrooms for 3 minutes, until most of the
liquid has been absorbed, then season with salt and pepper. Cook the pappardelle according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the water before draining pasta and set it aside. Add drained pasta to the skillet with the mushrooms. Stir in peas, parmesan, lemon zest and juice, cannabutter, and keep stirring for 2 minutes until the sauce is thick enough to just coat the back of a spoon. (If needed, add reserved pasta water, 1 Tbsp. at a time to bring the sauce to the desired consistency.) Just before serving, top with parsley and extra goat cheese. *Rémoulade Cannabutter
INGREDIENTS (makes 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups; serving size is 1 tsp.)
Bring your cannabutter to room temperature and blend in additional ingredients. This can be done by hand (with a fork or spoon) or in a food processor. To ensure even distribution, mix the butter for a least 1 to 2 minutes. If you use a food processor, be sure not to overmix (you don’t want to heat the butter up too much). Once the butter is thoroughly blended, transfer it to a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Roll the butter into a log and wrap it tightly. Put it in a freezer zip-top bag before storing it in the fridge or freezer.
Chefs’ note: Cannabutters should not be heated to a high temperature because a large percentage of the THC will evaporate resulting in a bitter-tasting, minimally medicated edible. Compound cannabutters can be refrigerated for one week or frozen for four weeks without losing their potency. Please remember when cooking with cannabis you are cooking with a medicine and the medicine amount and portions of the food ingested should always be taken into consideration. Always start out with small portions or doses and wait 30 minutes to an hour before eating any additional portions of food that has been medicated.
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1 cup cannabutter 1-1/2 Tbsp. dehydrated onion ¼ cup green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced 1 Tbsp. ketchup 2 tsp. olive oil 2 tsp. prepared fresh horseradish 1 to 3 tsp. Louisiana hot sauce 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1-1/2 tsp. celery salt Kosher salt and finely ground fresh black pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS
elevatenv.com | october
SEPTEMBER’S FEATURED STRAIN: HEADBAND COOKIES Headband Cookies is a Hybrid strain that has been a Floravega fan favorite since its introduction. The result of a GSC and D-DNL cross, Headband Cookies produces beautiful dense, deep green buds whose calyxes are accentuated by orange hairs
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and a frosty white layer of trichomes. Headband Cookies has a sour and citrus aroma with herbal and earthy notes that finish off with diesel. Headband Cookies users report euphoric and heavy hitting effects, hunger and an uplifted mood. Averaging a THC percentage in the high 20’s it is no surprise that even veteran smokers are hit hard by this hybrid.
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Let’s talk cannabis. CONVENIENT CURBSIDE PICK-UP | CALL 702.331.2625
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CONCENTRATION MATTERS It takes concentration to extract the synergistic entourage effects of cannabis
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elevatenv.com | october
By Justin Alexander
M
and terpenes is exactly why they are beneficial as compared to ade from the cannabis plant, concentrate flower. Another advantage of concentrates is high bioavailability, products have been processed to keep meaning the effects that you feel and experience, as well as the only the most desirable plant compounds rate of absorption into your body, happen almost immediately. (primarily cannabinoids and terpenes), In candles terms that of consumption, premium concentrates are best while removing excess plant material and other Robinson impurities. has a line of terpene-infused include a-pinene scented candle and a limonene- and tried with a dab rig or a concentrate-specific vape pen. Newer “Concentrates are just simply that—a concentration of every myrcene-infused version. devices offer electronic temperature control options that bring beautiful compound and chemical that the cannabis and hemp out the full flavor profile without the need for a torch. “I love plant provide,” explains Robbie Wright, director of production at to consume cannabis in all ways and forms, but I know too Panna Extracts. much about the science to not be a huge advocate of ingesting it Because concentrates typically have very high levels of whenever possible,” says Wright, who encourages cannabis users THC and other cannabinoids, making them much more potent to “get the magic to your endocannabinoid system. It’s simple than consuming flower, they are not recommended for the science. Your body will thank you.” novice cannabis user. But that high yield of both cannabinoids
STRAWNANA SUGAR, COOKIE GLUE HCE AND JFK BATTER FROM ROAR EXTRACTS Justin Bloom, director of production for Roar Extracts, describes the typical concentrate user as someone who is trying to get the most bang for their buck. “The majority of consumers would say they smoke about an eighth to a quarter of flower a week, this would translate into maybe 1g, if not 2g, of concentrate a week on average,” Blooms says. “The typical saying ‘a dab’ll do ya’ is absolutely correct. With purity levels of 75%+ total THC, a little goes a long way. Some people have seen major benefits from using concentrates for their medicinal ailments because the onset is almost immediate. The thought of ‘do I need to smoke another joint to feel this?’ never should happen when you take a dab of high-quality concentrates.” Roar prides itself on extracting the essential oils of the
cannabis plant, the terps and cannabinoids. “We utilize the electrostatic absorption/adsorption rates of different filtration media in order to pull the undesirables out of the essential oil extracts,” Bloom says, noting Roar products are made for dabbers. “This is for those who have been consuming flower for so long now they need the pure cannabinoids and terpenes in order to truly enjoy their experience.” But everyone can learn. For the novice, Bloom recommends putting a little bit of concentrate on top of a flower bowl or into a joint with flower. Of the Roar portfolio, Bloom highlights a few of his favorites: Strawnana is granulated THCa sugar homogenized with a strong terpene mix. Cookie Glue is diamonds, or HCE, and is a pure THCa. JFK is a potent homogenized fluffy cake batter-like consistency that is easy to sculpt and play with. “The Strawnana Sugar has high levels of β-caryophyllene, β-myrcene and δ-limonene and it gives an uplifting and energetic euphoria,” says Bloom. “Being a HCE fraction, or high cannabinoid extract, Cookie Glue HCE is almost pure THCa, testing at 99.6% THCa.”
PANNA JUNGLE JUICE LIVE RESIN BADDER
SELECT ELITE SOUR MELON VAPE PEN High potency now comes in a vape pen format thanks to Select Elite. One bonus is it’s healthy too. Select cofounder Cameron Forni says that 90 percent of the cartridge market was built on products with components that could be detrimental to human health, so he set out on a mission to create a product
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Capitalizing on the immense popularity of Jungle Juice—it’s the ultimate well-balanced hybrid strain for those seeking relief from a topsyturvy Covid world—Panna is a stellar entry into the resin badder category. A cross between Animal Cookies and Tangie, it is juicy, sweet and sour yet has an earthy pungency. Jungle Juice badder is positioned toward those who are highly experienced. “I would say the typical user would be a cannabis connoisseur,” says Richard Estrella, assistant general manager at The Apothecarium. “New users may find a concentrate like this to be too much for them.” Estrella recommends using an oil rig for Jungle Juice Live Resin Badder. Although because of its malleable texture it can be used in most any type of vaping device from a rig to a dab pen. In the production process, it is extracted via butane hash oil (BHO) from the Jungle Juice strain. BHO is a common solvent used to extract and yield a broad spectrum of both cannabinoids and terps in a variety of consistencies depending on how it cures. “Because you don’t combust extracts, vaping and dabbing utilize the heating of cannabis without burning, which means less carcinogens,” Estrella says. “The heat releases the terpenes and cannabinoids into a vapor rather than smoke since combustion does not occur. Most consumers choose to vaporize or ingest concentrates and edibles for a smoke-free dose.”
REMEDY’S SKYRESIN SUGAR
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that was better. “We’re known for having the most stringent and progressive oil testing in the industry–in fact, we were the first company to begin proactively testing for a full panel of 66 analytes at the PPB (parts per billion) level,” Forni says. Select’s development of a better, healthier option “started with better hardware, then better oil,” Forni explains. “Through proprietary and highly refined distillation techniques, Select Elites deliver an activated, broad-spectrum oil experience with quality and consistency you can count on.” Elites are not only discreet and convenient, but they are also available in a variety of strain-specific flavors and effects. Sour Melon has a high concentration of activated THC. “We suggest a novice user waits about 20 minutes between draws to best understand their personal dosage needs and preferences,” advises Forni, who notes Select Elite is about making cannabis approachable and that there is no typical user of their products.
SkyResin takes you there—to the sky—in the most pleasant way. This product is for those who like their high very strong and who enjoy the concentrate experience. “Our patients often seek these types of remedies for relaxing or relief, alleviating such conditions like anxiety, stress, and insomnia,” says Justin Van Dyck, Remedy brand manager of SkyResins Sugar. “The advantage of SkyResins is you get all the advantages of a live resin—without it being a live resin—and Remedy’s hand-trimmed flower for a unique taste.” A true innovator in its category, SkyResins are made using cured material but look, taste, test, and smoke like live resins. “SkyResins originate from an avant-garde, proprietary extraction process, making the experience of concentrates better and more accessible to everyone,” Van Dyck says. “We extract unnecessary molecules from
the product itself—pigmentations, chlorophyll, waxes, and lipids—which tamper with the true flavor. It has a distinct hue and a candy like essence. Think all the sweet notes with this gem of multiple strains mixed into one.” Because of the potency, Van Dyck adds that this product is not recommended to novice users, but instead is recommended for those who are looking for a condensed experience with the highest integrity at production.
NLVO GOLD WEDDING CAKE LIVE MERINGUE
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The name says it all. Wedding Cake Meringue is a light and airy smoke with a sweet potent aftertaste—inspired by the rich cloud-like texture of meringue, a sugar and egg-white mixture that tops desserts. So how did Flower One create such a decadent product that changes the game on concentrates? “The desserts and the concentrate are both the result of a similar process: precisely whipping simple ingredients to perfection,” says Corey Crosser, extraction manager, Flower One Holdings, Inc. “The meringue consistency looks like its edible counterparts: firm in appearance but with a light and soft texture that becomes a fluffy sugar when broken down further.” During the production process, the concentrate is made up of only the desired cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids, preserving the active ingredients as well as the essence and flavor of the flower. Fats, waxes, and other plant materials are removed. “With live concentrates, the plants are frozen immediately upon harvest and do not undergo any drying or curing,” Crosser says. “This produces the freshest flavor profile available in concentrates and captures the full aroma of the flower at harvest-time.” Wedding Cake is an indica-dominant strain best used for relaxing at the end of a hectic day or enjoying calm moments of reflection. “The Meringue’s aroma carries a distinctive hint of cake frosting unique to the strain that is surprisingly pleasant,” Crosser says, noting it has a robust terpene profile that can enhance the experience well beyond its THC levels.
BOUNTI BY ABIDE
taste a slice of extraordinary
The creative minds behind Bounti created it because it is the product they want to vape. “The brand represents countless hours searching for, testing, and refining the best cannabis has to offer,” says Abide Director of Sales Wade Braggs. “We purposely choose not to grow or process our own flower to bring our customers the best strains, growers, processors, and hardware. Only after many years of commercially producing cannabis vape products do we now feel our signature brand is ready to make its debut.”
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elevatenv.com | october
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Bounti’s spectrum of strains range from old-school genetics to exciting new hybrids with effects of a given strain varying from uplifting euphoric feelings, creative motivation, appetite stimulation, to pain relief, focused mindfulness, and restful sleep. Bounti’s carts often contain around 90% THC and approximately 125 doses. Using quality cartridges includes benefits of convenience, discretion and consistency—and because cannabis is vaporized instead of burned, there is no smoke to inhale. Braggs offers advice for those who are looking to get into concentrates or for those who want to deepen their portfolio. “For novice users I would recommend starting slowly. Someone who is used to smoking flower but has never used a cartridge may instinctively take several draws as if they were smoking flower. The smoothness of our cartridges could also tempt newbies to take large draws,” he says. “I recommend starting with a small draw or two and waiting a few minutes before continuing. Everyone’s body chemistry is different, so it’s important to find the right dosage for you, personally.”
7/21/20 4:37 PM
High in terpinolene, myrcene and ocimene, Disco Train live resin sauce is on a completely new track for City Trees. This limited-edition release is a blend of Mango OG and Ghost Train Haze and there are only
YO U C A L L .
WE ANSWER. DELIVERY HOURS
MON–SUN: 8AM–6PM STORE HOURS
MON–SAT: 8AM–10PM SUN: 8AM–7PM N OW AC C E P T I N G DEBIT CARDS
PANNA’S HIGH THC, HIGH CBD AND 1:1 RICK SIMPSON OIL (RSO) In the exploration of concentrates, one of the most famous and most highly lauded is Rick Simpson Oil. It is a concentrated cannabis oil known for its high THC content, named after
I N YO L A S V E G A S . C O M / D E L I V E R Y Keep Out of Reach of Children. For Use Only by Adults 21 Years of Age and Older.
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500 units made of each product. So don’t forget to catch the train before it leaves the station. “Disco Train was created to highlight the diversity of the flavors and effects cannabis extracts can achieve when the proper processes, people and quality control measures are all in sync,” says Dominick Monaco, City Trees director of laboratory operations. “It is for those patients and/or customers that like to vaporize highly concentrated THCa with a flavorful concoction of tropical terpenes and flavonoids that excites the palate.” If you are new to concentrates, the suggested serving size is .05g—about half the size of a frozen pea for a visual reference—and a temperature range of 400 to 475° Fahrenheit. “The typical live resin sauce user will be someone looking for the most authentic representation of the strain as if it were fresh off the stalk. Its use is very diverse, however, it will most likely be used for vaporizing/ dabbing and sought because of the unique profile we’ve been able to create mixing two very different lineages of cannabis into one extract,” he says. The advantages of live resin sauce are numerous. For example, it takes less quantity compared to flower to get medicated and the undesired particulates and plant matter have been filtered out. “It is a cleaner and more healthy form of ingestion. Vaporizing it in a metered and dosed fashion can alleviate the peaks and troughs medical users may face when taking edibles,” Monaco says.
elevatenv.com | october 16
ALWAYS MADE WITH PREMIUM FLOWER. NEVER SHAKE.
Flower harvested at its peak freshness.
HAND-PACKED, TWISTED AND WEIGHED FOR CONSISTENCY.
GIVES BACK TO CHARITIES THAT HELP ANIMALS IN NEED.
dogwalkersprerolls.com F O R U S E O N LY B Y A D U LT S 2 1 Y E A R S O F A G E A N D O L D E R . K E E P O U T O F R E A C H O F C H I L D R E N .
its creator, Rick Simpson, a Canadian cannabis activist who created and used the oil after his cancer diagnosis in 2003. “RSO is a full-plant extract that is typically made from indica strains of cannabis that are prized for their analgesic, anxiolytic, and sedative properties. There are several different ways to enjoy the benefits of Rick Simpson Oil,” says Robbie Wright, director of production at Panna Extracts, who notes you can apply it directly to your skin, take it sublingually or eat it. Applying the oil topically to your skin can work to manage the symptoms of certain skin conditions. Mixing RSO with a bit of coconut or olive oil will make it much easier to spread on the skin. If you do not mind the taste, RSO can be taken sublingually—under the tongue—for quick psychoactive effects. The medicinal content of the oil is absorbed through membranes in the mouth and carried into the bloodstream to produce therapeutic effects. RSO can also be eaten to produce effects more like edibles. Swallowing RSO will result in longer-lasting, though potentially less potent, effects as the oil is slowly digested. As many ways as there are to take RSO, there is a health benefit to match. Patients with skin disorders, severe and inoperable melanomas (skin cancer), sufferers of glaucoma, all types of cancer patients, as well as diabetics, experience relief, healing, and a better quality of life from RSO. However, there are some things to be wary of. “It is important to note that the smoking, vaporizing, or dabbing of Rick Simpson oil is not advised. A beginner dose of RSO should be no more than half the size of a grain of rice, up to three times a day,” he says. “As your body builds up a tolerance to THC with continuous usage, you may want to consider slowly increasing the dosage if you believe you need to. When discontinuing use, it may be a good idea to slowly wean off the oil, rather than stopping cold turkey. Suddenly stopping use may lead to a slight THC withdrawal, resulting in sleep problems, anxiety, and irritability.” Panna makes three types of RSO to cater to all type of comfort levels in consuming cannabinoids. The brand’s High THC RSO is the truest form of RSO as a full plant/full spectrum RSO. Panna’s High CBD RSO typically has around 750mg/g of CBD with the remainder of it a mix of terpenes, THC and other compounds that are best ingested than smoked. Panna’s 1:1 Ratio RSO is an even split of THC and CBD along with all the other compounds reintroduced.
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K E E P O U T O F R E AC H O F C H I L D R E N . FO R U S E O N LY BY A D U LTS 21 Y E A R S O F AG E A N D O L D E R .
Gather around the fire. Fuel your fall nights with new strains that keep you warm.
We have a new grower in the garden cultivating: Exotic Strains More Cannabinoids Higher Terpenes Happier Campers
Sundae Best
Indica Dominant Hybrid
#WHERESYOURCAMP
The Discovery Zone
5 helpers for managing life in club quarantine Six months in and we have all had a considerable amount of time for experimentation during the self-isolation that has resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic. The team at elevate has certainly found some nifty items that have made pandemic life more pleasant and we wanted to share our favorite finds. LOVE CBD A LATTE
The $15 latte comes with a shot of 60 mg of hemp extract ($12 for CBD bottle only) that arrives next to the coffee in a travel-size glass bottle so the consumer can pour in as much as desired, hence the deconstructed part. I take in so much CBD a day, whether through my skincare routine or via tincture, that I didn’t notice any effect from such a small amount of hemp extract in my coffee but I never turn down a chance to give my endocannabinoid system a shot of CBD to keep it in balance especially when it can be delivered with caffeine. makerslv.com -Beth Schwartz
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One of the biggest cannabis surprises of the pandemic was finding it on the menu of one of my favorite coffee spots. Usually I find myself at Makers & Finders when I am hankering for a latte with a flavor twist. I love M&F’s Salted Caramel and Lavender Infused lattes so I had my palate all set for one of my go-tos when Deconstructed CBD Latte caught my eye. I was like one of those cartoon characters, ala Road Runner, as my head swiveled back to the menu item to make sure I’d really seen one of cannabis’ most well-known cannabinoids listed as part of a coffee drink. Even without caffeine my brain was already abuzz with the idea of combining caffeine and CBD.
UNDERSTANDING GRANDMA’S CANNABIS CLATCH If your family didn’t realize you used cannabis before being trapped in a Covid-19 induced quarantine with them, they certainly do now. It’s fairly difficult to mask the distinctive aroma of cannabis. We discovered a book that makes it easy to talk with your child or grandchild about cannabis in an educational way. Written by Susan Soares, Executive Director, C.A.R.E. (Cannabis Advocacy, Rallies, and Events), “What’s Growing in Grandma’s Garden: A Book to Help Grownups Have a Conversation with Children About Cannabis” is just that book. It presents a way to start a conversation about cannabis with kids explaining that the plant is both for healing and for relaxation. It also relays the message that some things are just for grownups and does an admirable job of talking to kids in a way they will understand without promoting use. We found this book to be a great way to introduce cannabis to your child in a respectable and appropriate way. -Beth Schwartz
HERE’S THE RUB Like many people who lost gym access during the Covid-19 quarantine, I picked up running as a new recreational pursuit early in the pandemic. I found that my daily jog was immensely helpful to my mental state with the world’s uncertainty in the age of Covid. However, as I racked up the miles, running between three and five miles daily since mid-March, I started to notice a nagging pain in my left hip. Soon after running each day the pain would flare up. Because I turn to cannabis for every ailment or malady that I encounter my mom refers to me as the Mary Poppins of Pot. Knowing there had to be a cannabis product to assuage my pain, I found a cannabis cream new to the market with a ratio of 500 mg CBD to 250 mg THC called Indo Rub to see if it helped with my hip pain. The CBD aspect of Indo Rub is important because cannabidiol is an antiinflammatory. But the cream also has THC and other trace cannabinoids of CBG, CBC and CBN to work synergistically and provide me with immediate relief. I applied it and 20 to 30 minutes after application I was pain free until the next time I ran. The makers of Indo Rub developed it with transdermal absorption in mind. Although transdermal absorption is the least effective way for your body to absorb medication, it is best for treating localized ailments and so Indo Rub is formulated with a high concentration of cannabinoids making it an effective choice for not just aches and pains but also arthritis, eczema, neuropathy and joint soreness. You can find Indo Rub at NuWu Cannabis Marketplace or visit indo-cannabis.com -Beth Schwartz
FINDING THE HUNI POT! elevate Publisher Guy Bertuzzi has found Huni Badger’s portable vaporizer to be a very handy accessory while isolating during the Covid-19 pandemic because it is both discreet and portable.
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Powered by a single, easily removable 18650 Lithium-ion battery you can carry as many batteries as needed for instant exchanges, allowing you to take this fully functional vaporizer everywhere you go. “It’s the best portable dab device I have tried because it offers the closest feeling I have had from dabbing extracts to an actual rig,” says Bertuzzi, who adds, “it gives me a really good high.”
BRONZE
Its potency is a result of the vaporizer’s two temperature settings. “It has a lower heating tip for more flavor and to burn your extract at a lower temp to get a lower dose. And it has a higher heating tip for a really good higher hit,” says Bertuzzi. The elevate publisher also noted Huni Badger’s ease of use. “It’s literally ready to go out of the box. All you have to do is insert a battery, screw the mouthpiece in, press the button, and you’re ready to go. It gives you the ability to dab directly from the extract container.”
THIS IQ IS GENIUS Another product elevate discovered during the pandemic is Davinci’s IQ2 vaporizer which burns flower or concentrates. It became a favorite because it is discreet enough to fit in your pocket and you can use preset temperatures or control the temperatures yourself. “As an apartment dweller I found it discreet and it doesn’t leave huge clouds or an odor around the apartment after your session,” explains elevate Publisher Guy Bertuzzi. “Plus, it tastes like pure flower, it has come the closest to smoking a joint without the paper.” IQ2 also has a flavor chamber for herbs and spices allowing users to have fun with the taste. “You can add any spices or herbs to your flavor chamber to bring out exotic type flavors,” explains Bertuzzi. “Since I am Italian, I added dry garlic, oregano and parsley to see if I could replicate my marinara sauce. It did taste delicious with the essence of the flower, but without tomato it was a miss on my marinara.” Bertuzzi also cited the controls featured on Davinci’s IQ2 as a highlight. “One of my favorite features of the IQ2 vaporizer is its air dial so you can control the air for larger or smaller clouds,” he says. “You can also control dosing by entering THC and CBD content before your session allowing you to see your dosage per hit and per session so you know how much THC you are ingesting to keep track of how much you smoke in a day.” davincivaporizer.com/iq2-vaporizer
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One of Bertuzzi’s favorite features on the vaporizer is “that you can use it directly in a concentrate glass jar so you will have no remnants left to scrape up,” he adds of its easy clean up. hunibadger.com
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WORLD WAR WEED
WITH THE TRIAL OVER, ELEVATE INTERVIEWS ATTORNEY ROSS MILLER ABOUT THE TWO-YEAR LEGAL BATTLE FOR NEVADA’S LUCRATIVE RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY LICENSES. By Beth Schwartz
To add even more opacity and intrigue to the legal saga, a number of Miller’s co-plaintiffs struck a deal to secure licenses and withdrew from the case. Even though Miller and his team eventually won the battle following a trial this past summer—the judge agreed with him that the state Department of Taxation acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” and went “beyond its scope of authority” to change evaluation rules by lifting a background check requirement—he lost the war. In her ruling Judge Gonzalez didn’t order a redo of the licensing process or provide compensation for the millions spent trying to obtain them in a process that, according to Miller, violated the voters’ will, administrative rules, and ultimately, the law. Miller’s team is now contemplating an appeal to the state Supreme Court. “Potentially we might get a different outcome, but these cases take a long time and by then these companies will have been operating for a long period of time. We face an uncertain future on it in that respect,” said Miller. In our exclusive interview, Miller discusses his disappointment with how the state managed the licensing application process and how Nevada’s experience with gaming could have provided a model for a fair and legitimate process that didn’t undermine the integrity of the state in the eyes of Nevadans. Ross Miller served as Nevada Secretary of State (2007-2015), ran for Nevada Attorney General (2014), and is currently running for election to the Clark County Commission to represent District C.
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Attorney Ross Miller fought a war—by his own description—against both the state of Nevada and some of the most powerful and wealthy business interests in the state. After a nearly two-year legal contest, Miller and a veritable battalion of other lawyers proved that state officials steered billions of dollars’ worth of newly issued recreational marijuana retail licenses to a small group of cannabis companies. The fight began in 2018 when Nevada state regulators issued 61 coveted licenses to a group of 17 companies leaving the losing applicants baffled and suspicious about the integrity of the state’s process. After an appeal to the Nevada Tax Commission failed to achieve an administrative remedy, dozens of cannabis companies, led by Miller’s legal team, filed suit against the Nevada Department of Taxation alleging unfair practices during the licensing application process. At the subsequent injunction hearing, his legal team proved that state tax officials failed to disclose how they awarded 17 companies licenses from a pool of 127. Miller, who represented 10 of the companies that were not awarded licenses, won a partial victory in 2019 when Judicial District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez issued a partial injunction halting the issuance of some licenses. The judge ruled the state had violated language in Question 2, the 2016 voter-approved Initiative to Regulate and Tax Marijuana, and that the applicants who had failed to disclose all owners, officers, and board members would not be granted a license until the matter was resolved at trial.
2019 PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION HEARING
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elevate: What was your goal when you started the 2019 injunction hearing? Ross Miller: Our goal was to challenge the fairness of the process and allege that the state did not follow their own procedures, rules, or the law that was passed by the voters. elevate: Did you explore remedies that did not include a lawsuit? Miller: Our clients’ preferred outcome all along was to force the state to redo it. We first petitioned the Nevada Tax Commission, which was supposed to oversee the Department (of Taxation). When they approved these regulations, they had to take it to the Tax Commission. It’s a publicly appointed body of citizen representatives that are supposed to oversee the almighty Department of Taxation and make sure that the government is following the law. The Department, Jorge Pupo (Deputy Director of the Department of Taxation), in particular, sent us back a letter saying that we didn’t have any authority to have the Tax Commission review any of his decisions, so we were forced to go to court. We should have been able to overturn this just through an administrative process without spending millions of dollars on a lawsuit. We had to initiate a lawsuit. Our clients just wanted a fair process and wanted it (the recreational marijuana licensing application process) to be redone. elevate: What was your legal strategy going into the injunction hearing? Miller: When we filed the lawsuit, we knew very little about what the state had done in order to review these applications because the state wouldn’t tell us anything. They wouldn’t even tell us who had won the licenses, let alone the process that they used in order to be able to evaluate them. We had heard that the state had used temporary employees to evaluate the applications. We had heard that some of these licenses that had been awarded through the process had already been transferred to out-of-state, publicly traded companies, which was not in line with what the voters intended when they legalized recreational marijuana. In the injunction hearing we were really trying to discover what evidence was out there as to the process that the state ran. Nobody gave us much of a chance when we first started, but through that hearing and eventually through Governor Sisolak’s leadership and passing a major transparency bill (SB 32, signed May 10, 2019), we eventually uncovered very troubling information that we then tried to use at trial in order to prove our case. elevate: It was supposed to be a quick hearing that lasted a week but ended up going on for three months. What happened? Miller: The state couldn’t provide any explanations for the processes they ran, and they refused to answer any questions. Every time we had a representative from the state that was brought in to testify, they would simply say,
“I don’t know why that decision was made. It wasn’t my decision to make. It was somebody else in the Department’s decision to make.” They couldn’t provide any explanation for why they didn’t follow up, so we had to continue to call witness after witness in order to try to get to the bottom of the truth as to the process that the state ultimately administered. elevate: How much did you know about the state’s licensing application process going into the injunction hearing? Miller: We knew, because we represented ten different clients, that some of our clients understood rules that were much different than other clients. A couple of our clients knew when they applied that they could apply for as many locations as they wanted throughout the state. Only some of them knew that rule. It wasn’t communicated equally to everyone. So, we knew that there were huge rules that the Department had taken interpretations on that they had only communicated to select applicants that gave people a significant unfair advantage. elevate: What was the most egregious thing you discovered during the injunction hearing? Miller: Jorge Pupo, who was the Deputy Director of the Department of Taxation, came in and testified, and he admitted that the state didn’t conduct background checks as they were required to do, and that he couldn’t even so much as guarantee that we didn’t have the Sinaloa cartel as an ownership group in the state of Nevada. He admitted that they used a completely arbitrary process in terms of how they evaluated and how they applied the evaluation criteria. He admitted that there were whole provisions of the regulations that the state simply didn’t follow, and he admitted that he had a very cozy relationship with a select group of insiders who had even offered him a job after he was done with his service. He admitted that he had all kinds of communications with those insiders that weren’t available to all applicants that gave them an unfair advantage. Through that testimony, he made so many admissions that eventually he was terminated from his position at the Department of Taxation, and the state ended up having to hire an attorney to represent him in the ongoing proceedings because he was under federal and state criminal investigations for his conduct. elevate: Would you consider Judge Gonzalez’s temporary injunction ruling last summer a victory? Miller: No, I would call her ruling last summer a partial victory. I think we felt we had some very strong findings from the judge based on the evidence that we were able to uncover and I feel that we had a good degree of optimism that we’d be able to pull together the evidence at trial to be able to force the state to redo the process.
THE SETTLEMENT In the midst of this summer’s trial some of the plaintiffs
reached a settlement that reshuffled several of the recreational marijuana licenses that were awarded in late 2018. This resulted in 17 cannabis companies dropping out of the trial and, in turn, diminishing the number of plaintiffs.
WORLD WAR WEED In her September 2020 ruling, Judicial District Court Judge
Elizabeth Gonzalez’s order echoed her preliminary findings a year
elevate: What was the crux of the plaintiffs’ argument for this past summer’s trial? Miller: We presented what we felt was overwhelming and compelling evidence that the state hadn’t followed the law. They didn’t administer a fair process, and that the process should be overturned. elevate: During your opening statement you referred to this case as World War Weed. Miller: It slipped out. I had casually referred to it as World War Weed because you had the most powerful law firms, with some of the most high profile attorneys in the state, all devoting almost unlimited resources to this battle in a case that was so large that it had to be moved out of the courthouse into the Las Vegas Convention Center in the middle of a pandemic. If you look at who the owners, officers, and board members are of the applicants for these licenses, they’re truly the richest, most powerful, most influential people in our communities who don’t have gaming licenses. Seemingly, everybody was involved in this litigation. Even the people who were standing on the sidelines that couldn’t afford to pay the enormous cost of being involved in this war were sitting on the sidelines to see who would win. The alliances weren’t always clear. Somebody that was fighting in this war alongside us in the injunction hearing could settle out of the case and flip and become an adversary for us in the case immediately. At the close of my opening statement, being very uncharacteristically passionate, I think I was pounding on the podium trying to make a point for the judge. They were just my true emotions coming out, and it slipped out. Media caught onto it and labeled it that way and the case became associated with this term. I hadn’t written it as part of my opening statement, didn’t really intend for it to slip out to be used as part of the case but I still think that the analogy’s appropriate because it was a massive battle that really involved all kinds of powerful interests throughout the state. elevate: Judge Gonzalez declared Nevada’s Department of Taxation acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” and went “beyond its scope of authority.” Did it surprise you that she still ruled against the plaintiffs? Miller: We respect the judge’s decision but it’s unfortunate that if you read her order—I’m not sure that we could’ve written it ourselves any stronger—on those points, as to how the Department administered an arbitrary process in evaluating these applications, how the Department destroyed evidence, how the Department played favorites, how the Department failed to appropriately train the people who evaluated these applications. The process that they ran,
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elevate: The companies you represented were not part of the settlement. Why did your clients oppose the settlement? Miller: We opposed the partial settlement because it didn’t do anything to resolve the ultimate litigation and it didn’t include all of the parties that it needed to in order to be able to resolve our claims. We opposed it because they weren’t approving this settlement in a transparent manner. They rushed these settlements through in emergency meetings of this new regulatory body (Cannabis Compliance Board, which took over regulatory authority of Nevada’s cannabis industry from the Department of Taxation on July 1, 2020) without a hearing as to what the implications of approving these settlements would be. (And) without allowing full public comment so that the public could understand the implications of allowing transfers of these licenses to be sold to publicly traded, out-of-state companies. And being awarded to companies that unarguably did not meet the same standards as other people who were applying in what should’ve been a merit-based review of who the best applicants were, and who had the right experience in running dispensaries that need to be run by companies that follow the laws and regulations in order to protect the public. If you go back to the original ballot question (Initiative to Regulate and Tax Marijuana passed in 2016), that the public was able to vote on, the key arguments they represented were about public safety, getting the illegal black market out of the hands of drug dealers, and pushing this into an appropriately regulated area. It’s supposed to be regulated like alcohol. We were supposed to protect kids, make sure that we didn’t have dispensaries that were selling to minors. That’s not what happened. The applicants that won had a history of selling to minors, and those instances or those violations were swept under the rug. The Department was required to evaluate the company’s history of compliance in running a dispensary under the law, and they admit they didn’t do it. You wouldn’t see that in the gaming industry. If you were going to grant a limited number of licenses to be able to open up a casino and you were really trying to determine who the best operators were and who the most compliant operators were, you wouldn’t give out the licenses to people who had repeated instances of violations but that’s what happened here.
ago that prevented all but a handful of new marijuana dispensaries from opening. While the ruling found numerous faults with the state’s process and gave credence to many of the complaints brought by plaintiffs, it didn’t overturn the process, award monetary damages or grant new licenses.
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in order to hand out billions of dollars’ worth of licenses, that will determine the future of the industry, in what is still a federally illegal industry, and that somehow wasn’t enough to force the state to redo it and follow the law. She found that the Department, to the extent that applicants applied and didn’t identify all of their owners, officers, and board members, should be enjoined. But, unfortunately, she let the Department determine who that applied to. Not surprisingly, the Department that refused to follow it all along magically said, “It doesn’t apply to anybody.” That’s exactly why we had to drag them into court in the first place. And that’s what’s most disheartening about this is that if you establish, which we did, something as serious as she found in her order, you would hope it would mean that it would force the government to go back and follow the directive that the voters had given, and that’s not what happened. So these licenses have now been forever awarded to a select group of companies that weren’t the best companies, and that should’ve been awarded in a merit-based review, that have transferred these licenses to out-of-state companies that also aren’t the best operators. That’s who we now have running the dispensaries in our community, which is unarguably contrary to the voters’ intent when they passed recreational marijuana. elevate: What is your takeaway on how Nevada’s recreational marijuana licensing application system worked? Miller: There was a proven model for how the Department of Taxation should have administered the evaluation process for these applicants to be awarded a dispensary license. The state spent a considerable amount of money bringing in consultants and administered a fair process in 2014 (when awarding Nevada’s medical marijuana dispensary licenses). All the Department of Taxation needed to do was follow that same process. The Deputy Director dismantled key provisions of the 2014 process, so that they would be able to provide information to a select group of insiders as to how these applications were going to be evaluated and scored, and not all applicants understood the rules the same way. Then they turned over the evaluation of these applications to temporary employees who weren’t adequately trained, and scored these applications in a manner that was completely different from the 2014 review process. That same Deputy Director knew that some of the applicants that were applying intended to transfer these licenses to out-of-state companies, that wouldn’t have, in fact, applied in the same application process. The applicant who scored number one in every jurisdiction was allowed to sell their dispensaries to an applicant who scored well outside of the rankings that would’ve been awarded a license. They scored 39-41st in one jurisdiction, and they were allowed to buy the license that was awarded to number one. That’s against the law, and yet, that was allowed to happen also. They were allowed to completely skirt the intent and the will of the voters, not follow the law, and run a completely
arbitrary process, and ultimately, we weren’t able to change that outcome. You want to talk about people’s distrust in government at this point? Those are the kind of things that I think most disgust the public. And that is unfortunately what they have come to expect from government, and I just thought we could do better in this state. elevate: In addition to the 2014 medical marijuana licensing process, you made a comparison to another highly regulated industry in Nevada. Miller: In my opening statement I directly compared this to gaming, and I think that is the appropriate comparison. I spent a lot of time developing that opening and trying to root it in that history because that history is important and because that is exactly what happened in gaming. When Governor Sisolak, really as a result of a lot of the early indicators as to how far this process had gone off the tracks, decided to put a whole new regulatory structure in place, he brought in Brin Gibson, who had been the Chief Deputy Attorney General in charge of our gaming regulatory structure at the Attorney General’s office. They formed a task force and they tried to regulate the marijuana industry like gaming. At every hearing when Brin Gibson testified that in order to put this new regulatory structure in place he, again and again, talked about the history in Nevada. He talked about the Kennedys, and he talked about organized crime, and he talked about lessons that Nevada had learned, historically, when we didn’t appropriately regulate one of our key industries. (He talked about) the fact that when Bobby Kennedy was Attorney General, he was conducting hearings on organized crime and they had uncovered so much evidence that organized crime was involved in Nevada’s casinos. When Governor Sawyer learned that the federal authorities were going to come in and kick down the doors of our casinos, he and the entirety of our federal delegation called President Kennedy and Attorney General Kennedy and begged them for an opportunity for Nevada to more appropriately regulate itself. And we turned the corner because we began to more appropriately regulate ourselves. That analogy is directly appropriate here because this industry is still federally illegal. The Department of Justice has sent letters to other jurisdictions warning them we will look the other way, and we will not bring enforcement actions for states that choose to legalize this under state law, even though it’s federally illegal, so long as you appropriately regulate yourself, but if we find lax regulation there are no guarantees. So this, in effect, could jeopardize the entire industry in Nevada. Even though we’ve now put a new regulatory body (Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board) in place, this trial shows that it’s still far too cozy in Nevada. It shows that Nevada still has a very high propensity to not appropriately regulate the industry. That is alarming. I think it’s dangerous for the industry. It goes against the will of the Nevada voters when they first legalized recreational marijuana in our state.
And ultimately, I think these are the types of situations that cause the public to not trust government as a whole because our government was entrusted with an obligation of responsibility to follow the law and regulate the industry appropriately, and we now have a court order following a trial that says that didn’t happen. Unfortunately, as part of that court order, nothing’s going to change. The licenses that were awarded under an unfair, illegal process will stand, and that’s who will operate marijuana dispensaries in our state moving forward, unless, God forbid, federal authorities step in and take action, which I hope and expect won’t happen. But historically, if you look at the context of what happened in the context of gaming, that has happened before.
elevate: How does it hurt Nevadans? Miller: We were supposed to have locally-owned companies that cared about our community and followed the law and followed the regulations so that you don’t have operators that are coming in from out of state that will violate the law and think that there are no consequences. (And not have) companies that would sell marijuana to minors and just believe that they can get away with it because they’re big and powerful. We were supposed to have operators who truly gave back and had a history of charitable giving in the state, and (we were) supposed to have operators that valued the workforce in our community, giving people jobs, and really operating in a respectable manner. That’s the criteria that the Department was supposed to evaluate because that’s what the voters expected. That’s not what we got. We awarded licenses in a competitive review process that didn’t evaluate that criteria at all, and so now you have all those licenses being transferred to big, out-ofstate companies that don’t care about our education system. They don’t care about our community and don’t value our community in the same way that I would argue my clients do. And they don’t value our community in the same way that the applicants who had applied in 2014 and won licenses had ultimately done. So you had a huge consolidation of the industry, which affects price for the consumers, affects quality of the
elevate: How would you characterize Judge Gonzalez’s final decision? Miller: We got a victory on paper. We didn’t get the outcome that we wanted and we felt very strongly the state needed in order to restore or help restore the public’s faith in the government’s ability to follow the law and appropriately regulate an industry that needs to be regulated. And is still, in fact, illegal under federal law because people see the dangers in not appropriately regulating this industry. The state of Nevada catastrophically failed us. It’s just not right and we deserve better.
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elevate: What damage will your clients incur? Miller: There’s a cap in the law as to the number of dispensary licenses that we are ever allowed to have in this state, so there are only 80 licenses that are allowed in Clark County and 20 in Washoe County. There are 100 licenses for the two big population centers. My clients, all of them, had gone through a process in 2014 that was fair, and they had won licenses. In this last round, when they gave out the final licenses that will ever be awarded, licenses were awarded in an unfair and illegal process and awarded to a couple of applicants, one of which was awarded a monopoly number of licenses in both of those jurisdictions. My clients will now have to compete in that environment, which disadvantages them, so that hurt my clients but, overall, it hurts the public.
product, affects customer service. It’s just giving out these licenses to big international corporations that are purely motivated by profit when you’ve already shown them that Nevada doesn’t appropriately regulate the industry. And you’re not going to be closely watched in terms of how you run your business here and that’s alarming because that’s not how marijuana should be sold in our community. It should be appropriately regulated. Everybody believes that but, unfortunately, we couldn’t rely on our government to do that. They developed cozy relationships with big companies, gave them the licenses, and turned a blind eye to considerable violations when they saw them. That’s disheartening.
Cartridges + Concentrates + Disposables
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N E VA DA ’ S B E S T CO L L A B O R AT I O N S
www.trendivapes.com Keep out of reach of children. For use by adults 21 years of age and older.
ARE YOU A CANNABIS CONNOISSEUR?
If your terpene-centric love for cannabis is rooted in knowledge and sensory perception, you might have what it takes by Beth Schwartz
TERPENES, TERPENES, TERPENES “I think terpenes are vital and having a deep understanding of terpene profiles is important to being a cannabis connoisseur,” explains Alexander. “Personally, I am looking for a flavor profile, that’s what I’m shopping for. I’m not shopping for potency, I’m not shopping for the brand name, I’m definitely not shopping for a luxury product. I think it’s all about the flavor. I think that’s actually a greater expression of being a cannabis connoisseur.” Wolf feels similarly, citing the importance of using your senses. “I like to identify certain terpene profiles through the sense of smell,” he explains. “I think terpenes are the most important component because that’s ultimately what’s going to make you feel the feeling that you are going to have. So being able to identify that terpene profile then associate that with how that’s going to make you feel makes the best consumer of cannabis. Being able to identify the terpenes that are in cannabis allows you to find what’s best for whatever kind of experience you are going to have.” Terpene profiles were essential to Alexander developing many of Kush Queen’s line of CBD self-care products. “I think that you have to have a knowledge and understanding of terpene profiles and different terpenes and how they synthesize the effect. Because that’s where people are also really missing the boat—that’s where a connoisseur differs from just a regular consumer. A lot of people are just looking at potency or the type of strain that it is and overlooking terpenes and the entourage effect. Ultimately, that’s something that is just so important to being a connoisseur. It was vital in me developing my bath bombs. All of our bath bombs have the entourage effect, and that’s all based on terp profiles and science.”
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“Cannabis is so complicated. I think saying what makes someone a cannabis connoisseur is also complicated but truly passion, knowledge, expertise,” is how Olivia Alexander, founder and CEO of Kush Queen, defines a connoisseur. For Philip Wolf, founder of Cultivating Spirits, a company offering culinary cannabis experiences to the public, “it consists of two aspects: to be able to deem certain qualities and deficiencies through taste, smell and appearance, and know how that it is going to interact with your body and make you feel.” Ryan Bondhus, Ayr Strategies’ purchasing director for Nevada, cautions the hard part of connoisseurship is not so much building knowledge and learning about the plant but that “the majority of people have to search for the heart, the sheer drive, the sheer will to put endless relentless effort every day toward understanding, trying, writing down and comparing and being completely immersed in that culture in order to achieve that. It’s easy to become a connoisseur of anything because all you have to do is know all about it, but in order to know everything about anything that is where the true work of the connoisseur comes in.” Alexander offers a warning about people who say they are cannabis connoisseurs. “I think that in our industry because it is in its infancy everyone is an expert. And I do really, unfortunately, believe that it’s very easy to decide that you’re an expert based upon you calling yourself that on your own website or on the internet. I think there is a very clear distinction between that and real true connoisseurs.” So let’s find out what makes a true cannasseur and if you make the cut.
Wolf points out that there are over 225 different terpenes in cannabis with approximately 16 that are dominant and that there’s different terpenes in every strain. “Being able to pick up those layers, identify what aromas are the strongest, what terpenes those are, and pick up the secondary terpenes so you can really understand how you feel is important,” he explains.
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WEED VS. WINE All three of our cannasseurs made comparisons between cannabis and wine, especially Bondhus who earned the moniker CannaSomm when he worked in the restaurant industry. “I was consistently making similarities to cannabis,” he explains. “For instance, the soil, the weather, the region, the air of wines and grapes will affect the tastes and flavors of the wine. Whereas the soils, the environment, the region of where that strain has come from is what affects the cannabis flavor profiles and the terpenes that come out of it. So, I was making those observations and it actually happened back then that those servers and colleagues started to call me the CannaSomm.” Bondhus proves his CannaSomm nickname is well earned as he applies his sommelier knowledge to the world of cannabis. “When you have reached a true level of connoisseurship it’s not so much the love anymore; the love has allowed you to become somebody who knows enough about the process, plant and culture that you can take a look at that product and guess almost everything behind it. That’s what a wine connoisseur or a sommelier is—they are able to sip a wine and completely tear it apart from region to age based on the flavor and the smell with their eyes closed,” says Bondhus. “We don’t get that deep in cannabis but to ask a cannabis connoisseur to understand the differences in the processes, especially in production, I think is a very minimal thing to ask. Part of walking a vineyard is the same thing as walking a cultivation. You need to see, touch, feel the breath of the air that that wine came from.” Wolf agrees, observing that, “just like wine, you train your nose over time to be able to pick up those different layers.” As does Alexander who imparts that “because wine is also about the way that it smells and the way that it tastes, it’s all in the terp profile.” Alexander believes consumption lounges will act like tasting rooms in wineries or distilleries allowing for more people to become cannabis connoisseurs. “I think part of what people are missing is the experience combined with education. I think you could look at the wine industry where you’re touring vineyards and you are brought into this incredible tasting room and they walk you through the different profiles explaining what makes one product different than the other, you get to taste them, and you get to enjoy them,” observes the Kush Queen. She also notes that “you really can learn more having sitdown or culinary experiences. I know one of the parts of my
journey of becoming an expert was in that great period where there were consumption events, where there were ways to go around and try different brands, and have conversations with people while they explained different strains to you. And it is a standard in every other industry from whiskey to wine to food.”
SEEKING A STAMP OF CONNOISSEURSHIP There are beer cicerones, wine sommeliers and sake masters so it makes sense that cannabis would have experts and an accompanying certification program. “I think we will in the next five to 10 years,” predicts Alexander of having a certification program. “But I believe that the industry itself is still grabbing a foothold. I think that’s also going to be something that is going to come, hopefully, when cannabis is de-scheduled at a federal level.” The CannaSomm agrees. “There is no other way, in my opinion, that we can continue to self-proclaim ourselves experts in our industry when every other industry has some sort of flavor profiling organization to determine expertise,” says Bondhus. “And the reason we need that person is because the rest of the 99 percent of society isn’t going to take the three, four, five or 10 years that it took to become that level of connoisseurship. They are going to have to trust the connoisseur’s word that he or she put in the work.” Wolf’s cultivating spirit is also galvanizing him to cultivate a program with just such a certification for cannabis. “I am creating the CashoM program to implement that training and be similar to everything a cicerone or sommelier program would have. CashoM is the service and stewardship of cannabis and will include online training that will launch in spring 2021,” he explains. “It’s meant for anyone who sells cannabis whether you are a budtender, or you are working in the emerging hospitality industry. This is going to be a program to connect deeper with the plant, but also allow you to ask the right questions and speak with customers in order to make the right suggestions for them. We expect it to be about a 100-hour program that people will dive into with level 1 and 2 online.”
FOLLOWING THE PATH TO BECOMING A CANNASSEUR Alexander notes that “the first step in being a connoisseur is education, immersive education. Reading, understanding the science, understanding every element of the plant, terpenes, genetics. I really believe the next step is then science. And then also understanding consumer products. Now we’re at this phase where there are beverages, there are capsules, there’s flower, there’s vapes. There are so many different delivery methods. I think that’s really the key is immerse yourself in it.” Wolf believes those on a path to becoming a cannasseur need to hone their sensory skills. “I honestly believe the most important aspect of a connoisseur is being able to understand
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terpenes, get a log book, look at the bud structure, start using descriptive words, research where the lineage came from and before you even touch that bud, you should have a good profile of what you are going to smoke with an idea in your head of what that experience is going to be and then simply make comparisons over and over again. But I really think it’s a search inside first and after that it will come naturally.”
ELEVATING THE INDUSTRY Just like in the wine, beer and sake industries, the burgeoning cannabis industry will evolve into a powerhouse guided by the expertise and knowledge of cannasseurs, much like sommeliers, cicerones and sakes masters before them. “I believe connoisseurs, through their knowledge base, have become that much more attuned and because of that it has really pushed production and cultivation to its limits to find out how to be the best, most efficient and create a product that is not only great but high quality and affordable,” concludes Bondhus. “Their knowledge has gone up, which has forced the industry to stay on its toes, proving that small numbers really can make a difference. Everybody benefits from it. The few who are really picky have made the industry, as a whole, correct itself and really improve on all its inefficiencies which means everybody benefits—not just the connoisseurs but the average recreational user as well.”
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october | elevatenv.com 31
what type of high you’re going to have prior to consuming while being able to determine if it’s quality cannabis or not. The best way to become a connoisseur without special training is to immerse your five senses in cannabis and track what your senses are telling you,” he says. Wolf also encourages novices to “study your hypothesis, refer to any testing the product may have, and find trusted sources on the internet where you can dive into your thoughts. You can associate different feelings to different aromatic and physical aspects of cannabis so make sure to track your feelings when you’re high.” CannaSomm Bondhus agrees with his fellow connoisseurs but suggests you first do some serious soul-searching. “It’s the same way you would get started with anything you are about to love. If you are going to get into connoisseurship of anything, I think the first understanding is that it’s going to be your life. I would suggest for anyone who wants to get started is to first take a really long mental journey to be sure this is something you cannot live without—it’s that thing you will do whether you are paid or you are not. If you have that passion in your heart, connoisseurship comes naturally,” counsels Bondhus. “The first steps are get in it. Dive in the pool. Buy. Research. Start to understand and look at what you are doing rather than just doing it. Next time you buy some flower, request the labs, research the
DISPENSARY MAP A Guide to Cannabis in Southern Nevada 1. Acres Cannabis acrescannabis.com 2320 Western Ave Las Vegas, NV 89102 702.399.4200
9c. Essence Cannabis Dispensary essencevegas.com 5765 W Tropicana Ave Las Vegas, NV 89103 702.500.1714
15b. Nevada Made Marijuana nevadamademarijuana.com 1975 S Casino Dr Laughlin, NV 89029 702.737.7777
23a. The Source thesourcenv.com 2550 S Rainbow Blvd Ste #8 Las Vegas, NV 89146 702.708.2000
2. Apothecarium apothecariumlv.com 7885 W Sahara Ave Las Vegas, NV 89117 702.778.7987
9d. Essence Cannabis Dispensary essencevegas.com 7260 S Rainbow Blvd., Suite 104 Las Vegas, NV 89119 725.206.6911
16. Nevada Wellness Center nevadawellnesscenters.com 3200 S Valley View Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89102 702.470.2077
23b. The Source thesourcenv.com 9480 S Eastern Ave Ste #185 Henderson, NV 89123 702.708.2222
3. Green Cannabis Co. greennv.com 3650 S Decatur Blvd., #7 Las Vegas, NV 89103 702.357.5491
9e. Essence Cannabis Dispensary essencevegas.com 6410 S Durango Dr., Suite 115 Las Vegas, NV 89113 775.877.9367
17a. NuWu Cannabis Marketplace Nuwucannabis.com 1235 Paiute Circle Las Vegas, NV 89106 702.844.2707
24a. Thrive Cannabis Marketplace thrivenevada.com 2755 W Cheyenne Ave Ste #103 North Las Vegas, NV 89032 702.776.4144
4. Blüm LetsBlum.com 1130 E Desert Inn Rd Las Vegas, NV 89109 702.536.2586
10. Inyo Fine Cannabis Dispensary inyolasvegas.com 2520 S Maryland Pkwy Ste #2 Las Vegas, NV 89109 702.707.8888
17b. NuWu North nuwu.vegas 1157 Nu-Wav Kaiv Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89124 702.844.2438
24b.Thrive Cannabis Marketplace thrivenevada.com 3500 W Sahara Ave Las Vegas, NV 89102 702.776.4144
5. Cultivate Las Vegas cultivatelv.com 3615 Spring Mountain Rd Las Vegas, NV 89102 702.778.1173
11. Jardin jardincannabis.com 2900 E Desert Inn Rd Ste #102 Las Vegas, NV 89121 702.331.6511
18. Planet 13 planet13lasvegas.com 2548 W Desert Inn Rd Las Vegas, NV 89109 702.206.1313
24c.Thrive Cannabis Marketplace thrivenevada.com 1112 S Commerce St Las Vegas, NV 89102 702.776.4144
6. Curaleaf curaleaf.com 1736 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89104 702.545.0026
12a. Jenny’s Dispensary Jennysdispensary.com 5530 N Decatur Blvd North Las Vegas, NV 89030 702.718.0420
19a. Reef Dispensaries reefdispensaries.com 3400 Western Ave Las Vegas, NV 89109 702.475.6520
25. Top Notch THC topnotchthc.com 5630 Stephanie St Las Vegas, NV 89122 702.418.0420
7. Deep Roots Harvest deeprootsharvest.com 195 Willis Carrier Canyon Mesquite, NV 89034 702.345.2854
12b. Jenny’s Dispensary Jennysdispensary.com 10420 S Eastern Ave Henderson, NV 89052 702.718.0420
19b. Reef Dispensaries reefdispensaries.com 1366 W Cheyenne Ave North Las Vegas, NV 89030 702.410.8032
8. Euphoria Wellness euphoriawellnessnv.com 7780 S Jones Blvd Ste #105 Las Vegas, NV 89139 702.960.7200
13. Las Vegas ReLeaf lasvegasreleaf.com 2244 Paradise Rd Las Vegas, NV 89104 702.209.2400
20. ShowGrow showgrowlv.com 4850 S Fort Apache Rd Ste #100 Las Vegas, NV 89147 702.227.0511
9a. Essence Cannabis Dispensary essencevegas.com 2307 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89104 702.978.7591
14. MMJ America mmjamerica.com 4660 S Decatur Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89109 702.565.9333
21. Silver Sage Wellness sswlv.com 4626 W Charleston Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89102 702.802.3757
9b.Essence Cannabis Dispensary essencevegas.com 4300 E Sunset Rd Ste #A3 Henderson, NV 89014 702.978.7687
15a. Nevada Made Marijuana nevadamademarijuana.com 3195 St. Rose Pkwy Ste #212 Henderson, NV 89052 702.737.7777
22. The Apothecary Shoppe theapothecaryshoppe.com 4240 W Flamingo Rd Ste #100 Las Vegas, NV 89103 702.740.4372
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elevatenv.com | september
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ONE YEAR LATER: A LOOK AT THE VAPE MARKET’S ROAD TO RECOVERY
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elevatenv.com | october
By BDSA (formerly BDS Analytics)
O
nce the fastest-growing product category in cannabis, vapes were the focus of the cannabis industry’s first public health crisis with the appearance of E-cigarette and Vaping Product Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) in late summer 2019. Despite seeing ups and down in the first half of 2020, in part due to the impact of Covid-19, vape sales are on the rise again, and are likely to surpass summer 2019’s peak in sales by the end of 2020. Sales of vapes fell off sharply after the announcement of the first EVALI-related death, which occurred on August 23, 2019. BDSA retail sales tracking data shows monthly sales across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon dropping from $160 million in August 2019 to $126 million in September 2019. Sales in those states began to stabilize in the fourth quarter—rising from a low of $119 million in November 2019 to $124 million in December 2019 as consumers’ hesitations about vapes began to fade and temporary bans began to lift. Sales remained steady for the early months of 2020, seeing a significant spike to $132 million in March 2020, as the arrival of Covid-19 stay-at-home orders prompted many consumers to stock up in preparation for states’ shelter-inplace orders. Consumers stocked well
during that March spree and vape sales slowed again in April, totaling only $117 million across those five states. California especially saw steep declines, with vape sales dropping from $69 million to $60 million in April. Vape sales grew from the new low point in April to reach $143 million in June.
Vape sales in Nevada had been recovering as in other legal markets, reaching a post-EVALI high of $11.6 million in January. Then, with the neartotal shutdown of Las Vegas, Reno and other Nevada tourist destinations, vape sales fell to a low of $6.8 million in April.
While the upward trend in sales since the first EVALI death may seem languid at first glance, the effect of Covid-19 on vape sales across these five states has had a significant effect: mostly positive in the majority of markets, negative in some, particularly Nevada. The Silver State’s adult-use market has taken a particularly big hit due to its heavy reliance on tourism.
In the past year, legal cannabis markets have been rocked by two serious respiratory health crises: EVALI and the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had unavoidable effects on legal cannabis markets. Even so, vape products seem on track to reach and surpass their latesummer 2019 peak in the near future—but the category likely will not regain its previous relative share for some time.
october | elevatenv.com 37
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