Freedom Leaf Magazine - Issue 19

october 2016

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FEATURES THE CASE FOR HILLARY CLINTON Allen St. Pierre AN OPEN LETTER TO HILLARY CLINTON Ellen Komp THE CASE AGAINST DONALD TRUMP Erik Altieri THE ADVENTUROUS LIFE OF GARY JOHNSON Chris Goldstein THE GREENER JILL STEIN Mike Crawford FL INTERVIEW: ROB KAMPIA Steve Bloom HOW CALIFORNIA LEGALIZED MEDICAL MJ Joe Dolce

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NEWS & REVIEWS WORD ON THE TREE Mona Zhang POLLING HIGHS Paul Armentano MELISSA ETHERIDGE’S MEMPHIS SOUL TRIBUTE Roy Trakin BOB WEIRS SOLO SIDETRIP TO BLUE MOUNTAIN Roy Trakin EVENT CALENDAR

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COLUMNS EDITOR’S NOTE Steve Bloom EDUCATION REFORM: WHAT MATTERS MOST TO STUDENTS Kimmy Pinkerton THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WOMEN’S VOTE IN 2016 Beth Waterfall LGBT SUPPORT FOR REVISED AMENDMENT 2 Norm Kent CANNA-OUTLAWS SHOULD VOTE YES ON MARIJUANA Ngaio Bealum ALASKA PREPARING FOR LEGAL CANNABIS SALES David Rheins ARKTANK GOES TO BROOKLYN Matt Chelsea

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FINISHING SCHOOL: HARVEST TIPS Rick Pfrommer PRESIDENTIAL DINNER FOR FOUR Cheri Sicard HEMP-EAZE: ROOTING FOR HEMP Erin Hiatt HALLOWEEN COSTUMES FOR LAZY STONERS Beth Mann PIZZA FELLA Neal Warner

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EDITOR’S NOTE

How Should Marijuana Legalization Advocates Vote in the Presidential Election?

This is a crucial election. The future of marijuana prohibition hangs in the balance. Both major candidates have given lip service to medical marijuana, but only Clinton appears to stand for adult-use legalization. Two third-party candidates are also in the mix. In this issue, you can read all about them: Hillary Clinton (page 30), Donald Trump (page 37), Gary Johnson (page 41) and Jill Stein (page 46). Here are a few words of sage advice from Freedom Leaf co-founder Richard Cowan:

pable, and it’s only a matter of time. But any delay will continue to be a violation of the rights of tens of millions of marijuana users, and especially medical marijuana patients. So, in the real world, it does matter.

“Young people, especially first-time voters, should use this opportunity to make their voices heard, and understand that voting really matters. The success of the 10 state marijuana initiatives depends on it. And if you don’t vote, then don’t complain.”

“The 2016 presidential election is one of the most divisive in recent years, and there are many issues that may influence your vote. However, your major-party choice regarding the marijuana legalization issue should be fairly easy. The Democratic Party platform calls for a path to legalization, and Hillary Clinton has explicitly called for respecting the right of the states to make their own laws.

“Of course, Donald Trump has implied that he would also consider legalizing marijuana, and it’s likely that he would have to deal with the issue because of growing public support. Unfortunately, some of the people around Trump, including his VP nominee, Mike Pence, and his rumored choice for attorney general, Chris Christie, are hardcore prohibitionists.

“However, I think that the drive to end federal marijuana prohibition is unstop-

We support all of the initiatives mentioned above. Five would legalize adult use: Prop 205 in Arizona, Prop 64 in California, Question 1 in Maine, Question 4 in Massachusetts and Question 2 in Nevada. The other five are medical marijuana initiatives: Issues 6 and 7 in Arkansas, Amendment 2 in Florida, Initiative 182 in Montana and Measure 5 in North Dakota.

In the case of the dueling initiatives in Arkansas, we favor Issue 7.

If all goes well, on Nov. 8 fives states will join Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, making the West Coast and parts of the Southwest chronic green.

That’s our hope—and that Clinton will emerge victorious in the difficult fight with Trump.

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Steve Bloom

Steve Bloom Editor-in-Chief

ISSUE 19

OCTOBER 2016

FOUNDERS Richard C. Cowan & Clifford J. Perry

PUBLISHER & CEO Clifford J. Perry

ART DIRECTOR Joe Gurreri

VP OF OPERATIONS Chris M. Sloan

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Steve Bloom

NEWS EDITOR Mona Zhang COPY EDITOR G. Moses

SENIOR POLICY ADVISOR Paul Armentano

VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Ray Medeiros

VP OF SALES & MARKETING Charles Mui

VP OF ADVOCACY & COMMUNICATIONS Allen St. Pierre NONPROFIT LIAISON MANAGER Chris Thompson

CONTRIBUTORS: Erik Altieri, Ngaio Bealum, Russ Belville, Matt Chelsea, Mike Crawford, Joe Dolce, Frances Fu, Chris Goldstein, Leah Heise, Erin Hiatt, Norm Kent, Ellen Komp, Mitch Mandell, Beth Mann, Rick Pfrommer, Kimmy Pinkerton, Amanda Reiman, David Rheins, Cheri Sicard, Roy Trakin, Neal Warner, Beth Waterfall Copyright © 2016 by Freedom Leaf Inc. All rights reserved. Freedom Leaf Inc. assumes no liability for any claims or representations contained in this magazine.

Reproduction, in whole or in part, without permission is prohibited.

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Insys, maker of the fentanyl spray Subsys, gave $500,00 to the No on Prop 205 campaign.

Anti-Marijuana Donors Pour Money into Defeating Measures Big money has been feeding the coffers of anti-drug groups hoping to defeat legalization initiatives in nine states on Election Day. Insys Therapeutics, an Arizona-based pharmaceutical company, donated $500,000 on Sept. 9 to fight the state’s cannabis legalization ballot initiative, Prop 205. The company makes both opioid and synthetic cannabinoid medications.

Insys derives most of their revenue from Subsys, a fentanyl sublingual spray.

Fentanyl is one of the most potent and addictive opioids on the market. State prosecutors have alleged that Insys improperly marketed Subsys to doctors, and developed a kickback scheme to pay doctors for prescribing the drug.

Perhaps in an effort to stave off lost revenues as the opioid crisis gains wider recognition, Insys has entered the marijuana drug market with Syndros, a synthetic cannabinoid in liquid form that was approved by the FDA in July. The company is also developing a CBD

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product to treat pediatric epilepsy.

Notably, in a filing with the SEC, Insys states that if cannabis were legalized, “Our ability to generate revenue and our business prospects would be materially adversely affected.” It’s no wonder, then, that Insys has made the single largest donation to the No on 205 opposition campaign in Arizona. Another $1.4 million has been raised by Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy in Opposition to Prop 205.

In California, where Prop 64, if passed by voters, would create the world’s largest legal cannabis market, Pennsylvania retiree Julie Schauer has been the biggest backer of the effort to defeat Prop 64, giving $1.3 million in September.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) has so far donated $64,000 to fight the legalization initiative, and California Teamsters and law enforcement groups have also donated to the anti-campaign.

In Florida, two businessmen—Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and Mel Sembler—have pitched in $2.5 million to derail Amendment 2, the state’s medical cannabis initiative. Carol Jenkins Barnett, a heiress to supermarket chain Publix, also gave $800,000 to Drug Free Florida.

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Cannabis Led to Keith Scott’s Deadly Encounter With Charlotte Police After four days of protests, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released video footage of the Sept. 20 police killing of Keith Lamont Scott, even as officials tried to shift the focus of the investigation to drugs.

According to the Keith Scott police report, plainclothes officers observed Scott “rolling what they believed to be a marijuana ‘blunt’” while he was in a car parked in an outdoor lot. The officers apparently did not consider this “a priority” until they “observed Mr. Scott hold a gun up,” which gave them “probable cause to arrest him for the drug violation and to further investigate Mr. Scott being in possession of the gun.”

Police officials have insisted that Scott was armed and posed a threat,

Why Marijuana Arrest Rates Are Declining Arrests for marijuana possession are at their lowest level since 1996, according to data from the FBI. In 2015, 574,641 people were busted nationally for cannabis possession, down from a peak of 853,638 in 2010. The decline from 2014, when 700,993 arrests were made, to 2015 was a whopping 18%.

So what’s behind this reduction?

A wave of legalization has swept the country in recent years—four U.S. states have legalized adult-use pot, and more than half have some form of legal medical cannabis. This “has started to shrink the pool of eligible cannabis consumers, producers and sellers to arrest,” says

while residents say otherwise. Nevertheless, the videos released did not definitively show a gun or a blunt.

One of the protestors said marijuana possession should not have led to Scott losing his life: “Even if they thought he was smoking weed, why in the world would that warrant him being gunned down?”

Marijuana is decriminalized in North Carolina; possession of up to half an ounce of cannabis is a Class 3 misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum fine of $200; possession of .5 to 1.5 ounces is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum 45-day jail sentence and $1,000 fine.

Drug use or possession is often a factor in deadly police encounters. In the case of the Sept. 16 shooting of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Okla., the police contend that he was under the influence of PCP, which they state was recovered in his car.

Last year, officials in Waller County, Tex. tried to blame the death of Sandra Bland on cannabis use after a toxicology report found THC in her system. In Ferguson, Mo., the presence of THC in Michael Brown’s toxicology report also played into the narrative that drug use somehow justifies violent police encounters. Brown was gunned down in 2014.

Allen St. Pierre, Vice President of Freedom Leaf and former Executive Director of NORML. “In states like Colorado and Washington, and in D.C., there has been an approximate 90% reduction in annual cannabis arrests since voter reforms.”

However, a recent report out of Colorado found unsettling racial disparities in arrest rates post-legalization. While arrests of white adolescents decreased 8% in the two years following legalization, arrests of young people of color increased dramatically, by 58% for black juveniles and by 29% for Hispanic juveniles.

“Despite reductions in cannabisrelated arrests, notably where legalization has occurred,” St. Pierre observes, “there is still great racial disparity in arrests.”

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Decrim in Nashville Gives Police Too Much Discretion On Sept. 20, the Nashville Metro Council voted 35-3 to pass a marijuana decriminalization ordinance that reduces penalties for possession of a half-ounce or less to a $50 fine or 10 hours of community service. At press time, Mayor Megan Barry planned to sign it into law.

The story made national news, in part because decriminalization in a conservative part of the country shows marijuana’s growing mainstream acceptance.

The ordinance states: “Law enforcement should be afforded the discretion to determine whether criminal penalties and criminal records are disproportionate to the severity of the offense; and… civil penalties and community service may be commensurate with the offense of possession of one-half ounce or less of marijuana.”

Marley Natural: Singer Damian has gone into the retail business with Stony Hill.

More Celebstoners Bringing Cannabis Brands to the Market Snoop Dogg debuted Leafs by Snoop in 2015, and pot products from brands owned by Tommy Chong, Whoopi Goldberg, Willie Nelson and the family of Bob Marley all hit the shelves earlier this year.

Now, a second round of celebrity canna-businesses is making waves. While some stars have launched their own busi-

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Under this law, police are given the option of treating a marijuana offense criminally or civilly. The original language of the ordinance would have completely decriminalized possession by making the civil penalty automatic. But after law enforcement opposition, the language was revised to give police the criminal penalty option. After this change was made, Nashville PD changed their position on the measure from “opposed” to “neutral.”

Bill sponsor Councilman Dave Rosenberg welcomed the change: “I had a concern, which was a little bit different than [that of the police department]… that regardless of the language of the bill [the police] would be able to enforce the state law, and then, on top of the criminal state law penalties, the officers would be required to issue a citation, and it would just make things worse.”

Marijuana is not decriminalized in Tennessee. Possession of up to a halfounce is a misdemeanor; anything above that is a felony. nesses, others are partnering with companies established in the industry.

Montel Williams announced the launch of his medical cannabis company Lenitiv Labs at the CWCBExpo in Los Angeles in September. The former talk show host has been outspoken about his use of medical cannabis as a treatment for multiple sclerosis.

“I’m developing different delivery systems, which will speed up the process of being able to absorb the cannabinoids,” Williams stated. “We intend to have product in California, in dispensaries, by the first of December.”

Melissa Etheridge also expects to have her line of cannabis products on the shelves by the end of the year. Like Williams, she’s been outspoken about her use of medical cannabis since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004.

Etheridge Farms will sell topicals, flowers, edibles and vape cartridges.

Other celebrities are going the licensing route. Singer Damian Marley’s Stony Hill by Tru Cannabis retail outlet opened in Denver on Sept. 22. While Marley

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doesn’t own the pot shop due to Colorado ownership regulations, the shop bears his name and aesthetic imprint.

“Stony Hill is a place in Jamaica where I grew up, so it has a lot of significance,” Bob Marley’s son explained.

Die Antwoord, the rap duo from South Africa, is partnering with Natural Cannabis, based in Santa Rosa, Calif., to launch their cannabis line, Zef Zol, that includes flowers, vape cartridges and

candy. They also have lip balm, chocolate, mouth spray and gold blunt wraps in the pipeline.

Before he passed away, in April, country music legend Merle Haggard had been developing cannabis strains he dubbed Merle’s Girls. In September, Haggard’s estate announced a partnership with the Pueblo-based Colorado Weed Co. to bring his strains to the market, with plans to expand to other states.

Return of Doob Tube: A New Slate of PotThemed TV Shows Marijuana is having its moment in Hollywood as TV networks and streaming services pick up 420-friendly shows.

Not since Weeds made a big splash on Showtime in 2005, along with the shows that followed (Californication, Wilfred), has there been such a big focus on pot programming.

High Maintenance, one of the most buzzy new cannabis shows, made its HBO debut on Sept. 16. Originally a selffunded Web series on Vimeo, it follows a Brooklyn weed dealer as he makes his rounds in New York and encounters a wide variety of characters. The six-episode season runs through Oct. 21.

Mary + Jane, executive-produced by Snoop Dogg and Ted Chung, debuted on Sept. 5. Like High Maintenance, it centers on pot dealers, in this case two women who operate an L.A. delivery service. The 10-episode season runs through Nov. 7.

Buds, a comedy produced by Naomi and Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) received a commitment from NBC in 2015. The series is set in a retail marijuana outlet in Denver. It should be on NBC’s lineup in spring 2017.

Streaming sites are also working on a number of canna-themed programs, such as Netflix’s pot comedy Disjointed, starring Kathy Bates as a cannabis legalization advocate. The series is written and executive-produced by Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory)

Jessica Rothe and Scout Durwood play pot dealers on MTV’s Mary + Jane.

and David Javerbaum (The Daily Show).

Amazon has tapped comedian Margaret Cho to star in and executive-produce the dramedy Highland, which follows a dysfunctional family as they run a dispensary. Cho has never been shy about her enthusiasm for weed, and even has her own strain, Cho-G Kush.

Also in production is Humboldt, based on Emily Brady’s 2013 book, starring John Malkovich as the head of a local crime family. Sony TV and Anonymous Content are currently shopping it around to cable and streaming services.

Mona Zhang publishes the daily cannabis newsletter Word On The Tree. Sign up for WOTT at wordonthetree.com.

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Polling Highs Prospects look good for adult-use and medical marijuana initiatives on the November ballot.

By Paul Armentano On Nov. 8, five states—Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada will vote on ballot measures to legalize and regulate the adult use, commercial production and retail sale of marijuana.

With only weeks to go before Election Day, here’s how voters are leaning.

Arizona:

The latest polling data from the Grand Canyon State finds a plurality of voters supporting Prop 205 (the Arizona Legalization and Regulation of Marijuana Act). According to survey data compiled by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy and released in September, 50% of registered voters back the measure, while 40% oppose it. Consequently, the fate of the proposition largely lies in the hands of undecided voters.

In 2010, Arizonans narrowly approved a medical cannabis legalization law with less than 51% of the vote. If enacted in November, Prop 205 would permit adults to possess, consume and grow limited amounts of marijuana and extracts (up to one ounce of marijuana flowers, six plants and five grams of concentrate), and establish regulations for commercial production and distribution.

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California:

Many polls are gauging voter sentiment on Prop 64 (the Adult Use of Marijuana Act or AUMA). To date, all show majority support for the measure, which would allow those age 21 or older to possess up to one ounce of flowers and eight grams of concentrate, and grow up to six plants. A September poll conducted by CALSPEAKS Opinion Research Center at Sacramento State University found that a whopping 71% of Californians were likely to vote Yes on Prop 64. And an August survey conducted by the Institute of Government Studies at the University of California, Berkeley concluded that 64% of voters believe “marijuana should be legal for adults to purchase and use recreationally, with government regulations similar to the regulation of alcohol.” Another recent poll conducted by the University of Southern California and the Los Angeles Times had AUMA ahead with 58% of voters.

Despite concerns voiced by some in the medical marijuana community, the language of Prop 64 explicitly states that it’s not intended to “repeal, affect, restrict or preempt… laws pertaining to the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 [Prop 215].”

The measure is endorsed by a broad coalition of organizations and political leaders, including the ACLU of California, California Democratic Party, California Medical Association, California NAACP, NORML, SSDP, Drug Policy Alliance, Marijuana Policy Project and California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom.

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SUPPORT

Medical Marijuana in Florida

ON NOVEMBER 8TH VOTE: CONTRIBUTE to help the campaign push back on the lies and keep voters informed. www.UnitedForCare.org/contribute

BECAUSE: 1.

Licensed physicians, not politicians, should be making health care decisions in Florida.

2.

Patients should not be criminalized for seeking access to the medicine they need to alleviate their symptoms from debilitating conditions.

3.

Our state’s laws should be guided by compassion for the sick and suffering.

Pd. Pol. Adv. paid for by People United for Medical Marijuana, 20 North Orange Avenue, Suite 1600, Orlando, FL 32801 october 2016 www.freedomleaf.com

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by WBUR in early September showed 50% in favor and 45% against the marijuana measure. The relatively weak support is surprising, since Bay State residents have previously voted by large margins for medical marijuana (2012) and decriminalization (2008), as well as for dozens of non-binding municipal legalization initiatives. Question 4 would allow adults to possess 10 ounces in their homes and grow up to six plants.

Nevada:

Maine:

A September poll conducted by the Portland Press Herald showed Question 1 (the Marijuana Legalization Act) leading by a 53% to 38% margin.

The measure would allow would allow adults to legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and cultivate up to six mature plants. In past elections, Maine voters have often backed progressive pot policies, including twice deciding in favor of permitting patient access to cannabis for therapeutic purposes. In 2013, 70% of voters in Portland favored a municipal ballot measure that removed all criminal and civil penalties for possession of up to 2.5 ounces of pot.

A Rasmussen poll in July had voters backing Question 2 (the Initiative to Regulate and Tax Marijuana) by a 50% to 41% margin. The measure would allow adults to possess up to one ounce of flowers and 3.5 grams of concentrate.

However, to grow up to six plants, citizens would have to live 25 miles or more from the nearest retail pot shop. In 2000, 67% of Nevadans approved Question 9, which legalized and regulated the cultivation and distribution of medical cannabis.

Medical Marijuana: In

addition, four states—Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota—have medical marijuana measures on the ballot.

In Florida, Amendment 2 (the Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Conditions Initiative) polling shows 72% in favor of creating a system of commercial cultivation and sales to patients through dispensaries. However, home growing would not be allowed.

For more about the initiatives, see the “State-by-State 2016 Ballot Initiative Guide” in Freedom Leaf #18.

Massachusetts: In recent

weeks, public support has ticked upward for Question 4 (the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act). A poll conducted

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Paul Armentano is Deputy Director of NORML and Freedom Leaf’s Senior Policy Advisor and the author of The Citizen’s Guide to State-by-State Marijuana Laws.

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Jodie Emery

Tommy Chong

OC

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Gabor Maté

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Brendan Kennedy

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA • CANADA

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Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Education Reform: The Most Important Issue to Students

By Kimmy Pinkerton

The need for young voters to get out and hit the ballot box is growing more urgent as we approach November’s presidential election. It’s well known that the percentage of registered voters aged 18–25 has declined over the past several years. This is quite alarming, especially because numerous social and economic issues relevant to young citizens will be decided on Election Day. Amid undeniable increases in the cost of living and college tuition, and the decrease in well-paying jobs available to recent graduates, one critical issue that young voters feel passionate about is education. As a country, we value education: It’s mandatory that all citizens attend school until their late teens via public education funded by taxpayer dollars.

However, this support for public education slows dramatically or halts altogether upon finishing high school. After being urged to attend college and earn degrees, most students are faced with a dilemma: They can either move forward with their education and acquire substantial and often crippling college debt— along with the risk of defaulting on loans and ruining their credit—or not advance

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past a high-school education and risk not qualifying for an overwhelming number of careers. This crisis has made Hillary Clinton’s promise to reduce education-based debt extremely appealing.

While education reform is a bigticket item for Clinton, both major-party candidates have vowed to increase employment rates by bringing jobs back to the U.S., and to prevent them from leaving the country going forward. Clinton promises to raise the national minimum wage and to eliminate the income disparities between women and men.

Among the progressive younger population, equality is of utmost importance, including equal rights for members of the LGBTQ community.

The declassification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug is also a key issue for young voters. Marijuana measures in five states would legalize possession and commercial sales for adult use, and taxation and regulation would provide more funding for education.

In addition, a woman’s right to reproductive healthcare and the right to choose are also hot-button topics for young voters. The major-party candidates are divided on the subject of immigration; Clinton wants to reform the process of gaining legal citizenship and to make it easier for immigrants to contribute to our economy and society, while Donald Trump supports mass deportation and increased border security.

A significant portion of our population is comprised of recent immigrants from other nations, many of whom are young voters. All of the aformentioned issues affect young Americans, and it’s essential that they make sure to register now and vote on Nov. 8.

Kimmy Pinkerton attends the University of San Diego School of Law.

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Start a chapter, join the Sensible Society, and learn more at Start a chapter, join the ssdp.org Sensible Society, and learn more at october 2016

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Suffragettes led the movement for women’s right to vote in the early 20th century.

The Significance of the Women’s Vote

By Beth Waterfall The next president of the United States faces the responsibility of nominating a Supreme Court justice to replace the late Antonin Scalia, and the possibility of nominating three more. For women, in particular, a Republican president could mean changes to reproductive rights, with newly inducted Supreme Court justices who could overturn Roe v. Wade.

The next president will also nominate federal judges to fill important vacancies in district courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals. Consider Aaron Persky, the California Superior Court judge whose lenience allowed sexual predator Brock Turner to spend only three months of a six-month sentence behind bars.

Consider also the recent decision by an Alabama appeals court that permits employers to not hire people who wear their hair in dreadlocks. Or North Carolina’s bathroom law, which forces transgender people to use public restrooms that match the sex on their birth certificate, and forbids cities from passing antidiscrimination ordinances to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. Our elected officials appointed the judges who presided over each of these cases.

The presidential candidates are just one piece of a very big puzzle this election season. On Nov. 8, voters across the

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country will see diverse ballot measures regarding education, wages, gun control, land conservation, marijuana legalization and more. Local races and ballot questions are arguably the most important items; the choices we make in the voting booth, particularly at the local and state levels, set the stage for how our children are schooled, our communities are organized, our roads are maintained and our elderly are cared for.

While only 43% of women showed up to vote in the 2014 election, there were still more female than male voters (40.8%). Politicians and lobbyists know that women—and mothers, in particular—have the power to decide elections.

The more women who vote, the more elected officials will address our wants and needs, preserve our rights and help drive social progress. And when we vote regularly, we keep our elected officials accountable.

Women didn’t have the right to vote until 1920. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton changed that. Our continued participation in the electoral process ensures that women’s interests are addressed.

Beth Waterfall is a marketing and event consultant, Chair of Women Grow Boston and founder of Massachusetts Mothers for Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana.

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LGBT Support for Revised Amendment 2 in Florida

By Norm Kent Located just three miles north of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Wilton Manors has one of the highest percentages of same-sex couples in the country. When it came time to weigh in on the medical marijuana amendment in Florida in 2014, 72% of the population in this small city voted for it. Unfortunately, statewide it lost.

Two years later, Amendment 2 is back on the Florida ballot. The Wilton Manors City Commission, expecting it to pass, drafted an ordinance in July that creates guidelines for dispensaries. However, bowing down to the wishes of local police rather than listening to healthcare providers and businesspeople, the proposed regulations (local bans, no Sunday sales, stores must close by 6 p.m.) may be illegal or even unconstitutional.

This is a community that, due to its large gay population, has a higher rate of HIV. The commission should have passed an enlightened ordinance, not one for the dark ages.

From little villages on the ocean to big cities like Daytona Beach, Florida authorities are cracking down on marijuana sales before medical marijuana likely becomes legal. One little hamlet, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, wants to ban sales outright. They can’t, especially if voters demand their right of access at the ballot box and beyond.

All across America, these battles are being played out as we move from an era of incarceration to incorporation. In towns, cities, counties and states that are in the process of creating rules and regulations that provide for the production and distribution of legal medical cannabis, NORML needs you to engage and educate your elected officials at every level, from regulatory agency rule-making

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A Gay Pride Parade in Wilton Manors, where 72% of voters backed Amendment 2 in 2014.

committees to city commission meetings to state legislature hearings.

Politicians must understand that marijuana is a medicine and not a menace.

We also need to ensure that pot is not overregulated and taken over by greedy con artists. If marijuana means money, everyone ought to be able to share in the wealth—not just rich monopolies, but also small farmers. Cities should regulate dispensaries fairly, and protect cannabis consumers completely.

Cannabis is one of the most profitable, fastest-growing and helpful new industries in America. But it’s up to us to make sure it remains affordable and accessible, not restrictive and prohibitive. Beyond the upcoming November election, there is much you can do today to be a voice for cannabis tomorro Find a NORML chapter near you and get involved.

Norm Kent is a criminal defense attorney and publisher based in Ft. Lauderdale.

He is Vice Chair of the NORML board of directors.

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Cannabis Outlaws Should Vote Yes on Marijuana Measures

By Ngaio Bealum Initiatives on the November ballot in five states—Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada—would legalize the recreational use of marijuana. A small but vocal group of activists and growers are opposed to these initiatives, mostly because “they don’t go far enough” or “this isn’t true legalization,” or “Monsanto is going to take over.”

While I care that you cast a vote­— especially to keep racist, bigoted fascists out of the White House­—I won’t be mad if you vote against any of these initiatives. This is America, after all, and we have the right to disagree. However, I ask you to consider this: Legalization helps outlaws. That’s right. Until marijuana is no longer federally illegal, and until states like Texas, Georgia and Tennessee see the light and legalize weed, the outlaw cannabis grower will continue to have a career. Sure, you may have to move your farm to a more secluded spot, and it might not be as easy to make money as it was when all you had to do was drive a pound over to the local dispensary, but being a renegade grower will still be a valid career choice.

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The authorities are going to be so busy creating new regulations and making sure that all the registered players are following the rules, and not diverting any “legally grown” cannabis into the black market, that no one is going to notice your little 50-plant farm. I understand that the cannabis industry, as it is now, is perfect for people who don’t like too many rules—and I’m telling you that you can still be that person.

Sure, dealing with government organizations is not one of the reasons that anyone becomes a pot grower. And I get how arguing over water rights and zoning issues and dealing with a track-and-trace system is a big ol’ pain in the butt. However, if these initiatives pass, it will help keep cannabis users in these states out of jail, and ease police harassment of minorities.

So whether you’re a cannabis grower or cannabis consumer, vote yes and stay above the fray. Continue to do your thing, and let everyone that wants to make a go at establishing a new way forward have a chance to do just that.

Ngaio Bealum is a Sacramento-based comedian and activist who regularly appears at cannabis events.

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Alaska Preparing for Legal Cannabis Sales by the Year’s End

By David Rheins Alaska has allowed home growing and personal possession of marijuana since 1975. Despite passage of a medical cannabis law in 1998, licensed medical marijuana dispensaries have not been permitted. That’s all about to change: Nearly two years after Alaskan citizens voted for adult-use cannabis, the state has begun issuing licenses, with expectations that the first retail pot shops will open by the end of the year.

During a recent visit to Anchorage (pictured above), I attended CannaCon, where cannabis industry pioneers from Colorado, Washington and Oregon shared lessons from their “laboratory of democracy” experiments. Held at the spacious Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, the gathering was intimate by trade show standards, with some 65 exhibitors and about 500 attendees participating. The two-day event was an official kickoff to the state’s legal marketplace, and the vibe was reminiscent of the first CannaCon in Tacoma, Wa. two years ago, with many of the vendors coming out of the home-grow closet for the first time.

Alaska’s canna-industry is as small as its growing season is short. The best opportunity for the 49th state to achieve cannabis destination status will be the proposed legal consumption at retail locations. While still being debated, hopes are that consumers who purchase legal cannabis will be able to fire up in

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designated smoking areas. Taken to its logical extension, one can easily envision cannabis resorts catering to the state’s robust tourist trade.

Five states, including California, are poised to join the “Core Four” adult-use cannabis states on Nov. 8, which would create a solid West Coast bloc of legal states. While progress on the federal front will likely continue to move slowly no matter who is elected president, national public opinion has tipped in favor of full legalization.

This is undoubtedly the most important election pot consumers and the budding industry has ever faced. On the presidential level, a Trump/Pence/Christie administration could set back the legal cannabis industry many years, if not kill it outright. Barring that unhappy scenario, the tides of state legalization will continue to propel the fastest-growing industry in the country. A Clinton/Kaine victory might continue on the path to ending prohibition, leaning favorably toward medical marijuana, but Clinton is still calling for “more research.”

The real cannabis fight is happening at the local level. Voters are reclaiming their rights and freedoms, and challenging prohibition laws at the ballot box.

Victorious or not, each pro-legalization campaign rolls public opinion forward, as was the case in Alaska in 2014.

David Rheins is Executive Director of the Marijuana Business Association, based in Washington State.

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ArkTank Goes to Brooklyn Start-ups seek investor funding to become major players in the burgeoning cannabis industry.

The Arcview Group’s Investor Forum in Brooklyn, N.Y. on September 12–13 drew participation not only from young entrepreneurs launching their first businesses, but also from a new contingent of seasoned pros from the ranks of corporate America looking for funds to launch mainstream cannabis brands.

If these companies play their cards right, they could become stock-market darlings of the future, or an acquisition target for a Fortune 500 company. For now, they’re in liftoff mode, with private capital needed to build and expand their businesses.

More than 200 cannabis industry investors were in attendance at the event at the New York Marriott Brooklyn Bridge.

The main focus was the shark-tank sessions—where promoters presented investment opportunities to potential investors—representing cannabis consumables, technology, business-to-business solutions and cannabis science industry subsectors. About a dozen start-ups were selected by Arcview to pitch. Companies showed off their wares in a large room, and took impromptu meetings.

Shark-tank sessions don’t guarantee success in getting funded, but they help investors see how well entrepreneurs from this budding industry think on their feet under hot lights. If potential investors like what they see, private meetings with start-ups follow, with capital commitments—from tens of thousands to millions of dollars—on the line.

In the main ballroom, a trio of socalled sharks sat on the stage on thronelike chairs, asking questions, providing feedback and commenting on PowerPoint presentations delivered by the earnest entrepreneurs. “It’s great to see world-class people getting involved in the business,” said Alain Bankier, ex-CEO

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MATT CHELSEA

By Matt Chelsea

Adam Stiles of Mirth Provisions vied for backing at Arcview’s Investor Forum.

of The Manischewitz Company and one of the sharks presiding over a session of consumables (i.e., edibles) companies.

His comment referred to the founders of Toast, a New York-based marketing company that’s launching a luxury cannabis brand in Aspen, Co. in time for this year’s ski season. Toast’s executive team includes CEO Punit Seth, a veteran of Bridgewater Associates (a major hedge fund); Chris Burggraeve, former chief marketing officer of of Anheiser-Busch InBev; and David Moritz, who founded the luxury marketing agency Viceroy Creative, which has repped high-end Patron tequila and other prestigious labels. Toast was seeking $500,000 to fund its expansion.

Another shark, Jay Czarkowski of Canna Advisors, bared his teeth slightly when he commented about Toast’s use of a “half-naked woman” in its presenta-

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MATT CHELSEA

Arcview’s Troy Dayton: “A lot of talent and capital [is] coming from New York.”

tion. “It’s something that we’re trying to get away from in the industry,” he pointed out. “Other than that, I’m intrigued by the product.”

At the end of each presentation, audience members provided reactions through an app on their phones, with the tabulated results displayed on the main screen in the room. A significant number of respondents ranked Toast’s presentation as “Poor.”

Mirth Provisions and CEO Adam Stites drew higher marks. The Seattlebased company sells canna-drinks and sprays in three states to more than 200 stores. They were seeking $1.5 million to boost Legal, a line of cannabis sodas (Rainier Cherry, Lemon Ginger, Pomegranate and Cranberry CBD) and Drift, a cannabis tincture spray positioned as an alternative to vape pens. “It looks just like Binaca,” Stites crowed.

“Great presentation,” Bankier cooed in return. “Pretty impressive.”

Another carbonated drink, from Brooklyn’s own LOFT, whose motto is “Be Free,” is what they call a “hemp-infused herb tonic.” The company was seeking $1.25 million as it works out distribution deals with Whole Foods and other retail outlets. They also have a THC drink, which CEO Michael Christopher predicted is “the next Red Bull.” LOFT’s executive roster includes co-founder Eric Schnell, who’s known in the beverage business for his 2002 launch of Steaz, a

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sparkling tea drink that ranks as the largest private fair-trade tea brand in the U.S. Arcview, based in San Francisco, receives applications from 20 or 30 companies per week. From that pool, they invite three to five companies to take part in weekly webinars to pitch their businesses. (Each company gets an experienced mentor to guide them.)

Member events such as the one held in Brooklyn take place five times a year, in different cities.

Since 2010, 130 companies have raised more than $84 million through Arcview investors. In the world of venture capital, such fundings qualify as angel investments, a term given to cash infusions early in a company’s evolution, often with more risk attached.

While these young companies may be chancier for investors, the pay-off could be big. MassRoots (OTC: MSRT), the social network backed by Arcview members, had raised about $2.4 million and provided a 10,000% potential return for early investors before the company recently defaulted on its payments.

“The presentation by entrepreneurs are important, but unless you’re raising money for a presentation company, it’s only one of many factors,” said Troy Dayton, who co-founded Arcview with Steve DeAngelo. Investors vigorously kick the tires on each company, paying close attention to the competitive landscape, the viability of the business, how unique and differentiated it is, market opportunities, financial data and many other aspects before they decide to invest.

Dayton agreed that New York’s restrictive medical use law offer less upside potential than those of most other states, but the region plays an important business and finance role as the U.S. legal cannabis trade reaches a projected $7.1 billion this year. “We’re seeing a lot of talent and capital coming from New York,” Dayton added.

Arcview’s next investor forum (a.k.a ArkTank) is scheduled for Nov. 13–14 in Las Vegas with entertainment provided by the Blues Brothers. Wall Street is listening.

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Presidential Election Guide 2016 Freedom Leaf analyzes the candidates who want to take over the White House.

The Case for Hillary Clinton Tracking the former First Lady, senator and Secretary of State’s transformation from anti-pot zealot to cannabis pragmatist.

By Allen St. Pierre On the verge of becoming the next president of the United States, and the first woman to hold the highest elected office in the nation, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s political evolution, and the counsel she takes to help her form her views and public policies on cannabis, could affect upwards of 45 million citizens who—both legally and illegally—cultivate, process, sell and consume marijuana in its various forms.

At no other time in history during a

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presidential race has marijuana prohibition been discussed more widely, demonstrating how quickly the publicpolicy winds have shifted. If elected president, Clinton will be sitting on top of a federal powder keg regarding pot policies, as more states vote to end prohibition. When her husband Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd president in 1992, approximately 20% of the public supported legalization. Today, most national and state polls demonstrate that a majority of voters favor taxing and regulating cannabis.

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With the political reality that 42 states now allow patient access to cannabisbased medicines, 15 states have decriminalized possession of small amounts and, most challenging for the federal government, four Western states have legalized marijuana outright (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington), the nation’s next president will have no choice but to confront the increasing desire of citizens and states to end cannabis prohibition, and to replace failed policy with regulations similar to the laws that govern alcohol production and consumption.

While pragmatism and caution might be the best two words to describe Clinton’s approach to cannabis policy, another word is also applicable: evolutional.

THE CLINTONS TAKE ARKANSAS BY STORM Hillary Clinton has been in the public spotlight for nearly 40 years as the wife of one of the most ambitious and quickto-ascend politicians in the modern era, William Jefferson Clinton. Barely out of his twenties, Bill Clinton became the youngest state attorney general in U.S. history, and was twice elected governor of Arkansas before successfully running for president in 1992.

Throughout his entire political career, Bill Clinton touted that one of the great benefits of electing him to political office was that voters were getting a two-for-one deal that included his equally intelligent and politically adroit wife Hillary. The Clintons’ ascendency in Arkansas politics occurred concurrently with the federal government’s controversial

and ineffective War on Drugs and its emphasis on cannabis consumers. In a country that lurched to the right politically under the Reagan and Bush presidencies, with both administrations placing a high priority on the drug war, the Clintons—ostensibly progressive Democrats politicking in the generally conservative, Republican-leaning state of Arkansas— strongly hewed to the “Just Say No” drug-war mantra, placing them solidly in the political mainstream.

During the 1980s, Arkansas became the focus of international law enforcement and national security scrutiny due to international drug trafficking in the small mountain town of Mena, to which large amounts of South American cocaine was reportedly airlifted and then distributed regionally with assistance from corrupt law enforcement and Arkansas politicians; the years that the Mena operation thrived in Arkansas correspond with the years that Bill Clinton was the state’s governor (1979–1981 and 1983–1992).

In 1992, near the very end of the Clintons’ tenure as Arkansas’ First Family, before they left Little Rock for the D.C. Beltway, cannabis law reform activists started to campaign for medical marijuana by placing large billboards around the Arkansas State Capitol building encouraging the newly elected president to “legalize medical access to marijuana.”

Local media in Arkansas extensively covered the medical marijuana billboards, making it impossible that the Clintons were unaware of the growing socio-political movement to dramatically alter marijuana laws. Thus, a seed for cannabis law reform had likely been planted then in the political psyches of both Bill and Hillary Clinton.

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The First Couple: Bill and Hillary Clinton.

The Sins of the Clinton Presidency While Bill Clinton often touted the state’s First Lady as his partner in the crafting of public policy in Arkansas, when he arrived in Washington, D.C. in January 1993 to assume the presidency from ardent drug warrior George H.W. Bush, he began the longest, most sustained and most expensive effort ever in the War on Drugs, with a massive increase in arrests, prosecutions and incarcerations for drug-related crimes.

Clinton strongly supported the passage of the 1994 federal Omnibus Crime bill, which increased penalties for people charged with drug crimes. This regrettable hallmark of his presidency prompted a massive increase in incarceration and the enhancement of what was already a racially disparate criminal justice system. In addition, after Prop 215, which legalized medical marijuana in California, passed in 1996, Clinton’s Department of Justice (DOJ) tried to thwart the popular will of voters by raiding dispensaries and medical grow operations in the Golden State.

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Out of touch with and contrary to growing public sentiment regarding cannabis law reform around the country, in 1998 the Clinton administration blocked Washington, D.C.’s ability to implement a medical cannabis initiative that had passed with nearly 69% of the vote.

Thankfully, the DOJ largely lost their initial court battles to stop states from implementing voter-approved cannabis policies that were in direct conflict with federal laws. Had the Clinton administration prevailed, for example, in not allowing physicians to invoke their First Amendment rights to confidentially confer with patients, there very likely would not be over a million legal medical cannabis patients in the U.S. today.

When Clinton was first elected president in 1992, approximately 280,000 annual cannabis-related arrests were made nationwide. By the time he departed in 2000, that number had leapt to more than 700,000.

In one of his first exit interviews, Clinton told Rolling Stone that “small amounts of marijuana have been decriminalized in some places, and should be.”

He also discussed his younger brother Roger’s cocaine problem and subsequent incarceration: “If he hadn’t gone to prison—and actually been put away, forcibly, somewhere—it is doubtful that he would have come to grips with it. He was still denying that he was addicted, right up until he was sentenced. So I’m not sure that incarceration is all bad, even for drug offenders, depending on the facts.”

Senator Clinton’s Cannabis Evolution As attorney general of Arkansas, the twice-elected governor of Arkansas and the twice-elected president of the United States, drug policy and implementation were squarely Bill Clinton’s responsibility.

Hillary Clinton did not have to officially confront the policy conundrums of cannabis prohibition until she was elected in

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2001 to represent New York in the U.S. Senate, during which time her office regularly rebuffed constituents asking her to reform cannabis laws for medical use by claiming the need for more research on the plant’s efficacy.

While not overtly supportive of pot policy changes—she offered no medical marijuana bills or requested any public hearings on the subject—Senator Clinton’s constituent letters began to demonstrate an openness to discussion and possible policy changes not found in many of her fellow senators’ constituent letters. Unlike her colleagues in the House of Representatives, who were confronted annually with a budget spending amendment that would have restricted federal marijuana law enforcement in states that had enacted medical cannabis laws, Senator Clinton and her Senate colleagues never had to cast a public vote for or against any marijuanaspecific legislation.

The major policy break from her husband’s head-in-the-sand approach regarding cannabis was first revealed by Senator Clinton during her unsuccessful presidential run in 2008, when she and the rest of the Democratic presidential hopefuls publicly backed medical access to cannabis products. Barack Obama ultimately won the Democratic nomination and presidency, during which time he has loosened federal marijuana laws more than any other president.

Clinton accepted his invitation to become Secretary of State; unlike most of her predecessors, she devoted relatively little time and energy on furthering the War on Drugs.

FOLLOWING SANDERS’ LEAD ON POT POLICY While he may not have had the strongest prospects of being elected the next president, there’s little question that the candidacy of Senator Bernie Sanders had the profound effect of nudging Clinton from middle-right to left-of-center on

Bernie Sanders stands behind Hillary Clinton after a competitive primary season.

the matter of cannabis policy. Senator Sanders’ support for ending cannabis prohibition, and the popularity of this position within Democratic ranks, forced Clinton—whether she genuinely wanted to or not—to adopt Sanders’ call for cannabis law reforms.

Consequently, at the height of the contested Democratic primary, Sanders supporters regularly cited President Bill Clinton’s support and signing of the 1994 Omnibus Crime bill as a demerit against his wife’s candidacy. At numerous Democratic debates with Sanders, Clinton repeatedly endorsed the notion that states that choose to do something different regarding marijuana policy are “laboratories of democracy” that can possibly help inform other states and the federal government about alternative policies.

So complete has been her evolution from Arkansas First Lady at the height of the “Just Say No” epoch to potential reefer reformer-in-chief, the day after the DEA’s Aug. 10 announcement affirming the government’s long-held position that cannabis is too dangerous to be rescheduled for medical use, Clinton’s campaign publicly chided the DEA: “As president, Hillary will build on the important steps announced today by rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II substance. She will also ensure Colorado and other states that have enacted marijuana laws can

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continue to serve as laboratories of democracy.”

GOP nominee Donald Trump also has publicly endorsed state experiments with pot policy. However, unlike Clinton’s prominent and immediate statement on the bureaucratic folly, Trump did not criticize the DEA’s decision to maintain an untenable Schedule I classification of cannabis under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

litical and regulatory appointments she makes to agencies like the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Department of Justice, the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the DEA will have a profound effect on federal cannabis policy going forward. Along with a changed public attitude in favor of legalization, America’s next president will be confronted by a growing number of countries in the hemisphere—which, ironically, are following the lead of U.S. states that have legalized cannabis—that now favor tax-and-regulate over the chaos and waste of prohibition.

Uruguay was first, If Hillary Clinton followed by Jamaiascends to the ca, and last year’s presidency, she election of Justin appears poised to Trudeau as Canasupport amending da’s pro-pot prime federal anti-drug minister has further policies to allow encouraged states’ medical access to efforts to abandon cannabis products; federal anti-pot laws. decriminalizing Despite little cannabis possespraise from drug sion at the federal reformers, Presilevel; and allowing dent Obama has states to develop accomplished what If Hillary Clinton wins, she’ll most likely their own cannabis continue her predecessor’s drug policies. no other president legalization polihas done before cies. With national polling showing canregarding cannabis: Rather than seek nabis law reform far more popular among laws and policies that extend federal pot voters than among elected officials, it prohibition, his administration has subwould behoove her to readily bend to the stantively backed the federal government will of pro-reform voters. away from prohibition, through a series Regardless of who the next president of executive memos, changes in enforceis, he or she will very likely be confronted ment implementation and deference to by as many as five more states—includstates’ rights. The next president will ing the nation-state of California—where inherit a cannabis prohibition policy that voters have circumvented recalcitrant is in true flux, and there will likely be a state legislators on the issue of cannabis resolution sooner rather than later to end legalization, cast their states in conflict the nearly 79-year failed federal prohibiwith current federal anti-pot laws and tion of cannabis. joined a growing number of states chucking prohibition in favor of tax-and-reguAllen St. Pierre, the former Executive Dilate policies instead. rector of NORML, is Freedom Leaf’s VP If Clinton wins the election, the poof Advocacy and Communications.

Clinton, Cannabis and the Future

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october 2016

An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton Dear Hillary, Oh, come on. You named your daughter Chelsea after Joni Mitchell’s song “Chelsea Morning,” about a day spent in New York’s bohemia. You wore big, round eyeglasses and dressed like a hippie when you attended Wellesley in the 1960s. You edited a radical law journal at Yale that advocated for the migration of like-minded leftists to the 50 states for “the purpose of gaining political control.”

But you never smoked pot?

That’s what you told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in 2014 when she finally asked the question. “I didn’t do it when I was young. I’m not going to start now,” you laughed.

Yet, four of your biographers say you enjoyed marijuana during your college years. A former boyfriend of yours, David Rupert, informed author Gail Sheehy in Hillary’s Choice (1999) that you joined a protest march on Washington, D.C. where “some of us were inhaling.” In The Truth About Hillary (2005), Edward Klein wrote that you met your future husband Bill at Cozy Beach, a Connecticut commune run by Jeff Rogers and Kris Olsen, where Ken Kesey’s magic bus Further and its tripped-out inhabitants were regular visitors.

“During their remaining time at Yale, Bill and Hillary often grooved the night away at Cozy Beach, spinning the latest Jefferson Airplane platters and eating hashish brownies,” Klein contended.

Miriam Horn verified this story in Rebels in White Gloves (1999), adding that the new couple “spent a lot of time together, hanging out at home listening to Janis Joplin, the Jefferson Airplane and the Rolling Stones.”

Hillary Ro pants a dham and he r t Welle sley Co flamboyant llege in 1969.

Daniel Halper’s Clinton, Inc. (2014) went further, quoting an unnamed friend and law school classmate of the former First Lady, senator and Secretary of State: “If she hasn’t acknowledged it, everybody else will tell you: She was an enthusiastic pot user… certainly more than Bill.”

These days, you try to come off as cool, joking at a Colorado coffeehouse that the design in your latte resembles a marijuana leaf, or attributing a coughing fit to a lack of “medicinal [marijuana]” during a radio interview. But for someone who’s thought of as a brilliant political mind, your position on the drug war is surprisingly unimaginative and timid. You call for “more research” and more data about marijuana, ignoring the human suffering that will take place while you drag your feet.

Are you under the delusion that you’re somehow protecting children by

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When they were hippies: Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham at Yale in 1971. not embracing legalization? In It Takes a Village (1996), you wrote, “Casual attitudes towards marijuana and minors’ access to cigarettes raise the likelihood that teenagers will make the sad progression to more serious drugs and earlier sexual activity.”

Really? Let’s look at the data you’ve been saying you want to see. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently reported that—as states are moving to legalize marijuana—the percentage of high-school students who use cannabis fell from 43% in 1995 to 39% in 2015.

Last year, investigators at Columbia University and the University of Michigan concluded that no increase in teens’ overall use of marijuana was seen or attributable to changes in law, and acknowledged a “robust” decrease in use among eighth-graders. These studies are consistent with others published in the Journal of Adolescent Health and elsewhere, studies from government agencies like NIDA and Healthy Kids Colorado and Washington State’s Healthy Youth survey.

Or let’s look at the case of Teresa McGovern, the daughter of former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern, for whom both you and I campaigned in 1972. Teresa was so ashamed of being caught with pot during her father’s run that she dropped out of college and instead majored in partying.

She became an alcoholic and subsequently froze to death in a snow bank at the age of 45 in 1994. Did the laws

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against marijuana protect her?

Today, the Obamas’ 18-year-old daughter Malia can take a toke at Lollapolooza and not be deemed immoral, or have her life ruined. That’s progress, but our leaders didn’t get us there; it’s due to the work of activists—and it’s long overdue for you to join our ranks.

Watching the Democratic convention, I was struck by the story of your mother’s struggles, and how you’ve dedicated your life to public service. As someone who has spent 25 years trying to correct the injustices of the anti-cannabis crusade, I can relate.

When will the world, and world leaders, see marijuana legalization as a social-justice issue? Even with legalization in a number of U.S. states, citizens can still lose their jobs, families and homes for enjoying a non-sanctioned natural inebriant in what we call the Land of the Free. Somewhere deep down, despite your ties to pharmaceutical donors and the compromises you’ve made, I hope there’s a pot smoker lurking who wants to do the right thing for humankind.

On a 2011 Real Time with Bill Maher episode, Merle Haggard revealed that you came onto Willie Nelson’s tour bus, noting with a wink, “And I think she inhaled.” Oh, how I wish.

— Ellen Komp Ellen Komp is Deputy Director of California NORML and author of Tokin’ Women: A 4000-Year Herstory.

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The Case Against Donald Trump Don’t be fooled: The Republican candidate is no friend of marijuana.

By Erik Altieri Donald Trump is fundamentally unfit for the presidency.

His platform is unviable (building a border wall that would cost billions, which Mexico certainly will not pay for), inconsistent (does he favor deporting millions of undocumented workers, or not?), un-American (proposing religious tests for individuals entering the country, even if they are American citizens simply returning from overseas), mendacious (stating that President Obama was not born in the U.S., which he recently retracted) and generally a complete mystery (he’s got a great plan to defeat ISIS, but he won’t tell us what it is).

Trump cites his business acumen as a crucial selling point, but his track record is nothing but a trail of bankruptcies, unpaid vendors and disgruntled employees.

All of his policy positions are as malleable as Silly Putty.

Trump first said wages in America were too high, then said the minimum wage should be raised.

He initially proclaimed that the wealthy need to pay more in taxes, then revealed a plan filled with handouts to the top 1%.

After saying climate change was impacting the condition of one of his golf courses, he backtracked and decided it was actually a hoax originating in China. Most notoriously, at a televised town hall forum on MSNBC, Trump suggested that women who have abortions should face some form of pun-

ishment, then recanted later that day.

Clearly, Donald Trump has no core political philosophy or conviction whatsoever. His main motivation is himself, and garnering attention to feed his ego. More than a decade ago, Trump leaned Democrat, was pro-choice and thought all drugs should potentially be legalized. But he’s since jettisoned those positions to become a modern-day George Wallace, appealing to the far-right nativist segment of the population.

Trump on Pot Those who contend that Donald Trump is secretly in favor of marijuana legalization and scaling back the War on Drugs are sadly mistaken. They base their argument on interviews he gave in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But, as we’ve learned, Trump’s word is

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about as valuable as a decade-old dime “In Colorado, the book isn’t written on it bag of ditch weed. He’ll say and do just yet, but there’s a lot of difficulty in terms about anything to further his brand, and of illness, and what’s going on with the given his boorish conduct during the brain and the mind and what it’s doing.” presidential campaign, it’s clear that Trump has hitched himself to the so• “[Marijuana legalization] is a big probcial-conservative bandwagon. lem… [Marijuana has] tremendously Trump has often said that he supdamaging effects to the mind, to the ports medical marijuana. “I think medical brain, to everything.” should happen,” he stated last October.

“I really believe we should leave it up to • “There’s a lasting negative impact. the states.”

You do too much of it… there’s a loss However, his position on full legalizaof something, so that book has not been tion is a far cry from the libertarian posiwritten yet, but it’s gonna be written tions he spouted when he was simply a pretty soon and I’m not hearing very businessman and TV star. At the Conserpositive things.” vative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in March, Trump said, regarding full legalization: “I think it’s bad, and I feel strongly about that.

Donald Trump has They’ve got a lot surrounded himself of problems going with ardent prohibion right now in tionists. His running Colorado, some mate Mike Pence is big problems.” an extremely vocal In an interview opponent of reformon ABC’s This Week ing the nation’s marin July, he reiterijuana laws. During ated his personal his 2012 campaign opposition to marifor governor of Indijuana legalization. ana, Pence’s biggest “It’s not something campaign donor that I would want was the private pristo do,” he stated. on corporation “But it’s something Trump’s conservative Republican runGeo Group. that certainly has ning mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence.

Pence prebeen looked at, and sides over a state I looked at it. If we that has some of the police properly, we nation’s most outdatshouldn’t [have to] ed and severe cando that.” nabis laws; in IndiA teetotaler, ana, possession of Trump claims to any amount is punhave had no personishable by a $1,000 al experience with fine and 180 days marijuana. It certainin jail. In 2013, he ly shows in these opposed the legismuddled, out-of lature’s attempt to touch comments:

Trump’s Anti-Drug Allies

Trump’s word is about as valuable as a decade-old dime bag of ditch weed.

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“ C HARM ING. . . . A H E ARTF E LT P L E A TO KEEP POT W E I RD. ” — Los Angel es Ti mes

“Incisive. . . . Whether you’re a weed rookie starting from scratch or a seasoned smoker . . .

How to Smoke Pot (Properly) presents everything in one place, at the right moment in time.”—Mashable

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Donald Trump regularly disparages the media, which follow him wherever he goes.

pass a bill that would have lowered the penalties for pot, while not fully decriminalizing it. “I think we need to focus on reducing crime, not reducing penalties,” Pence opined. Just this year, he signed a bill that allows judges to sentence drug offenders to 10-year mandatory-minimum jail terms.

Pence is most infamously known for backing the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015, which discriminates against the LGBT community.

That put him on the national radar—and Trump didn’t hesitate to make Pence his choice for VP. The other two individuals in Trump’s inner orbit need slightly less introduction: former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

While serving as mayor, Giuliani made his name as a leader in the “tough on crime” movement. Stop-and-frisk greatly increased under his administration, New York City arrested more people for simple marijuana possession than any other city in the nation (peaking with 51,267 arrests in 2000) and Giuliani routinely derided efforts to implement any drug law reforms.

During his short-lived run for president in the 2008 election, Giuliani made his stance clear on legalization: “There’s no reason for it.” (He has served as a consultant for Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin.)

A very long article could be written

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about Christie’s opposition to cannabis law reform. He did everything in his power to block implementation of New Jersey’s medical-marijuana program after he took office in 2010, and signed a bill calling for mandatory treatment for individuals charged with pot possession.

During his failed run for the Republican presidential nomination this year, Christie previewed what prohibition would look like in his administration in an interview Fox & Friends: “Marijuana is against the law in the states, and it should be enforced in all 50 states.” At a New Hampshire town hall, he sent a chilling warning to those living in currently legal states, declaring: “If you’re getting high in Colorado today, enjoy it, [because] as of January 2017, I will enforce the federal laws.”

Fortunately, Christie lost in the primaries, but here’s a frightening thought: He and Giuliani are Trump’s leading candidates for U.S. Attorney General.

In addition to Trump’s anti-pot stances, the GOP itself still opposes any move ment on marijuana reform. The Republican Party platform, authored and approved at their convention in July, rejected planks that would have supported medical marijuana, much less overall legalization.

JUST SAY No TO Trump There are three other candidates who are all better on the marijuana issue than Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton has said she supports rescheduling and state-level legalization, and the Democratic Party platform now has a strong position in favor of dialing back the War on Drugs.

The two other candidates—Gary Johnson and Jill Stein—both back marijuana legalization. Take your pick—but for the sake of the country and the future of marijuana law reform, don’t vote for Trump.

Erik Altieri is President of the Agenda Project, Senior Political Strategist for MAYDAY.US and former Communications Director at NORML.

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The Adventurous Life of Gary Johnson The two-time Libertarian Party presidential candidate was having a good run until he flunked a few media quizzes.

By Chris Goldstein “I know you have some questions about marijuana, so let’s start,” said New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson in 1999. He was on the stage of Warehouse21, a local community center in Santa Fe, and I was moderating the town hall discussion as a host on KSFR, Santa Fe’s public radio station.

This followed right on the heels of Johnson calling for marijuana legalization on 60 Minutes. It was a truly courageous position for a sitting governor, especially a Republican, to take.

The move instantly made international headlines.

The first questions from the audience that night were personal.

Had he ever used pot?

“Yes,” Gov. Johnson candidly replied.

Quick follow-ups: How much?

How often? How recently?

Unflinchingly, he answered every query from a small group of teenagers and parents for 90 minutes.

“Smoking pot isn’t going to kill you,” Johnson explained. “Alcohol is probably a lot more dangerous. Don’t drink.

Don’t smoke tobacco. But statistically speaking, you are probably going to try pot, so let’s be honest about it.” Johnson didn’t just talk about marijuana; he also touched on “harm reduction” and ending all forms of drug prohibition. I’d never seen anything

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quite like it. He offered candor without the usual guile. Thanks to the 60 Minutes interview, Johnson had become a voice in national politics.

Western Roots North Dakota-born Gary Earl Johnson was never part of the GOP establishment. Before getting into local politics he spent years running a successful construction company (Big J Enterprises) in Albuquerque, earning respect and also plenty of money.

He often tells this story of his first foray into the system: “I went to the Republican headquarters, and said that I was going to announce my candidacy for governor. They told me that, hey, we like you, we like what you’re saying, but you need to know that you will never get elected. It’s not possible.”

The outsider was undeterred. Johnson ponied up $500,000 of his own money and set out to win the 1994 race for governor of New Mexico. Johnson not only beat his Republican primary competitors, but also Democrats and Hispanics, to stay in office for two terms. In the 1990s, he was winning over Hispanic voters to the GOP before it was a key talking point for the party.

In 2000, Johnson had a moment of leadership to showcase his “presidential” qualities when a massive forest fire swept toward Los Alamos National Laboratory, reaching the perimeter; the inferno threatened to spread dangerous radiation and destroy the nation’s premier nuclear research facility. Johnson held daily briefings and his office coordinated federal, state and county resources to protect the lab and surrounding properties.

When it came to state legislation, Johnson used the veto pen often, which led to bitter disputes with members of both parties.

Strong hints of Libertarian views were expressed in many of Johnson’s public statements as governor, like this speech in 2000:

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“The whole country is going to legalize marijuana in 10 years, and so goes the world.”

“What is the United States? It’s life, it’s liberty, it’s the pursuit of happiness.

I believe that government has a role in ensuring life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Government has a role to make sure that there’s a level playing field so that everybody has access to that American dream.

“And what is it that we’re all after in life? Happiness. Fundamental to happiness is freedom, the ability to choose, the ability to make decisions, the ability to be whatever it is that you think that you might be able to be.”

At the end of his two terms as governor, in 2002, the final assessment of Johnson by fellow New Mexico Republicans was warm. He’d shrunk the state government and balanced the budget, and had generally been a conservative thorn in the side of local Democrats.

In 2005, Johnson announced that he and his wife of 28 years, Dee, were getting a divorce; they’d been college sweethearts and built the construction business together. That same year he broke multiple bones, including his 12th vertebrae—his second spinal fracture—in a paragliding accident. It took him several years to recover from his injuries, and Johnson has said that it was during this period when he started using cannabis regularly to deal with pain.

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By 2009, Johnson began to entertain thoughts about reentering the political arena. Two years later, he decided to run for the Republican presidential nomination. It was a crowded field that included former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (the eventual nominee), Congressman Ron Paul and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Johnson didn’t get very far with his bid, but his growing network of cannabis reform enthusiasts helped him open a new door.

Flashback to April 19, 2001, and National NORML’s annual conference in Washington, D.C. The event scored three big headline speakers: Congressman Barney Frank, San Francisco District Attorney Terrence Hallinan and New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.

“Most people don’t want to admit it, but, for the most part, people that smoke marijuana are responsible users of marijuana,” Johnson told the enthusiastic crowd. “They choose when and where to smoke marijuana. They’re not doing any harm to anyone else.”

The former governor also talked about opiate addiction, prescription painkiller abuse and how the ultimate failure of drug prohibition was seen in every overdose death. It was a prophetic assessment of the addiction crisis happening today.

Johnson went to some of the social events, shoulder-to-shoulder with attendees puffing on roof decks or in rooms thick with smoke. I never saw him take a toke. Nine years later, in Portland, Ore., I snapped a photo of Johnson just as the NORML Board of Directors happened to light a particularly gigantic joint. He wasn’t shy, but again didn’t smoke in public.

Johnson is an absolute health nut, with a simple philosophy: “I dedicate myself to being as physically fit as I can possibly be every single day of my life.” He’s competed in triathlons and has climbed

JOE GURRERI

Smoke and Mirrors

Johnson has spoken at many cannabis conventions, including the CWCBExpo in NYC.

some of the world’s highest mountains, including Everest in 2003. Johnson also loves to ski.

That’s the sport that sparked an important friendship with cannabis activist and entrepreneur Steve Kubby, who likes to carve up the powder at Lake Tahoe.

Kubby mounted Libertarian Party runs for governor of California, in 1998, vice president, in 2000, and president, in 2008.

United by cannabis and Kubby, Johnson and California Superior Court Judge Jim Gray were chosen to be the Libertarian presidential ticket in 2012. They received almost 1.3 million votes and placed third nationwide. It was one of the best results ever for the party.

In 2014, Kubby named Johnson the CEO of his new business, Cannabis Sativa Inc., a publicly traded company (OTCQB: CBDS) that has yet to market any products (a CBD-infused water product is under development).

“I don’t know if I’m the Bill Gates of marijuana, but we might be the Microsoft of marijuana,” Johnson gloated at the time. “The whole country is going to legalize marijuana in 10 years, and so goes the world.”

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Johnson stepped down from his position when he accepted the 2016 Libertarian Party presidential nomination.

JOHNSON’S SCARY “ALEPPO MOMENTS” Gary Johnson holds a significant piece of voter real estate in the 2016 election, which is populated by disenfranchised Republican candidates and skittish, moderate Democrats.

Republican nominee Donald Trump’s unorthodox campaign has reset the chessboard. But just when all of the pieces were perfectly aligned for Johnson, just as momentum was shifting in his favor, he fell victim to the dreaded gaffe.

During an interview on MSNBC on Sept. 8, Johnson was caught off-guard when asked about Aleppo, the nearly decimated Syrian city. Johnson drew a blank and then responded, in all honesty, “What is Aleppo?” It took but a moment for the hosts to explain. But the damage was done; the resulting press and social media storm was swift and punishing.

Then Johnson did it again a few weeks later. Asked about the bombings in New Jersey and New York on Sept.

17, he asserted, “I’m just glad nobody got hurt.” Actually, the New York bomb injured 30 people.

His third gaffe in the month, on Sept. 29, was a doozy. Asked by Chris Matthews on MSNBC to name a foreign leader he respected, Johnson drew a blank (he described it as a “brain freeze”), and even joked, “I’m having an Aleppo moment.”

This further ratcheted up the backlash against Johnson, who already was facing voter discontent over his stances on gun control (he’s against it), education (he calls for eliminating the Department of Education) and taxes (he wants to replace income tax with a consumption tax). Johnson’s unwillingness to tone down his message or bite his tongue is exactly how he became Mr. Third Party.

But one thing had changed: Once he

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hit the campaign trail, Johnson declared that he was completely sober. In an interview with USA Today in June, he said, “I haven’t had a drink of alcohol in 29 years because of rock climbing and the notion of being the best that you can be, and in that same vein I’ve stopped using marijuana of any kind.”

Johnson’s position on legalization remains unchanged. If he were to win, he’d likely become the first president to end a long day of work at the Oval Office with cannabis instead of alcohol. But he’s blown a great opportunity to place the marijuana issue front and center during the campaign, even as interviewers have pressed him on this point and noted that President Obama is well known for his appreciation of beer.

LIBERTARIANISM: THE REPUBLICAN ALTERNATIVE Gary Johnson deserves serious consideration by all cannabis consumers. He’s advanced the national discussion, has strong ties with the reform movement and would definitely place legalization as a top priority.

Even though low polling (he’s been hovering at around 8%) has kept Johnson out of the presidential debates, much of the press continues to treat him as a serious contender, despite his gaffes. There have been occasional spikes in opinion polls, and he maintains especially strong support among active-duty military.

Still, those intending to vote for Hillary Clinton or Green Party candidate Jill Stein are not likely to gravitate toward Johnson. With underestimated political savvy, his campaign remains focused on the Republican base, because he can earn those supporters. Johnson is the clear, honest solution for GOP voters— and many others—in 2016.

Chris Goldstein is Communications Director of Philly NORML and writes for Freedom Leaf and philly.com.

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The Greener Jill Stein Why anti-prohibitionists should consider voting for third-party candidates.

By Mike Crawford “Why would you throw your vote away by supporting a third-party candidate? Especially for president of the United States?

They have no chance of winning.” Have you heard that old line on Facebook? Or at your family dinner table?

In America, partisan Democrats and Republicans have lambasted the “wasted votes” of independents for generations.

Their blame is misplaced (say it out loud, “Nader haters”), but such is to be expected from defenders of the status quo. Indeed, if all responsibilities were left to party insiders, few things would ever change at all.

Depending on where you reside, you may want to consider voting for a third-party candidate. If you live in a non-swing state, where your votes in national elections don’t seem to count anyway due to a crush of red or blue around you, then there may be some good that you can do without having to live with the guilt that you helped Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton get elected to the White House.

If you live in a donkey haven like Massachusetts, as I do, where Clinton is expected to win by close to a million votes, there’s nothing to lose, and one

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can pull for an indie with ease. Imagine that: Being able to vote without having to hold your nose.

Need even more convincing? Two critical words: marijuana reform. This is an area where Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein shines. A Massachusetts physician who speaks for working people, Stein whipped Mitt Romney in debates when she was running against him for governor in 2010. As for the leafy-green issue, Stein “supports legalization of marijuana in all 50 states,” according to her campaign website. And there’s more: “Marijuana is a drug that is dangerous because it’s illegal. It isn’t illegal because it’s dangerous. There are drugs in use that are far more harmful than marijuana, such as alcohol. Legal-

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Imagine that: Being able to vote without having to hold your nose.

ize marijuana and the dangers go away. Regulate it so that children can’t buy it on the street corner.”

Amen.

Trump and Clinton are a long way from making these kinds of statements; Stein has been saying these things for some time. While campaigning to be governor six years ago, she proposed a Cannabis Reform Commission to bring marijuana sales under a new regulatory framework, and spoke at the 2010 MassCann/NORML Boston Freedom Rally in favor of repealing pot prohibition. Regarding the upcoming legalization ballot initiative in Massachusetts in November, she supports Question 4.

If Stein is too liberal in other areas for some voters, then perhaps you’ll want to consider Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, who is running for the White House on the Libertarian ticket. Though he gave up toking for this race, Johnson is an actual cannabis user, and has even worked in the industry as the President and CEO of Cannabis Sativa Inc., a producer and distributor of medicinal oils. (For more on Johnson, turn to page 41.)

Third-party campaigns are important and worth supporting. Despite the cries of partisan haters, Stein and Johnson—win or lose— can help advance change. Their exclusion from the debates only adds to voter disillusionment over the perceived lack of options.

A vote for Stein or Johnson is a vote for reforming federal marijuana laws. A vote for a third-party candidate isn’t a waste at all, whether you’re in a swing state or a solid blue oasis, like me.

Mike Crawford is former president of MassCann/NORML and hosts The Young Jerks show on WEMF Radio in Boston.

ARKANSAS, DENVER AND A-LIST REPS UP FOR REELECTION Along with the presidential race and state legalization ballot measures, here are a few notable political sidebars to pay attention to this election cycle:

COMPETING MEDICAL CANNABIS INITIATIVES IN ARKANSAS:

After years of bureaucratic delay, Arkansas voters have not one but two medical cannabis legalization initiatives to chose from—the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act and the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment. Having two similar initiatives on the same ballot usually means a split vote and neither prevail. However, what if both are approved by the voters?

CANNABIS COFFEESHOPS COMING SOON TO DENVER?

Denver voters have the opportunity to “go Dutch” this fall if they approve the Neighborhood-Supported Cannabis Consumption Pilot Program, which would permit properly licensed bars and restaurants to allow cannabis products to be legally consumed onsite by adults 21 and over.

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS UP FOR REELECTION WHO’VE SCORED “A” ON NORML’S 2016 CONGRESSIONAL SCORECARD:

Don Beyer (D-VA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Mike Capuano (D-MA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Jared Huffman (D-CO), Barbara Lee (DCA), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Mike Honda (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Jared Polis (D-CO), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).

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Freedom Leaf

INTERVIEW

Rob Kampia

BEN DROZ

The Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project since its inception, Rob Kampia got his start with NORML before leaving to co-found the MPP in 1995. The organization boasts 32,000 members and has been responsible for many of the statewide legalization efforts around the nation. This year, they’ve placed their bets on measures in Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada.

We asked Kampia to elaborate on these efforts, discuss the presidential candidates and explain the organization’s evolving role in a postlegalization world.

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Once again, the MPP has taken the lead this year, helping to put four marijuana measures on the ballot. How does the MPP go about choosing states to focus on for potential adultuse and medical marijuana initiatives?

Several factors are taken into account when deciding where and when to support state ballot initiatives. Most importantly, we gauge existing levels of support among voters, opinion leaders, local activists and potential donors. And we review the nature of the election. For example, we know there tends to be more support shown for reform when voter turnout is highest, so we often back initiatives during presidential election years. If it appears that there’s a strong chance an initiative could pass given the right amount of resources, and if we’re confident we can put those resources

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together, there’s a good chance we’ll be interested in supporting it. Since resources are always limited, we’ll often take into account whether there are other activists or organizations who are interested in supporting a good initiative, in which case we might take a smaller role, or no role at all, depending on the situation.

state’s primary newspaper of record [the Las Vegas Review Journal], we’re seeing a big shift in how they cover the issue.

Whereas it had previously editorialized in support of regulating and taxing marijuana, they’re now opposing it and not dedicating much coverage to conveying our arguments.

Let’s talk about each of the states mentioned above. What have been the biggest challenges to overcome? For Prop 205 in Arizona?

Prop 64 in California is the big one.

It’s supported by a coalition of reform groups, including the MPP. What do you think of its chances to win? If it loses, what will be the ramifications?

The opposition campaign is very well funded, especially since it received $500,000 from a big pharmaceutical company, Insys [see page 8]. In addition to all that money from opioid profits, the opposition campaign has the governor out there doing everything he can to raise money, so it would not be surprising to see more money roll in for the opposition.

They will spend this money spreading scary and inaccurate information via paid ads, so it’s critical that we raise money to combat those ads with the facts.

Question 1 in Maine?

Although the two competing initiative campaigns put aside their differences and joined forces to support one initiative, some individuals got very riled up and have yet to calm down. It’s unfortunate because it seems like most activists generally agree on the issue and on most of what the initiative would do.

Question 4 in Massachusetts?

The governor and the mayor of Boston are playing a significant role in the opposition effort, and they’re spreading a lot of misinformation, particularly about states like Colorado. They paint a very grim picture despite the fact that legalization has actually been very successful and most voters are still supportive.

Question 2 in Nevada?

Now that an opponent of marijuana policy reform [Sheldon Adelson] owns the

Prop 64 has a very good chance of passing this year. Voters are ready to end marijuana prohibition in California, so it’s really just a matter of ensuring they understand and are comfortable with the specifics of the initiative. It would obviously be a huge disappointment if it lost, but it would really just be less of a step forward than it would be a step backward, especially if initiatives do pass in some or all of the other states.

How do you respond to anti-64 efforts, and other efforts against initiatives around the country, within the marijuana world—the so-called “Stoners Against Legalization?”

It’s impossible to write an initiative that everyone agrees is perfect. All you can do is put together the law that the most people possible believe is the best step forward at any given time, and that’s what Prop 64 is. It will effectively end marijuana prohibition and replace it with a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed like alcohol. There are a lot of personalities and a lot of history that have led to the variety of viewpoints among legalization supporters, but at the end of the day, we’re confident that the vast majority will support Prop. 64.

Is MPP supporting Amendment 2 in Florida?

Yes, MPP fully supports Amendment 2, and we’re encouraging our large contingent of Florida-based supporters to

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BEN DROZ

The MPP’s Director of Conservative Outreach Don Murphy and Executive Director Rob Kampia flank Republican California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. vote—and encourage their friends and relatives to vote—Yes on Amendment 2.

We’re not as directly involved in supporting the campaign as we are in several of the other states, but we have a great relationship with them and will do what we can to supplement their efforts.

Where does MPP stand on the dueling medical initiatives in Arkansas—Issue 6 and Issue 7?

MPP has thrown its support behind the longtime Arkansas activists who qualified Issue 7 for the ballot. It’s really unfortunate that the other group continued to collect signatures even after Issue 7 officially qualified, since it will make it a much tougher election to win with two medical marijuana initiatives on the ballot at the same time.

MPP is also backing the Neighborhood Approved Cannabis Consumption Pilot Program in Denver. If it passes, how will that work?

Initiated Ordinance 300 in Denver would establish a pilot program in which private establishments can receive permits to create designated cannabis consumption areas. There will be rules to follow similar to those that establishments must follow when they allow the consumption of

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alcohol, and in order to receive a permit, the establishment must have the support of its officially recognized neighborhood organization or business-improvement district. Marijuana is now a legal product for adults in Denver, so adults who are visiting the city or are not able to consume it in their homes need private places where they can go to do it safely and legally with other adults. This will be the first time it’s voted on, so it’s an uphill battle, but the Denver Democratic Party and some state legislators recently endorsed the measure. The campaign has been picking up steam.

If all the states with reform initiatives this fall were to pass, which states will MPP target next?

MPP will continue to work to pass laws legalizing and regulating marijuana for adult use through the state legislatures in Vermont and Rhode Island. We’ll also be ramping up our coalition efforts to pass such laws in Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois and Maryland. With the departure of a very hostile governor in New Hampshire, we’re hopeful that we will finally pass a bill decriminalizing personal possession there. We also plan to work with patients, organizations and elected officials to pass comprehensive medical marijuana laws in Nebraska, Utah, Louisiana and Georgia.

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Most substantive reforms have happened via voter initiative or legislation. Do you see any reform strategies where litigation in the courts can advance reforms?

Litigation is a lengthy and costly process that often has little likelihood of success, so we always pick and choose our legal battles carefully. Generally, it’s not a strategy we employ for major policy reforms, but we do get involved in some cases.

For example, we’re a party to a lawsuit in Alabama that challenges a law that has made it near impossible for us to work with state legislators who want help passing reform bills. And we recently filed an amicus brief in a federal court case that examines the way law enforcement conducts investigations and testing for marijuana.

Regarding the presidential election, which candidate would be better for marijuana policy reform?

Gary Johnson would be the best candidate for marijuana policy reform. In addition to stating his unequivocal support for ending marijuana prohibition, he pushed for sensible reform both while in office [as governor of New Mexico—see page 41] and since leaving office. For example, he’s traveled to states considering reform to speak out in support of it, and he’s reached out to other governors to make the case directly to them.

Some critics of Hillary Clinton consider her support of rescheduling over descheduling and her association with President Clinton’s crime bill deal-breakers. Others think she’s evolving positively on these issues.

What is MPP’s position on Clinton?

MPP has created a voter guide to the presidential candidates, which gives Clinton a B+. She’s expressed support for legal access to medical marijuana and clearly stated her support for allowing states to legalize and regulate marijuana for adult use. We would need to educate

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her more about why marijuana needs to be removed from the federal drug schedules rather than just rescheduled to II or III—but the same would be true if Trump won. What’s great is that for the first time in history, all four of the candidates—the Democrat, the Republican, the Libertarian and the Green—agree it’s time to start rolling back prohibition at the federal level, in addition to allowing it at the state level.

If Donald Trump were to win, would you expect him to start rolling back progress made in legal states or would he leave things as they are?

Trump has said he supports letting states create their own policies, and all the other candidates have said that, too. Given the trajectory of public support for legalization, I think it is highly unlikely that Trump would make it a priority to start causing problems with existing state marijuana laws.

Historically, most of the major reform money came from concerned billionaires [Peter Lewis, George Soros].

This traditional source of money appears to be drying up. What does MPP see as the major source of reform money going forward?

Those billionaires are being replaced or supplemented by other philanthropists, and the marijuana industry is also now stepping up to the plate in states like Arizona and Nevada. So it could be that the pie is just growing overall.

What would be MPP’s role in a postlegalization world?

MPP’s role will depend on whether the National Cannabis Industry Association and 50 state trade associations are firmly in place to protect and improve current and future federal and state legalization laws. It’s too soon to tell which organizations will be playing what roles, because we don’t expect Congress to pass federal legalization legislation until 2019 or 2020.

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How California Legalized Medical Marijuana The story of Dennis Peron, the gay activist who changed cannabis law reform forever. BY JOE DOLCE

The father of medical marijuana in the United States is: A: Thomas Jefferson B: Sanjay Gupta C: Dennis Peron D: George Soros 54 www.freedomleaf.com

Stoners might guess Jefferson. They’ll cite his diary entries and the laws he passed exhorting American farmers to plant hemp. They incorrectly use those facts as proof that the Founding Fathers may have enjoyed a puff in between starting a revolution and establishing a country. Not true: Many countries at the time cultivated hemp for fiber, which they used to make sails, clothing and paper.

American television viewers would

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likely vote for Gupta. His 2013 CNN documentary Weed helped convince Americans that the plant is real medicine, and showed them how it could ameliorate symptoms of severe and rare diseases, such as Dravet syndrome.

The correct answer, however, is C and D, Dennis Peron and George Soros.

This proxy marriage of a Vietnam vet, pot dealer, gay activist and onetime Republican candidate for governor of California

and his billionaire supporter paved the way for California’s Proposition 215, the world’s first-ever medical marijuana law.

Peron almost single-handedly reframed the plant—and the debate around it— from a reckless drug of rebellion to a botanical medicine, but his mission would likely have imploded without the deep pockets and deeper convictions of a few unwavering backers. Until Peron, pot advocates in the United States were spin-

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MICHAEL ZAGARIS

Dennis Peron’s Big Top pot supermarket in San Francisco, circa 1977.

In 1998, Denis Peron ran as a Republican candidate for governor and lost.

ning their wheels, arguing that citizens should have the right to intoxicate themselves in any way they see fit. While this argument is valid, it’s not all that persuasive. Fighting for the right to get stoned never resonated with soccer moms (or dads) who didn’t want their kids exposed to yet another temptation, no matter how safe or natural it was. Peron tectonically shifted the paradigm, but outside of a small coterie of California activists, his story is little known.

I tracked down the self-proclaimed “fairy godfather of medical marijuana” in San Francisco, where he lives in a hulking Victorian known as the Castro Castle. I rang the doorbell at noon, as we had arranged the day before, but the gentleman who answered apologetically informed me that Dennis had to unexpectedly take his brother to the airport.

He invited me into the kitchen, where I watched a bear of a chef in an apron cooking lunch for a group of men seated around a table in various states of undress, speaking different languages.

The walls were a shrine to the king of this castle. There were photos of Dennis with Harvey Milk, Dennis in bell-bottoms addressing a rally, yellowed newspaper clippings of Dennis running for office.

Was this a gay bordello? A commune? I didn’t ask. Instead, I retired to the back garden to await my audience.

I sat near a grotesque mural of

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Brownie Mary (Mary Jane Rathbun), one of Peron’s best friends and a local legend who was known as the city’s Florence Nightingale for distributing “magic brownies” to AIDS patients in city hospitals.

With her gray hair and unfashionable eyewear, Mary may have looked like a kindly grandmother, but her scabrous remarks made her a cause célèbre. “If the narcs think I’m going to stop baking pot brownies for my kids with AIDS, they can go fuck themselves in Macy’s window!” she announced to deafening cheers at a rally following one of her several arrests.

With Mary’s image smiling insanely over my shoulder, I was handed a mug of tea by a handyman who informed me that the Castro Castle is in fact an inexpensive B and B frequented by travelers hungry for a taste of old-school San Francisco life.

Two cups of tea later, Peron joined me. With his short, neatly combed hair and button-down shirt, he looked more like a priest than a firebrand, and he sounded rather subdued, as well. A stroke in 2010 had reduced his voice to a raspy whisper, but the impish twinkle in his eyes signaled to me that this guy could still cause trouble.

Peron’s infatuation with pot began, as it did for many, in Vietnam, where his Air America unit was dispatched to the border to spy on the Ho Chi Minh Trail for the CIA. The Vietcong learned about the mission and rained mortar shells on

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Peron’s unit every night for a month.

Constant bombardment taught Peron two things: (1) that sleeping could be fatal— this is one reason so many Vietnam vets suffered debilitating insomnia once they returned from war—and it was safer to lie awake at night; and (2) that he was gay.

It was in the trenches that he first had sex with a man.

Tour of duty over, Peron returned home with a duffle bag full of Thai weed.

He grew out his crew cut, moved to a commune and dedicated himself to the vague goal of “helping America come to peace with itself.” (OK, it was the early 1970s.) Pot was the instrument through which he hoped to execute that unlikely reconciliation.

In the late 1970s, Peron flouted the law to open the Big Top pot supermarket in San Francisco, which quickly became the country’s largest cannabis retailer.

It was so successful that Peron had $1 million in $20 bills stashed in a closet.

Just as large bundles of cash make dispensary owners vulnerable to robbery and paranoia today, they also did so back then, so when a horde of plainclothes policemen knocked down the door, Peron assumed he was being burgled. He hoisted a five-gallon water jug over his head to hurl down the stairs at his invaders, but the cops fired first, landing a bullet in his leg.

Given the looser laws of the Carter era, the 199 pounds of pot on the premises should have landed Peron in the clink for a few years. But when Officer Paul Makaveckas was asked at the trial to show the court how he fired the shot, he stood up in the witness box and aimed his pistol at Peron for a long 30 seconds.

Then Makaveckas audibly lamented his faulty aim. A hit to the heart would have meant “one less faggot in San Francisco,” he said within earshot of lawyers.

That untoward remark won Peron a reduced seven-month sentence in county jail, an unyielding hostility to law enforcement and instant stature in the small but growing movement to legalize pot. Once out of jail, he authored Proposition W (for “weed”), which directed the district attorney to stop arresting San Franciscans

for possessing, transferring or growing marijuana. The largely symbolic city ordinance passed overwhelmingly in 1978 with 63.7% of the vote.

After Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were gunned down by Dan White, a former cop who later somehow convinced a jury that an overdose of Twinkies had caused his diminished mental capacity, AIDS began its rampage and gay men began dying. The desperation was palpable. No one at the time knew what caused the scourge (it was still being misidentified as GRID, gay-related immunodeficiency disease), and there was no treatment for the Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) that scarred people with purple lesions, or the PCP pneumonia that drowned them to death in their own sputum. When Peron’s partner, Jonathan West, was diagnosed in the late 1980s, there were always a few ounces of weed on hand to ameliorate his suffering.

One evening in 1990, just before midnight, 10 plainclothes narcotics officers in rubber gloves showed up at Peron and West’s home with a search warrant.

The cops ransacked the apartment and forced Jonathan facedown onto the floor, bootjacking his neck. “Know what AIDS stands for?” one of them asked.

“Asshole in deep shit.” The cops arrested Peron for possessing four ounces of Humboldt green with intent to sell. At his trial, West—98 pounds, face mottled with purple KS lesions the size of grapes— testified that the pot was his. The judge dropped the charges and scolded the arresting officers. West died two weeks later and Peron channeled his fury into writing Proposition P (for “Peron”). It was the country’s first medical-marijuana initiative, and Peron was on a roll.

Activists (and politicians and actors) are typically blessed—or cursed—with a messianic self-belief that powers them forward despite good sense and the overwhelming odds against them.

Their vocabularies are absent the word “compromise.” Peron, impetuous and at times bombastic and utterly uninterested in the formalities of law and regulation, is no exception. Provocation turned him

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on. But comfrom any ailpassion was ment for which also a part of marijuana the equation. provides relief It’s no exagto buy or grow geration to say the plant. The that people wording was with AIDS had intentionally been abanvague—it aldoned by the lowed doctors medical and to “recompolitical esmend” cantablishments nabis for any This card allowed entry into Dennis Peron’s Canand were left condition they nabis Buyers Club on Market St. in San Francisco. to fend for saw fit. (If the themselves. Peron’s next move was to initiative had used the word “prescribe,” rent a five-story building on Market Street it would have been on a collision course and set up the Cannabis Buyers Club, with the federal policy that bars doctors the country’s first dispensary. Tacked to from prescribing any illegal substance.) the wall of the office was a sign: THIS IS There were 433,000 obstacles to A FREE-DRUG WORKPLACE. turning Prop 215 (a.k.a. the “CompasThe top two floors of the club were sionate Care Act”) into law—that was the decked with comfortable, if raggedy, furnumber of signatures needed to get it niture. Meals cost one dollar, and liquid onto the California ballot by April 1996. nutritional supplements were served to

By January, with only three months to those who couldn’t hold down food. But it go before the deadline, the situation wasn’t décor or food that did the healing. was looking dire. Peron’s ragtag band George Zimmer, the founder of the clothof volunteers was woefully behind; they ing retailer Men’s Wearhouse and an claimed to have accrued 250,000 signaearly visitor to the Buyers Club, recalled tures, but in fact they only had 35,000, that his strongest impression was the and most of them were fakes, copied out support the patients offered each other, of the telephone book. since so many were pariahs, shunned Enter Ethan Nadelmann, a Harvardby their families and isolated in spheres educated lawyer who had been eyeing of loneliness. Even Peron’s parents the flailing effort from New York. Funded supported the work he was doing. “My by the business magnate George Soros, parents would get calls saying: ‘Your son Nadelmann’s organization—then called is on TV! He is selling marijuana to AIDS the Lindesmith Center and today known patients,’” Brian Peron, Dennis’s younger as the Drug Policy Alliance—had a goal brother, recalls. “My mom would say, even more quixotic than Peron’s: ending ‘Good, they need it.’” the War on Drugs.

By 1995, the Cannabis Buyers Club And this is how the unlikely marriage had 4,000 members; the following year, between the martyr and the moneymen membership tripled. The locale became began, a quiet but necessary affiliation a popular stop on the tourist circuit, and that has propelled the movement forward Peron kept the rules for admission loose. until this day.

Anyone over 55 was automatically accepted—Dennis defended this practice From BRAVE NEW WEED: by asking, “Don’t you think people that Adventures in the Unchartage have the right to decide what they ed World of Cannabis by want to treat their aches and pains with?”

Joe Dolce, published by Later that year, Peron altered the Harper Wave, an imprint of course of history by drafting another balHarperCollins Publishing. lot initiative that allowed anyone suffering © 2016 by Joe Dolce.

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FINISHING SCHOOL The Days Are Getting Shorter and Your Towering Cannabis Trees Are Casting Longer Shadows. Fall Is Here, and It’s Time to Harvest the Plants.

By Rick Pfrommer

F

all is both a time of celebration and stress for marijuana growers.

Many of their concerns at the time when cultivating cannabis was still totally illegal—rippers, helicopter raids, snooping cops—have generally receded in this new era. But larger, legal grows are not without their challenges.

Traditionally, outdoor harvest takes place in the latter part of October. With the advent of cannabis light-deprivation techniques, harvest now stretches from early August to late November.

With many folks running both “dep” and full-season crops, demands on growers and workers have increased dramatically.

The first and most important step is to decide when to harvest your plants. The old axiom was that it was the right time when the hairs all turned red or orange.

With expanding use of inexpensive magnifiers, coupled with increased knowledge of trichome development, growers started precisely gauging the appearance of THC-rich

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glands in order to make the crucial call of when to chop down the plants.

Trichomes, which look like sparkling mini-lollipops on the surface of a bud, contain most of the THC present in cannabis. They start out clear and, a few weeks before harvest, turn cloudy until finally settling into an amber tone; eventually they collapse and degrade. Common wisdom states that when a third to a half of these resin glands turn amber, it’s time. But, as with so many aspects of cannabis, it’s a matter of personal preference. For instance, with purples or other heavy indicas, some prefer to harvest earlier in order to produce a flower with fewer soporific effects.

The style of harvest—or “takedown,” in cultivator parlance—also varies greatly from grower to grower. Many harvest in stages. First, they may remove the top, or “crown,” colas. This allows the buds underneath them to get more light and grow larger. A second cut may take place a week or so after the first. Some even harvest in three stages. Much of this work depends on how much manpower and space is available.

After being cut down, buds are handled in a myriad of ways. Most growers remove the biggest colas, take off any fan leaves and

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hang the whole plant, stalk and all, to dry. Others keep the leaves on.

Some trim while the plants are still “wet.” Most growers experiment with a variety of methods; there is no one correct way.

Buds should be hung or placed on drying screens in a cool 55–65° F room with good airflow, which is critical in order to prevent the dense, resinous buds from molding. That’s how an entire season’s hard work can be lost in a few days.

The majority of growers hang their buds. This protects the delicate trichomes from being knocked off and the flowers from flattening. Buds that are hung and dried correctly firm up into nice round colas. It’s important not to crowd them too densely together. Airflow between the buds allows for faster drying and prevents mold from spreading. When the stems snap (after seven to 14 days hanging), the buds are ready to be trimmed.

Many growers use some type of dehumidifier. Necessity depends on the region: Growers who live closer to the coast (in Northern California, for example) or in rainy areas may need dehumidifiers, while those inland may not.

In Northern California, you know it’s harvest time by the influx of “trimigrants” (see Freedom Leaf #10), who show up looking for work. Many larger grows are now using machines specially designed to speed up the process of cannabis trimming. A huge debate continues to rage

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among growers over the use of Trimpro units and similar machines. Many feel that they damage the buds and knock off too many trichomes. Even with the advent of machines, many workers are still needed.

After the buds are trimmed, they’re placed in all types of drying containers. Some use cardboard boxes, others employ five-gallon buckets or Rubbermaid containers. No matter what‘s used, containers all must be “burped” or opened up daily during the 3–6 week curing process, when chlorophyll is converted to sugars. The gases that are produced must be released or else the buds may rot. Some growers also regularly turn the pile of drying buds, ensuring an even cure.

The amount of time to properly cure cannabis varies depending on a variety of factors, including the temperature and humidity of the curing area as well as the density of the buds. Personal preference also plays a role. As a general rule, the process should be slow.

Cultivating fine cannabis is as much an art as a science. Practicing a variety of techniques gives the grower a better understanding of the plant. In the end, the proof is in the bud.

Rick Pfrommer is the former director of education at Harborside Health Center in Oakland, Calif., and is the Principal Consultant at PfrommerNow.

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Lifetime Warranties on the Most Vital Parts of Each Model. Not believing any vaporizer should see the bottom of a junk drawer, replacement parts for all AccuVape models are available in-store or online.

AccuVape also warranties the most vulnerable parts of each vaporizer, insuring when someone buys an AccuVape product, they can enjoy it for life.

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Presidential Dinner for Four HERE ARE MY INTERPRETATIONS OF EACH CANDIDATE AS A RECIPE.

Recipes by Cheri Sicard

• Photos by Mitch Mandell

Slow-Cooked Clinton Sweet and Spicy Pulled Pork Hillary Clinton has famously said she’s not much of a cook, so I decided to make her recipe easy enough for even noncooks to make. This slow-cooked pulled pork, made with pantry ingredients, could not be simpler—just set it and forget it.

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The slow cooking process represents the Democratic nominee’s long journey to become the United States’ first female presidential nominee of a major party. I added lots of pickled jalapeños, because she likes hot and spicy foods. And since she’s the former First Lady of Arkansas, I also included a nod to the uniquely Southern practice of cooking with soda pop. Pile this sweet and spicy pork on crusty rolls for sandwiches.

3 lbs. pork shoulder (a.k.a. pork butt) 2 tsp. vegetable oil 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced 1/3 cup pickled jalapeño peppers 1/4 cup pickling juice from peppers jar 1-1/2 cups barbecue sauce or my Mary Jane’s Barbecue Sauce (see Issue 17) 12 oz. cola or Dr. Pepper 2 tsp. seasoning salt 3/4 tsp. liquid smoke 8 sandwich rolls 1–2 gm. kief Salt and pepper

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Heat a cast iron pan over high heat and add a teaspoon of cooking oil. Add onions and cook, stirring until lightly browned, about five minutes. Transfer onions to a slow cooker. Season pork with salt and pepper. Add remaining oil to hot pan and brown meat, turning on all four sides, about 2–3 minutes per side.

Add browned meat to the slow cooker.

While meat and onions brown, add remaining ingredients to slow cooker and

stir well. Cover and cook on high for 4–6 hours. Turn meat and stir sauce once or twice during the process. The meat is done when it easily pulls apart with a fork. Remove meat from cooker and let cool slightly. Remove any large pieces of fat and discard. Use a couple of forks to pull meat apart, then return it to sauce in cooker and stir to mix. Serve meat and sauce piled on crusty rolls.

Serves 8.

Gary Johnson Infused Grilled Fish Tacos The Libertarian Party presidential candidate likes tacos. They’re symbolic of Gary Johnson’s liberal immigration policies. The former governor of New Mexico is lean and healthy—he’s a super athlete who even climbed Mt. Everest.

Add Southwest Hatch chili salsa, and this tribute taco is born.

Salsa:

1 large green chili, preferably Hatch or Anaheim 1 small jalapeño chili 1 medium tomatillo, husk removed, split in half 1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and split in half 1/2 medium yellow onion 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 1/3 cup cilantro 1 tbsp. cannabis-infused oil Juice of 1 lime

Tacos:

1 lb. mahi-mahi or firm-fleshed fish 1 tsp. vegetable oil 1 cup shredded cabbage 1 medium avocado, sliced 1/3 cup crumbled queso fresco 4 large corn tortillas Salt and pepper Preheat broiler to high and adjust the rack to 5–6 inches below heating ele-

ment. Toss peppers, tomatillo and onion in a medium bowl with 1 tbsp. olive oil.

Place veggies on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, and broil until they’re tender and charred on all sides, turning occasionally, about 15 minutes. Peel peppers and remove stems and seeds when cool enough to handle. Transfer vegetables to food processor or blender. Add garlic, cilantro, canna-oil and lime juice. Process on high until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and set salsa aside. Brush fish with oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill over a medium-hot fire for about 2–3 minutes per side, until fish flakes easily with a fork. (Alternatively, cook under a broiler, about 4–5 minutes.) Heat tortillas for about 15 seconds per side over the grill, or in a hot cast iron skillet on the stovetop. Place a layer of shredded cabbage on each tortilla, and top with grilled fish, salsa, avocado slices and crumbled queso. Serves 2 (two tacos per person).

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Steak à la Donald Of course, a recipe to personify Donald Trump would have to include steak. I based this one on the classic Steak Diane, but for this Trump-inspired version I decided to forego the traditional filet mignon and make the recipe more symbolic by dressing up a cheaper cut of meat, traditionally used for London broil, in the fancy flambéed cream sauce. This dish reminds me of the photos I’ve seen of the Republican nominee’s residences— lots of ornate embellishments, but in reality, a cheap imitation of elegance.

2 lb. London broil steak 1 tsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. butter 3 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced 4 oz. Cremini or button mushrooms, sliced 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard 1/3 cup brandy or cognac 1/2 cup cannabis-infused heavy cream (see Issue 8) 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley Salt and pepper

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Season meat liberally with salt and pepper. Grill over a medium-hot fire for about 10 minutes per side, or until done to your liking. Alternatively, cook meat under your oven’s broiler. Let meat sit for 10 minutes before carving into thin slices, cutting against the meat’s grain. While meat is cooking and resting, prepare gravy. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add shallots and cook, stirring until softened, for about a minute; then add butter and mushrooms and cook, stirring until mushrooms soften, for about a minute.

Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds before adding Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Stir to combine. Add brandy or cognac and tilt the pan away from you.

Use a long match to carefully light the liquor on fire for 15–20 seconds. Be careful that nothing nearby can catch fire, including your hair or eyebrows.

Play it safe and have baking soda and/ or a fire extinguisher handy just in case.

Stir gravy and slowly add canna-cream and heavy cream. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring until slightly thickened, about five minutes. Arrange steak slices on plates and spoon mushroom gravy over them. Serves 8.

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Jill Stein Grilled Vegetable Sandwich Like Green Party candidate Jill Stein, this sandwich has many nuances and is far more substantial than many might imagine. From a political perspective, the Latin elements of the dish— roasted green chiles, chipotle and cilantro—represent Stein’s pro-immigration policy positions. From a culinary perspective, these ingredients add so much flavor to this hearty sandwich that even dedicated carnivores will love it. Make the sandwich with veggies hot off the grill, or with ones that have been precooked and chilled.

Sandwich spread:

1/3 cup chopped cilantro 2 small garlic cloves 1 tsp. lime juice 1/4–1/2 chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce 1/4 tsp. sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. cannabis-infused olive oil 1/3 cup regular mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise

Sandwiches:

3 tbsp. olive oil 2 tsp. minced garlic 3 mild green chiles (Anaheim preferred)

4 portobello mushroom caps 4 thick slices of red onion 8 thin zucchini planks (cut lengthwise) 2 small avocados, cut into thin slices 4 French rolls or baguette sections, 6 inches each Prepare sandwich spread by processing ingredients in a blender or food processor until well combined and relatively smooth. Set aside. Mix garlic into oil. Set aside. Using a spoon, carefully remove the brown gills on the underside of the portobello cap. Set aside. Cook green chiles over a hot grill fire, or directly on the flames of a gas stove until blackened, turning to cook all sides. Remove and place hot chiles in a paper bag and close.

Let sit for five minutes. Run chiles under water. Remove stems and seeds, and cut into long strips. Set aside. Brush veggies, except avocado, with a thin coating of garlic oil. Cook over medium-hot grill fire, turning to cook all sides or until crisp and beginning to brown. Alternatively, cook the veggies under a broiler until nicely browned. To assemble sandwiches, coat both sides of bread generously with sandwich spread. Cut mushroom caps in half and place a layer on the bottom, followed by zucchini planks, chiles and grilled onions. Top with sliced avocado.

Serves 4.

Cheri Sicard is author of The Cannabis Gourmet Cookbook and Mary Jane: The Complete Marijuana Handbook for Women. Visit her blog at CannabisCheri.com.

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Rooting for Hemp Hemp-EaZe digs deep to create a healing salve.

By Erin Hiatt Darcy Stoddard, founder of Hemp-EaZe, has the air of an Earth mother, with a pantry full of herbs to heal all your ills.

In fact, Stoddard had long been making homemade salves in her cabin, with herbs grown on her 30-acre Tierra Sol Farm in Magalia, Calif. when she discovered hemp root.

“It’s the nurturer for the plant’s health, storing and supplying all the nutrients needed,” she tells Freedom Leaf. “That’s why it’s the base of our products.”

But, it wasn’t until Stoddard suffered a major injury that she began using hemp root. On Mother’s Day in 1997, Stoddard slipped and fell, breaking her ankle, shattering bones, damaging tendons and severing nerves. More than a year after several surgeries, she still wasn’t healed and had constant pain, numbness and swelling in her feet. Her doctor’s advice was to take cortisone shots for pain, and to get used to using a cane.

That’s when she started researching the healing properties of hemp root.

Stoddard mixed it with comfrey root, burdock root, hyssop leaves, sage, lavender flowers, lobelia leaves, bay, myrrh gum, feverfew and marjoram, plus beeswax and olive and soy oils, to create a salve.

After regularly applying the salve, she began to regain feeling in her feet and had freer movement. Stoddard shared her new product with family and friends and decided to take it to market.

She introduced her handcrafted salve products at Reggae on the River, in Humboldt Country, in 2003. “Each jar

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Darcy Stoddard, founder of Hemp-EaZe, and her hemp root therapy cream (above).

contains a piece of healing art,” Stoddard says. “The awareness that the life force that moves through cannabis is the same life force that moves through us is what deepens our respect for nature. I believe that this energy flows through all that we do.”

Hemp-EaZe’s product line includes therapy cream, body butter, lip balm and massage oil, and even a pet spray for pain, insect bites and skin irritations.

Stoddard hopes to raise awareness and to advocate for more studies on the benefits of hemp root so it can take its rightful place alongside other healing herbs. She puts strong emphasis on customer satisfaction, and just as important to her is keeping things organic and sustainable. And though Stoddard isn’t looking to go the corporate route, she asks, with a laugh, “How about a jar of HempEaZe in every medicine cabinet?”

Erin Hiatt writes about the cannabis industry. Follow her on Twitter @erinhiatt.

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Everything You Wanted to Know About

KRATOM

By Jahan Marcu, Ph.D. Kratom—the common name for the alkaloid-containing leaves of a tree native to Asia—has been used historically as a medicine and textile. The DEA is trying to ban kratom and add it to the list of Schedule I drugs.

What Is Kratom?

Kratom—Mitragyna speciosa—produces mitragynine (MG) and related compounds that have been shown to provide opioid-like pain relief with less of the toxic side effects associated with morphine and other opiates derived from the poppy plant. Kratom is the source of “selective full agonists” of human opioid receptors, and the Western world has been using it since the 1940s. At low doses it’s a mild stimulant and energy supplement; at higher doses, it’s used as an opiate substitute.

Mitragyna is a small genus in the Rubiaceae family. The best-known genus of the family is coffea, one of the most economically important plants. Coffee is a $15 billion export industry, second only to oil as the most well-traded commodity.

MG is a minor constituent in young coffee plants, and the dominant indole alkaloid in older coffee plants.

Kratom has been used since ancient times, either chewed or dissolved in teas, for fever reduction, analgesia, diarrhea, coughing, hypertension and even depression. In modern times, M. speciosa is used as a treatment for opiate with-

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drawal; it is also used by laborers to reduce fatigue.

It’s grown primarily in Southeast Asia, and is known variously as ithang, thom, hrathom and kakaum in Thailand; biakbiak in Malaysia; kadamba, puri and keton in Indonesia; beinsa and bei-sa-ywat in Myanmar; giam in Vietnam; and mambog and polapupot in the Philippines.

Why Should We Care That the DEA Wants to Ban Kratom?

Defining substances as “drugs” or “food” has far-reaching effects. The DEA will probably declare kratom an official Schedule I drug in two years, despite the fact that it’s a plant, is reported to be helpful in treating addiction and no coroner has yet to attribute it as the cause of death. Sound familiar?

We should care, because the DEA is actively working to obstruct our right to choose medicines, herbal supplements and nutrition products. The FDA and DEA share a dangerous philosophy that demonizes botanical medicines and products, a prejudice that dates back to at least the 1940s, when dozens of plants, including cannabis, were removed from the U.S. Pharmacopeia. A series of court and administrative hearings led to the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994.

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Is Kratom Truly an Alternative to Opiates?

Opioid drugs are extracts or analogs of compounds isolated from a single source, the poppy plant. However, the opioid-like MG compounds also display pain-relieving activity, due in large part to strong and unique interactions at opioid receptors.

Mitragynine is the major alkaloid found in mature kratom plants. MG and the very potent but less abundant 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH-MG), along with several synthetic MG analogs, have displayed opioid characteristics in basic research models.

Three compounds out of the 20 kratom alkaloids identified display affinity for the opioid receptors. However, there is little to no evidence that these MGs bind to opioid receptors in an identical manner. This is a very important distinction; for example, CBD and THC both interact with CB1 receptors, but in unique ways and at different sites on the protein.

While 20 mg of THC ingested orally may cause intoxication, 500 mg of CBD can decrease anxiety. Hence, kratom may be the CBD of the opiate world.

How Did Kratom Catch On? Humans love alkaloids, especially the ones that have medical utility and low toxicity. Here’s a short list of alkaloids that humans have known and used for a long time: • Alkaloids of privilege: Morphine, nicotine, atropine and caffeine. The bark from Cinchona species contains the alkaloid quinine, which has been used for centuries as an antimalarial.

• Alkaloids of less privilege: Ibogaine, reserpine, geissoschizine methyl ether and physostigmine.

• Demonized alkaloid: Kratom • Non-alkaloid opiate: Salvia

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Is There a Downside to Kratom?

Kratom has never been known to kill anyone from a toxic overdose. However, MG can produce respiratory depression, though not as pronounced as when using morphine or codeine.

One of the main dangers related to kratom is the same for many other commercialized products; kratom’s image has suffered from the wanton distribution of unverified materials marketed as kratom.

Various powders, in some cases kratom leaf powder, have been spiked with caffeine, tramadol or other pharmaceutical substances. These adulterated products, marketed under names such as Krypton, have been implicated in a number of reported fatalities. The greatest danger of kratom these days is from fake products mixed with FDA-approved substances.

Konclusion The compounds in kratom stand to eventually replace modern opioids as treatments for many conditions. Kratom and its derivatives have the potential to be more potent pain relievers than morphine, with fewer side effects. Yet the DEA is cutting off the legal supply of kratom. Clearly, they prefer that people use highly addictive opioids such as morphine, codeine, methadone and oxycodone. Only a strong grassroots campaign will bring kratom back to its rightful place as a botanical medicine and herbal supplement.

Dr. Jahan Marcu is Chief Scientist at Americans for Safe Access and Chief Auditor of Patient Focused Certification.

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Halloween Costumes for Lazy Stoners

By Beth Mann

You’ve been invited to a Halloween party, and you want to take advantage of the free food and booze, but you’re too couch-locked to come up with a clever costume. Here are nine suggestions: • A stodgy critic: All you need is a pad of paper and pen, and a disgruntled look on your face. Take notes on your likes and dislikes at the party, including the quality of food, cleanliness and the overall likability of the partygoers. Clink your glass, quiet the crowd and read your “review.” Your guests may act hurt, but they’ll secretly envy your discernment and smugness.

• Any monster, pre-transformation: For every Mr. Hyde, there’s a Dr. Jekyll, who is much easier to recreate with a costume.

Whether it’s a vampire, a werewolf or a zombie, when people ask about your costume, utter menacingly, “Wait… just you wait.”

• A hollowed-out shell of your former self: Do you look any different when depressed? Probably not. So when you tell people you’re on the verge of a colossal breakdown, how will they know the truth? Slump your shoulders, drink copiously and say farewell a lot.

• A no-show: It’s fashionable to arrive late, but even more fashionable is to not arrive at all. A no-show says, “I’m too damn

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important for your little party,” even if you stay home and watch reruns of Hell’s Kitchen instead.

• A YouTube celebrity: Who’s going to know? Just keep saying, “I can’t believe it... I’m trending again.”

• A fancy stoner: A joint in a cigarette holder, a bad British accent and voilà, you’re a stoner sophisticate! Don’t forget to wear your hat at a jaunty angle. When it’s your turn to sample the stash, ask, “Is this a sativa-dominant hybrid? That’s all I smoke this season.”

• An undercover cop: A high-larious costume that works best at parties where you don’t know anyone. Announce loudly, “This is a house arrest,” confiscate all drugs and trample over as many civil rights as possible. Wish everyone a happy Halloween as you hightail it out of there before they discover the ruse.

• A faux pas: Slap a little raw egg on your face and make social gaffes all night long. Need some inspiration? Hit on someone you know doesn’t like you.

Call your partner your ex’s name. Congratulate a rotund woman on her upcoming pregnancy.

• Michael Phelps in the locker room: Take off your clothes, beat your chest and grab your bong. Act like the champion that you are.

Don’t forget to be standoffish and cocky.

Beth Mann is President of Hot Buttered Media.

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Melissa Etheridge’s Soul Tribute to the Music of Memphis

By Roy Trakin During a career that spans 28 years since her self-titled first album pegged her as the female Bruce Springsteen, Melissa Etheridge has been known almost more for what’s gone on off stage than on.

She publicly came out in 1993, when it wasn’t especially hip to do so, had a daughter in 1998 with sperm donated by David Crosby and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. It might seem almost an afterthought that Etheridge has racked up a pair of Grammys and even an Oscar (for “I Need to Wake Up,” from the Al Gore-produced global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth).

For her 14th studio album, she made a pilgrimage to Memphis, the birthplace of rock & roll, for this tribute to Stax, the city’s hallowed homegrown record label now under the auspices of Concord Music Group, which released the 12-song collection of R&B and blues classics. The album was recorded at late producer Willie Mitchell’s legendary Royal Studios, and Etheridge hired his son Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell and the Hi Rhythm Section for this soulful session.

Etheridge and Memphis turn out to be the perfect match. Her gritty sass on barnburners like Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Coming” and Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign” is palpable. She

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For her 14th studio album, Melissa Etheridge immersed herself in blues and R&B.

doesn’t just tackle well-known standards; on William Bell’s “Any Other Way,” a rambunctious slice of sensuality, Etheridge deftly switches the gender, then reminds us of the artistic debt owed to The Boss.

Her rousing rendition of the Staple Singers’ “Respect Yourself (People Stand Up)” proves Etheridge to be simultaneously faithful (using the original backup vocal tracks) and risk-taking (updating the revolutionary lyrics), straddling the line between homage and transformation. She works a spoken-word intro and a pumping harp solo into Barbara Stephens’ Aretha-esque “Wait a Minute,” and plays the blues moll foil to a genuflecting John Mayer on “Rock Me Baby,” a blues standard that was B.B. King’s first top 40 hit, in 1964.

And while horns manage to punch up Rufus Thomas’ “Memphis Train,” and the slinky soul of Johnny Taylor’s “Who’s Making Love,” it’s Etheridge’s slow burn that carries the day on Bell’s, “I Forgot to Be Your Lover” and Otis Redding’s “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember.”

This return to musical roots overcomes the clichés of a veteran rocker trying to resurrect career momentum without having to write new material. Melissa Etheridge deftly puts the ME in MEmphis.

Roy Trakin is the former Senior Editor of HITS magazine and currently writes for Freedom Leaf and All Access.

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JOE GURRERI

BobWeir’s Solo SideTrip to Blue Mountain Meant to be sung around a campfire with a guy named Pete, who cut his teeth on a branding iron and eats baked beans cooked in the can, Bob Weir’s third solo album and first since 1978’s Heaven Help the Fool is filled with images of life lost and final reckoning, set among ghost towns and tombstones. It’s inspired by his own boyhood, and working as a teenager on a ranch in Wyoming.

If you’re one of those Deadheads who thought the band first ended with the death of Pigpen, and finally with Jerry Garcia’s passing 21 years ago last August, a Bob Weir recording might seem a bit anticlimactic in 2016—though certainly the Dead brand has been smartly resurrected with last year’s Fare Thee Well concerts and the recent Dead and Company shows featuring John Mayer. That commercial windfall has allowed Weir to do his own thing, and not worry that Blue Mountain sounds nothing like his other bands, but rather is steeped in Americana roots of folk, country and blues.

Teaming with lyricist John Ritter and producer Josh Kaufman to write the songs —performed by Weir and Kaufman, guitarists Aaron and Bryce Dessner and bassist Scott Devendorf (all from The Na-

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tional), along with drummer Ray Rizzo— there’s a continuity in the thick, murky mix, as dry as skeletons turned to dust.

“The soul has flown, the bones remain,” Weir observes on “Ghost Towns,” and on “Whatever Happened to Rose,” he muses about “that panhandle town… where blew the ashes when the whole ting burned down.”

Can that grizzled, bearded man on the album cover be the same young, ponytailed Bob Weir, perennially the kid in the Dead, now looking a lot older than 68? He’s ready to wade in the Shenandoah on the opening track, “Only a River,” and make one last trip on the closer, “One More River to Cross,” confessing, “I’ve tried to be good for most of my life/ Never do wrong when I knew what was right/So when I cross over my heart will be light… I’m tired but I still got one left in me yet.”

“Ki-Yi Bossy,” a prairie song, pairs Weir with the original Brooklyn cowboy Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and his Ramblin’ Jackernackle Choir. It’s a highlight among the 12 new songs, moving from a “12-step meeting under harsh fluorescent light” to a reflection that “they say each of us has meaning/Time to bring that all to light,” and an invitation to “come along, come along.”

Blue Mountain brings new meaning to the idea of being grateful dead.

— Roy Trakin

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EVENTS

OCT

07 09

OCT

07 09

OCT

08 09

OCT

13 14

OCT

14 15

OCT

14 16

OCT

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There are three events in or around Las Vegas in November.

Women Grow Wellness Weekend Gleneden Beach, OR womengrow.com/portlandwellness-weekend

OCT

New York Harvest Festival & Freedom Fair Edgewood Mountain, Laurens, NY damnsam.org High Times Medical Cannabis Cup NOS Event Center, San Bernardino, CA cannabiscup.com/socal

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NOV

11 14

NOV

13 14

International Cannabis Business Conference Hyatt Regency, Vancouver, BC internationalcbc.com

NOV

New West Summit Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, CA newwestsummit.com

NOV

16 18

Southwest Cannabis Conference & Expo Phoenix Convention Center swccexpo2016.com

NOV

Cannabis Sustainability Symposium Colorado Convention Center, Denver cannabissustainability.org

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Dope Cup Old Freeman Factory, Portland, OR dopecupor.dopemagazine.com

Humboldt Hemp Fest Mateel Community Center, Redway, CA mateel.org/humboldt-hemp-fest Arcview Investor Forum The M Resort, Henderson, NV arcviewgroup.com/events/ lasvegas World of Cannabis Summit Palms Hotel, Las Vegas, NV worldofcannabissummit.com

Marijuana Business Conference & Expo Rio All-Star Suites & Casino, Las Vegas, NV mjbizconference.com Oregon Marijuana Business Conference Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites, Ashland, OR oregonmbc.com

For more events, go to: fredomleaf.com/events.

october 2016

Songwriter.

Outlaw. Legend.

At last, Willie tells the whole story.

Download Willie’s original song “It’s a Long Story” at www.myredmusic.com/willienelson Free with proof of purchase.

LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY

On sale now in hardcover, ebook, audio, and large print wherever books are sold

october 2016

l i t t l e b row n .c o m Hachette Book Group

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