HERBAGE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 ISSUE 46

By James Bridges

I looked up at him. Me. I’m not the tallest in the room, but I’m not too short either. I’m 6ft 2’ and I was looking up at Ray as his overwhelming smile paused slightly in order for the mouth to function as he spoke. He was happy. I could tell why as he opened the first flower room to show off his ladies.

“You can make higher yields and higher quality products, but also you want to make that product people are gonna come back and reorder. It is all about the Patient.” - Ray Tinsley, owner, The Gas Farm.

“We have about 95 plants that are harvested every 3-4 days with our continuous harvest system.” Ray continued to smile as we walked inside. “We average about 4.2 pounds per light. I love my plants. I love what I do. I understand the business. But the patients are the ones that really matter.” I could sense the sincerity in his voice. “If we make something and we sell it to dispensaries and dispensaries don’t turn it, then it does no good for the patients. There’s no reason to keep it in production. Right?”

My thoughts immediately raced to someone putting all of their eggs into one basket, or one product, then it not moving at all. How does one prevent this extremely long failure process from occurring?

“Ideally when you entertain coming to the market and bringing the funds to build this, it’s

all about the process, consistency, reducing risk and the ability for it to actually go to a recreational market.” Ray was directly to the point.

“I worked for large fortune 500 companies in the past. That is a little different than the cannabis business. When I left the corporate world, I told myself I was never going to work for anybody else again, and I would take the good from the corporate world – and leave behind the bad. We wanted to build a culture that folks wanted to be a part of.” Two quotes we use often at the Farm – “What is good for the Grow” this is a lens that helps drive many of our decisions. The second is, “We know it is Medicine.” This level of pride, our whole Team reflects on, they know our products could be used by one of their Family members.

He hasn’t since. Neither have some of Ray’s own family members. Two of his brothers Kevin and TJ are partners, but so are other family and long-time family friends like Renee, Eddy, and Michelle that are the bedrock to their success. They have formed a family unit of business minded people. I was absolutely impressed by their ability to recognize and utilize each one of their own special talents and skills to create this sustaining business. “Our father had a stroke.” The tone of the room dampened for a few seconds. “His own doctor came in and said he’s a prime candidate for medical marijuana. The doctor talked about it helping his appetite and other ailments.” This was in the State of Delaware, and although, they were one of the first to approve medical cannabis, it took almost five years before the first grow license was awarded.

TJ is the CFO for The Gas Farm. “Ray leads the Relationship Managers, and the income aspects or our organization, my role is to take care of it from there.”

TJ seemed to be a bit more of a “behind the scenes” player on The Gas Farm team. His smile was contagious as it played itself off as something that doesn’t come out much. However, after getting to speak with TJ, I tend to think there’s a major soft side.

It brought a big smile to TJ’s face when I asked him about the employees working for them. “When we started we had 1 employee. Now we have 30. Plus we bring in temps.”

Ray and the group continued to research this industry further to find the most efficient ways to make this business a reality. Ray talked about the importance of having a strong foundation. He came across as being very comfortable in the position that they have carved out for themselves in this industry.

“I think that when you sit back and look at it, then yes, you can do it.” Ray was speaking about himself. “You know, there’s other businesses coming behind us. They have business plans and structures that could definitely be able to sustain in the market, however they seemed to only be concentrating on one sector. Our plan continues to focus on being a completely vertical business.”

Inspired and eager to see more we moved onto more rooms as I had hoped. The long stretching hallways and extremely tall sidewalls of each room were enormous. I felt as if I had walked into an underground fortress of solitude. Hell, even Ray’s brother TJ looked somewhat

How many other small businesses do you know have the ability to take something that was non-existent, as a legal industry, in as little as 4 years, and employ over 30 people from our local community? It’s happening. It’s happening in Oklahoma and it is providing families with more than financial relief. The medicinal fall-out that is blanketing this land is becoming more and more pleasant to witness each and every day.

“I mean, it’s outstanding. We brought a lot of jobs to the market. We brought a lot considering all the work that we had to do to build it right. It totally impacts the community. We see it here and the people that we work with are like Family. We help each other, we help our neighbors and we all help serve the community.” “We can never can say it enough, but I would like to publicly say thank you to all of our Teammates, and everyone who has supported us on this journey – ‘THANK YOU ALL!’”

like a fictional superman, without the cape of course.

I knew the soft heart would come out eventually. It was fun to watch the brothers make eye contact as they spoke about their recent co-adventure. I imagine what it must be like to work with a close sibling. The fights would most assuredly proceed, however the overall close bond that it must form would, in my imagination, be something that cannot be described by words. Oh the joy and overwhelming pleasant hell of it all…

TJ continued speaking about the business as if I had unraveled a puzzle that he wanted to describe. I was glued to his speech. “It’s farm to table. So, our prices are less. This helps patients take advantage of the medicine. Okay. And we’re gonna do everything by volume. So if we have enough customers, everybody will be great.” TJ smiled, nodded, then drifted back into the background as if he said his peace.

We walked toward the next room. I was able to pick Ray’s brain a little more on the business structure and his obvious ability to form a very sustainable model.

“We pop seeds from time to time, but we work with other growers and acquire other genetics. I think it’s, you know, it’s all about if we all win as a team, you know, that’s how we really do it. It’s about teamwork.”

I wanted an example. Ray had several, but one stuck out to me.

I then realized the enormity of the place which I was standing inside. It caught me off guard a bit. Everything from the cleanliness of the place down to the friendliness of each worker I encountered was spectacular. One couldn’t ask for a more informative and near perfect tour of a fully vertical grow operation. The business minded “gentle giant” that walked next to me was impressive. His ability to see past obstacles that could potentially damage his pathway to success was incredible. I was, let’s say, intrigued.

“

I was talking to a farmer from Chandler. He was having a challenge. And even though it’s a simple solution, we got connected from mutual colleague we both know in Colorado. End result, his issue is resolved, and we have a new relationship to work with towards our goals. Helping each other is the way to do it. Right? We’re all stuck with challenges like banking, regulations, and even Metrc and all other learning curves in the industry. But you know, you have to work inside of a system and his farm and our farm run very parallel in our systems. So that similarity between our companies gives us the platform to form a relationship. To work together, make genetics work, and we know often an outdoor farmer would not engage an indoor farmer for help – yet it was what was needed.”

Ray continued. “From time-to-time, you have to make compromises. You have to step back and navigate instead of making the waves. I always like to introduce everybody to these.” Ray opened the door. “These are my handicapped ADA bathrooms that cost me $1/2 million a year. The reason being is the city asked us to put them in, but it took out our 19th Flower room. Okay? But you have to make a compromise. We wanted to do everything right. We’ve completely integrated with the city of Oklahoma city from day one. We’ve had over 160 inspections.”

“We had a longer start period, but we knew it would take us a longer period of time to get to where we needed to go. But when we did it we did everything the way they liked it. That’s the focus for us. The city likes it. The state likes it. Same with OMMA. OMMA has trained over 75 of their grow inspectors here at this facility. They trained all of their 40 processing inspectors here at this facility and a large portion of their dispensary inspectors here at this facility, as well as their auditors.”

“You know, you have to work with these organizations or these departments.” Ray simply couldn’t stop giving me quality lessons to ponder. You can’t work against them. So we came here to work with the city, with the state, with the departments too. It gave us a few hiccups in the beginning. But, the end result is you got a fully manufacturing facility that harvests 95 plants every three days.” There would be nothing that would have taken the smile off of Ray’s face at that very moment.

“Yeah.” Ray comfortably explained, “So that’s what we’re really doing. There you go. We do it for the patients. It seems more seamless that way. That’s it? I mean, if you look at us compared to other growers, we sell the product to our dispensaries below the market price. We give them more, for less money so they can make it more affordable for the patients..”

I still couldn’t get over the enormity of the space.

TJ let me know that they use enough electricity in here to run a 63 bedroom complex with two bath houses. “Literally that much electricity.” TJ snickered and sighed. “There’s almost 14 miles of wire running inside here. There’s four miles of piping in here. We use about 5,000 gallons of water a day.”

“In business you’re always having setbacks - failing means growth. You have to constantly be learning from your challenges to grow.’ Ray mentioned, “You’re always having things come up. You’re not growing if you’re not embracing challenges and turning them into solutions. It is always a challenge. I always talk about growing. One part about growing is that every day, even though the tasks are set on the calendar, something will come up that needs attention. You know then that it’s gonna be more

challenging for you that particular day. It always is. That’s what farming’s all about.”

“I think if you surround yourself with the right support system and you give them the right tools and you reward them correctly, then you will gain loyalty as well as give it. Then you help one another be the best that you can be.” Ray smiled once more.

Ray was headed into another room as he spoke. “We’re gonna expand on our existing facility, open up another large amount of rooms. So we’re planning to add another 17 million to the economy to Oklahoma City and we’ll end up harvesting 95-100 plants every day.”

I was curious about his work force. I wanted to know more about his vendors as well. Were they looking to work with Oklahoma residents? How are they going to fill these positions in the future?

“I interviewed someone today, for example. The only reason he wants to get in this business is because he got out of football and he was so beat up and he was on so many prescriptions and whatnot. Cannabis literally helped save him. You know, we hear that story. We read about stories like that. But when

and why otherwise “We mentioned.

that are I explained.

our Future I live witness one life.

somebody sits across from you five feet away, and they share that personalized story, it makes an impact, and you know you are in the right business – We know it is medicine.”

I noticed an even softer spot by the look on Ray’s face as he explained.

“Yeah. That is a huge difference, a big difference, it inspires me, and motivates me to get up and come to work every day. That’s why we do it. That’s how we have to do it. We know it is medicine, otherwise we’re just going to work. What’s the point in that?”

“We just reached a goal of being in over 450 dispensaries.” Ray mentioned. Our future plan is to expand our dispensary business and expand the processing product line. We are planning to have our own branded dispensaries and involve other brands inside. Future announcements to come.”

I looked across the room full of flowers. I wanted to lay down and live in them. I was in heaven for one brief moment. I was able to witness what it feels like to be amongst 3,537 plants that would one day help thousands and thousands of people live a better life.

I’ll have to admit. I was intimidated by venturing into what I thought was possibly the belly of a beast. I imagined walking into a very nice clean medical vibe atmosphere that only cared about pushing products and making profits. I was pleasantly surprised to find a group of like-minded individuals that cared so much about the people that supported their efforts, yet also the people who that live in this world.

For folks interested in learning more about the Gas Farm OKC, you can contact them on Instagram, facebook, Leaf Link, or the web – their office number is 405-594-3375.

Give Me Some Sugar

By James Bridges

Some friends told me that I should go check out Sugar Cannabis in Shawnee, OK. I thought I would give the new place a shot.

As I walked into Sugar Cannabis I was greeted by a few people behind the counter.

I was very pleased to see the happy faces. I was curious about the products they were currently offering. I started asking about the flower.

A man with a large smile stood up from a chair. He hadn’t said much as I walked through, but once he knew I was there to look deeply, it seemed to catch his interest. As he firmly shook my hand, I noticed that the smile never left his face. He seemed authentically happy that he was where he was.

I quickly discovered that the man shaking my hand was the owner, Tony. He introduced me to his team as if they were family. It turns out they were actually family.

Sugar Cannabis is a family owned and operated dispensary in Shawnee, OK. They have a fun, clean, and vibrant atmosphere inside of the shop as well as portrayed consistently by the “family” oriented employees. Sugar Cannabis has long term ambitions to offer clean and affordable products to their patrons.

Come experience their Grand Opening celebration on September 10th with plenty of Cuban influenced food, entertainment, and deals that are meant to clear off the shelfs to make room for more!

“Happy Birthday T! I love you my son.”

Sugar Cannabis

Hole-In-One

Miller

By Michael Kinney

Steve Miller has tried to live a peaceful life. Despite numerous medical battles, he does his best to stay stress-free.

However, in early July, Miller was at his breaking point. It was a place he had been just a few times in his 69 years of life. But this time it was worse.

Miller suffers from a disease called Essential Tremors. It causes his body to violently shake, especially when his anxiety rises. As Miller cared for his sister, who was going through her own issues, he had what he called a psychotic break that affected him mentally, emotionally and physically.

“When she was trying to get off alcohol and stuff we both kind of started feeding off each other’s anxiety she ended up in the hospital and going to the emergency room because she didn’t know how to handle it,” Miller said of his sister. “I didn’t know how to help her. She actually had seizures that morning. So, I called an ambulance and got her. And then she got back home. And I, I can’t tell you how many days it was, but about 3, 4, 5 days later, I had to call 911 for me and take me to the emergency room, full chest pains.”

Miller said the pains felt like he was having a heart attack and he couldn’t breathe

“I had been shaking so much for so long and so hard that my intestines were just tied in a knot,” Miller said. “. Once you get anxious, you kind of get a little bit psychotic when it gets real bad.”

Essential tremor, a hereditary affliction, landed on both him and his sister. However, he wasn’t diagnosed until 46 years old.

Up until then, no one knew what caused Miller’s violent shaking or any of the other host of issues associated with the disease.

“Growing up didn’t have a clue what it was,” Miller said. “My dad shook. He’s who I got it from was from his side of the family. I remember my grandmother shaking a lot.”

Miller said his grandmother sounded like the late movie star Katherine Hepburn, who was also diagnosed with essential tremors in the later stages of her career.

According to the Harvard Medical School, essential tremor affects about five percent of people over age 50. The intensity of the shaking from essential tremors can be mild to very significant. Also, the tremor can vary in location, being most prominent in the hands, head or voice.

For Miller, the symptoms began when he was a kid growing up in Guthrie.

“I want to say it was around six, seven years old,” Miller said. “I’d go to play with other kids and they’d noticed me shaking. I didn’t notice it was supposed to be anything different. They laughed at me about it and stuff.”

To Miller the shaking was normal. He was still able to function and do all the things kids his age could do. But that didn’t mean it didn’t affect him in different ways.

“I was put back in first grade because I couldn’t write. I start to write and I couldn’t, it wasn’t legible to them,” Miller said. “So, I got put back in first grade because of it, they don’t didn’t have a clue what this was back then. And not very many people,

especially schools don’t know what it is. I’d actually run people off from being friends. It scared them. I couldn’t tell him what it was because you didn’t know.”

That left Miller to figure out how to navigate through life while dealing with a disease seemingly no one knew anything about. “I just found ways of getting around it. Of course, I’d shake, but I was able to do things and play,” Miller said. “But if it was something real tedious I couldn’t do it. It was hard to make friends and keep friends when I was young. This is an anxietydriven disease. I mean you get out and you just know somebody’s going to bring it up and you don’t want to talk about it. A lot of people with essential tremors stay hidden, especially when they get older and they’re as bad as I am shaking. That’s one reason I get out. To get people to understand that there is a disease out here causing this.”

While essential tremor is often mistaken for Parkinson’s disease due to the shaking, Miller says the two are different in several ways.

An essential tremor is an action tremor, meaning that the involuntary shaking increases when you move and try to use your hands. In Parkinson’s disease, tremors occur mainly at rest, and activity reduces the symptoms. Some people with essential tremors develop head nodding or shaking; few people with Parkinson’s do, according to Harvard Medical School.

“It’s totally the opposite of Parkinson’s. With Parkinson’s most of their tremors happen when they’re at rest,” said Miller. “No muscle movement or anything. That’s when their tremors start, they’re shaking. With essential tremors. It’s when you do something, anytime you engage a muscle.”

One of the hallmarks of essential tremors, useful in diagnosing the disorder, is that alcohol can temporarily ease symptoms. Miller discovered this remedy early on and used it for most of his life to help him cope.

“From the time I was a teenager until about five years ago, I’ve kept it under control with alcohol,” Miller said. “Drinking alcohol calms not only the shaking outside, it calms the inner trimmer I have. And it helps with anxiety. So, it affects it all. It helps with all three of them. It will keep it hidden so I wasn’t having a lot of trouble with it as long as I was drinking.”

Unfortunately for Miller, prostate issues related to too much alcohol made it impossible for him to keep drinking alcohol. “I quit about six, seven years ago,” Miller said. “I’d have a drink every once in a while, just to see if my prostate could handle it. I decided it was not working, so I had to completely quit two years ago.”

Miller knew drinking that much alcohol was not good for him. Despite seeing how it affected other members of his family who also had essential tremors, he said the positives outweighed the negatives.

“My big older sister had it and she was this bad in her thirties,” Miller said. “It affected her real bad and she ended up committing suicide with alcohol because of it. And her son did the same thing.”

Without the use of alcohol, his symptoms became worse and more uncontrollable.

Since there is no known cure for essential tremors, that led Miller to look for any other possible remedies. He said there are medications for other diseases that he can take, but nothing specifically for essential tremors.

“There are two surgeries that they’ll do. The first one is DBS surgery and it’s where you basically have a pacemaker for your brain. But it doesn’t help the cognitive or the inner tremor,” Miller

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said. “So I elected not to do it because the outer shaking doesn’t bother me anymore. I get out and be around people and it helps me get the word out. I just kind of decided that no if I’m going to get the word out, people need to see what I’m doing. See how I react when I get out in crowds and stuff like that.”

The decision to become an advocate for essential tremor education and awareness was an easy one for Miller. He was spurred on not just by the memories of his own childhood, but also from watching two marriages end due to his disease.

“You can’t think so you keep overthinking everything and it just feeds it and feeds it and feeds it. And that’s what happened the two times before. One of them ended up getting divorced because of it, I just couldn’t handle anything going on anymore. I had to get away from everything, But I was married the first time for 15 years and had two kids. And the second time I was married for 25 years. I was trying to escape from the tremors, right. The anxiety is what I was trying to get away from. I just couldn’t handle it anymore both times.”

Miller now uses medical cannabis to help him deal with his disease. A variety of products have helped him deal with the disease.

“I started using about two years. I found some pre-rolls that helped me pretty good,” Miller said. “And then somebody suggested I try an RSO. So, I started taking RSO at night at about 8:30 and by midnight I’m asleep. I’ve never slept a full night’s sleep. Very seldom ever did I get to the rim sleep. the real good sleep. So, RSO helped me get to where I could sleep at night. I’ve been using RSO every night since, cause I can rest and stuff.”

Just being able to get a full night’s sleep for the first time in his life has enabled Miller to have a little better control of his anxiety and lets him do what he loves, which is meeting new people.

“I love talking to people and everything, but the anxiety, just leaving the house to go to the grocery store to go do anything will start this out,” Miller said. “And it gets pretty intense. I love to go to events and talk to people. I love people. I love talking to them right. It’s one of my favorite things to do and being around the crowd, but it’s kind of a catch-22 because it causes this to happen.”

Almost as important as the physical effect cannabis has on Miller is what the cannabis community has done for him emotionally and mentally. For the first time, he says he knows what it is like to have friends.

“The people caring, never had that in my life. Really. That’s the biggest thing is people showing me love and I can feel it is from their hearts that they really do care about me and trying to help me get the word out about this disease,” said Miller. “I’ve actually got friends now and they understand the disease and they accept it with me. And that’s been the biggest thing in my life. The cannabis family has helped me so much just being there.” It was during Miller’s latest breakdown that the cannabis community showed up in force after he made a simple post on his Facebook page that he needed help.

“I was at the end of my rope with it. I just posted on Facebook that I need help,” Miller said. “But I had probably 15 different people reaching out and one was on his way over to the house. He helped me get to the hospital and then helped me get my sister back home and everything. And that was just amazing. Another person came and spent the night and stayed to help me get through that night and most of the next day and everything I’ve never asked for help, but I knew I needed it. I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t think of anybody to call. I couldn’t think of anything else to do, but to that, just put it out there. And, and they jumped in there. I don’t know of any other group that would do that. No other group has done that before. I mean, nobody that I’ve ever been around,”

Miller knows as he gets older, his symptoms will only get worse. The things he has grown to enjoy over the past few years with the help of medical cannabis will no longer be available for him to do. But while he still can, Miller wants to get the word out about essential tremors. He says there are 10 million nationwide who suffer from the disease, but very little research is being done. He wants to change that.

“The biggest thing that I want to do is get research started to make specific meds for this disease, but they can’t come up with a specific me until they start talking to us and listening to us. I want to get the word out and hopefully write a book on my life,” Miller said. “That’s something I’ve been working on. I’ve got 22 pages written. It’s kind of scattered because my brain’s kind of scattered. Sure. But that’s something I really want to do is get the book and explain how this affects you in each part of your life and everything. Old age is bad, you know. But old age and essential tremors are even more.”

Miller’s favorite saying comes from Mahatma Gandhi. It states, ‘In a gentle way, you can shake the world.’

“That’s always been my thing is that I’ve followed that through my life because I am a gentle soul,” Miller said. “Going through this I’ve learned that I am a kind person, I’m a good person. I’ve always felt like I was bad.”

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Freedom Flower

By Chet Tucker

We are taking a slight turn into the celebration side of the Freedom Flower. As we continue to document the breaking through of stig mas and controlled regulatory “law” ceilings, I think it’s important to take pause and celebrate the victories. To me, one of the single grandest victories has been the fact that we have a legitimate and honed in cannabis competition that brings the best of the best to the yard. To boot, it keeps challenging quality improvement here in the central heartbeat of American cannabis, all while creating a gathering of a cannabis community that shows up in supportive droves to support the right to choose plant-based medicinals.

I met Daniel Lewis in the spring of 2019 at a Braum’s (I mean that’s as Oklahoman as it gets right?) and within moments I understood his vision and passion for creating an “Emerald Cup” in the heart of Oklahoma. Loaded with a well-prepared binder of sponsorship opportunities and band line up, he shared that his Cowboy Cup would be held at the iconic Tumbleweed Dancehall in Stillwater. A quick brain check and I was like, great venue, well located be tween Tulsa and OKC, and this guy has had experience working at the biggest cannabis events in the nation. I was in and he accept ed me as an ongoing collaborator and friend.

Fast forward to 2022 and the Cowboy Cup has established itself as the revered competition in the state. With entries and vendors nearly doubling year over year, it’s clear that the well ran event is the gold standard of cannabis events in Oklahoma and beyond. Complete with music, VIP lounges, eating and smoking lounges, and an overall freedom vibe that moves with anyone that flows into the venue, “The Cup” is an all inclusive family of flower and freedom.

For the plethora of cannabis products and vendors, the Cowboy Cup offers competition categories that include indoor flower, sol vent and solventless hash, pre-rolls, tinctures, edibles, and topi cals as well as sun-grown and sun-grown assist flower categories. Layer in the fact that this year’s competition will include Ganji er judging and you’ve found yourself mixed into one of the most comprehensive and experienced set of judging that any cannabis competition could showcase. And the icing on the cake is this isn’t a corporate bought championship. This is as blind of a competition that state regulations could allow and certainly one that can’t be bought. It’s the cowboy way.

All entries are submitted via Metrc compliant means via drop off at The Lettuce Bar (and their processing arm, Lettuce Depot). Sub missions are processed into compliant judge packs that will be available through The Lettuce Bar 7-10 days or so after submis sions are entered. Each set of entry dates will include all 2021 first place winners and their showcase of award-winning products. Those participating winners will have a booth and products avail able at The Lettuce Bar on each final day Saturday of submissions (9/24, 10/1, and 11/12). Check www.cowboycup.com for entry de tails for submission to Lettuce Depot (PAAA) but the submission dates are as follows:

Location for competition entry drop off: Lettuce Smoke Canna Co.

NE 23rd St Choctaw, OK 73020

The Cultivation Corner

Brought to you by Smokey Okies Cannabis

By Travis Smith

Welcome to the Cultivation Corner, where we discuss all things related to growing good ganja! My name is Travis, and I’m the founder of Smokey Okies Cannabis, a commercial grow in Oklahoma. My passion is genetics, and all the cool varieties that have been created by the great breeders of past and present.

I am also big supporter of the home grow movement. And the beautiful thing about living in the information age is that you can do it too! Part of our mission at Smokey Okies is to pass on what

we have learned. We are just regular Okies who decided to grow. Maybe you are thinking about growing good weed yourself. High five to that! I want to help you get there quicker

In this column, we will provide grow tips and other information. For a deeper dive, check out our blog where we write about all sorts of topics. But to get started, let’s take it from the top and cover the basics in these initial articles for Herbage.

The Two Light Stages of Cannabis (And their respective Light Cycles)

Let’s start with the light cycles. If you are brand new to cultivating, then you need to know that cannabis is a photoperiod plant, meaning it has two distinct periods or phases of growth. The first stage is called the Vegetative Period. This is where the plant grows but does not bloom or produce flowers. It just grows taller. It remains immature (no flowers or buds).

When growing outdoors, the vegetative period occupies the late spring and summer months, where sunlight occupies more and more of the day. Think about how the sun starts rising a little earlier every day, and sets a little later. During this time, your plant will grow and grow.

The second stage is called the Flowering Period. This is where the plant stops growing bigger, and instead focuses its energy on producing fruit or flowers. When growing outdoors, there occurs a point in Autumn where there the sun eventually sets so early that there is more darkness than light in a 24 hour period. This increased darkness is what triggers the flowering stage.

How to Mimic the Light Cycles to Grow Indoors

So if you want to grow indoors, how do you mimic the Summer and Autumn? By using light timers and different lights.

Let’s say you are growing in a tent. You will place your clones or seedlings in the tent. You do not want to flower these plants yet, because they are too small and do not have the root base to produce decent flowers. First, they need to veg!

So in order to create a vegetative period inside your tent, you need to have more hours of light than darkness per 24 hour period. We recommend 18 hours of light, and six hours of darkness. Because your plants are small, immature, and new to this world, you don’t want to hit them with a heavy HPS light just yet. A fluorescent bulb works just fine (and is better on your electric bill!). The vegetative period is a great time to train and prune your plants. After your plant is about a foot tall, you will notice quite a bit of growth in different branches and leaves. You should prune all the leaves at the bottom to keep everything off the dirt. You may also top your plant at this time, which we will discuss later in future articles.

You can veg (i.e. use the 18/6 light cycle) for as long as you want, but your plants will only get taller, they will never produce bud. So when you are ready for flower, it’s time to switch light Cycles.

Switching to the Flowering Period

When it is time to flower your plants, you will need to change light cycles. At this time, we recommend 12 hours on, 12 hours off. You will also want to beef up your light by using an high powered sodium (HPS) or a high powered LED light.

You can titrate the wattage up over the first couple weeks, in order not to shock or stress the plant. So if your veg lights were 300 watt or 500 watt, start off your flower lights at a higher wattage, but wait a week or two before bumping all the way to 1,000 watts.

How do you know when to switch from Veg to Flower?

If you are growing outdoors, nature does this for you. If you are growing indoors, then you get to decide. But how you decide all depends on your goals and what you want.

When you flip into flower, your plant will double or triple in height. So just know that whatever size plant you end with in veg, you will double or triple that in flower. For now, use this as your guide of how long to keep a plant in veg. Be very mindful of height limitations in your grow space, whether in a tent or a room or a garage. You don’t want your plant growing into the lights!

I hope this was helpful. In coming articles, we will discuss how to sprout a seed, how to cut clones, and tips for training your plants in veg.

Stay tuned!

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Feminine Divine

Marissa Benson

The Hustle for Bliss, Naturally by Jessi Lane, Patient Advocate

Marissa Benson is a girl from the Plains with big time dreams and the relentless hustle to facilitate her goals. She specializes in terpene aromatherapy with her brand Maribliss Essentials, offering “scents you love, affects you feel.”

Maribliss can be purchased in over one hundred and forty retail locations across four states, each of those relationships forged and nurtured by Marissa herself. Additionally, her reputable all-natural product line is sold through the Maribliss Essentials website as well as in Marissa’s fresh new Broken Arrow retail location. “They’ll never be able to say I didn’t give it my all,” she says. In 2020 Marissa, a dutiful mom and wife - a Medical Assistant with Phlebotomy & EKG Tech certifications - found herself a budtender gig at Hamilton’s Buds and Bloom in Broken Arrow. It was there she began her entrepreneurial journey with the launch of Maribliss Essentials.

All Maribliss products are handmade in Broken Arrow. “We are all about natural healing with natural products,” she says. Her all-natural 1,000mg THC free cannabis derived terpene roll-ons are made using a hemp and almond oil base. Clients with nut allergies may reach out to Maribliss and Marissa will customize a personalized blend. Maribliss bath bombs are made with water soluble colorant. Unlike her big box competitors like Target, she tells social media followers no sensitivity issues have been reported with her boutique bath bombs. With a fortyfive minute burn time, Maribliss incense sticks are handmade and free of chemicals, toxicants, and soot. Comprised of only highly concentrated terpenes and Di Propylene Glycol oil - the nontoxic industry standard - Maribliss incense sticks are surely the healthiest alternative to mass-produced incense. According to PerfumersWorld.com, “DPG oil is virtually odorless. [It is] Interesting as a versatile solvent as it mixes with most essential oils but is also water soluble. [It] Acts as stabilizer for compounds. (2021)”

Maribliss Essentials cannabis derived terpenes are Full Spectrum. What does that mean to Marissa? “Full Spectrum to me means that we use the full terpene profile from that strain into our products. No terpenes are left out! Our clients can rely on getting the benefits that they are looking for and depend on without the psychoactive effects.” Marissa reminds followers, “Many terpenes are bioactive. This means they may affect the body. Inhaling the scents from some plants and essential oils may affect a person’s mood or stress levels. The effect will vary based on the concentration of the terpene itself and how a person uses it.” Of the historical use of terpenes in aromatherapy, HighFallsHemp.com relays, “[Mono]Terpenes can be traced to the introduction of Camphor in Eastern Europe by the Arab [people] in the 11th century as a treatment for illness and pain – even as a fumigant during the Black Death era. (2022)” The layering of complex cannabinoids, flavonoids, and terpenes does play an integral role in one’s personal wellness maintenance, as does one’s method of consumption. “If [cannabis consumers] are needing to add more to their medicine, using our product will enhance the entourage effects. This is because you are getting double benefits of the terpenes from Maribliss products and your medicine, leaving you with a full body homeostasis,” says Marissa.

Because she understands the importance of varying consumption methods, the lavish product line of Maribliss Essentials includes bath bombs, shower steamers, and fizzing bath - or foot - soaks for decompression and rejuvenation. When it comes to soaking as a method by which to consume terpenes, scientists with BasicMedicalKey.com tell us, “Rectal and vaginal dosage forms aimed to obtain a local effect are, from a biopharmaceutical viewpoint, comparable with dermal preparations. However, it should be known that after rectal and vaginal application a greater part of the active substance may reach the general circulation than after cutaneous [dermal] application. (2017)” Marissa offers terpene dermal roll-ons for

immediate relief from stressors. She also formulates incense sticks, 100% soy wax candles, wax melts, and terpene diffuser oil to set the tone and ambiance for one’s surroundings. One client wrote of the bath soak, “I was recently given some of the Grandaddy Purp bath soak and I cannot be happier. My tired, teething baby slept all night after his bath. Even my husband commented on how quickly it calmed him down!” With many of Marissa’s raving online reviews covering the positive effects clients received from the Grand Daddy Purp formula used in Maribliss’ various products, it’s sure to be one of her best sellers.

Maribliss Essentials is on a direct course for boutique aromatherapy domination, however true to herself, Marissa remains ever kind and humble. “My goal in the future is to be able to grow Maribliss as big as I can and be able to provide security and freedom for me and my family.” She goes on to say, “I also want to be able to provide help to people who need it one day!” An Oprah Winfrey quote resounds with her. “Be thankful for what you have, and you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have you will never, ever have enough.” The next time you are in Broken Arrow, stop in Maribliss at 1433 E. Kenosha St, for a personal reset. Or when next shopping your local dispo, peruse the nonTHC inventory and look for the Maribliss Essentials terpene profile wheel. Grab a Maribliss bath soak or roll-on and layer your way to bliss.

Jessi Lane, Patient Advocate is a writer and Oklahoma cannabis industry professional since 2018. She is a Certified Cannacian III and Trichome Institute Certified Cannabis Consultant with a “full spectrum” Postpartum Wellness background.

R3M3DY Gard3ns

Watch Them Grow

By Pamela Jayne

Tucked away on a quiet road in Tecumseh, the buzz surrounding R3m3dy Gard3ns is growing louder every day. A strong start in early 2021 came to an abrupt halt later that year when lead grower Hopper had a near fatal encounter with a mosquito that put him on life support after contracting West Nile Virus. A six month recovery physically sidelined him, and although he still has some lingering issues from the WNV, he’s powering through and hasn’t lost any of the passion he’s had since 1989 when he first started growing. Modest in size when compared to some of the behemoth commercial grows that have erupted in the last few years, R3m3dy Gard3ns refuses to choose between quantity and quality. Impressive indoor, outdoor, and light deprivation cultivation operations are all in full swing, keeping them busy from sunup, pulling tarps on the dep, until late into the night tending to the indoor while the lights are on. Keeping up with this intense schedule seven days a week, is a labor of love that is about so much more than just growing plants. It’s about growing as individuals and as a community. It’s about growing

their brand in a responsible manner that will allow it to outlast trends and hype. For Hopper, it’s about one day passing it down to his daughter. It’s also important for him to continually learn as a grower. Even with 30 years of experience, he wisely admits that there will always be something he doesn’t know and he strives to keep learning. From using HID lighting and homemade brains back in the day, to present day crop steering and tissue cultures, he’s seen firsthand just how much the industry has evolved. Lately there are a few too many 20-somethings calling themselves “master growers” and the funny thing is that some of them weren’t even alive yet when he first started growing. Even so, he refuses to use the term, saying, “I’m a legacy grower, but I will never call myself a master grower.” Something else he’ll never claim to be is a cannabis influencer. He recalls being a ‘weed tech’ for Cannabis Culture Magazine 15 years ago, providing props for photoshoots (cannabis, hash, bongs, etc..) “Now it’s called a cannabis stylist”, he says with a chuckle and roll of his eyes. “I mean, all you do is show up at a shoot with products. It’s not that serious.” He does concede however, that it’s nice to see people here in Oklahoma be so excited about being a part of the industry, as opposed to California, where everyone seems to be jaded. Ron shares Hopper’s excitement for and love of cannabis. “I met Hopper through KMK a few years ago. I’ve always had love for cannabis and its healing benefits. So to not only meet KMK and Hopper, but to be able to work with these guys has been one hell of a

ride, and the wheels are still rolling.”

There is solid history and a lot of common ground between the R3m3dy team. Hopper and Ron ran in the same circles on the music side of the cannabis industry years before they teamed up to grow. Hopper was Kottonmouth Kings tour manager for ten years and later in the bands run, Ron ran the KMK online store and toured with them selling merch. The future partners didn’t actually meet until the SRH Fest in Huntington Beach in 2019. Fast forward to the ‘Twas The Night B4/20 show in Norman last year where they linked up with Johnny Richter, who was performing with King Klick, and R3m3dy Gard3ns/RX3 was born. RX3 refers to their three names- Richter, Ron, Rich. (“My name is Rich, but everyone calls me Hopper” he says during introductions.)

All work and no play is no way to live, so even with the crazy long days they put in at the garden, they somehow find time to put on shows for the cannabis community. Updates on upcoming events will be posted on their socials, so be sure to follow. Hint: Thanksgiving may be a little… danker this year. So, when they’re not running the indoor grow, the outdoor grow, the light dep, overseeing the making of their edible line, or putting on events, they raise money for charity. Painting cannabis in a positive light and disproving the lazy stoner stereotype is very important to them, and these self-proclaimed “stoners that care” have already held one

fundraiser where they raffled off a Sour bong and a Jerome Baker bong. The money is being held in a fund until they find the right organization to partner with. Right now they’re leaning towards Legacy Parenting Center in Shawnee, but are open to suggestions. Hopper has a long history of giving back to the local communities he’s lived in, having received a federal certificate of appreciation from the USMC for his work with Toys for Tots. What really makes R3m3dy Gard3ns stand out among the rest, is their authenticity. It’s not just who they are, it’s who they have been for decades, and they have the receipts to prove it.

Follow the whole R3m3dy crew on Instagram to watch them grow, and enjoy the fruits of their labor by letting your favorite dispo know that you want to see RX3 products on their shelves. They currently offer gummies, prerolls, and RHO. RHO is a highly potent, strain specific, solventless rosin hash oil created by Hopper while he was living in legendary Humboldt County, California. All of RX3’s edibles are made from their RHO, there are absolutely no solvents in any of their products. Providing clean medicine to patients and stoners is a paramount priority at R3m3dy Gard3ns and RX3.

Photography by Chad Mathews. @thebraidedbeard

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