women’s history
Sarah Lee
Gossett Parrish Excellence. Efficiency. Integrity.
405/815-3434 slgparrish@slgparrishlaw.com www.sarahleegossettparrish.com
lawyer cannabis | litigation | oil & gas
Cover Artist:
MoeD ArT Shannon Seitter
Online:
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Strain of the Month by James Bridges Hi My Name Is- Editorial by James Bridges
Facebook @moedartokc IG @moedartokc
7 Stoner by Tab Moura
This is the 3rd time that Shannon’s work has been showcased on the cover of Herbage Magazine. There’s a reason for that. Moed Art and the energy source behind it, Shannon Seitter, have a vision that meets exactly what our team is envisioning when selecting covers, pieces for our homes, and gifts for our loved ones.
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Trust The Process by Anna Ervin
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Texas Again by Brittiany Ralls
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All Gassed Up by Micah Mckamie
Shannon produces an interesting look at this world.
14 Rusted by James Bridges
Please support your local artists visions and efforts by purchasing your favorites and spreading the word.
Herbage Magazine Owner and Publisher James Bridges james@herbagemag.com New Media Editor Anna Ervin anna@herbagemag.com Advertising Bridgett Maddux bridgett@herbagemag.com Design James Bridges Contributors Sarah Lee Gossett Parrish Brittianey Ralls Tab Moura Amy Lee Chet Tucker Chip Paul Micah Mckamie Veronica Castillo
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Beating Censorship by Veronica Castillo
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From The Front Lines by Chip Paul
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SAP XTRAX by James Bridges
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CannaBanana & Mom Not Your Mother’s Potato Soup
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A METRC Primer by Sarah Lee Gossett Parrish
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What’s Your Cannabis Routine? by Amy Lee
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Sophia Massad by Anna Ervin
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Sowing The Seed by Chet Tucker
NEW MERCH HERBAGEMAG.COM
Strain of the Month
euphoric high then they would bow down to me and say they were wrong.
SLYMER Sativa Dominant Hybrid 2.79% Terp 20.98% THC
I was no longer bored. Once my decision was made Slymer organically became the perfect choice. I was able to no longer imagine myself cuddled in a bed and doing literally nothing to actually looking forward to my next tasks.. I was very hyper aware without being too uncomfortable. The haze between the eyes is such a pleasant feeling.
by James Bridges Herbage Magazine
Effects: Uplifted Hyper Awareness Appetite Suppressant
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The only downside, if you want to call it one, is that I actually had to have several conversations with myself reminding me that I need to eat.
Bored. Sometimes I get that way with my meds. Just bor- Want to get things done and still enjoy the most out of ing ole meh, yeah it works, medicine. your meds? Try Slymer. Not to be confused with Slimer. Ask for it to be grown by So it’s time to hunt. Shuffling through the lists of strains to try can get a little overwhelming. Luckily I know just the remedy. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe... Slymer is the way to go. Someone told me once that if I can find a strain that shakes the dust off a tired brain as well as give you an uplifted
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Hi My Name Is by James Bridges Herbage Magazine Moving around the country has never been a problem for me. It’s nearly impossible for me to comprehend the words, “stay put”. It’s how I’ve come to learn that adaptation is not simply about evolving to your environment. It’s more about introducing yourself into that environment in a way that you feel comfortable enough to make yourself “at home”. I think it was something infused into my bloodstream as I was that little pod waiting to enter this strange new world and it is the need to connect with my neighbors. It’s how I roll. It’s how I get by. It’s one of the largest factors that drives my lifestyle. It’s the need to connect and know the people and for them to know me. After a spell in Ventura county I made the next stop on my life journey to north Texas. I found myself living in a state I grew up learning was Oklahoma’s nemesis. I knew no one. So I did what I always have done. I proved some people wrong and landed a job the day I landed in Texas. I was under the strong impression that I was in the right place when my future management told me that if I “smoke weed then just drink a ton of water for a week and get back to us.” I looked at the kind gentleman and replied with a smirk, “I got this.” Long story, short...a visit to my local GNC store for some cleansing niacin, my jug of water, two days later, I was at work. A couple of weeks after I started I began making friends on the floor with my peers. But the group I wanted to hang with were the managers. I knew they smoked and I could relate. Plus, even then, I knew the meaning of the word “pals”. It was charity poker night and I had an idea. I went home and cleaned out my 61’ Chevy. I pulled up to the office to pick some people up. I knew the bosses would be there. They both turned and noticed as I drove around. Yep, there’s the nibble. They’ve almost taken the bait. Later that night I dropped them both off as they were hugging me. It was a great night. No matter what someone looks like. No matter how intimidating the thought of having a conversation with someone might seem. No matter how much money someone has. No matter the color of the skin. No matter the age. We all have something in common. We all want connectivity. Well... there might be a few of you wanting to be alone for the rest of your existence….okay, wish granted…. But for the rest of us, it’s important to connect. Can we just get back to that?
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Stoner by Tab Moura
“So you’re saying, yes, Cannabis improves your overall symptoms?” I laughed, what a loaded question… and yet, the answer was so simple, “Absolutely.” I scheduled this appointment a few weeks ago, I am a mom and epileptic, I don’t trust myself to “just remember” things anymore. As I waited in line, my mind wandered to 2 years ago, when I applied for my first medical card. I got to the clinic a little late, due to ice, and I was terrified I missed my chance. I always roll my eyes a little when people assume that being late, and using marijuana, walk hand in hand. I had some harsh self-judgements bouncing around my skull that day… “Shocker, the Stoner missed their appointment?” But that couldn’t be further from how I was treated. Oh, I’m sure it happens; Cannabis can make us a little forgetful, but you wanna know a secret? Apparently we Stoners are pretty good at overcoming our attention challenges, because as of February 7th, 2021, over 370,591 Oklahoman’s have become medical cannabis patients. (I heard there would have been more, but they are driving 5mph in a parking lot somewhere *wink wink*.) I wouldn’t be upright without this medicine. We aren’t talking minor leagues here, this is medical cannabis. This is our quality of life, and in many cases, life itself is in the balance. We have families; we are mothers, daughters, husbands and sons, grandparents, aunts and uncles. We are business owners, hard workers, students, friends and neighbors. We are fiercely protective of our lives and health freedoms, for ourselves and to honor those who made this possible. Stoners? Sure, call us stoners. The people who would uproot their lives, crossing state borders, to save their kid’s life? Or do you mean the woman who has weaned herself off of 12 pharmaceutical drugs? Or the little boy who had 100 seizures a day, and now doesn’t? How about the speech delay that disappeared, or the insomnia that went away, or the diabetic who learned to manage their sugars without insulin? We’re pretty proud of those stoner stories. And we haven’t even gotten to the science! Did you know that everyone has an endocannabinoid system? Did you know that human breastmilk produces anandamide, a naturally occurring supplement for the endocannabinoid system? Did you know that you produce anandamide when you exercise? Did you know that chronic illness is a sign that your endocannabinoid system is out of homeostasis? Did you know that the cannabis plant is the most potent source of supplemental cannabinoids? Did you know that cannabis is a vital food nutrient, as essential as other vitamins and minerals the body needs? Did you know that even if you use cannabis recreationally, it helps your body medicinally? We want cannabis skeptics to ask their questions… the truth doesn’t need our protection. Even if you don’t choose to use this plant, can you say you considered it objectively? As I wrapped up my renewal recommendation appointment, I sighed in relief. “Two more years of YES.” Sometimes it feels too good to be true, and sometimes I feel restless. So many out there have yet to get this chance. I pray that someday soon, anyone who wishes to use this medicine would be able to do so without threat of punishment. Now that I know what I know, I just don’t think that’s too much to ask.
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Trust the Process by Anna Ervin Herbage Magazine
So often I find myself frustrated in the beginning phases of writing a story. I’ll throw my hands up and curse the laptop because the words on my screen aren’t painting the picture that I want them to. You can blame my Aries sun sign for this. Patience has never been one of my strengths. In the past, I’ve picked up so many projects only to put them back down because I didn’t get it right the first time around. But for the first time in my life, I have a job that makes me want to do whatever it takes, however many times it takes, to excel. Because of this, I have learned that when I push through the frustration and put in the real work (the inner work), the end result is so much more rewarding. So, what does that inner work look like? To start, it looks like facing your negative emotions head on, asking yourself, “why do I feel this way and what can I do to work through those feelings?” But that’s a lot easier said than done, right? Changing your habits and the way you react to emotions doesn’t happen overnight. It requires intention, focus, and patience. So, if a fiery, fast-paced Aries like me can learn to slow down and trust herself, I’m positive that you can to. I’ll leave you with few tips that have continuously helped me better understand my fears, angers, and frustrations, and ultimately work past them: ` Take a step back. If you’re stuck in a negative headspace and you can’t get out, don’t force it. Take a break, read a chapter in your favorite book, eat a meal, or do something nice for yourself. Sometimes we just need to take a little space from whatever is causing us to feel distressed, in order to gain a little perspective and clarity. ` Breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Visualize your breath traveling down into your belly, doing a little somersault, then climbing back up your spine and out through your mouth. This is something I learned through yoga, but it helps me so much on a day-today basis. We hold all this tension in our bodies, and sometimes that’s where a lot of our emotions stem from. Breathe into and through those areas to allow that energy to flow a little more freely. ` Smoke a bowl. Find a strain that uplifts your mood and calms your heart. I respond to a lot of strains differently than most, but Purple Punch seems to really do it for me. Find that strain for you, and have it handy for those moments when you’re feeling the weight of everything. ` Trust the process. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your problems aren’t going to go away overnight. Trust that whatever you are feeling or going through right now is playing an important role in your journey. It doesn’t always make sense right away, but I promise that someday you’ll be able to look back and see a much bigger picture.
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As patients we need to demand more. Texas needs to catch up soon. This period of time I’m subtly calling “The Herb Age.” Throughout history there are periods of time labeled “ages.” I can’t “officially” deem this time we are in as “The Herb Age,” being that I am not a historian or whoever names ages, but I’m doing it anyway! Welcome to The Herb Age! What a better way to help de-stigmatize, by educating. Here we are in an age of herb with so many opportunities for change within so many communities. Being able to influence how the world will see cannabis in the future and de-stigmatizing something that is so beneficial to the human body leaves most of us in the cannabis community elated. We will see cannabis infiltrate every other industry. Cannabis can create a more sustainable world. Cannabis can help create happier humans. Those of us who have started to see some of these changes are so excited to show the rest of the world how amazing cannabis is. It’s just the beginning. We will see it make huge changes to our world and the ability to sustain it. Being back in Houston with the goal of helping de-stigmatize cannabis is exciting! Houston is so diverse with a background in philanthropy that is driven by wealth that has been created here. It’s a great place to start. So much of the cannabis community is rooted in giving back and helping so many in need that merging the two should be a lot easier if we start with a commitment to helping the community we hope to be a part of.
Texas Again by Brittiany Ralls Here we are in Texas! Seeking legalization in a big way for Texas patients. Like I said in my last piece ”Houston is Home,” there is legalization in Texas, minimally. But legalization does exist in Texas. There are also areas of decriminalization too.
There are a lot of people in Texas on both sides of cannabis. There is a lot to prove. With diligence and a support the cannabis community can make it happen in Texas.
Our mission is to provide an alternative, natural way of healing without using industrialized pharmaceuticals. Our cultivation farm was established to provide top quality medical marijuana options to Oklahomans.
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All Gassed Up
by Micah Mckamie An unexpected, yet invigorating cold hit me in the face as I left our “Gassed Up Group Run” meet-up spot Sunnyside Diner. I was super excited to be there! Everyone involved with Training Through Terps had been working on this event for almost a month and I was curious to see how it all came together. The wind was coming off the lake in gusts, and as I walked up to the start I could tell everyone was in “high”spirits! The gaggle of runners was about 25-30 people in various brightly colored workout attire. There were even group supporters that showed up. The groups co-founders Kenny Hilburn And Micah started This group was founded by both Kenny and Micah Mckamie to help change the perception of cannabis users in our society. “Ultimately our goal is to help non-medicators see that just because you use cannabis, does not mean that the lazy stigma has to be how people see you.” Kenny was on point. “We are out here breaking the stigma and changing peoples mindset, while promoting a healthy lifestyle!” Out of the 28 people that showed up for this frigid frolic, fifteen ended up running the route while the others took advantage of Sunnyside Diner’s excellent hospitality. “Just having people out, being able to share in our passion for cannabis and fitness, as well as, being able to connect with pretty
amazing people, has made us feel like this has been a huge success.” Micah was elated. “We have these planned out for the next six months and have located these events all over Oklahoma, including one in Tulsa for Armed Forces Day in conjunction with Sherweed Forrest, which is a group of cannabis advocates who are changing the industry through media and art ,”he added. I noticed the eclectic group in which had gradually assembled. People from all walks of life came out to enjoy community. As we moved up to the starting line the mood became more lively and pumped. Everyone was highly medicated by this point and as we started off on our route it became evident to me that this was going to be a big deal After the run we all congregated at Sunnyside Diner to continue. This was such a great opportunity for the cannabis community to come together with vendors, local dispensary deals, and who knows what could be next? We started to say our goodbyes, “Gassed Up Group Run” was a awesome success and made for an amazing day. I settled into my car to head out. I cannot wait for the next one. Upcoming Gassed Up Group Run events: -Saturday March 20th Western/Paseo District -Tuesday April 20th Stillwater -Saturday May 15th Tulsa -Sunday June 6 OKC D-Day run Follow along and join in on Instagram @trainingthroughterp
A revolutionary cannabis company specializing in Organic and sustainable practices. The very term “Hermetic” has its very roots in Ancient Greece as well as Ancient Egypt. Hermeticism is based upon and attributed to the teachings of Hermés Trismegistus, a sage based sometime around late antiquity. The very translation of the Hermetic corpus is what boosted The Italian renaissance. People such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were heavily influenced by this philosophical treat. Alchemy sprang forth from these ideologies, giving birth to modern day chemistry, Science, and Western thought. This art form was then transformed into the profane, taking away its very essence, the spiritual wisdom needed to change lead (material spirit) into gold (Sun source or pure spirit). The works of Giordano Bruno, Italian Alchemist and influencer of Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos”, were stumbled upon by mixing Hermetic philosophy with Moroccan hashish...Proclaiming a Heliocentric model and that the universe was many infinite universes. This later had him burned at the cross. It is our belief that by ditching profane science and making our way back to spiritual alchemy, that we are to become one with ourselves and the plant. It is our mission to mix spiritual philosophy with craft cannabis to bring the holy trinity of healing; which is the mind, the body, and the soul. There’s absolutely no questions pertaining around cannabis NOT being a valuable medicine for physical and mental ailments...but what about the spiritual sense? The taboo nature of man itself which raises such questions of, “ why am I here? What are we doing here? What does it mean to be alive” all these have meaning and are being acted upon within the garden of the Hermetic Flower Co. We focus on maintaining a standard of medicine that’s unheard of in the state let alone the south. What else makes hermetic so special? They’re not only organic, living soil....they also make their own compost, on site, via vermicompost, AKA worm POOP! Using a specially formulated worm diet, Alex, the Director of cultivator and science, is able to influence the metaphysical properties of the body; specifically the seven chakras or seven alchemical planets through watering the compost in through a process known as ACT or Aerated compost tea.
This adds the beneficial microbiology and fungi from the high quality compost into the raised beds that team ALPACA cultivate out of. After the tea is complete, we then close the loop by disposing of the waste back into the Vemicompost bins where the process starts all over again. A full life and death cycle and we haven’t even touched on the plants yet!! Alex and his team of Alpacs, plant and harvest around the cycles of the moon. “Nothing on the planet can move water like the moon can” As the Moon influences the water in the plant, we see it as a prime time to harvest and flip our plants into flowers. Even though an indoor grow, it’s important to remember that we’re dealing with nature and respecting and understanding the cycles of nature is of the utmost importance to us. We are also in a vertical rack cultivation system meaning we cultivate on multiple levels instead of just on the ground floor. It allows us to maximize our cubic volume, which is how cannabis grows anyways, through cubic volume! Finally, our last attempt at trying our best to maintain efficiency and sustainability is using LED technology. LEDs make for a more efficient lighting source in the way that it disperses heat, it allows for excess humidity while consuming less power and allows you to manipulate the amount of photons that hit the canopy. This in combination with VPD or vapor pressure deficit, allows us to manipulate and influence our environment to mimic that of the Nepal Mountain ranges; where we believe landrace, heavy medicine comes from. We want to bring out those genetic expressions through each individual cultivar we carry. The Hermetic Flower Company isn’t just a cannabis company, it’s a cannabis lifestyle. From Italian Renaissance smoking Alchemist to every day spiritual seekers the philosophy, integrity and consistency of this company will have you thinking, feeling, and smelling LOUD!
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RUSTED By James Bridges Herbage Magazine
Finally after hearing and reading and talking back-and-forth I am able to sit down with this once cannabis prisoner, the “Genetics Man” himself, Brandon Rust. “When I go in there I put in the contract that any genetic material is my property. “That’s the one of the reasons why some of those I help don’t sell cuts. It’s because those are my genetics. I don’t want market competition…. Brandon Rust” This is the kind of logically creative (its a term now) individual that I’ve been looking forward to talking with and getting his insights on the plant to paper. “I don’t grow you know cookies and gelatos and you know all the stuff that’s just hype. I would much rather smoke some of the stuff that we’re going to be hunting.” “I don’t grow you know cookies and gelatos and you know all the stuff that’s just hype. I would much rather smoke some of the stuff that we’re going to be hunting.” Bam! In my face was some Sour CheeseBerry day 28. My fingers instantly went for the leaf to squeeze and smudge a smell. Brandon was in his element, “ This is a very interesting strain right here. You hardly see Delta 3 carene (promotes healthy bones) and ocimene (anti-congestant/anti-inflammatory) as the top terpenes very often.” What was very interesting was that most of the varieties that
are in the room are from 20 years ago. A friend of Brandon and the gang bred these between 2001 and 2003. Brandon was laser focused, “We have some pretty super old and really good strains that work. Old blueberry, super silver haze, old stuff from San Diego, the bull rider, p91… and you can see the transition from the clones to all of these super silver haze crosses. They’re super long and sick. It’s all filling in and you can see from right there.” Brandon seemed to have been a little Rusted himself. Smacked in the face with this knowledge of what fantastic cannabis really could and should be, he pointed at his crop as we stood and looked. He talked about them all as if he were the paterfamilias. Yet he treated them as if he were their humble servant. “I want to find the ones that are best suited for our environment.” Brandon pulled down a stem. “Look how much leaf there is. So it’s not necessarily desirable based on flower production. Since we’re going to be working with different processors this might be one of those things that is excellent for washing right? This is what we do. We hunt strains. We grow the best. We have strains that are rare. If we grow some of those and they are of the same quality, but for whatever reason aren’t as “pretty” then we send them to wash.” It made perfect sense to me. Why would you throw out something that smelled exactly like the bottom of a garbage truck? The only reason I can find is if that smell were not intentional. However, this purposely grown stank smelled like the garbage truck was buried under another garbage truck for a few years. Must have been some potent stuff... Brandon also does some outside consulting in the grow space.
“My Consulting is pretty selective because I don’t have the time to allocate. I know a whole lot of hands-on stuff but remote consulting is a lot easier. I can do soil auditing. I can look at soil in saturated pace testing. I can help dial in the numbers to get to targets. One of the biggest assets I offer is knowledge in ways to cut costs.” Brandon continued, “I’m able to reduce the input costs because typically in cannabis you’re using fertigation salts and it’s very very expensive. It’s a continuous occupancy and expenditure that increases the production value. That increases the cost to grow that cannabis.” “When you’re doing something organically with modified mixes and living soils you can reuse the soil continuously cycle over cycle so you’re not wasting any. You’re not throwing it out. Also to get your soil’s back to the target levels you can take what’s called a soil and saturated pace testing. These mixes work more like hydroponic media than they do actual soil because there’s no sand, silt, or clay. There’s no naturally weathered elements to this soil. So what we’re looking at is what elements fall into the solution. Water until you’re able to take the saturated pace test and it gives you those values and you can dial in those values based off of your mineral inputs.” “Let’s say if you were deficient in calcium but everything else was in balance. You could add something like Gypsum to give more calcium into your soil. The calcium level will increase with a little help. “ “A lot of different functions of overall mineral inputs are very cost-effective and are typically used for conventional agriculture. That’s one of the reasons why they’re so expensive. Because these things are produced for applying pounds per acre. You can use the same very inexpensive CDFA certified organic mineral inputs to increase and balance your soil and keep it in balance. Furthermore, if you do that, you’re going to be able to maintain your health and your quality. Your production will be consistent as long as you’re collect-
ing data and you’re using science then you’ll always be able to maximize your quality and yield.” Brandon is not alone in this venture. “My partner he’s been growing indoors since 92 he showed me how to do this. I had the opportunity to get him out here to work on this project and we work really well together. We maintain this place just as if it were a bowtique style. Even though we scaled this we still do all the maintenance work. We still do all that integrated pest management protocols. We still go in and prune. You know... we do all the same things that we would do for a bowtique style or indoor cultivation and the reason why is because we still want to be able to produce high-quality products to the market and what I think that would be a cheaper price point.” Something we can all get behind is what Rust Brandon and the crew believe in whole heartedly; “a little trickle down to the patient, they will be able to consume a high quality product that is safe.” “I do not want to do anything to my plants that isn’t natural. That’s why you see all these sachets hanging. These beneficial mites will protect these plants from any type of pest and these plants are protected. Even though you can’t see. These plants have been biologically protected. I can safely say that we did this the right way, our way, and it’s the healthy way... Brandon Rust.” Follow Brandon Rust on IG @rustbrandon
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Beating Censorship by Veronica Castillo Cannabis Writer
“Free speech is the bedrock of American democracy.” The government goes on to say and assure Americans that:
what people post on their websites as they see fit.” So what can the cannabis community do about this outside of filing lawsuits? Beat the system. Doc Hollywood is a censorship genius and his groups prove it. Both focused and centered around cannabis, he has been able to grow these groups by the hundreds each week, resulting in member figures over 300K.
“Our Founding Fathers protected this sacred right with the First Amendment to the Constitution. The freedom to express and debate ideas is the foundation for all of our rights as a free people. In a country that has long cherished the freedom of expression, we cannot allow a limited number of online platforms to hand pick the speech that Americans may access and convey on the internet. This practice is fundamentally un-American and anti-democratic.”
5 Social Media Tips for the Cannabis Industry to Avoid Jails and Restrictions
The cannabis industry struggles with freedom of speech. In the cannabis industry, there are no pages/accounts that are safe on social media. Because of the federal prohibition that the American government has hurt Americans with, social media platforms use this as a reason to keep the community oppressed.
• •
Of course Lobbyists pay people, corporations, and institutions to do things like this. Industries like big pharma don’t want the truth about cannabis to be released. The issue of censorship is something that people and businesses are fighting, and courts are trying to figure out. A google search focused on social media censorship lawsuits reveals the follow headlines: •
Media Veteran Suing Facebook Over Cannabis Ban
•
Lawsuit Argues That Feds’ Cannabis Ban Violates Our Constitutional Rights
•
Facebook Hit by Landmark Censorship Lawsuit in Poland
•
Facebook Is Finally Getting Sued for Its Anti-Weed Policies
•
Lawsuit, Media Campaign Hit Facebook Over CBD, Hemp Ads
• • •
When posting about cannabis, post the strain name only with a gas emoji. No labels or logos captured in the image/video. Never promote the sale, for example, don’t say you just bought cannabis, just picked up cannabis, or encourage people to visit dispensaries or cannabis related websites. No hashtags whatsoever. When sharing, highlight and show off the cool photo you took vs. focusing on the product and where the product can be found.
Other Ways the Cannabis Industry Can Market Their Products and Services. Social media is important for all businesses, but isn’t the only way. Businesses in cannabis can: • • • •
Publish a blog (written for search engines to pick up) Work with influencers Get your brand story told by a writer/publisher Why published content? Because when shared on social media, it qualifies as an editorial and therefore, not promotional; but also because when people are searching for information, Bing and Google reign supreme.
In Closing It’s important to think about the content/images posted on social media. In cannabis, one flagged post could mean starting from scratch with building a following that likely took a lot of time and effort to build. Studying demographics also helps. For instance, Social Media Today, a social media news platform shows the following:
This is a short list. Censorship has been keeping courts busy, but to date, the platforms prevail because like the police, there are rules, poli- • Gen Z chose Instagram as the platform to follow brands. cies, and amendments that keep them safe. For social media platforms, • boomers spend most of their time on YouTube and the Facebook it’s the 1st amendment. The 1st Amendment does protect free speech • Baby Feed. to a certain extent, just not on social media. Freedom Forum Institute • • Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X chose YouTube as the platform they rely explains: on the when making This is a design for 2 magnetic signs for doors of apurchase vehicle.decisions. • • One day soon, this will no longer be an issue because as always, the plant “The First Amendment protects individuals from government censorprevails! ship. Social media platforms are private companies, and can censor 24¼”
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Dedicated to Quality & Service 211 N Perkins Road Suite 10 Stillwater, OK 74074 (405)332-5271 - originalgreenbossstilly@gmail. com
What is up with the OMMA? Has your commercial cannabis business been inspected? Did you know every other license the OMMA issues, you MUST be inspected BEFORE you are awarded your license? A marijuana commercial business license is the only Oklahoma State Department of Health issued license you can get WITH ABSOLUTELY NO INSPECTION. Does anyone else find this odd? Further, with the lack of physician education on the endocannabinoid system, patients have to rely on and trust a budtender for advice about a substance they are using medically. What training is that budtender required to have? Yep, ZERO. Where is the protector of patient rights and patient protections? This should be our Oklahoma State Department of Health. Why are they not suggesting these additional protections to lawmakers? Hair Cutting is more tightly controlled than marijauna at the moment. Now why would that be?
Where Did You Get All That Drip by James Bridges Herbage Magazine There’s an essence you get when certain people enter a room or conversation. I can’t really pinpoint the exact emotion. It’s the one when you are in a room with someone you’ve only seen through a screen. Or that magnetic person that was up on stage spitting into a microphone 5 minutes earlier is sitting next to you passing a blunt. Or when a beautiful woman enters the room full of unsuspecting men and there’s silence. I’m not sure what that is but I met someone in the Oklahoma cannabis industry that made me feel that way. Gabriel Quinn is one of the men behind the curtains with SAP XTRAX SAP XTRAX is a dedicated team of friends developing only pure, full spectrum concentrates and extracts. They also provide flowers, topicals, and edibles. “We are a fully integrated system that not only cultivates marijuana but also it has an avenue for the culture of sales of the product. We actually started off in the industry as loud promotions. We were looking at the cannabis industry and seeing what and how it was going to turn out. We were thinking okay, well in all the other markets you saw marketing and advertising for cannabis through culture. From social media to clothing it was a feeling for the market. So when Oklahoma started off we didn’t have that marketing. We just had dispensaries selling a product and brands that no one knew. So we kind of wanted to be the first to offer innovation and expertise in that area.” Gabriel demanded the room. “We are really focused on putting Oklahoma on the map in the most fair and honest way and combining culture and cannabis.” Grant Quinn, COO of SAP was as passionate as his brother Gabriel while speaking of his brand. “We see a need for quality and we have it. We think that the best way is through culture, education, and quality.” Gabriel spoke with a sense of urgency, “We are working with musicians. Red Dirt music and who would have thought
Oklahoma had such a hip hop scene? We also do events and benefits to tie to the community. We sponsor cannabis events such as Poetry and Chill and educational opportunities like the Cowboy Cup. We work with Tulsa folks to raise awareness of the race riots and American history that’s really rich in Tulsa. We believe in getting involved.” Trey Wiles is the creative director for the group. We partnered up with the best photographer and videographer in Oklahoma and we said alright, “we want to make things happen for the Cannabis industry and Oklahoma culture.” The group had an opportunity to sponsor an event called Fire in Little Africa Friday’s. “We were able to really dive into cannabis culture and the Hip-Hop scene in Oklahoma.” Trey was pumped. “We were able to showcase our product while talking about the culture scene in Oklahoma. The artists gained more attention. That’s been a great experience for everyone.” You may have noticed a last name similarity. Well we all know how fun working with family can be. Grant said it’s interesting. “You know you can trust each other. That’s what’s cool about it and we can literally be at each other’s throats then the next day it’s okay.” “I can be yelling out one minute but I know I have to turn around and call him whenever there’s an issue and vice versa.” Gabriel was grinning but sincere as he explained. “So It goes vice versa. I mean... it’s crazy. I was praying for a partner and we got a great team of dedicated people. 10 and growing.” Innovation and diversification is the strategic plan for this up and coming business to watch. Tyler Davis is the VP and director of sales for SAP. “Oklahoma, as we know, is one of the biggest markets in the country right now. So covering everything from dispensaries to processors and growers has proven to be challenging. Everybody wants us right now. It takes time. But we made a name for ourselves. I will walk in shops and some people already know who we are. It’s nice when that happens in Tulsa and we are based out of OKC.”
Ryan James Circle is the man with the greenest thumb of the group. “I can’t claim it as my own technique, but we grow in rockwool for our clones and flowering rooms. I use coco for our mother plants. We completely control our environment and irrigation strategy with crop steering to get the best quality and yield possible out of our genetics.” I’ll say it again. I know it’s almost become cliche’ to say, but growers just talk in their own language. That’s why I like to talk to the grower. I want to know why. I want to feel what they feel in some way. So I asked Ryan his favorite strain to grow. Think about it like a first date. What movie do you like…
“That’s a very hard question to answer because there have been so many amazing cultivars I’ve had the opportunity to grow. But currently my favorite strain to grow would have to be the cut of Ice Cream Cake from Seedjunky jbeezy. It grows huge beautiful purple, frost covered flowers.” “The future is bright for SAP, we are just getting started on this journey and we can’t wait to bring more of the best cannabis flower and cannabis products possible to the patients of Oklahoma, and hopefully sometime soon to the rest of the country with the fading stigma and changing laws!” Ryan was able to give a glance at a window of who his character really was and it looked good.
CannaBanana & Mom Growing up I always believed my mom made the best creamy potato soup… Until I made this recipe (sorry mom). We won’t talk about which ingredients I had to ditch in order to adapt this recipe to fit my vegan diet but let’s just say it was a large chunk of them. In order to make something I knew I would love just as much as her recipe, I needed to add my own twist. My favorite argument when someone tries to say that vegan food is boring, is that you have to heavily season a chicken breast (typically with plants) to make it taste good, but herbs and vegetables are already packed full of flavor. So, I just added all of those flavors that I love. I like to change up the ingredients based on what’s currently in season but for this recipe, I used rainbow chard, celery, rainbow carrots, and shallots, in addition to red and gold potatoes, duh. It’s probably the most colorful potato soup you’ll ever see, and with toppings like fresh dill, sriracha, and medicated beer salt, there’s nothing boring about it.
Not Your Mother’s Potato Soup Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Yields 5-6 Servings
Instructions Heat infused olive oil over low/medium heat in a medium stock pot. Add chard stalks (we’ll add the leaves later), celery, and carrots. Sauté 5-6 minutes or until fragrant. Add scallions and garlic, sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Add potatoes and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, cover with lid and reduce heat. Simmer 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft enough to stab with a fork. Turn off heat. Stir in rainbow chard leaves, and milk. Serve with lemon lime beer salt, fresh dill and sriracha hot sauce.
Ingredients 3 Tbsp infused olive oil 2-3 stalks rainbow chard; chopped stalks + roughly chopped leaves 3 stalks celery, chopped 3 rainbow carrots, chopped 2 scallions, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 8-10 small yukon gold or red potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 32-oz cartons vegetable broth ¼ - ½ cup milk (I used oat milk) Salt & pepper Garnish: Fresh Dill Sriracha hot sauce
Two Twisted Girls’ 50mg lemon-lime beer salt
More Recipes at CannaBanananMom.com
A METRC Primer by Sarah Lee Gossett Parrish, Cannabis Lawyer
Many months ago, OMMA announced that it had awarded METRC its seed-to-sale contract. Now, implementation is in full swing, with initial training and credentialing classes available and completion required by March 26, 2021. Notably, OMMA also has announced that it will require beginning inventory to be completely reported into METRC by April 30, 2021. Perhaps this spring’s million-dollar question in Oklahoma is, “What does METRC mean for OMMA commercial business licensees?”. What is METRC? METRC is a privately owned track-and-trace system that depends on 1) physical, proprietary RFID tags that must be purchased only from METRC, and 2) METRC’s online, cloud-based software. This software requires an internet connection and computer for access, and supports an open “Application Programming Interface” (“API”) that allows licensees to use METRC with any third-party point of sale systems (“POS”) that have the appropriate API to integrate with METRC. However, such a third-party POS is not required, because a licensee can input its sales data into METRC directly, if they so desire. METRC’s implementation by OMMA is not for the benefit businesses or patients. Instead, the METRC system benefits the governmental agency who has contracted with it—here, OMMA. METRC offers online training, inventory and lab testing guides, and an Oklahoma-specific supplemental guide. METRC’s website states that it has provided track-and-trace solutions for 13 other states and the District of Columbia. Thus, while it is not in use by all medical (or adult-use) programs, it certainly has a significant stake in the market share. METRC charges licensees $40 per month, per license, as a reporting fee to access the platform and for ongoing support, maintenance, training, and the like. In addition, METRC’s proprietary RFID tags are 45 cents per plant tag and 25 cents per package tag. These tags are not interchangeable or reusable. They contain barcodes and chips that uniquely identify each plant and package, as the case may be, operating like serial numbers for each plant. These RFID tags must be read with an RFID tag reader. Here in Oklahoma, where we have only a medical system, the tags will be yellow. Blue tags are used for adult-use/recreational systems. Users must manually enter additional information, including weight, custody transfers, and test results into the METRC system. All information is only available to each specific licensee and to OMMA. Training Requirements OMMA requires all licensees—those currently operating and those with commercial business licenses that are not currently operating— to complete METRC training and credentialing classes. METRC began offering daily training classes for employees on March 1, 2021, and all METRC training and subsequent credentialing of businesses into OMMA licensees’ user accounts must be completed by March 26, 2021. After completion of the training and credentialing, then licensees will have access to a Beginning Inventory Guide, which provides the information necessary for licensees to enter their initial plant and/or package inventories into METRC’s system. Given the short time fuse on full integration requirements mandated by OMMA, licensees should complete their METRC training and credentialing, and review the Beginning Inventory Guide as soon as possible. Impact on Licensees OMMA requires all commercial business licensees to enter and report their beginning inventory into METRC by April 30, 2021. What does this mean, exactly? On April 30, 2021, the beginning inventory period for METRC closes and OMMA commercial business licensees who are actually operating must report all inventory transactions to, and in to, METRC. In other words, the last monthly report OMMA commercial
business licensees (who are actually operating) will submit to OMMA will be the April 2021 report, which will be filed by licensees in May 2021. However, OMMA licensees who are not actually operating will continue their filing of “zero inventory” monthly reports with OMMA. Every licensee must have a designated “METRC Administrator” in the METRC system, to complete the credentialing process. The METRC Administrator must be an owner or a designated manager of the OMMA licensee, and must complete METRC’s new business training course, which is provided in a webinar-format at this time. OMMA has advised that advanced training classes will become available in the future, and will be tailored for administrators according to license type. Licensees should select the METRC Administrator with great care, given that these persons will have complete access to, and control over, the licensee’s governmental reporting system. Any missteps or sabotage by a disgruntled employee could prove fatal to the licensee’s compliance and could likely result in fines or loss of the license. While OMMA has not overtly stated this, it is axiomatic that METRC will lock down genetics statewide. What does this mean? As of April 30, 2021, no out-of-state genetics will be considered acceptable under OMMA standards and Oklahoma law. While the issue of out-of-state seeds has arguably remained somewhat of a gray area, METRC’s implementation transforms the gray to a clear black and white. OMMA’s statewide track and trace system will easily flag any seeds that cannot be accounted for as having originated in the State of Oklahoma, and genetics acquired from outside the state will not be acceptable or legal. So…what’s the take-away? It could be a stressful spring here in the Wild, Wild West.
Sarah Lee
Gossett Parrish Excellence. Efficiency. Integrity.
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What Is Your Cannabis Routine by Amy Lee Cannabis & Wellness Coach Boho Health Consulting 833.264.6457 TheBohoHealthCoach.com As a Certified Cannabis Wellness Coach and owner of Boho Health Consulting, a cannabis coaching and education company, I have hosted well over one-hundred potential client wellness consultations since I opened my doors in 2019. Throughout these conversations I began to notice a pattern with my clients seeking cannabis coaching. The most common issue is proper dosing followed by proper medicating methods. Many clients do not know what a proper cannabis dose is for their ailments or how to dose throughout the day for wellness. Because of this many cannabis patients are not achieving the level of wellness they desire through the current methods of cannabis medicating. When a client describes their cannabis struggles it’s important for me to understand their current medicating routine. The most common routine is to be medicated only as needed throughout the day when symptoms appear. This method of medicating is considered “on-demand”. Medicating “on-demand” may be problematic for some clients who seek daily balanced wellness from their cannabis medicine. When symptoms are treated “on demand” the body may experience a dip in endocannabinoid support which can cause an episode or flare-up to become more frequent. When the endocannabinoid system is medicated at low doses daily the body is supported and has less potential for an episode or flare-up.
When coaching my clients to medicate for daily wellness, they tend to experience less “high-alert” episodes or flareups. This is due to simply supporting the endocannabinoid system with low doses of cannabinoids daily through multiple layering techniques. When a flare-up does occur it is usually not as severe or the client is well prepared with the knowledge of proper dosing and medicating methods. Implementing a balanced cannabis routine can reduce the symptoms of disease for these common inflammatory ailments, endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome, chrohns, sinusitis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, alzheimers, parkinsons, cancer, chronic pain more. A daily cannabis routine helps the patient establish their personal wellness dose, provides consistent support of the endocannabinoid system for whole body wellness, supports the immune system on a cellular level, consistent dosing means proper dosing measurement, and as a client you begin to take accountability for your wellness journey. To discover your best dosing routine I recommend beginning with a list of ailments you seek to treat and the symptoms you wish to relieve. Begin each day with a low dose of full spectrum cannabidiol tincture or capsule. This will activate and stimulate the endocannabinoid system, to support balance. Discovering your personal cannabinoid milligram requires journaling and charting your symptoms daily. Usually after three weeks of journaling and charting a routine can be developed that works well for the clients wellness. To learn more visit www.TheBohoHealthCoach. com or on Facebook for free webinars, resources and coaching programs!
Matric, Ltd. gmatthew.richardson@gmail.com (918)671-6988 – cell ATM Installation and Service Matric, Ltd. installs ATMs in requested locations which result in a safe, compliant based installation which accepts all major cards. Please call or e-mail the number and/or e-mail address above to continue the conversation and organize a site visit prior to installation of our newest ATM. Matric, Ltd. is an Oklahoma based firm.
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Sophia Massad by Anna Ervin Herbage Magazine
If you have yet to tune into the locally produced Play It Loud series by award-winning independent filmmaker Adam Hampton, it’s time to indulge. Play It Loud is sponsored by our friends at Grand Casino and was the topic of discussion between my boss and I when the name Sophia Massad came up. Sophia is one of the most recent artists to join the series, but I had been seeing her name pop up long before this interview was released. You see, when I first started working for Herbage, I was eager to make more friends in the cannabis industry. So, like any millennial would do, I turned to Instagram. It was hard to scroll past Sophia’s colorful, sparkly images that came up under geotag Oklahoma City. I loved the way she was breaking stigmas about the use of medicinal cannabis by, well, glamourizing it. Looking at her content, you might never imagine that Sophia, like so many of us, has a history of health issues. The focus of her brand lies not on her disabilities, but rather the capabilities that using cannabis has given back to her. This inspired me, and I think that was apparent to my boss. It was only a matter of time before he worked his magic and I found myself sitting across from @the_dope_soph herself. I was a little nervous. Sophia has not only worked tirelessly to create a sound that she is proud of, but also uses her music and her platform to educate and inspire the public about the benefits of cannabis. And she does it with so much fire. I decided to be upfront about how intimidating this meeting was for me, and boy am I glad I did. After bonding over our mutual enemy, anxiety (and laughing at our own fears), we dove right into one of the best conversations I’ve had in a long time. I couldn’t possibly include every little thing we touched on (I’m not kidding when I say I had to cut over 11,000 words from this story), but I did my best to focus on the topics that highlight the most colorful pieces of Sophia’s journey. I hope that by the time you finish reading this, you’ll see the same shining light that initially inspired me to seek out her story. Anna: So, I really wanted to talk about your journey with cannabis, and why you are so passionate about using your platform to break the stigma. Sophia: Well, I was the queen of ‘weed is terrible, and nobody should ever have it. It will ruin your life and then you’ll do heroin.’ After I got my card, I realized that it literally is medicine. I really fell in love with like the fact that it can help you; it got rid of my anxiety, I was able to sleep, and creatively it sparked so much in me. It helped me get over a lot of social anxiety. Because I was homeschooled, I never learned how to interact with people, but when I started smoking it was like, ‘I’m just going to be myself. Fuck it. I’m going to do whatever I want.’ I don’t know if you’ve watched my Play It Loud interview, but now that I’ve said ‘I have Tourette Syndrome, and I’m also a normal person.’ And that I tried to kill myself, and I’m also a normal person. I just love the idea of normal people coming out, and saying ‘Hey, this is what I’ve done, now everybody knows that life is…’ I don’t knowAnna: I get what you’re saying. You’re not just breaking stigmas about cannabis use. You’re breaking stigmas about mental health and wellness. Sophia: I’m trying to. I just, so much want people to say, ‘I will stop taking this prescription medicine, because now I have gummies every morning.’ That’s how I feel because I was taking Ibuprofen all the time before cannabis. I was just always in pain. When I first applied for my card I had just gotten in a car accident where I rear ended someone.
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photo by Austin Edwards
My head was real messed up, my back was really bad, and cannabis literally saved my life after that.
really fun. It mostly happens when I’m smoking, I hardly ever clean if I’m not smoking. But I just kind of allow it to flow out of me.
Yeah, it puts me in a better mood and it makes me think things are funnier, but why would that ever be bad? People say that it’s a bad thing, but I wasn’t a laugher before, and I think things are funnier now. Like today, I had a busy day and I hadn’t smoked. I was just like, ‘Man, everything sucks. Everything sucks and I don’t want to do anything, and I’m not worth this. Why does anybody care about taking pictures of me, or talking about me, blah, blah blah.’ Then I took a hit of my pen, which is Green Crack, and it’s the best, if you have a Green Crack pen.
Sometimes I’ll sit down and play an old song or a cover to get started. But sometimes I’ll just find some pretty cords and try to make that into a song. That’s mostly how my songs come about is sometimes I’ll hit a cord and be like, ‘Here’s the song. We got it.’
Anna: Green Crack is one of my favorite strains! Sophia: Yes! It just makes me so creative. So, I had a hit of it, and ten minutes later I was like, ‘Dude, you’re a badass. Okay. I know what I’m doing. I got this. I trust myself.’ It was giving me that confidence to do more. I feel like I can sometimes look at things from an outside perspective when I’m high. Where I kind of got started in wanting to be more of a cannabis advocate was through following Jessi Murray and Ãnna Frost of The Dope Girls (@thedopegrls). I was like, ‘Oh shit. I smoke weed, and I’m so scared of it.’ But I realized they are so successful and active. And then I was like, ‘well, I just have to accept it, let people know who I am, and show that I’m active.’ I’m not hiding the fact that I smoke weed all the time. It’s normal. I feel like 2020 was a big year for me to say, ‘Okay. It’s do or die. I’m always going to do music, no matter what. And I can also be passionate about things like cannabis.’ Anna: Okay, I have to ask. What’s your zodiac sign? Sophia: I’m a Virgo. Double Virgo. My birthday is two days before Amy Winehouse’s, and I feel really connected to that for some reason. I feel like we have the same emotions. I love her. My 12th and 11th houses are in Leo, as well as my Venus and Mars alignments. Everyone is like, ‘How can you be a Virgo, and also be a performer?’ Because I’m kind of Leo, and with that I have always had a strong drive to create and perform. Anna: So tell me about your journey into making music. Who or what were some of your major influences? Sophia: My family is really musical, we’re all creatives. At a really young age I realized I could sing. When I was like eight or nine, I remember learning how to belt for the first time, and my parents were like, ‘alright. I see you.’ So, they got me vocal lessons. I was the kind of person that would just turn on the music, and lay on the ground, and think about life. I remember listening to Kid Cudi and thinking that I want to connect with someone as much as Kid Cudi is connecting with me through his music. I just couldn’t see me getting through that part of my life without him. I also loved Eminem. One of his song lyrics talks about wanting to do this just to reach people that had similar issues, even if it’s just one person. And I remember thinking, ‘Yeah. I just want to reach one person that has similar issues to me and show them that it’s okay. That I’m here for them and that they can get through.’ Sophia: I always grew up with The Beatles because my dad is so obsessed with them. I’ve seen all their movies. I’ve literally listened to The Beatles everyday, and there would be seasons of my life where I would fall in love with their different albums. Their lyrics are, in my mind and in my world at least, the pillars of song lyrics. I remember those moments really sparking me to say, ‘this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to write music.’ I started writing really young. My dad taught me how to play guitar and my older sister taught me how to play piano. It was kind of the only thing that I cared about. Listening to music, and then making music. Anna: What does your creative process look like when it comes to songwriting? Does Cannabis play a role in that?
Other times it won’t happen at all. Most of my life I have really hated that, and I tried to force things. But at this point I’ve realized I’m not really in charge. A lot of people believe that waiting for the magic song writing orb to come amongst you is a terrible way to live, and it’s lazy I guess to some people. But I think it’s real. Anna: It’s almost like you’re manifesting it. Sophia: Yeah! But sometimes it comes to me at the worst times. I wrote Alone at Night on my notes and my recorder on my phone when I was teaching at a VBS for a church that I sang for. We had a break and I was like, ‘Oh my God. This is a really good song inside my head.’ So I’m making this song in my head talking about not being alone at night in the church that I’m working at. But it just had to happen then. My creative process is truly all over the place. But if I’m ever in a block in the middle of writing a song I’ll smoke, or I’ll smoke more. And that will really allow it to just become a song. Over quarantine I just chilled at home all the time, making music, and I wrote maybe 100 songs, and I just wrote a song a day for most of 2020, just for fun. I remember so many times I would get frustrated and be like, ‘This song is going nowhere. I’m doing nothing. Nothing is worth anything, and I’m quitting music.’ And then I would go smoke a joint and come back and be like, ‘I am amazing, and this song is great, and this is how it’s going to go.’ Anna: I’m laughing because I can relate so much with my writing. I do the same thing. At the end of the day you just have to trust the process. Cannabis really helps with that. Sophia: Yeah, it just makes me so much more relaxed and able to notice what’s actually happening in life. I’m such a people-pleaser, and such an over thinker, but cannabis just makes me an artist. It allows me to just do art. So, to answer your question, I don’t have a solid creative process. It is more of a creative creative process. Anna: If you could give yourself one piece of advice when you first started writing and recording songs, what would that be? Sophia: You know, on the Play It Loud Interview I was like, ‘Trust yourself. Trust yourself always.’ And I’ve really been thinking about that because I don’t always trust myself now, as an adult. Basically, I spent my childhood writing these songs and I recorded them around age 16, releasing them around that time as well. I spent all of my graduation money on the album. And I was just so afraid of other people not loving it. I guess everything I was afraid of happened. I still have probably 500 albums in my garage of my EP. I was so afraid of what people were going to think of me and I was so afraid of it not being the best thing in the world. But in the end music isn’t about being famous or popular and if it is then it’s probably not the right kind of music. You should be making music for yourself. It is your own kind of therapy. It is basically journaling out loud. Just doing it is enough. I wish that I had known that making an album was enough. It didn’t have to be a perfect album for everyone. Why would I want to be famous based on an album that I didn’t personally love?
@sophiamassad @the_dope_soph * Spotify*
Sophia: I don’t ever think that I’m making music. I think it’s just music that is coming through me. One of my new favorite things ever is to listen to Lo-Fi music when I clean. While it’s playing I will write a song to the beat. Then I will take that and make my own beat, change the key, and make a song out of that, which has been
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Sowing The Seed by Chet Tucker Executive Director Arcadia Brands
Let there be light! Just like all of the elements needed to grow virtually anything, without light there is no flower. Besides our natural sun, there are many ways to “replicate” its rays and grow cannabis. These variants of light are typically analyzed and then chosen based on the environment that cultivators will be growing within. And while most would prefer the natural ecosystems and sunlight, there are certainly superior and inferior geographies for growing outdoors. From the risk of damaging wind, rain, drought, pests, and pollination, it proves to be a more difficult task to grow quality ladies without them producing seeds. Regardless, it can be done and typically better done under smaller and more controlled outdoor areas. While sun grown cannabis provides the most natural way, the closest alternative is growing in greenhouses, most equipped with supplemental lighting and controlled deprivation of light to mimic a condensed season. The choice of providing mostly sunlight while supplementing with alternative lighting, which also can help provide additional warmth, is certainly a strong way to reduce the outside elements that can ruin cannabis crops. Light “dep” greenhouses are typically more cost effective to purchase and operate because of the limited amount of electrical energy needed but the overall environment can still be difficult to control without more expensive equipment to regulate humidity, temperatures, and CO2 production. The most controlled environment for lighting (amongst other required elements) is using indoor growing facilities to produce cannabis. The cost is typically much higher but
so too the quality potential, which results in a premium priced end product. So, the questions is, what type of lighting is best to produce quality cannabis? The answers have been debated by growers for as long as supplemental lighting has been introduced. From High-Intensity Discharge (HID) options like high pressure sodium lights (HPS) and metal halide (MH), to light emitting ceramics like CMH and CDMS, to light emitting diodes (LED’s), the options are nearly limitless. So, what makes sense/cents for your environment? The higher energy options that may produce more volume but require tighter controls and more space between the plant and lighting or lights that keep the cost of your electricity down while producing an equally premium bud. It depends on your growing facility and how much it can sustain the outer weather elements that can have a direct impact on your interior grow environments. There are so many variables to producing quality cannabis and lighting can certainly impact your end product. Whether it be volume, cannabinoids, terpenes, the energy emitted from light impacts the photosynthesis; the conversion of carbon dioxide, water, and minerals into oxygen and the ultimate compound of the flower. Research what works best for your environment, pocketbook, and the overall quality of cannabis you wish to produce.
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