Culture Magazine Bakersfield March 2017 by Culture Magazine

MARCH 2017 iReadCULTURE.com

iReadCULTURE.com MARCH 2017

contents

inside

2.2017

CULTURE M

Publisher Jeremy Zachary Editor-In-Chief Evan Senn associate Editor Ashley Bennett managing Editor Jamie Solis

Editorial Contributors Matthew Abel, Benjamin Adams, Sheryll Alexander, Marguerite Arnold, Jake Browne, Cole Garrison, Jasen T. Davis, Alex Distefano, David Downs, Keira Fae, Natasha Guimond, Addison Herron-Wheeler, Pamela Jayne, M. Jay, Heather Johnson, Kevin Longrie, Emily Manke, Meital Manzuri, Sandy Moriarty, Madison Ortiz, Denise Pollicella, R. Scott Rappold, Paul Rogers, Ed Rosenthal, Lanny Swerdlow, Jefferson Van Billiard, Simon Weedn, Laurie Wolf, Zara Zhi Photographers Kristen Angelo, Steve Baker, Kristopher Christensen, John Gilhooley, Joel Meaders, Tonya Perme, JosuĂŠ Rivas Art Director Steven Myrdahl

feature 10

production manager Tommy LaFleur Graphic Designer Tanya Delgadillo

Tackling the Issue The city of Arvin re-evaluates its approach to regulate cannabis cultivation.

departments 6 News Nuggets 7 By the Numbers 14 News of the Weird

12 Strain & Concentrate Reviews

sales director Justin Olson bakersfield Jon Bookatz sales manager Account Executives Greg Borland, Alex Brizicky, Eric Bulls, Kim Cook Beau Odom, Gloria Santiago, Garry Stalling, Chris Walker, Vic Zaragoza general Manager Iris Norsworthy Office Assistant Angelina Thompson digital content manager David Edmundson Ctv Contributors Quinn Marie Intern Kiara Manns Distribution Manager Cruz Bobadilla

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NEWS

nuggets

Kern County Supervisors Seek Tougher Regulations for “Spice” Almost two years ago, Kern County Supervisors established strict regulations over the synthetic drug meant to replicate cannabis, called “spice.” Now they are continuing this mission further, asking health officials to find ways to enforce the existing rules. In September 2015, the county passed an ordinance giving health officials authority to revoke health permits of any facility found selling spice. Spice is comprised of both plant material and chemical additives, so it is not uncommon for those under its influence to experience negative side effects such as hallucinations, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, kidney damage and failure and more. Officials have noted that the use of spice has risen, so they have decided to take further action. In January alone, the county received seven new complaints about the drug. Health officials will continue to inspect local stores for any presence of the substance. “If something poses an imminent health risk, we can immediately close the facility,” explained Assistant Public Health Director Brynn Carrigan. “And, we feel that spice poses an imminent health risk, as well.” (Kiara Manns)

Hanford City Council Considers Medical Cannabis Tax Medical cannabis has been a hot topic in Hanford since the owner of the Purple Heart Patient Center wrote a letter to the Hanford City Council about his interest in opening up an indoor medical cannabis cultivation and processing business in the city. Since then, city officials have gone great lengths to better understand what benefits and downfalls are involved with regulating such businesses. During a February 21 council meeting, although the city’s agenda set out to discuss “An agreement for the reimbursement of costs associated with the preparation of an ordinance and permits for Commercial Cannabis Activities in the City of Hanford,” no decision regarding the tax was made. Instead, Community Development Director of Hanford, Darlene Mata, explained that local tax increases must be approved by voters. “On February 21, there was discussion about the tax. It was just a discussion item, and the city council essentially was told that a general tax had to be on a general election and a special tax would have a special election.” The next general election is not being held until November 2018, so if Hanford would like to get the tax implemented sooner, the tax would have to benefit a specific purpose, which in this case would be public safety.

Paso Robles Makes Preparations for Recreational Cannabis The Paso Robles City Council voted unanimously on February 21 to tighten restrictions on smoking cannabis and cigarettes in public. A public hearing on the ordinance was first introduced to the council in early February. While the Council Agenda Report outlined the reasons for wanting to restrict tobacco smoking laws in public areas, it also had a large focus on concerns over public consumption of cannabis following the passing of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) this past November. The concern from officials like Robert Burton, Chief of Police, who also introduced the ordinance, was that Prop. 64, also known as AUMA, didn’t go into enough detail in its prohibition of public consumption of cannabis. “AUMA states that it shall not be construed to permit smoking or ingesting marijuana in any public place or in places where smoking tobacco is prohibited, but it does not define ‘public places.’” The agenda continued by explaining that Paso Robles is currently the only city in San Luis Obispo County with loose smoking restrictions. The ordinance will now “amend Chapter 9.41 of the municipal code to expand certain smoking restrictions and expressly prohibit smoking marijuana in public places.”

MARCH 2017 iReadCULTURE.com

NEWS

The amount of money, in billions of dollars, that the global medical cannabis market is expected to make by 2025: (Source: Grand View Research, Inc.)

55.8

The estimated number of people who attended The Hemp & Cannabis Fair in Bakersfield in February: (Source: Bakersfield Now)

2,000

The amount of money, in millions of dollars, that Israel-based company Cannabi-Tech Ltd. received from a recent seed investment: (Source: Globes)

The amount of money, in thousands of dollars, that Minnesota’s medical cannabis agency needs to fund a patient database and inspections of the state’s medical cannabis manufacturers: (Source: KARE 11)

500

The amount of money, in thousands of dollars, that Alaska collected in cannabis taxes in December (Source: Juneau Empire) 2016:

145.8

Kern County Scottish Games & Gathering WHAT: Kern County Scottish Games & Gathering. WHEN/WHERE: Sat, March 25. Kern County Fairgrounds, 1142 South St., Bakersfield. INFO: Visit www.kernscot.org for more information. Get ready to celebrate the start of spring at this traditional Scottish celebration. Begin your day by visiting the Tea Room, and for those who want to kick it up a notch, indulge in a round of Scotch tasting or a cold brew. For those who want to get down to authentic tunes, traditional Celtic music and Celtic rock bands are going to keep spirits lifted. All the tasty drinks and highenergy dancing is sure to work up your

appetite—be sure to grab a banger or haggi. One of the most exciting aspects of the Kern County Scottish Games & Gathering is, of course, the games! Watch as women and men compete in Scottish competitions like caber throwing. There will also be pipe bands and drummers competing, in addition to other themed contests. Gather all your friends, and make memories at this Scottish gathering.

iReadCULTURE.com MARCH 2017

Presenting Possibilities Recreational cannabis cultivation is being considered in Arvin

by Jamie Solis

ow that the future of recreational cannabis in California will prove to be the most profitable of any recreational cannabis state yet, cities and counties everywhere are making considerations on how to cash in on the profits. During a regular meeting of the Arvin City Council on February 7, the council invited Cannabis Compliance Director at HdL Companies, David McPherson, to give a presentation on the future possibilities of recreational cannabis businesses in the city. CULTURE was able to speak with McPherson about his presentation to the Arvin City Council. McPherson shared that city officials reached out to his company after Prop. 64 passed because they wanted more insight into the possibility of regulating indoor cannabis cultivation. The council wanted to take the proactive approach in considering whether recreational cannabis cultivation was an important topic to discuss with the community. McPherson educated the council during his presentation on all aspects of the impacts that legal cannabis will have and has had in California. The presentation started by covering

MARCH 2017 iReadCULTURE.com

paradigm shifts and cultural changes, highlighting how cannabis decriminalization has been changing the public’s perception of the plant for the past 20 years. Some of the most important topics covered in the presentation gave the council and community insight into the regulations of California’s Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA) and Prop. 64. McPherson shared what local controls communities hold, as well as challenges communities often face. Public consumption, banking issues, taxes, state and local licensing and permitting, projected profits and other valuable insight was all provided to the Arvin City Council throughout McPherson’s thorough presentation. Following McPherson’s very informative presentation, the council decided to take the next step toward creating a regulatory framework for cannabis cultivation. “Arvin City Council gave the administration direction to go ahead and pursue doing some sort of stakeholder meetings with the community, specifically though that their interests were primarily on cultivation, not necessarily any of the other types of [cannabis business] activities,” McPherson stated. “They wanted to focus on that since they are an agriculture community, and

Arvin City Council gave the administration direction to go ahead and pursue doing some sort of stakeholder meetings with the community, specifically though that their interests were primarily on cultivation, not necessarily any of the other types of [cannabis business] activities. their environment is more focused on agriculture, without having any other dispensaries or [other types of cannabis businesses] in town.” McPherson’s company, HdL Companies, specializes in cannabis consulting services in California. He explained how instrumental his company has been for many communities across The Golden State. “We represent 400 cities and counties in California, and we have right now about 60 or 70 of our clients that have requested us to help them at some level evaluating their situations . . .” HdL Companies helped communities get 12 measures on the November 2016 ballot. Among other accomplishments, HdL Companies has done about 30 workshops where they shared information with local governments, like Arvin, that were looking into the possibility of regulating cannabis on some level. c

iReadCULTURE.com MARCH 2017

REVIEWs

strain & concentrate

Gifted Extracts Phantom OG

Available at: Organic Calloway Center in Bakersfield.

The geniuses behind Gifted Extracts must have known that our offices had a lot of birthdays this month when they “gifted” us with one of the cleanest amber waxes we’ve seen in a while. This concentrate was packed full of flavor and strong enough to ease the sharpest of chronic pains, joint aches and even anorexia, without leaving patients “foggy headed” or heading to bed early. This is a gift that just keeps on giving, and it is great for a variety of different patients. Head over to Organic Calloway Center to add this strain to your medicine cabinet.

V&G Bomb

Available at: V&G Collective in Bakersfield.

Most of the time, the “house” selection of anything can be one of two things. One being a product of lesser quality available at a lower cost, the other is the superior product so trusted that the dispensary puts its own reputation behind it. Thankfully for us, V&G Collective chose to go with the better option and make its perfectly powerful indica its selected house strain. Classic and true, the V&G Bomb stays true to its namesake—it really is “the bomb,” while it also provides the ideal effects for any patient with aches, pains, worries or illness. This Bomb helped reviewers counter insomnia and chronic pains, with some light euphoria thrown in there just for the hell of it.

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Cookies In Europe and England, a cookie is a biscuit and a biscuit is a cracker. In the good ole U.S. of A., we call cookies cookies, and to further confuse the world, we now have these beautiful flowers trying to steal the sugary spotlight, in addition to the name. Equal parts relaxing and euphoric with a scent profile that’s sweet enough to trick you into consuming more than you wanted, these Cookies quickly become the only Cookie you’ll want to know intimately. Just make sure you have enough of the other cookies . . . or biscuits, as this is sure to stimulate your appetite. Phantom Pharm in Bakersfield has the pantry stocked and ready.

MARCH 2017 iReadCULTURE.com

Available at: Phantom Pharm in Bakersfield.

REVIEWs Available at: CNE in Bakersfield.

Obama Purp If we had to rate this hybrid we’d give it a 44/44 every time. Leading the free world in change and diversity by combining the popular Afghani and OG Kush strains respectively, Obama Purp will leave you suspended somewhere between needing a nap and wanting to clean up your house, or congress. Coming in tight little bundles of flowery colors and smelling of fresh picked spring berries, be prepared for a pleasant assault on your nostrils as well as your lungs without having to break the bank paying taxes to “the man.” CNE in Bakersfield is getting everyone fired up with its Obama Purp strain. Go and get yours today!

Available at: Sweet Leaf Organics in Bakersfield.

Pre ‘98 Bubba The year was 1998, and many things were different. Titanic was setting box office records, France became World Cup champions, and the first Harry Potter book was being released. The decade also brought us one of the oldest and most celebrated strains among indicas and people began seeking the classic body euphoria effects associated with this strain. Reviewers reported very little “couch lock” or hunger sensations while consuming bubba’s leafy flowers. Instead, expect more of a giddy and uplifting effect lasting more than a few hours. Sweet Leaf Organics in Bakersfield puts the Kush in Y2K. iReadCULTURE.com MARCH 2017

Chuck Shepherd's

News of the

Weird LEAD STORY—WORK OF A RESEARCHER u “Field work is always challenging,” explained Courtney Marneweck of South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal in a recent journal article, but studying the sociology of a white rhino’s dung meant developing a “pattern-recognition algorithm” to figure out “smell profiles” of 150 animals’ feces— after tracking them individually to observe them in the act. Wrote Marneweck, “I think my record for waiting for a rhino to poo was 7 1/2 hours.” Conclusion: Rhinos use feces to send distinct social signals on genetically compatible herds, mating access and predator dangers. (Or, in the Los Angeles Times “clickbait” version of the story, rhino dung “has a lot in common with a Facebook post.”) THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS u “Retiring” the Herd: Settlement of a classaction lawsuit against a group of dairy co-ops was announced in January with milk producers agreeing to pay $52 million on charges they had conspired to fix the dairy supply for years to get top-dollar prices. Among the producers’ primary tactics, allegedly, was using what the industry calls “herd

retirement,” which is “retirement” only in the sense that 500,000 healthy young cows were slaughtered—just to drive up prices by eliminating otherwise-available milk. The $52 million will be for consumers in 15 states and Washington, D.C. u Wrist-Slapping: (1) Rutgers University Athletic Director Pat Hobbs, responding to the NCAA’s announcement of violations against the school’s sports programs (including failure to penalize 16 football players who tested positive for drugs), told the Asbury Park Press in January that he would immediately dismiss from teams any player testing positive for hard drugs—upon the fourth violation (if for cannabis only, upon the fifth). (2) In January, the Russian parliament voted 380 to 3 to amend its assault law to allow a spouse one punishment-by-”ticketing” (i.e., not criminal) for domestic violence against his partner—provided the bodily harm was not “substantial” and that it happens no more than once a year. UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT u The “Virtuous Pedophile”: Gary Gibson, 65, of Chiloquin, Oregon, admits he is sexually attracted to little girls but never acts on his urges, and therefore, demands that people get off his case. He formed the Association for Sexual Abuse Prevention, campaigning, he says, to keep children safe from other pedophiles whose self-restraint may not match his. Gibson describes himself as a “normal, everyday

MARCH 2017 iReadCULTURE.com

person,” married to a British nurse (whom he met via a Christian singles organization), and has three children and 10 grandchildren—none so far molested (though in an interview, London’s The Sun allowed him to explain his side of various edgy events of his life, such as his having moved for a while to the South Pacific, where little girls sometimes played naked). WAIT, WHAT? u Surgery on a 16-yearold Japanese girl, reported in January by New Scientist, revealed that her ovary contained a miniature skull and brain. Doctors say that finding rogue brain cells in ovaries is not that uncommon, but that an already-organized brain, capable of transmitting electric impulses, is almost unheard-of. u The neonatal intensive care unit of Texas Health Fort Worth disclosed in January that the secret to keeping the most fragile prematurely born babies alive is to quickly stick them into Ziploc freezer bags to create, according to a clinician, a “hot house effect.” (It turns out that merely raising the temperature in the delivery room had only marginal effect.) LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATOR u Doughnut lovers have legitimately mused for years how U.S. law could condemn, say, cannabis, yet permit Krispy Kreme to openly sell its seemingly addictive sugary delights on America’s streets. Sonia Garcia, 51, realized a while back that residents of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, so much needed Krispy

Kreme fixes that she earns a handsome living running a black market from El Paso, Texas, bringing in 40 boxes at a time and re-selling from the trunk of her car at a 60 percent markup, pointing out to a Los Angeles Times reporter in January that her trafficking has already put one son through engineering school. (Mexico City now has Krispy Kremes, but apparently the company’s distribution system cannot yet vanquish Sonia Garcia’s car.) CAN’T POSSIBLY BE TRUE u Reporting from Mbyo, Rwanda, in January on the success of a “reconciliation” program following the country’s bloody genocidal wars, London’s The Guardian found, for example, Laurencia Niyogira living peacefully and forgivingly alongside neighbor Tasian Nkundiye—even though, 22 years ago, Nkundiye murdered Niyogira’s entire family (except for her and her siblings, left barely alive). (Over a 100-day span in 1994, 800,000 ethnic Tutsis were systematically slaughtered by Hutus.) A survey by the country’s national unity commission showed that 92 percent of Rwandans have come to accept reconciliation. LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS u Driver Joshua Concepcion-West, 27, was arrested in Apopka, Florida, with an ingenious license-plate cover that he could raise and lower remotely from his key chain (thus avoiding identification by cameras as he passed through turnpike checkpoints). On Jan. 11 at a $1.25 toll plaza,

he had neglected to check his rear-view mirror before lowering the cover—and failed to notice that right behind him was a Florida Highway Patrol car with a trooper watching the whole thing. u Lamest Criminal Defense Ever: Substitute teacher Pete Garcia Hernandez, 49, was arrested in Houston in January and charged with three counts of indecency with a child, involving girls at Looscan Elementary School. The girls had reported earlier that Hernandez had kissed them each on the mouth, but police investigators quoted Hernandez as calling it all an “accident,” that “he was speaking close with them and his tongue accidentally went into their mouth(s).” PERSPECTIVE u Right to Be Grumpy: Trader Joe’s has gained popularity among grocery shoppers in large part by having relentlessly sunny employees, but now that the firm has expanded from mellower California to more brusque New York City, it is learning that cheerfulness is harder to find. The company fired Thomas Nagle recently because, though he said he frequently smiled, he was told his smile was insufficiently “genuine,” and, backed by several colleagues, he has filed an unfair labor practice charge (and union organizers have taken notice). The National Labor Relations Board has already ruled (against another employer) that workers cannot be forced to convey that allimportant “positive work environment” because they are entitled to have grievances.

THE PASSING PARADE u (1) Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania (pop. 4,300), rarely makes the news, thus allowing it to avoid questions about its awkward name (since it is (a) landlocked and (b) 100 miles from New Jersey). (In January, local residents were disturbed about the odor of a farm’s prematurely ripening radishes.) (2) Scientists at Spain’s University of Barcelona announced they had reduced the fear of death in some of their 32 research participants by exposing them (using artificial intelligence Oculus Rift headsets) to out-ofbody experiences so that they could see and feel themselves “alive” even when they are not actually present. A NEWS OF THE WEIRD CLASSIC (APRIL 2013) u Undocumented immigrant Jose Munoz, 25, believed himself an ideal candidate for President Obama’s 2012 initiative for children, in that he had been brought to the United States by his undocumented parents before age 16, had no criminal record, and had graduated from high school (with honors, even). Since graduation, however, he had stayed at his parents’ home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, jobless, unenterprisingly “vegging,” making it difficult to prove the final requirement of the law: that he had lived continuously in the U.S. since graduation (since just lying around the house leaves no paper trail). After initial frustrations, Munoz finally proved his residency by submitting his Xbox Live records documenting that his computer’s Wisconsin location had been accessing video games, daily, year after year.

iReadCULTURE.com MARCH 2017