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contents Vol 8 IssUE 10
04.17
Hunter and his beloved 1971 Chevrolet Impala at his home on Owl Farm in Aspen.
h t y M , n Ma d n e g e L and
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On the COVER:
Fascinating and unique, Hunter S. Thompson astonished the world with his brilliantly written works and advocacy as he sought to represent the many different iterations of the “American Dream� through his work.
p h o t o b y Ne a le H a y n e s
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contents
inside
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130 features
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High Holy Day Happenings From a how-to guide about titration to a Cannasseur Bucket List that will spark creative new endeavors in your future, this 420 is going to be the best holiday yet.
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A Plant of Peace Cannabis churches are embracing unity and spirituality with the sacred herb.
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Holistic Health Professional athletes and fitness gurus continue to embrace the natural approach to living healthy with cannabis.
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Industry Insider Businessman and activist Andrew DeAngelo has made his mark on the cannabis industry.
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Mighty Medicine Young William Ross and his family have received approval from their Mormon Bishop to embrace medical cannabis as a treatment for William’s epilepsy.
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Life of an Artist RISK brings vibrancy and individuality to the graffiti art scene.
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Divine Melodies Singer Angel Olsen is quickly rising up the musical ladder with her unique vocals and kismet marriage of musical styles.
departments news
Online Exclusive!
18 News Nuggets 20 By the Numbers 24 Local News
reviews
118 Dispensary
Highlight 120 Company Highlight 122 Advocate Highlight 124 Cool Stuff 128 Entertainment Reviews 130 Strain, Edible & Concentrate Reviews
in every issue
160 Growing Culture
162 Destination Unknown 164 Profile in Courage 166 Recipes 172 News of the Weird
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d Colombia Soon to Begin
Legally Producing Cannabis d Recreational Cannabis Up for
Debate in Illinois
Vol 8 IssUE 10
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CULTURE M
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Publisher Jeremy Zachary Editor-In-Chief Jamie Solis associate Editor Ashley Bennett creative consultant Evan Senn Editorial coordinator Benjamin Adams 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, Joe Jatcko Kevin Longrie, Emily Manke, Meital Manzuri, Jameson McCloud 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, Josué Rivas Art Director Steven Myrdahl production manager Tommy LaFleur Graphic Designer Payden Cobern, Tanya Delgadillo sales director Justin Olson regional manager Cole Garrison Account Executives Jon Bookatz, 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 Intern Kiara Manns Distribution Manager Cruz Bobadilla Culture® Magazine is published every month and distributes magazines at over 600 locations throughout the Bay area. No articles, illustrations, photographs, or other matter within may be reproduced without written permission. Culture® Magazine is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.
2175 Sampson Ave. | Suite 118 Corona | California | 92879 Phone 888.694.2046 | Fax 888.694.2046 www.iReadCulture.com
CULTURE® Magazine is printed using post-recycled paper.
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/freeculturemag
/iReadCulture
/iReadCulture
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NEWS
nuggetS Sacramento City Council Finalizes Licensing Fees for Commercial Cannabis Cultivators
The Sacramento City Council has finalized local licensing fees for up to 200 cannabis grows that will soon appear in the city’s industrialized zones. This also means that the city council will begin accepting applications sometime this month. First-year fees are set at $9,700 for indoor grows with up to 5,000 square feet and $28,910 for facilities of up to 22,000 square feet. (Those fees drop to a range of $8,240 to $26,630 for the second year.) Sacramento’s Mayor Darrel Steinberg shared his support for the local licensing fees at a March city council meeting. “I think what we’re doing tonight . . . is really just the beginning,” Mayor Steinberg said. “I want us to be really proactive and upfront about where we want to go. I think there is a tremendous revenue opportunity for us—and jobs, potentially high-wage jobs. But we want to do it right.” Prospective cultivation license holders can soon begin the application process. The city hopes to raise $6.3 million in cannabis tax revenue over the next three years, once legally permitted cannabis businesses begin to operate.
Ohio Increases Limit on Medical Cannabis Dispensaries Ohio’s State Pharmacy Board proposed a revision of the state’s current medical cannabis rules, which would increase the limit of dispensaries from the current 40-dispensary cap. The new rule would raise the number of allowed provisional licenses on medical cannabis dispensaries to 60 until September 8, 2018. Additionally, the board could use its discretion to permit additional provisional licenses after September 9, 2018 if the state’s population, patient population and geographic location support it, according to the proposal text. Dispensaries would also be allowed to stay open for an additional two hours within the window of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Home delivery however will not be permitted. Although the board has received public comment about the rule proposal, regulations regarding patients, physicians and cannabis product processors are still being considered.
Yolo County Experiments with All-Encompassing Cannabis Tracking System Yolo County has established a new pilot field-to-storefront tracking system that is designed to train cannabis producers how to label, register and ship their products. The county is one of a few local governments in California that is currently taking the initiative with the statewide “track-and-trace” program. Yolo County signed a $30,000 contract with SICPA, a Swiss security firm that is developing the tracking technology. Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner John Young is confident that the pilot will yield positive results for the local industry. “SICPA’s solution will allow Yolo officials to document a forensic trail across the medical cannabis supply chain, from cultivator to dispensary, enabling government regulators and law enforcement to accurately track products, and identify and reduce the distribution and sale of illegal cannabis,” Young said. “By tracking the entire supply chain of cannabis, from plant to final product, the system will further enable the patient community to identify and confirm medical cannabis originating from Yolo County has been legitimately sourced and properly tested.” A similar Humboldt County tracking pilot program began with 10 cultivators. Humboldt’s “track-and-trace” program ended February 28, and it led to 30,000 stamps placed on 1,800 pounds of cannabis product on its way to 47 different cities.
South African Agency Publishes Medical Cannabis Guidelines Draft The Medicines Control Council (MCC) published a draft of guidelines that cover medical cannabis cultivation and production in South Africa. “This guideline represents the Medicines Control Council’s current thinking on the measures required to be in place to ensure that quality products are cultivated and harvested and made available to patients when prescribed by an authorized prescriber/physician,” according to the MCC’s recently proposed guidelines. The guidelines provide extensive details about safety and security requirements, such as distinguishing hemp from medical cannabis and mandating that prospective medical cannabis cultivators obtain a license from the Department of Health. There is no cap on the number of licenses that the MCC can issue. However, the International Narcotics Control Board will control the total quantity of medical cannabis that is grown in South Africa. Currently, the MCC has only registered one product that contains synthetic CBD. 18
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The approximate number of cannabis cultivation sites that participated in the Humboldt County pilot “track-and-trace” program: (Source: Times-Standard)
150
The projected amount of cannabis, in pounds, that a single Oaklandbased cannabis cultivation center estimates that it could produce in a single year:
2,200
(Source: San Francisco Business Times)
The approximate amount of medical cannabis, in pounds, that was tracked through the Humboldt County pilot “trackand-trace” program: (Source: Times-Standard)
1,800
The number of Sacramento City Council votes, out of nine, that were in favor of lifting a moratorium on cannabis businesses in Sacramento: (Source: ABC10)
8
The percentage of people who voted in favor of Measure A, which establishes a business tax on the cultivation and sale of recreational and medical cannabis in unincorporated areas of Sonoma County:
72.4
(Source: CBS SF Bay Area)
The number of Canadians who were registered to purchase medical cannabis from licensed caregivers as of December 2016: (Source:
The percentage of Americans who support federally legalizing cannabis for medical purposes if prescribed by a physician: (Source: Inc.)
129,876
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CTV News Kitchener) The number of farmers who were granted preliminary medical cannabis cultivation licenses in Israel in midMarch: (Source: The Jerusalem Post)
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The number of medical cannabis patients who were registered in New Jersey during 2016: (Source: NJ.gov)
4,735
Cannabis Health Summit WHAT: Cannabis Health Summit 2017. WHEN/WHERE: Sat, May 6-Sun, May 7. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Virtual access granted upon online registration. INFO: Visit www.learngreenflower.com for details. Expand your current knowledge of cannabis with a virtual learning experience at the online Cannabis Health Summit. Hosted by Green Flower, the live-stream event offers its audience some of the best access and information in the cannabis industry with the option of participating from their own home or from any location in the world. Regarded by some as the “TED Talks of Cannabis,” the event has previously brought in more than 20 leading professionals of the cannabis industry to educate enthusiasts like never before. The Cannabis Health Summit looks to spread awareness about the various 20
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ways the typically misunderstood cannabis plant offers advancements in the fields of medicine and science. Industry professionals such as Steve DeAngelo, Eugene Monroe and Gay Hendricks will share exactly how cannabis can be used as a method for treating a wide variety of health conditions. Presentations will include topics on cannabis dosing strategy, treating cancer with cannabis and an analysis on cannabinoids. Reap the benefits and learning opportunities from this free event without the traditional hassles of travel and hotel booking! (Kiara Manns)
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NEWS
LOCAL
Cannabis Film Festival
Workplace Protection
City of Oakland bans job discrimination for past cannabis consumption by Benjamin M. Adams
T
he city of Oakland will no longer bar prospective employees for past consumption of cannabis. Given the growing acceptance of cannabis, legislation regarding cannabis use was introduced declaring that non-work-related cannabis consumption will no longer qualify as grounds for rejection for a job with the city of Oakland. The resolution was introduced by Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. The measure was unanimously passed by the Finance Committee and was then passed by the Oakland City Council at a meeting on March 21. Kaplan cited overwhelming disparity among people of color, especially African Americans who are disproportionately affected by cannabis-related discrimination. Kaplan set out to end the outdated and discriminatory practice that persists within city hall. “I’ve been involved in the cannabis legalization and regulation effort for over a decade now,” Kaplan told CULTURE. “And it seems only right that we would not reject job applicants for something that we say is not a crime.” Kaplan was originally elected for Oakland City Council in 2008, and she was swiftly reelected in both 2012 and 2016. Her approach toward this issue is clear and simple. “What [my resolution] would mean is that when the
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city of Oakland is doing hiring for city positions, it would not be allowed to reject applicants on the basis of non-work-related cannabis use,” Kaplan explained. “So I think it’s really important for Oakland, which has 3,000 employees. So this policy change affects thousands of people.” Kaplan noted that Oakland has a long history in leading cannabis laws through some of the region’s first permitted medical cannabis dispensaries in 2004 and the nation’s first established cannabis taxes in 2009. Kaplan noted that she wants to continue to see the city embrace cannabis with open arms. “On an issue like employee discrimination, we should be in the lead, both for the people that are impacted in Oakland, but also in the hopes that others will copy this. People need to talk about it.” Oakland has made cannabis crimes the lowest priority for over a decade, but the disparity is still as strong as ever. “Oakland does not drug test people for government benefits, as they do in republican-dominated states, otherwise I would be introducing legislation to put a stop to it,” Kaplan said. “We already don’t. When you drug test for public benefits, jobs and when you interview people about past drug use, it’s a big waste of time a personnel. And it perpetuates racial injustice.” Kaplan hopes that others will follow her initiative. She explained how many other local jurisdictions throughout the country as well as the federal government reject job applications for non-work-related cannabis consumption. “It’s a much bigger problem than Oakland, and it’s my hope to make it clear that this needs to be solved,” Kaplan said. “Voting for adult use legalization makes it all the more clear that it’s not a wrongful act.” California voters passed Proposition 64 last November, which legalized cannabis for all adults over the age of 21. The city of Oakland is one of the first to update its laws to reflect the will of California voters, as the majority approved the measure last November. c
Moviegoers and cannabis lovers alike are all invited to experience the film festival that is making strides in the de-stigmatization of the cannabis culture and industry. The third annual event will be hosted at the Roxie Theater, which resides in the Mission District of San Francisco. The two-day screening will feature documentaries and short films that detail the various aspects of cannabis in society. These pieces look to put a spotlight on ways to deal with the rapidly changing environment as well as the growing acceptance among the public. The Cannabis Film Festival pulls in professionals from every corner of the cinematic world including directors, producers, actors, entrepreneurs, vendors and the community for two days of celebration and appreciation for the art of film and advancements in cannabis. The festival opens its arms to both newcomers and veterans of cinema, so be sure to get involved if the unique opportunity calls to you. (Kiara Manns) WHAT: Cannabis Film Festival. WHEN/WHERE: Wed, April 26-Thurs, April 27. Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., San Francisco. INFO: Visit filmfreeway.com/festival/ TheCannabisFilmFestival for details.
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420
illustrations by Payden Cobern
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titration guide //
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By David Edmundson
CULTURE
420
Know Your Limits
“You can always take more to increase the sensation, but you can’t un-smoke that entire joint.”
A titration guide for the first-time cannabis consumer
E
ven the most seasoned of cannabis aficionados had to start somewhere. With cannabis becoming even more popular in the wake of the mass legalizations across the country, more and more people are trying cannabis for the first time. But how much should you take? Titration is the fundamental understanding of proper cannabis dosing. The biggest mistake a first-time cannabis consumer can commit is to overmedicate. This can lead to an unpleasant experience that might dissuade the consumer from future cannabis use or for medical consumers, not treating the ailment appropriately. So how do you know how much is enough? The best advice is to start out small and grow to your
desired effect, or consult a medical professional for exact recommended doses. You can always take more to increase the sensation, but you can’t un-smoke that entire joint. The only ways to feel less effects are to either wait it out or try to counteract the psychoactive effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) with some cannabidiol (CBD) or rescue tonic. When starting out, there are a lot of factors to consider, and it would be a good idea to consult an expert; either a reputable dispensary, doctor or a friend who is a seasoned cannabis consumer. Other factors to consider are what strain you are consuming, your body make-up and how you will consume cannabis. It’s the last part that we will be focusing on, because how you consume cannabis will greatly change how you monitor your cannabis intake.
Inhalation
S
moking cannabis has been the timetested, golden standard for consuming cannabis for centuries. Whether you roll it into a joint or put it into a water pipe, smoking cannabis is far and away the most popular method of consumption. To start, light your joint, the cannabis in your bubbler or inhale on your vape pen; inhale as much as is comfortable. At first, you will only be able to inhale a small amount, but don’t try to overdo it your fist time. If you really want to hammer down your dosage, try to be consistent in your pulls. Aim for between five and
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10 seconds per hit. Vape pens make the process even easier, by removing fire from the equation. It’s less about the risk of flame, as it is trying to find a lighter when you need it. Vape pens work by heating cannabis oil that you then inhale. There is a bit of a learning curve
the first time you use a pen, some have a button and others are activated simply by inhaling. Often times they come in two pieces; the battery and the oil cartridge. As far as dosing is concerned, you can follow the instructions used when consuming flower cannabis, with the caveat that most vape pens use concentrated oil that will
affect you differently than flower. In essence, you hit it the same, but the amount of hits may differ. After your inhale, wait 10-15 minutes to see how it affects you, and repeat the process until you reach the desired effect. Keep track of how your mind and body react to each inhale. Remember that everyone is different, and you don’t need to “keep up” with anyone.
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Edibles
E
dibles are classified as any form of cannabis intended to be consumed through eating or drinking. There are many people who do not like smoking or cannot smoke due to lung or throat issues, who find that consuming edibles allows them to get the desired effects without inhaling anything. The downside to edibles is that they are a lot slower acting than
smoking cannabis. The good news is that most edibles you purchase from a dispensary will
have the dose, usually in milligrams, on the package. For the purpose of this article, let’s say you have a 10mg brownie. Start by eating a quarter of the brownie (which should contain 2.5mg of THC), wait 45 minutes to an hour, and if you want to continue, try eating another quarter. Repeat the process until you find your sweet spot. The first time it will take
a little time to discover how much THC you want to consume, but on future consumptions you can be a little more aggressive since you will have a better understanding of how much THC you want in your body. For reference, many doctors suggest a 5mg dose for first-timers, but Colorado has previously limited single doses of THC to increments of 10mg.
“. . . how you consume cannabis will greatly change how you monitor your cannabis intake.”
Sublingual S
ublingual means to be absorbed under the tissue of the tongue. For this, patients will typically use cannabis tinctures and essential oils. The benefit of a sublingual is that it is a very swift and effective method of delivery. This
is often the preferred method for parents to administer cannabis to children who suffer from epilepsy and take CBD to treat their seizures. It is also the hardest method to get the proper dose with. It only takes a couple
drops to reach the desired effect, so you should proceed extremely slowly or in conjunction with a health care provider. It can also be very expensive since you are dealing with highly concentrated products.
Topicals C
annabis creams, lotions and oils are very popular for managing aching joints, pains and muscles. Most topicals are for pain, and many are CBDbased; those are not psychoactive. Topical THC and CBD are absorbed into the targeted area of where you apply the product. Which means,
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whether its just CBD or THC and CBD, your topical medicine will
only effect the area it is applied to, and it will not be absorbed into other parts of the body or even the mind. This is great for athletes or individuals using it for their arthritis, who simply need to alleviate one or more areas of aggravation or irritation in the body. Regardless of your preferred method
of consumption, it is important to pay attention to your body. Like with anything you put in your body, you will develop a tolerance over time so you may find yourself increasing the amount you consume eventually. However, by repeating the steps outlined above, you should be on your way to continued enjoyment of cannabis.
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MOVIE NIGHT //
CULTURE
By David Edmundson
420
Cinema SoirÉe
How to throw the ultimate cannabis-themed movie party to celebrate 420 Cannabis and movies have gone hand-in-hand for decades. The symphony of flashing lights mixed with the elegance of cannabis makes for a match made in heaven. This 420, instead of consuming cannabis by yourself and watching Friday for the millionth time (like you did last year)—spice things up and go all out. Here are some tips and advice on how to get the most out of your 420 movie party.
Picking the Film . . . Decisions, Decisions Choosing the film is probably the most important thing to decide for your movie night. You want something that is entertaining to watch while enjoying your favorite strain of cannabis, and hopefully enjoying the company of someone special. Normally, we would recommend a classic like Cheech and Chong: Up in Smoke, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Friday or Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. But this year, maybe try something new. Put in a film that will tickle your visual perceptions like Inception, Smiley Face, Fantasia, Doctor Strange or Manos: The Hands of Fate, and enjoy the crazy visuals that are sure to be enhanced by your euphoric state of mind.
It’s Not a Movie Night without Snacks Now let’s work on your snack game. Of course you’re going to want to eat popcorn during the film—you’re not a savage. This time though, try 36
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substituting the normal butter for cannabutter to enhance the mood. You can find a cannabutter recipe on ireadculture.com, and it’s easy to make. If you prefer to munch on a savory treat, then whip up some fully-loaded, cannabis-infused nachos. Sprinkle chopped tomatoes and onions with cannabis oil and lots of cheese on top of your chips before heating them up in the oven. Be sure to top your nachos with fresh canna-guacamole and sour cream. These snacks are sure to enhance your movie experience.
No One Wants to Sit on Your Folding Chairs An underappreciated aspect of any good movie night is comfort. If your butt is on an uncomfortable chair or on the floor, your enjoyment will be hampered. Maximize couch space, and if you have to utilize the floor or other hard surfaces, put oversized pillows or thick blankets down. Maybe turn the floor in your living room into an impromptu hookah lounge
by offering unlimited options for comfortable seating like bean bag chairs and padded ottomans.
Phones Off Ever wonder why you have such a better experience at the movie theater? Because you are trapped, in a good way, for the duration of the film. When you’re home, you can pause the film to get a drink, go to the bathroom or check your phone. Instagram can wait, and you can read all about the worst Tinder profiles when the movie is over. While the film is playing, enjoy it!
Dim the Lights Nothing sets the mood like dimming the lights. If you’re with someone special, it signals “come over here and get comfortable.” If you’re in a party setting it means, “shut up bro, we’re watching a movie!” The only lights you should see are the flashing ones on the screen and the glowing ones coming from the joints and vape pens.
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bucket list
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CULTURE
420
follow the green dream
A list of cannabis-related things to do, see and accomplish for every aficionado Between visiting iconic locations to participating in epic sessions, cannabis consumers will love crossing every item off CULTURE’s Cannasseur Bucket List at some point in their lives. 40
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Sincere hopes and ambitious dreams belong to even the most seasoned cannabis consumer. Make a pact to become more adventurous, and start checking these places to go and things to do off your cannasseur bucket list! You will surely make some great memories while living the dream.
Join the 420 “Mile High Club.”
Tour a large-scale cannabis cultivation facility.
Smoke a joint with Cheech and Chong.
Build a house out of hemp.
Visit Amsterdam’s first cannabis coffee shop, The Bulldog No. 90.
Consume some cannabis before a whale watching tour.
Go to the Louvre after eating an edible and gaze at the Mona Lisa.
Smoke cannabis with your boss.
Attend a cannabis rally on April 20.
Successfully argue why cannabis is not a “gateway drug” to a skeptic.
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Germinate and plant all those seeds you’ve been saving for years.
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Try out ganjayoga.
Read The Emperor Wears No Clothes: Hemp and the Marijuana Conspiracy by Jack Herer.
Shotgun a hit with your true love.
Exercise at a cannabis gym like Power Plant Fitness in San Francisco.
Write to a senator and demand medical or recreational cannabis rights in your state.
Smoke cannabis as a passenger in a hot air balloon.
Visit Nimbin, Australia to enjoy the legal cannabis scene.
Come out to your family about your personal cannabis consumption.
Smoke the Northern Lights strain under The Northern Lights.
Attend a cannabisthemed wedding.
Smoke the Durban Poison strain in Durban, South Africa.
Smoke cannabis in beautiful Negril, Jamaica.
Hotbox a tent while camping.
Smoke cannabis with a priest or a rabbi.
Consume some cannabis at a live concert.
Learn to bake the best cannabis brownies.
Smoke or eat cannabis in every legal state in the country.
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DIY //
By Nicole Potter
1 of 3
CULTURE
420
Do-It-Yourself
Mix cannabis with crafting to make oneof-a-kind 420 party decorations and favors
There’s a sweet satisfaction that comes from making things with your own hands. While it is easy to go overboard by spending $100 on a craft that would cost only $20 for the same pre-made item (here’s looking at you, Pinterest), there is so much satisfaction to be gained when you choose to make something instead of buying it. 420 is all about celebrating the culture of cannabis, which means there are a few crafty projects you can work on to get excited and ready for the best day of the year. From construction paper to glitter, there’s no end to the cannabis-themed decorations and personal items that anyone can easily make.
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Instructions: 1. Measure the interior height of your chosen glass container. Cut the wick with 3-5 inches added to that length to ensure that the wick sits higher than the wax. 2. Add water to the bottom of the double boiler, about half way, and turn the heat to medium. Place the top portion of the boiler, or a glass bowl, on top of the boiling water. 3. Once hot, add your chosen wax to the empty glass bowl.
Hemp Candle Whether you’re making one large candle for yourself or multiple smaller candles as a party favor, there’s always a place for these in your home—especially when you can add hemp oil or a cannabis scent.
Things you need:
5. While the wax is still melting, dip the end of the wick in a tiny bit of wax. Wrap the wick around a pen or pencil, allowing the base of the wick to gently touch the bottom of your candle jar. This will allow it to stay in place when you begin pouring the melted wax. 6. Once the wax has completely melted, take it off the heat and let it cool briefly.
Hemp or normal wick Glass jar or container (preferable one with a wide opening to make lighting easy) Preferred wax (can be natural, beeswax or soy wax)
7. Pour the wax into the candle jar, leaving a small amount of space at the top so as to not overfill the candle.
Wooden stick or similar disposable stirring utensil
8. Let the candle sit for at least a full day before use.
Essential oils for scent and hemp oil
9. Trim the wick and enjoy your hemp candle!
Double boiler
DIY Stash Box A stash box can be made out of anything. A hollowed-out book, a repurposed jewelry box, a gaming controller with all of the parts emptied; if it keeps your cannabis secret and safe, then it’s a reliable box to stash your cannabis goods. Here’s an easy and fun way to create a stash box that shows off your flare for cannabis. 46
4. As the wax begins to melt, add in the hemp oil and essential oils for scent.
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Things you need: Medium-sized wooded box of any shape Assorted acrylic paint (or wood stain) Paint brushes Mod Podge or glue
Instructions: 1. Obtain a wooden box (this can be purchased from any craft store). 2. Choose your method of decoration (paint, stickers, photo collage, magazine clippings, wrapping paper or stain). 3. If using paint, apply your design. If staining, simply cover the entirety of the box. If making a collage, use glue or Mod Podge. 4. Wait ample time to dry and then stash away!
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Paper Cannabis Leaf Garland A party isn’t really a party at all without a few decorations. Embrace the iconic symbol of the cannabis leaf and turn it into a decorative wall, ceiling or mantle garland. This can also double as a wearable garland as well—because 420 is all about sporting cannabis culture!
Things you need:
Instructions:
Construction paper or tissue paper (green is preferred, but feel free to use other colors or patterns if desired) A cannabis leaf stencil cutout Scissors String or yarn A hole punch
1. Use your stencil to cut out desired shape of cannabis leaves. The number of leaves you cut out will depend on your choice of garland length (as well as string length). 2. Use a hole punch to either add a hole to the single tallest stem of each leaf, or two holes in the two other medium-length stems. 3. Thread the string through each hole, alternating cutouts between color and/or patterns. 4. Once finished, tie the ends of the string separately, hang up and voila! DIY cannabis garland.
Bling Lighter Don’t look like a square with a plain old lighter, give it some flair! There are numerous ways to quickly decorate your favorite lighter: Use nail polish to paint it, apply your artistic skills to draw things in with a sharpie or print out labels in fancy fonts. If you seek a 420 attention-getter, then we recommend these two eye-catching methods to spiffing up your lighter.
Method 1: Bejeweled
Method 2: Glitter-fied
Things you need:
Things you need:
Stickable gem tabs, spikes or studs Glue (unless the backing sticks automatically) Tweezers
Instructions: 1. Apply each gem tab or spike to the lighter in desired design (full coverage, specific design, etc.) 2. Use tweezers for precision to align each glitter tab with the corresponding row. 48
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Desired color of glitter Glue Disposable paint brushes Clear coat spray paint
Instructions: 1. Apply glue to all sides of the lighter casing. 2. Heavily sprinkle desired glitter color to lighter (CULTURE recommends green!) 3. Leave to dry, at least 20 minutes or until dry to the touch. Repeat steps 1-2 for a second coat. 4. Spray with clear coat to seal.
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FILM //
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By Jasen T. Davis
CULTURE
420
Cinematic Cannabis Moments
Cannabis culture has greatly evolved in film over the years Whether or not Hollywood is trying to be controversial or informative, people have consumed cannabis in the movies for decades. We have rated a few of these cannabis-consuming cameos according to realism, necessity to the plot and overall humor.
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Reefer Madness 3
Character Jimmy Lane played by Warren McCollum has violent rages, mindless grinning and misanthropic deeds that can be attributed to many other factors instead of cannabis. LSD, crystal meth and alcohol would affect our protagonist in a similar manner. This, however, won’t stop Reefer Madness from possibly one day becoming a Netflix series, just like everything else has.
Animal House (1978)
Necessity:
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Well, if he didn’t go mad from reefer, then we wouldn’t have a film.
Humor:
4
His leering, staring and drooling is certainly camp, but many years later all those histrionics are more worthy of chuckles than careful analysis. What did the actor really do to behave that way? Snort drain cleaner?
Donald Sutherland plays a professor that smokes out with the hard-partying protagonists of this ultimate college comedy, in order to expand their minds to the possibilities the universe might possess . . . or maybe just to hook up with a co-ed.
Actually, you almost believe they really did smoke-out. There aren’t any lava lamps or black light posters, no psychedelic music or cartoonish hallucinations. There is just . . . smoke and polite conversation.
then again, it is college, and the whole point of the film is to demonstrate how counterculture our iconoclastic gang of students is. They don’t even smoke cannabis at a party. They basically use cannabis in a library.
Necessity:
Humor:
Realism:
9
The cannabis consumption was not really necessary to the plot, but 54
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One man’s plunge into cannabis “addiction” is so exaggerated and biased against a harmless plant that the story is now a successful Broadway comedy.
(1936)
Realism:
6
5
3
While the blather is slightly compelling, Sutherland’s character certainly looks unimpressed.
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The Breakfast Club
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This is a touching story of several teenagers played by Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall, who are confined to a high school library for Saturday detention without access to the internet. After the smoke out (they smoke cannabis in a library in a high school . . . could that even happen in this day and age?) the young adults open up to each other and realize they are all one with the universe. Sounds like high-quality cannabis, to me.
(1985)
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Realism:
8
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Yes, but no. The hacking, the coughing, the smiling—pretty real. The screaming, dancing and glass shattering? Probably not. Blaire’s blather certainly seems properly cannabisinduced. Emilio Estevez running around like he’s in Footloose until he screams so hard glass shatters? Nope, not really real at all.
Necessity:
7
Well, something appropriately psychologically mind-altering, and paradigm-shifting, had to happen or these people would have probably never opened up to each other about their
Platoon (1986)
Realism:
7
7
Before, during and after the nasty things that happened to these poor soldiers trying to stay alive in a military policeaction holocaust, it makes sense that they’d have a cannabis break to escape the PTSD. Of course, being that close 56
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feelings. A bottle of Jack Daniel’s at 3 a.m. might have done the job, too, but that wasn’t feasible.
Humor:
3
It was kind of humorous, but the jokes are now stale. The scene where they hide the cannabis is funnier, but we all know that in a modern remake the principal would place the entire school on lockdown until a SWAT team arrived with drug-sniffing dogs. Everyone would be arrested once the cops watched the footage from the video cameras. Thanks for ruining a perfectly good ’80s film about growing up and loving each other, security state!
Charlie Sheen + Willem Dafoe + The Vietnam War = haunting, devastating depictions of the horrors of military conflict in a jungle surrounded by people trying to kill them. Thankfully, America has learned its lesson since then. When Sheen’s character smokes cannabis inside a bunker beyond the DMZ, you can understand why he needs the mental time off.
The distortion, the music, the choking, coughing fits and the giggling . . . you can definitely feel the cannabis presence turning. Even the party seems like it actually happened. Was that cannabis real during that scene? Why not? Could be.
Necessity:
10
to Willem Dafoe for that long would make anyone selfmedicate. That guy is just a little creepy. Admit it.
Humor:
1
More poignant than funny, none of what is happening inside the bunker makes you sober up when you think about what is waiting for the soldiers in the jungle warzone outside. It should be noted that the shotgun trick Dafoe pulls off was lifted from actual documentary footage featuring soldiers in Vietnam during the conflict using the same trick. Art imitates life, my friend.
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Friday
Realism:
8
Although the montage mirrors the minds of the two protagonists as they enjoy the best sativa derivative Mother Nature has to offer, there are no LSD images or wild fantasies. Seeing Ice Cube burst out laughing for no reason makes you think that the cannabis on that set was real . . . for the purposes of art, of course.
(1995)
Ice Cube and Chris Tucker team up to survive their weekend, living in the inner city by partying. This involves cannabis, of course.
Necessity:
7
If it was just about two alcoholics it would be less adventurous and far more depressing. Not exactly a comedy. Forty-ounce bottles just aren’t as funny as oneeighth of a good OG.
Humor:
6
The smoke-out scenes are funny, but the rest of the movie has better comedic moments. We’re just being real.
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Pineapple Express (2008)
Realism:
8
The red eyes, the easy laughter, the appearance of fun . . . looks like the real stuff to us. Maybe all of their action scenes are just intense mind trips, because of the fact they were watching violent films.
Necessity:
8
The fact that these guys smoke cannabis makes 60
this comedy. Even the title is a reference to a type of strain. Of course, now L.A. Confidential (1997) seems like a completely different movie.
Humor:
6
The rest of the film is better because James Franco and Seth Rogen are always funnier when they’re together.
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James Franco and Seth Rogen are back, and this time they are going to smoke out. Somehow, action scenes including fist fights and firearms happen. That cannabis better be worth all the violence.
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QUIZ
ANSWER KEY ON PAGE 171
CULTURE
420
Are You a Cannasseur?
Take this Fact or Fiction: 420 Edition Quiz and Find Out! Take this quiz to see how much you know about cannabis myths! Circle the appropriate FACT or FICTION answer for each statement below, and tally up your score using the answer key on page 171, to see if you qualify as a CANNASSEUR, a BUDDING ENTHUSIAST or a NOVICE.
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1.
Cannabis prohibition protects kids from drug abuse
a) FACT
b) FICTION
2.
Smoking cannabis causes cancer a) FACT
b) FICTION
3.
Cannabis is a gateway substance
a) FACT
b) FICTION
4.
Holding in cannabis smoke intensifies the effects a) FACT
b) FICTION
5.
Smoking from a water pipe produces more intense effects
a) FACT
b) FICTION
6.
Cannabis consumption causes hair loss a) FACT
b) FICTION
7.
Eating mango before smoking cannabis prolongs the effects a) FACT
b) FICTION
8.
Cannabis causes short-term memory loss a) FACT
b) FICTION
9.
Smoking cannabis reduces sex drive
a) FACT
b) FICTION
10.
You cannot die from cannabis a) FACT
b) FICTION
11.
You can overdose on cannabis a) FACT
b) FICTION
12.
Vaporizers are just as harmful as joints a) FACT
b) FICTION
13.
All cannabis is bad for children a) FACT
b) FICTION
14.
Cannabis cures illnesses a) FACT
b) FICTION
15.
Cannabis will flatten brain waves a) FACT
b) FICTION
16.
Cannabis lowers testosterone and sperm count a) FACT
b) FICTION
17.
The Constitution was written on hemp paper
b) FICTION
18.
Driving under the influence of alcohol is worse than driving while under the influence of cannabis
a) FACT
b) FICTION
19.
Cannabis does not make you more creative a) FACT
b) FICTION
20.
Cannabis is as harmful as cigarettes
b) FICTION
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a) FACT
a) FACT
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EVENTS
CULTURE
Active Engagement
Advocate, dedicate and embrace the values of your local cannabis community’s 420 festivities Monterey Bay Women in Cannabis in Watsonville, April 13 Business leaders in cannabis who would like to learn and grow from the support of like-minded women will find solace at this monthly meeting. Attendeees will share resources, knowledge and tools that will help propel one another’s success in the cannabis industry. The Appleton Grill, Watsonville theappletongrill.com Cannifest, April 15-16 Come and celebrate cannabis culture and begin Humboldt Green Week at this year’s Cannifest. Experience live music, a silent disco, educational panels and vendors of all kinds during this weekend of cannabis appreciation. Redwood Acres Fairgrounds, Eureka cannifest.com Psychedelic Science 2017, April 19-24 Gather a new perspective with the scientific community on the benefits and new research on several psychedelic substances, including medical cannabis. Along with workshops and conferences, a comedy banquet will make its debut at this year’s event. Oakland Marriot City Center, Oakland psychedelicscience.org 420 Extravaganja, April 20 Relax and enjoy the comic act of Ngaio Bealum, previous guest appearance on MTV’s Half-Hour Comedy Hour. Open to guests over 18, complete your 420 holiday with a night of good humor and laughs. Punchline Comedy Club, Sacramento punchlinesac.com 420 in the Park: Gathering at Hippie Hill, April 20 While the gathering at Golden Gate Park isn’t hosted or run by 66
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any single group or organization, it never fails at being one of the biggest traditions of the cannabis holiday. While you’re enjoying the festivities, note that all responsible cannabis consumers should strive to keep the area clean and safe for everyone who participates. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco sf.funcheap.com Marijuana Business Law in California Training Seminar, April 20 Created by The Seminar Group, this conference will tackle all there is to know on current state cannabis laws and related taxes. There will also be a local analysis and an ethical discussion on the cannabis plant. Be sure to attend and hear from a number of experienced attorneys and business owners from the Bay Area. Holiday Inn San Francisco, San Francisco hisfo.com Soul Ska 420 Celebration, April 20 Get a dose of the Caribbean soul with classic Jamaican music that served as a precursor to the sensation of reggae music. With live performances by Soul Ska and The Radicals, the show begins at 8 p.m. and will last throughout the night. Sweetwater Music Hall, Mill Valley sweetwatermusichall.com CannaCon Santa Rosa, April 20-22 People from various corners of the world will come together to collaborate and share their experiences within the cannabis industry. Join the CannaCon family to network with businesses, gain exposure, and get access to the many kinds of facets within the cannabis industry. Sonoma County Events Center, Santa Rosa cannacon.org/santa-rosa
420
Hempcon: 420 Freedom Fest, April 21-23 Hosted by Hempcon, this festival unites medical cannabis consumers for a weekend to remember. Buy your tickets at the door to take advantage of the legal services, educational institutions, dispensaries and live entertainment at your fingertips! Cow Palace, Daly City hempcon.com 420+2 Fest, April 22 For those looking to rock out and jam for the 420 holiday this fest was made for them at only $10 per ticket. Over 10 bands will perform throughout the event with two different sets of bands battling it out through the music. Café Colonial, Sacramento colonialtheatre.biz 420 Minutes, April 24 Dance the night away at the event that has been dubbed “MTV’s 120 minutes” with a variety of DJs to light up the dance floor. To top it off, free entry will also be offered throughout the night! Make Out Room, San Francisco makeoutroom.com Q2 Northern California Quarterly Cannabis Caucus, April 25 Join the National Cannabis Industry Association for the second quarterly caucus which aims to inform, connect and inspire everyone who attends. Learn about the existing state policies surrounding cannabis, and network with corporations at the regional and national level. Meadow MD, San Francisco thecannabisindustry.org Cannabis Wedding Expo, April 30 Step into the world where two seemingly different realms combine to create a magical and delightful experience that is the cannabisfriendly wedding. The exposition looks to introduce its community to progressive wedding vendors that have incorporated several types of cannabis products into the traditional wedding scene. Westfield San Francisco Centre, Level 4, San Francisco cannabisweddingexpo.com
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Holy Herb
Cannabis churches bring unity of faith separate from traditional, religious holidays
by Natasha Guimond
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pril 20 is a huge holiday for cannabis lovers, and this year Easter happens just a few days before it. The average person might not consider these communities as related in any way, but in fact there are a number of cannabis churches that are beginning to sprout up around the world. While many churches of cannabis don’t celebrate Easter Sunday, they all share an understanding of what unites the people who are drawn to these organizations. With
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legalization becoming more prevalent, cannabis churches have become increasingly popular, but it’s not just the top-shelf joints that keep people coming back. In Colorado, where cannabis has been recreationally legal for a few years now, the GreenFaith Ministry, led by Reverend Brandon Baker, started in 2006. The church claims over 6,000 members, 1,000 who have obtained a certificate of faith, and some of the members have been practicing for over a decade. Reverend Baker performs marriages on 420 yearly and constantly spreads the church’s religious word, writings, heritage and
culture. “We pray daily, as much as possible and have at least one gathering of some kind each week,” he told CULTURE. Having experienced divine intervention and the power of the plant, Reverend Baker encourages truth and sincerity. “I love our faith—it just pours out of us with every exhale of cannabis smoke.” Now, cannabis still isn’t legal in Indiana, but the state is home to The First Church of Cannabis in Indianapolis. The “Grand Poohbah” himself, Bill Levin, said they’re currently suing Vice President Mike Pence for the right to consume cannabis during services. Founded March 2015, Levin’s biggest message
is, “Equality, compassion, good health, fellowship and love are the traits of a true Cannaterian,” as well as encouraging laughter, smiles and hugs. Believing that each day stands for something (live, love, laugh, learn, create, grow and teach), the church holds events on each day and live-streams the events through Facebook. Janet GoldenHogan, also known as Granny J, is instrumental in keeping the church organized. This particular church lives by “The Deity Dozen,” a set of guidelines to live by, such as “Don’t be an asshole. Treat everyone with love as an equal.” That is a teaching that everyone can get on board with. >>
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photo by GRANNY J
photo by CANNABISCAMERA.COM
Everyone who has reached a consciousness to become part of this Church realizes within their conscience that they should smoke ganja . . . We believe that heaven is on Earth when we dwell together in peace. 72
Michigan is home to the First Cannabis Church of Logic and Reason (FCCLR). Founder and Reverend Jeremy Hall said, “The more people I spoke to about religion, and the more people I found who had similar thoughts on the matter, a pattern emerged that involved cannabis use.” Conceptualized in May 2015 and became a nonprofit by January 2017, FCCLR meets on the last Sunday every month as an agnostic group that does not abide to an organized religion. “We instead choose to focus on the things that transcend organized religion, ‘Golden Rules’ if you will. ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ . . . We do not ask for any tithes or require any monetary donations for membership. Instead we ask that any money you would normally give go toward random acts of kindness.” The Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church of Jamaica (EZCC) started in 1976 and is rooted in Christianity. With the intention of representing what they believe to be the true meaning of the Bible, EZCC members do not recognize holidays like Easter. “Every day is the same with the Lord,” said Brother Jacob. To them, God isn‘t some spirit in the sky either. Brother Jacob explains, “The God the Bible directs us to, the God that all of the prophets direct us to is a living God inside of mankind.” Most importantly, they view cannabis as a natural blessing from God. “Everyone who has reached a consciousness to become part of this Church realizes within their conscience that they should smoke ganja . . . We believe that heaven is on Earth when we dwell together in peace.” Do you know who else dwells in peace? The Sisters of the Valley in Merced, California. They are not a members of a church, they‘re nuns. Sister Kate made it clear, “We wear the uniform not to mock the Catholic nuns, as they are going extinct, and that would be in poor taste. We wear the uniform to give honor to a plant that has been dishonored for 100 years. We wear the uniform as a meditative
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practice of being in touch with our ancient ancestral mothers. We wear it to announce to the people our profession, as a uniform, and to honor our people as Regalia.” Their tribe doesn’t just have Sisters, however. They have three Brothers and approximately a dozen others that consider themselves members. They consider themselves to be Beguine revivalists. Sister Kate puts it simply, “The Beguines pre-dated Christianity and though they lived together, dressed alike and prayed together, their mission was not to spread any kind of dogma. Their mission was to rescue women from poverty and give them independence and property (wealth). They were very good at it.” With all of these organizations, the one thing that truly unites them is their understanding and love for cannabis. Reverend Jeremy Hall said it best, “Our most important belief is in the healing power of cannabis. This plant has the ability to not only heal our minds and body, but can save the entire planet from the current destructive course that it‘s on . . . By becoming upstanding citizens who take care of our community, we can show the world just how beneficial cannabis can be, changing public perception one person at a time.” Whether becoming a member of a cannabis church interests you or not, the cannabis community as a whole can look forward to continuing to be a part of that change. c
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Personal Progression
e l i t e at h l e t e s and fitness celebrities advocating
for
cannabis
by Zoe Wilder
F
ootage of Arnold “The Governator” Schwarzenegger in his 1977 documentary Pumping Iron smoking cannabis (in all his bodybuilding glory) has been now memorialized worldwide on the internet. Schwarzenegger probably didn’t realize it at the time, but he was sending a big message: Athletes can enjoy cannabis and still be taken
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seriously. Fast forward to 2017, cannabis is experiencing a renaissance that’s marked by a new holistic user, one who embraces health and integrates this versatile plant into a comprehensive wellness program. While competing professional athletes still need to be wary of regulations, these five role models have become synonymous with cannabis and fitness. >>
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Clifford Drusinsky Florida fishing aficionado, elite multi-sport athlete, strength trainer and healthy lifestyle coach Cliff Drusinsky has won numerous trophies competing in major triathlons. He’s also an advocate of eating clean nutritious foods for fuel as well as a vocal proponent of the benefits of cannabis in sports training. In an interview with the fitness focused magazine Men’s Journal, Drusinsky explained, “Marijuana relaxes me and allows me to go into a controlled, meditational place.”
Like most athletes who use cannabis to enhance their gains, Drusinsky appreciates how cannabis helps him concentrate. “When I get high, I train smarter and focus on form,” he says. Drusinsky’s been known to utilize cannabis edibles, in particular, to help facilitate more focused workouts and training sessions. In addition to traditional marathons, Drusinsky is an avid Ironman competitor. The competitions combine a 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle race with a 26.22 mile marathon, in that order, without a break.
Ronda Rousey MMA fighter Ronda Rousey is the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in Judo. She is the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, as well as the last Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion. In September 2015, voters in an online ESPN poll selected Rousey as the Best Female Athlete Ever, and we have to agree. In 2015, Rousey came out in support of her friend,
Tanner Hall Known as “one of the greatest freestyle skiers of all time,” Tanner Hall has won four silver and seven gold X Games medals. In a deal with the Denver cannabis accessories company Black Rock Originals, Hall launched the SKI BOSS Collection, which offers essentials to winter mountain ski fans for on-thego adventure, including pocket-sized credit card-style grinders and rice rolling papers. In The New Yorker, Hall explained his positive relationship with cannabis. “I used it when I competed at the X Games,” he said. “It helps with the stress, with the anxiety. And then,
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afterwards, as a relaxing agent and pain reliever . . . I wouldn’t think about not using when I ski . . . .I’ve used it on a daily basis for about half my life, since I was maybe 18 or 19.” Hall also used cannabis to recover from a debilitating crash at Stevens Pass in Washington where he broke both legs and blew out both ACLs. After prescription painkillers contributed to weight gain and difficulties getting back in shape, Hall switched back to cannabis. In a Grindtv.com interview, Hall explained, “I actually, like, got back to skiing, because I threw all [the pills] away, started going to the gym and smoking marijuana.” >>
UFC welterweight Nick Diaz, who was suspended for five years after testing positive for cannabis. Rousey is vehemently opposed to testing for cannabis in MMA sports. “I’m against testing for weed at all,” she said. “It’s not a performance enhancing drug. And it has nothing to do with competition. It’s only tested for political reasons.” Keep fighting the good fight, Ms. Rousey; we’re with you.
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Frostee Rucker Frostee Rucker is a NFL American football defensive player for the Arizona Cardinals. Formerly, he played for the Cincinnati Bengals after being drafted from USC in the 2006 NFL Draft. Along with NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, Rucker became a financial backer to a pro-cannabis legalization group during his Ohio days. In 2015, the group successfully placed a cannabis legalization initiative on the ballot. While Rucker, Robertson and other notable Ohio celebs moved the initiative toward public vote, they also invested
in owning what would become several of 10 legal cannabis farms. Unfortunately, voters did not pass legalization in that election. While Rucker is still an active player in the NFL, certainly one of many who would like see the league approve the use of medical, the NFL has yet to clear the way. The NFL is currently reviewing its cannabis policy while players active and retired claim that a majority among them rely on cannabis to help with injuries and pain, especially as an alternative to opiates. Yet today, players testing positive for cannabis remain open to fines and suspension.
“
Fast forward to 2017, cannabis is experiencing a renaissance that’s marked by a new holistic user, one who embraces health and integrates this versatile plant into a comprehensive wellness program. Jim McAlpine In San Francisco, California, businessman Jim McAlpine is the founder of the cannabis consumption friendly Power Plant Fitness gym, The 420 Games and cannabis industry conference New West Summit. Ex-NFL running back Ricky Williams is his Power Plant Fitness partner who’s been outspoken about using cannabis to treat injuries during his years playing for the Saints, Dolphins and Ravens. Called “one of the most exciting entrepreneurs in the marijuana industry” by The Cannabist, McAlpine is a lifetime amateur baseball player and
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self-proclaimed conqueror of the 1.4 mile swim from Alcatraz while on cannabis. His goal? To de-stigmatize the stereotype of the “lazy” cannabis consumer. According to an interview with Cashinbis.com, McAlpine focuses firmly on adult-use. “A very important part of The 420 Games is that we strive to teach youth to abstain from using cannabis until they are old enough mentally and physically to do so. Instead of preaching to them ‘JUST SAY NO,’” he said. “We use the fact that a developing athletes body and mind can be stunted by cannabis use, and it is best to wait till you are at least 18 to consider it.” c
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The Good Fight
Industry Insider
Andrew DeAngelo has worked tirelessly to bring medical cannabis out of the shadows
A
by R. Scott Rappold
ndrew DeAngelo sold his first bag of cannabis when he was 16 years old. And he got the cannabis from his older brother Steve. That was back in the ‘90s, when the plant was still very much illegal and transactions occurred in shady parking lots and on sofas over water pipe hits. Much has changed, but the brothers are still selling cannabis. They just happen to sell it at the largest medical cannabis dispensary in California, Harborside Health Center, with dispensaries in Oakland and San Jose. Oh yeah, and they were proud enough about the enterprise to be featured on the reality show Weed Wars, which reached a national audience on The Discovery Channel. As both businessmen and activists, the DeAngelo brothers have become two of the most-recognized faces in the industry. But it all goes back to helping others enjoy the product they love. “The essence of what I do hasn’t changed in all these years. We’re still cannabis distributors, advocates and activists, and we believe in the plant, and we love the plant,” said Andrew, 49, of Oakland. “We’ve learned a lot from the plant, and we keep learning from it. We’ve really let of our love of the plant guide us for the last 35 years.” >>
I love my life. I love our mission. I love our organization and what we do and I wake up every morning feeling very blessed. 84
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photo by Jamie Soja
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A lot of the folks that got attacked by the federal government did not fight back. They just packed up and moved somewhere else. We did not decide to do that. We were the first dispensary that got a forfeiture letter who said, ‘F*ck you, we’re going to fight back.’
B.
Black Market Busted
Andrew began consuming cannabis in high school to deal with pain that was the result of an injury. The cannabis, of course, came from Steve, who had left home at the age of 15 to devote his life to the plant. It was love at first toke, and Andrew began selling cannabis to pay his way through college, where he studied theater in hopes of becoming an actor. The idea of cannabis being legal someday wasn’t even on his radar. “I could see a much happier and more productive life in cannabis, despite the dangers involved, which are not insignificant now and certainly weren’t in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s. I lived a dangerous lifestyle,” he said. The dangers of his lifestyle were illustrated when Steve was arrested for cannabis in 2001 in Maryland. The brothers decided it was time to head west. California voters had legalized medical cannabis, and the brothers saw an opportunity to turn their growing skills to a legitimate business. “We never liked being criminals. We never liked breaking the law. I hated hiding from the world. I hated hiding what I was doing, so as soon as we had the opportunity to come out of the shadows and into the light, we took advantage of that,” said Andrew.
A.
A New Kind of Dispensary
The brothers spent the 2004-2005 timeframe learning about the California medical cannabis scene, hanging around the new buyers’ clubs and getting to know other activists. This new industry offered a way to make a living off the plant, as well as an avenue for social change. The city of Oakland decided to grant a handful of dispensary licenses, and the DeAngelo brothers successfully applied for one. So, Harborside was born in the fall of 2006. The brothers envisioned a new kind of dispensary from what they had seen around the state. “We were growing and making hash and selling medicine to these dispensaries . . . and we were not happy with the experience. It was either bulletproof glass and a gangster kind of feeling or a kind of loosey-goosey activist vibe, where people were sitting around getting stoned, writing a lot of letters, doing a lot of activist work, and there wasn’t a lot of professionalism on the business side,” Andrew said. Most dispensaries lacked lab testing, child-proof
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packaging or any kind of point-of-sale tracking system. Receipts were often written out by hand. Strain selection was limited. Harborside would be the opposite—no bars on the windows or bulletproof glass. The dispensary would be welllit, with display cases offering a wide variety of strains. And their facility was massive by the standards of the time. Later, when a documentary film company proposed shooting a reality television show about them, they jumped at the chance. The project became Weed Wars, which aired in 2011. Coincidentally enough, a few months after it aired, the Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture case against Harborside, which would become one of California’s longest legal battles over a cannabis dispensary.
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Fighting Back with Courage
“A lot of the folks that got attacked by the federal government did not fight back,” said Andrew. “They just packed up and moved somewhere else. We did not decide to do that. We were the first dispensary that got a forfeiture letter who said, ‘F*ck you, we’re going to fight back.’” The Justice Department finally dropped the case in 2016, having succeeded only in catapulting the DeAngelo brothers to freedom fighter status in the eyes of the cannabis community. Even the city of Oakland was on their side. Despite the frustrations, Andrew has no regrets about doing the television show. In fact, he credits shows like Weed Wars with helping to bring medical cannabis to 28 states. “I loved it. It was really interesting to have that happen,” Andrew said. “For many years I tried to be on a TV show without a whole lot of success . . . The cannabis movement allowed that part of my passion and that part of my career to come full circle. It was great, and I hope we can do some more storytelling.” The brothers remain active in the movement and plan to figure prominently in the drawing up of regulations in California for the medical cannabis and the new recreational cannabis industries. While he knows there is a lot of work ahead, he’s optimistic about the future of this industry now emerging from decades in the shadows. “I love my life. I love our mission. I love our organization and what we do and I wake up every morning feeling very blessed,” Andrew said. c
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the Right TO Choose Cannabis affords young William Ross an improved quality of life by Addison Herron-Wheeler
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t is a story that is becoming increasingly common— parents who espouse traditional family values are turning to cannabis, not as recreational relief of familial stress, but as a way to treat serious medical conditions that their children face. The Ross family is Mormon, so when their young son William, who is now six years old, began to show serious signs of chronic seizures, treatment with cannabis was initially the furthest option from their minds. The first indication of William’s disorder happened when he began experiencing drop seizures, which caused him to fall to the ground suddenly in the middle of eating, walking or doing other normal daily activities. After taking William to the doctor, parents Doug and Sorya Ross learned that he had epilepsy, and from there his symptoms became worse. He started having seizures more and more frequently, and the intensity of his condition drastically affected his lifestyle and moods. “He stopped talking, walking and eating, and for a while there he would even refuse water, but the doctors warned us that he could go
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into liver failure, so we were force feeding him Gatorade,” Sorya told CULTURE. “My dad had previously told me about a special he saw on CNN about how marijuana helped with seizures, so that was always in the back of my head.” Sorya was able to completely dismiss the idea of medicating with cannabis at first, but as time wore on and things got worse, she began to reconsider. The doctors warned the Ross family that since the three pharmaceuticals they had tried for William were unsuccessful, surgery to correct one side of his brain might be the only way to get relief for him. However, the family was also warned that this surgery might not work, and that it could potentially paralyze their son. After one particularly hard night with William, Sorya reached her breaking point and went outside to pray. She was overcome with the feeling that everything was going to be OK. However, 20 minutes later, William had his first bad grand mal seizure, and he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Feeling out of options, the Ross family finally decided to try cannabis. It was April 2014 when the family, who resides in California, first ventured into an Oakland dispensary to get CBD for their son. However,
they were so nervous about giving him cannabis that they did not administer the first dose until May. When they finally did give him the oil, Doug and Sorya immediately saw positive results. “We noticed within the first hour he was calm and asked for a glass of water, and he wanted to eat,” Sorya explained. “He hugged me for the first time in months, so we knew [cannabis treatment] was a positive thing. We were open to it at that point, but it wasn’t helping with the seizures and because it was a higher THC ratio, we were scared of him getting high.” The Ross family now knew they were on the right track, but still hadn’t quite discovered the perfect formula for helping with their son’s seizures. For guidance, they turned to Jason David, the man who created Jayden’s Juice for his own son named Jayden, this CBD product was specifically made to help patients like William. They began to give Jayden’s Juice to William and immediately noticed a reduction in seizures. William is still taking Jayden’s Juice today. “He is down to one seizure a month in his sleep; he doesn’t have them awake. He’s a normal little boy, with no aggression. This has been an answer to our prayers,” said Sorya. “We truly believe this is God’s plan.” The Mormon Church forbids a variety of substances, so the couple was anxious about disclosing their son’s new treatment to their Bishop and Doug’s family, who is also Mormon. To their pleasant surprise, their Bishop accepted the treatment after a brief interview where he asked questions about CBD and cannabis oil. William’s grandparents, who had witnessed the horror of his constant seizures, were also supportive of the treatment. Throughout this difficult journey, the Ross family had faith in their religion to guide them and give them hope when things got tough. Although discovering cannabis treatment may sound uncommon for a Mormon family, William and his parents are proof that having an open mind about medical cannabis and going to any lengths possible to help a child can yield miraculous results. c
. . . this has been an answer to our prayers. We truly believe this is God’s plan.
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No RISK, No Reward Graffiti artist RISK comes full circle 92
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by Pamela Jayne
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napologetically authentic and highly prolific, RISK, born Kelly Graval, is as nonchalant about his Hollywood credentials as most people are about their grocery list. Even when pressed, name dropping just isn’t his thing—art is. Whether it’s a mural on a building for millions to see, on canvas in a gallery, on a late night bombing mission with Joe Perry of Aerosmith, painting a Rolls Royce for Sur le Mur or one of the many pieces he creates daily that no one will ever lay eyes upon, RISK
is the truest form of an artist. He knows his value and refuses to compromise his vision, and that is exactly why he has evolved from a teenage graffiti writer into a contemporary artist respected worldwide. RISK credits his understanding of color and contrast to his time at the USC School of Fine Arts. However, some things cannot be taught in a classroom—they can only be learned in real life, in real time. With a mix of classic rock, hip-hop and punk rock in his ears as he paints, RISK shuts out the world and creates his own. There is no doubt that the Los Angeles art scene would be vastly different, and far less colorful, were it not for RISK and the chances he has taken. >>
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You’re 30 years deep in the game now, how have you grown and evolved as an artist? I guess I’ve evolved because I do all different forms of art now, not just graffiti. I like to evoke emotion with color. I don’t think that I have to do letters all the time anymore, so maybe that’s another way I’ve evolved. I think it’s my appreciation for all different forms of art. Explain more about your use of color. Yeah, I was in London painting for the Olympics with Ron English, Shepard Fairey and a couple other artists, and they were asking me about my graffiti background. They said, “You wrote RISK a million times, so what do you have to say?” I started thinking about it, and then I was driving down the freeway one day after doing an illegal piece, and I realized that people couldn’t read it driving by at 70 miles an hour, it just evoked emotional color. So, I set out to see if I could evoke the same emotion without letters or characters. That’s how it all started. Will you explain the difference between a graffiti artist and a street artist? Many people believe them to be one in the same. They’re cousins, you know, they’re related. I look at graffiti artists as the craftsmen, the old school guys who do it the hard way. I look at
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street artists as the new guys that work smarter, not harder, and do wheat paste and create stuff in the studio and then go and put it up, you know. That’s my interpretation. Which one are you? I am a graffiti artist. But I think that the stuff I’m doing right now, I’m neither. I’m a muralist. How do you balance your formal schooling with your natural artistic instinct? Is one more important than the other? You know, I have a lot of these things that I use in my paintings, and I never really realized it until I looked at them one day and was like, “Wow, I do all this stuff and I learned all this stuff in school.” I never set out to apply it; it just happened. You were recently featured in the documentary Saving Banksy. How did that come about? They came to me probably four or five years ago. Someone from Banksy’s camp hit me and asked if I could blast this guy [who was profiting from Banksy’s work], because he’s an asshole. So we were posting stuff about it, and years later they hit me up about this documentary. So when the guy who was trying to save the [Banksy] piece hit me, I was quite familiar with whole situation. So they interviewed me, and I did my part in the movie. It was cool. >>
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It’s about time it became legal. It was silly that it was prosecuted to the extent that it was in the past, so I’m curious to see what happens. I think it’s cool, I’m 100 percent for it. There are people close to me who have tremendously benefited from it.
You have an impressively long list of Hollywood credits. What’s it like to work in that world that is so corporate? Does it stymie your creative vision? I was really lucky. All that stuff—Michael Jackson, Playboy, all that stuff—when I went in there, I would tell them that I was going to write RISK. It’s not gonna be cool if I just write Michael Jackson or Playboy. People want to see the real stuff. They were corporate jobs, but they let me do me. I was pretty lucky. Street art is becoming increasingly mainstream. Is that a positive thing, or does it have a negative impact on the genre and its roots? Obviously, when something goes mainstream, we lose some of the thrill and excitement. But also, the skill 96
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level is elevated to such an extent that it’s pretty cool because it’s survival of the fittest, and the competition is good because there’s so many people doing it. It’s a double edged sword. What advice do you have for those who are just getting into graffiti art? My advice is definitely don’t listen to anybody but yourself, and do what makes you happy. Do it full force, 100 percent. My whole family was against graffiti; they hated it. I had to run away to do it. I made up with my father on his death bed a couple years ago. But if I would have listened to them I would have never done it, you know. On my dad’s death bed, he finally said, “I guess you made something out of your life. You did good.” It was cool—but the point is, I
didn’t listen to anyone. I knew what I wanted to do, and I set out to do it. Is there one moment, or one certain piece that you’re most proud of? There are things that stick out, yeah. Winning the World Championship of Graffiti. Slick and I won it in ’89 and that was cool because we were from Los Angeles, and that was the first time someone other than from New York won. I was on Proud To Be An American with President Obama and Buzz Aldrin a couple years ago on the Fourth of July special, that was pretty cool that they picked a graffiti artist. What are your views on cannabis? It’s about time it became legal. It was silly that it was
prosecuted to the extent that it was in the past, so I’m curious to see what happens. I think it’s cool, I’m 100 percent for it. There are people close to me who have tremendously benefited from it. For those who still see graffiti art as vandalism, or just refuse to see its value, what is your message for them? There’s always going to be someone who hates it. There are good apples and bad apples. You know, let’s face it . . . some graffiti artists do vandalism and some do art. But that’s just like anything else, you take the good with the bad. It’s here to stay now, so they have to deal with it. c riskrock.com
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What’s it like to have Angel for a first name? I think that there is power in a name. And I don’t really think about it a lot of the time: I don’t wake up and think, “My name’s Angel! Isn’t that weird?!” It’s a funny thing, but I have to live up to this name that I have in some way. I don’t really romanticize it as much as some people do. But I do think it doesn’t hurt to have a good name, I will say that. What do you find most interesting about your own artistic evolution?
It slows you down and makes you calm and allows for healing. And I think that that is something you need [not just] as an artist, but as a human being, as well.
Evocative Emotional Angel The melancholy sultry sounds of Angel Olsen by Gregory Daurer
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ngel Olsen is all over the charts. That is, when her 2016 album My Woman was released, it cracked Billboard’s Alternative, Americana/ Folk, Independent, Tastemaker and Top 200 charts. Olsen adopts a wide variety of musical stylings, using her passionate vocals and lyricism to convey emotional breadth and power. She’s also been involved in the creation of a few of her own videos, confusing cultural commentators when she first donned a silver wig for two songs, “Intern” and the alternately vulnerable and vampish “Shut Up, Kiss Me” (which has been viewed over a couple million times on YouTube). The evocative videos “Sister” and “Pops” followed, featuring Olsen (sans glittery wig) basking or ruminating in natural settings. Although a popular artist who just completed a string of soldout club dates, Olsen envisions herself possibly contributing, one day, to others’ projects behind-the-scenes, acting as a “secret ingredient” in their work. 100
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For me, I never felt like I was affecting my voice very much, but if I listen back to my previous records, I think I sang in different styles. I can hear a lot of ‘30s jazz influence on Half Way Home and my previous record Strange Cacti. Can you see yourself as someone like David Bowie who constantly reinvents theirself musically and stylistically for each project? I think with every record I definitely want to make at least a slight change in what I’m doing; I don’t want to recreate the exact same thing. I think My Woman and Burn Your Fire For No Witness are very different, because I had written all of Burn Your Fire a year before it was recorded or came out and so there was this huge time gap. On My Woman, I think [my influences were] more Fleetwood Mac and, yeah, maybe some David Bowie, and maybe some R&B going on that had never entered what I’ve done before. So, I think a lot of that just comes with playing for a long time and developing different interests in music. And then it just finds its way into your brain. I think I had always been preoccupied with lyrics—and I still feel that’s the centerpiece to what I do. But I think you can say a lot by just playing and singing.
In addition to acting within your videos, you’ve directed and edited some of them. Can you see yourself ever venturing into independent filmmaking? If I did anything in film it would be directing and editing. I wouldn’t want to be in it. Nobody praises the editor in music or writing or films, but that is the person who decides the first and last statement it will make. The editor goes in there and they take parts out and they rearrange stuff, and that becomes the tone that’s set. And that’s the most important step. How do cannabis and music interweave for you? It is nice in certain states in the U.S.—instead of drinking, instead of putting that toxin in my body—to find a place to recreationally smoke weed. Because it takes a load off. And you’re really going, going, going, and it really does slow things down for me. But, at the same time, I have to honestly say that I’m not really someone who needs it or does it a lot. I think it can really help with anxiety. And I think it can help heal: It slows you down and makes you calm and allows for healing. And I think that that is something you need [not just] as an artist, but as a human being, as well. Where would you like to be in terms of your career? I feel like I am where I’d like to be. I always want to grow and play the big festival shows and such—and be able to reach smaller audiences, as well. In addition to enjoying what you’re doing, your music affects people emotionally. Well that’s the hope: to be someone who can take my own experiences and amplify them and make them songs and turn them into something that people can find refuge in. That’s the goal. c angelolsen.com
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photo by Michael Ochs
The life and legacy of Hunter S. Thompson, his
o z n o g journalism and the “American Dream” by R. Scott Rappold "We were somewhere around Barstow around the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.” So begins one of the most remarkable works of journalism of the 20th century, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This “savage journey to the heart of the American dream” follows the course of fictional journalist Raoul Duke and his attorney as they plow through Vegas in a drug-addled frenzy. It’s 1971 and as a former participant in the orgy of cannabis, LSD and free love of the 1960s, he is looking for what it all meant. He finds only madness and hypocrisy. Its success catapulted author Hunter S. Thompson, then a relatively unknown journalist, to stardom. His writing style became known as “gonzo journalism.” He would write many other books and articles, cutting and often hilarious takes on everything from the Kentucky Derby to the presidential campaign, with himself, the booze-swilling, pill-popping, cannabis-smoking, cocaine-snorting character at the heart of it, looking for truth, for what it’s all really about. Some was fiction, but some was not, and when he took his own life at his home in Aspen,
Colorado, in 2005, the 67-year-old was in constant pain and suffering the ill effects of a lifetime of alcoholism. Thompson would play many roles— candidate for Aspen sheriff, political activist, beloved local curmudgeon. He would be played in major films by two popular actors, Bill Murray in Where the Buffalo Roam and Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Rum Diary. Even comic strip “Doonesbury” had a character based on Thompson. But in the 12 years since his death, it’s his writing that has stood the course of time, and it is this legacy that those who loved him are trying to preserve. His son, Juan Thompson, of Denver, last year wrote the memoir Stories I Tell Myself: Growing Up with Hunter S. Thompson. His widow, Anita Thompson, has written several books and is in the process of turning the home she shared with him in Aspen into a private museum. She is also in the early stages of launching a cannabis line based on Hunter’s favorite staple strains. Both spoke with CULTURE recently about the man, the myth of Thompson and the legacy he left behind. >>
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Hunter and Anita Thompson in a fun and spontaneous embrace; smoke in hand. photo by Johnny Depp
Hunter and Anita Thompson at home, after Anita woke him up early for a special Gonzo birthday cake.
What did you fall in love with about Hunter? Anita Thompson: Hunter liked to say he was a teenage girl trapped in the body of an elderly dope fiend. His sense of curiosity, sense of humor and his energy level were so much higher than anybody I’d ever met, particularly at his age. And it was fascinating to me. He had a temper that didn’t discriminate against any race or gender that would come out once in a while but it was short-lived, like a teenage girl, with a curiosity and level of energy almost identical. And he was not cynical—he had faith in humanity that
How much did his public image match the person you knew? Juan: Being known as a wild man, a crazy man—that was not the most important thing to him. Did he have fun with that? Sure. Did he like messing with people, pushing their buttons to see how they’d react? Absolutely. He liked to see how close he could get to the limits of his own self-control and come back in one piece . . . I think the Raoul Duke character was another persona he was kind of playing with, and that’s the one that stuck in the public imagination. I don’t think he was planning to spend his life from 30
]as s i b a n n a c used [
a “He , tool, to el evat e his se nses nal to elevat e his observatio skil l s—not to dul l t hem .” often diminishes as people see as much as he did. I miss that to this day. What made you decide to write the memoir? Juan Thompson: I wanted people to know there was a lot more to Hunter than that persona. I wanted them to know he was a very complex person. He was first and foremost a writer. He wasn’t a political activist. He was not a party animal. He was a writer, and he took that very seriously. He was very much an idealist in his politics, which is what made his political writing so powerful. 106
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to 67 as that persona, but that’s what he became, and that’s what people responded to. And I think that’s what people wanted. When he went on speaking tours, they didn’t want some quiet sober guy talking about the details of the federal election process. They wanted some entertainment, and he gave it to him. There wasn’t a whole lot of correspondence between that persona and who he really was, though he used it to his advantage when it served him—to be a celebrity, to get a suite or fly first class, then he’d use it. Anita: Taking a road, paving a new path and doing the least expected thing at any
given moment—that was Hunter. He was full of surprises and was constantly looking for what was underlying in any given situation or conversation he was having . . . He was always searching for the deeper truth, for more. His personality was like that. In terms of his lifestyle, he definitely had a rich lifestyle, a lot of great food, a lot of substances. So much of his work is about the “American Dream.” Why do you think he was so focused on that theme? Juan: I think it was extremely important to him to know the truth. He was brilliant and extremely observant and perceptive. He was really concerned about the gap between the “American Dream,” the idea of it, and what it meant about our country. The “American Dream” isn’t like a personal goal; it’s an essential part of what this country used to be about. That gap between the ideal and the reality of what it actually meant, how it actually manifested itself, was something that he thought was really important. It was this vast hypocrisy that he thought needed to be called out, that this dream is bullshit. Anita: It was a constant thought of his and he studied it for his entire career; just what is this “American Dream?” He often wrote about it being dead. There’s truth to that in his mind, but he never gave up bringing it back, ever. And he had confidence in the younger generation, as much as he complained about them . . . He thought they were smarter and more competent; that they could stand up and get involved and take back some of the “American Dream” that was destroyed by the corruption and corporatization of America. >>
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photo by Chris Felver
What do you think his lasting contributions are to the worlds of journalism and literature? Juan: There’s nothing like his voice. No one else can write like that. You’ve seen many people try, and it just never goes well. It was so powerful and direct and raw and funny and cutting, just powerful . . . Somewhere in his letters he talks about that; basically fiction gets closer to the truth than nonfiction, because you can exaggerate and use images and all that to really make a point much more clearly. If you just said, “Nixon is dishonest,” well, okay, yes he is. But call him a “werewolf with bleeding string-warts running across the White House lawn,” or say “Richard Nixon is so crooked he has to screw his pants on in the morning,” that’s powerful. Anita: Empowerment, for sure. The selfconfidence that comes when you read his work, I think it’s an antidote to fear. We’re surrounded by fear inside and out, and there are some writers like Hunter and Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway 108
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“His phil osophy was ‘t he government has no busine ss my telling me what I ca n do in t own home, as l ong as I’m no hu rt ing othe r pe opl e . . .’” that awake our innate self confidence. Whenever you need it just open one of his books. Most journalists can’t take sides. He could say what he felt. Anita: He didn’t think it was really possible to not take sides if you’re writing a story. I do a presentation at schools on the difference between Associated Press and Gonzo. It’s the inverted pyramid. The natural “who, what, where, when, why
and hows” always come at the end and it starts with “the story.” It’s more fun to read and it’s more fun to write. And it was important for him to have fun, because he found writing to be difficult, all his life. It wasn’t fun for him. It was work . . . When he saw the corruption of Nixon or any politician and later of the Bush era, it was heartbreak. The best cure or treatment—to stay confident and active in politics, to get these people out of office—is humor. >>
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The labyrinth where Hunter's Gonzo memorial stood 12 years ago now holds a meditation labyrinth built by Anita. It is also the spot where Hunter's ashes are scattered.
Anita Thompson's peacock Jesse inside the Aspen home on the owl farm.
What was Hunter’s relationship to cannabis? What would he think of it being legal in so many places? Juan: He was an early supporter of NORML back in the ‘70s. I think he’d say, “Thank God. Finally.” In many ways, he had a Libertarian streak. His philosophy was “the government has no business telling me what I can do in my own home, as long as I’m not hurting other
people” . . . When he’d get stoned, he’d get relaxed, happier, and he’d start telling these rambling stories. He was a great storyteller, and the stories tended to not actually start and end, but they were entertaining, to follow them on that wandering path. Anita: He used it as a tool, to elevate his senses, to elevate his observational skills—not to dull them. There were some strains of hash
that would make it difficult for him to write but made him more balanced, in his body chemistry and brain chemistry. And there were some strains that improved his ability to write. Hunter went out on his own terms. Was that a shock to the family or was there an inkling? Juan: When it happened, I was completely taken by surprise; but, the fact it
happened was not a surprise. What would have been a surprise is if he had gone to the hospital and lingered on a ventilator for a month. That would have been a surprise because that was not his style. If he was done, if his writing days were done, if he was deeply unhappy and his body was starting to disintegrate after all that time and all that booze, by God, he was not going to go into a nursing home. >>
Hunter and Anita Thompson enjoying each other’s company.
The view from Hunter’s Aspen home on a winter’s day.
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“When he’d get ston ed, he’d get re l ax ed, happier, and he’d star t tel l ing these ra mb l ing stories. He was a great storyt eller, and the stories tended to not actu al l y st art and end, but they were ente rt aining, to follow t he m on that wande rin g path.” Anita: I forgave him, of course, but not right away. He was in so much pain; I have to accept his decision, but it’s something I still deal with personally . . . I was heartbroken like the rest of the people who loved him, and in a way I’ll never be able to shake that, but I’m so grateful he left his work. Imagine in a twisted universe if he somehow took his work with him and all the pages were left blank in his absence. That would really be a tragedy. It was a tragedy losing him, and there was a lot of chaos and darkness at the time, but his work is what brings people together and makes me realize he is still here in many ways. I can always look around me, here, feel his spirit where his ashes are scattered on the land that he loved, here at the owl farm, and open up one of his books . . . My last question is how do you think he’d feel 116
about President Trump? Juan: He’d be enraged. He’d be depressed. I was talking to a reporter yesterday about the parallels between Nixon and Trump, and he’d certainly pick up on those. He’d be enraged and appalled. He thought Nixon was bad. Well, Nixon’s got nothing on this guy. Anita: I don’t think he would be surprised at all, and I wish like everyone else to hear what he had to say and what we should do. His most common thread in all of his work is “we” is the most important word in politics. As long as we stand together, Trump has nothing. Even though it’s extreme and seems insurmountable, with all the damage he could do, as long as we keep fighting, we have checks and balances for this reason. Hunter would be the first to remind us of the checks and balances in the experiment of democracy. c
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The journey of
Fear a nd Loathing from book to film
Most people who haven’t read any of Hunter S. Thompson’s books may know him best for Johnny Depp’s character in the 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. British screenwriter Tony Grisoni worked with director Terry Gilliam and Thompson on the film, which debuted to mixed critical reviews and small audiences but has since become a cult classic. Grisoni had the opportunity to ask the author what he thought of it at the premiere. “He said, ‘long, isn’t it?’ Which could have meant that he thought it was too long or too short. I don’t know what he meant. But he seemed quite happy,” recalled Grisoni. He spoke with CULTURE about making a film out of such a chaotic book, a film that many in Hollywood considered unmakeable. How did you approach writing a movie from the book? At the time Terry looked at some material from people who had been trying to make movies based on Hunter’s writing, and he said, “Nobody could do Hunter like Hunter.” So our starting point was not to try to write anything. We were just going to use what Hunter had written and collage it. Was it a daunting task given how chaotic that was? I don’t remember feeling that way at all. I remember thinking it was just full of stuff, full of wonderful, funny things. Another thing about Hunter’s writing, he was a very sensitive man. He was a very politically articulate man. Fear and Loathing didn’t come out of nowhere. The whole idea of gonzo journalism was “here is the only response to the world that I feel is adequate” . . . the paranoid response was the correct response to a crazy world.
Did you get a chance to meet Hunter during the writing or filming? Yes. I remember saying, “Hunter, thank you for letting us fit it to your book.” And he said, “The way I look at it, if you make a good (movie) of it—hey, I wrote the novel. If you fuck it up—hey, I wrote the novel.” That’s music to the ears of a screenwriter from a novelist. Why do you think the book remains so cherished among people, with new generations discovering it? It has a political heart. It tells you to distrust all authority. How does the film stand up in Hunter’s legacy? Do more people know him for Johnny Depp or for the book? If you look at Johnny Depp being Hunter, that’s a very close thing. That was Hunter up there on-screen. I think that’s the brilliance that Johnny brought to that part. That is Hunter. I don’t think of an actor. I look at that think, “That is Hunter S. Thompson.” c
www.thegonzofoundation.org
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REVIEWs
dispensary highlight
How has the cannabis industry changed since you have been in the business? Where would you like to see it go?
Caliva GoCaliva.com
stuff of dreams that has drawn so many people to the west coast. We wanted a brand that proudly put on display all of the best of what California had to offer. “Caliva” felt like a word that hit all your senses, just like cannabis, and also made it clear there was no doubt where we came from.
How and when did your dispensary start up?
What does your dispensary offer patients that they can’t find anywhere else?
1695 S. 7th St., San Jose (408) 297-2615
We opened the dispensary doors in July of 2015, but we didn’t produce our first harvest until 2016! Initially, more important than the facility was finding the right partner city to work with. We wanted our home base and the regulatory body that came with it to reflect our values of excellence. San Jose created a regulatory program, which is the foundation that we wanted to build Caliva around. Once we determined San Jose as our home, our priority was to find a location that would enable us to provide an authentic customer experience focused on wellness. What’s the story behind the name of your dispensary? We wanted a name that reflected our California roots so the inspiration came from that. There is a reason that the easy breezy California lifestyle is the
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Consistency, transparency, accessibility and innovation. As a vertically integrated company, we have the advantage of seeing and touching the product from seed to sale and having complete control over that process for verification and innovation purposes. We also have the great advantage of having an in-house lab, which gives us the ability to test onsite for potency, microbial and terpenes ensuring that we’re always providing the highest quality, safe, consistent and lab-tested products to our customers.
Top-Selling Strain: Red Congolese (a sativa on our connoisseur shelf) Top-Selling Concentrate: Bubba Kush Rosin Budder (made in-house by our lab team) Top-Selling Edible: Terra Bites by Kiva
We’ve seen the cannabis industry go from a taboo subject to a legitimate topic of conversation amongst people from varied backgrounds who are realizing how sophisticated this industry and these products are. More specifically we’ve seen the transformation and innovation of products in the industry—vendors no longer show up with edibles wrapped in saran wrap; our customers are informed consumers that want to know what they’re putting in their bodies, and they’re seeking a wide range of experiences. Moving forward, we would like to see this dialogue continue to become the norm and encourage people to explore cannabis as a wellness option in their life. What is the one thing you want customers to know about your dispensary? Our products are lab-tested, our menu is carefully curated by our educated product acquisitions department and we only put products on the shelf that we stand behind. If someone wanted to open a dispensary and get their feet wet in the industry, what advice or counsel would you give them? Become an informed consumer! There are so many resources available online to learn about all facets of cannabis but they can be hard to dig through. From the grow process to personal consumption, there is valuable information that elevates your understanding of the industry and your place within it. Go Caliva! c
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company highlight
to adhere to individual county and city regulations. What are the goals and vision moving forward, for your company? Where do you see your company in five years? Our greatest goal is to create products inspired by the world-class culinary region in our backyard in Sonoma County. Edibles are becoming more sophisticated and are attracting a foodie following, and we want to make exciting and enticing chocolates that are infused with the premium ingredients available to us throughout California. What words of advice would you offer anyone seeking to enter the world of cannabis business?
Satori Chocolates, CannaCraft, Inc.
2330 Circadian Wy., Santa Rosa www.satorichocolates.com
How would you describe your company? What is your specialty? Satori Chocolates combines culinary and cannabis. We use sun-grown cannabis from our farms in Northern California to infuse chocolate bars and bites. We specialize in user-friendly, precisely dosed, scored chocolate bars and bites in a variety of flavors. Our products are a great way to start medicating with edibles or trying your hand at micro-dosing while determining your personal dosage. Our products are discreet and delicious! What do you offer consumers/clients that others don’t? We offer user-friendly, precisely dosed, scored
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chocolate bars and bites with the finest ingredients sourced from all over the world. From our cannabis oil that is extracted in Northern California using a proprietary CO2 process, to the finest chocolate from TCHO in San Francisco, to coffee beans from Colombia, to strawberries from the Italian Alps, we’ve scoured the world to find the best ingredients for our customers. How and why did your company start up? Ultimately, we wanted to give our customers options. When we looked at the edibles market we saw a huge need for precise and microdosed edibles, and a need for quality ingredients and premium flavors. That is why
we have six different centers for our chocolate bites (caramel almond, strawberry, blueberry, coffee beans, cacao beans and raisins). We want this line to be appealing to all palates and cannabis tolerances. With the changing landscape of medical and recreational cannabis, what do you see as the biggest challenges to your progress as a company? Any advantages? The biggest challenge at the moment is changing compliance regulations. The required packaging and labeling requirements are in a state of flux as the industry takes shapes, and it’s hard to update packaging after we buy a large shipment of it in order
Make sure that you’re aligning yourself with the right businesses that are adhering strictly to county and state regulations and are responsibly growing and manufacturing in California. It’s important to support the marijuana companies that are leading the forefront of the industry with transparency and sustainability as marijuana shifts from medical to recreational. In many ways, working in this industry is the same as working in any industry. We’re a business creating a product for consumers, and we’re striving to create the best products we can. What do you hope to accomplish in the cannabis industry? We want to keep evolving the industry. The industry has come a long way in the last year, and we want to continue to set an example by clearly labeling our products, making it easy to dose and providing our customers with a delicious experience. c
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advocate highlight
Allie (Alexandra) Erin Butler Occupation: Founder, Hepburns When and how did you become an advocate for cannabis? I have been smoking pot and have been an advocate for safe access and harm reduction since I was a teenager growing up in Berkeley. My real advocacy work started when my mom got sick with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) just before I left for public health graduate school at New York University. I wanted to study HIV/AIDS and cancer, but I got swept up educating myself on the benefits of cannabis for my mom and ended up following my heart and studying drug policy (I wasn’t allowed to study cannabis specifically but I did work in harm reduction). My mom baked fresh warm cookies to support Prop. 19; she inspired me to want to make change. Shortly after she passed away, I started working for Compassionate Health Options in San Francisco. I have been working consistently in the cannabis industry since January 2012. After my term of employment at SPARC on the buying team, I was blessed with the opportunity to start Hepburns. Since cigarettes killed my mom, 122
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I am excited to have the chance to make Hepburns real, powerful healing medicine that people can enjoy. How has cannabis benefited your life? Cannabis has helped me to find balance, to find purpose and to relieve pain without the help of pharmaceuticals. It has also helped me find love for myself (and love in general) and find a community I feel at home with. What’s your greatest achievement for the cannabis cause? I feel like my biggest achievement is happening right now; that is working to support my community by doing the best job I can running Hepburns. We employ an amazing, diverse group of people who I love helping make their way in life by working collectively on this endeavor for health. My work is not without its challenges; luckily I am diligent and love a good challenge—that is, bringing you all the best medicine possible through Hepburns! I’m working to build my tiny company into something
much bigger than me. I hope that Hepburns can go national, and I am working to ensure we will (hopefully) be around in 300 years, and can and will provide sustainable environmental, economic and educational benefit to our community and to our earth. I want Hepburns to be the opposite of the cigarette companies that killed my mom; we work hard to bring life and love and good health and cheer to our patients! Who do you look up to or admire? My heroes in the cannabis industry include Nina Parks, Amber Senter and Sunshine
Lencho [Founders of Supernova Women], Debby Goldsberry, Raea Campbell, Lynette Shaw, Jazmin Hupp, Dennis Peron, Martin Olive, Mary Lynn Mathre, Donald Abrams, Jack Herer, Alex Zavell, Andrea Unsworth, my mom and dad and my favorite extract artist, Hashbury Extracts. These people have all made modern history in our movement; it is important that the new generation of advocates in our movement continue to educate ourselves and our communities on our history and what really matters, while paying respect to our foremothers and fathers and the leaders in our generation. c
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3. For More Products Go To iReadCulture.com
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DabVac The original DabVac made cannasseurs rejoice as dabbing was made exponentially easier with this little invention, but now, the DabVac creators have taken this gadget to the next level. This 3D printed version has evolved the DabVac to meet consumers’ interest and demand—this new version boasts an interchangeable borosilicate dish, silicone lid, multi adapter and a super thick quartz wand. The 3D printed model can withstand high heat and is even available in a variety of colors, so you can personalize your dabbing rig even more. PRICE: $42 MORE INFORMATION: www.dabvac.com
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Firefly 2 In the realm of vaporizers, the Firefly 2 is a leading herbal king. With a great app that pairs with your Firefly, you can select different temperature presets for your perfect cannabis consumption, and customize your touch sensor activation. The Firefly 2 only heats your material as you inhale, so you enjoy the flavors, aromas and experience of all the active ingredients the very moment they are released. With a glass vapor path and a particulate filter in the mouthpiece, your inhales are smooth, consistent and individualized. PRICE: $329.95 MORE INFORMATION: www.thefirefly.com
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KandyPens Elite Vaporizer Only the elite and sophisticated will set their standards high by choosing the Elite by KandyPens. This beautiful rose gold and white vape pen was specifically designed for waxy oil vaping with an upgraded mouthpiece and a convenient air carb. With four temperature settings, a 510 thread and KandyPens’ leakproof technology, consumers who use this pen will be all smiles. Expect rich and sweet draws with a one-button temperature setting that ranges between 300 ° and 430°—the ideal temperature range for waxy oils. Vape slow with the ceramic atomizer, or vape unadulterated vapor using its quartz atomizer. PRICE: $139.95 MORE INFORMATION: kandypens.com
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HempCrete DIY Kit If you were ever curious about hemp’s concrete alternative and what to do with it, now you can make your own truly oneof-a-kind crafty creations using HempCrete! You’ll be able to create beautiful forms from an eco-friendly material that’s been exclusively used in construction until now. This non-toxic material is made from hemp hurds, lime, water and a few other components, so you can make planters, sculptures, containers and more with simple instructions and at an affordable price. PRICE: $30 MORE INFORMATION: www.etsy.com/ listing/231382241/hempcretediy-kit-eco-friendly-art-decor
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CONT. For More Products Go To iReadCulture.com
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KushKards For every life event and special moment, there is a greeting card for it. Well, KushKards has sought to improve upon that even further. These stylish and fun greeting cards are not only the perfect sentiment, but can also hold any pre-filled joint perfectly—giving you or your card recipient an even better feeling when receiving this greeting. The writing is cute and fun, and the designs are gorgeous—these KushKards even have a match striker located on the bottom of each card that can be repeatedly used, so no lighter required! Just be sure to abide by state regulations about mailing cannabis, if you put it in the mail. PRICE: $6.99 MORE INFORMATION: kushkards.com
6. Small Taster by Marley Natural Who knew it was even possible for Marley Natural to outdo itself? Well, with its Small Taster, we are impressed yet again! This beautifully-crafted one-hitter style small pipe is ideal for daily smoking and compact enough to take with you anywhere. Made from hand-blown glass, the Small Taster is offset by a gorgeous walnut wood base and finished with natural carnauba wax. This is the only one-hitter you will want or need; easy-to-clean with a sleek design, the Small Taster is a great piece for any cannasseur. PRICE: $35 MORE INFORMATION: marleynaturalshop.com
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7. Magical Butter Making your own cannabutter is not always easy. The Magical Butter wants to help take the stress and mess out of infusing cannabis—and surprisingly, it’s the best device we’ve tried so far. This machine easily infuses the essence of healthy herbs like cannabis into butter, oil, grain alcohol, lotions and more. This thing grinds, heats, stirs and steeps your herbal extract, all at the correct time intervals and temperature, so you get the easiest and best tasting infused product possible—a musthave for any creative cannabis enthusiast. PRICE: $174.95 MORE INFORMATION: magicalbutter.com 8.
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Puffco Pro 2 With a sleek and sharp design, the second-generation vaporizer, Puffco Pro 2, takes another leap forward in the industry. Its simple appearance and heavy duty power set a new standard for the market. The engineers at Puffco have ensured optimized battery life and durable construction, all while making this their smallest vaporizer yet. Made with resilient stainless steel, this device will become every adventurous spirit’s new best friend. It contains a ceramic chamber, keeping flavors pure and intact, as well as a heating system with three temperature settings. The package comes complete with a USB charger, carrying case and loading tool. PRICE: $89.99 MORE INFORMATION: puffco.com
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entertainment
BOOK
The Great Green Gold Rush Kathleen Tracy and Michael Caldwell Creative Classic Publications Inc.
Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and various computer platforms Release Date: April 11
GAME
Yooka-Laylee Dev. Playtonic Games
MOVIE
20th Century Women
The Navigator
Dir. Mike Mills
ATO Records
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This successful Kickstarter-funded platformer is the spiritual successor to the charming 1998 hit, Banjo-Kazooie, and a throwback to the traditional style of 3D games from that era. Created by Playtonic Games, which includes former employees of the game company known as Rare (Perfect Dark, Conker’s Bad Fur Day), Yooka-Laylee brings the nostalgic appeal back from the past. The game features Yooka, a chameleon, and Laylee, a bat, who set out to prevent the game’s villains from obtaining “Pagies,” which the antagonists intend to collect in order to “convert them into pure profit.” (Nicole Potter)
Hurray For The Riff Raff
A24
Pub. Team17 The Great Green Gold Rush provides an in-depth journey into the stories of 15 entrepreneurs who have used their expertise and influence to push the cannabis and hemp industry forward. These featured professionals have embarked on pivotal professional and personal journeys, and this book demonstrates how their work has positively influenced the public’s perception of cannabis. While the economic potential in cannabis is an important topic of this book, readers are informed about cannabis’ emotional, medical and social benefits as well. (Jacob Cannon)
MUSIC
In a time when women and their rights to equality seem very vulnerable, it’s nice to see and up-andcoming director making a concerted effort to tell wonderful, human stories about women and how they affect our lives. With an all-star cast featuring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup and young newcomer Lucas Jade Zumannn, 20th Century Women marvelously tells the story of freedom and challenges in late1970s Santa Barbara, California and all of the learning experiences it can bring. (Simon Weedn)
In its first studio recordings in three years, and sixth album overall, Hurray For The Riff Raff delivers its most stylistically diverse record to date, The Navigator. With noticeably more polished production and more fleshed out arrangements, Hurray For The Riff Raff lifts itself beyond the country/Americana sound that it has laid its foundation on, and moves into more straight forward American rock and roll/indie rock territories. Those with affection for artists like Neko Case who manage to somehow blend country and indie rock may applaud this evolution a great deal. (Simon Weedn)
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strain, edible & concentrate
Cherry Pie
Available at: Valley Health Options in Sacramento.
There’s a song out there that talks about cherry pie and how it “tastes so good, make a grown man cry,” and we believe that song must have been written about these flowers from Valley Health Options. Sweet, scrumptious and creamy, this strain tastes just like a slice of grandma’s cherry pie with a dollop of whip cream on top. The taste lingers for much longer than other strains, and consumers will find themselves enjoying this flavor for a few extra minutes after inhaling. Although, the taste is very sweet, the scent can be a little more pungent and similar to that of the stereotypical OG smell with just a hint of real cherry. The bud structure is almost entirely made of purple shades with orange hairs weaving all throughout and only a few areas of green hues. Moist and crispy, the Cherry Pie flower is a prime texture for those who enjoy rolling their cannabis.
Sublime Cartridge Available at: Valley Health Options in Sacramento.
There’s simply no way to puff on this cartridge just one time. This is likely due to the juicy and succulent taste that is bursting out of this beautiful cartridge. Sublime Cartridge offers over 15 percent terpenes that make for an undeniably scrumptious oil extract. Alongside over 70 percent THC, this is a combination of flavor and potency that is hard to beat. All gold hardware accented with a clear glass mouthpiece begs for this Sublime Cartridge to be put on display in an art museum. A cult-classic strain of Girl Scout Cookies was selected to be the parent flower of this extract. Being an indica-dominant hybrid, pleasant bodily effects are more heavily noted than ethereal effects, however both are present, making this a well-balanced hybrid. An unbelievably great deal as well, patients can find this stellar cartridge at Valley Health Options for only $35.
Moon Rocks Moon Rocks are nothing short of legendary. The curious golden textured lumps have even been called “the world’s strongest cannabis.” Moon Rocks are made by taking a nug of top-shelf flower, drowning it in high-potency oil extract, and then rolling the nug in a thick layer of kief dust. The final product has astonishing strength, and these potent rocks are now are available at Valley Health Options in Sacramento. A deep draw of Moon Rocks will go down easy and will inevitably produce a pronounced hashy and candy taste. Even the most seasoned smokers will have trouble finishing a bowl of Moon Rocks, which is very useful for extreme battling against cases of insomnia, anxiety and PTSD.
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Available at: Valley Health Options in Sacramento.
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SUPER CBD™
Available wherever: POP Naturals products are carried.
No butane. No alcohol. No glycol. No glycerin. No fillers. Just pure, unaltered, premium CO2 oil inside this SUPER CBD™ 500mg vape cartridge developed by POP Naturals, a trusted leader in high CBD extracts. Ringo’s Gift sure is plentiful, as there are 67 percent total cannabinoids and 53 percent of CBD alone! This vape cartridge is perfect for eliminating any stress or anxiety and providing instant pain relief without causing the consumer to feel any cerebral effects due to the terrific CBD and THC concentration. In addition, a total of 2.45 percent terpenes are preserved to help facilitate an optimal flavor composition. Clean and convenient packaging will encourage consumers to bring their vape cartridge with them wherever, whenever. POP Naturals maintains the highest level of transparency with its products. So, in addition to lab test results on every package, any curious consumers will always be able to find details of a full cannabinoid analysis on popnaturals.com.
Blueberry Haze Crumble Blueberry flavors are hitting the scene hard in 2017, and Black Diamond Extracts presented CULTURE with a generous offering in the form of a dry-sift Blueberry Haze Crumble. Offered by Purple Lotus Patient Center, this hash is by far one of the most popular products among visitors. Since the texture of this extract is less stable than most oils, it requires more care when handling. It also ensures there is a high concentration of terpenes while keeping unnecessary lipids out. Anybody who likes the raunchy and musky flavors of a skunky strain that’s complimented by lush fruit flavors will definitely find themselves frequently picking this concentrate up. One of the best selections to facilitate a creative and inspirational state of mind, most patients have reported a noticeable increase in productivity. A local favorite by those in San Jose, people from all over the Bay Area are going to start hearing about Blueberry Haze in the next few months.
Available at: Shambhala Medical Cannabis Collective in San Francisco.
Dream Queen Gigantic buds doused in a blizzard of trichomes are the first thing that’s noticed when inspecting the Dream Queen. Neither rock solid nor loose, the calyxes have an alluring density that begs to be broken down and enjoyed. Very minute diesel-like scents are noted but they are not as strong as the forest fragrances and will have patients feeling like they are taking a walk through the redwoods. Sour flavors are presented alongside musky undertones that further propel the strain’s ability to stimulate the senses. Shambhala does a great job of using eco-friendly packaging as well; the Dream Queen is packed inside a jar made from recycled materials. Those who admire enormous yet supple nuggets that are trimmed with the utmost precision will love the Dream Queen strain. Shambhala continually offers beautiful flowers like this and will continue stocking its top-shelf offerings throughout 2017.
Golden Lemons Santa Cruz patients have long known C.H.A.I. as a reliable source for quality medicine, and the recent Golden Lemons offering shines true in that regard. An 80/20 indica-dominant hybrid, this flower has genetics from both Kosher Kush (which is known to have THC levels between 30-33 percent) and Lemon Skunk. This particular hybrid has been tested at S.C. Labs, and our sample was listed at 31.8 percent THC! The Golden Lemons strain is grown through an exclusive C.H.A.I. Certified Garden, so the quality is guaranteed from seed to sale. Huge, frosty and dense buds are to be expected and yield gassy skunk-like scents integrated with a savory citrus aroma. Functional yet notoriously potent, creativity is bound to blossom when this strain is used. Stop by C.H.A.I. in Santa Cruz, and try this beauty for yourself.
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Available at: Purple Lotus Patient Center in San Jose.
Available at: Capitola Healing Association Inc. (C.H.A.I.) in Santa Cruz.
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Alchemy - Relax Gold Vape Cartridge Those who love aromatic vape cartridges will find that one of the best selections is produced and offered by Alchemy. For those who are familiar with Alchemy may know that the company has a lower potency option at 30 percent THC. We reviewed Alchemy’s new Relax GOLD Vape Cartridge, and it is still the same lovely combination of lavender, chamomile and indica made with a distillate oil extraction process. Lavender and chamomile work together very well with indica to calm the senses, slow down hyperactive nervous systems and eliminate anxiety. The cartridge contains a generous 750mg, and the oil at 70 percent THC is really a smooth hit. The battery offered by Alchemy is one of the most convenient and useful ones available to use with cartridges. It features a no-button system allowing the battery to be automatically activated when the consumer starts to inhale through the cartridge. The end of the battery also features a stylus tip so it’s seriously a multifunctional and high-tech device. The beautiful amber oil inside the cartridge pairs nicely with the golden trim on the mouthpiece, not to mention the fact that each cartridge is labeled so we always know what we are getting. Those who like to be on the cutting edge of technology, style and quality will seriously dig this new high-potency and relaxing set-up by Alchemy.
Available at: Dispensaries throughout California.
Available at: Grass Roots in SF, getsava.com delivery and wherever Alchemy products are sold.
Waffle n’ Caramel Cookies Edipure doesn’t only produce gummies! This famed edible company also crafts Waffle n’ Caramel Cookies, which pack a whopping 100mg per pack. Each pack contains four individually infused 25mg cookies for easy dose breakdown. These crisp little waffle wafers are the perfect accompaniment to the delicious caramel inside them. As one would expect from a company like Edipure, these cookies are of superb quality, which makes them a fine treat for any consumer looking for pain relief and satisfying their sweet tooth. Be sure to start small and ease your way in, as these little guys pack a punch!
Available at: First Hemp Bank Oakland in Oakland.
OG Sherbet OG enthusiasts have long known about the OG Sherbet and how it is really a hidden gem in the OG genotype family. Yielding some of the largest buds of any indica out there, patients shouldn’t be surprised if an eighth is made entirely from one bud. Any folks who regularly use a grinder to prepare their medicine will notice that OG Sherbet produces considerably more kief than most other top-shelf flowers. Deep eggplant purple values are nestled underneath a sappy layer of citrus scented crystals only further cementing the OG Sherbet’s status as one of the premiere indicas in visual appearance. First Hemp Bank Oakland is known for always supplying serious quality flowers, so when a flower like OG Sherbet is on the top-shelf, it’s meant to be checked out.
Kiefzilla Pre-Roll
Available at: Herbal Cruz in Santa Cruz.
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Patients will be feeling a bit like the residents of downtown Tokyo when “Kiefzilla” stomps through! A green beast covered in a thick layer of kief, this big ol’ pre-roll will be smashing all expectations. Rolled with 1.5 grams of sticky flowers, sticky wax and dusted with kief, this is the complete package. This full cannabinoid combination is so hot right now, that when consumers exhale they feel like they are breathing fire. A number one choice for getting the evening rolling, the Kiefzilla Pre-Roll is super tranquilizing and will have consumers feeling wrapped up by a peaceful blanket of joy. Santa Cruz natives can always get hooked up at Herbal Cruz with these monster sticks of dankness.
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Lambsbread
REVIEWs
Available wherever: Utopia Farms flowers are carried.
Lambsbread has been a favorite in the cannabis scene all around the world for over half a century, and it continues to amaze cannabis aficionados to this day. The Lambsbread genotype is well-known for being a personal favorite of Bob Marley for its cheesy, earthy and fruity tastes (and it also originally hails from Jamaica). This is a sativa-dominant hybrid that contains approximately 22 to 26 percent THC, as it was tested by the reputable scientists at S.C. Labs. The effects of this succulent hybrid are usually very energetic and uplifting, as is common with most sativas. Cannasseurs who have a refined palate for terpene flavor will be excited to know the major terps present are Myrcene, Limonene and ß-Caryophyllene. Additionally, the Lambsbread flower is grown all-naturally and is totally free of pesticides and microbes, which holds true for all products from Utopia Farms. For those who love Lambsbread, it is also available as a live resin extract. Utopia Farms has been running the game with other top-shelf strains like its signature C. banana for years now. With its continued success in everyday strains like Lambsbread, Utopia Farms continues to bring true connoisseur quality cannabis that isn’t always easy to find on the market.
Banana Kush Cartridge Gold Drop is sure dropping some gold in these next level cartridges in the form of a Banana Kush Extract. Always a master at dialing in the flavor profile perfectly, Gold Drop has found a perfect banana flavor to show off in this new cartridge. Displaying a THC percentage of about 74 percent, consumers will notice the clear potency of this concentrate immediately. The banana flavors are subtle but do linger on the palate for some time after the first inhalation and pair distinctly with a nearly Hawaiian, pineapple-esque flavor. Consistently, Gold Drop is cranking out some of the best cartridges on the market in terms of price, quality and taste, and the Banana Kush definitely reinforces that reputation.
Available wherever: Gold Drop products are carried.
Chemdog
Available at: Urban Pharm in San Francisco.
Oozing off these bright radioactive green flowers are giant crystalline globs stacked full of terpenes. Sour and bitter scents that are akin to lemon and ginger add to the Chemdog’s sensual allure. Not only one of the densest flower strains currently available in the Bay Area, Chemdog consistently flowers into large buds, allowing for some awesomely huge and heavy nuggets. Someone could throw one of the buds clear across a room, and it wouldn’t break! An easy-going hybrid strain, Chemdog is found to be very beneficial for those just looking to unwind and enjoy themselves. The quintessential sweet and tangy but sour taste is prominent in this variety from Urban Pharm. Chemdog is a good move for hybrid lovers who dig a classic strain.
Gelato #41 Gelato #41 is essentially as close as a plant can get to looking like ice cream with all of its icy crystals sprinkled on the mint and lavendercolored flowers. Long and tightly packed buds are very common with this variety of Gelato along with the giant robust flowers on this plant. The flavor profile is so remarkably accurate, an exceptional sherbet gelato flavor is urging to be relished in. Shortly after the first taste, consumers will observe a wave of exuberance, breaking down any walls of negative energy that have been built up throughout the day. Sparkle Shoes is the well-respected grower of this exquisite strain, so be sure to look out for other reputable strains from Sparkle Shoes like Murasaki and Grease Ball.
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Available at: Telegraph Health Center in Oakland.
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Dankman Fruity Pebbles OG Live Resin Yabba-dabba doo! This Fruity Pebbles OG Live Resin extract made by Dankman and available at HTP Group is one that has consumers feeling like Fred Flintstone just off the clock from Slate Rock and Gravel Company! An incredibly golden and clear extract, this live resin is a perfect visual example of a stable and easy-to-handle concentrate. It smells just like a Rice Krispy treat made with Fruity Pebbles with its heavy fruity and rich scents. The OG Fruity Pebbles hybrid strain is used for this live resin and is well-known for its strong and euphoric effects, which certainly are present here in this extract. Show any friend a gram of this, and you’ll be bound to make an impression with the unbeatable scent and strength. Available at: HTP Group in Vallejo.
Pappy Honey Oil: OG Kush Not all oil is equal. Many cartridge manufacturers use petroleum solvents to extract the oils from their flowers, whereas Pappy uses a cold extraction process. This variety of extraction results in enormous flavors and fuller body effects. This Pappy Honey Oil is so clean and pure, that it would be safe for topical use as well, although we probably won’t be breaking one of these cartridges open. OG Kush already bears an amazing taste, so in combination with this extraction, this cartridge is bar none on its flavors. An adjustable mouthpiece is installed on this cartridge, making it super easy to find a comfortable position for use. A ceramic burner plate is used instead of a glass wick system, which is ideal as the oil never touches the burner element. This clever wick system prevents carbon output, yielding safe and delicious vapor. Super slick packaging will definitely catch consumers’ eyes all throughout California.
Available at: Flower Power in San Francisco.
Procana Medicinal Softgels Procana’s Medicinal Softgels make it simple and easy to medicate while on-the-go. Each package conveniently contains two easily digestible soft caplets sealed in a blister pack for patients’ safety and range from 6mg to 100mg THC. They also have a line of CBD-infused capsules as well that are perfect for relief anytime. Consumers medicating with Procana caps can expect to feel the effects about an hour after consumption and should avoid over-consuming until they’re familiar with their own level of tolerance. Procana CBD Balance 14:1 caps are ideal for people seeking relief from aches, pains, and nausea but still need to get things done. The combination of CBD and THC has been proven to be more effective than singular cannabinoid therapies; but, if you have a job or need to do things while seeking relief, the minimal THC content in Procana CBD Balance is ideal.
Available at: Dispensaries throughout California.
IVXX Elevate Blueberry Available at: Blum Oak in Oakland.
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IVXX Elevate’s extracts are truly some of the best textured and tastiest extracts that are available in the Bay Area! Each and every portion of this extract is crisp and sparkling with crystal-like clarity—it looks just like the crust of a delicious blueberry cobbler. Always on top of its game with sleek and stylish packaging, this sample begs to be opened. Super fruity scents are definitely most prominent up front, but there is a sour and skunky scent that lingers as well. Ever so smooth upon inhalation, the IVXX Elevate Blueberry contains a staggering 82.8 percent THC, and it sure is easy to tell. Instant stress relief was noted and a child–like giddiness was reported, so this will be a go-to for turning a day around. Find this scrumptious and sugary treat at Blum Oak.
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Available wherever: Strictly Edibles products are carried.
Key Lime Donuts Lush, airy and fluffy, these Key Lime Donuts are dunked in a white chocolate frosting, sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs and loaded full of THC. This confection, which is a product of Strictly Edibles Collective, is probably not one to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee in the morning, since each donut has a hefty 100mg of THC. A creamy and tropical flavor is present in the donut, which might remind the consumer of a Key Lime Pie straight out of Key West. The soft and moist cake inside this donut makes it difficult to eat just one—it’s an edible that is hard to put down. Each bag contains three donuts for a total of 300mg in each package. Strictly Edibles is the master behind these delectable treats, and as most already know—this company doesn’t mess around when it comes to quality.
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Available at: The Green Door SF in San Francisco
NUG rolls - Headband Designed with the work hard, play hard lifestyle in mind, NUG Rolls are self-contained packs with four hand-rolled pre-rolls, a NUG lighter and a sturdy box so your stash won’t squash in your pocket or bag. That’s over one-eighth of premium flower for only $30 (MSRP). Ideal for patients who are onthe-go and looking for a consistent product with no hassle, NUG Rolls come in four strains—Headband, Premium Jack, White Buffalo OG and Gorilla Glue. Using emojis, the brand’s “Know Your Flavor” campaign allows patients to identify what flavor notes they prefer in their cannabis and follow that cannabinoid and terpene profile across all products in the line. The complete product line includes NUG flower, shatter, crumble, chocolate bars, vape cartridges and distillate. Newly launched, NUG Rolls hit dispensary shelves this month and are available throughout California.
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Everest Live Resin Sour Gummies Everest is sure of at least one thing when it comes to Live Resin extracts—that they taste delicious! So the team at Everest decided to take this little piece of knowledge and found the most common sense application for it by infusing edibles. Sour enough to make the lips pucker without being too intense, the flavor is enjoyable just like that of a Sour Patch Kid, although there are other flavors available if sour isn’t your thing. The terpenes in these gummies are simply out of control—just a nibble off one of these gummy bears will have consumers salivating for more. This is because Live Resin is made while cannabis plants are fresh, so no flavors or cannabinoids are lost (which can happen during the drying phase of flower processing). Due to the high cannabinoid content, the euphoric effect is unique against other edibles, giving you the “entourage effect” normally only accessible with smoking. The packs contain eight gummies, each with 20mg of THC and CBD, for a total of 160mg of cannabinoids per package. S.C. Labs has done the tests and found 53.8 percent THC and 8.65 percent CBD are inside each gummy, which is a very generous THCCBD ratio that many edible fanatics report are hard to find.
Available at: Northstar Holistic Collective in Sacramento.
Available at: Many fine Bay Area dispensaries and delivery services.
Grape Jelly Donut Plump, round and covered in shimmering terpenoids, just one look at Grape Jelly Donut is enough to convince consumers to not even bother with any other strain ever again. Pretty much the best kind of breakfast, a hefty helping of these donuts is an ideal way to get your morning going. Not a misnomer by any means, Grape Jelly Donut tastes just like a jelly-stuffed long john straight out of Krispy Kreme, with sensational grape flavors that overtake the tongue. Dried and cured to a perfect texture and consistency, the smoke produced from this strain is sweet, smooth and full-bodied. Even though grape jelly is an intensely purple color, this strain doesn’t bear those same dark hues. Instead it displays a more muted lavender tone tucked underneath a snowy blanket of trichomes. Absolutely divine in taste and appearance, Grape Jelly Donut works for anxiety relief as well. Overall this offering from Northstar Holistic Collective is the complete package.
Moon Rocks Looking for a trip straight to the moon? Look no further than the Moon Rocks made by Medizen! Each package contains 20 delectable candies with every piece containing 15mg of THC. The starting dose is recommended at two to three candies, however as everybody knows, it can vary from consumer to consumer. Unequaled fruity flavors are to be enjoyed here, especially the bold citrus in the lemon variety. All of the THC content comes exclusively from high quality, organic CO2 oil, which has been reported as one of the safest types of oil to ingest. Medizen uses mainly Bubba Kush and Green Crack as the parent strains for the oils used in the Moon Rocks. Absolutely ideal for any patients looking for an easy way to get rid of a sore throat or to help suppress a cough, many folks find that a package of Moon Rocks is a staple in their medicine cabinets.
Available wherever: Medizen products are carried.
OG Steves’ Purple Tangie Available at: Green Remedy Collective in Richmond.
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There are two types of people in the world: Those who prefer their cannabis to taste like cannabis and those who prefer their cannabis to taste like a delicious tropical fruit. This strain is for the second type of person. So many trichomes decorate this delicious tangerine-flavored flower. Steve Bourland is the esteemed grower of this amazing strain and is on top of his game with getting every flavor just right. Many concentrate lovers may have heard of this variety of sativa after it was used for an extract that took first place in the 2016 Best Medical Sativa Concentrate category. Easily one of the prettiest buds out in the Bay Area, it has an equal amount of green, orange and purple displayed underneath a shimmering crystal coating. After giving this strain a try just once, many people will find it a personal favorite with its remarkable flavors and scents.
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Purple Kush Cartridge
Available wherever: PureCure products are carried.
Another clutch offering by PureCure, the Purple Kush Cartridge is a healthy way for extract fanatics to consume high quality oils while running errands or socializing with friends. Purple Kush is an indica strain that is great for relaxation, pain relief and eliminating stress. All cartridges are made strictly strain specific, so you can rest assured that there are not any flower and oil blends being used. Additionally, there are no additives like Glycol used in the cartridge, resulting in strictly pure THC and CBD extract. Tested for quality at Steephill Labs, the oil was found to have a 73 percent total content of various cannabinoids. All flowers used are grown in Northern California assuring their quality and adding to their appeal to Bay Area locals. For those who are on-the-go, the tube packaging is useful for transporting the pen throughout the day along with room for a spare cartridge. With a flavor that won’t soon be forgotten, PureCure’s Purple Kush is a supreme indica packed into a convenient cartridge.
OG Wax With all the different types of concentrates available on the market today, it’s hard to pick one style that is the “best.” For us, it comes down to taste and user friendliness, which Pure Vape thankfully nails both with flying colors. Slightly acidic and piney, the indica effects of the OG Wax take over almost instantaneously and last upwards of two hours. The product itself is very easy to use and leaves very little mess, even for the most novice of users. Lab tested and clocking in at a whopping 82.8 percent THC, this OG Wax is a sure fire hit for dabbers everywhere. Proceed with caution, and visit purevapeofficial.com for a dispensary near you.
Available wherever: Pure Vape products are carried.
Punch Bar Cream Available at: Dispensaries throughout California.
The year 2013 was a simpler time. Barack Obama was still President of the United States, Harambe was still alive and nobody knew anything about the “cash me ousside” girl. However, 2013 was a great year for cannabis. It was the founding year for a few great cannabis companies such as Punch Edibles, which has revolutionized the way cannabis confections are produced. Their latest innovation in powerful edibles is their Punch Bar Cream line of chocolate bars. All based in white chocolate with a variety of mouthwatering flavors including White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Key Lime Pie, Strawberry Cheesecake, Cookies N’ Cream and Peaches N’ Cream, these little beauties are potent and definitely let you know why the named their company Punch Edibles. These are not edibles for the faint of heart, at 225mg per bar, and sections that specifically suggest you take a maximum of 25mg at a time, we suggest maybe only one-fourth of a 25mg square at a time. With an emphasis on small sized, deliciously flavored, highly potent and lab-tested products, the Punch Bar Cream line is the perfect sweet treat for any seasoned consumer.
Banana Split Put a blindfold on a friend, give them a good whiff of this strain, and have fun watching them guess what the item they’re smelling is; they will probably say that it must be a dessert because this smells just like a real Banana Split! This flower is a sativa-dominant hybrid that has genetics from the Banana Sherbet strain and the classic Tangie strain. All of the buds we sampled were extremely dense and lush with an amazingly firm and yet slightly spongy texture. There are tons of orange hairs poking through the multiple shades of lime green, all dusted with a sweet and sugary trichome-coating. Grown by Sac Hydro Farm and tested at 23 percent THC, it is best for after work. Banana Split is great for providing motivation and staying focused. A thick, pungent smoke is produced from this strain, and it is easily one of the best banana-flavored ice cream-ish strains ever seen on the market. Banana Split is always available at Holistic Healing Collective (HHC), where Becks remains a pioneer in the industry, and the rest of the HHC staff continues to provide excellent knowledge to all fellow connoisseurs. 144
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Available at: Holistic Healing Collective in Richmond.
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REVIEWs Available wherever: High Thai products are carried.
Available at: Homegrown Holistic Collective Inc. (H2C Inc.) in Vallejo.
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HERE High Thai Thai Stick An ancient way of consuming cannabis has finally found its way into the modern day marketplace, and we couldn’t be more excited. The Thai Stick offered by High Thai is a type of pre-rolled joint that is unlike any other in a few different ways. First and foremost, consumers will notice a stick that goes directly through the center of joint and a large hemp wick wrapped around the exterior. These are simply there to maintain the structure of the joint and are removed once ready to consume. Consumers will immediately find there is a channel through the joint from where the stick was, allowing for the best possible airflow of the smoke. Packed full with two-grams of flowers and two-grams of hash, these handcrafted cannabis cigar-like pre-rolls will smoothly burn on average between 45 minutes to one hour. The Thai Sticks are currently available at Medithrive and OneFiftyCollective, respectively.
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Hempress CBD Oil For any consumers looking for a strictly non-psychoactive cannabis solution, this is a great product to satisfy those needs. Containing purely CBD, the non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis, there is no THC in this oil. The main effects of CBD oil bring relief from pain, nausea, spasms and anxiety, but many people use it daily for concentration as well. A huge upside to this oil is that it can be used any time during the day with discretion since it doesn’t offer the same psychoactive effects that THC does. Apply directly under the tongue and notice almost instant relief from stress and pain. H2C Inc. is building a strong relationship with the cannabis community as the company offers one some of the best varieties of products around and has extended offering of Hempress products just like this pure CBD Oil!
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Super Glue
Available at: SFFOGG in San Francisco.
The name of the strain is certainly the name of the game with “Super Glue.” Just like it sounds, many consumers will find themselves glued to wherever they are sitting thanks to this indica’s super sedative effects. Testing in at 30 percent THC, this Super Glue is a number one choice for any patient suffering from back and muscle pain, as instant relief is experienced upon the first breath of the tasty smoke. This is definitely a trademark quality of indicas, and the Super Glue does more than it needs to live-up to that standard. A very light and almost neon green color decorates this flower underneath a heavy crust of juicy trichomes. The bud grows in a fractal-like fashion with large and small buds that all look like miniature colas. Super Glue is definitely a clutch pick for the indica lovers in San Francisco; they’ll be a fan of these flowers for life after they try them out.
Available wherever: Empress Extracts products are carried.
Gemmy’s Full Extract Cannabis Oil Gemmy’s Full Extract Cannabis Oil is a product unlike any other. It is a topical and edible oil extract that has some the best medicinal qualities on the planet. Gemmy’s mission is to provide affordable high-quality hope through premium medicine and strives to do so naturally. The pure cannabis oil contains over 62 percent THC, and each syringe of medicine is three grams in weight. Patients who suffer from extreme ailments such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and Crohn’s Disease have found this to be one of the best options for a natural cannabinoid-based medication. Even cancer.gov has shown this naturally occurring medicine to kill cancer cells in various studies. Any patient who is looking for alternative ways to consume their medicine effectively will find Gemmy’s Full Extract Cannabis Oil to be a true lifesaver.
Available through: Flow Kana. Grown by HappyDay Farms.
Great Success Buds the size of strawberries are plenty deserving of being named “Great Success!” This strain was a top 20 finisher at the 2016 Emerald Cup that tested at an incredible three-percent terpene level. Absolutely enormous flowers consistently yield four-plus gram nuggets! The calyxes are somewhat loosely bound but still demonstrate some of the densest structures possible. Basically, these buds are so dense that a game of catch could probably be played without a flower breaking. Warm apple cider and cinnamon flavors are found in Great Success, a cross of Ogre Berry and OG Strawberry, reminding patients of the cool breezes and bountiful fragrances of harvest time. The colors are an even spattering of green and orange producing an almost beige like color when viewed from a distance. Almost too pretty to smoke, Great Success is a beautiful strain, but very potent, so it is well worth the heartbreak of breaking apart a piece of art!
GreenRock Botanicals Even as the vaping technology keeps on growing exponentially, GreenRock Botanical manages to stay on the cutting edge of things. Evidenced by their newest vape kit, the engineers over at GreenRock have created a setup that’s worth getting excited about for a couple reasons. First of all, the kit includes a no-touch battery that is automatically activated when the cartridge is inhaled upon—a desired feature that is soon going to be commonplace in all vaporizer pens. Secondly, the cartridge itself uses a ceramic heating plate instead of the conventional cotton wicks, thus exhibiting substantial flavor that is very enjoyable. Additionally, the oils inside the cartridge always contain high amounts of THC and CBD regardless of the variety chosen. GreenRock botanicals has figured out the perfect approach to making top-quality cartridges and will continue to set the example of what an outstanding vape kit looks like. 148
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Available wherever: GreenRock Botanicals products are carried.
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Ultra Clear by Wonder Extracts Wonder Extracts really has done it—the company has made the holy grail of extracts. Ultra Clear is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, with an almost 100 percent clear oil. By far one of the highest THC content oils that most people will ever see, the Ultra Clear contains 91 percent THC. Made using a state-of-the-art multi-filtered process and fractional distillation as well, Wonder Extracts has found a way to eliminate almost every single substance besides THC and CBD from its concentrates. Tahoe OG is the parent flower of this divine extract and is great for helping patients manage their pain. Collectives that carry this product need to be visited promptly as patients can find a halfgram of this perfect extract for an incredible deal. This is undoubtedly one of the best concentrates on the market currently and should be sampled by all.
Available at: Buddy’s Cannabis in San Jose.
Available at: Various dispensaries in Northern California
Skywalker Live Resin We’re not sure if they call it Skywalker because it provides the blissful feeling of walking on clouds or because of the heavily sedative properties that have consumers falling asleep and into the “dark side.” Either way, this extract surpasses the bar of excellence with its extremely high potency and its ability to put almost any consumer to sleep. The scents that permeate off this beautiful, crumbly live resin are reminiscent of a mojito on the beach with the exotic salty, sweet and sour lime scents. An indica concentrate that is best used in the evening, Skywalker Live Resin is a prime choice for those who suffer from insomnia, severe pain and restlessness. As with most live resins, the Skywalker Live Resin melts very evenly and has a luscious vapor that is easy to inhale. Buddy’s Cannabis in San Jose has this premium concentrate on deck regularly.
King Louis XIII Natural CBD We aren’t sure what impressed us more—the fact that this company has yet to release a subpar product or the wonderful, tropical smell this particular concentrate gives off once the seal has been broken. The bright iridescent glow from this indica is only shadowed by the almost tiki-like flavor that assaults your taste buds upon inhalation. The CBD cartridge is a perfect choice for anyone looking for the benefits of cannabis consumption without the distracting euphoric effects. King Louis XIII Natural CBD is lab-tested and ready to relieve anyone suffering from insomnia and chronic pain.
Available wherever: Green Kings products are carried.
Prophet Available at: Bay Area Safe Alternatives Collective in San Francisco.
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Brand-new to the market this month is a killer product offered by Bay Area Safe Alternatives Collective called Prophet. Prophet offers multiple different varieties of cannabis strains. The company has three master varieties: Hybrid, Sativa and Indica, and over 20 incredible strains such as, Dream Weaver, Ripped Bubba OG and its signature strain, BASA Nova. The strains all have one thing in common—a revolutionary NO2 sealed container for superior preservation. Using pressurized Nitrous Dioxide as a preservation method prevents the buds from oxidizing or becoming stale, allowing for the terpenoids to never decompose or become harsh for up to 18 months. The packaged tins are super durable and smell-proof, which makes them great for traveling. After receiving a sample of BASA’s top six strains, we were particularly wowed by the Ripped Bubba OG. As we popped the top of the can, we were instantly hit with a powerfully earthy and sweet smelling nose. Testing at 21.9 percent THCA and 0.7 percent THC, this was a heavy but not overpowering high. All plants are organically sun-grown in Northern California and always hand-trimmed. Care, quality and conscious farming are all prominent traits found in Prophet; go see for yourself at Bay Area Safe Alternatives.
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Available in: Fine dispensaries across California.
THC/CBD Wine
Available wherever: Revive Organics products are carried
This is truly a classy cannabis product that is available for patients throughout California. Beautifully packaged inside a bamboo sleeve, this package contains a bottle of wine, a chocolate bar and a massage salve. Valentine’s was a few months ago but that doesn’t mean Bay Area patients can’t surprise their loved one with this romantic gift. Not only is the wine 14.8 percent alcohol by volume, it is also full of 100mg of THC and 100mg of CBD in a 500ml bottle. With a cork sealed to maintain freshness and quality, this is not just some knock-off wine with THC in it—it’s a top-notch wine made with Northern Californian grapes and Northern Californian cannabis. The chocolate bar contains 200mg of THC and has some of the richest and deepest cocoa flavors present in an edible—a fine example of a cannabis delicacy. Additionally, the massage salve is supreme for ending an evening with a high level of relaxation. Revive Organics is making a huge splash with its wine package, which is sure to be loved by cannasseurs everywhere.
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Sea Salt Caramels Made from scratch consistently and precisely dosed, these confectionary treats are designed specifically to cater to those who like single serving edibles or who are first-time consumers wanting to find their proper dosage. The benefit of a single use edible compared to one that patients can nibble on is patients discern exactly how much is being consumed. The chocolate used in these caramels is sustainably sourced and fairly traded, so consumers have peace of mind knowing the chocolates are made with care. Stokes offers chocolates in six different flavors in 10mg or 20mg sizes. A pristine hybrid flower blend is used for these caramels with the desired effects of both indicas and sativas. Deliciously salty caramel cascades gently next to the milky smooth chocolate flavor with subtle earthy cannabis flavors on top, ultimately providing an impeccable taste.
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Bazooka Joe Bubblegum Cookies Feel like a kid in the fanciest candy shop in town by picking up some Bazooka Joe Bubblegum Cookies at Green Door Metro. This top-shelf flower isn’t named after Bazooka Joe for no reason; its scent and flavor are a carbon copy of the chewing gum. The THC percentage in this hybridized strain comes in at 23.95 percent and works well to alleviate many different ailments. Most consumers report it helps with their appetite and eliminating any nausea along with providing great relief for chronic pain. Each bud is definitely on the denser side, but they still maintain the aesthetically pleasing fluffy bud structures.
Available at: Green Door Metro in Sacramento.
Available wherever: Happy Seed Edibles products are carried.
Dankies A munchie staple of the cannabis counterculture since the ‘90s, the Twinkie has finally made its way onto the market in the form of an edible. Called “Dankies,” these airy and fluffy confections are jammed full with a sweet cream filling just like a traditional Twinkie would be. Even better, one side is chocolate and one side is vanilla but both sides are full of 100mg of THC, totaling 200mg in the entire treat. Meant to be enjoyed in more than one sitting, consumers will enjoy the fact there are two flavors in one. OG Kush is used for the extract and is a perfect 50/50 hybrid, which is always the best combination for edibles. Want to know the best part about the Dankies? Patients can find them for about $12 throughout dispensaries in California.
Available at: Dispensaries throughout Southern California.
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HERE Vanilla Caramel Cannabis Coffee All of the Therapy Tonics & Provisions beverages are made with the finest non-GMO ingredients and are expertly crafted with a solvent-free extraction process. The Vanilla Caramel Cannabis Coffee is packed with 80mg of THC and is gluten-free. The taste is extraordinary—rich and full-bodied coffee flavors with an undertone of creamy caramel and just a touch of vanilla make it a difficult task to not drink the whole bottle. For consumers with a lower tolerance, there is an easy guide on each bottle, which labels each increment of 10mg, making it easy to break up the dosage as per your individual needs. Consuming just a few doses gave this reviewer a clean, cerebral and creative effect and removed any hint of body pain that was once present. This is a deliciously discreet way to get relief on-the-go.
Ringos Gift Demonstrating a ceaseless commitment to designing a superior line of cannabis products, W Vapes has delivered a high-quality, full flower, strain-specific CBD CO2 Extracted Oil vape cartridge, compatible with W Vapes’ sleek Push Button Battery vaporizer pen design. Our sample of Ringos Gift was the perfect solution to combat our pesky ailments in a discreet and effective way. All of W Vapes’ products are lab-tested and certified as pesticide-free. Ringos’ 13:1 CBD/THC ratio has a high potency of 73 percent CBD with a soft accompaniment of 5.5 percent THC allowed us to alleviate pain, nausea and inflammation at work without distracting us with psychoactive effects. When we were ready to run errands after a long workday, the convenience of this CBD-rich cartridge served us on-the-go as well. Any existing nausea melted away as quickly as we were able to inhale the smooth vapor with the simple touch of a button. This vape cartridge would also work wonders for patients with epilepsy, as CBD has been found as powerful medication to stop seizures. Learn more about W Vapes extraction process and superior quality standards at wvapes.com. 154
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Available at: Dispensaries throughout California.
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GDP The Grand Daddy Purple (GDP) strain available at California Care Collective (CCC) is a serious throwback to one of the greatest and most respected strains in the cannabis culture. Giant purple boulder-sized nugs covered in a surface of moss-like orange hairs are a prime reason why enthusiasts have found this GDP variety to be a personal favorite. A classical favorite for indica lovers, the GDP strain provides great relaxation for the body but also offers an ethereal head effect as well. Many fans have expressed their appreciation for the GDP offered by CCC to be especially flavorful and well-rounded. The flowers maintain a divine texture, as they are neither too moist nor too dry, making it one of the best kinds of bud to use in rolling papers. Interested consumers will find this retro strain at California Care Collective in San Jose.
Available at: California Collective Care in Vallejo.
Cypher Extracts Blueberry Kush Recline Cartridge
Available at: Green Door in San Francisco.
Cypher Extracts ought to call this cartridge dynamite because there is so much bang in this small package. Being real though, “Recline” is a more than fitting name as that is what consumers will be feeling ready to do after a few drags. Vivacious blueberry scents and flavors seep out of the rich vapors produced from this extract. Cypher Extracts prides itself on creating a product that is high in flavor and potency, and the Blueberry Kush extract finds a beautiful balance between the two. A surreal blueberry flavor is tasted within the first second of breathing in, and a noticeable feeling of relaxation is realized shortly after, thanks to the 80 percent minimum THC content. A chrome mouthpiece that matches the chrome battery allows consumers to look slick while enjoying some serious terps. Green Door SF has the best deal on these cartridges and combo packs along with plenty of other choice flavors.
Berner’s Cookies Right away when these buds are first handled, consumers will notice the immense crystal dusting of trichomes all over. Dense little geodes decorated by shades of purple, green and orange are the highlight of this strain, as it is one of the prettiest strains to be produced this year. Strong scents emanate out of the jar that are akin to basil and lemon, which is an odd pairing that can remind some of a delicious bowl of pho. The spectrum of tastes provided by Berner’s Cookies are some of the best and most distinguished in all of California. From beauty to taste, there are many reasons that so many indica lovers keep coming back to this strain. Berner’s Cookies definitely bears the effects of relaxation and a sense of calmness more than bringing about motivation, but consumers don’t typically find the effects to be limiting. Cookie Co. 415 is known as one of the best places to get any type of Cookie variety, especially Berner’s Cookies.
Available wherever: Theraleaf Relief in San Jose.
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Available at: Cookie Co. 415 in San Francisco.
Bubblegum Cookies Nitrogen sealed packaging allows Bubblegum Cookies to maintain its unique flavor and scent better than any other kind of packaging. This nitrogen pack is oddly reminiscent of childhood, and just like a kid in class, you can’t bust out a pack of this gum without your friends asking for some. Exactly like the scents of a small downtown candy shop, the chalky and bubbly aromas of bubblegum fill the nasal passages. All of the buds we checked out were hard as a rock and broke down beautifully into a finely grained consistency. A silky smooth smoke envelops the consumers taste buds as each breath tastes more like bubblegum than the last. Ask any Bay Area local where to find these sweet treats, and they’ll point you in the direction of Theraleaf Relief in San Jose.
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Jack Herer
Available at: Airfield Supply Co. in San Jose.
Potentially one of the most well-known cannabis strains in the world, Jack Herer has won so many different awards throughout the years that we couldn’t possibly list them all. A full sativa breed of plant, Jack Herer serves various ailments such as lethargy and depression with its uplifting effects. Showcasing a THC content of 24.8 percent and a CBD content of 1.3 percent, this variety from Airfield Supply Co. lives up to the standard of excellence that is synonymous with the Jack Herer strain. It smells like a rainy walk in the woods, neither earthy nor sweet, just an all-around pleasant aroma. A medium-bodied and deep flavored smoke is produced from these adhesive nuggets. Nobody could go wrong with bringing a jar of Jack Herer home; it is a widely loved and appreciated flower.
Golden State Banana The Green Door in San Francisco is currently carrying one of the best fruity buds in the Bay Area, the Golden State Banana. Tested by the trustworthy folks over at SC Labs, the samples all tested at over 30 percent THC. Consumers will love the overwhelmingly tropical scents. We always appreciate quality in design, and these buds come packaged in a glass jar with some fantastic banana-themed artwork as well. The banana phenotypes are gaining popularity throughout California, and the Golden State Banana is taking full advantage of this boom by balancing the skunky stenches of cannabis and the fruity tobacco-ish flavors. A highly motivating and encouraging strain, the Golden State Banana is best for those looking for some motivation or direction in addition to assisting needing assistance in productivity.
Available wherever: Pure Vape products are carried.
King Kush Cartridge Pure Vape’s easily storable, medicated vape cartridge arrived at the CULTURE offices earlier this week, and it hasn’t left our side once. It was tested for purity and potency by SC Labs, which is just one of the long list of reasons why this should be a staple in everyone’s cannabis cache. Our sample of the King Kush cartridge provides consumers with a clear, solvent-free, experience without sacrificing taste the company treats its products and customers with the highest care. Pure Vape’s commitment to quality means that everyone gets a better, more potent and longer lasting effect . . . which is the whole point, right? Check out purevapeofficial.com to find a retailer near you.
Platinum Romulan Right off the bat, Platinum Romulan knocks consumers’ socks off with its out-of-thisworld aroma. Upon the first whiff of the pungent fumes that emanate off this sugary flower, one is transported to an idyllic fruity paradise with a hint of sour. This sample of Platinum Romulan is grown using all natural methods without any unwanted additives. The cone-shaped buds have a granular blanket of gem-like trichomes that make the flower appear to be a dusty lime green color. Light-bodied smoke makes the Platinum Romulan easy to inhale and is worth investigating for those who like smoking their medicine but often find combustion to be too harsh. 7 Stars Holistic Healing Center in Richmond is the best spot to pick up this particular strain.
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Available at: The Green Door in San Francisco.
Available at: 7 Stars Holistic Healing Center in Richmond.
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culture growing
2017 WINTER GARDEN 3
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n early January, I purchased an adolescent Shark Shock from a local Oakland dispensary. The plant had several main stems and quite a few small stems. Over a period of several weeks I trained the plant so that the stems were stretched horizontally. Some were tied down to the container, others were tied to a stake, and some were bent over by softening the stem tissue, shaping them and then holding them in place using crutches. The plant was growing in a greenhouse that received little direct sunlight in January, so I supplemented the natural light with a 600 watt HPS lamp on timer set to provide 12 hours of light. It turned on at 6 a.m., an hour before dawn, and shut off at 6 p.m., about an hour after dusk. I kept the plant growing vegetatively by interrupting the dark cycle every two hours using a warm white fluorescent on a repeating timer. This kept the plant from reaching a critical dark period that would trigger flowering. After two weeks, I turned off the cycling light and in about five days the plants started to flower. A week later I trimmed
TIP OF THE MONTH Start seeds or clones now to get a jump on the season. If you start now, by the time you are ready to transplant outdoors in May the plants will already be three to five feet tall. They will grow considerably bigger than if you had planted them outdoors as seedlings or small clones. Plants can suffer light regimen shock and start flowering when placed outdoors. When they are grown under constant light and then placed outdoors, where they have a nine to 10 hour dark cycle (depending on latitude), they grow under 18 hours of light daily rather than continuous light.
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the plant of understory vegetation—small branches and leaves that were shaded and would be lackluster producers. This vegetation costs the plant energy because it doesn’t get light. Once the flowers appeared, I fed it a set of six fertilizers and supplements for blooming. I fed the plant a total of three times because the plant showed signs of over-fertilization the first time, and I waited several weeks to feed it again. The plant flowers were tight and small but I harvested a few days early because I wanted to free up the space. I hung the whole plant in an empty grow tent inside a room that stays at 50 to 60 percent humidity and a temperature below 70 degrees. I am planning to let the plant dry and then cure for about a month before manicuring. Now I am planning some spring gardens. Here’s my plan for a two-plant garden that stays low. I have two plants that I have been growing in an improvised tent under four T-5 fluorescents that are on all the time. They stand about 40 inches tall plus the container. Beginning the first week of March, it has been sunny and warm so I give them sun time during the day. Now I’m going to turn the plants’ lives sideways. First, the old top will be capped using a plastic plate. Then openings six to eight inches wide will be sawed out of two opposite sides of the containers. Each container will be placed on top of a larger container so the roots can grow from one to the other. The vertical stem is now sideways and the branches will start to grow vertically becoming “stems.” Each of these will become a vertical stem growing branches. The plants will stay low but should be very productive. c
The plant was purchased at a local dispensary.
The plant was trained to spread out and was pruned of understory foliage.
Day 50, shortly before harvest.
A bud. The plant was leafy, so much of it is hidden.
Close-up of the bud.
Copyright by Ed Rosenthal. All rights are reserved. First North American Magazine rights only are assigned to culture Magazine. No other reproduction of this material is permitted without the specific written permission of the author/copyright holder.
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Time to Go: April Weather: High 50s with mild rain Budget: $$$$$
Lively Living
if you go:
iN Leipzig
Ready for Berlin and Leipzig in spring? by Sheryll Alexander With Germany’s new medical cannabis law in effect, what can travelers—especially those attending April’s International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) in Berlin—expect and what about considering a day or side trip to nearby lively Leipzig? Germany’s Georg Wurth is basically the top cannabis influencer in Germany, who says visitors to ICBC’s conference in Berlin from April 10-12 will learn all about cannabis business and medical breakthroughs from a decidedly global perspective. While Berlin is exciting and endlessly fascinating, most visitors to Germany never explore former East German towns. One of these cities is less than two hours by train just south of Berlin— Leipzig. This former East German city is certainly smaller than Berlin (around a half million residents), but it is steeped in history and is having a bit of an art, music and building Renaissance. But don’t expect darling German cottages. Leipzig is a former industrial town whose
once crumbling factories such as those in the western Plagwitz quarter have been transformed into eclectic living and art exhibition spaces. Beyond its factory-inspired art galleries and street art, Leipzig is known across Germany as the epicenter of the circa 1980s “peaceful” revolution against the Soviets. Today—although repatriation between east and west has been tedious—Leipzig is not only opening up to global visitors, but locals are enjoying a “hyperzig” or creative surge in art, architecture, gardening and food in the hip “new” eastern district. In fact, Leipzig is the best city in Germany to be vegetarian, vegan or part of the slow food movement. Nightlife in Leipzig is renowned for its techno music, especially at legendary club The Distillery. In the gritty eastern district, clubs and other hybrid chillmeets-DJ spaces pop-up and die rather quickly. Liepzig’s pub scene also rocks live bands and warm German beers into the wee hours. c
Fun-Filled Facts Don’t miss a tour of Leipzig’s Saint Nicholas Church. The epicenter of East Germany’s Peaceful Revolution in the 1980s, this Baroque church’s interior is an impressive and soaring neoclassical wonder. 1
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Leipzig’s Riverside Forest runs right through the city, so Leipzigers tend to use bike transport. Visitors can rent a Nextbike for the one-hour ride to the Cospudener See (or Lake Cospuden) where there’s miles of sandy “beaches” and a popular public sauna. 2
The best thing to do when it comes to cannabis in Germany is to make friends with some cannabis-loving locals, so you can be assured of having cannabis on your travels. Still, cannabis is easy to get just about anywhere, as it is a not-so-legal way for jobless refugees and immigrants to make cash. Plus, German authorities are quite lax about toking in public as long as you are smart and avoid lighting up near cops, kids, schools, government buildings and designer shops. However, with Germany’s new medical cannabis law in effect as of March 3, there’s potentially one other way. “There’s no experience yet with tourists searching for a prescription,” says Germany’s trusted cannabis expert Georg Wurth, “but if you can convince [a doctor], you could get a prescription and go to the pharmacy.” Interestingly, the German government is importing its premium cannabis from approved grow operations in the Netherlands and Canada and is distributed by pharmacists just like any other drug within the German national health system.
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culture RECIPES
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Emma Chasen
hormones. It’s incredible how much my quality of life has improved.
Age: 24
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Condition/Illness: Chronic lower back pain
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When did you start using medical cannabis? During my freshman year of college at 18 years old. Did you try other methods or treatments before cannabis? I did. My lower back pain becomes unbearable when I have my period. My gynecologist wrote me a prescription for high dose painkillers but they really didn’t help enough to justify taking them. They only slightly dulled the pain. I tried to go on birth control. Due to a gene mutation I was at risk for blood clotting and immediately had to get off the pill. It got to the point where for eight days out of every 20 days I would be in agonizing pain, unable to function. When I tried cannabis, it really revolutionized my life. Now, I blend cannabis with medicinal herb smoking blends from Prismatic Paradigm to maximize my pain relief and balance my
What is the most important issue or problem facing medical cannabis patients? Access. There are dying people in this country with serious disorders that could benefit from this plant. Many people are risking their freedom and their lives to buy pesticideridden cannabis on the black market. They are, then, extracting the plant material (a risky process) and concentrating the pesticides to dangerously high levels. Sick people and sick children are consuming this black market medicine because they have no choice! It is unacceptable. Legalization allows sick people to have access to clean, safe medicine. That is so important. What do you say to folks who are skeptical about cannabis as medicine? Go online and watch the videos of people with serious life threatening disorders use cannabis. Within minutes, you will see people with debilitating illnesses find relief for the first time in their lives. Their stories are powerful and they are very real. When you are presented with clear evidence, it is hard to deny that this plant has powerful medicinal properties. c
Are you an MMJ patient with a compelling story to tell? If so, we want to hear from you. Email your name, contact information and details about your experiences with medical cannabis to courage@ireadculture.com.
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culture
This 420, we want to party hard—and we deserve it. It’s been a rough year so far, but one of the best things about our society is the amazing diversity and melting pot of people and cultures all around us. International canna-cuisine is rising in popularity, as is the high-end culinary delights and dinners all over the country. The “stoner” treats of the past are dying out, and we couldn’t be happier about the culinary possibilities in front of us. This year, we want to celebrate 420 with great party foods that are inspired by the amazing culinary traditions of the Mediterranean, India, France and China. Celebrate the “high holy day” this year with these delightful dishes and wow your guests! Just don’t forget to celebrate responsibly.
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International 420 Party Cuisine
Pork Potstickers
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3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/8 teaspoon for seasoning
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1/3 pound ground pork (not too lean)
1/2 egg, lightly beaten
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1/4 small head Napa cabbage, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons) 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small carrot, coarsely shredded (about 2 tablespoons)
30 gyoza/pot sticker/wonton wrappers, from 1 (14-ounce) package
2 scallions, thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup cannabis-infused vegetable oil t
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Menu: Pork Potstickers Samoa Brownie Towers Onion Pakoras Vegetable Crudité with Infused Hummus Bacon Popcorn CBD Swiss Cheese Fondue
Instructions: In large bowl, toss together cabbage and 3/4 teaspoon salt and set aside. After about 30 minutes, transfer to clean dish towel or cheesecloth, gather ends together, and twist to squeeze out as much water as possible. Wipe the bowl clean, then return cabbage to it. Add ground pork, ginger, carrots, scallions and garlic, and stir to combine. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil and egg, then stir into cabbage-pork mixture. Stir in pepper and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. On dry surface, lay out 1 gyoza wrapper, keeping remaining wrappers covered with dampened cloth or paper towel. Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons filling into center, then moisten halfway around edge with wet finger. Fold moisture-free half of wrapper over moistened half to form an open half-moon shape. To seal, using your thumb and forefinger of one hand, form tiny pleats along the dry edge of wrapper, pressing pleats against moistened border to enclose filling. Moistened border will stay smooth and will automatically curve in semicircle. Stand dumpling, seam-side up, on baking sheet and gently press to flatten bottom. Cover loosely with dampened cloth or paper towel. Form remaining dumplings in same manner. In a non-stick (10-inch, lidded) skillet over moderately high heat, heat cannabis-infused oil just until hot (but not smoking), then remove from heat and arrange pot stickers in tight circular pattern standing up in oil (they can touch one another). Cook, uncovered, until bottoms are pale golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, tilting skillet to distribute, then cover tightly with lid and cook until liquid has evaporated and bottoms of dumplings are crisp and golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons more water if skillet looks dry before bottoms are browned. Remove lid and cook, shaking skillet to loosen pot stickers, until steam dissipates, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove potstickers gently from skillet and place on serving plate with your choice of dipping sauces (our favorite is a mixture of sambal, vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil). Potstickers should be served warm. t Additional recipe can be found at iReadCulture.com
culture
Local eateries with similar dishes: Matterhorn Restaurant 2323 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco (415) 885-6116 www.thematterhornrestaurant.com
King Eggroll
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1221 Story Rd., San Jose (408) 999-0798 www.kingeggroll.com
Vegan & Tikka Masala
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted cannabutter t
1/2 bag soft caramels, unwrapped
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
4 eggs
2 tablespoons cannabutter t
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 scoops vanilla ice cream (optional)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
To make the chocolate drizzle: Combine the chocolate chips and cannabutter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring in between, until fully melted. With assembled brownie towers ready, top each tower with one small scoop of ice cream, and lightly drizzle the chocolate sauce and leftover caramel coconut sauce on top of brownie towers. Serve immediately and devour!
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Makes 8 servings Ingredients:
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Samoa Brownie Towers
To make the caramel-coconut topping: Pour the caramels into a saucepan and heat on medium-low heat, stirring until melted. Fold in the coconut. Pour on top of the cooled cut brownies, spreading in a thin and even layer. Set aside rest of caramel sauce, and let brownies cool. Once cooled, you may begin assembling your tower structures. Towers should be three brownies on top of one another.
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Instructions: To make the brownies: Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with butter or cooking spray. Melt the 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon of unsalted cannabutter over low heat in a medium saucepan. As soon as it’s melted, remove from heat, and let cool for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the cocoa powder and sugar until combined. Gradually mix in the eggs and vanilla extract, until the batter is glossy. Combine the flour and salt, then slowly add them to the brownie batter, stirring just enough to combine. Pour the brownie batter into the 9-inch by 9-inch pan. Bake for 26-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with just a few crumbs (no gooey batter). Let cool and cut brownies before starting the caramel topping.
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3814 Piedmont Ave., Oakland (510) 547-1550 www.veganandtikkamasala.com
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Onion Pakoras Makes 20-24 Ingredients: 2 cups besan (also known as chickpea flour or gram flour) 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon turmeric
1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped 1 yellow onion, sliced into 1/8-inch half moons 1 cup luke-warm water
3/4 teaspoon salt
Sunflower oil (or safflower, canola, peanut oil) for deep frying
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cannabutter t
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions: Fill an 8-inch cast-iron skillet half-way up with oil. Heat the oil to 360-375°F. In a large bowl, mix together the besan, red chili flakes, turmeric, garlic powder, salt, baking powder, sliced chili pepper, 1/2 cup of the cilantro and all of the sliced onions. Slowly add in the water, while mixing with a wooden spoon or your hands. Vigorously mix for a couple of seconds. The batter should be thick, and there should be air bubbles present. Once the frying oil is heated, carefully place in heaping tablespoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. Try not to overcrowd the oil because it will result in greasy pakoras. Fry until the pakoras are a pecan-brown (flip and fry both sides if needed—all sides should be pecan-brown). Repeat with the remainder of the batter. Drain on a cooling rack placed over a cookie sheet. When dry, toss the pakoras in 1 tablespoon of the cannabutter and the other 1/2 cup of cilantro. After completely covered, place on serving tray and enjoy!
Vegetable Crudité
with Infused Hummus 1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup tahini
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 large carrots, sliced
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 large cucumber, sliced
1/8 cup cannabis-infused olive oil t
IN
3 large stalks of celery, sliced
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Makes 1 cup
Ingredients:
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1 green chili pepper, sliced
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1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup snap peas
2-4 tablespoons water
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions: In a blender or food processor, combine lemon juice and tahini. Blend for 30 seconds. Add chickpeas, garlic, oil, cumin and 2 tablespoons of water. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Add more water as necessary until you reach desired creaminess. Pour hummus mixture into a dipping bowl and enjoy!
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CBD Swiss Cheese Fondue Makes 8 servings Ingredients: 1 garlic clove, halved
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1 pound Gruyère cheese, grated
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Bacon Popcorn Makes 10-12 servings Ingredients: 16 slices bacon
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup cannabutter
t
1/2 canola oil
Instructions: Place bacon on a rack in a baking pan, top with brown sugar and bake at 400° until crisp, about 12 minutes; then chop. Add a few unpopped popcorn kernels to a giant lidded pot with hot canola oil; when the test kernels begin to pop, add the rest of the popcorn kernels and cover with lid. As the popcorn starts to pop, shake the pan back and forth constantly to keep the unpopped kernels on the bottom where they can pop. When the popping slows down, remove the pan from the heat, and let it finish popping. Toss the fresh popcorn with the smoked paprika, salt and pepper, and then add the bacon and cannabutter. Legal Disclaimer Publishers of this publication are not making any representations with respect to the safety or legality of the use of medical marijuana. The recipes listed here are for general entertainment purposes only, and are intended for use only where medical marijuana is not a violation of state law. Edibles can vary in potency while a consumers’ weight, metabolism and eating habits may affect effectiveness and safety. Ingredient management is important when cooking with cannabis for proper dosage. Please consume responsibly and check with your doctor before consumption to make sure that it is safe to do so.
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1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 pound Emmentaler cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons kirsch
or other Swiss cheese, grated
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup dry white wine
Freshly grated nutmeg
10mg or 1 1/2 droppers CBD tincture t (make sure to check measurement of your specific CBD tincture)
A fondue pot
Instructions: Rub the inside of a cheese fondue pot or medium enameled castiron casserole with the garlic clove; discard the garlic. Combine the grated Gruyère and Emmentaler with the wine and tincture, cornstarch and lemon juice in the fondue pot and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the cheeses begin to melt, about 5 minutes. Add the kirsch and a generous pinch each of pepper and nutmeg and cook, stirring gently, until creamy and smooth, about 10 minutes; don’t overcook the fondue or it will get stringy. Serve immediately in fondue pot (with small heat source under it) with your choice of fresh bread cubes, cooked meats and your favorite vegetables you want covered in hot cheese.
Are You a Cannasseur? ANSWER KEY:
1-b; 2-b; 3-b; 4-b; 5-b; 6-a; 7-a; 8-a; 9-b; 10-b; 11-a; 12-b; 13-b; 14-b; 15-b; 16-b; 17-b; 18-a; 19-a; 20-b
SCORES: CANNASSEUR If you got 14-20 answers correct, then you are a true CANNASSEUR. You not only consume cannabis regularly, but you are inspired to know everything there is to know about this versatile plant. You are an advocate and activist at heart, and wish to change the way the world sees this plant. Your
endocannabinoid system is constantly active, and your mind is sharp. Your keen eye for detail and your obsession with knowing everything is a gift that will keep on giving your whole life. Your knowledge, is your power, Cannasseur. Share your knowledge and change the world.
BUDDING ENTHUSIAST If you got 7-13 answers correct, then you are a BUDDING ENTHUSIAST. You have recently fallen in love with the cannabis plant and the cannabis culture, but you are still somewhat new to this world, and the facts, details and truth about this plant are not your strength, yet. Your passion is your strongest quality, and through your dedication and love for this plant, you may be able to
NOVICE
If you only got 1-6 answers correct, you are a NOVICE. There is nothing to be ashamed of, Novice. You are only just getting started in this world. You are eager to learn the facts of this plant, and to educate others on the many beneficial aspects of this beautiful herb. The cannabis plant has an ancient history with
rise to the Cannasseur title very soon. It is important to understand the subtle details and nuances of the endocannabinoid system and the way cannabis affects your body and mind, while also paying attention to the surrounding cannabis culture, and having respect for all of those involved. Keep at it little bud, you’ll grow into a great Cannasseur soon enough.
humanity and the nuances of that history take time to learn. If you stay true to the course, and know how to decipher facts from alternative facts, you will be on your way to growing into a Budding Enthusiast very quickly, and perhaps a Cannasseur before you even know it! Stay true to the path Novice, you’ll get there.
For detailed explanations on each and every Fact or Fiction statement in the quiz, go to www.ireadculture.com/fact-or-fiction.
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Chuck Shepherd's
News of the
Weird
LEAD STORY—EWWWW! u On Jan. 31, doctors at Stanley Medical College and Hospital in Chennai, India, removed a live, full-grown cockroach from the nasal cavity of a 42-yearold woman whose nose had been “itchy” earlier in the day. Two hospitals were unable to help her, but at Stanley, Dr. M N Shankar, chief of ear-nosethroat, used an endoscope, forceps, and, for 45 minutes, a suction device—because, he said, the roach “didn’t seem to want to come out.” Another doctor on the team noted that they’ve removed beads and similar items from the nasal cavity (demonstrating the splayed-out trespasser in full wingspan), “but not a cockroach, especially not one this large.” CAN’T POSSIBLY BE TRUE u Zachary Bennett and Karen Nourse have found Manhattan quite affordable, reported the New York Post in January— by simply not paying, for six years now, the $4,750 monthly rent on their loft-style apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood, citing New York state’s “loft law,” which they say technically forbids the landlord from collecting. Since the other eight units of their building are “commercial,” the landlord believes it doesn’t need a “residential certificate of occupancy,” but Bennett and Nourse believe the law only exempts buildings with at least two residences, and for some reason, the landlord has obstinately declined to initiate eviction or, until recently, to sue (for back rent, fees and electricity). UPDATE FROM “BIG PORN” u The colossus PornHub dot com, in its annual January 172
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rundown, reported its several sites had 23 billion “visits” in 2016 (about one-fourth from females), during which time its videos were viewed 91 billion times. In all, earthlings spent 4.6 billion hours watching PornHub’s inventory (that is 5.2 centuries’ time doing whatever people do when viewing porn). USA took home the gold for the most “page views” per capita, just nipping Iceland. Online visitors from the Philippines, for the third straight year, remained (per capita) on the sites the longest per visit. The top search term on PornHub from U.S. computers was “step mom.” UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT u Late last year, Oxford University professor Joshua Silver accused Britain’s Home Secretary of a “hate” crime merely because the Secretary had made a speech urging that unemployed Britons be given preference for jobs over people recruited from overseas. Silver denounced this “discrimination” against “foreigners” and made a formal complaint to West Midlands police, which, after evaluation, absolved Secretary Amber Rudd but acknowledged that, under the law, the police were required to record the Secretary’s unemployment speech as a “non-crime hate incident.” u The British Medical Association issued a formal caution to its staff in January not to use the term “expectant mothers” when referring to pregnancy— because it might offend transgender people. Instead, the Association’s memo (reported by the Daily Telegraph) suggested using “pregnant people.” The BMA acknowledged that a “large majority” of such people are, in fact, “mothers,” but wrote that there may be “intersex” and “trans men” who also could get pregnant. “LESS COWBELL!” u Applicants for passports
in Switzerland are evaluated in part by neighbors of the applicant, and animal-rights campaigner Nancy Holten, 42, was rejected in January because townspeople view her as obnoxious, with, said a Swiss People’s Party spokesperson, a “big mouth.” Among Holten’s “sins” was her constant criticism of the country’s hallowed fascination with cowbells—that make, according to Holten, “hundred decibel,” “pneumatic drill”type sounds (though a hit song, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” by the group Blue Oyster Cult, skillfully employed the cowbell—before it was satirized in an epic Saturday Night Live sketch starring Christopher Walken). UNDIGNIFIED DEATHS u What Goes Around, Comes Around: (1) In January, Jesse Denton, 24, driving a stolen truck, tried to flee police on Interstate 95 near Brunswick, Georgia, but accidentally crashed head-on into another
vehicle. Seconds later, Denton was then fatally hit by another motorist as he ran across the highway to escape the crash scene. (2) A 37-year-old Saanich, British Columbia, man did not die but nearly bled out before being heroically rescued following his parking-rage blunder. Angered that another driver had parked too close to his own car, he grabbed a knife and stabbed a tire on the other vehicle with such force that he wound up slashing the main artery in his leg. THE PASSING PARADE u (1) Thomas Pinson, 21, was arrested in St. Petersburg, Florida, in January and charged with domestic battery for roughing up his mother (even though, presumably lovingly, he had her full name tattooed on his chest). (2) Police arrested a 22-year-old knife-wielding man in a restroom on a train in Dusseldorf, Germany, in January. The man, naked,
appeared “quite annoyed” at being hassled, did not have a ticket to ride, and said he was using the knife to shave his genital area because he was not welcome at home.
bureaucrats are rarely motivated to do, especially since, as Citizens noted, there is no additional penalty for not auditing.
A NEWS OF THE WEIRD CLASSIC (MAY 2013) u The Washington Post reported in April (2013) that the federal government spends $890,000 a year on totally useless bank accounts. The amount is the total of fees for maintaining more than 13,000 short-term accounts the government owns but which have no money in them and never will again. However, merely closing the accounts is difficult, according to the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste, because they each previously housed separate government grants, and Congress has required that, before the accounts are “closed,” the grants must be formally audited—something
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN MOP u San Francisco’s best-paid janitor earned more than a quarter-million dollars cleaning stations for Bay Area Rapid Transit in 2015, according to a recent investigation by Oakland’s KTVU. Liang Zhao Zhang cleared almost $58,000 in base pay and $162,000 in overtime, and other benefits ran his total income to $271,243. He worked at San Francisco’s Powell Street station, a hangout for the homeless, who notoriously sullied the station 24/7 (urine, feces, and needles, especially), necessitating overtime hours that apparently only Zhang was interested in working. In one stretch during July 2015, he pulled 17-hour days for two and a half straight weeks.
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