Maine Cannabis Chronicle Volume II Issue III

Maine Cannabis CHRONICLE

P L A NTH RO PY: P RO M OTI N G H U M A N W EL FA R E TH RO U G H P L A NT P RO C EEDS

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VOLUME II

ISSUE III

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CONTENTS

29

50

08

Harvest 101

BY C H A S G I L

10

Straight to the Dome

B Y N I C K M U R R AY

12

The More You Grow: THC-V

BY K I M E M E R S O N

15

Her Highness: Edibles Edition

I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y D I A N A G O N Z E A U X

20

Family Ties: Halcyon Farms & Lyfted Edibles

BY K AT I E W E I T M A N

22

Breaking Bud

BY C H A S G I L

26

An Interview with Seth Leaf Pruzansky

BY M R . RO O T S

P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y O F I N T H E T R E E S P OD CA ST

29

Maine Showcase

BY M C C T E A M

32

Two Markets, One Plant

BY K AT I E W E I T M A N

34

Planthropy: Cure Cannabis Co. & The Healing Community MedCo.

BY M AT T H E W B O U RG E O I S

P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y O F CU R E CA N NA B I S CO. & T H E

HEALING COMMUNITY MEDCO.

37

The Long Road to Legalization

BY K AT I E W E I T M A N

38

Green Woods and Culture Revival 2020 Recap

BY M R . RO O T S

40

A Perpetually Budding Friendship

B Y E . P.

P H O T O G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F A T L A N T I C FA R M S & J O N S E C O R D D

44

Strain Safari with The Strainger

BY I A N S T UA RT

46

New Fame, LLC

BY D O M I N I C D .

48

Plug and Play: Cannabis and Gaming

B Y G U Y F L A N D E R S A R T I N G I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y K R I S T I N B U R G E S S

50

Faces in the Field: High Striker Farms

BY M R . RO O T S

52

420 Minutes: The Windham Run

BY I A N S T UA RT

P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y M A T T H E W B O U R G E O I S

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y K A T I E W E I T M A N

P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y K A T I E W E I T M A N

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y M A T T M E LT O N

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY MCC T E A M

P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F G R E E N WO O D S

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY MCC T E A M

P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y M AT T H E W B O U RG E O I S

P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y M AT T H E W B O U RG E O I S

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY MCC T E A M

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SELF-FLOURISHMENT

REC.

Maine Cannabis CHRONICLE

PUBLISHER JA M AC H R I , L LC FOUNDERS M AT T H E W B O U R G E O I S & C H R I S B L A K E M A N AG I N G E D I T O R K AT I E W E I T M A N COPY EDITOR K AT E L I C H T L E S P E C I A L E D I T O R I A L C O N S U LT A N T S MICHAEL LEONARD DAV I D B OY E R A RT DI R ECTOR J ESSE GEORGIA P RO D U C T I O N M A N AG E R SAR AH HARTFORD

MED.

C OV E R C U R E C A N N A B I S C O .’ S K U S H M I N T S P H OTO BY G O N ZO P H OTO L AYO U T BY J E S S E G E O R G I A PHOTOGRAPHERS G O N ZO P H OTO M AT T H E W B O U R G E O I S M AT T M E LTO N K AT I E W E I T M A N I L L U S T R AT O R S D I A N A G O N Z E AU X KRISTIN BURGESS K AT I E W E I T M A N S P E C I A L I L L U S T R AT I O N C O U R T E S Y O F @ S T I C K YC L AW D R AW S

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N O N A DV E R T I S I N G P L E A S E E M A I L : M AT T M E LTO N S A L E S @ M A I N E C A N N A B I S C H R O N I C L E . C O M I F YO U W O U L D L I K E TO S U B M I T C O N T E N T O R H AV E A N I D E A F O R A S TO R Y, P L E A S E E M A I L : E D I T O R @ M A I N E C A N N A B I S C H R O N I C L E . C O M JAMACHRI, LLC’s publication of Maine Cannabis Chronicle features content about cannabis, hemp, CBD, and cannabis-related products and information. In addition, the magazine features articles, political editorials, legal information, and medical news relevant to the cannabis industry. All content within our publication and on our website is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered personal, legal, or medical advice. Both the printed publication and website are intended for those over the age of 21. In the state of Maine, cannabis is intended for use only by those 21 and older, or 18 and older with a medical recommendation. If consuming, please keep out of the reach of children.

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JAMACHRI, LLC assumes no responsibility for the advertisements within this publication. We strive to ensure the accuracy of the information published. JAMACHRI, LLC cannot be held responsible for any consequences that arise due to errors or omissions. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

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EDITOR’S LETTER

T H E L I N E WA S A R O U N D T H E B U I L D I N G O N O P E N I N G D AY AT S E AW E E D C O . I N S O U T H P O R T L A N D O N T H E F I R S T D AY O F A D U LT- U S E C A N N A B I S S A L E S .

EDITOR’S LETTER Fall is undeniably here, and with it came the start of legal recreational adult-use sales in the state of Maine. On October 9 lines snaked around the streets in front of the 6 stores awarded active retail licenses from the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy’s first round of licensing. The question now is: where will it grow from here? Does this mean the beginning of the end of Maine’s medical market? What new products will ultimately be allowed for sale? What will tourist season look like in Vacationland now that it’s one of just 15 states to allow recreational sales?

As of writing this, 23 businesses have been awarded active licenses: nine cultivators, four manufacturers, nine storefronts, and one testing facility. The changes have been a long time coming. Maine has been eagerly awaiting regulated legal sales for the past four years.

After overcoming numerous political and legal obstacles, entrepreneurs were forced to hold out even longer after COVID hit, a delay that coincided with one of the biggest economic downturns in modern history.

High Times reported the first weekend of legal adult-use sales in Maine totaled over $250,000, with tax revenues of over $25,000, with nearly $100,000 in sales on the first day alone—and this with only six of the nine retailers able to open their doors. A promising start.

With the financial difficulties we have been, and will be, seeing, any extra income is helpful. In fact, several other states in the northeast are looking into legalization for that very reason, most notably New York and New Jersey.

Just as in all other industries, time will tell how the catastrophic events of 2020 will affect our new recreational market. Vice industries thrive in times of crisis and the cannabis community’s essential designation bodes well for the industry’s future growth. Retailers will have to wait and see how sales will fare during tourist season, but we’ve definitely seen a lot of progress over the last twelve months.

Excitement continues to build as the program expands and new distributors open their doors.

And in the midst of all this chaos, the community is still finding ways to get together. One of our writers, Mr. Roots, was able to emcee this year’s Green Woods and Cultural Revival (be sure to check out his article on the experience!), Matt and I met up at a Grower’s Market in Unity a few weeks ago and spoke to some local vendors, and just the other day one of our newest writers, Diana Gonzeau, checked out the Bonfire in Lebanon (you can read all about her trick-or-treating for edibles adventure on our website).

We here at the Chronicle have been staying busy trying to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s going on. This issue features some growers focused on growing along with Maine’s burgeoning cannabis industry, as well as some articles that take a look at the science, legality, and culture surrounding this wondrous plant. From a look into the intersection of gaming and cannabis culture, to a status update on policy change in Maine, to our new section ‘the More You Grow’ highlighting the health benefits of THCV, this issue has something for everyone.

We’ve also started sharing some of our favorite articles in a weekly newsletter—go subscribe at mainecannabischronicle.com! We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you; so, without further ado, Issue 6…

Katie Weitman Managing Editor editor@mainecannabischronicle.com

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GROW YOUR OWN

Harvest 101

BY CH ARLES GIL P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y M AT T H E W B O U R G E O I S

I am often asked, “How can you tell when your cannabis plants are ready to harvest?” Unlike most vegetable garden plants, which flower based on number of days (usually provided on seed packets), the flowering of cannabis is based on the relationship between day and night—specifically, the shortening of days. Most cannabis, aside from the auto-flowering types, initiates flower production with the shortening of days. This makes a simple “days to harvest” estimate difficult to assign, especially with outdoor cultivation. If a cannabis breeder claims an eight-week flowering time, when would you start counting?

To further complicate this, temperature plays a role as well, with warmer temps speeding up the growing cycle.

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So how does one know when to harvest? One of the best and most common ways to determine time of harvest is to take a close look at the cannabis flowers using a magnifier. As the plant reaches peak maturity, the clear resin glands, or trichomes, will change from clear to opaque and then, lastly, to amber. To add further nuance, not all growers wait until peak potency, as subtle differences and attributes can be achieved with an earlier harvest. However, by keeping an eye on the trichomes, you will not only enjoy the visual changes of resin production in the flower, but you will also get a sense for when to harvest.

I recommend keeping notes to record harvest and growing schedules as they will help tremendously with future harvests.

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POLITICS

B Y N I C K M U R R A RY

Straight to the Dome B Y N I C K M U R R AY

As we emerge from the disorienting period of reacting to a global pandemic, widespread business shutdowns, layoffs, and general uncertainty, we wonder if certainty was ever real to begin with. We watched storefronts close, and witnessed huge supply chain shocks. Even though grocery stores and pharmacies were considered essential businesses, we all saw the wide, empty shelves where toilet paper rolls once piled high. Even during a health crisis of pandemic proportions, we saw massive layoffs of healthcare workers.

The pandemic, and ensuing response from the state and federal governments, threw us all off-kilter. For years, we have been waiting patiently (and sometimes impatiently) for the first fully-legal sales of cannabis to adults in Maine.

We’ve seen hurdles and delays before, but this was another level altogether.

But now, almost four years after Maine voters approved a path to legal, regulated cannabis for adults over 21 at the ballot box, the vision finally became a reality on Friday, October 9th.

The Maine Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP) issued the first round of active licenses to adult-use cannabis businesses in early September. As of this writing, 17 active licenses have been awarded, of which six are storefronts. Over 100 conditional licensees are still in the process, either to be approved by their local jurisdiction or by the state.

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Active licenses are the third step in the do-si-do of establishing a legal adult-use shop. The reason for the delay between awarding active licenses and the first day of sales is part of OMP’s strategy to ensure that enough supply will exist in the adult-use market to handle early demand. Given what we’ve seen from other adult-use cannabis markets—in Massachusetts, for example, the lines on day one ran around the block—experience shows that people will wait for hours to legally buy cannabis. Experience has also shown that people will travel for hours to get to those long lines.

The all-important question remains: Will the number of licensed stores be able to handle the volume of Maine’s adultuse market? Will the retail storefront license holders be able to stock their inventory, since adult-use cannabis and medical cannabis must be separated throughout the growing process?

Within Maine’s medical cannabis market, it is commonly understood that there is not enough supply to meet current demand. The simultaneous rush of the essential business designation, plus the drag of a pandemic-weary labor force and a contracting economy, have pushed many Maine cannabis producers to the limits of their operations. For those who are planning to flip to the recreational, or adult use side, there will likely be no respite from that stress and demand.

It stands to reason that the first weeks of Maine’s adult-use market will demand high quantities of both the sticky and the

icky. Consumers will likely be coming over the border from New Hampshire and even travelling across the Northeast from legal states like Massachusetts where prices at adult-use stores average $12-14 per gram, approaching what I would call prohibition prices.

reached $290 and $296 respectively, while settling down to $282 in June. Second-quarter sales were up nearly onethird compared to the first quarter average of $213. From August 2019 to August 2020, monthly spending on cannabis rose 17.4%.

One proposal that could have helped smooth the transition to adult-use sales for Maine’s cannabis cultivators and connoisseurs was LD 1432. This bill was voted down in the Veterans and Legal Affairs committee in late February, before the legislature prematurely adjourned due to the state’s coronavirus response. Under this bill, cultivators with an active, adult-use license could have accepted transfers of cannabis plants or products from a medical facility for which they also hold a license. These transactions would carry the normal excise taxes and fees that the regulators require as well as a detailed manifesto of the goods being transferred. Despite the added costs for transactions, this change in policy could have helped to make sure Maine shelves were stocked in anticipation of first sales.

This phenomenon and sudden shift in our world should further emphasize the need for a full-fledged, thriving cannabis industry in Maine. The people of the Pine Tree State could make use of many now-defunct paper mills scattered across the rivers of the north and west, attracting much-needed investment to rural Maine. American manufacturing has been waiting for this comeback for decades.

Vacationland could add another allure to this unique slice of heaven we call home: explore the endless coast, take in the clean, crisp mountain air, and sample some of the world’s finest indoor and outdoor cannabis. It is truly a match that can only be made in Maine.

Current law only allows for a one-time transfer of plants—but not product—from a medical to an adult-use cultivator. In January, the next batch of legislators should take up a bill that allows any medical caregiver or dispensary to sell plants or products to an active adult-use licensee. With state economic forecasters predicting an almost-$1 billion shortfall over the next two-year budget, lawmakers might be eager to turn on the tap of legal cannabis tax dollars sooner rather than later.

During the early pandemic crunch, national sales of cannabis hit record highs. New Frontier Data reported that average consumer monthly spending on cannabis in April and May

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SCIENCE

THE MORE YOU GROW: THCV

BY KIM EMERSON

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y K AT I E W E I T M A N

Faced with the idea of weight loss surgery or trying any other option I could find, I was digging at the bottom of the barrel when I finally began to research cannabis and weight loss.

At the time, I was using a cane or walker for stability daily to move around. Discouraged doesn’t even begin to cover what I was feeling the day I left the doctor’s office with little more than a “You need to lose weight” note and information on invasive weight loss surgery.

I knew weight loss surgery was the quickest form of action, but I also knew there were barriers to my goal. I experienced extreme nerve pain in my legs from a lumbar puncture that touched a nerve, and walking had become painful and at times near impossible. Another barrier I faced was pre-diabetes, so weight loss and diet control were my last attempts to manage my condition before the threat of daily insulin shots became a reality.

Could I use the plant I was already using to manage so

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much of my healthcare? I began to research other parts of the cannabis plant, outside of the common THC and CBD remedies we know and access daily. In my research, I discovered the cannabinoid THCV and became fascinated.

While THC is known for its psychoactive properties, and CBD is known for its non-psychoactive therapies, THCV shows up to bridge the gap between the two. Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) aids weight loss by reducing some of the psychoactive properties of THC, which helps to suppress the “hunger hormone” that is often stimulated with THC-rich products. Due to this, THCV has been shown to help reduce glycemic index in patients with type 2 diabetes. Additionally, it offers assistance to the anti-inflammatory relief that you see with CBD use.

Often when we think of THC products, we think of them providing pain relief, improving quality of sleep, reducing nausea, and creating the desire to eat (or what we lovingly refer to as “the munchies”). However, THCV works in its own

way; strains high in THCV can actually suppress appetite and help people meet weight loss goals, for example. Studies have proven that THCV can help reduce insulin resistance, which can help regulate blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. People with polycystic ovarian syndrome often experience insulin resistance as well, so THCV, while less studied in this population, may assist there too.

I began to pick strains that had higher levels of THCV (like Tangie), and suddenly when I was hungry, it was for reasonable portion sizes of healthy food. I began to experience immediate pain relief from the inclusion of microdosing a balance of cannabis flower and CBD before my meals, which acted as an appetite suppressant. Solidifying my treatment plan and using cannabis as medicine began to give me the freedom I started to feel every day. I was able to eat to live, and not live to eat; I was able to walk short distances without pain; and I began to build up the muscles around the areas weakened by the lumbar puncture. This consistency in medicating helped reduce my hunger and also provided me the perfect combination so that I was able to create energy with the foods I was consuming. I had the ability to stand and cook pain-free, and after each meal, I went for a short walk to strengthen my legs, which reduced my nerve pain in the long run.

Like CBD, THCV offers anti-inflammatory properties, which I wasn’t wholly aware of when I began this process. An additional benefit I found with this cannabinoid is that it also has the ability to suppress panic attacks! THCV doesn’t suppress emotional response, or anything that would make you feel different than who you are, but it can help reduce the “fight or flight” response in your brain so that the panic attack

that may usually follow an anxiety attack can be stopped in its tracks.

Strains with as little as 1.5% THCV can help reduce anxiety and inflammation, and the higher the percentage the more relief one will receive. It is my hope that through more research, better technology, and sharing our experiences and knowledge, we will be able to provide patients the best possible care available through a holistic and natural approach.

Strain research is an important part of the process when considering how to help patients in the best possible way.

The benefits THCV offers to the medicinal cannabis community cannot be overlooked, and I can speak from personal experience that focusing on how I medicate, what I medicate with, and keeping track of frequency and trends in my pain management has gotten me to a point where I’ve lost 100 pounds and reduced my medications (with the help of my physician) by choosing this more holistic and organic approach. The More You Know: THCV! For more information on THCV, see: Pierce Hoover, “THCV: Everything You Need to Know” http://bit.ly/HOOVER_THCV Melissa Sherrard, “Which Cannabis Strains Have the Highest Levels of Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV)?” http://bit.ly/SHERRARD_THCV

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HER HIGHNESS

W

elcome back lovelies!

In this article I’m out to get the low down and up to speed on all things edibles.

That’s not to say that I wasn’t a little cagey, or didn’t have a bunch of questions as I tiptoed back into the vast, wondrous, and mouth watering world of cannabis edibles. Like many of you, I have had some past misadventures with edibles, including the unexpected pot “highover” that left me a little pleasantly glassy eyed the morning after.

I once heard that “Candy is nature’s way of making up for Mondays.”

I can now safely report, without a shadow of doubt, that during the endless entirety of this pandemic edibles have been a gift from the gods. Edibles are not just for couch melting and wall staring...unless you want to, I guess. You do you, boo. They are, however, incredibly effective at providing both stress and depression relief and just plain old fun when rediscovering the pleasure of enhanced music listening.

Locked and loaded with my new MMJ card, I decided that now was the perfect time to experiment with better living through edibles—and to find that elusive sweet spot. To get the skinny I sat down with three passionate, highly skilled, and quite crafty folks in the Maine cannabis confections biz to talk all things edibles. As the good Dr. Hunter S. Thompson so eloquently opined, “when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” So for this article we turned to the experts.

“Candy is nature’s way of making up for Mondays.”

I know what you’re thinking “Hold your fancy sparkle horses Her

Highness, everybody knows that the five stages of edibles are: 1. Not feeling it; 2. Still not feeling it; 3.

Maybe I should have one more; 4. I want my money back; and finally 5.

“Holy mother of what the fuck have I done !?” Well those days are gone baby gone, thank you very much.

We have some handy dandy simple guidelines for proper dosing and thorough enjoyment for both the novice and the more experienced user.

I had the good fortune of speaking with Claire Stretch of ALL-KIND, Kait Crawn of Lit Girl Goodies, and Greg Gould of Silverchild Confectionaries. All three of these wise folk had insightful and enlightening advice to share to ensure both highly effective as well as very pleasurable experiences with edibles. Claire uses a holistic approach and creates a dosage plan for her patients, whereas both Kait and Greg tend to do most of their work selling to dispensaries; all three agreed on this, however: dose low!!

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“Too often,” says Claire Stretch from ALL-KIND, “edibles get thrown under the bus, and I would love to change people’s attitudes about them. Almost everyone I see that’s new will tell me their ‘brownie story’.”

We all know how that goes—back in college they had that brownie and then proceeded to bumble and tumble slow-mo style into the abyss of an epic and lengthy boogins.

Which is what I call that slightly unpleasant bout of anxiety and self-consciousness that you’re being weird and everyone can tell you’re being weird. “I’ve heard so many of these and it’s really a shame, because what they’ve done is to overdo it,” says Claire. Relatable and a little unnerving how close that hit to home.

So where did these menacing brownies of lore come from? They more often than not began with an attempt at some homemade cannabis butter that proves to be fairly difficult to gauge potency. My sister and I still talk about the time we attended a three day PHISH extravaganza and were gifted a ganja goo ball--which, for non-festival go-ers, is a delicious and somewhat sticky combo of ganja butter, oats, honey, peanut butter and chocolate. Basically tiny ingestible marijauna belly bombs. Not too long after devouring said gooball, a hasty retreat was made to hide in an unbearably sweltering tent for a spell so as to avoid any and all human interactions. We were also pretty sure the trees were talking about us behind our backs.

Claire adds “I hate the alcohol comparison, but the first time you drank, did you drink the whole bottle of Jack Daniels? It’s sad that the typical introduction to edibles can be so harsh.” Claire explained further that she’s always hesitant to attach a number to the correct dosing for any individual starting out “because everybody is different, but most

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people generally just need a little bit.” She says, “it can literally be from .05 mg to 420 mg,” depending on the individual, which is why people may be initially confused about their safe and effective dose.

the highway while the other takes the scenic route. Both reach their desired destination, but the trip is different.

Additionally, people use different methods, and active ingredients, to infuse food or drink with cannabis.

Let’s zero in on a few of the more Kait Crawn of Lit Girl Goodies common terms you may see when agrees. “If you’re trying it for the selecting edibles. Edibles are first time, I would not take anything generally infused with either fullmore than 2mg. Just take a bite, see spectrum cannabis oil, THC distillate, how your body absorbs it, and wait or cannabis concentrates like shatter. a few hours.” It’s far better to not feel anything and have to take more Full-spectrum cannabis extracts are than to be stuck for possibly 6-12 made via several different methods, hours “greening out*” (an apt British sadly none of which include magical colloquialism for the “boogins”). “It unicorns or a shaman. As the name can be an uncomfortable feeling for implies, full-spectrum provides a a long time. So don’t overdo it!,“ whole shebang of naturally she says laughing. Kait can In occurring chemical identify with those feelings addition compounds in cannabis and laugh after sharing including all those lovely to proper her very own “brownie cannabinoids, delightful dosing, it story,” involving naturally occurring suddenly numb arms, a is important terpenes, and those very car ride, and her mom— to consider clever and beneficial and that’s all I have to say flavonoids. time and about that! patience.

THC Distillate is one of In addition to proper the more common active dosing, another important ingredients used to infuse consideration is time and patience. “I edibles. Distillate is “fractionated” feel like for a lot of people their issue meaning the distillation process is they’ll eat some but they won’t extracts but a fraction of the plethora feel anything, so then they eat the of compounds present in Cannabis. other half, and BOOM! It hits them Distillate can have a THC potency all at once.” For some people, Kait as high as 95%—essentially almost explains, ingestibles can take up to pure THC—leaving little room for 4 hours to kick in. “It really depends the terpenes that give cannabis its on your body. Something that takes flavor and other goodies that give my body 5 minutes may take you full spectrum extracts that “entourage several hours, everyone absorbs it effect.” While distillate is not quite differently.” Plan accordingly fellow tasteless, it is easier to combine with adventurers. most food or drink without having the unmistakable taste of cannabis.

One of the reasons for this delayed effect is the way that your body Claire said it best: “I am an equal processes ingested cannabis as opportunity oil sourcer and purveyor. opposed to smoking. Now, I’m not I think that every different kind of going to get all “sciency” on you— extract has its purpose, so we use a there’s a good reason I was placed number of different kinds of extracts.” in “Natural Science”, my fellow And I’m an equal opportunity humanities nerds, rather than Biology consumer of various extracts in my in College. In short, one form takes MAINECANNABISCHRONICLE.COM

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edibles. I’ve had great success with all of them!

Alrighty gang pencils down. It’s high time to commence nibbling on these edibles. Up first were some delectable Strawberry Cream-filled Chocolate Truffles from Silverchild Confectionaires. Having secured a willing accomplice we decided to make a night of it.

Each toothsome truffle was 15 mg and while my partner in crime felt comfortable taking a nibble to start, I decided to gobble up a whole one. Before we knew it we found ourselves suddenly creatively inspired and laughing like teenagers at a slumber party.

This of course led to recording a very impromptu podcast in my gorgeous, empty bathtub, because of course it did. Turns out the acoustics in the bathroom were sounding as good as we were feeling. I’m not saying that particular “episode” is ready for your listening pleasure, but we felt passionate, witty and, well, freaking hilarious as we covered topics from politics to relationships and some 90s hip hop for good measure.

It bears repeating; everybody is different. So I suggest you try everything to see what works best for you! Never be afraid to ask questions of either your budtender or caregiver--all of our experts are coming from a place of care. I could tell from speaking with each of our crafty folks that they really do put love and care into each product they send out into the world. All three of them spoke of the highly rewarding nature of their work.

Prior to launching Lit Girl, Kait was a surgical technician ultimately leaving because she 18

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was frustrated by the lack of care the patients were afforded.

Nowadays Kait loves the creative freedom she pours into her baked goods, and loves to hear feedback from both dispensaries and her patients. To make her patients feel even more involved Kait will often name goodies after them! And oh what goodies!

Some of Kait’s tempting products include the hot fudge sundae cookie, a caramel apple cookie called “The Ellie,” her pumpkin cinnamon cake pop. If you need to get your hands on her sinfully tasty baked goods--and you will once you see the pictures--you’ll have to hit the stores as soon as they drop because they often sell out very quickly.

Greg is quite passionate about candy making and all the fun that can be had experimenting and perfecting his products. For instance I love gummies as much as the next gal, but Greg has concocted a gourmet fruit treat with the nom de cool of “pates des fruit.” A confection common in France that’s made with real fruit and pectin, instead of the more commonly used gelatin, making these chewy treasures vegan as well. The pate des fruits Silverchild creates source local blueberries, strawberries, and other fruit whenever possible. In

Greening Out

noun Slang. The feeling of nausea and distress that occasionally comes after consuming too much weed. While it may differ from person to person, it’s usually marked by vomiting, dizziness, sweating, and a feeling of acute anxiety..

“I finished the edible before the first bite kicked in, I might be greening out.”

fact, he was proud to show me his very own backyard peach tree once using the fruit to make a limited run of Peach pates des Fruits.

Claire warmly radiated joy as she recounted the satisfaction of her periodic patient checkins, some of whom have turned to her for pain relief after trying other pharmaceuticals, and how positively cannabis has affected her patients’ lives. She loves everything from growing the plants, to the flavors, to the science. She said “We are very proud that we’re able to take it from plant to person. We grow it and know it’s clean because we haven’t put anything in there. It’s us who makes sure the garden is absolutely clean.”

When used wisely edibles can not only offer profound, measurable relief for a whole spectrum of conditions, they can also just be some plain old silly fun. ALL-KIND has a great slogan, “Live a lifted life!” and I can honestly say that edibles have done exactly that for me. With the current reality, or lack thereof, we all live in, we could all use some lifting and a sweet treat. I’d strongly encourage you to get out there and have some delicious fun or as Claire says, “Cannabinoids affect the body so positively in most situations, that daily application is HIGHLY encouraged.”

So lovelies, Bon appetit! Go low and slow and never conjure something you can’t banish!

To find a full list of where you can find the scrumptious and healing edibles of All-Kind, Lit Girl Goodies, and Silverchild Confections please see our online resources.

CAREGIVER

FA M I LY T I E S : H A L C YO N FA R M S & LY F T E D E D I B L E S B Y K AT I E W E I T M A N

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y K AT I E W E I T M A N

The Maine cannabis game has been attracting out-of-towners for several years now, as a burgeoning industry in a beautiful state is bound to. Some of these transplants come from long backgrounds of underground grows and are looking for a place to feel welcomed and relatively safe. Others are looking for a more general, down to earth, laid back lifestyle and fell into a new cannabis-world of promise incidentally—the organic, laissez-faire lifestyle Maine offers lends itself nicely to a career in cannabis.

Halcyon Farms, located in Hampden, is owned by a couple of New Jerseyans who were looking for a new adventure.

Laura and Matthew decided a few years ago they didn’t want to raise their children in the tristate area, so they sold their business and made a move. After a brief trial down in South Carolina, they came to visit Maine and fell in love. Within a matter of weeks they scrapped down south and brought their family up north.

Laura and Matthew told me they weren’t looking to just grow cannabis, they were looking to grow something more substantial—a legacy to leave their children, should they choose to keep it going. Their three daughters are still young, but aside from their main cash crop, they have an organic vegetable garden that the older two help them maintain. The girls know that cannabis grows on the property and are being raised to respect the plant as medicine.

In the beginning they faced some challenges. When they bought the property, they hadn’t realized how much of a conservative enclave Hampden is. ‘They treated us like out

of town carpet baggers here to rape the town’ Matthew told me. They’ve warmed up a bit since—a result of getting to know each other at town meetings and using all local labor to reinvest in the community.

Even other cannabis growers have made them feel like outsiders. They feel like its ‘not taboo that we consume, [but it’s] taboo that we are from out of town.’ Recently Halcyon has faced injurious comments via social media from local growers suggesting new faces were moving to Maine to drive up market prices. Laura told me ‘not everyone is here to change things, we’re here to embrace the Maine way of life.’ They believe that there ‘should be variation in price [and] better products should demand a higher price.’

Without a background in growing cannabis, Matthew found himself on a steep learning curve. With some mentoring from more experienced growers, the help of some local landscapers and some assistance from two new hires culled from the University of Maine Orono, and a recently brought on soil scientist / ‘science guru’ with experience across the country, Matthew has been able to turn his grow into a well-oiled machine. They now even have a second grow location run by Matthew’s parents in the Portland area.

While Matthew tended to the plants, Laura started making edibles. She started Lyfted in 2018. Her goal was to create a line of organic, vegan edible options for patients. In the beginning she focused on vegan gummies and medicated lemonades, and expanded her menu from there. Lyfted was created to provide consumers with health conscious edible MAINECANNABISCHRONICLE.COM

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choices using only locally sourced and all organic ingredients.

Laura personally checks each batch and will only sell a product she herself would consume.

Now her lemonades are sold throughout the state in batches that are made weekly from hand squeezed lemons. Each bottle is individually prepared to ensure consistent dosing. Her menu changes from season to season, but her commitment to clean, organic, locally sourced ingredients never wavers.

Production limitations have limited her research and development, but demand has grown so much that Laura is about to move into a commercial kitchen with a couple of new employees—so keep an eye out for new products!

Laura and I talked a little bit about the upcoming adult-use industry. At the moment, Halcyon has no plans to transition from the medical program to the adult use market. They have established patients, and it’s so new—so expensive—that they’ve decided to take more of a ‘wait and see’ approach.

‘There’s no rush,’ Laura told me. ‘We have a good thing going right now. This is a business and eventually it may be good.

Most states that do it tend to go that way anyway. As long as Maine has a medicinal market we want to be in’ she believes that ‘one should be able to feed the other for supply and demand purposes’ and pointed out that ‘already retail has a hard time stacking their shelves... things will change and hopefully Maine doesn’t lose its medical industry.’

Their newest venture is Halcyon Solventless—a line of organic, all natural concentrates. Since Laura began her business she has been using activated dry sift in a unique suspension she calls her ‘special sauce’ for her edibles—making all of her products one hundred percent organic. The goal with their solvent less line is to bring high quality, entirely organic concentrates to the market.

Currently Lyfted and Halcyon products can be found in several storefronts all across the state, with new distributor interest growing all the time. Production constraints have limited the number of clients they’ve been able to work with, but there is no doubt that as production capacity increases so will their brand following. As their business grows, however, they remain committed to offering only all natural, organic products that they themselves would use.

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WELLNESS

B reaking B ud 5

5

BY CH AS GIL

Growing practices, along with harvest and post-harvest handling, are tantamount to offering a quality product.

How can we further assure that we are offering a safe and consistent product? Thorough testing by a third party can ensure label claims and the safety of our products. Whether required or not, testing for cannabinoid levels, as well as pesticide residue, molds, and heavy metals, ensures product safety and grower integrity. Currently, Maine has very relaxed testing protocols, but that is about to change—perhaps even before this article is published.

With the much anticipated opening of adult-use cannabis stores, cannabis testing will become a required reality. There are currently two facilities, Proverde and Sensible, that offer this type of cannabis testing. Proverde is not currently approved for the adult-use market but claims that they will be pursuing that approval. My personal experience with Proverde has been positive, with quality reporting and reasonable reporting times. Turnaround has ranged from days to well over a week, though they do offer an expedited turnaround for an 150% fee increase. They offer scheduled pick-up services throughout the state, as mailing samples is not allowed. Sensible LLC is located in Kennebunk and advertises results in 1-2 days. They present results in a very user-friendly colorful report. Sensible has drop boxes for samples in several locations, and they offer the lowest price for testing. Both of these companies have served the community for many years, but having only two choices is limiting.

Now, Portland is lucky to be the home of a brand new testing facility. Nova Analytic Labs, a cannabis testing start-up, will be positioned to offer testing for both the medical and adult-use markets. The facility has been in construction and development since last December. Their mission is to provide rapid, highest quality results to their customers. I was fortunate to meet with both Chris and Greg, two of the three co-founders and CEOs of Nova Analytics. They brought enthusiasm and energy to the conference table, with past experience in clinical toxicology, forensics, and pharmaceutical laboratories.

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Although not originally from Maine, they have taken up residency and look forward to becoming a major player in Maine’s expanding cannabis market. Nova Analytics wants to educate on how to properly sample a product and generate valuable information. Diagnosing and investigating contamination will also be a service they provide. They also expressed a desire to aid in product research and development. I was impressed meeting the crew and hearing about their commitment to Maine. They pride themselves on being a customer-centric organization that will “ensure public safety and maintain the cannabis industry’s reputation.”

I asked them about testing consistency, since I often hear from growers that they send in duplicate samples to a lab and get different results. How and why does this happen? This is what leads individuals to discount the validity of a lab report. They explained that generally these issues are rooted in sampling methodology, storage, and transportation.

Nova Analytics is eager to train clients in proper sampling techniques. Cultivators need to realize that when a sample is presented for testing, it represents that sample at that time. Time and temperature can change samples in a short window of time, and often proper sampling techniques are not followed. Samples need to represent the entire lot. Just like taking a proper soil test, you must take many samples of a lot and mix them together and take the test sample from that mix.

To pick out your nicest bud and claim the entire lot would test that way is not a good practice. Leaving a sample exposed to heat will change the results as well.

We all want to know about turnaround time, and Nova Analytics stated a 2-4 day turnaround as their goal. To maintain integrity, samples will only be accepted if they can meet this timeline. I was also told that pricing will be consistent with current industry standards. By affording small businesses a local testing option, more distributors will be able to provide valuable data to patients and providers and ensure consumers are getting clean, safe products.

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INTERVIEW

A N I N T E RV I E W W I T H S E T H L E A F P RU Z A N S K Y AU T HOR OF T H E F IGH T T O E N L IGH T I N I T I AT ION T H ROUGH T H E H E A RT I S T H E O N LY WA Y T O W I N

BY M R . RO O T S

P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F I N T H E T R E E S P O D C A S T

Of all of the stories I have heard about people getting busted for cannabis over the years, there was one that had me-and many others I knew--all shook up. It could be because it happened locally, or because he and I were close, but when Seth Leaf Pruzansky went down, it shook many of us to the core.

Seth had gotten in touch with me when he was on bail, soon after he had been busted. We had met in a parking lot near the Brunswick-Topsham bridge to talk. The look in his eyes was pure fear, worry, and anger--none of which I had ever seen him express before. And rightly so. What he told me demolished a construct of trust in an underground world whose foundation was built upon that tenant.

On that overcast, late-winter day, with the heavy sleet forming slush on every surface, he told me he had been set up. He said he was probably going away to prison for a while. I saw my friend sitting across the truck cab from me scared for his future. All I remember was feeling worry for him, and so much anger and fear myself. I couldn’t help but have bad intentions for whoever it was that had put my friend in this situation.

This is how it went down…

It had been weeks since Seth had heard from him, which wasn’t normal. In the fifteen years since they had known each other, they had always kept in contact several times a week.

They were close friends and, apart from helping each other in various ways over the years, they worked together. ‘He had a bunch of my product, my weed, and he just disappeared on me.” Seth recounted when we met recently. “Which wasn’t like him.”

Weeks had passed, and he had kept steady, not questioning, always cool. There was a lot of product that this guy was sitting on. He hadn’t reached out himself to check in, but Seth remembers wondering “What happened?”. Seth started to become concerned.

Then out of the blue one day, the phone rang and it was his friend. “‘Oh Sorry bro, it was my Dad’, he said. He had some story, you know?” Seth recounts. “And he goes, look, I didn’t touch anything you gave me. It’s just sitting at my place. You can go get it.”

Seth remembered not thinking anything of his friend telling him that at the time. He remembers saying, “I was like ‘Okay’, and didn’t really think anything of it. It was my friend. I was like ‘do you need help with anything?’, and he goes ‘no, no, I just gotta deal with this’, and ‘it’s tough’ you know, writing it off, saying whatever. I was like ‘alright, well I’m going to go over’.”

Seth remembered something not feeling right to him on the

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way to his friends house. Knowing he had to pick up what was owed him, he pushed the feelings away. It wasn’t until he drove up the driveway to his friends house that intense “feelings of panic and anxiety” started flooding over him. He had visions of agents rushing him with machine guns. They felt so real, but told himself “No, you are just being paranoid” and moved forward with his mission to pick up his product.

Reaching the top of the driveway, there was no one at the house, just like his friend had told him. He used the key that he had been given, and walked into the living room. There were two black duffle bags lying on the floor of the room. He opened them up and noticed that there were some pounds in there that were not his. They were packaged differently.

Different bags that were clearly not his.

The same feelings from earlier, of something not feeling right, washed over him, and he second guessed himself in this scenario. “I wondered if I should stuff some newspapers into the duffel bag and walk outside with them” Seth told me, “But I didn’t.”

Picking up the duffel bags, he walked outside to his truck.

Lifting the tonneau cover, he placed the bags in the truck bed, and, as he was reaching to close the tonneau cover, The DEA came at him with machine guns. They rushed him.

“Put your hands up! Put your fucking hands up now! Up against the truck! Hands behind your back!” they screamed and slammed him against his truck while they wrenched his arms behind his back to handcuff him.

Seth was caught by the DEA with 64 pounds of cannabis separated into two black duffel bags in the back of his motor vehicle. They had him on audio and video surveillance, as well as with marked money. It was his friend who had set him up.

The one who he had been close with for years.

The events that took place surrounding the bust, and the case that the DEA had built against Seth were well executed. “They got me good.” Seth recounted to me recently. “They got me so good.”

When they took him in for interrogations, the detectives told him that he was facing 30 years in prison for the amount of cannabis he was caught with. The room went cold under its fluorescent lights. They told him if he gave them “names of local growers”, he would face a lesser sentence.

This was right before the legislative battles were won that began to transform the state of Maine medical marijuna program, which established grounds for increased medical use of cannabis beyond the traditional Cancer and AIDS patients. These were times when local growers were

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clandestine, underground, and almost completely different from today’s social media exposed growers. Back when PGR ridden, rock hard British Colombian bud was what most people were happy to see regularly — If they weren’t smoking compressed, seeded Mexican.

For perspective’s sake, when Seth was busted, if you were lucky enough to know a grower to get local indoor flowers from, let alone be a grower, you were a well guarded secret of sorts to the few who could get buds from you. For high grade indoor flower, $350-400 an ounce was the going rate, and $5000+ a pound was just how it was. People didn’t bat an eye at that, as the lucky ones with access. They loved having another option besides BC and Mexican, especially a quality local option. Good weed was rare.

Though he had already been through a harrowing experience, and the DEA was trying to coerce him--Seth remembers telling them “Fuck you. You want me to turn my friends in. No way!”. He was unwilling to perpetuate the breach of loyalty that had put him in the situation he was in with these detectives.

They took him to his holding cell, where he stayed until, by the love of his family, he was able to post bail.

The months of bail before his trial were agonizing, as Seth dealt with his world collapsing around him. He saw a court appointed probation officer, while dealing with the constant stress and worry of knowing he would be going to prison.

Without knowing for how long.

On top of everything, he discovered that all of his bank accounts had been frozen, and the state had confiscated a farm in western Maine, which he had bought to live, and hopefully retire in, as a “personal monastery”.) Seth described this as a “full personal financial collapse”. Everything that was viewed as something that might have been purchased with money made from Cannabis sales was stripped from him.

Finally the court date came and, with the advice of his attorney, Seth pled guilty. Through the workings of his lawyer, the character references from countless people, and his strong testimony he was sentenced to five years in prison.

Prison could have been enough to be the end of Seth’s story.

It could be the end for anyone involved in its institution. Prison could have been the part of Seth’s story that took a dark twist or cost him his spirit. This was not the case.

One thing Seth writes about beautifully in part of his new critically acclaimed book, “The Fight to Enlight”, is that prison ended up being a transformative, deeply spiritual, and ultimately healing time.

Seth remembers going into prison “a walking, talking bundle of bad habits”, with many aspects of his past that “I hadn’t addressed and made peace with”. He described prison as a “crystallization of years of dysfunction having been built up” and “there was no way I was escaping that”, but through meditation and awareness, he discovered “the real prison was inside me”.

By committing to a resolution to heal, and by discovering awareness that he describes as an “expanded perception”,

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Seth found the strength in himself, in one of the darkest times of his life, to remain aware of his need to “stay present and stay focused”. He confronted the steady barrage of feelings and emotions that would wash over him. “Feelings of a ruined life. Of anger and frustration over being set up” that always ended up resulting in depression. He writes in ‘The Fight to Enlight’ that, “The anger would pass, and then there was depression”, but through this resolution to heal his life, Seth was able to find peace and presence. What is very eloquently conveyed, is that he eventually found something that is most profound: forgiveness.

After the betrayals written about from his younger years, and the awful betrayal by a trusted friend, Seth found that “once I decided to become a person who was truly in love with life, aware, without the limitations of my past, forgiving him was not forgiving him for him. It was ‘for me’ as it was part of a greater state of healing.”

He didn’t want to hold only to anger and betrayal. It was a theme that had kept repeating itself throughout his life in many ways. A theme in many chapters of his book.

What Seth did find, and what is so well described by him, is a consciousness of life and of his place in it. A sense of purpose beyond the money, drugs, possessions, and ego that had fueled him for so long.“I’m more in love with the feeling of healing than I am staying stuck in unconscious conditioning or patterns of past belief.”

Seth Leaf Pruzansky is the author of the book, The Fight to Enlight. He is co-owner of Maine businesses Tourmaline Spring, Living Nutz, and Maine Intellihemp. To order a copy of Seth’s book, or to contact him, please visit his website imawakenowwhat.com Mr. Roots is a freelance writer and regular contributor for the Maine Cannabis Chronicle. He is owner of Alight For Health, Alight Farms, and is the host of In The Trees Podcast, the Maine-based cannabis podcast highlighting methods, products, growers, and breeders. Subscribe and Listen at inthetreespodcast.com as well as itunes, Spotify and Youtube Excerpts from this article were taken from Seth’s interview with In The Tree’s Podcast, as well as his book.

MAI N E S HOWCAS E

BY M R . RO O T S

P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F I N T H E T R E E S P O D C A S T P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y M AT T M E LT O N

Lit Girl Goodies Lit Girl Goodies’ specialty edibles are available at Cure Cannabis, Kind Guy, Green Truck Farms, American ReLeaf, Strawberry Fields Apothecary, The Shack, Beach Boys Cannabis Company, and Fire on Fore. Follow Lit Girl Goodies on Instagram @litgirlgoodies3.0.

Concord Grape Hash Rosin

100mg Wisely Cannabis Hash Rosin Gummies

Wisely products are available at quality caregiver storefronts throughout the state. Follow Wisely Cannabis on Instagram @wiselyhash.

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600mg THC Sativa Hybrid Tincture Made from full-spectrum cannabis oil, organic MCT oil, and just a touch of organic peppermint.

100mg Full Spectrum Hash Rosin Gummies Made by le Kine Kitchen.

Maine Craft Cannabis products are available at quality caregiver storefronts throughout the state. Follow Maine Craft Cannabis on Instagram @maine_craft_cannabis.

300mg 3:2 Full Spectrum Distillate : 90u Hash Rosin Dark Sea Salt Chocolate Bar Made by Pot + Pan. Dunny Gummy products are available at fine storefront locations around Maine. Follow Dunny Gummy on Instagram @stoneyhillcannabis.

Gorilla Mac Rosin Badder

Black Dog Kush Crumble GMO Flower

Purple Punch Crumble Pie Eyed Rosin Jam Hazy Hill products are available at storefront locations around Maine. Follow Hazy Hill on Instagram @hazy_hill_farm

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Available at Paul’s Boutique Nursery and fine storefront locations around Maine. Follow PBN on Instagram @paulsboutiqueofmaine.

Highbrow 100mg THC Lemonade, Pineapple Mango, Pink Lemonade, and Mixed Berry.

Die Hard Flower

Highbrow / Afterglow Edible Co. 1,000mg Cookies & Cream Higher Bar

False Teeth Flower

North Woods Wellness Flower

Highbrow products are available at fine medical storefront locations around Maine. Follow Highbrow on Instagram @highbrowmaine.

Trop 24 Flower Bred, selected and cultivated by Best Friend Farms

Rt. 26 Flower Bred by Woodstock Farmacy. Selected and cultivated by Best Friend Farms

Gas Masque Air Dried Cured Resin Hash Rosin Bred, selected, cultivated, and produced at Best Friend Farms.

Best Friend Farm products are available at TreeLine Cannabis, Maple Valley Pharms and Atlantic Farms. Follow Best Friend Farms on Instagram @bestfriendfarms.

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CURRENT

2 Markets 1 Plant

B Y K AT I E W E I T M A N P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y M AT T H E W B O U R G E O I S One of the biggest legislative battles over the last half century has undeniably been the fight to legalize cannabis. After centuries of global respect and reverence for the plant, the United States government began scapegoating marijuana—a rhetorical change, from ‘cannabis’ to the Spanish word ‘marijuana’, that was made as a part of the vilifying process.

Generations have fought for acceptance and access. For the freedom to consume communally or cathartically—or both.

In the 1920s and ‘30s Harry Anslinger, first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, began waging all out war against the plant as a way of staying relevant in the wake of a failed alcohol prohibition. A no-holds-barred propaganda campaign that successfully convinced generations of Americans that cannabis not only offered no real medical benefits, it was outright dangerous. (Oh, the irony.)

From the beginning it was apparent that poor minority communities, especially black and brown communities, were being disproportionately impacted by the cannabis prohibition—remember the shift from ‘cannabis’ to ‘marijuana’, linking the dual threat of immigrants and pot smoking. In the 1960s, cannabis activists fought alongside civil rights activists.

They argued that cannabis prohibition was yet another way of enforcing social inequality by giving authorities another excuse to terrorize the downtrodden.

In 1970 a young attorney, Keith Stroup, started the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Over the next decade slow but steady progress was made.

In 1977 President Jimmy Carter decriminalized possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.Then, in 1978, President Carter started the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program, which gave access to a very select few patients. (This came after a Supreme Court ruling in favor of Robert C. Randall, a glaucoma patient who had been using medical cannabis to treat his condition.) By 1979 11 states had decriminalized cannabis possession for less than a certain weight, but no state would fully legalize cannabis for another almost twenty years.

And then in the 1980s HIV hit, and the slow march of policy reform and political lobbying weren’t enough. The same communities that were hardest hit by prohibition and the drug war—counter-culture outliers like the gay community, black communities, and poor communities—were also disproportionately affected by the AIDS epidemic: cannabis already a part of their lexicon. Legalizing cannabis shifted from a citizens rights issue to a matter of life and death.

In 1991 Kenneth and Barbara Jenks became the first (and last) AIDS patients to qualify for compassionate care. After Kenneth and Barbara successfully argued for medicalnecessity the Compassionate IND program, started in the late ‘70s by the Carter administration, was shut down by President George H. W. Bush after an influx of hundreds of applications submitted by suffering AIDS patients.

So it is at this point in our story when the medical movement and the recreational movement diverge. One vocal gay rights activist, Dennis Peron, is credited with starting the first medical cannabis dispensary, the Cannabis Buyers Club.

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Peron lived in San Francisco with his partner, who had fallen victim to the new and horrible disease. Peron was also one of the architects behind Prop 215—the ballot measure that legalized medical cannabis in California After being forced to watch as his lover literally withered away, and seeing so many of his friends and acquaintances suffer the same fate, Peron realized that the best treatment was a simple weed, and he made it his mission to see that anyone who was suffering would have access to this palliative treatment.

What the split meant in practical terms is that most states have fought two battles, necessitating two state-regulated programs; one for medical and the other for recreational. Now that medical programs are a reality in the majority of states, and recreational industries are popping up more and more frequently, the question is; will legalizing recreational sales interfere with medical programs?

With adult-use sales just around the corner, many in the medical community are facing some tough questions from patients regarding the necessity of keeping a medical recommendation when medicine will now be available over the counter. Why pay someone for a flimsy paper card when you can walk down the street and find almost the same products without the hassle? Note the word almost. Maine voted in legal recreational marijuana a few years ago, but sales have been delayed until now—it’s taken them that long to put all sales regulations in place. For instance, as an adult-use customer, you’ll only have access to low milligram edibles.

While some believe that making recreational cannabis legal will make medical programs obsolete and reinforce the trope that cannabis’s main use is to ‘get high’, others are less sure. One theme I heard in conversations with medical providers is that the opposite may be true; recreational cannabis will validate the medical community because it will allow patients who have registered with the medical program to purchase and use recreational marijuana to let their certifications to lapse, thereby only leaving patients with true medical necessities.

I spoke with the director of Cannacare Maine, Melissa Martel, CNP, who told me that ‘the medical program is never going to go away because there will always be patients who use cannabis as medicine.’ She also pointed out that ‘with federal legalization of medical cannabis so near at hand, people will have incentive to stay in the program and have insurance start paying for their medicine.’

Here in Maine both have been legal for several years now, but the recreational industry is just now (for all intents and purposes) being set up. Will motivation for patients to seek medical guidance decrease if they can access it without a recommendation or prescription? Will it slow down research?

Will they invalidate medical programs altogether? I spoke to some of Maine’s top providers to hear what they had to say and they had some very valuable perspectives.

When I spoke with Dr. Mary Callison from Budding Potentials in Brewer, Maine she had a lot of excellent insights.

We discussed the state of the medical community right now

L I N E S AT O P E N I N G D AY O F A D U LT U S E S A L E S AT T H E O R Y W E L L N E S S I N S O U T H P O R T L A N D .

and how it might be effected by the start of adult-use sales.

Dr. Callison pointed out to me that the demographic in Maine is very different from other states that have already legalized adult use sales, and that both programs can only co-exist if the demographics support it.

In Maine, unlike in other states with recreational programs, adult-use and medical will not be allowed in the same building, nor can products be freely exchanged between the two. This will force many cultivators to choose between the two, if only for the high cost of running both. Forcing a choice might be invalidating as well, as it forces patients to make a conclusive decision as to whether they use to treat an illness, or to ‘just get high.’

Dr. Callison speculated, ‘Why can’t we be like the corner drug store where you can walk through the front, get all of your over-the-counter lethal medicines like Tylenol, and then go back to the back where the pharmacist sells you the prescription stuff? Why can’t we have that?’ One of her views is that, ’they’re blowing out the medical program by not differentiating between their politics and their freedoms and what the medical program needed, and that was a little more stringency.’

When I interviewed Dr. Dustin Sulak he expressed fears that the opening up of a recreational industry will make it more difficult for patients gain access to quality medical products.

He told me his ‘biggest concern is that the marketplace will favor products that are less compatible with the needs of patients and more compatible with the needs of people who want to use cannabis for it’s psychoactive or euphoric effects.’

Dr. Sulak also expressed concern about ‘excessive regulations’, stating that in his experience ‘the more governmental agencies that get involved the more expensive it becomes and the more limited access becomes.’

When I asked him whether or not he thinks the demographics in Maine will be able to support both industries Dr. Sulak said he believes that, ‘there’s plenty of room for both, but I think sometimes we see when new markets emerge we see oligopolies take over and the small artisanal producer just has a harder time maintaining a successful business and some of these small producers make a quality product that are great for patients.’

Another provider I talked with, Kim Files, NP, also expressed cost concerns. ‘I think the dollar signs will drive it. I think dollar signs drive some of the legislation’, she told me. As to whether or not the recreational market will shut down the medical program she stated, ‘I think every new thing that comes people just go a nuts at first and then it settles down, and I think that’s the same thing that will happen here, it will settle down.’

The trend in other states that have legalized both is a decline in registered patients—sometimes precipitously, sometimes in a more gradual descent. According to an article published by MJBiz Daily, in Colorado there was initially a small spike in registered patients just after the legalization of recreational cannabis before starting a slow and irregular descent. In Massachusetts enrollment in the medical program became free—there was a significant spike in medical enrollment (7,235 new patients registered between March 23 and April 21), but this was a special case as it coincided with COVID closures that temporarily shut down recreational sales.

This November, South Dakota might become the first state to legalize both medical and recreational cannabis simultaneously. (In 2015, a long-shot initiative in Ohio to simultaneously legalize both failed soundly). If both pass, it will be interesting to see how a program that distinguishes between the two from the outset develops.

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COMMUNITY

P L A N T H RO P Y:

P RO M O T I N G H U M A N W E L FA R E T H RO U G H P L A N T P RO C E E D S

BY MCC TEA M P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F C U R E C A N NA B I S C O. & T H E H E A L I N G C O M M U N I T Y M E D C O

The Store Next Door Project Growing up isn’t easy, especially when life at home doesn’t provide for the basic needs of young humans. That is where the Store Next Door Project steps in and provides basic tangible goods, academic support, emotional support, and service referrals for students in all grade levels. The mission statement of the SND Project is to eliminate barriers surrounding education for youth experiencing homelessness, displacement, and high mobility within Lewiston. By addressing students’ basic needs, the goal of achieving academic success once again may be within reach. Students formerly homeless, at risk for homelessness, and pregnant/ parenting teens also receive support through this project. The SND Project is completely non-profit and does not receive any state or federal aid. SND is operated by Jamie Caouette and Katie Krantz, who both have huge hearts!

Amidst the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, John Morrison, one of the co-owners of Cure Cannabis Co., learned of the SND Project and decided Cure should be involved. John is an active community member, business owner, candidate for state representative of District 60 this year, and has always been big on giving back. Seeing how they could assist, co-

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owners/father-son duo “Big” John Morrison and Johnny Morrison attended an informational meeting. Neither had an idea of the horrifying statistics and truths surrounding youth homelessness in the Lewiston area. Knowing how loyal and supportive a patient base Cure has, they knew that by educating their community they would be equally as eager to be a part of the solution.

Recently, Cure organized a raffle to benefit the SND Project, which included a Louis Vuitton bag filled with medical cannabis products for patients only. Members of both Cure and The Healing Community MEDCo. also joined forces in October and operated a voluntary toll to both raise awareness and money. The team at Cure believe that “life always comes full circle and at some point it’ll be your time to give back.” By supporting the SND Project, they can help change the lives of these students and assist them to create bright futures.

The Store Next Door project relies 100% on our community to meet the basic needs of over 300 youth experiencing homelessness who are living in Lewiston each year.

If you would like to donate to this cause, please visit http://bit.ly/Store_Next_Door or visit their facebook page for more information https://www.facebook.com/SNDLHS/.

McMahan says, “I explain the challenge and take down some information that we use to get them their gift card. I contact them again when we’re doing the drop-off, and after that, they go on the calendar for us to contact again in a week.”

Joining forces with Shanna Cox, President and CEO of the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, they were able to raise the sponsorships needed to support the fundraiser. “The Chamber is the direct line to the community leaders,” explains McMahan. “The Chamber is also able to manage donor relations in a stellar fashion and use their name and voice to help get the word out so we can attract more sponsors.”

Casco Bay Food & Beverage, ABC Pools & Spa Center, City Side Motors, The Vault, State Representatives Kristen Cloutier and Bettyann Sheats, Androscoggin Home Health Care & Hospice, State Farm agent Lisa Laliberte, Darby Ray, Heidi Taylor, and two anonymous donors are the businesses and individuals that have sponsored families so far. In just one week, Androscoggin Home Health Care & Hospice supported five families.

On a normal day, MEDCo. makes dozens of deliveries to customers across the state. So of course, MEDCo. was able to assist with the delivery of food directly to the families in need.

“It’s been pretty amazing,” says McMahan. “People sometimes get teary-eyed when I first reach out to them. There’s such genuine appreciation. We often get thank you cards from the families.”

MEDCo. and their fundraising partners plan to continue the project as long as the need exists. “Our initial plan was to continue until the State of Civil Emergency is lifted,” McMahan says. “At this point, it’s tough to say. We’re going to play it by ear and see how it goes.” Along with conceiving the project, MEDCo. has donated more than $4,500 to the effort so far.

McMahan expects the total funds raised will exceed $10,000.

LA Metro Business The Healing Community MEDCo. heads up the Healing Community Food Challenge

If you or your business would like to make a donation to the Healing Community Food Challenge, you can do so by visiting the LA Metro Chamber’s website at http://bit.ly/MCC_Medco.

When medical cannabis was considered an essential business early on in the state’s COVID response, many companies realized they were positioned to give back to their local communities. One such company was Lewiston-based the Healing Community MEDCo., now with two locations and delivery service. Their leadership team, which includes Operating Manager Alex McMahan, Operating Manager and Edibles Production Manager Joey Johnson, and Master Growers Joe Couture and Terri Wentworth, collectively decided their community could benefit from their assistance.

The MEDCo. team devised The Healing Community Food Challenge in under a week. McMahan reached out to the area’s top social service agencies in order to connect with the appropriate families. Aided by Joline Bedard, Executive Director of the United Way of Androscoggin County, McMahan then created partnerships with leaders at Safe Voices, the YMCA, and the YWCA. “They search their programs for families who are experiencing difficult times due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and when they find a candidate, they ask for permission to pass their contact info on to me,” said McMahan. After establishing a relationship with a family, MAINECANNABISCHRONICLE.COM

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HISTORY

The Long and Winding Road to Legalization B Y K AT I E W E I T M A N N The current cannabis prohibition began in 1937 with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act. The first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Harry Anslinger, picked a fight with the plant as a way to stay relevant after alcohol prohibition ended. Despite mounting evidence that cannabis posed no threat to society, and after early statements asserting cannabis was not a threat, Anlinger used fear—specifically fear of the Black and growing Latino communities—to get public support behind its prohibition.

Anslinger began calling cannabis ‘marihuana’ to further drive home the plants’ connection to Mexican immigrants, who the working class feared would take their jobs and taint their communities.

Strong propaganda campaigns began in the 1920s and ‘30s portraying marijuana as a substance that would drive you insane and cause you to commit criminal acts. Multiple articles were published alleging that cannabis use led to insanity and murder. Movies, such as Reefer Madness and Assassin of Youth, were created to scare adolescents away from cannabis use. This propaganda not only vilified the use of cannabis, but also linked it to minority groups and subcultures (perhaps most notably jazz culture and beatniks) and subsequently worked to vilify these groups as well.

Conservative politicians maintained the trope, causing stigma to grow around cannabis use. Marijuana has been classified as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and ecstasy, meaning that the federal government doesn’t recognize any legitimate medical uses for cannabis. We all know this is absurd—science (and history) has proven there are multiple medical uses for cannabis. Luckily, the stigma is abating, and politicians are beginning to admit that prohibition was a mistake. Almost every 2020 presidential candidate set forth a plan for marijuana legalization, and most included reevaluating drug charges for those serving time or having prior cannabis convictions. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders even said they would legalize marijuana by executive order if they were elected!

In such a charged climate, any slight misstep can close the door to any future recreational retail opportunities. In Maine, many found that the best path to opening an adultuse store was to get a foot in the door by becoming a medical distributor while preparing to meet all of the strict requirements for non-medical distribution, and by paying particularly close attention to seed-to-sale demands and local zoning.

There are a lot of moving parts—for instance, after months of preparing to use BioTrackTHC seed-to-sale software, the state decided to pull out of their agreement just after Christmas, setting back the recreational program so the state could find a new monitoring system. That also meant that producers who had already invested time and resources into figuring out the BioTrack system before the switch had to go through the process all over again with METRC, the new

software company Maine signed a contract with.

In states with legal sales of recreational cannabis there is no doubt tax revenues will be a great boon to their economies— Illinois legalized cannabis at the start of this year and did $10.8 million in sales in the first five days! And since prohibition began, cannabis use has been considered a victimless crime by the majority of citizens, among both experts and laypeople alike. Progress has been slow, but the goal is almost realized.

After waiting for four long years, Maine residents and tourists traveling through are finally able to legally purchase adult-use recreational cannabis. You may be saying to yourself right now, “but I thought recreational cannabis has been legal in Maine?” Yes. While it’s been legal to grow, possess, use, and give or receive cannabis, it was not until this last month that any legal retailers began conducting sales. (And gifting, creating all kinds of creative loopholes). The main issue has been figuring out how to regulate it. And, over the last several years, Maine’s Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP) has been working to hammer out the details of regulating cannabis sales.

Since being voted into law back in November 2016, recreational sales have faced hurdle after hurdle, starting with a gubernatorial veto, and then OMP’s last-minute decision to switch the seed-to-sale tracking software from BioTrack to Metrc at the end of last year, and then, of course, the pandemic. OMP issued the first round of conditional licenses to almost 80 businesses—including retail, production, and testing facilities—at the beginning of this year. After getting conditional licenses issued from OMP, businesses then had to go to their municipalities for permission to operate. Once businesses received their town’s blessing, they could apply for active licenses.

Business owners were hopeful that sales would start in the spring—or by June at the absolute latest. As a natural skeptic, I was not in the least surprised when sales were delayed yet again. (Though this time, it was due to COVID, which is admittedly very different from earlier legislative hiccoughs). In late April, OMP director Erik Gundersen said, “Just one month ago, as we announced the issuance of Maine’s first conditional licenses for adult-use marijuana establishments, few would have envisioned the effects the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) would have on the daily lives of Mainers. However, it now appears as though a spring launch of Maine’s adult-use industry is simply unrealistic.” And with that, recreational sales were postponed indefinitely.

It’s been a long road to full legalization, but for Mainers that day has finally come. And when the federal government finally joins in, we will all be able to take a deep, THC-filled, breath of relief!

OPPOSITE PAGE: Illustration courtesy of @stickyclawdraws MAINECANNABISCHRONICLE.COM

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CULTURE

G R E E N WO O D S RO O T S A N D C U LT U R E R E V I VA L 2 0 2 0 R E C A P

BY M R . RO O T S When I saw that my long-time friend Dom was keeping with tradition and throwing the Green Woods Roots and Culture Revival this year, I was immediately excited about the possibility, especially because the world has felt the strain of a virus that has kept us apart as people, and the Greenwoods experience is all about unity and joining together with good vibes, peace, and love for all humanity.

I felt we needed an event like this to help ease the tensions some of us have been dealing with. I knew that the Green Woods team would be taking all necessary measures to assure a safe event. With this in mind, I wanted to show support and make sure that I was there to run with the vibes that are always high at this festival!

When I saw the text message from Dom inviting me to be emcee, I was floored! It’s an honor to be the host of any event, but this event has particularly high vibes. Overall, it attracts such conscious people who not only perform at the event, but also attend.

I’ll admit that I also honestly felt something that I very rarely feel: nervousness.

Having been a performer enough times in my life, being on stage almost feels like second nature. I’ve played in multiple gigging bands and have been in front of some fairly large crowds—always as the drummer, though. Always somewhat hidden behind the front of stage musicians and my drum set, I could just jump on stage and kick out the rhythms without much interaction with people at all.

the 30-second video of their performance that I took at least 10 times for my sons and many other times for friends.

Later in the evening on the first day of the festival, other members of the Penobscot Nation played in a band that will be etched forever in my mind as well: Justice for the River.

Although they were chosen as the headlining act for the first night of the two-day event,, I had never heard of them before.

I had no idea what to expect.

What I witnessed was a band so tight in their grooves, and so dynamic in their sound, that I was overjoyed watching them!

I almost threw my voice out hailing them up to close their set.

Justice for the River brought an amazing level of musicianship, with a rhythm section thumping out the foundation for a shared vocal lead. One Penobscot man brought a raw vocal fury reminiscent of ‘Zack de la Rocha meets Eminem on some social justice lyrics’ and consciously magnetized the crowd.

Justice for the River’s other vocal lead, another Penobscot gentleman, brought style and finesse to his ‘Professor Longhair meets Ray Charles’ keyboard playing. When he switched to electric guitar, his explosive notes reminded me of ‘Freddie King meets Jimmy Page’ at a jazz club. Plus, as band leader, his overall stage presence and stylistic attire was so fucking cool. If you ever, EVER, get the chance to see Justice For the River play, just drop whatever you are doing and go!

Confidently telling Dom that I would emcee the festival, I tabled the excitement and nervousness that I felt over taking on the role.

And I’m glad I did!

This year, Green Woods Roots and Culture Revival was an amazing experience to not only be a part of, but also to witness! The event was held at Thomas Point Beach, one of the most beautiful venues in Maine that also happens to be large enough that we could all social distance without feeling like we were too far apart. It was perfect.

The music, though...the MUSIC! It was an absolute pleasure to introduce acts that I hadn’t heard of that blew my mind! There is so much talent in the world, and Maine in particular has an abundance of true raw talent. All of the acts were world-class, and the bands from Maine absolutely blew me away.

Penobscot Nation representatives, The Burnurwurbskek Singers, kicked off the event with a powerful performance, singing and chanting songs of the First Nations while playing their tribal drum. Their songs were a blessing for the festival, and they were an experience I will never forget. I have played

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The first nights’ acts sandwiched crucial DJ skills by the man Satta Sound—featuring vocal talent Prince Negasi—as well as the silky smooth reggae vocal stylings of Greg Roy, who brought the fire! Local Maine band The Midnight Ramblers, led by audiophile Will Neils, also brought the house down with their well-written songs. They were joined by Mallet Brothers Band fiddler extraordinaire Andrew Martelle, who added a folk-rock flourish to The Midnight Ramblers brand of ‘Dr. John/Louisiana blues rock.’

Day two of the festival was more heavy on the reggae and dub. The crowd filled out a little—though social distancing was still practiced—to see acts that have reached more of a national and international level. The grounds at Thomas Point Beach were spaced out for parking, with enough room for people to put a blanket down and sit outside their vehicles.

This ‘drive-in concert’ was well thought out. When I arrived to start with my emcee duties, I really got a sense on day two of how effective the event was going to be. The social distancing requirements were easy to adhere to with larger grounds, yet there was a feeling of togetherness as the crowd was all on one field. The message of unity at the heart of Green Woods Roots and Culture Revival was alive and well, even with the current social mandates.

Kicking off the vibes for day two was The Van Gordon Martin Band, comprised of members of Dub Apocalypse. They laid a solid foundation for their guitarist (and band namesake) Van’s incendiary electric inflections.

Next was Roots, Rhythm & Dub, who had a great summer sunshine reggae sound. As the light of the afternoon was changing towards evening, their bubbling sound provided a sweet soundtrack as I enjoyed some smokable CBD flower while talking to my friend, Farmer Wan, who came to check out the event.

After Roots, Rhythm & Dub’s set, the Green Woods audience had the opportunity to witness the R&B/hip-hop debut of local vocalist Sydney, who was backed by Green Lion Crew’s high-grade sound. Sydney brought her well crafted vocal stylings to original songs, and it was clear that she has a nice road ahead of her as a vocalist.

New Fame, the world traveling ladies of hip hop and R&B, jumped on stage after Sydney, lighting the place up with some seriously high vibes! Their hype was real! These gals worked the crowd like seasoned veterans of the stage. They brought the house down and set the tone for the rest of a

special evening. Local top-ranking sound system, Green Lion Crew and Zuggu Dan (in his first singing performance in the U.S.) crushed it with roots-riddim stylings that increased the sweet smell of ganja from the crowd. Zuggu Dan is a true bushmaster!

Night had fallen during Green Lion Crew’s set. In the darkness, the headliner and closing act of the Green Woods Roots and Culture Revival took the stage. After the evening’s lead-up of great performances, I walked on stage and introduced Dub Apocalypse featuring Dela from Slightly Stoopid to the stage and watched from the wings as they brought the complete musical package. They pulled out all the stops and left it all onstage for the audience. Dela’s saxophone was an exceptional addition to this band. What an absolute scorcher of an act! Dub Apocalypse has a world-class rhythm section, and the six-piece even brought Zuggu Dan back on stage during their set to drop a couple songs worthy of dancehall stylings for the grateful crowd. Consummate professionals, it was a perfect set to close what felt like the perfect event to attend.

In this time of social distancing, fear, and separation in society, Green Woods was a breath of fresh air for so many people in attendance. It was put together and thought out so well that everyone I saw at Thomas Point Beach was able to have the time that they wanted with the space that they felt they needed. People could adhere to the state and federal COVID mandates. People could dance and enjoy the herb under the summer night sky, with perfect weather at the perfect venue.

The music soothed us, and all the smiling faces reminded me of the truth in Bob Marley’s lyrics: “One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain.”

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REGENERATIVE FARMING

A P E R P E T UA L LY B U D D I N G F R I E N D S H I P B Y E . P. P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y R O C C O A N D R E O Z Z I & J O N S E C O R D From regenerative soil to service with a smile, four university friends saw a need in their community and came together to establish quality medicine accessible to all. From a dorm room to regenerative farms, each has helped build up the budding storefront, Atlantic Farms, where ‘you can pump gas and get gassed.’

wrong using living soil, locally sourced manure, clean running water, and organic plant feed—the Atlantic Farms medicine is provided by a team passionate about regenerative sungrown cannabis. With knowledge and medical understanding, employees greet patients with a warm smile and ensure they are well taken care of.

Jackson, Rocco, Bryan, and Ian met while studying at the University of Maine in Orono, each studying in their own respective fields of Mechanical Engineering, Finance & Business Administration, Political Science & Business Administration, and New Media. With an understanding of how clean, quality medicine should be grown, and how it should be received by a patient, they set the ball rolling with their vision: to provide medicine grown the way nature intended.

Starting from humble beginnings and producing for friends and family, they decided to extend it further to the community.

The two farms, located in Freeman and Somerville, both grow regeneratively. The Atlantic Farms storefront, located in Portland, houses their medicine and showcases select, qualitygrown cannabis from conscious farmers around Maine.

AF currently has two regenerative farms owned, run, and managed by owners Ian (Freeman, ME) and Jackson (Somerville, ME). As an experienced and successful greenhouse farmer specializing in crop production, Jackson turned his attention towards caregiving in 2016, applying his knowledge regarding the importance of farming in harmony with the earth to the cannabis industry. Two years later, his Somerville farm has become a key component in helping supply the regenerative medicine sold at their Atlantic Farms dispensary in Portland.

Ensuring quality cannabis is maintained—you cannot go

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With the constant challenge of weather and microclimates, Maine farmers have had to adapt to their land. There is an importance to being in harmony with nature, whether you are growing lettuce or cannabis, and plants grow best in the sun. But as the saying goes for Maine, “If you don’t like the

weather, wait a minute.” Thankfully Jackson, a mechanical engineer, designed and built the three gothic-style, heated greenhouses, which run on the farm from April to December to help combat the grow seasons in Maine. The heated greenhouses give Jackson and the Atlantic Farms team the capacity to grow earlier than most farmers, most of whom can only start planting late April into early May. AF specializes in light-deprivation greenhouses that allow for multiple turns in a grow season; therefore, the team can provide patients more medicine each run. (Runs are the cycle of the cannabis plant life, from the moment it is in the greenhouse beds to when the plants flower.) Typically, the outdoor farm season ends in fall, but AF runs later than others and finishes their last run in December, giving the farms, land, and the AF team time to recuperate through the winter.

As Maine opens recreational sales and use of cannabis to anyone over the age of 21, the cannabis market will see a flood of recreational usage. But Atlantic Farms will remain medical use only as they wait for Portland to issue their 20 recreational licenses. With recreational becoming available, Maine quality cannabis, grown by farmers, will now see the market open to anyone with a license to grow. With the allowance of recreational cannabis use, farmers who have grown cannabis medicine consciously and have followed the call to provide cannabis as medicine are able to share this philosophy and medicine with more people. Now that cannabis is legal, many of those experienced ‘minds’ in the cannabis field will find their way back, and those curious about trying cannabis will have the chance to see how her reputation precedes her. And with time, cannabis will be seen and respected for all the medical benefits it provides.

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SHOP DOG

Stella Blue Best Friend Pups

I, Stella Blue, am a Humboldt pup. My dad taught me how to live and grow clean medicine using the DANK method (I helped dad come up with that name!).

I’m a regal cross between a Pitbull and Great Dane and have gracefully owned my size and title as Farm Dog. There’s no pond muddy enough, no hill too steep to stride, and no truck too big I cannot stop. At 12 years old, it has been a privilege to earn my green paws and, three years into retirement, I have a willing student who has risen to her duty—my little sister Lucci.

Summertime reminds me of the good ‘ol Cali days, so you know I love to get my tan on, and at my tender age I have perfected the sun to shade ratio for that perfect Stella tan. When I am not keeping up with my sunning or my beauty sleep, I am hard at work showing ‘Lu’ the ropes. It is important as a farm dog to ensure all deer, coyotes, and any other critters know that Boss Pups live here (so beware!).

Perimeter checks are a must. Once all is marked, we love to greet all our uncles. Starting the day with a good greeting gets us all in the mood for work.

Then it is off to the medicine fields—they are sniffed and weeded where needed.

Grass is tastiest at the hemp field, and choosing a lifestyle of balance, a grass roll is in order, add some dust, and we have the makings of a relaxing time. Lu and I love vegetables and, like everything on the farm, they are grown using living soil—regeneratively. Everything looks colorful, happy, and alive; Lucci loves the lawn surrounded by gardens and likes to roll around here.

Every day we pick some veggies to feed our chicken friends. They like tomatoes, cucumber, squash, and vates kale. We have seen them lose their chicken minds over night crawlers; in those times I like surprising them with sudden movements, only to keep them on their feet. After my busy days, I enjoy my dinner with my favorite BBQ chicken and CBD grown by my dad at Best Friend Farms. It has helped me so much. Being my age, getting up takes a little longer than it used to, but with CBD each night I move easier when I wake up. After suffering from heartworm disease just before coming to Maine, regular check-ups to keep up to 42

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date with my health have never been more important. As of my recent doctor’s visit, my health has never been better—for an old girl. The fatty bumps that have formed on my back due to age have reduced in size with topical CBD application, and one has gone completely with the daily application of regenerative medicine I put my paw on.

Lucci

I is a Lucci, but my favoritest hooman dad calls me ‘baby.’ At three years old and an Italian Mastiff, I have found my purpose: being a farm pup. Life on a farm is best life living—sister Stella has been showing me the ropes on how to be a Best pup like she is. I have opted to learn the DANK method the paws-on way.

Being a regenerative farm, we use the hugelkultur method—sticks, compost, soil, hay, and my favoritest, fish! I am not afraid to get my paws dirty, and my rewards are the treats hidden in the beds. While being a farm pup is really important work, I wind down by taking long strolls on the land, and, being a good neighbor, I like saying hello to ours. We recently added chicken friends to our farm, and I like to visit them—and to maintain their cardio I have taken it upon myself to give them a scare when they least expect it! The chickens have a great view of the vegetable garden, and I have found a sun spot on the lawn where the sun hits the grass just right at around 5 p.m. to get the best sun nap in. Every evening, I have CBD with my dinner, and each morning I wake up ready to take on the day with a big bark and a hop in my step. As a puppy, I suffered from Lyme disease before my dad brought me to my forever home. A year ago I had a flare up, the Lyme count in my system was notably high, but as of my recent doctor’s visit, my numbers have significantly reduced and are now normal. CBD has seemingly not only subdued my Lyme, but it may also be reducing it!

As the Best Friend pups, we put our paws’ approval on regenerative medicine, to create and maintain wellness of body, mind, and soul for days full of playing and nights full of rest.

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REVIEWS

Strain Safari with The Strainger B Y I A N S T UA R T

Training Day I am a fan of CBD products; as someone living with inflammation, CBD has been a life saver. A few products from Recovery CBD came into the shop: a menthol recovery gel and a potent tincture. I was happy to bring them home and give them the ol’ college try. Sleek, dark packaging with concise stylized font printed front and center, “Train Harder.

Recover Faster.” Both of the items I went home with had an upscale look to them, like products kept behind the counter, behind glass, under lock and key at the Macy’s perfume section. They look like the kind of products that would come in a set that includes a leather gym bag.

I went with the recovery gel first, as my back was absolutely killing me. I applied a small amount of the gel to my back, the menthol striking my aches with the force of a big block engine in a Power Wheels Corvette. It worked almost immediately; as tempting as it was, I knew slathering my entire body in the stuff would use the entire tube in a single sitting. It was relief that continued into the night, and I knew exactly what to use when I woke up with a stiff neck the next morning.

It took me a while to warm up to tinctures; they have become an interest of mine only recently. Now, as someone with lungs that have been battered harder than a thieving traitor on Blackbeard’s pirate ship, I love em’. Tinctures are a surefire way of getting the dose you are looking for, so you can get specific. This little bottle came with a whopping 1500 mgs of CBD in MCT oil, loaded like a shift burrito after a smoke break.

It is a tasteless liquid with a buttery mouthfeel. I love highdose CBD tincture—there’s no messing around, it gets straight to the point. I spent the weekend adding the oil to everything I was drinking until I was too relaxed to do so. The quality of this CBD tincture was astounding, and I will be buying more soon. My only complaint is that I went through it quickly, but that’s on me; I pounded that bottle like a thirsty athlete on a Gatorade commercial.

Keep Truckin’ The fine people of Green Truck stopped by the shop with a bevy of dank goods to sample. I grabbed some hearty-

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looking nugs of their MAC and a tasing of their well packaged GMO Diamonds and Wedding Pie Cured Batter. Excited as I was, I hurried home with the momentum of a yuppie running late to a free buffet full of cheap wine and half-cooked mozzarella sticks.

The first thing I attacked was the MAC, ripping at the nug jug like a hungry raccoon with a box of cereal. The aroma hit me harder than a Judo-chopping elephant; the bud smelled so fire it could’ve sent smoke signals to Bangor. With notes of ripe citrus and dark berries, you could easily throw these beautiful flowers into a parfait. Beefy, light green nugs broke apart in chunks like office furniture in a compactor. Covered in trichomes, my counter could have been skied on after lightly handling the shiny nugs. As any good herb should, it tasted as it smelled. The high was both strong and playful; I felt more energized than an organ solo in a surfer dude reggae band. On top of an uplifting body buzz, I felt a thick, relaxing, warming sensation across my face, like I had been lightly slapped in the face with a feather boa fresh from the dryer. I was nothing but impressed—a fantastic strain grown by fantastic people.

After thoroughly enjoying their flower, I was eager to try their concentrates. First up was the Wedding Pie Cured Batter, looking like the potent love child of a lone piece of caramel and a jar of name brand creamy peanut butter. The aroma was earthy and sweet, like a bouquet of farm-fresh carrots dipped in organic cane sugar. Very simply, It smelled like all of the best parts of a farmers’ market. A big ol’ glob was cold started quicker than an old snowmobile in the middle of January. The hit was clean and powerful, like a chemical used to unclog the drains at Bohemian Grove. My body immediately began to sweat, and I started to ponder the possible effectiveness of dabs strapped to mountain dogs during a rescue and recovery mission. The high was perfect for a carefree night of video games and take out. As thought-provoking as the strain was, I would not recommend the Wedding Pie Batter to anyone in the middle of filing important paperwork.

Diamonds are forever; unless they are diamonds you get from a dispensary, then they are only diamonds for a day max if you smoke like I do. I popped open the colorfully packaged gram of GMO diamonds and was instantly struck in the eye by a blinding beam of light bouncing off the concentrate.

Both stunning and beautiful, you could propose on bended knee at any Phish show you wanted with these puppies. A light fragrance of sweet syrup and diesel, an image of early morning dew splashed across a well maintained motocross track comes to mind. I take two Kardashian-sized diamonds and load my newly cleaned banger, awaiting the magic of a cold-start dab. I am instantly hit in the chest like a man standing behind an angry horse, almost physically falling backwards after my heroic toke. Ripped like late homework

on the last day of school, I was torn up. A clean, focused, and incredibly intense high—I cleaned my mancave, forgot I did so, and had almost convinced myself of a janitorial haunting before realizing what I had done. If you’re looking for something that will take your mind off things for awhile, the GMO Diamonds will not only take your mind, they’ll hide it too.

Thunder on a Dry Day A sizable gift basket of various cannabis strains was very kindly dropped off at my place by the homies over at Green Xtrax. A veritable garden of choices, it was hard to choose where to start, with many of their delightful strains catching my eye. And though their expertly grown Red Velvet was a standout in the bunch, I couldn’t keep my hands off their Watermelon Thunder Fuck. Green Xtrax labels their products with the percentage of THC, CBGA, and CBG the product has.

I was elated to see that the Watermelon Thunder Fuck came in at a rattling 30%. It’s a strain you could potentially need a helmet and safety goggles for—not for amateurs or the faint of heart. Fluffy, well manicured buds smelling of fresh-cut grass and overripe berries—a perfect pairing with an early fall afternoon. Like autumn in a joint, I was a pumpkin spiced latte away from buying a Halloween mask at an apple orchard.

Tasty and smooth, the high did not disappoint either; though it was a strong strain, I did not feel as though the strain overpowered my senses in any way. Any aches I had prior to my smoke sesh had vanished, and I experienced a body high that had me floating around my kitchen like a bullfighter on greased up roller skates. I thouroughly enjoyed Green Xtrax’ Watermelon Thunder Fuck and would recommend the strain to anyone seriously considering grafting a couch to their butt.

Do you Membah?

Any time I head up north for a comedy gig, I stop in at Highbrow in Topsham. They have great products for great prices, and the people who work there would seem suspicious if they were any nicer than they already are. I was able to get my paws on their notable Memberberry Strain. Pale green buds covered in more crystals than Lil’ John’s pimp cup circa 2005. Sweet, fruity, leathery notes on the nose, like the inside of an expensive purse that is filled to the brim with expired fruit snacks. The pillowy buds broke up easily, releasing an even stronger scent of the illustrious indica dankity-dank.

Smooth and tasty, the Memberberry had a very strong blueberry taste and hit like a feeble 90-year-old wearing oversized boxing gloves. If the hit had been any more mellow, I would have broken out my Snuggie. The high was much like the smoke itself—chilled out and relaxed. This was a perfect strain for easing out of a long anguished dealing with an untamed yard and a less than efficient electric lawn mower.

Retreat to your study, slink into an overstuffed leather arm chair, and put on your smoking jacket, this flower is pretty much as close as you’ll get to smokable jazz music.

Volcanic Treat While perusing the well stocked Topsham location of Highbrow, I couldn’t help but ask about North Woods

Wellness’ Lava Cake. And though a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, who doesn’t love a good strain name?

I’m a bit of a fat kid and can’t help but gravitate towards treating myself at every small victory. Lava Cake seemed like just the conceited reward I was looking for. Lush, dark green buds, rugged and potent looking, like the strain Indiana Jones would probably smoke. A mature perfume of blueberry muffins and raspberry scones hit my nose like a prize fighter looking for a knockout. A hearty smoke that tastes like fruit leather and gluten-free baked goods: think every snack served at a Montessori school. This is not a strain you should ingest pre-workout. This is a post-workout, grab a sandwich and a siesta kinda strain. I only grabbed a slice of the Lava Cake (oh the puns!) and regret I did not pick up more. I went through the eighth of weed in the exact same fashion I go through a piece of cake, with half of it landing on my shirt before finishing it.

Four Edibles. One Enchanted Evening.

Matt B. dropped off a whole slew of edibles for me to gnaw on and review. “I ate some of them,” he said, “I couldn’t help myself.” After setting eyes on the stock of goodies, I totally understood. I had four different flavored medible chocolate bars in front of me from Wisely Hash: Orange and Cream, Espresso, Strawberry and Cream, and Banana Cream Pie. What a selection! It’s all my favorite flavors at Beals’ Ice Cream, and I didn’t have to wait behind 30 tourists to get it.

I figured I would take a single bite of each bar, jot down a few notes, and try to compare and contrast the rich flavors. That didn’t happen. A single bite of the Strawberry and Cream, and I became possessed with a sweet tooth that could ruin a smile in a sitting. My lack of control had been replaced with an urgency I usually only find at 2 a.m. in a crowded bathroom. Ripping away at the packaging and shoving every last piece of edible in my mouth, I stretched my cheeks out like a diabetic chipmunk. I couldn’t believe how much flavor I was experiencing. Like a shameful bakery-themed swingers’ party—it was kind of fun letting them mix. The Strawberry and Cream tasted like a strawberry, the Banana Cream Pie tasted like there was a chunk of actual banana in my mouth, the Orange and Cream tasted like one of those chocolate oranges you get around Christmas time, and the Espresso tasted like a hot chocolate that had a smooth shot of espresso in it—all incredibly distinct and delightful. Together, they paired like an ice cream sundae, a four-piece band rocking out a tasty lick. I wasn’t paying attention to the packaging, and in my gluttonous fury I had not realized that I had eaten close to 200 mg in under one minute and probably needed to find a couch to chill on for a while. I would recommend trying any and all of Wisely’s delicious edible bars, as well as recommending you to pace yourself and not let your taste buds deceive your tolerance. Cheers.

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45

ARTIST INTERVIEW

NEW FAME, LLC Inspirational Lady Hip-Hop/R&B Duo B Y D O M I N I C D P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y M AT T H E W B O U R G E O I S LIFESTYLE - It’s a lifestyle, not a diet, you know?

Well, the whole entire basis of our brand is SHOWS, SERVICE, and SELF-DEVELOPMENT. So we try to include all of those things—one of those things or every single one of those things—in everything that we do so that we are always working on ourselves, always helping others. And then, you know, shows are mental health for us, as well as obviously just being creative and being happy about it, and our music is what makes us happy. A lot of it has been anti-human trafficking work. It’s been everything that we’ve done, a myriad of workshops in nine different countries based on what people need. It’s all based on what people need and the people that we come across.” - Cruz The impact of Cruz and Adrienne coming together created something larger than both could have imagined, as well as something much larger than just themselves. These two inspiring women were on a similar trajectory, both active musically and experienced in service work. Cruz had just moved back from Cambodia and was living in New York City at the same time as Adrienne. They met at a release party where Cruz saw Adrienne perform and it “blew me away,” she said.

After the show, Adrienne had business cards lying about offering a free download. Cruz approached her, saying, “Why are you giving your music away for free? You’re phenomenal, you know?”

Adrienne responded, “Oh, I can just make more.”

“All right then,” said Cruz.

From that moment on, they pretty much have been together every single day since. The women worked together doing video/photo shoots for clients and playing some top venues in the city, including SOB and Southpaw. From there, they connected with Vans Warped Tour via a contact at SXSW (Official Artists 2016-2020). Touring with Vans for two years, in between traveling to Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize doing workshops, they endured the grueling schedule, long drives, insane routes, and more.

We were on an independent stage, which was glorious because we really, really got to understand and value the hard work and commitment and reaching out to people and speaking to people individually rather than treating them like a corporation.

We vowed that we would never be these corporate entities that didn’t give a shit about people and just wanted to make a dollar.

We wanted to be love and respect each and every person that showed us any kind of attention for the music that we created.

‘Cause that, that in itself, is a blessing, you know?

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Over the years, they have opened for hip-hop legends such as Rakim, KRS-One, Redman, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, DJ Maseo, Fat Lip, Kool Keith, Aceyalone, and more.

VIETNAM TO MAINE - How did New Fame, LLC land here in Maine the first place? A few excerpts/anecdotes reflecting their journey in our fair state: New Fame has lived the last four years in Vietnam between Saigon and Da Nang touring, along with one to three months of touring in the USA each year. This has enriched their perspective on both the countries and the respective communities where they’ve resided.

“People over money. Everyone wants to make money. We all need it. America has a lot of money. You’d never see Vietnamese people throwing furniture out in their yard. You don’t ever see a dollar on the ground there. It’s incredible how rich we are,” Cruz points out, despite the fact that she’s witnessed more overall happiness in Vietnam, another parallel to how Maine feels specifically like Da Nang city, where they’ve spent much of the past few years carrying out their mission. The connection to nature, water, and the surrounding culture feels on point to how Vietnamese people live in Da Nang.

Maine has been a stop on the New Fame tour route for the last six years, first through Ill by Instinct and Rap Night, along with DJ Myth and Ben Shorr, who asked New Fame to open for KRS-One and Styles P two years ago. They met their manager Nate Winter of Maven Made Agency then, a talented engineer, producer, and master who took a liking to their whole brand and mission.

Without those kind of situations, we don’t feel like we would have ever had the stamina here that we do, because that’s where we’ve met a lot of people who became friends of ours, not just supporters that buy tickets, but like real true friends that like, you know, we care about each other, and we cook each other stuff, and we eat together like real friends, which is very hard to come by when you’re out on the road so much, you know, you have just a few friends and a lot of areas, but this place has really allowed us to call it home. It’s absolutely incredible. I couldn’t be happier stuck in a place.

- Cruz Right before COVID, the ladies had extended their stay here in Maine to fulfill several opportunities in the area, including opening for Blackalicious in Portsmouth. Once the country shut down, they were here with no place to go.

KRS-ONE Dominic D: “I’m pretty sure I saw the end of your performance at the KRS-One show at Oxbow a couple of years ago.”

Cruz: “Yeah. It’s actually just past the two-year anniversary, October 11, two years ago yesterday.”

Dominic D: “I was like, ‘this guy’s older than me? This is crazy.’”

Cruz: “Yo. He fucking killed it. I’ll never forget that show.”

Dominic D: “Yeah, he’s got amazing energy. I saw him 10 plus years ago. and he had as much, if not more, energy this time around. So, you know, again, a good sign that if you try to maintain positivity and activity in your lifestyle, that you’re gonna, you know, have that strength, that persistent kind.”

GREEN WOODS New Fame was very excited when Green Woods Roots & Culture reached out this spring to ask them to perform at the annual reggae and roots festival. They were staying energized doing intimate shows at Higher Grounds and being outside with their small PA. “But being on a big stage, to be with big lights, to be with people, it didn’t matter that they were far away. That didn’t affect anything for us,” said Cruz.

with the social distancing. Obviously, a big part of live music is that physical, auditory, and energetic connection/ vibration. A crucial reason Green Woods carried on is that the community is still there. Even if we’re all locked up, we’re still existing. The event couldn’t just go away because of that; it needed to continue spreading its message of positivity and perseverance.

CANNABIS CONNECTIONS Three years ago, manager Nate linked the ladies with Caniba Naturals in Farmington, the first caregivers in Maine they became directly involved with. Their high-energy performance last year at The High 95 Cup proved to be a catalyst to meeting the local cannabis community. They are passionate about the plant and its ability to heal and bridge the divide between one another.

Everybody feels, you know, smoking or drinking, whatever you do, people all want to be around that or feel cool, but there’s so much more that all of us are doing. And I think to me, the best part is aligning with other people around here that can make those things happen. We’re finding our tribes, that’s for sure, because you can’t stop a gang of people, you know? And if your gang of people are pushing positivity and a positive influence on others, then call it what you want—God, gods, the gods, however you feel, but it’s bigger than us.

The thing is, by fixing ourselves and focusing daily where we can contribute to that pain and healing within ourselves, that’s really what resonates and permeates the universe.

For the time being, Maine is home. Cruz says, “It’s just beautiful. It’s just a beautiful life of nature and nice and quiet. And now we’ve moved into a place where it’s a bit long-term. We’ve taken all our stuff out of storage, and it’s definitely an amazing place, and I’m grateful to have it.

That’s for sure.”

New Fame is happily stuck in Maine and always missing Southeast Asia.

We’re ready to play all around the world in any country, anywhere, anytime, let’s work. In some way or form. You let the world know that we’re ready to come out there when they are.

New Fame, LLC | Shows. Service. Self-Development.

Management - Nate at Maven Made Agency | Booking Chelsea Mac Daddy

Having been injected into that culture and rocking with a reggae crew in Vietnam named Saigon Dub Station, they learned how to freestyle with a selecta and the nuances of the art form different from hip-hop. The ladies were happy for the opportunity to do it again here in America. They also saw positive representations of strong women taking on lead roles in the event, roles that are disproportionately held by men in the music industry.

Reggae music often acknowledges there is a struggle, yet it is positive, it’s inclusive and worldwide. New Fame fit the human scale of the event, able to create as little barrier between performers and the audience as possible, even MAINECANNABISCHRONICLE.COM

47

CULTURE

Cannab is an d Gami ng B Y G U Y F L A N D E R S A R T I N G I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y K R I S T I N B U R G E S S Cookies and milk. Beer and pizza. Drugs and gaming. These things go together so well that it often seems like they were designed together—or one was made to facilitate the other.

While this might not be the case for the first two examples, the last surely has a case to be made for a perfect union conceived by gods and game designers. Whether it’s the deeply explored circle of a Venn diagram explaining the overlap between video gaming culture and weed culture, the history of card games in smoky rooms, or what I find to be the necessary functions of weed in D&D, the marriage between these cultures is nearly universal.

Hot take here: video games and weed go together well. This combination is so deeply explored at this point that academic papers have been published on the subject, and it even has its own Wikipedia page. Cannabis’ ability to make visuals more interesting and audio more intense is why it’s pairing with film and music is so well noted; likewise, the video game experience, a media that mixes audio and video, is similarly enhanced. (On a more personal note, it was the particular combination of weed and video games that kept me sane in high school. Were it not for stress relief that brought me, I shudder to think where I might have ended up.)

First, I should start by explaining what I mean by “gaming culture” and “weed culture.” Gaming culture is a set of— sometimes completely disparate—groups centered around an appreciation of games. This nearly non-definition might seem vague, but it is only as vague as the term “game” itself is. Games have been defined so widely and are so different that Ludwig Wittgenstein, a 20th century AustrianBritish philosopher and one of the first to discuss the nature of games, came to the conclusion that the term was essentially undefinable.

Though using cannabis while playing might seem like a detriment in more difficult video games, I have found the most personal benefit there. I am a huge fan of the Souls-Borne series of games, which are famous, or infamous, for their steep learning curve and unforgiving play. You would expect weed might make a terrible pairing with this kind of play, but I’ve found the weed helps to keep me calm when I would otherwise get frustrated and keeps me out of my own head.

Few things are as enjoyable as feeling the controller and my thoughts melt away as the avatar and I become one.

But this doesn’t necessarily hurt our exploration. Like the Supreme Court’s ruling on pornography, ‘I know it when I see it’ is an acceptable metric for something so broad. So sports, chess, and video games are all clear examples despite not falling within one neat definition. Weed culture on the other hand is much easier to explain: it is a collection of people, groups, and their art and expression based on use and appreciation of cannabis.

Card games are pretty old, dating to Song Dynasty China, from the 9th-12th centuries, as a happy byproduct of the invention of woodblock printing. For as long as cards have been played, people have been betting and drinking alongside them. That time honored tradition has continued well into the contemporary world, an example being casinos famed for being the last places on earth where smoking indoors is encouraged, not to mention the table side drink services. No doubt, upon the more widespread acceptance of marijuana,

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it’s likely that smoking cannabis, which undoubtedly happens surreptitiously on the gaming floor anyway, will happen more openly alongside these other vices.

And of course, casinos encourage these vices with the hope that they’ll make money from your gambling, but in more private settings the use of cannabis with games is certainly widespread. I, for one, have never been to a Magic: The Gathering game without simultaneously getting high as a kite.

Although it might end up being a hindrance to strictly optimal play, I find it helps to keep things light and prevents anyone from getting too competitive or serious.

Maine Cannabis CHRONICLE

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Where I find weed to be most essential in my gaming life, however, is when playing D&D. I don’t play other tabletop role playing games, so I can’t speak to them, but generally roleplaying is at least present in all of them. Role playing can be incredibly uncomfortable to everyone—except maybe to theater kids and super nerds—so I find pot to be indispensable in allowing me to get into character. Not to mention, I’m the Dungeon Master (DM), meaning I have to: A) play a lot of NPCs (non-player characters); B) sensually improvise scenery and battles; and C) create an engaging and multifaceted world for my players to explore. Marijuana greatly facilitates all of these endeavors.

Improvisation is hard, even a sticking point for new DMs, but jazz-grass helps me visualize and be more confident in my descriptions. I would not be able to come up with an eighth of the ideas I do for magical items, or story beats, if it wasn’t for the creative help hoobastank gives me.

And finally, there’s the DM sweats. It is a uniquely anxietyinducing task to build and describe a world, plus characters, while trying to usher players through it without being too straightforward. DM sweats are real, and I get them every time. Bud keeps me relatively calm and loose throughout the process, mitigating my stress and flop sweat, and thereby allowing me to enjoy the session as much as my players hopefully do.

As personal as one’s experience with weed or games is, we do see trends. The intersection between the incredibly vast world of games and cannabis is plain to see. From Michael Phelps in the world of sports, to Baron Flynt from the excellent video game Borderlands, to the pipe weed of halflings, the connections between these groups are innumerable.

Correlation does not imply causation, and I can only speak to my own experience, but for me games and weed just bring out the best in each other—like rice and beans—so why wouldn’t you have them together?

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O U R W E B S I T E I S U P A N D RU N N I N G !

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FACES IN THE FIELD

FACES IN THE FIELD:

Ryan Reed of High Striker Farms B Y M R . R O O T S P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y M AT T H E W B O U R G E O I S

Having the pleasure of getting to know Ryan Reed from High Striker Farms, a few words come to mind that I could use to describe him to you—a few words that still mean something in this cannabis community, to those of us who really do still say what’s what about a few things, us old-school growers.

It doesn’t matter if the investor who bought that shiny new grow space or downtown storefront says so or not. The people who came up growing dank, who worked lines and represented this community from the underground, are ultimately who shaped this whole landscape. Sweat equity is a term that applies very well to this community.

To prove this point: Many hire a sophomore to save some money, then realize in a few months that they need a doctorate-level consultant to progress a mess. It’s hard to add that back into your overhead costs when you are pinching pennies after the buildout, while you are waiting to recoup.

Anyway, the words I would use to describe High Striker Farms are: hard-working, knowledgeable, genuine, caring, personable, fun to talk with, and REAL. Yup, real. As in, “doesn’t put up a bunch of fake shit on

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Instagram to try to woo you.”

You see, from my perspective, interviewing someone for a podcast gives some poignant snapshots into how a person conducts themselves—their presentation, their poise, and their professionalism. Furthermore, editing their conversation, going over it several times, allows for an even more refined insight into said person’s character, especially when you consider how they conducted themselves time-wise, over the phone, both pre- and post-interview.

I can tell you right now: Ryan not only has his shit together, but dude is pretty sharp, holding a degree in biology from Northern Arizona University. The guy is a hoot to chop it up with, and did I mention he can also grow some super heady flower!

If I was to stop there, that should be enough, but this guy’s hash...his hash has the power to transport you to the very end of Return of the Jedi, and make you feel like you are dancing at that party with the Ewoks in their redwood village after destroying the second Death Star!

Straight yub nub vibes.

Dude’s got pro skills with his hash.

I know it, the Secret Cup judges know it, Crash Barry’s insanely high tolerance knows it, and I’ll bet if you had a sitdown and asked her, your mom knows it. She’s cool like that.

C’mon man…

We lit the joints in my garden, with the high noon sun shining down directly overhead. The joints burned nice and slow. In our conversations about surfing, vintage beach cruiser bikes, and various details about gardening, I remember thinking I was starting to get really high. We talked outside in the sun like old friends, the world melting away like ice in a beachy drink, and the smoke swirling up without a wind to carry it away.

High Striker Farms knows how to work hard; you can tell this instantly about Ryan. You can tell he takes his responsibilities seriously and checks off his boxes first and foremost. But damn... the guy sure knows how to balance it out and kick back, too!

Ryan showed up to visit a while ago in his conversion van.

The same type of van you would see parked outside a jobsite.

Because he has been known to park it at job sites and uses it to work out of. It carries his tools, his surfboards, and his gear.

Practical, right? He didn’t arrive in a lifted truck with fancy rims or a lipstick-red sports car. He rolled up like the working man that he is. Unpretentious and ready to kick it.

He took a couple of joints out of his shirt pocket and proceeded to explain them to me, in his sun-drenched SoCalesque dialect, “These are Grapes ‘N’ Cream flower I rolled in Grapes ‘N’ Cream rosin, and then I dusted the rosin with this lavender-colored Tropicana Cookies Dry sift.”

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TRAVEL

420 Minutes: The Windham Route B Y I A N S T UA R T

I was asked to jet up to Windham and check out their medical marijuana scene. They have a number of highly acclaimed dispensaries, and Windham happens to be one of my old stomping grounds. Covered bridge: here I come!

I took the winding and terrifyingly narrow River Road from Westbrook into Windham. Whipping past yellowing trees and various political signs strewn across yards, miles of middle class homes lined the shallow shoulder of my route. I grew up on the Gorham/Windham line and have fond memories of creating quite the ruckus around these parts. And as I drove my little car through the hilly terrain, I started to get the feeling that I may create a ruckus that afternoon...for old times’ sake. I had planned to hit at least three of the many weed shops Windham has to offer and also take in some of the local fare at some point. With a quarter tank of gas and a wad of cash burning a hole in my flannel pocket, I was ready.

I pulled into Windham around 2 p.m. and before hitting a single dispensary, I headed directly to the Bull Moose in town, as I needed a soundtrack for this trip. The place had not changed a bit. This was my spot for many years in high school.

Browsing the same metal and hardcore cds weekend after weekend, I felt like I was back in 2004. I should have been prepared and worn a faded black shirt and my cargo shorts.

I looked for a hip hop album that might peak my interest, but didn’t seem to find anything that caught my attention. I checked out the very small punk section but had no use for 30 used Rancid CDs. I lastly made my way to the metal section, which was decently sized. I poked around and didn’t find much. I was about to head out before taking a quick look at the Cannibal Corpse section... nothing. But, what’s this? Cannabis Corpse? There’s a metal band called Cannabis Corpse? Well, if this ain’t a sign?!

So I picked up Cannabis Corpse and headed to the counter.

“These guys rip!,” said the pierced-up teenager behind the cash register. I popped the CD in my stereo and headed toward Kind and Co. I had made a great selection; they DID rip. The band played with such urgency and I was jamming along so hard that I was speeding and swerving harder than an unregistered car hauling moonshine.

3 p.m.: I pulled into the gravel parking lot of Kind and Co. and made my way up the ramp into the meticulously organized dispensary. They have a glass case that wraps through the space and a large collection of their trademarked clothing on one side. Those hats are badass, but I can’t smoke and review a hat, so on to the medication. They had a nice selection of flowers and edibles and a dizzying array of concentrates. I wanted something that was unique to their store, so after looking at this and that, I decided to go with Kind and Co’s Moonshine Haze concentrate. It was golden and bright, like

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an early morning sun you only see on an acid trip. A pungent aroma of pine and citrus was immediately apparent upon opening the container. It was my first pick-up, and already my car smelled like it was sprayed with a heavy dose of weedscented Febreeze. On to the next one…

4 p.m.: I headed to the outer limits of Windham, towards the Rangely area. I’ve heard many good things about the shops that way and wanted to sample one. I happened upon Paul’s Boutique, which was doing curbside only, but while I was calling I was greeted by an employee at the door. I asked for an eighth of their finest buds, and he obliged and ducked back into the shop. I had been hanging out next to my car for maybe two minutes when the employee came back. “Candy Land,” he said as he handed me the bag. “Everyone seems to love it!” I thanked him for a quick and easy transaction and jumped back in my car. Not only did he set me up with a nicelooking slice of the Candyland strain, but he also included a free pack of 100 mg Watermelon gummies. My eyes widened.

My mouth watered. I was like a bear with a thyroid problem that had access to a cooler full of candy bars and bait. The Candyland was a dark-colored flower, crystallized like a disco ball in a house of mirrors. With hints of dark berries and orange zest, the bud smelled like an expensive edible arrangement you’d only see at a retirement party. Cured perfectly, I was glad I brought my rolling papers along for the trip.

5 p.m.: I made my way back into town blasting marijuanathemed death metal, two of my favorite things finally together.

Metal and weed are the chocolate and peanut butter of my thirties. Listening to this band was like discovering Reeses’ peanut butter cups for the first time. I headed to Sticky Bud Farms, located smack in the middle of bustling Windham. The space is brightly lit and inviting. They have a wide selection of glassware and merchandise. It’s the first time I’ve seen an oxygen bar in a dispensary, and it actually might be the first time I’ve seen an oxygen bar since my last spring break 15 years ago. The staff was helpful, friendly, knowledgeable, and happy to answer every question I had. I grabbed a house pre-roll and an eighth of the Cherry Punch strain. Light orange hairs accented light green buds in a perfect Nickelodeon color scheme. A nice cookie, sweet and sour perfume radiated from the well trimmed buds. I jumped back in my car. It was hard not to light the pre-roll right then and there, but I had a few more stops. I didn’t want to get lost on the single road running through intown Windham.

5:30 p.m.: I’m in my car for maybe two minutes before I hit the next dispensary. I head into MAC located in the same strip mall as the Bull Moose I had visited earlier. The shop looks like a combination of a hip bakery and a mountain top lodge.

With bright wooden counters and big jars of weed, they had a fantastic selection of flowers to choose from. I looked through the many medicated items they had in their coolers. Feeling a bit peckish, I decided to go with a fairly priced package of medicated peanut butter cups, and after an afternoon of Cannabis Corpse thumping through my car speakers, I was already in the mood. As the wonderfully friendly staff bagged up my goodies, I asked where I should go to grab a bite to eat.

“Pat’s, bro,” the answer was immediate and direct. “Perfect

stoner food.” I thanked him for his recommendation and made my way to Pat’s. It was dinner time after all.

6 p.m.: I made my way into Pat’s Pizza. There seemed to be a wait for tables but the bar was open. I believe the saying is, “don’t threaten me with a good time.” I sit at the bar and am greeted by the bartender. I get myself a large beer and sink into the menu laying in front of me. Too many choices. I wanted to order the whole menu. I asked for a recommendation and decided to go with the meatballs, for my health. I ordered another beer and started chatting it up with the bartender. We talked about my trip to Windham and what she thought about the scene in her town. “Love it, I’m a big fan of the 420,” she replied, setting another drink in front of me. I let her get back to work as I polish off the meatballs and beer while watching Formula One racing on the nine televisions around me. I finished my meal and thanked the staff for their hospitality. I threw my jacket on and headed to the door before I heard someone say, “You forgot your doggy bag.” I turn around, “Doggy bag? But I polished everything off.” Confused, I grabbed the bag and peered inside. “Ohhhhh,” I exclaimed in delight, “This is a SPECIAL doggy bag!” And to whomever decided to bless me on my way out of the restaurant, thank you. It was a perfect ending to a perfect afternoon in Windham. It was 8 p.m., the sun had set, and I made my way home to enjoy an evening of sampling the goods I had picked up.

If you have some time, do yourself a favor and check out the many wonderful dispensaries in the Windham area and maybe grab dessert at Pat’s after. Cheers.

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