Alaska Leaf - May 2016

ALASKA LEAF THE PATIENT’S VOICE since 2010

FREE

akleaf.cOM @AKLEAFMAG

may 2016

THE FIRST ISSUE

Arctic blue strain

by Arctic Blue Farms

POLITICS ROCK THE VALLEY VOTE & CITY SMOKING BANS

TASTY RECIPES 3 WAYS TO COOK WITH CANNABIS

HEALTH

ISSUE 1

THE POWER OF BEING GRATEFUL

From the team behind Northwest Leaf and Oregon Leaf comes Alaska's only monthly Cannabis magazine...

GROWING DR. SCANDERSON ON HOW TO BECOME A GOOD GROWER

WITH MORE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY THAN ANYWHERE ELSE...

THIS IS THE ONE SHOW YOU DON‘T WANT TO MISS !

HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF OUR UPCOMING SEMINAR TOPICS: STATE REQUIRED MARIJUANA HANDLERS PERMIT COURSE - $100 BUDTENDER TRAINING BY TRICHOME INSTITUTE - $200 LEARN ABOUT STATE PACKAGING & SAFETY REQUIREMENTS THE BUSINESS OF COMPLIANCE: TRACABILITY - SECURITY THE BRAND RUSH! - HOW WILL YOUR PRODUCT BE PERCIEVED? LIGHTING, HVAC, IRRIGATION, AUTOMATION, MONITORS & CONTROLS ADAM DUN HOSTS A WORLD RENOWN BREEDERS PANEL Q&A ENSURE YOUR SUCCESS - INSURE YOUR CROP

REGISTER FOR SEMINARS NOW !

WWW.CANNACON.ORG/TICKETS

EXHIBITOR SPACE NOW AVAILABLE !

ANCHORAGE ALASKA SEPTEMBER 9 & 10 TH

2016

TH

LEARN MORE AT WWW.CANNACON.ORG

ALASKA LEAF

VISIT NWLEAF.COM |

FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

|

FOLLOW US @AKLEAFMAG

contents

| EMAIL NWLEAF@GMAIL.COM

MAY 2016

12 PROFILE | 8 QUESTIONS Lance Wells, Cannabis attorney

40

CONCENTRATES

Honey Banana Rosin by AK HoneyPit

By

44

SIMONE FISCHER

LIVING WITH ENDO How Cannabis helps a painful condition Photo by Toni Agosta

TASTY RECIPES

Healthy eating for springtime

46

NATIONAL NEWS..........................8 8 QUESTIONS.............................12 PRISON DISPATCH......................14 PACKAGING.............................16 AK LEAF LAUNCH......................20 ALASKA POLITICS...................24 CENTERFOLD.....................28 PIECE OF MIND......................32 BOOK REVIEW........................44 DR. SCOTT D. ROSE.................48 YOUR BUDSHOT....................50 GOOD GROWER.....................52 BEHIND STRAIN.....................54 COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOS by DANIEL BERMAN @BERMANPHOTOS WASHINGTON & OREGON WWW.ISSUU.COM/NWLEAF

contents

20 Rehashed

Alaska Leaf celebrates launch with event at Potluck Events in downtown Anchorage.

We photographed many samples brought to us by area growers. >> Photo by Daniel Berman

WHITE RHINO by BROKEFOLKSFARMS

ALASKA LEAF

the truth about the plant you thought you knew, IN every issue.

editor’s note

MAY 2016 ISSUE #1

Words cannot describe how excited and honored I am to bring the Leaf to the last great frontier when the leaf started six years ago, it was a dream to be able to apply journalism

and integrity to the Cannabis industry, and the magic has never left. Our mission is to bring education and awareness to the Cannabis community, and fight for responsible regulation and to protect personal freedoms. We are excited to become a part of the Alaskan Cannabis community and to further awareness about the plant.

Contact editor Wes Abney to place an

advertisement or become a drop-off location to display our magazine. You can also feel free to just share feedback, send pitches, articles, story ideas and hot news tips. This is all our plant.

Each month, Alaska Leaf will be distributed to Anchorage, Wasilla, Houston, Fairbanks and the Kenai Peninsula, sharing 10,000 copies free to readers. How did we get here? Alaska Leaf is a sister publication of Northwest Leaf and Oregon Leaf, published in Washington since June of 2010 and in Oregon since July 2014 respectively. We publish 35,000 copies monthly between those two states, and are expanding our reach to Alaska for the first time with the very issue you hold!

NWLeaf@gmail.com // (206) 235-6721

FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Wes Abney

With exclusive content, passionate photography, caring stories and a devoted team of longtime contributors, Leaf magazines have cultivated a core following of Cannabis patients, connoisseurs, industry leaders, activists and general Cannabis enthusiasts.

These people are passionate about the plant, and so are we! Our readers are loyal and they respect and read the publication from cover to cover every month, and we hope to welcome you as a new reader!

This issue is packed full of great information and stories to share with friends and family. Dr. Rose, our health writer, discusses the importance of being grateful, and Dr. Scanderson in Growtech goes over the best practices to become a great grower.

Simone Fischer shares her personal battle with Endometriosis and how medical Cannabis has helped her, and we explore a new strain in Behind the Strain.

Our coverage this month includes information on the Mat-Su Valley moratorium, a new bill to ban Cannabis smoking and consumption everywhere in the area, and 8 Questions with Cannabis attorney and activist Lance Wells of the Alaska Cannabis Law Group. We also have national news, a local strain and Concentrate of the Month and more! I hope you enjoy this issue of the Leaf and future issues to come!

PHOTOGRAPHER & DESIGNER

Daniel Berman

CONTRIBUTORS Wes and Kori Marie

OUR COVERAGE THIS MONTH INCLUDES INFORMATION ON THE MAT-SU VALLEY MORATORIUM...

STEVE ELLIOTT, NATIONAL PAUL GRZELAK, EDITING KORI MARIE, PRODUCTION SEAN O’NEILL, ILLUSTRATION DR. SCANDERSON, GROWTECH ERIC SKELTON, DESIGN PACER STACKTRAIN, FEATURES LAURIE & BRUCE WOLF, RECIPES

ADVERTISING nwleaf@gmail.com // (206) 235-6721 Please email or call us to discuss print and online advertising opportunities in an upcoming issue.

We do not sell stories or coverage. We are happy to offer design services with Kush Creative Group and can provide guidance on the best approaches for promoting any medical, recreational, commercial or industrial product and pursuit. We are targeted.

FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF FOLLOW US @AKLEAFMAG FREE DIGITAL ARCHIVES: ISSUU.COM/NWLEAF WWW.AKLEAF.COM

Department of Corrections

No news is good news when it comes to errors. But let us know how we are doing — we welcome your feedback!

MAY 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/7

national

STEVE ELLIOTT is the editor behind tokesignals.com, an independent blog of Cannabis news and opinion

Pro Motorcycle Racer Gets Marijuana Company Sponsorship

Pro sports history is made.

Professional motorcycle racer Johnny Rock Page

Prominent Physicians Launch NEW Pro-Marijuana Legalization Group Historically reluctant to publicly advocate for marijuana, group of respected physicians band together to speak out.

8/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

Photos courtesy of Creative Commons and @johnnyrockpage

Some of the most prominent physicians in generally benign, making its prohibition unnecessary.

-Cannabis is far less harmful for adults than the United States have teamed up to launch the nation’s first organization of doctors formed to alcohol and tobacco, which are both legal advocate for the legalization and regulation of because of the impracticality of prohibiting socalled soft drugs.

Cannabis for adult use.

-Cannabis can be harmful to minors, but “Given that decriminalization has proven to be an prohibition doesn’t prevent children inadequate alternative to legalization, and teens from accessing the drug. now is the time for physicians to begin “TODAY, -The burden of Cannabis advocating for effective government DOCTORS prohibition falls disproportionately regulation of Cannabis,” Doctors for REALIZE THAT Cannabis Regulation (DFCR) states YOU DON’T HAVE upon communities of color and the nation’s poor. on its website.

TO BE PRO“Today, doctors realize that you Until recently, many physicians MARIJUANA don’t have to be pro-marijuana have been reluctant to publicly TO OPPOSE ITS to oppose its prohibition,” the voice their opposition to the war on PROHIBITION.” organization announced. “Doctors marijuana, lest they appear to condone recreational Cannabis use and violate their ethical for Cannabis Regulation is an organization whose responsibility to “do no harm,” according to time has come, serving as the voice of physicians DFCR. But through daily immersion in anecdotal guiding our nation along a well-regulated path to patient experience and scientific evidence, many Cannabis legalization. If you are a physician who wants to ensure that our government controls and knowledgeable American physicians recognize: -Occasional use of Cannabis by healthy adults is regulates Cannabis responsibly, then join us.”

and marijuana industry media company Hemp American Media Group have together made history via a sponsorship deal that makes for the first time a professional racer has ever been sponsored by a marijuana company. The sponsorship is for Page’s 2016 MotoAmerica Superbike season.

“This deal conveys the public’s improving “IN THE NEAR perception and acceptance FUTURE, I SEE of marijuana,” said Colby PRO SPORTS Ayres, co-founder and TEAMS AND marketing director of ATHLETES Hemp American Media GETTING Group. “We are ecstatic SPONSORED that Johnny Rock Page REGULARLY BY and MotoAmerica are MARIJUANAprogressive in their views RELATED towards marijuana,” Ayres COMPANIES.” said.

“Although I no longer use marijuana, I truly believe that it can help cancer patients and those who need it for other medicinal purposes,” Page said.

MotoAmerica’s Superbike racing series is the IndyCar of motorcycle racing. Each motorcycle is custom-built, creating the fastest motorcycle racing in the world.

The MotoAmerica Superbike season begins in April in Austin, Texas, at the Circuit of The Americas race track, where Page will seek a win in the season opener. The season’s nine races throughout the continental U.S. will be televised on the beIN Sports TV Network.

“In the near future, I see professional sports teams and athletes getting sponsored regularly by marijuana-related companies as well as frequent product placements and endorsement deals in show business,” Ayres said.

Quoted DEA TO make decision on Rescheduling Marijuana By Mid-Year A plan is outlined in a 25-page letter.

The Drug Enforcement Administration plans to

page letter obtained by The Huffington Post. decide whether marijuana should be reclassified The letter, signed by acting DEA administrator under federal law “in the first half of 2016,” Chuck Rosenberg, explains in great detail the according to a letter from the DEA to senators. marijuana supply available at the University The agency was responding to a 2015 letter of Mississippi, the federal government’s only from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and seven sanctioned marijuana garden. other Democratic senators urging the federal According to the letter, the federal Food government to stop blocking research into the and Drug Administration (FDA) has already medicinal benefits of Cannabis. completed a review of the medical evidence If marijuana is reclassified at all, it would surrounding Cannabis and has forwarded a have to be moved to a less dangerous category, rescheduling recommendation to the DEA. The because it is currently considered letter doesn’t reveal what the FDA Schedule I under federal law, the recommended.

“THE DEA category of drugs considered the This reporter’s prediction is that the UNDERSTANDS most dangerous of all. Schedule THE WIDESPREAD FDA — under the close supervision I drugs, by definition, have no of Big Pharma — will recommend INTEREST IN medical value and a high potential that Cannabis be moved to Schedule THE PROMPT for abuse. The insanity of including II on the Uniform Controlled RESOLUTION Cannabis — which, of course, Substances list, effectively handing TO THESE can be used to treat hundreds of its control over to the pharmaceutical PETITIONS.” conditions — should be obvious. giants. What we’re seeing here is a There are five categories (schedules) classifying money grab by the big corporations, who become illegal drugs. Marijuana has been considered acutely uncomfortable when they see mom-andSchedule I since Nixon’s War on Drugs kicked pop businesses like medical marijuana dispensaries off in 1971. That means the federal government cutting into their profits — because Cannabis officially considers marijuana to be just as works better than most of the harsh chemical dangerous as heroin, and more dangerous than garbage peddled by Big Pharma. either cocaine or methamphetamine, both of The letter makes one possibly important which are considered Schedule II drugs. concession: If demand for research into “The DEA understands the widespread marijuana’s medical potential were to increase interest in the prompt resolution to these beyond the University of Mississippi’s supply, petitions and hopes to release its determination the DEA said it may consider registering in the first half of 2016,” the DEA said in a 25- additional growers.

“HUMANKIND CANNOT AFFORD A 21ST CENTURY DRUG POLICY AS INEFFECTIVE AND COUNTERPRODUCTIVE AS THE LAST CENTURY’S” Excerpt of a letter signed by prominent world figures (including Bernie Sanders, Woody Harrelson, Tom Brady, Warren Buffett) sent to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, urging him to set the stage “for real reform of global drug control policy.”

Quick Hits!

1.58 18 75 Million dollars raised by CannaKorp in a seed round of funding to develop its pod-based medical Cannabis vaporizer system, described as the “Cannabis K-Cup.” Million dollars spent by the DEA on the controversial cannabis eradication program in 2015 to uproot 4.1 million marijuana plants.

Dollars a month will buy you a subscription to California marijuana delivery service The Nugbox, dubbed the Netflix of Cannabis. Each box includes two pre-rolls and exclusive edibles and flower.

may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/9

national

STEVE ELLIOTT is the editor behind tokesignals.com, an independent blog of Cannabis news and opinion

Australian Premier Visits Israel, Learns About Cannabis Scene Israel-Cannabis.com co-founder and CEO Saul Kaye met the week of April 4 with Australian Premier Mike Baird and the Australian trade mission currently in Israel.

Kaye highlighted Israel Cannabis’ (iCAN) involvement in medical Cannabis clinical trials and plant-based research via iCAN’s partnership with Breath of Life Pharma. The two companies recently partnered to form the first private Cannabis R&D center in Israel.

“As a company in Israel with two Australian founders, I was especially honored to have the opportunity to present our initiatives in front of Premier Mike Baird and the Australian mission,” Kaye said. “The mission

visit comes fresh off our CannaTech global innovation summit as we are looking to collaborate on research and development initiatives to advance medical Cannabis and further Australia’s entrance into a responsible medical Cannabis program.”

Baird, the Premier of Australia’s New South Wales district, which encompasses Sydney and has a population of about 7.7 million inhabitants, is one of Australia’s leading proponents of legalizing medical Cannabis in his country and could be on the cusp of leading historic legal reform as clinical trials have begun.

The Australian mission has come to Israel to explore opportunities for collaboration for New South Wales in innovation, science and technology and to learn from Israel’s experience in entrepreneurship and start-ups. iCAN has already started collaboration efforts, forming relationships with BuddingTech (an Australian company) and MGC Pharmaceuticals (an Australian company with Israeli founders) who both contributed to Australia’s first medical Cannabis white paper: “Medicinal Cannabis in Australia: Science, Regulation & Industry.”

OHIO CAMPAIGN TEAM FORMED TO SUPPORT MEDICAL MARIJUANA INITIATIVE IN OHIO

All Cannabis isn’t created equal, and just as wine enthusiasts enjoy a user-friendly tasting system and diamond buyers employ the “four Cs,” Good Chemistry Nurseries — one of the industry’s most experienced Cannabis producers — has now created a stylish, easy-to-use, free consumer Cannabis evaluation guide for assessing quality Cannabis flower.

Whether novice or aficionado, knowing how to assess Cannabis flower quality is key to having the best possible experience. Good Chemistry Nurseries on April 14 announced it has developed a five-step process for identifying highquality, remarkable flower, similar to the multi-step process for evaluating wine.

The S.T.A.T.S. method (Sight, Touch, Aroma, Taste and Sensation) is a guide

Ohioans for Medical Marijuana on April 11 announced it has formed a campaign team to support its initiative to establish a comprehensive medical marijuana program in Ohio.

Brandon Lynaugh, a veteran of more than a dozen statewide ballot issue campaigns, will serve as campaign manager. Lynaugh most recently served as campaign manager for No On 3, which led the effort to defeat the Responsible Ohio initiative last year.

“We’re excited to have Brandon at the helm of our Ohio campaign,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), which is supporting Ohioans for Medical Marijuana. “His extensive experience with ballot issues and his history of

10/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

to helping consumers evaluate essential aspects of the flower in order to make the most informed purchase decisions.

“Just as American consumers have become more knowledgeable about quality wine and craft beer, Good Chemistry Nurseries’ S.T.A.T.S. guide will help consumers quickly and easily assess high-quality Cannabis,” said Matthew Huron, CEO of Good Chemistry.

“As Cannabis becomes as mainstream as a glass of wine, we’ve had a lot of folks ask us to give them a simple, easy way to assess quality Cannabis in real time,” remarked Duncan Cameron, chief production officer at Good Chemistry.

“The S.T.A.T.S. guide assists newer consumers in navigating the wide world of Cannabis.”

standing up for Ohioans make him the right person to lead our team. He is committed to establishing a sensible, fair, and compassionate medical marijuana program that will benefit countless seriously ill Ohio residents.”

Lynaugh’s support for establishing legal access to medical marijuana stems from his experience with a close family member who suffers from epilepsy.

“I know that helpless feeling that families have when they watch someone they love have an epileptic seizure,” Lynaugh said. “Passage of this amendment will help bring relief to the suffering of thousands of patients and their families. It’s a personal issue for me and I would not turn down the opportunity to be a part of it.”

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Free TOOL Launched to Help Consumers Assess High-Quality Cannabis

8 PROFILE

Questions for the LAWYER lance wells

Founding attorney at Alaska Cannabis Law Group

By WES ABNEY | PHOTO by DANIEL BERMAN

12/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

#1 How long have you been practicing law and was Cannabis always a part of your focus?

I’ve been in practice since ‘92, the Law Office of Christian Wells. When I first came up here in the ‘90s, I joked that pot paid my mortgage and fed my family, everyone had 20-30 plants and pounds. Throughout my practice, I’ve been representing people that I felt most of the time were wrongly accused or prosecuted for Cannabis. I was involved in [Cannabis] through high school, and we’d always joke that marijuana would be legal someday, and all of a sudden it started happening around the country and it was something I wanted to get into and help advance the cause and help good people in business. The people in the industry have been the best people, really good people. It’s a far cry from spending each night dealing with people in jail.

#2 What drew you towards working with the legal Cannabis industry?

The day after election in 2014, I put together the Alaska Cannabis Law Group, specifically dedicating that law firm to everything in the Cannabis industry. Whether it’s permitting, regulating, zoning issues, contracts, business sales, anything that spins out of the industry, helping people set up their corporations, vertical integration corporations, help with taxes through referrals, we can handle it. It’s such a young industry here, but so far it seems to have gone well and I’m pretty happy with how things are shaking up.

#3 How does your firm help clients preparing for the recreational market?

As lawyers here in the industry, our motto is, “we’re here with you not against you.” I want it to be as simple as possible for clients. I want to help people succeed in this industry and streamline their business and maximize their profits. It’s a fledgling industry much like after prohibition and liquor came back, and it has challenges, but we work to make it easier.

#4 What challenges do you see for the industry?

This business keeps you wound up 24/7. If you don’t have the hutzpa to stay in it and stick with it, you won’t make it.

This is a roller coaster, whether it’s the legislature changing, city bans, counties changing rules, zoning, regulatory shifts ... everything is changing in this industry and it is always in flux. This is not a normal straight business. This is not an auto store. It’s the absolute regulatory factors that change

I WISH THAT PEOPLE WOULD STAND BY THE BALLOT VOTE AND RESPECT THE VOTE OF THE PEOPLE.

Alaska Cannabis Law Group

733 W 4th Ave. Ste. 308 Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 274-9696 AlaskaCannabisLawGroupLLC.com

#7 how do Cannabis users RATE AS CLIENTS? Having had a criminal practice for 25 years, if all my clients did was smoke weed, it would reduce my case load by 75 percent, especially violent crimes fueled by meth, heroin and alcohol. It’s amazing how many young kids are strung out on heroin. It’s a sad state of affairs and I truly believe Cannabis can help these people get off drugs they are taking. You compare police interaction at Potluck [a Cannabis consumption club] versus a local bar where there are guns and fights and stabbings, everyone in the Cannabis club is polite and well reserved, especially compared to alcohol. Most of my cases are drug related and the violence and sexual assaults are almost all fueled by alcohol. I’ve seen people smoking Cannabis be really responsible. I have not seen any abuse of Cannabis here. We deserve the right to choose to consume safely. this landscape. You can’t go to the bank and say we need an account for Cannabis, and with 280e, city tax, state tax, it’s not a straight business. I hope it will be soon.

industry activists need to get it together.

People in Mat-Su are going to have to organize and take action. If you don’t mobilize, you are going to get run over.

#5 tHOUGHTS ON the proposed moratoriums?

#6 what can industry applicants or consumers do to stop these attacks?

I wish that people would stand by the ballot vote that took place and respect the vote of the people.

You look at the opposition … it’s the same old rhetoric: “the children are going to get marijuana, rot their brains and die,” and that “kids will eat all the edibles and gummy bears and end up in the hospital.” It’s hard to debate people who have those mindsets. It’s how they are hardwired. But all the

You have to do more than vote. You have to educate and get the word out. Teens aren’t going to walk into a store and buy marijuana, but it filters down. Just like cigarettes or beer, somehow kids always get it. It’s unfortunate. You have to educate children, not scare the hell out of them.

#8 WHAT excites you about the future here?

It’s an exciting industry to be in and I’m glad to have been blessed to be a part of it and to continue to expand and help people across the state. I hope that everybody continues to do the right thing and let the industry emerge. It doesn’t need more restrictions. The tighter you put your grip on this thing, the more will slip through your fingers.

If you leave the industry alone and don’t overburden, it will flourish. Just like a marijuana seedling, it will flourish and take off, but if you keep restricting, it will make things harder and hurt the industry. Let’s keep people working and get people going. It’s not the first time this country has grown hemp or Cannabis.

may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/13

PRISONER UPDATE

NEWS FROM THE FRONT LINES LOVE CONQUERS ALL, IN TIME OF PEACE AND IN TIME OF WAR; LOVE CONQUERS ALL THROUGH STEEL BARS AND CONCRETE WALLS, LOVE CONQUERS ALL. Such is the case for pot lifer Jimmy Romans and his fiancé Pamela Raber. Though the law has deemed Romans a criminal, it's love and understanding that make him human. Even while sitting in a small cell locked away from humankind, Romans is more of a man and human being than those who are willing to put another human being behind bars for a plant. He is imprisoned based on the word of an ex-wife and two others, not material evidence.

The Drug War is a losing war turning partners on each other. Right now, Romans and his fiancé are seeking clemency — his hope and only goal.

While love has found Romans, hate and racism chases Ferrell Damon Scott, a Black man guilty of being Black with marijuana in the wrong state.

Scott is a father, a grandfather and a victim of the misguided Drug War. Learn more about Scott and how to help him at Facebook.com/freeferrellscott.

OREGON

Portland On April 1, members from Voices of the Cannabis War, The Human Solution and the documentary “Lifers,” gathered at Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland with signs and letters for people to sign for the president, asking him to grant clemency to some of our plant prisoners who are still

the 17 th Annual Global Cannabis March

12-6 p.m. | Sat. May 7

Pioneer Courthouse Square 701 SW 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97204 Nearly 300 cities worldwide participate in the yearly march. Portland participants will gather in Pioneer Courthouse Square for a rally at noon. The Cannabis freedom march will begin at 4 p.m. and stretch throughout downtown Portland, accompanied by a police escort.

14/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

serving life. The event was amazing, and all of the public agreed that no one should be in prison for our plant! If you would like to take it to the streets, please email voicesofthecannabiswar@ gmail.com and we will help you plan an event.

For about a year, hundreds of clemency letters have been gathered around the nation for Billy Dekle. Now, Dekle is on probation after being incarcerated for over 24 years.

Cannabis Common Sense Episode 832 of Paul Stanford’s television show, “Cannabis Common Sense” was all about the prisoners! Kristin Flor and Mindi Griffiths of Voices of the Cannabis War appeared on the show to talk about the prisoners. Jeff Eichen of the documentary “Lifers” also appeared and showed a video of recently released lifer Jeff Mizanskey. If you would like to know more about our prisoners and how you can help end prohibition, watch the show!

Blue River Crockett Bain Anderson, an elder member of the Oklevueha Native American Church, was pulled over in Summit County, Utah, earlier this year on his way to deliver Cannabis to other church members in need. Anderson, who believes Cannabis is the Mother Sacrament, identified himself as an ONAC member and explained his sacred mission to law enforcement, only to be arrested and charged with marijuana offenses.

The results from the April court hearings are unknown as we send this edition. The Cannabis DUI case against Joy Graves (ONAC spiritual leader) is currently at a standstill as Graves meets with the council to determine the best way to proceed. News about ONAC and its members’

plight for personal and global freedom of the plant changes daily. For full details and the most up-todate information: Tinyurl.com/onackmoregon

WASHINGTON

Lance Gloor Since Gloor’s federal trial, as he was awaiting sentencing, he was taken into custody on March 22 because of a cell phone violation. He is currently held at SeaTac Federal Bureau of Prisons. The judge rescheduled his sentencing to June 3. Gloor needs your support. He needs you to write a letter to Judge Leighton, asking him to be lenient on his sentencing. You can email your letter or questions to psm103_17@yahoo.com. Please also consider sending letters of support to Gloor directly.

Lance Gloor #44270-086 FDC SEATAC Federal Detention Center PO Box 13900, Seattle, WA, 98198

Kettle Falls Family The family is still awaiting the outcome of their latest appeal. The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit will continue their case briefs until June. Their case is separated from other cases at the 9th Circuit because of Section 538, which prohibits the federal government from using federal funds to prosecute those in states where marijuana is legal.

If the appeal does not work in their favor, the family will be forced to serve their prison sentences. For more updates on the case, visit their Facebook page or Kettlefallsfive.com.

KRISTEN FLOR / Mindi Griffiths / Miggy 420 Becca Nichols / Danielle Vitale-O’Brien

NO VICTIM = NO CRIME = NOT GUILTY

for Alaska Leaf, Oregon Leaf & Northwest Leaf

OKLAHOMA

In December 2012 while retiring in Mountain View, Hawaii, Albert Thomas came across a copy of “Plant Spirit Medicine” by Eliot Cowan. After reading this book, Thomas had a spiritual awakening in regards to his own connection to Cannabis.

“While in Hawaii over a two-year period, I learned to grow and process this plant, making a medicine which healed my body from chronic pain ailments and advanced arthritis,” Thomas wrote. “My passion was further heightened as I began to feel a spiritual connection to this plant for healing others as well.”

After Thomas’ spiritual awakening in 2012, he started the Big Island Cannabis Club, which became the Florida Cannabis Club after moving to Florida and is now SpiritDevine Cannabis Club based out of Oklahoma, where Thomas lives.

SpiritDevine Cannabis Club is “dedicated to sharing information related to healing using the Cannabis plant.” Sadly, Thomas faces felony cultivation of a controlled substance, felony intent to

Albert thomas distribute and a misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia despite never selling any Cannabis because his son and a few other people attempted to rob him of his medicine and growing equipment.

On Dec. 18, 2015, Thomas’ son and the other unnamed offenders kicked in the door where Thomas’ equipment was, stole most of it and then took over Thomas’ home and locked him out. Thomas called the police, knowing of no other way to resolve what had just occurred.

“I called the sheriff who made contact with my son and then arrested me on what my son told him,” he said. “They were led to the previously mentioned locked room where they found a plant drying and other plant materials. My son set me up to be robbed and framed and now I must defend myself.”

Thomas’ trial is at 9 a.m. on May 26 at Seminole County Courthouse. Any support is appreciated. Oklahoma is not a medical a state and Thomas could receive a life sentence.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Reporting by

Chris Williams | Washington Federal inmate The aroma of maple syrup floats through the air. It’s exactly as you remember, sweet and sugary with a background of burnt caramel.

As this wonderful smell drifts through my nose, I notice that it’s different.

The sweet familiar scent is mixed with banana, and the mix of maple and fruit are a novelty to my senses.

Even though I am in federal prison, this smell engulfs me and brings back memories of celebrations at home, not the least of which is 420.

I was surprised to learn it’s celebrated in here as well. Just like other 420 celebrations, friends get together and prepare food; we enjoy tasty creations and one another’s fellowship.

This starts to feel more like home than a prison. This may not be how you may have imagined federal prison.

The interconnection and solidarity of the numerous plant prisoners results in a large 420 celebration.

Even if we are unable to enjoy herb, we still enjoy creatively preparing food and one another’s friendship.

This year for the 420 celebration, my friends will make maple banana cakes, my personal favorite, along with chocolate-dipped Oreo rounds.

I am whipping up pork tacos with a peanut chili garlic sauce.

Just like celebrations in the world, celebrations in prison are essential to setting aside stress and troubles.

No matter where you are during this 420 celebration, set aside your worries and enjoy time with friends.

Because that’s what I am doing.

Christopher Williams #11839-046 FDC SEATAC Federal Detention Center PO BOX 13900, Seattle, WA 98198

Freechriswilliams.com

may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/15

NW CANNABIS CLASSIC

NW CANNABIS CLASSIC

profile

By WES ABNEY | PHOTOS by DANIEL BERMAN

JKD BRANDS Packaging matters more than ever as some of the first rec brands are coming online

Long� gone are the old days

that weed was sold out of an open jar or turkey bag, with random hands dipping in untold times over a day or a month. The same goes for an XXX brownie in a Ziploc — it doesn't work in a professional market, and it definitely doesn't appeal to consumers.

The first step for any Cannabis company considering entering the marketplace this fall is developing a brand, and executing that messaging in the form of quality packaging. Luckily for new businesses, there's a company in Anchorage that is dedicated to providing packaging solutions for every aspect of the industry.

JKD Brands is a one-stop shop for a variety of products, something lacking in the industries of other states.

“We made it our business to be experts in the sector, and to provide as much info as is required in the applications and process that people are going through,” Jim Dyer said. “The very least we can do is give them solid ground to stand JKDBRANDS.COM on with information about transport, transfer or 10263 Nigh Road #8 packaging of products.”

Anchorage AK, 99515.

The family business started supplying kitchen and household gadgets for small mom-andpop retailers and e-commerce sites like Amazon. As the Cannabis industry began to gain momentum, the family turned their experience to meet the needs of new businesses, and soon their warehouse was filling up with a variety of unique and useful products.

“We have a running list of products we are looking for on behalf of customers, and a lot of what we are stocking and moving in volume is in demand. My wife is currently overseas looking for new products to carry,” Dyer explained. “We are also careful about what we carry, and are constantly rereading regulations to understand the laws and guide our customers.”

When it comes to sourcing packaging, there are two options: Try and deal with a variety of foreign companies directly to meet all your needs, or find a trusted company to act as a liaison that has sourced the best-quality products at competitive prices.

18/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

THE SINGLE BIGGEST FACTOR FOR ENHANCING CANNABIS SALES IN THE RECREATIONAL MARKETS IS BRANDING EXECUTION ON A QUALITY PACKAGE.

Family business

Josephine and Jim Dyer

rehashed

PHOTOS by DANIEL BERMAN

APR. 8, 2016 | POTLUCK EVENTS, ANCHORAGE | POTLUCKEVENTSAK.COM

Wes Abney

Editor

MORE THAN 150 PEOPLE

ALASKA LEAF MEET & GREET

20/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

cycled through Potluck Events for the Alaska Leaf launch meet and greet party! Live music, great food and tons of high grade Cannabis were shared and enjoyed by everyone in attendance. We would like to thank Theresa Collins and Lee Haywood at Potluck events for being such gracious and fun hosts, and everyone who came out to learn more about the Leaf. If you missed this last party, ike us at facebook.com/ nwleaf for updates about our next gathering at Potluck!

ALL IN CONSTRUCTION NOW SERVING THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL Specializing In Framing Siding Roofing Decks Flooring Kitech Remodeling Bath Remodeling Garage Remodels Door & Window Replacement Fire & Water Damage Restoration OFFERING DESIGN BUILD FROM ENGINEERING TO YOUR COMPLETED PROJECT IMALLINDLANTZ@YAHOO.COM

907-727-3159

opinion

By ALASKA LEAF STAFF

ALASKA! T E L L T H E M AT-S U A S S E M B LY TO RESPECT THE VOTE!

THE MAT-SU BOROUGH IS CONSIDERING A MORATORIUM ON ALL CANNABIS BUSINESSES IN OCTOBER DON'T LET FEAR- BASED RHETORIC AND BAD LAWS HALT THE FASTEST - GROWING INDUSTRY IN ALASKA!

WHAT CAN YOU DO? GET INVOLVED LOCALLY TO BRING AWARENESS, RAISE YOUR VOICE AND CALL OR EMAIL THE MAT-SU ASSEMBLY AND LET THEM KNOW HOW THIS BAN WILL NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOU.

GO TO WWW.MATSUGOV.US/ASSEMBLY AND CONTACT THEM RESPECTFULLY. REGULATING RECREATIONAL CANNABIS CREATES NEW JOBS, ADDS IMPORTANT TAX REVENUE AND GIVES CONSUMERS ACCESS TO SAFE AND TESTED CANNABIS IN LINE WITH ESTABLISHED PRACTICES

* THE PROPOSED MAT-SU MORATORIUM STRENGTHENS THE BLACK MARKET * HURTS 36+ BUSINESSES INVESTED ACROSS THE BOROUGH

* LIMITS TAX REVENUE AND NEW CANNABIS JOB GROWTH

* DISINCENTIVIZES INVESTMENT & REGULATED BUSINESS * IS AGAINST THE WILL OF MOST ALASKAN VOTERS

24/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

opinion

TRY 5MG?

REEFER MADNESS HITS OREGON EDIBLE DOSING AN ACCEPTED PART of being in the Cannabis industry

is dealing with the typical reefer madness arguments from those still disillusioned about the devil’s lettuce. But we shouldn’t accept it from those governing our Cannabis industry.

New proposed rules from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) starting Oct. 1 will limit recreational dosages to 5mg per serving and a total per-package limit of 50mg, which are half of what Washington and Colorado have done, which already face pressure to increase dosages.

For medical products, the new limit will be 10mg per serving and a package total of 100mg, limiting OMMP patients in a program that has worked for years without asinine regulations like THC limits. Lowering dosages for patients is a direct threat to wellbeing and health, and is borderline inhumane. Patient needs range from 50 to 1,000 milligrams of THC daily, and they deserve the freedom to decide how and in what form they want to consume their dose.

Why should we let regulators who don’t understand Cannabis as medicine or have compassion for patients decide how patients are able to use their medicine.

Medible producers in Oregon have made varying dosage edibles ranging from 10mg to 1,000mg for years, providing patients a variety of options and access to dosage levels that meet their medicinal needs. Regulating medibles simply because they have no current dose restrictions is not a logical reason to create new ones.

But this goes beyond just patients. Lowering dosages for recreational users to 5mg is simply bad business for a state system aiming to raise tax revenue.

It disincentives anyone but the most novice of users from buying edibles, hurts businesses trying to transition in the new market and will create a public health impact by forcing users that desire/need a higher dose to eat unhealthy amounts of processed edibles.

Although a 50-100mg per cookie is a reasonable amount (it can always be broken in pieces), at 5mg, one would have to eat 10-20 cookies to reach the same dose. Contrary to popular belief, not all stoners have uncontrollable munchies, and limiting sugar and fats is a health concern for the majority of Americans.

But what about the poor new users? Let’s look at alcohol. Do we limit alcohol percentages for 21-year-olds? No. Do we limit or regulate in any

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons / Steve Lyon

LOWERING DOSAGES FOR PATIENTS IS A DIRECT THREAT TO WELLBEING AND IS BORDERLINE INHUMANE.

way the percentage of alcohol in drinks in any way other than clear labeling? No. But what about the 88,000 deaths and $2.5 billion public health costs each year? Ignored, because Big Alcohol has great lobbyists.

What about the children that the uneducated and ignorant regulators are so concerned about?

There were 14 more calls to the Oregon Poison Control line in 2015 for children consuming Cannabis than the year before, for a grand total of 25.

While there were no serious side effects or deaths from Cannabis for these 25 children, the 1,800 calls the center received about household cleaners prompted no legal changes. The same goes for children who accessed legal and socially acceptable liquor and medicine cabinets, both of which can and do cause accidental death.

The irony is that these edible laws will only create a stronger sharing and black market, and drive demand out of taxed and regulated dispensaries as users seek products that meet their medical or recreational needs. Try 5 is a threat to tax revenue: the true reason legalization has passed in any state.

Our industry needs to stop accepting bad laws and stop turning a blind eye to harmful regulations in the name of progress. It is not progress when freedoms are restricted and businesses and consumers alike are hurt by laws.

There is still time to offer input to the OHA, and patients and business stakeholders need to make their voices heard. Even if the recreational changes stick, let’s fight to give patients freedom and access to custom doses that meet their medicinal needs! Contact the OHA and OMMP, make your voice heard and attend the hearings to be held by the OHA (locations and times to be determined).

I want to leave with a quote from Charles de Montesquieu’s “The Spirit of Laws:” “Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.”

Let’s focus on what truly needs regulation and leave the remainder alone.

WHILE THERE WERE NO SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS OR DEATHS FROM CANNABIS FOR THESE 25 CHILDREN, THE 1,800 CALLS THE CENTER RECEIVED ABOUT HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS PROMPTED NO LEGAL CHANGES. may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/25

60/40 indica hybrid from

arcticblue farms grower david nyberg

DJ SHORT’S BLUEBERRY X LOCAL BLUEBERRY STRAIN

THE FIRST TOKE FROM A BOWL RELEASES A QUICK ENERGY AND EUPHORIA THAT CENTERS IN THE FRONTAL LOBES...

ARCTIC

ALASKA LEAF

STRAIN OF THE MONTH

By WES ABNEY | PHOTOS by DANIEL BERMAN OUR COVER THIS MONTH features the giant and

BLUE

distinct colas of the ArcticBlue, one of the first Alaskan bred and grown strains to be listed on Leafly.

The buds that come off the ArcticBlue are thick and curvy, with pillowy shaped forms that lead to perfect foxtail tips. Whether in the large 7-10+ gram variety or as a smaller 2-gram version, the structure is very similar, with a bright green body covered in trichomes and a smattering of red hairs. Cracking open a full bud releases a bright blueberry front that fills the taste buds, with a sour-sweet finish that has deep earthy and kush tones. This is a complexsmelling strain with many layers, and a high that delivers in a similarly complex form.

The first toke from a bowl releases a quick energy and euphoria that centers in the frontal lobes, giving focus and a certain level of jittery excitement. Smoke another bowl though, and the heaviness in the mind starts to travel to the body, relieving pain and stress and delivering a couchlock heady high. This is a great strain to relax with, especially over the course of several bowls (and hours).

Bred in Alaska, the ArcticBlue is a 60/40 indicadominant hybrid cross of DJ Short’s Blueberry and a local Blueberry strain that dates back to the ‘90s.

The strain is grown in perpetuity, with cuts taken from each plant as it transitions from veg into flower, restarting the growth process without ever taking a traditional clone from a mother plant. This process has kept the same genetics fresh and contained, and according to grower David Nyberg, has made them stronger over time as the phenotype has fully developed and expressed itself.

Whatever the process, this strain is fully actualized, with a stable growth pattern and spectacular but consistent results. Grown by Nyberg, a self-confessed adrenaline chaser, this strain is the perfect match to someone who has led a life of extreme sports. In the world of private Cannabis cultivation, this strain is definitely pushed to the limit, and we are thankful with every toke for what Nyberg has produced. Look out for the ArcticBlue in recreational stores this fall!

ARCTICBLUEFARMS.COM

may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/29

ACCOMMODATIONS

YOUR GUIDE TO CANNABIS

ACTIVITIES

TOURS

JOIN OUR TRAVEL RESOURCES

CONTACT OUR TEAM OF TOURISM EXPERTS!

Tours // Activities // Accommodations

Private Club Members Only 21+

Headquarters Come join Pot Luck Events today and enjoy a Cannabis friendly club where you can smoke with your BUDS! For upcoming events and more information follow us on facebook, email or visit our website: potluckeventsak@gmail.com www.potluckevents.com

420 W. 3rd Ave Anchorage, AK 99501

XNLV213575

feature

IN AND OUT

By WES ABNEY | PHOTOS by DANIEL BERMAN The 24-foot by 36-foot forever flowering greenhouse has a power energy curtain and 12 Govida lights

Total cost to build: $50,000

32/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

CAMANO ISLAND, WA INDOOR/OUTDOOR CANNABIS GROWING As we loaded up the truck, a handful of raindrops dusted our faces and the windshield, adding to the surreal nature of our trip. In the death throes of the wettest winter on record, our team was heading to Camano Island, which lies on some of the wettest parts of the Puget Sound basin.

The drive onto the island is beautiful, and as we continued down winding coastal roads, the sun began to peek out. We turned onto a muddy gravel road and made a short drive up to a parking area. There it was: the grow.

The second the doors opened we were hit with the smell of warm flowering Cannabis, a sweet siren’s call for any Cannabis lover.

Still dodging mud and puddles, we walked up to the gleaming greenhouse with wide eyes and open nostrils.

To touch, smell and smoke flowers grown during the middle of winter is something truly special — and can be done for less than traditional indoor grow costs. We learned all about this new approach to Northwest Cannabis and how it is changing the face of recreational marijuana here.

Continues pg. 34

May 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/33

feature

by WES ABNEY | PHOTOS by DANIEL BERMAN

Continued from pg. 33

T

here are a lot of stereotypes about Seattle, but one holds true above all: rain. And while a true mossback refuses to bring an umbrella anywhere, Cannabis plants don't have the luxury of sprouting cover when the weather turns wet.

This last winter was the wettest on record in the Northwest, with 38.22 inches of rain falling in a matter of months. Understandably, the rest of the world has a lot of questions about Western Washingtonians. Do they like rain? Do they really grow moss on their backs? And most importantly, why don't they carry umbrellas? But there is one question that nobody seems to ask: Can you grow outdoor weed in the Seattle climate?

In our pursuit of journalism (and great Cannabis) we set out to answer that question, and ended up in the company of Jason and Charlene Bohbot, who have been growing for years in a ever-expanding series of greenhouses designed to work with the environment, not against it. Back in 2014, they first experimented with light deprivation with supplemental lighting greenhouses.

“You can take a light meter out on a cloudy day and it will be brighter than an indoor room with new bulbs. Combined with supplemental lighting, it creates a perfect environment. From a 4-by-4 square foot indoor grow at 1,000 watts to a 10by-10, the increase is unbeatable. The efficiency of what you can run will be the only way to compete

in the future, and it produces better medicine,” Jason said in an interview with the Leaf in 2014, predicting the future issues with Initiative 502 years ahead of other growers.

“What other trade grows everything inside? For production scale, the future is all light-deprivation greenhouses with supplemental lighting in a controlled environment.”

Two years later they are preaching the same message, and it is more relevant than ever before.

In 2014, Cannabis prices in the recreational market due to a shortage of quality product, and producers easily got 6 dollars or more for indoor flower. Many more entrants to the market followed, borrowing or spending using business plans to

LIGHT DEPRIVATION GREENHOUSES USE 25% LESS ENERGY TO PRODUCE EQUIVALENT QUALITY AS INDOOR-GROWN.

34/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

assume those market trends. They were wrong.

Today, indoor top-shelf Cannabis is sold to retailers packaged and tested for $3-$4 per gram, and outdoor (non-greenhouse) wholesales for as little as $1 per gram. While this market trend has resulted in a plethora of $25 eighths and $99 ounces to the delight of recreational shoppers, it has hurt largescale industrial growers most of all.

“This is the learning curve the industry is going through as it scales up. We all have been doing the same thing and same way, and to take what I know and scale it up is the logical thought process.

What changed it for me was looking at plant health from the dark to the sunshine and to see the happy health,” Jason said. “As prohibition fades away and

people can venture from cave to Follow @OriginalBlueBastard ery single plant, so in terms sunshine, Cannabis and concenon Instagram for more info and of labor and all aspects, it's trates are going to get better.” still the same relative costs, beautiful photos of Western When it comes to walking the but the energy costs are Washington Cannabis! walk, Jason really means it. He and lower and the scalability his partners started building a Tier 3 warehouse potential is limitless. There are inefficiencies grow in 2015, and he quickly realized the model indoor that are scalable at small levels, espewasn't sustainable. He voluntarily gave up his 20 cially at $3,000-$4,000 a pound, but at $1,500 percent share in the business, and today is building a pound on a commercial level, many indoor a new plan for I-502 gardens. farmers are barely breaking even. And if the “You can run it at maybe 25 percent of the overall numbers dip below that with taxes and regulaenergy consumption that you would have in a sim- tions and competition, it only gets that much ilar-size warehouse,” he explained, but cautioned harder to meet the cost of production.” against the assumption that growing this way is easJason currently produces medically, and ier. “The same level of detail and care goes into ev- the flower produced is considered top-shelf quality to the patients who consume it. Large vibrant buds with heavy trichomes and an intoxicatingly heady scent come out of the greenhouse year-round, even during the wettest of times. If there is a model for sustainable Cannabis, especially in regions with heavy wet seasons, this is it.

“As the legal weed industry has grown, the necessity to produce flower at a lower cost has become more important than ever,” Jason explained. “Target price of weed will soon be $1,000 a pound to compete with on a larger term, and longer-term target number, and if you can’t hit that indoor with taxes, that model is going to go away.”

The roof hatch will open up to adapt to changes in temperature, automatically.

“YOU CAN TAKE A LIGHT METER OUT ON A CLOUDY DAY AND IT WILL BE BRIGHTER THAN AN INDOOR ROOM WITH NEW BULBS.” -JASON BOHBOT may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/35

recipes

By LAURIE WOLF for OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by BRUCE WOLF for OREGON LEAF

Makes 4 servings

with

BEEF SALAD CILANTRO & ARUGULA 1. In a large bowl, combine the cilantro, parsley,

arugula, scallion, carrot and the cherry tomatoes.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the oils with the mustard, vinegar, juice from 1 lime and the chili powder.

3. Season steak to taste with salt and pepper and prepare according to favorite method. Grilled is good.

4. Toss the vegetables with the dressing and add to plate.

Top the salad with the rested steak and serve immediately.

38/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

Peppery arugula adds some additional spice to this über flavorful salad. This is a great opportunity for using up those leftovers — there are no hard and fast rules with salad.

INGREDIENTS

*

2 bunches cilantro, trimmed and rinsed 1 bunch flat parsley, trimmed and rinse 1 bunch arugula, rinsed 1 bunch scallions, shredded ½ cup carrots, shredded 8 yellow cherry tomatoes 8 red grape tomatoes 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 tablespoons canna-oil 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 lime, halved 1 teaspoon chili powder Salt and pepper 16 oz. skirt steak, cooked & sliced

A great company dish, the quinoa works beautifully with tofu, shrimp or beef.

I like it better the next day, when all the flavors have gotten a chance to meld.

*

QUINOA SALAD 1. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa with the

chicken, corn, edamame, peas, chick peas, mint, scallion and red onion. Toss to combine.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the oils with the lemon juice, pepper, cumin and salt to taste.

3. Toss salad lightly and serve warm or chilled.

INGREDIENTS

GRILLED SHRIMP ROMAINE 1. Place romaine halves on the grill,

flat/cut side down. Grill until browned and softened, 4-5 min.

2. In a small bowl, combine the oils, lemon juice, mustard and garlic.

Whisk to combine. Add the radishes and grape tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. In a large skillet, heat the

tablespoon of oil. Add the shrimp and cook, turning occasionally, til’ pink and just firm. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Place the romaine on 4 plates.

Top with the radish mixture.

5. Divide avocado slices and place

on the plates along with the shrimp.

INGREDIENTS 2 heads romaine, outer leaves removed, cut in half through core 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 teaspoons canna-oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon mustard 1 garlic clove, minced ½ cup grape tomatoes Salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon olive oil 24 medium/large shrimp 1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced and cut in half 4 radishes, thinly sliced & halved ¼ cup blue cheese, crumbled Lemon juice 1 cup croutons

3 cups cooked quinoa 1 ½ cups cooked chicken, cubed 1 cup corn niblets 1 cup shelled edamame 1 cup peas 1 cup chick peas, rinsed & drained 1 bunch mint, chopped ¼ cup scallion, chopped ¼ cup red onion, chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 teaspoons canna oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon cumin Salt to taste

Some recipes just beg to be infused. The addition of Cannabis, whether infused in butter or oil, plays an interesting role in the flavor profile of these salads that make a meal. If you have never tried grilled romaine, you are in for a treat! The quinoa salad is light and refreshing. No reason why you can’t substitute rice or any other grain. And any kind of steak will work in the salad. Just remember: in the lovely world of indulging in Cannabis, less is always more.

may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/39

concentrates

By WES ABNEY | PHOTO by DANIEL BERMAN

@BERMANPHOTOS

HONEY BANANA ROSIN This translucent rosin is a masterful press that fills a room (and lungs) with plenty of sweet earthy Cannabis goodness

T

he parent strain of the rosin is Honey Banana by Elemental Seeds, grown locally by a patient who was able to harvest a bounty of 120u kief from the flowers.

Instead of being happy with some arguably dank full melt, the kief was pressed into rosin by AK Honeypit and taken to a new level of dabbable fire.

THE FLAVOR OF BANANAS Looking at the patty of this rosin brings dreams of solventless AND SWEET KUSH WITH dabs and endless terpenes. The EACH DAB AND THE HEADY consistency is like an extra sticky Fruit Roll-Up, able to be moved EFFECTS THAT FOLLOW. and pulled and stretched into the perfectly sized dab. With each movement, the oil releases more smell, teasing the palate with what is soon to be enjoyed.

Taking a nice size dab of this rosin is an absolute treat. The oil melts easily onto the nail, releasing a light and warm vapor that fills the lungs without over-expanding or residual harshness. Especially for rosin, which is known for a lingering cough, this press from kief has all the terpenes and cannabinoids without any excess plant matter or excess material. Taking two or three small to medium-low temp dabs is the best way to build up this high, savoring the flavor of bananas and sweet kush with each dab and the heady effects that follow.

Although the Honey Banana is considered an indica, the rosin has a definite sativa start to the effects. It could be the heavy THC that hits the mind so quickly, but we found a lot of initial energy with this strain. Over time and dabs it starts to deepen, with the body effects becoming more prevalent over an hour’s time, resulting in a euphoric happiness that works for active pain-free activities or a relaxing focus great for a movie or desk work.

40/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

PROCESSED by @AK_HONEYPIT

JKD Brands

Containers Packaging Accessories

Oil Vape Cartridges D on Odor Isolation Bags ’t w Display & Tincture Jars ait Child Resistant Packaging to Tubes for Cones & Pre-Rolls Regulation Compliance Consultation Harvest Batch Packaging & Labeling Kits Tamper-Evident Seals & Transport Containers Come see us: 10263 Nigh Road, Unit #8 Anchorage, AK 99515

ord

er!

Contact us: 907-929-5838 jim@jkdbrands.com

may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/41

highly likely

By PACER STACKTRAIN for ALASKA LEAF

Column # 1

I SING WITH A DIFFERENT INTENTION NOW, MY VIEWS ON MARIJUANA HAVE TOTALLY CHANGED.”

MERLE HAGGARD

creative commons

April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016

Last month, music fans around the globe said farewell to one of the most genuine artists to walk the Earth

merle was a straight shooter,

a man who the kind of country sound that thumbs its nose at the would give his opinion without thought of conse- clean-living social fakery dominating Nashville’s counquence. And, at times, those consequences were try music scene these days.

And that’s why Haggard’s biggest hit is such a great. He was incarceratd in, and escaped from, a juvenile detention center at age 14 to ride the rails, head-scratcher. “Okie From Muskogee” begins with only to be caught again and sent back to detention. these lyrics: “We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee; By the time he was an adult, he was jailed again We don’t take no trips on LSD.” The song became a runaway hit for Haggard in the for robbery and sent to the infamous San Quentin Prison, where he was present for Johnny Cash’s leg- mainly conservative country music scene because it was seen ironically as an embodiment of a endary 1958 performance there. our burgeoning, amazing call for the return to conservative values When he was released from San In age of Cannabis legalization in in the counterculture-heavy late ‘60s.

Quentin in 1960, Haggard set out America, it’s easy to forget just Over the years, Haggard gave varying on his own to make it in the world of how taboo it was to admit to a consumer of this plant accounts of the song’s message and country music, inspired by the Cash being even a few short years ago. meaning … in the conservative country performance. Merle, along with others This column highlights a scene, he was seen as a right-wing hero. like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and different amazing Cannabis from history that helped But, of course, time would demonstrate Waylon Jennings, became the pro- pioneer pave the way for Cannabis’ that Haggard was in no way right-wing. genitors of outlaw country — exactly greater acceptance.

42/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

Later in the ‘70s, he declared, “I have more culture now. I was dumb as a rock when I wrote ‘Okie From Muskogee.’ That’s being honest with you at the moment, and a lot of things that I said [then] I sing with a different intention now. My views on marijuana have totally changed.”

Perhaps this change of heart is what prompted the 2015 Cannabis anthem Haggard co-wrote and performed with Willie Nelson. His famous tune “It’s all going to Pot” is a green anthem taking jabs at Big Pharma, Big Alcohol and conservative views surrounding the legalization debate in the United States.

In the video, Haggard and Nelson hit a joint together.

“I think it’s silly to put someone in jail for [marijuana possession],” he told a California newspaper back in 2010. “I think it’s a threat to the pharmaceutical industry that you can go to the garden to grow something that might keep you from having to use Lipitor.”

Thepacerstacktrain@gmail.com Instagram: @ThePacerStackTrain

“CBD - THE SOLUTION IS REAL” IT’S CBD TIME

CUS SATI TOMER SF GUA ACTION RAN TEED

IT REALLY WORKS

HIGH CBD POTENCY FAST ACTING WORKS WITH YOUR BODY NO “HIGH” NO CANNABIS ODOR QUALITY TESTED

ORDER ONLINE & SHIP TO YOUR DOOR

www.gocbeed.com

!!! DON’T MISS OUT !!!

TO RECEIVE

PROMO CODES SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER D U R I N G R E G I S T R AT I O N

15% OFF & Free Shipping USE VOUCHER: CBDHEART

AVAILABLE ONLY AT WWW.GOCBEED.COM

NITRO HONEY NATURE IS GOOD

ONE TIME VOUCHER VALID IN FEBRUARY 2016 AVAILABLE ONLY AT WWW.GOCBEED.COM

Go

www.gocbeed.com

Reviews

By STEVE ELLIOTT Editor, Tokesignals.com

B y J A R E D H O F F M A N , P E N G U I N R A N D O M H O U S E , 2 0 1 6 , $ 15 | O N S A L E J U N E 21

THE STONER’S COLORING BOOK

COLORING FOR HIGH-MINDED ADULTS

T

"As a coloring books specifically for stoners, it’s about intuitive entertainment for high people that is easy, creative and not totally devoid of meaning.” -Jared Hoffman

44/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

his coloring book for stoned grown-ups is one of those things that is such a perfect idea, one wonders why it hasn’t already been done. Kudos to visual artist Jared Hoffman for this blast of fun!

“The Stoner’s Coloring Book” will definitely tickle your senses … or at least amuse you while something else tickles your senses. When you get this perfect a chance to channel your inner kindergartner, you don’t wanna miss it.

Settle down with your favorite munchies and music, along with your best buds, and enjoy the meditative, centering, calming properties of coloring. And let’s be honest: A very stoned environment is exactly how coloring is probably best enjoyed and most appreciated by adults.

With more than 35 illustrations ranging from relaxing, chill abstracts, to a trippy collage of your favorite munchies, this adult coloring book gives Cannabis connoisseurs a creative outlet for their mellow, happy, munchie-fueled energies.

“As far as a coloring book specifically for stoners, it’s about intuitive entertainment for high people that is easy, creative and not totally devoid of meaning,” explained Hoffman, a graduate of Cornell University who lives in mellow Laguna Beach, Calif.

“Often when you get stoned, you find yourself doing nothing for hours on end,” Hoffman said. “And there’s nothing wrong with that! But this is a way of doing nothing that exercises your creativity and makes you feel productive, plus you get a beautiful piece of art out of it. And coloring all these psychedelic pictures is doubly absorbing if you’re baked.

Out of personal experience, I can say that it is hard to stop coloring once you’ve started.

“I would say my perfect coloring environment would be this: coloring while holding a blunt in my left hand, while sitting in a jacuzzi, with Seal singing ‘Kiss From a Rose’ barbershop quartet style just to the side,” Hoffman said.

health & science

By SIMONE FISCHER for ALASKA LEAF | PHOTO by TONI AGOSTA for ALASKA LEAF

SIMONE FISCHER USES CANNABIS TO TREAT SYMPTOMS OF A PAINFUL HEALTH CONDITION

Living With Endo As the Cannabis industry propels itself further

into the spotlight, I find it inspiring how women are creating and backing Cannabis businesses, but discussions on how Cannabis can benefit women’s health have yet to be hashed out.

I was diagnosed with stage 5 endometriosis in 2014, but have been dealing with chronic menstrual pain for more than a decade. I am writing this article to encourage women to take control of their chronic pain and vindicate the way women’s health is addressed entirely, if looking to use Cannabis as an alternative.

In 1998, the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act was put into place so Oregonians could obtain medical Cannabis if their condition or conditions were listed as qualifying. The Oregon Health Authority lists qualifying conditions as cancer, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, agitation due to Alzheimer’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, and medical conditions or treatments that produce cachexia (weight loss) severe pain or nausea, seizures or persistent muscle spasms.

Oregon issued its first patient cards in May 1999.

OMMP statistics from April 1, 2015 show that out

Diagnosed in 2014

46/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

ENDOMETRIOSIS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA tinyurl.com/leafendo1 PLANNED PARENTHOOD: ENDOMETRIOSIS tinyurl.com/leafendo2 WOMEN’S HEALTH. GOV: ENDOMETRIOSIS tinyurl.com/leafendo3 LADYBUD MAGAZINE STORY tinyurl.com/leafendo4

of 71,317 patients, 66,365 have been authorized to use medical Cannabis due to severe pain. The state does not reveal how many of these cases are linked to endometriosis or other female-specific health issues.

According to John Hopkins Hospital, endometriosis affects 2 percent to 10 percent of women in the U.S., and roughly 176 million women worldwide.

Endometriosis is an autoimmune disease that leaves painful legions in the pelvis. The main symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain, especially during menstrual cycles. The pain interferes with a woman’s ability to complete her daily commitments. The biggest problem with endometriosis is often the diagnosis itself. On average, it takes a woman seven years before she is correctly diagnosed with endometriosis.

Confirmation of an endometriosis diagnosis often requires expensive, invasive laparoscopic surgeries that many women cannot afford.

The cause of endometriosis is still unclear and no treatment fully cures it. Scientists understand that endometriosis is exacerbated by estrogen, a steroid hormone responsible for the development of female characteristics of the body. Doctors use birth control to manage endometrial pain by keeping estrogen levels stable. Retrograde menstruation is another characteristic of endometriosis, which occurs when endometrial cells flow back into the fallopian tubes and attach themselves to neighboring pelvic organs.

Genetics are another contributing factor. When a hereditary link is present, endometriosis is likely to rear its head in the next generation of young women in a family. Immune system dysfunction is another contributor.

Before I was diagnosed with endometriosis, I began writing about strains and other forms of medical-grade Cannabis that can help relieve symptoms associated with premenstrual syndrome or premenstrual dysphoric disorder. When I began looking into getting carded to manage painful, monthly periods I did not think my condition was good enough to qualify me to become an Oregon medical marijuana patient. I let the stigma of complaining about my painful menstrual cycle prevent me from opening up a dialogue with my doctor around using Cannabis to mitigate my chronic pain. Instead, I learned things the hard way.

In December, I was rushed to the emergency room because I was experiencing ungodly amounts of pain and spotting. Two weeks before those painful episodes, my partner and I found out I was pregnant.

Noah’s mother rushed me to the doctor because we feared I was suffering from an ectopic pregnancy (when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus.)

Within hours, my whole life turned upside down.

After an ultrasound, the doctor confirmed they had found the ectopic pregnancy in my left fallopian tube. But there was more. My right ovary had grown to a whopping 9 centimeters in diameter. It was larg-

I did not think endometriosis was enough to qualify me to become a medical marijuana patient. I let the stigma of complaining about my painful menstrual cycle prevent me from opening up a dialogue with my doctor around using Cannabis to mitigate my chronic pain. Instead, I learned things the hard way. er than my uterus. None of us knew whether it was cancerous or benign. I was immediately admitted into the hospital and scheduled for emergency surgery the next day.

My diseased right ovary was removed. The ectopic pregnancy in my left fallopian tube and parts of my right fallopian tube were also removed. Additional cysts were found inside my uterus and were removed as well — all laparoscopically. Luckily, after the biopsy of my right ovary was completed, the results came back as benign. My right ovary turned into a mucinous tumor that grew like a weed. I was officially diagnosed with endometriosis and I knew, while I was still in the hospital, that I wanted to treat my condition with Cannabis.

The biggest challenges occurred after I was discharged from the hospital. Hormonally I was a mess, sex was a foreign concept and I still was getting over the fact they took my fucking right ovary. I could no longer dab as usual, or smoke joints without risking tearing incisions if I coughed too hard. I was strictly limited to edibles and organic full extract Cannabis.

I owe my speedy recovery to Cannabis because it alleviated horrid bouts of constipation, which encourages endometriosis flare-ups. I had a great

appetite throughout recovery; I was heavily medicated and always munching on something. Personally, pills ruin my appetite and wreak havoc on my gastrointestinal tract. Pills get you high, not healthy.

Women truly can manage endometriosis in alternative ways. I was given my last bit of morphine in the hospital before I was discharged, and I never felt the need to fill my Percocet prescription. Understand that just because I do not use pharmaceuticals does not mean I live a pain- or blemish-free life.

Along with Cannabis, regular exercise, baths, topicals and rose teas are in my endometriosis prevention and management arsenal. Chronic pain has left an indelible mark on my body and soul that I’m still trying to free myself from. At least Cannabis allows me to pursue a better version of my self and maintain a high quality of life.

Until a cure for endometriosis is found, I will continue to use medical Cannabis to manage my chronic pain. I encourage women interested in using Cannabis as a treatment to call their doctor’s office and discuss their options with a physician.

Simone Fischer is a Portland OMMP patient and Cannabis advocate. She is a contributing editor at Ladybud Magazine and a graduate of women’s and gender studies from Portland State University.

may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/47

health & science

PHOTO by DANIEL BERMAN

ATTITUDE GRATITUDE of

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF BEING APPRECIATIVE Every year, Americans gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Robert Emmons, perhaps the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, argues that gratitude has two key components, which It’s a holiday for giving thanks to the good things in life and celhe describes in a Greater Good essay, “Why Gratitude Is Good.” ebrating friends, family and connection. But such feelings need BY ALASKA LEAF “First,” he writes, “it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that not be limited to just one day or event. One can cultivate gratSPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve reitude and directly experience the interconnectedness of all life.

DR. SCOTT D. ROSE ceived.” In the second part of gratitude, he explains, “we recogThere are remarkable findings for just how powerful having nize that the sources of this goodness are outside of ourselves… an attitude of gratitude can be. Gratitude is an emotion expressWe acknowledge that other people — or even higher powers, if ing appreciation for what one has, as opposed to an emphasis on you’re of a spiritual mindset — gave us many gifts, big and small, to what one wants or doesn’t have. help us achieve the goodness in our lives.”

As author Eckhart Tolle says, “Acknowledging the good that you alEmmons and other researchers see the social dimension as being especialready have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” The practice of ly important to gratitude. “I see it as a relationship-strengthening emotion,” gratitude is not in any way a denial of life’s difficulties. We live in troubling writes Emmons, “because it requires us to see how we’ve been supported times, and no doubt, many challenges, uncertainties and disappointments and affirmed by other people.” Because gratitude encourages us not only to are experienced.

48/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

appreciate gifts but to repay them (or pay them HOW TO BE forward), the sociologist Georg Simmel called GRATEFUL: it “the moral memory of mankind.”

A large body of literature is mounting that Notice your day-to-day world suggests that people who are more grateful from a point of gratitude and have higher levels of subjective well-being. be amazed at all the goodGrateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed and happier with their lives and ness we take for granted. relationships with other people. Gratitude may Savor the good in your life serve as a buffer by enhancing the coding and — don’t just gloss over the retrievability of positive experiences. Gratitude is getting a great deal of attention as a facet beauty and pleasures that of a new branch of psychology called positive come your way. psychology.

Keep a gratitude journal. All Positive psychology is the scientific study of it requires is noting one or the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the more things you are grateful belief that people want to lead meaningful and for on a daily basis. fulfilling lives to cultivate what is best within Write a gratitude letter to themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work and play. This field uses the scientific someone in your life you’ve understanding and effective intervention to aid never properly thanked. in the achievement of a satisfactory life, rather Share at least one good thing than treating mental illness.

Positive psychology focuses on growth rather that happened to you recently than on pathology, as is common among other or your favorite part of the frameworks within the field of psychology. It is day at the next lunch or meal. a call for psychological science and practice to be as concerned with strength as with weakGive at least one compliment ness; as interested in building the best things in daily. It can be to a person life as in repairing the worst; and as concerned or it can be asking someone with making the lives of normal people fulfillto share your appreciation of ing as with healing pathology. something else.

Gratitude has been said to have one of the strongest links with mental health of any other When you find yourself in a character trait. Numerous studies suggest that bad situation ask: What can grateful people are more likely to have highI learn? When I look back on er levels of happiness and lower levels of stress this, without emotion, what and depression. Studies have shown that we will I be grateful for? can deliberately cultivate gratitude, and can increase our well-being and happiness by doing Vow to not complain, criticize so. Grateful people have more positive ways or gossip for 10 days. If you of coping with the difficulties they experience slip, rally your willpower and in life. Grateful people are less likely to try to keep going for 10 more days. avoid the problem, rely on negative coping mechanicms, deny there is a problem, blame Notice the amount of energy themselves or dive into substance use. you were spending on negaGrateful people sleep better, and this seems tive thoughts and actions. to be because they think fewer negative and more positive thoughts before going to sleep.

Become involved in a cause In addition, gratefulness — and especially exthat is important to you. pression of it to others — is associated with increased energy, optimism and empathy. While many emotions and personality traits are important to well-being, good evidence suggests gratitude may be uniquely important.

Gratitude is viewed as a desired human propensity in the Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Baha’i and Hindu traditions. Worship with gratitude to a god, higher power, or something outside of self is a common theme in

such religions and therefore, the concept of gratitude permeates religious texts, teachings and traditions. For this reason, it is one of the most common emotions that religions aim to provoke and maintain in followers and is regarded as a universal religious sentiment. Spirituality and gratitude recently became popular subjects of study. While these two characteristics are certainly not dependent on each other, studies have found that spirituality is capable of increasing a person’s ability to be grateful and therefore, those who regularly attend religious services or engage in religious activities are more likely to have a greater sense of gratitude in all areas of life.

The Buddhist practice of cultivating gratitude is said to lead to the direct experience of the interconnectedness of all of life. Practicing mindfulness of gratitude consistently leads to an experience of being connected to life and the realization that your personal story is unfolding in a larger context. Being relieved of the endless wants and worries of your life’s drama, even temporarily, is liberating. It also elicits feelings of generosity, which create further joy. Having access to the joy and wonderment of life is the antidote to feelings of scarcity and loss. The understanding you gain from practicing gratitude frees you from being lost or identified with either the negative or the positive aspects of life, letting you simply meet life in each moment as it rises.

In some Buddhist traditions, there’s a prayer in which one makes a rather unusual request of the universe: Bring me challenges and obstacles. “In certain temples that I’ve been to, there’s actually a prayer that you make asking for difficulties,” Western Buddhist master Jack Kornfield said during an interview with the Huffington Post. “May I be given the appropriate difficulties so that my heart can truly open with compassion. Imagine asking for that.”

Trained in monasteries in India, Thailand and Burma, Kornfield has studied and taught meditation for more than 40 years, pioneering and transmitting ancient Buddhist spiritual teachings to a modern Western audience.

So what’s one of Kornfield’s secrets to abundant gratitude? Don’t take life so seriously, or get so wrapped up in your own everyday dramas that you forgot to see the beauty that surrounds you.

“This life is a test — it is only a test,” Kornfield wrote in “A Path With Heart.” “If it had been an actual life, you would have received further instructions on where to go and what to do. Remember, this life is only a test.”

Cultivating an opening to gratitude helps us become more mindful of life all around us and the circumstance we’re in.

Roman philosopher Cicero wrote that “gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues but the parent of all others.” Multiple studies show a correlation between gratitude and increased well-being for individuals as well as recipients of gratitude. Once neglected by psychology, much progress has been made in recent years in studying gratitude and its positive effects.

So this year, when gathering for your Thanksgiving celebration by sitting at the table giving thanks, counting blessings or how ever it is done where you are; remember it is all about gratitude. And gratitude is about receiving and giving back. Gratitude is a process and a practice, not just an event. With practice, gratitude can be cultivated within and can change your attitude to gratitude where the benefits are limitless.

Grateful people sleep better, have higher levels of happiness and report less stress at work.

Dr. Scott D. Rose has written about Cannabis and health for years in the pages of Northwest Leaf and Oregon Leaf. He is an acupuncturist with a pain resolution clinic in the Crown Hill area of Seattle.

may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/49

BUDSHOT

PHOTOS by KASSI ROOSTH

50/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

WHITE WIDOW

BREAKDOWN/ Balanced hybrid CROSS/ White Russian x Blue Widow GENETICS/ Green House Seeds EFFECTS/ Happy, upbeat euphoria and creativity BEST FOR/ Getting things done, feeling energetic

Got sweet garden/bud photos?

Share them with us and they might appear here next month! Email your top 2-3 not-taken-with-aphone-unless-they-were-superduper-steady highresolution images to nwleaf@gmail.com along with the usual details on what’s being grown and who to credit (please see corner for the information to include with your email).

may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/51

GROWTECH

YOU’LL FIND YOURSELF FEELING GRATITUDE IN EVEN MUNDANE TASKS.

BECOMING

A GREAT GROWER D r . S c a n de r s o n s ha re s f i v e cr uci a l l e s s o n s

>> It’s more than a hobby: it’s a job, one requiring dedication and ample creativity on the daily.

L

in which the majority of my time is spent ife is as much about the choices in pursuit of cultivating this plant to we make as it is about what perfection. those choices bring into our

BY ALASKA LEAF I consider Cannabis cultivation to experience.

SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR be a creative endeavor. The pioneers Maybe you have decided to follow DR. SCANDERSON of indoor Cannabis growing come your dreams and create a life where from a lineage shrouded in discretion, the pursuit of your passion is interwobut the majority of growers now gather ven with your vocation. The raw energy as much information as they can online, and unending enthusiasm can be a lot like from a buddy, from books, and just go to work. an enchanting romance in its honeymoon stage.

Unlike other trades where formal training, eduHowever, like all easily quenched desires of cation and experience can be gained well before the heart, time and repetition often create a dull your efforts provide a source of income, most familiarity that can extinguish what once seemed Cannabis growers are on the trial-by-fire track. to be bottomless pit of desire for your newly found It’s only recently that many of the most valuor created vocation. This month’s Grow Tech will able and tested methods of Cannabis cultivation examine some of the most valuable lessons I’ve recognized along the way toward creating a life have become widely known.

52/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

Gardeners can now gather as much information as they feel comfortable with and make choices regarding which theories are closest to their understanding of reality. The way in which growers invent, create, test, and then provide their product to another individual for a completely subjective opinion, is similar to the work of an artist.

The product of a grower’s art is as much in the medicine they provide as the methods and procedures they use to cultivate it. As such, creativity remains unbound in the garden — innovations, techniques and methods being refined daily in all parts of the world provide the opportunity for invention that’s almost limitless. This can be as much of a trap as it can be an incentive, which brings us to my first tip.

PUT IN THE WORK

Lesson #1

Be professionally creative, not a creative professional. If you were raised in a conventional setting in America and find a way to earn your living through the practice of your passion, you likely feel as though you’re living in a dream. The trap is believing that all your experiences over the long term in working toward the mastery of your craft will come floating on a comfortable bed of inspiration, creativity and joy.

Most anything common has the tendency to become familiar, so even your relationship with the pursuit of your life’s passion will change over time. There will be times when tasks are required of you that you will not feel like doing and you cannot rely on the raw excitement of living your life’s passion to carry you through. Consequently, you need to make objective commitments and follow through with them even when you don’t feel like it.

Writer Steven Pressfield addresses the matter in his book, The War of Art. “Someone once asked Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration. ’I write only when inspiration strikes,’ Maugham replied. ‘Fortunately it strikes every

morning at nine o’clock sharp.”

It’s important that you create the space for creativity and inspiration to occur. Creativity is a state of being, like love or frustration. As habit-forming creatures, those states can be generated through repetitive behaviors. It’s essential that you create and adhere to a schedule or at least a schedule of results. By doing so, intrinsic boundaries and guidelines exist in which we allow ourselves to be creative. It doesn’t stop there.

A sure indicator that you’re on the right path is when part of the “job” of pursuing your passion involves all the same sacrifices and compromises you might have previously only associated with a more conventional job. It’s also a clear indicator that you’re pursuing the right passion when you find that once you overcome the initial resistance to get started, you find yourself feeling gratitude in even the most mundane tasks.

ALWAYS SIMPLIFY IT Lesson #2

You must strive to KISS — that always relevant phrase stands for Keep It Simple Stoner. Another creativity trap is associating complex and intricate growing systems or methods with being more advanced or something only highly skilled gardeners can pull off. With little exception, the higher skill in gardening is being able to simplify and streamline all of the elements of growing.

The letter K is first for a reason. People who can last in this trade and are regarded as having the best practices and best medicine consistently make simplicity a priority in their gardening through the maturity of their careers. Being able to identify in your own practices where things have gotten out of hand and are no longer simple is a skill. It’s honest self-reflection. If left unchecked, the solitude can leave a gardener rationalizing some pretty absurd practices.

STAY STREAMLINED

Lesson #3

This especially applies to gardeners who are using a common reservoir to supply nutrients to multiple plants. The benefits of running a limited number of strains at a time in those conditions are immense and not just for the obvious reasons.

Sticking with two or at most three complementary strains per one to 10 lights consistently produces the best results in production rooms.

You are able to gain the benefits of a mild amount of biodiversity while simultaneously giving all the plants what they need when they need it. All plants are on the same growing pace, not just finishing pace. This is important when considering the changes in biological functions and the effect on the environment and necessity for nutrition.

Even if two plants finish in 65 days, one might do the majority of its bulking and thickening at the end while the other might start fast and finish slowly. Consequently, each might have dramatically different needs for nutrients, thrive under different environments at different times and as a result, the best the gardener can hope to achieve is to maximize an average potential for both plants.

Either both of these plants will end up doing pretty well, or one’s going to do amazing, while the other performs only so-so. Do one thing well.

TRY NEW THINGS

Lesson #4

ditions and with the style you provide and how you enjoy them. As someone committed to pursuing a passion professionally, it’s imperative that the system you work in protects your ability to continue to work in it. This is the place to (if you must) take in clones and new genetics. You want to remove any risk of contaminating your production space.

Forego this step and you might find your passion influencing your choices in a counterproductive and costly way. Worse yet, without the proper channels to nurture and express your creative spirit, you’re left with a profession that slowly and inevitably erodes into a mundane job.

WORK LIKE A PRO

Lesson #5 Don’t run with scissors, but remember to play in the sandbox. It’s easy to lose sight of the financial The physical space you build out is the last place to side of your passion. Money alone often keeps the try to force practices if you want to make gardenmajority of people from pursuing their dreams ing your profession. It’s difficult to work around professionally and likewise spits those that make structural issues such as ceiling height, location the leap to being a full-timer right back to where and security concerns. I always put climate first. they came from — if they don’t take responsibiliIf you’re running a professional space, it’s essential ty for this aspect of the job. to your results, safety and happiness that you work Chances are you don’t just love growing Canwith commercial-grade equipment. nabis. You probably love growing, discovering Hiring a residential/commercial HVAC guy and smoking different types of Cannabis. After isn’t going do it. Gardening is a highly specialized all, working with multiple varieties teaches you climate to maintain and much different from the as much about yourself as it does about gardenneeds of residential and commercial heating and ing in general. However, another creativity trap cooling for humans. Getting a dialed-in climate, lurks here. The desire to unrelentingly pursue followed by getting the best lights/ballasts, are the your passion wherever it takes two areas I recommend going you can come with a cost. Failall out for. They are easily the Get in Touch ure to recognize the difference most costly to redo in most thegreengardengroup@gmail.com between servicing your passion circumstances. That’s critical to over your profession as opremember when planning how Like my Instagram posed to maintaining a balance many tons of AC you should Follow @DrScanderson_gT between the two can result in be running and how many catastrophe. It’s most helpful watts you should use. to segregate your space(s) into those that you Just as important as not pinching pennies is knowing that most all other areas can be complethave the most familiarity with, already know you ed on a budget. It’s almost always the case that the enjoy working with, already know your patients build-out takes longer and costs more than anticilove and reliably create a financial result that enpated. The additional time is a double cost because sures the security of the garden from those that we are always against time from a production primarily service your passion. standpoint in the garden.

You need a testing space to play in. This is Mixing your own soil, and brewing your own the spot to try out the new lighting, new techteas and nutrients are huge cost savers. Building niques, new nutrient programs, new mediums, your own system or being creative with your connew strains and learn how they grow in the containers/support system can save you thousands.

Getting $90 matching red and black wall-mount fans isn’t necessary. As with all growing gear, if you can make, build, fabricate, reuse, repurpose or redesign a non grow-related product into something you use in the garden, you’ll save lots of money.

“Our job in this life is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.”

GETTING $90 MATCHING RED AND BLACK FANS ISN’T NECESSARY.

may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/53

BEHIND THE STRAIN

Drop me a line

Watch a video

thegreengardengroup@gmail.com Youtube.com/DrScandersonGt

GRANDPA LARRY With deep forest-green leaves, the formerly green- and orangehaired buds begin to shimmer with unmistakable violet hues that are deceptively rich in color.

BAG APPEAL & SMOKE REPORT This is one beautiful, chunky, dense bud. Bulky nugs display the

coveted “rainbow” look. The combination of evergreen and bright orange hairs is further accentuated by the dark purples that display the copious amount of trichomes. These blooms are definitely some of the most beautiful to be found on any shelf. Unlike other blooms with comparable looks and frost coverage, these flowers hit high and hard in the terp department. The danky Kush scent only dances momentarily on the senses before being overrun by a sweet and a bit of a sour Kush lemon candy fragrance that has a definitive Lysol and cleaner quality to it. Ground up and ready to roll, I get pungent redberry lemonade.

Skunky, gassy, sour Kush flavors creep down my lungs and assume attack position as they explode with lung-busting expansion. Pillows of smoke pour from my mouth with such exquisite candied-lemon flavor that I cock my head to the side in curiosity. The flavor of these blooms is one of the most durable of any Kush variety I’ve sampled. Candied lemonheads and Lysol flavors stay bright and prevalent, giving way to a sour cucumber-melon taste. It’s rare that I come across Cannabis that has such potent and lasting flavors.

HOW IT GROWS these plants start a bit on the slow side, similar to many of the

BY ALASKA LEAF SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR DR. SCANDERSON

Pillows of smoke pour from my mouth with such exquisite candied-lemon flavor that I cock my head to the side in curiosity.

LINEAGE

The lemon Larry OG Kush cut is a coveted cutting that unites some of the best lemon and Kush flavors. Taking a powerhouse like that and adding to it can be a tricky endeavor, but this wonderful strain pulls it off. Although I selected a pheno that only showed up twice out of two packs, the search was worth it.

GENETICS: LARRY OG (LUMPSTATUS’ CUT) X GRAND DADDY PURPLE NO. 5 BREEDER:

DUNGEON VAULT GENETICS (ORIGINALLY BY GRAND DADDY PURPLE)

FLOWER TIME:

65-68 DAYS

54/may 2016 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

elite OGs. The pheno I selected for is slow to get started in the first two weeks, and compared to the others appears shorter, bushier and features more indica in its growth pattern. It sports a more uniform growth structure but it’s combined with deep, dark, three-blade leaves. She’s a medium feeder and responds very well to topping, creating a balanced and even pattern with little bending and training. In flower, she is also a bit slow to transition and doesn’t stretch much, a welcome change from other elite OGs. She can take flower formula and higher levels of P and C earlier than most Kush varieties. Like her speed in veg, she’s a slow and steady winner. You have to be patient with this strain because during her last 30 days, and especially the last two weeks, she really starts to flex. In fact, everything seemed rather average until those last three to four weeks. It’s at that point that she starts throwing triches out like an East Coast snowstorm, adding chunk and girth at an alarming rate. With deep forest-green leaves, the formerly green- and orange-haired buds begin to shimmer with unmistakable violet hues that are deceptively rich in color.

EFFECTS a nearly instant head change hits hard with a nicely balanced

hybrid effect. The clear and inspired feelings I’ve come to love from many a sativa-leaning Kush is an excellent daytime medicine or anytime when inspiration is needed. With flavors like these, Cannabis enthusiast may not even need a second helping. With one bowl, I experience my scalp morphing into a rushing river, complete with waterfalls cascading behind my ears. It’s a gentle reminder of the indica heritage that makes this an exceptionally well-balanced medicine.