THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE
#66 | OCT. 2021
THE INSIDER ISSUE SHOP REVIEW
COLDSMOKE SOLDOTNA >> PG. 18 GROW TOUR
ONE SWEET WORLD >> PG.
20
PROFILE
GREAT NORTHERN CANNABIS & THE KING OF DOOBIES >> PG.
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FEATURE
WEEDMAPS' BIG TECH PUSH >>
PG. 44
F RE E / L E A F M AGA Z I N E S . COM
ALASKA MARIJUANA INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT LACY WILCOX >> PG. 32 INDEPENDENT CANNABIS JOURNALISM SINCE 2010
We S
www.good
(A) "Marijuana has intoxicating effects and maybe habit forming and (C)"There are health risks associated with consumption of marijuana.”; (D)"For use
Speak Terpinese
dtitrations.com 907-474-GOOD
d addictive.”; (B)"Marijuana impairs concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under its influence.”; e only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children.”; (E)"Marijuana should not be used by women who are pregnant or breast feeding.”. license number 10886
Ask Your Budtender for that
Award-Winning Cannabis Wonder Woman
Black Rose
2020 Great Alaskan Cannabis Bowl WINNER!
ShnozBerry
Best Sativa Best Terps
SweetMatanuskaGreen@Gmail.com | SweetMatanuskaGreen.com Marijuana has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming and addictive. Marijuana impairs concentration, coordination, and judgement. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under its influence. There are health risks associated with consumption of marijuana. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children. Marijuana should not be used by women who are pregnant or breast feeding.
672 E END RD #B HOMER, AK | 844-225-7600 | 907-299-1829 | SHAWN@FRONTIERCBDS.COM
FRONTIERCBDS.COM
feature
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O'HARA SHIPE
8 Alaska Marijuana Industry Association President Lacy Wilcox speaks in-depth with Alaska Leaf Publisher Wes Abney about how our state's Cannabis industry is evolving and growing, but also not immune to the risks of political infighting.
THE KING OF DOOBIES NIKO BLAKE | GNC ANCHORAGE
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INSIDE WEEDMAPS’ TECH PUSH HOW THE SITE CHANGED CANNABIS
JUSTIN STEWART
[
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ONE SWEET WORLD
50 A History of Rolling Papers
Maybe you take those little paper packets for granted. After all, they have always been there for you — ready to accept whatever you had lined up to roll up. But the long legacy of these tools, dating back to 8th century Spain, reveals how our community has been shaped by the humble items. ///////////// story by bobby black
OCT. 2021
feature
COURTESY OF WORLD OF CANNABIS MUSEUM
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SHOP REVIEW COLDSMOKE | SOLDOTNA
O'HARA SHIPE
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O'HARA SHIPE
G A R D E N S P OT L I G H T
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O'HARA SHIPE
THE INSIDER ISSUE
#66
[
OCTOBER 2021
issue
EDITOR’S NOTE N AT I O N A L N E W S BUDTENDER Q&A SHOP REVIEW GARDEN SPOTLIGHT EDIBLE OF THE MONTH P R O D U C T PA I R I N G STRAIN OF THE MONTH COVER STORY: L ACY WILCOX THE KING OF DOOBIES WEEDMAPS CANNTHROPOLOGY STONEY BALONEY
LEAFMAGAZINES DOT COM WE ARE ONE
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FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @NWLEAF @OREGONLEAF @MARYLANDLEAF @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG @AKLEAFMAG @NORTHEASTLEAFMAG
E S TA B L I S H E D 2 0 1 0
T H E E N L I G H T E N E D VO I C E
N O RT H W E S T L E A F / O R EG O N L E A F / A L AS KA L E A F / M A RY L A N D L E A F / CA L I F O R N I A L E A F / N O RT H E AS T L E A F
A B O U T T H E C OV E R For Alaska Leaf's first-ever Insider Issue, Content Director O'Hara Shipe was assigned to photograph Cannabis activist and all-around inspiring Alaskan Lacy Wilcox, the president of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association and co-founder of Top Hat Concentrates with her husband, Ben, and partners. In a dynamic and powerful photoshoot at the state capitol, and later in the garden at THC, Shipe diligently captured the essence of Wilcox, who Publisher Wes Abney interviewed over six pages in this month's edition. Wilcox candidly shares how the Cannabis industry in our state is continuing to evolve every single day.
PHOTO by O'HARA SHIPE @SHIPESHOTS
PUBLISHER
CONTRIBUTORS
WES ABNEY | FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
DANIEL BERMAN, PHOTOS BOBBY BLACK, FEATURES JOSHUA BOULET, ILLUSTRATION TOM BOWERS, FEATURES AMANDA DAY, FEATURES MAX EARLY, FEATURES STEVE ELLIOTT, NATIONAL NEWS BAXSEN PAINE. FEATURES JEFF PORTERFIELD, DESIGN MIKE RICKER, FEATURES MEGHAN RIDLEY, EDITING O'HARA SHIPE, FEATURES + PHOTOS JUSTIN STEWART, PHOTOS CHARLES TAGGART, FEATURES + PHOTOS JAMIE VICTOR, DESIGN DAN VINKOVETSKY, FEATURES NATE WILLIAMS, FEATURES
WES@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
CREATIVE DIRECTOR DANIEL BERMAN | VISUALS & DESIGN
DANIEL@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
STATE DIRECTOR JOSHUA STAHLE | AD SALES
JOSH@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM 907-317-2536
CONTENT DIRECTOR O'HARA SHIPE | EDITORIAL
OHARA@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
CONNECT WITH ALASKA LEAF Exclusive Cannabis Journalism @NWLEAF
|
@AKLEAFMAG
@NWLEAF
ISSUU.COM/NWLEAF FREE ONLINE ARCHIVE
ABNEY
Editor’s Note Thanks for picking up the Insider Issue of the Leaf! AS OUR Northeast Leaf Director Danny Danko recently tweeted, “I’ve been in the ‘Cannabis Space’ so long that when I got started, the ‘Cannabis Space’ was just a part of your home you didn’t talk about.” While the beloved Mr. Danko started in Cannabis long before I did, I still remember that same feeling in 2010 – where working in the weed industry was less a talking point than a risk factor, and even working in publishing for pot was taboo.
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Fast forward to today and society is starting to get used to the idea of Cannabis as an industry with legitimate jobs, which allows us the chance to peel back the layers and highlight some of “WE SHOULD the insiders who are making the Cannabis industry a better NEVER TAKE place to be. With this issue we hope to show that the world of OUR FREEDOM Cannabis is much more than just “stoners growing weed” and FOR GRANTED, OR ASSUME offer a unique perspective on companies large and small that THAT THOSE are doing it right.
ON THE INSIDE
ARE ROLLING As those of us on the inside know, working in the Cannabis IN MONEY OR industry is often harder than taking a mainstream gig. I’ve LIVING THE met plenty of ex-professionals, and I don’t mean athletes, who SWEET LIFE.” left careers as lawyers, nurses, managers, executives and beyond for a chance to follow their passion. Most would say that they work much harder for less money and stability, but the thing they all have in common is their continued commitment to the plant. Those working in the industry, especially the entrepreneurs and heritage members, have risked everything to make sure we have the opportunity to go to a store and buy a pre-roll. With that said, we should never take our freedom for granted, or assume that those on the inside are rolling in money or living the sweet life. While there are many influencers on social media who would portray working in weed as a Hollywood dream, the Cannabis industry is really full of dedicated, resilient and strong-willed people who would again risk their freedom or security to defend a plant that helps so many lives. People who work hard, stay late … all to have a chance to work with our plant. And that’s the way we like it – and what it means to really be an insider in our beloved Cannabis community.
-Wes Abney OCT. 2021
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We are creators of targeted, independent Cannabis journalism. Please email us to discuss advertising in the next issue of Alaska Leaf Magazine. We do not sell stories or coverage. We can offer design services and guidance on promoting your company’s medicinal, recreational, commercial or industrial Cannabis business, product or event within our magazine and on our website, LeafMagazines.com. Email josh@leafmagazines.com for more information on supporting Alaska Leaf!
WES
national news
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NEW JERSEY EXPUNGED 362K POT CASES OVER THE SUMMER
N
ew Jersey courts have expunged 362,000 low-level marijuana cases over the summer, clearing a massive amount of criminal records in just two months. The state judiciary had estimated some 360,000 cases qualified for automatic expungement following the passage of marijuana legalization, reports NJ.com. That law did away with fines and penalties for possessing and selling small amounts of weed. The judiciary began vacating and dismissing cases in July, and then expunged them. That’s the final step that ultimately clears a person’s record. About 125,000 to 150,000 marijuana expungements remain for the courts to complete automatically, said MaryAnn Spoto, a spokeswoman for the judiciary. People with Cannabis cases not automatically expunged in New Jersey can file a motion for review with the court.
NEBRASKA GROUP LAUNCHES 2022 MEDICAL INITIATIVES
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
A
2022 ballot campaign for medical Cannabis is underway in Nebraska, reports KLIN. Led by a coalition of families, patients and state senators, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana wants to qualify a pair of initiatives ahead of the November election next year. They must gather 250,000 signatures across the state before the July 7, 2022 deadline. Crista Eggers, a mother of two, is leading the effort to organize a statewide signature drive. One of Eggers’ sons, six-year-old Colton, has severe intractable epilepsy. With other families and patient advocates, Eggers helped build a grassroots movement to establish a MMJ program in Nebraska.
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California marijuana companies had sued the state as of September 17, after having their provisional business licenses revoked.
OCT. 2021
POTGRESS
POLITICS
LEGALIZATION
CONGRESSWOMAN OPPOSES POT LAWS, OWNS POT STOCKS
V
irginia Foxx, a North Carolina Congresswoman, holds a voting record showing she said “No” to federal Cannabis legalization. But that has not stopped her from investing in the pot industry and cashing in on marijuana stocks, reports Indy Week. According to a report in Salon, Foxx, who wields power on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, has made at least six investments in Altria. Ever heard of them? Well, they’re “a leader in the burgeoning U.S. Can- FOXX IS A nabis industry” since MEMBER OF September of last year, THE U.S. HOUSE according to financial COMMITTEE ON disclosure reports. OVERSIGHT The stock buys haAND REFORM. ven’t previously been reported, according to Salon. They likely make Foxx the largest holder of Cannabis-related stocks in Congress, according to market research firm Unusual Whales. The stock trades are particularly notable for their timing: just a few months before the U.S. House of Representatives passed the the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment & Expungement Act (MORE) in December. Foxx voted “No” on the measure.
education
NIDA STUDY FINDS RISE IN COLLEGE POT CONSUMPTION STEEP DECLINE IN VA POT ARRESTS
C
annabis arrests have plummeted some 90 percent in the Richmond, Virginia region since the state’s Cannabis legalization went into effect on July 1. The law legalized adult (21+) possession of up to an ounce and the cultivation of four pot plants per household. During the first seven weeks of the law, police made only 25 marijuana-related arrests in central Virginia. The area includes Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico. For comparison, they made 257 pot arrests during the same seven-week period in 2020, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The numbers come from arrest data provided by law enforcement officials in those localities. “A 90% reduction in marijuana arrests indicates that the public policy is performing as intended and in a manner that is consistent with post-legalization observations from other states,” said Jenn Michelle Pedini, Executive Director of Virginia NORML.
fun & weird
GARBAGE TRUCK CRASH REVEALS HIDDEN GROW
A
crash involving a Michigan garbage truck has led to the discovery of an unlicensed marijuana grow operation. Early on the morning of Sept. 15, the driver of this garbage truck encountered a car that ran a red light. The garbage truck swerved, but still hit the vehicle. The truck then ran over the median and struck what was thought to be an unoccupied building. The out-of-control garbage truck knocked a big hole in one wall of the building. Police responding to the accident quickly noticed that this building was anything but empty. In fact, what cops found were rows of Cannabis plants and grow lights inside the building. Police counted about 260 plants inside, reports WDIV. Police are investigating who is behind the unlicensed grow operation. Marijuana is legal for adult use in Michigan, but large-scale cultivation requires a state-issued commercial growing license.
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months was the age of Michigan’s youngest medical Cannabis patient as of September.
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grams or more of Cannabis can get you a Level 6 felony charge in Indiana.
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pounds of marijuana was seized from 49 bags at the Nashville Airport on Sept. 16.
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Cannabis dispensaries are currently operating in Arizona, which launched recreational in 2020.
M
arijuana use continued to rise among college students over the past five years, and remained at historically high levels among same-aged peers who were not in college in 2020, according to survey results from the 2020 Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study. The study is financed by the federal National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which in the past has been a source of anti-pot misinformation. According to the study, current levels represent the highest rate of marijuana use recorded since the 1980s. The survey also found that marijuana vaping and nicotine vaping leveled off in 2020, after sharp increases reported every year since 2017 for both college students and same-aged respondents not in college. Among college students specifically, there was also a significant increase in the annual use of hallucinogens. Perhaps related was the substantial and significant drop in current alcohol use between 2019 and 2020. “The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the way that young people interact with one another and offers us an opportunity to examine whether drug taking behavior has shifted through these changes,” said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. “Moving forward, it will be critical to investigate how and when different substances are used among this young population, and the impact of these shifts over time.”
$25k
will be the cost of a medical marijuana license, the Watertown, South Dakota City Council decided.
STORIES by STEVE ELLIOTT, AUTHOR OF THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF MARIJUANA
W & E X PO O H S D R A NOV W A L EM W BE O B R F 6 TH A E L
Entry Intake POWERED BY:
PRESENTED BY:
FREE TO AT TEND EXPO 10AM – 4 PM | AWARDS CEREMONY AT 4:20 PM EGAN CIVIC CENTER, DOWNTOWN ANCHORAGE CELEBRITY JUDGES DANNY DANKO & BOBBY BLACK The first independent Cannabis competition with no Cannabis sponsors, transparent judging and awards and a FREE in-person Expo & Award Show coming November 6th to Downtown Anchorage. Enter your products for judging now, entries only $300. Entries accepted until October 17th. To enter this educational event, email leafbowls@leafmagazines.com for a digital entry form, instructions for products and to be assigned an intake date to drop your entry(s) at Green Jar. For questions, please contact leafbowls@leafmagazines.com or reach out to your Alaska Leaf rep.
(907) 301-4208
interview
W H O ’ S Y O U R FAV O R I T E B U D T E N D E R ? T E L L U S W H Y ! E M A I L N O M I N A T I O N S T O R I C K E R @ L E A F M A G A Z I N E S . C O M
GavinSpudwills ALASKA LEAF BUDTENDER OF THE MONTH COSMIC CANNABIS COMPANY 261 E BUNNELL AVE, HOMER COSMICCANNABISAK.COM 9AM-9PM M-SAT. 10AM-6PM SUN. (907) 435-0508
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HIS TWO RESCUE DOGS, ZELDA AND GANON, are trusted companions when doodling sketches in his time away from the shop. In addition, he’s also putting that pen to paper to develop Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, for a more personalized effect when playing with friends. @vagrantlegend
DO YOU SMOKE WEED WHEN YOU PLAY D & D? Oh, absolutely. That’s
the best way to play.
DOES CANNABIS GIVE YOU THE STRATEGIC EDGE? I feel that it
gives me the ability to express myself easier, which makes me a better player. Being baked allows you to be less aware of any awkward feelings, so you can just have fun. It’s really nature’s best stress reliever and allows me to get into the zone and try to process everything from a calm state, rather than an anxious one. WHEN YOU’RE BUDTENDING, DOES YOUR GAMING MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO? Oddly enough,
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
I do have one regular who says he plays professionally, so we have interesting discussions based on what he’s purchasing. I generally do ask people what they plan on doing when they are making a purchase, rather than what percentage they are looking for, or the requisite indica or sativa question. Then I can get an idea of how to better suit their day. DO YOU PREFER THE DUNGEONS OR THE DRAGONS? Definitely the
“IT’S REALLY NATURE’S BEST STRESS RELIEVER." OCT. 2021
Dungeons. The story I’m writing is based on Rick and Morty. So, there’s no Dragons – it’s all just ridiculous comedic effect.
IF YOU WERE SMOKING A BOWL WITH RICK AND MORTY, WHICH STRAIN WOULD YOU PUFF?
Romulan, of course.
INTERVIEW by MIKE RICKER @RICKERDJ PHOTO by O'HARA SHIPE @SHIPESHOTS
shop review
COLDSMOKE ENVIRONMENT & VIBE
True to the outdoorsy culture of the Kenai Peninsula, Coldsmoke has a distinctively Alaskan feel. The exterior of the building is a beautiful nod to log cabins and even features an Alaskan flag complete with Cannabis leaves instead of stars. The cozy cabin theme continues inside with a large stone fireplace, wood ceilings, and handcrafted display cases. Lowlighting adds to the calming feeling, while friendly budtenders make you feel at home.
PRODUCTS
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Coldsmoke has a cornucopia of product offerings including topicals, glass, flower, concentrates, and even one dollar munchies. With a focus on diversity, Coldsmoke has flower from Snow Capped Gardens, Smoking Joe’s, Ace of Spades, Great Northern Cannabis and Denali Herb Company, just to name a few. But their real bread and butter is their selection of pre-rolls. Customers can choose between rolls from Worner Brothers, Bristol Bay Bud Company, Pakalolo, Rosie Creek Farm, Greatland Ganja and Freedom 49 Farms. For the concentrate lover, Coldsmoke offers everything from shatter to distillate from some of the state’s best extractors. Sore muscles from fishing? Pick up a transdermal patch from GOOD Cannabis or pop a CannaCap from Cold Creek.
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HISTORY Coldsmoke opened its doors in June 2020, and like many new dispensaries, the going was tough at first. Originally poised to cater to the tourist market, Coldsmoke suffered from the lack of cruise ships and busses last summer. But as the world slowly began opening again, they have seen an uptick in visitors looking for a quick hit before throwing on their waders. The plus side of the customer lag was that it enabled the dispensary to dial in their product offerings and build up a loyal local following.
BUDTENDERS One thing that makes Coldsmoke unique is the care and concern its budtenders have for their customers. Head budtender, Bryce Hoxeng, takes a lot of pride in establishing repeat customers by providing individualized product recommendations. Budtenders also sample new products and work hard to keep up with industry trends.
R EVI E W b y ALAS KA LEA F STA F F P HOTOS b y O ' HARA S H I P E @ S H I P E S HOTS
OCT. 2021
With its ideal location on Kalifornsky Beach Road, Coldsmoke serves locals, tourists and visiting fishermen with ease. Well stocked, the dispensary can accommodate the novice consumer, as well as those who prefer to buy in bulk before hitting the cabin.
A cornucopia of product offerings with a flower selection focused on diversity.
Coldsmoke 840 KALIFORNSKY BEACH RD SUITE B, SOLDOTNA, AK (907) 262-9333 OPEN 8AM-10PM DAILY FACEBOOK.COM/COLDSMOKEAK
garden highlight leafmagazines.com
20
Apple Fritter Flowers
ONE SWEET WORLD OCT. 2021
CHAD RAGSDALE'S CAREER in Cannabis began in an unlikely place 20 years ago. While at a barbecue in Washington, it came to light that his neighbor was suffering from an HIV-positive diagnosis. Having dabbled in Cannabis as a teen, Ragsdale knew how to help. He quickly applied for a medical license to provide dependent care, and before long, he was serving his neighbor and five others with life-altering plant medicine.
AT
first, Ragsdale's wife Dara wasn't on board with her husband's new vocation. "I think she worried that it wasn't legal or that it was going to be unsafe in some way. But when I showed her the whole growing process, legal paperwork, and how it was helping people, she gave me the go-ahead," says Ragsdale. Ragsdale had the ideal setup to perfect his cultivation, with no kids and a large home at Gonzaga. Soon, Ragsdale was producing high quality Cannabis that was making a difference. "When Cannabis became legal in Washington in 2012, I thought about starting a larger cultivation, but the tax rates were all tiered and really excessive. There just wasn't a way to even break into the market without a ridiculous amount of startup capital," says Ragsdale. Five years later, Ragsdale found himself in Alaska as the state welcomed a new retail market. This time, he wasn't going to miss his opportunity to fulfill his dream of owning a Cannabis company. His venture began with opening MCC Flight in July 2020, but that was only the first step.
Co-Owner Chad Ragsdale
"We're planning on doing small craft batches – we won't have more than a pound or two of a given strain at a time because we want to sell exclusively at MCC Flight." Co-Owner Chad Ragsdale
"Without some vertical integration, it's hard to make [a Cannabis company] work – especially with everything getting so competitive," says Ragsdale. "There are so many new shops opening up in the last year, that you have to find ways to stand out." Now bringing in its first large scale harvest, Ragsdale's new cultivation, One Sweet World, is already planning on leaving an indelible mark on the MatSu Cannabis scene. "We're planning on doing small craft batches – we won't have more than a pound or two of a given strain at a time because we want to sell exclusively at MCC Flight," says Ragsdale. "Right now, we're growing a good variety including Apple Fritter, Duct Tape, Cherry Pie, Cake Batter, Platinum OG, Super Lemon Mac, Black Cherry, and a signature strain called Solomon's Dream." The man tasked with making Ragsdale's plans come to fruition is Lead Cultivator Gregory Tredway. A former budtender who worked his way up in the company, Tredway is passionate about unlocking the secret to growing premium product. "I actually started with Chad as a part-time ID checker two years ago. But I just kept bugging him to let me grow every time he would stop by the shop. It took a while, but I finally guilted him into letting me take this over," laughs Tredway. A California native, Tredway says that Cannabis cultivation runs through his veins. "I guess you could say that the idea of Cannabis was ingrained in my brain from a young age. Good weed is just a part of being Californian," says Tredway. Lead Cultivator His cultivation artistry Greg Tredway will be put to the test in One Sweet World's small but mighty 500-square-foot facility. The tight space and limited grow mean that one mistake could be detrimental to the entire harvest. "Because it's a brand new facility, there are always a lot of nuances to getting the environment exactly right," says Ragsdale. But Ragsdale and Tredway have a sound support system in place with assistance from Matanuska Cannabis Company's star cultivator, Ryan Burlette. "We have really different growing strategies, but Ryan is a great cultivator, so it's great to have someone else to bounce ideas off of while we get it all dialed in," says Tredway. But Ragsdale isn't resting on his laurels. He already has plans to expand the grow as the licensing becomes available. "I did what I could afford for this first venture, but looking to the future, I want to continue to expand the space and make it something really special. I know with the team we have that we can really make an impact," says Ragsdale. Now that's one sweet world. MCCFLIGHT.COM | @MCCFLIGHT
STORY by ALASKA LEAF STAFF | PHOTOS by O'HARA SHIPE @SHIPESHOTS
edible of the month
Reviews
leafmagazines.com
22
HERBAN EXTRACTS NANO BREATH SPRAY "With three sprays equaling 5mg of THC, we topped off our breath every hour or so, finding a consistent and comfortable buzz that left our mind and body feeling relaxed and chill, with no anxiety about mask breath. " OCT. 2021
KEEP YOUR COOL
Introducing the first edible that other people will thank you for using, this innovative and useful new breath spray from Herban Extracts brings a minty buzz that will brighten up your day – and breath! As a child of the ‘90s, I remember the Mentos Freshmaker commercials, where brightly clothed young adults gathered excitedly around a pack of mints and blasted off into adventure. Alas, Mentos don’t actually get you high, or make you culturally fresh, so we went out in search of the real deal on the Kenai Peninsula. When we heard that the passionate team behind Herban Extracts amazing concentrates and cartridges was working on a new breath spray that delivered a dosed buzz, we knew the chance to relive a ‘90s commercial was close at hand. One of the best parts about medicating discretely is the act of getting a buzz without anyone knowing. It feels a little naughty, even though there’s nothing wrong with getting a little baked – especially when dealing with the transition into darker days. The first time we pulled out the little bottle of golden liquid and puffed a couple sprays was right before a series of errands, and it was a glorious experience. The bright minty mist hits the palate and grabs on with a powerful mouthfeel, sending icy chills in a refreshing wave before melting away, leaving the mouth feeling tingly and our breath clean for the foreseeable future – or until we want another puff! Within a 20 minute period we began feeling effects, which can be attributed to the unique nano-emulsified tech that creates a rapid onset for the THC effects. We applaud the Herban Extracts team for applying science to a unique problem – getting fresh breath with a fresh buzz! With three sprays equaling 5mg of THC, we topped off our breath every hour or so, finding a consistent and comfortable buzz that left our mind and body feeling relaxed and chill, with no anxiety about mask breath. We look forward to seeing this product as it evolves into a staple for Alaskan stoners. After all, bad breath sucks – so kill it with a buzz and solve two problems in one! 907MARYJANE.COM 50MG THC/CONTAINER
REVIEW by ALASKA LEAF STAFF | PHOTO by DANIEL BERMAN @BERMANPHOTOS
@greenjar_ak
Open 7 days a week 9am-9pm
MARIJUANA HAS INTOXICATING EFFECTS AND MAY BE HABIT FORMING. MARIJUANA IMPAIRS CONCENTRATION, COORDINATION, AND JUDGEMENT. DO NOT OPERATE A VEHICLE OR MACHINERY UNDER ITS INFLUENCE. FOR USE BY ADULTS TWENTY-ONE AND OLDER. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. THERE ARE HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONSUMPTION OF MARIJUANA. MARIJUANA SHOULD NOT BE USED BY WOMEN WHO ARE PREGNANT OR BREASTFEEDING.
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product pairing
BOWL'D OVER
Minutes later, our waffle bowls empty, we felt the effects of the second dose wash over us in a gentle wave of relaxation.
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TREAT YO’ SELF’S CINNAMON TOAST MUNCH AND CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH ICE CREAM WITH CINNAMON WHIPPED CREAM Naturally, a proper sundae needs whipped cream. So, with our creativity activated from the first serving, we decided to spice up the whipped cream with a dash of cinnamon. What resulted was cinnamon three ways – and we couldn’t have been more stoked to dig in. Minutes later, our waffle bowls empty, we felt the effects of the second dose wash over us in a gentle wave of relaxation. Stomachs full and minds at ease, we slipped into a peaceful sleep and didn’t wake until the following day. The best part? We didn’t wake up with that uncomfortable cottonmouth that can be characteristic of a lot of edibles. Bottom line, with its low-key high and lack of weedy aftertaste, Cinnamon Toast Munch is a great way to dabble in edibles for the first time. F O L L O W @ T R E AT Y O SE L F. 9 0 7 5MG THC/SERVING & 20MG THC/PKG
REVIEW by ALASKA LEAF STAFF | PHOTO by O'HARA SHIPE @SHIPESHOTS
leafmagazines.com
T
wo of the best stoner foods out there have to be Rice Krispies Treats and cereal. In their infinite knowledge, the folks at Treat Yo’ Self have done one better and combined the chewy gooeyness of a Rice Krispie Treat with the cinnamon sweetness of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, creating their signature Cinnamon Toast Munch square. This delectable little treat has a modest 5mg per serving, for a total of 20mg per package. Nevertheless, it will leave you with an enjoyable, albeit subtle high. Because the squares are made with butter and marshmallow, we felt the high rather quickly after our first serving. Somewhat gluttonous when it comes to our love of edibles, we did what any person in our position would do – we amped up our consumption. For our second serving, we finely chopped the square and delicately placed it on top of a big scoop of Cinnamon Toast Crunch ice cream.
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LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
28
OCT. 2021
BILBO BAGGINS
STRAIN OF THE MONTH
WE'VE ALL BEEN ON A JOURNEY FILLED WITH PERIODS OF HOPE AND UTTER DESOLATION OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS.
A
GROWN BY M ATA N U S K A C A N N A B I S C O M PA N Y REVIEW by ALASKA LEAF STAFF | PHOTO by O'HARA SHIPE @SHIPESHOTS
nd just like Bilbo Baggins from “The Hobbit,” we've had to face a world of uncertainty while simultaneously finding our steadfast resolve to survive. So, in the spirit of Bilbo's famous words to Frodo: "It's a dangerous business going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to," we decided to embark on a journey of our own with Matanuska Cannabis Company's Bilbo Baggins flower. Our journey began the instant we popped open the canister. Immediately, a fragrant, spicy yet sweet odor JUST LIKE BILBO filled our nostrils AFTER ESCAPING much like a nice THE DREADED, cup of Earl Grey TREASUREtea on a cold GUARDING DRAGON day. SMAUG, THIS As we FLOWER WILL examined the LEAVE YOU FEELING well-sized nugs, EUPHORIC. we noticed that the scent of this highly odiferous flower filled our entire apartment. Think of this scent's potency like having a band of dwarves loudly overtaking your small hobbit dwelling. With a loud snap, the nug took on a fruitier scent when we broke it open to pack a bowl. Despite its frosty exterior, the nug didn’t leave behind a sticky residue that would have slowed us down on our journey to the Misty Mountains of Stonerville. Hands free from stickiness, we gazed at the beautifully trichomed innards of the nug and knew we were in for a treat. Just like Bilbo after escaping the dreaded, treasure-guarding dragon Smaug, this flower will leave you feeling euphoric. An intense head high was followed by a lighter-than-air body high that left us couch-locked and craving second breakfast, or at least elevenses. After a quick snack and a nap, we felt the high gently subsiding. With its mild comedown and soft, billowing smoke, the Bilbo Baggins flower lent itself well to a midday toke.
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THE INSIDER ISSUE
COVER STORY
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Lacy Wilcox is a professional and passionate Cannabis advocate who has worn many hats, including her time in state service, raising children, building a licensed Cannabis operation with her husband and partners, and volunteering as the elected President of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association. To say she’s an insider is an understatement, and if her experience and titles tell you anything, it’s that she’s involved in a wide array of issues the Cannabis industry is facing and working to make things better for consumers, business owners and the industry as a whole. To celebrate her contributions to the industry and tap into her vast areas of experience and knowledge, we sat down for a series of Zooms to discuss the history of the AMIA, pressing issues like a potential license cap and federal legalization, and hear Wilcox’s thoughts on how the craft Alaskan market can compete and thrive in the unwritten future of Cannabis legalization. While this interview spans six pages and many important topics, we actually had to edit our conversation down to fit – and will be revisiting these topics and more in the future with a monthly AMIA Industry Issues column debuting this winter.
OCT. 2021
THE MANY HATS OF LACY WILCOX
President, Alaska Marijuana Industry Association ALASKAMIA.ORG
Co-Founder & Operator, Top Hat Concentrates THCALASKA.COM
Wilcox previously served as Deputy Legislative Director in the Office of Governor Bill Walker and as a Special Assistant to the Dept. of Revenue. How did Cannabis become a part of your life and future? I’m from a place in Alaska where Cannabis culture was really thriving … Homer, where if you were ever to do a deep history dive, you’d see that one of our Cannabis pioneers of constitutional protection, Irwin Ravin, sued the State of Alaska and established our right to have Cannabis in our homes. People down there are a bunch of hippies and eccentrics and artists, and by the time I grew into high school age, my parents said, ‘You better be careful, you could go to jail for smoking pot.’ And I was surprised. I thought, well, everyone is doing it – I didn’t know it was illegal and I grew up thinking it was normal.
office as a Deputy Legislative Director. That job is to shepherd all kinds of legislation around between the Executive Branch and Legislative Branch, make sure that the conversations are happening correctly, stakeholders are engaged, and that everything legislatively was going smoothly.
What changed your view on whether our plant should be legal vs illegal? There was this moment where I looked at my wheelchair-bound grandmother and she was holding a medical pill bottle, and said, ‘Don't open that.’ So I said, ‘Let me see what’s in there,’ and it was some ganja. She said, ‘It helps with my pain but don't tell anybody, because I’ve got a real job and I’m a part of my community and church, and I don’t want to get in trouble or go to jail.’ There was a ballot measure around that time to legalize that failed, and long story short, the history was there – where I thought, ‘This shouldn’t be illegal, and my sweet little grandmother shouldn’t be in fear of going to jail for using her medicine.’
How did that lead into the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association being formed? Fast forward, CRCL wasn't needed because we did all that work, and it became time to pivot DIE IF THEY EAT A GUMMY,’ That gave you the the advocacy arm of AND I’D BE SITTING THERE opportunity to help CRCL into a trade regulate this new group. So Schulte and ROLLING MY EYES.” industry – what were Emmett switched it up the first steps? When the and turned it into the ballot measure passed, there was no infrastructure AMIA – changed its status, registered as a trade – there was no board to regulate it, no agency that association – and has been operating pretty nicely would be specific to regulating legal Cannabis. since then. With no state department set up, it was by default instructed in the measure that the Alcohol Board What does the AMIA do for the industry and would regulate Cannabis, so my first priority was consumers of Cannabis? The AMIA is the only to get another board created specific to Cannatrade group so far in Alaska for legal Cannabis bis. That was the first piece of legislation that was operators. A lot of other states have multiples – successful from Governor Walker's administraCalifornia has like 20 – but Alaska is pretty cool, so tion: to create the Marijuana Control Board and far we only have one. Which means we are really appoint its first members. As the Legislative Liaison, only repping interest from coast to coast of Alaska. I shepherded that bill through, got it passed, and We represent all license types all over the state then strangely things would have it that the person and ancillary businesses. We’re a member-based whose job it was to appoint members to any board non-profit, and our primary function is to work with (fish board, tree board, radio board, etc) had to the regulatory level (Dept Commerce, Marijuana leave state service. So, I stepped forward to take Control Board) here in Alaska to make sure that the that duty and did two jobs, becoming the Boards regulations are not overly burdensome, are fair and and Commissions Director, and interviewed and necessary, and aren't coming from a place of fear. recommended the first round of Marijuana Control And then we also work with the state lawmakers Board Members for the Governor to appoint. and legislators to make sure that the statutes that govern the regulatory agency are again fair and Was there a lot of reefer madness during the not punitive, and spur commerce but also protect process of building regulations? Everyone in public health and safety. At the state level, AMIA high positions of government were really nervous. works on whatever the legislature has control of – They would say things like ‘babies are going to die which could be taxes, the types of licenses that we if they eat a gummy,’ and I’d be sitting there rolling are allowed to have, the big bright line sideboards, my eyes. I was trying to be in the Capitol building and then down again to the regulatory level of the and not get kicked out, while educating lawmakminutiae of how we operate.
What was your time in government like, and what did you do for the state? My background was in state government and I worked at the Department of Revenue for 12 years before going on to Cannabis, with a high focus on oil and gas taxes and production – so my life was pretty bean-counting boring. And I’ll be honest, this is not a secret: To cope with that, I was a heavy consumer of Cannabis. I used to tell people that if I didn’t smoke Cannabis, I wouldn’t be able to hold down that job, because it wasn’t fun. I’m one of those people who is better when using Cannabis, and that’s not for everybody, but I didn’t hide it. How did you end up involved with the politics of Cannabis? Coming up in state level politics – where I’ve only ever worked for Republican governors or conservative lawmakers – their buttons are pretty tight and they’re pretty nervous about Cannabis. The same election, Alaskans got to choose a new governor and whether or not to legalize Cannabis – they chose both, and they both went into effect within a month of each other. I was just a person working in state government, but the new governor, Bill Walker, was coming in to take his seat and I had accepted a promotion into his
ers about what Cannabis is and isn’t. One day at a Senate Finance Committee, a lawmaker was saying, ‘We have to stop this legalization before somebody dies.’ So I thought, we have to have somebody who we can call to testify and defend against the reefer madness. We found a group that had been established, the Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Legislation (CRCL) founded by early players like Bruce Schulte, Brandon Emmett, Kim Kole and Jana Weltzin, to be ready to go into committees and give testimony at every committee, city council meeting and rotary debate – to make sure they are hearing from Alaskans to do the myth busting about what Cannabis really is.
Did the new governor or legislature have any idea how to regulate the industry, or know anything about Cannabis? These lawmakers are a different generation than me – for the most part conservative people, not necessarily by party, but as people. There wasn't anyone raising their hand to say, ‘I know something about Cannabis.’ And I was honest and said that I did – as a consumer and with my husband who is a medical “EVERYONE IN HIGH patient and grower. I've POSITIONS OF GOVERNMENT been consuming Cannabis longer than I should probaWERE REALLY NERVOUS. bly admit, so I decided not THEY WOULD SAY THINGS to be scared and raised my LIKE ‘BABIES ARE GOING TO hand.
continues pages 34-37
INTERVIEW by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX/ALASKA LEAF | PHOTOS by O'HARA SHIPE @SHIPESHOTS
THE INSIDER ISSUE
F E AT U R E
THE MANY HATS OF LACY WILCOX
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OCT. 2021
C o nt i nue d f r o m pr e v i o us pa g e
What’s your role at the AMIA? I’m the elected president of the association … We have 12 current board members and they elected me to represent them. I am the third president of the AMIA since its inception. Before that I was the legislative liaison for the group and did a lot of the lobbying – now I do that plus whatever else needs to be done. It’s important to note that people think we are paid a lot of money, but everyone who serves on the board of directors, including myself, are volunteers and also contributors – so we pay money to volunteer. So when we get beat up by people who think we aren’t doing enough, they need to know we are only human and doing this in what little spare time that any Cannabis operator has. Right after the AMIA formed, you actually left government work and had to take a year off of work by law. What was it like to take a break, and help your husband and partners start Top Hat Concentrates? When I left the government, I had to by law take a year off from influencing policy that I’d worked on in my state service – which meant I couldn’t work on anything! I couldn’t work on oil and gas, mining, health services, criminal justice reform or Cannabis. I just had to take the year off – you can’t go immediately make money off the things you potentially influenced in your state service. So I bumbled around and helped my husband Ben by taking care of our children, and making sure they had the freedom, space and knowledge to get his business going. And when my year was up, I came to work for him – which is “WE awesome!
their sweat equity and hope into this – so it became really important that even if we were small, that we weren’t divisive. We couldn’t pit ourselves against each other any more than we naturally do, because we’re crazy Alaskans. As you know from your time in state service, an industry without representation or consensus can be easily pushed to the side. How has that affected what the AMIA is able to fight for? That’s why it feels sometimes like we aren’t fighting loud enough, and I tell people all the time that I won’t fight on an issue unless there’s consensus among us. I’m not going to go to battle when only half of my people are behind me, and the other half are standing in front of me with knives out. The weird thing is that lawmakers notice when an industry is not aligned, and walking arm in arm they notice, and they’re not going to touch us with a 10 foot pole or carry a bill for a group that can’t agree with itself. So the job is to find consensus, and when I do, I carry it forward. When I don’t, I try to have more conversations, more education to try and get there.
When you became the president of the AMIA in September 2019, things had really developed from an early experiment to a growing industry with all sorts of issues to work through. What was your mindset when you stepped into the role? People always forget that the alcohol industry in Alaska has an industry group called CHARR, and they’ve been a COULDN’T thing for longer than I have PIT OURSELVES been alive. They are still fightAGAINST EACH ing and in the capital talking I bet you were ready to jump about industry changes. So back into things after a long OTHER ANY the fight is long, we are brand year of watching from the outMORE THAN WE new, and we have so much side! AMIA was doing well by then road ahead. If people thought and Carry Carrigan was Executive NATURALLY DO, we would nail legalization and Director, and when I was a kid he BECAUSE WE’RE regulations, and be perfect was the weatherman on TV. When I figured that out, I was so excited. We CRAZY ALASKANS.” right out of the gate, that’s a lack of experience about nicknamed him the ‘Cool Aid Man’ industries in general. It takes because he was such an ‘oh yeah’ 20, 30, 40 years to get it right. And that said, no kind of guy. He approached me after my year was babies have died, these licensees have done an up, and asked me to join the board on a vacant exceptional job to be good stewards of public trust, seat and teach them how to lobby for what we and now we have earned a reboot to fix issues. need effectively. So I did, and the rest is history. That’s what I wanted for us to do. AMIA has to be making change with consensus, that’s where we What was the biggest challenge in going are strong. Fighting prohibition and walking arm in from the world of legislature and lobbyist, to arm to make changes. represent the uniquely constructed Cannabis community from the other side of the aisle? Speaking of changes to the regulations In Alaska, we are not joiners or club people, we causing division in the industry, there is are independent. We have these strong opinions, one phrase that has the whole community we’re sassy, I’m right you're wrong – and it’s a in an uproar: license caps. What has been tough thing to do to bring people together knowing proposed so far? Let me be clear: There is no that you will have disagreements. And these aren’t proposal. Whether the regulators or the industry, people who would normally do collaborative group nobody has proposed a particular set of policy things. There’s the added layer of the Cannabis outlines for license caps. It is simply at the stage of industry on top, and while I would never dispardiscussion, and when it was brought to the public's age the people, there’s a lot of ego and fear in attention by a fellow board member, I looked at people coming from the black market or a past that them after and said, ‘What does that mean to you, speaks to prohibition. Our industry is made up of when you say that the industry needs this to protect a colorful swath of individuals who are all in. They itself from federal legalization?” scraped together their life savings, people put all
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INTERVIEW by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX/ALASKA LEAF | PHOTOS by O'HARA SHIPE @SHIPESHOTS
THE INSIDER ISSUE
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THE MANY HATS OF LACY WILCOX
What does your question of ‘What does a license cap mean?’ imply, especially when coming from your experience in Government and Legislature? And what might the different types be? What does the cap look like? Is it population based? Is it a lottery? Is it a limited entry like fishing? And she said, ‘I don’t know, but we need to be talking about it.’ Maybe it’s just on one license type, maybe it's just on Anchorage? No model has been proposed by regulators or the industry. The MCB wanted to just hear about it as a high level concept on if we are interested in caps or not. But it’s hard to know the answer, if it's a good idea or bad idea, if I don’t know what kind of license cap we are talking about. Is it the same cap type as alcohol, which can lead to big corruption issues, or more of a lottery style, when you're done running a license it goes back to the state to be available for the next person? There are license types and caps where the license stays and is worth money, or the kind that gets relinquished back to the state, where the business and brand can still be sold. What is driving the fear behind the idea of a cap? When we are talking about license caps, whether one style or another, we need to understand what we are running from. What is it that we are afraid of? Outside competition? Our business not having any value when federal legalization comes? Or here’s my hunch: Are we afraid to compete with our existing neighbors? Are we talking about Anchorage and Spenard and the little green mile, where there’s store after store and those guys are struggling to make money? Are they thinking they would like to limit retailers in that area? That is a zoning issue, a municipality issue. To talk about a city wide limit, those types of limits are due to market saturation and don’t serve to protect us from federal legalization. So there’s two types of conversations happening – there’s the people saying ‘I can’t make a living with this many licenses nearby,’ and the other is, ‘If we don’t do something to add value to our licenses, when legalization occurs, Big Marijuana is going to show up here and run us out of business.’ They’re both genuine concerns, but they are different and the answer will not be one in the same. In short, what's your final word on license caps? Any license cap proposal needs a lot of economic and legal analysis, and while there is so much work to do still, I want it to be done. Federal legalization, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act and Alaska – thoughts on the new proposed legislation, and how it would change the free market approach in Alaska? When we came into state-legal Cannabis, it was coming out of every activist's mouth that we wanted a free market – to not have the same situation occur with alcohol licenses, which have led to gangster shit and an easily corruptible, yucky situation with licenses.
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C o nt i nue d f r o m pr e v i o us pa g e
So we thought a free market would let the strong we could instruct our regulators to not give survive, and that through attrition and failure, the licenses to people who are not truly Alaskan. market would self regulate, market equilibrium We can also instruct our regulators to not acwould occur, and the demand would tell us how cept outside money to fund these businesses. many there can be. That’s a lot different from full That all is going to change with any kind of fedfederal commercial legalization where the FDA eral legalization, and a lot of people are afraid becomes my boss, the TTB becomes my boss, of that. The all-in businesses I talked about are taxes go through the roof and the only people frightened to death that ‘Weedmart’ or Marlboro that can afford to pay are ‘Weedmart.’ Alaskans are going to come into Alaska and put them out are states’ rights people, however, I have to talk of business – which is where the original concept really carefully about the difference between deof license caps came up. So that if the fictional criminalization and national legalization – where ‘Weedmart’ shows up, they would have to come nobody in this country should go to jail for havto a local and buy a license, instead of setting up ing Cannabis in their pocket, and that needed to shop next door and competing them out of busihappen decades ago. So when I look at the new ness. That is a real fear, and the caps wouldn’t act, that's full federal commercial legalization. keep them from coming – but they could add valThey proposed that the Fed be the boss, and ue to the portfolio of a business that an Alaskan there is very little techhas built off their own nical analysis and detail back. “THERE’S TWO TYPES on what states primacy will look like. States that What other issues OF CONVERSATIONS hadn’t already legalized is the AMIA workHAPPENING – THERE’S could opt out, but if ing on? What I’m THE PEOPLE SAYING you're already in, like hearing is that we Alaska or 31 other states, need to be having the ‘I CAN’T MAKE A LIVING you don’t have any opconversation about WITH THIS MANY LICENSES what a healthy market tion to say ‘we got it.’ So it wouldn’t allow Alaska looks like, how to NEARBY,’ AND THE OTHER to keep a states’ rights be strong if or when IS, ‘IF WE DON’T DO approach with fixed federal legalization SOMETHING TO ADD VALUE occurs, and how to be banking and 280e, and that’s not what this bill is. strong up until then – I TO OUR LICENSES, WHEN So Alaska will probably want to continue that LEGALIZATION OCCURS, not be a supporter of a conversation. Alaska full federal, commercial and the AMIA need to BIG MARIJUANA IS GOING legalization bill. be focused on making TO SHOW UP HERE AND And then the conversure that the existing sation becomes how to RUN US OUT OF BUSINESS.’” market we have is fair, protect ourselves if we and a big conversation lose that argument, and for the future is getting that’s when we are talking about creative ways to a grip on the testing inequality. We have also protect our little Ma and Pa businesses that have wanted to focus on taxes, but until there’s agreeworked really hard to create something beautiful ment, we can’t move forward. We need to continin the place that’s so far away. It’s hard not to ue to peel away the onerous regulations from say thank you to the senators for trying, but let's early on, where regulators were nervous or the go back to the drawing board and protect our prohibitionist mindset led the way. On a personal citizens who have been bold and brave and pay level, I want to see pesticide testing – but I’m not taxes to their states. I would hope that those peogoing to ask the current testing companies to ple are at the front of lawmakers' thinking, and test if we’re not sure they are doing the right job based on that draft, they are clearly not. already. What are the differences between an Alaskan market and a federally legalized market? The fight after the ballot measure was that legalization invited big marijuana and commercial multi-state operators in, so why would we invite a big commercial enterprise that’s only going to cause Alaskans to lose? So it became this huge conversation of how do we make this into an Alaskan industry? Well we did things like make it a requirement that to participate you have to be an Alaskan resident. But we should all know that when things become federally legal or descheduled, that’s going to be found to be unconstitutional. We’re in a happy bubble where, because of the fact that we’re not federally legal,
How can people join and support the AMIA? What the AMIA needs is everybody’s support. We are not an association that wants to battle with each other. We want to find consensus where we can, and when we do, carry the ball down the field. We would love more members, with over 500 statewide licenses we only have 100 members. So let’s double it! We’ve waived membership fees throughout the year, so it doesn’t cost to join – it’s easier than ever to be a part of the organization. There’s no homework for members, just come be a part of the conversation to make the industry better for us all.
ALASKAMIA.ORG | THCALASKA.COM
INTERVIEW by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX/ALASKA LEAF | PHOTOS by O'HARA SHIPE @SHIPESHOTS
Watch as the Winners from 2021 come to compete head to head in a challenge that will test their skills to the utmost. At stake are cash, prizes and a coveted spot in the Champs Glass Games “Hall of Flame”. It’s time to go big or go home. Past winners include AKM, Justin Jeneke, Hurley, HEndy. Grimm, McMillieman & Noah, just to name a few.
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THE KING OF D
THE INSIDER ISSUE
F E AT U R E
Niko Blake | Great Northern Cannabis' Lead Joint Roller
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In a small, 10-foot corner of Great Northern Cannabis' cultivation, 26-year-old Niko Blake works his magic. Known by some as the "King of Doobies," Blake once knocked out 5,000 pre-rolls in one afternoon – and he isn't showing any signs of stopping any time soon. As Great Northern Cannabis' lead joint roller, Blake has a hand in producing nearly every joint that comes out of the facility. We sat down with him to learn more about what drives his passion for the pre-roll. OCT. 2021
We understand that you discovered your dream job at a really early age…Weed was illegal in Louisiana when I was growing up, but let's just say I didn't have any trouble finding it at a really young age. We must have been baked at the time, but I remember sitting with my friends and talking about all the artists and famous people who would actually pay people to roll their joints for them. I just thought that was really cool. Like, who wouldn't want to roll joints and get paid for it? It was my dream job.
DOOBIES
"IF YOU HEAR A POPPING SOUND OR THE EMBERS ARE BLACK, THE JOINT IS PROBABLY FILLED WITH STICKS AND STEMS, OR THE WEED WASN'T WELL GROWN."
What made a career in Cannabis so appealing to you? Growing up in Louisiana, you could get the max prison sentence for being caught with weed, and I think some of the danger appealed to me as a young kid. The fact that it was taboo just made it that much cooler. I still remember trying to roll my first joint as a kid, and it was a shitshow. I tried to use Bible paper, and it was so loose that when I lit it, all of the weed just fell out as the paper burned too fast. My friends and I just sat there staring at all the weed we wasted, ‘Like, well, that sucked.’ When did you finally realize your lifelong dream of rolling joints? I was working at an Anchorage cultivation in 2017, and they needed someone to produce their pre-rolls, so naturally, I volunteered. It was pretty awesome calling my friends back home and telling them what my new job was! So, what were those first joints like? Oh, they were terrible! I literally had no idea what I was doing, and I was trying to use a sifter thrown together with chicken wire and a square frame. I also had to pack the joints by hand, and there were sticks and stems in them. Literally, they were just awful, and it was a big battle.
That sounds like some humble beginnings! How did you step up your joint game? Really, a lot of it "IT WAS PRETTY has been just working at AWESOME CALLING Great Northern Cannabis. MY FRIENDS BACK Our Cultivation Manager, HOME IN LOUISIANA Jerad Brown, has an eye AND TELLING THEM on quality and pays really WHAT MY NEW close attention to what is JOB WAS!" going in the rolls. We've also secured some great tools like a Knockbox, which makes it easy to fill 100 joints in just two minutes. That's really been a game-changer for me.
In your mind, what makes a good pre-roll? I think everything, including growing weed, has a really good middle ground. You don't want the roll to be too tight or too loose. You can also tell by the way the joint burns. If you hear a popping sound or the embers are black, the joint is probably filled with sticks and stems, or the weed wasn't well grown. A really high-grade pre-roll will have a little oil ring near the ‘cherry,’ but I've only seen that on a few of the joints out there.
Spending so much time around Cannabis has probably made you a connoisseur. What are your favorite things to smoke? Anything that's really stinky and maybe kind of nasty. Unfortunately, that doesn't really exist right now up here. People are doing more garlics, so I've generally been smoking garlic stuff. But really, I'll smoke just about anything.
GREATNORTHERNCANNABIS.COM | @GREATNORTHERNCANNABISAK
STORY & PHOTOS by O'HARA SHIPE @SHIPESHOTS/ALASKA LEAF
WEEDMAPS
the INSIDER issue
F E AT U R E
How Data and Determination Are Driving the Future of Cannabis
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OCT. 2021
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hen it comes to companies shaping the Cannabis industry, few, if any, loom larger than Weedmaps. Long known to consumers as a premier online destination for finding and ordering Cannabis products in available markets across the United States and Canada, the truth is that few likely know the true scope and depth of this tech business started by co-founders Justin Hartfield and Keith Hoerling back in 2008.
Over the course of 13 years, Weedmaps has drastically expanded both its workforce as well as its ambitions. Now boasting a staff of over 600, the company’s headquarters in Irvine, California is currently complemented by offices in Tucson, New York, Denver, Toronto and Barcelona. It is also the rare Cannabis-affiliated company to be publicly traded on the NASDAQ – another feather in the cap of a business that’s made a habit of leading by example. In addition to constantly refining its offerings as a top-notch repository for consumers to find the products best suited for their needs, at a convenient location and for a reasonable price, Weedmaps has also become an indispensable resource to retailers – courtesy of its cutting-edge POS (point of sales) and ecommerce integration software. Tasked with an ever-changing landscape of laws and regulations that vary not only by state, but sometimes by city, the mammoth task Weedmaps undertakes as its primary mission is to create technology solutions that universally lower the barrier to entry into the industry, be it a newbie consumer ready to make their first purchase or a past victim of the war on drugs now eager to start fresh with a legal Cannabis enterprise. According to CEO Chris Beals, who started with the company as legal counsel and was promoted to his current role in 2019, the mission of Weedmaps is a twofold proposition. “On one side,” he explained, “we’re the largest marketplace for Cannabis consumers to discover, learn about and find different Cannabis products, and to then be able to purchase and CEO CHRIS BEALS do online ordering from retailers. Then the other side of the business is what we call the ‘business in a box’ – which is this growing suite of stuff that’s like Salesforce meets Shopify for Cannabis businesses.” The latter set of tools includes a wide array of innovations, including POS integration (like the ability for retailers to embed their menus in their websites), as well as all of the compliance requirements that come with such undertakings (think pop-up disclaimers, age verification and ID collection). The company also offers its own POS system (WM Retail) available in Oklahoma and select other states, a wholesale exchange program (WM Exchange), and in August they launched an enhanced version of their iOS app with built-in ordering functionality.
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STORY by ZACK RUSKIN @ZACKRUSKIN for LEAF NATION | PHOTOS by JUSTIN L. STEWART @JUSTNLSTEWART
the INSIDER issue leafmagazines.com
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WEEDMAPS How Data and Determination Are Driving the Future of Cannabis
Co n ti n u e d f ro m p re v io us p age
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taying up-to-date on so many moving parts requires some serious in-house talent, which is why Beals estimates that over 40% of Weedmaps’ employees are currently focused on engineering, product and design.
Among them are principal engineer operations concerns meeting consumCharlie King and software engineer er expectations when it comes to the Warren Applebaum. While King made shopping experience. That’s where King what he terms “a full 180°” when he comes in. pivoted from doing government contract “Consumers generally expect a work to joining up with Weedmaps, certain level of service,” he explained. Applebaum has been with the company “They expect to be able to buy things for nearly 12 of its 13-year existence. online and then pick them up in-store, Reflecting on Weedmaps’ evolution for example. Well, Cannabis has had to over his long tenure with the company, leapfrog into meeting those consumer Applebaum detailed how issues with expectations within an industry that’s listing medical-only dispensaries back highly regulated.” in 2008 – eight years before California Sure, it may seem simple to place an would approve Prop 64 – provided order via Weedmaps’ website or its app, an early lesson in how things in the but as King shared, the process behind Cannabis industry can often change on the scenes to make such a transaction a dime. possible is actually profoundly complex. “Before the Obama Administration “There’s a lot to it. We have to prodecided that the federal government vide a compliant ordering system, make would not pursue cassure that you actually es against state-legal pick up the product, The mammoth medical marijuana and then ensure that task Weedmaps dispensaries,” Applebaum the data is reported to undertakes as its said, “it would be this run Metrc or whatever the primary mission is around where the DEA or compliance body may to create technology state and local authorities be. I think an average solutions that would shut down dispenconsumer might take a universally lower saries, only for them to lot of that for granted, the barrier to entry come back online like but the Cannabis indusinto the industry. weeks later. Trying to keep try has been forced to up with that gave us a mature very quickly on preview of what things some of these things to were going to look like down the line give that experience to consumers.” years later.” Speaking with various members of Nowadays, as each new state comes the Weedmaps team, it’s abundantly online, Applebaum and his colleagues clear that the complex minefield of know to expect changes to these laws, compliance and geographically-specific and as a result, Weedmaps has heavily regulations that collectively define the invested in compliance and governlarger Cannabis industry in the U.S. ment relations teams, so that they can remains one of the company’s chief be aware of what those regulations areas of focus. are going to look like and bake those And no one arguably knows these elements into their applications to meet challenges better than Bridget Henregulatory constraints. nessey, who leads Weedmaps’ GovernAnother vital element to Weedmaps’ ment Relations and Policy team.
OCT. 2021
Irvine, CA HQ
Weedmaps VP of Government Relations Bridget Hennessey and Principal Engineer Charles King
Senior Engineer Warren Applebaum
“The work that we do on this team,” “I couldn’t have been happier with Hennessey shared, “is focused both the way that came together,” CEO Chris on opening new markets, while also Beals enthused when discussing the anmaking sure that current markets are nouncement. The result of six months of reflective of the community. We want to thoughtful conversation between the two ensure that people who were negatively parties, the partnership – announced in impacted by the war on drugs have a August – also ultimately required loopstake in these markets, so we spend a ing in some of the top brass at the NBA lot of our time advocating for social before becoming official. equity programs to be included in new The result, which will align Weedmaps legislation and ballot initiatives. Then with one of basketball’s most acclaimed we continue that work by making sure and influential players in a multi-year that we’re helping to educate people agreement, is reflective of the compaas an industry or market is coming to ny’s renewed desire to lead by example fruition and being implemented.” when it comes to making the Cannabis Given the relatively well defined industry a safer and more inclusive status of markets located on the West space. Coast, Hennessy confirmed that much “There are so many people who of her team’s focus is now directed would love to reduce KD to just being towards the East Coast and other some stoner guy who plays basketball,” emerging industries in various pockets Beals added, “but we’re talking about of the country. a generational talent here. KD is at the With a timeline top of his game, so the for potential federal fact that he is now involved WEEDMAPS.COM in this makes it very hard legalization still a rather @WEEDMAPS murky prospect, she for people to get out their feels Weedmaps’ efforts stigma paint brushes to try to ensure states with and dismiss it.” current legal markets are diverse and Overall, this focus on normalization is easy-to-access has only become all the one shared across Weedmaps’ various more important. teams and leaders. Be it normalizing And that goes for those interested in the process of conducting Cannabis leading the charge as well. transactions in the retail space or nor“We’re getting to develop the industry malizing the very concept of the plant from the ground up,” Hennessey said. for the public at large, solutions based “And that means that everybody has on a hybrid of cutting-edge technology, an opportunity to be at the table from relentless advocacy and an internal the beginning. For women and for desire to constantly improve, have minorities, I think that makes it a really proven Weedmaps to be a vital facet interesting time to be in this industry of the push to bring Cannabis to the and I encourage people of all walks of mainstream. life to look into it and to try to see how “At the end of the day,” Beals noted, they can be involved.” “this is simply about enabling an open Even Weedmaps itself is stepping and robust legal Cannabis system where up its efforts to reach the public with there’s an opportunity for folks of all a message of de-stigmatization in the different backgrounds – including those form of a new partnership with NBA who are arrested for Cannabis crimes superstar Kevin Durant and his startup, – to come in and have opportunity to Thirty Five Ventures. thrive.”
STORY by ZACK RUSKIN @ZACKRUSKIN for LEAF NATION | PHOTOS by JUSTIN L. STEWART @JUSTNLSTEWART AND @ MIKE ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS
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cannthropology
WORLD OF Cannabis PRESENTS
Roll With It
PHOTO COURETSY OF BAMBU
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A double-wide, unfiltered account of the history of rolling papers.
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
ORIGINS IN ALCOY
Humanity has been smoking herbs for millennia, but it wasn’t until after Christopher Columbus brought tobacco home from the Americas in the 16th century that we began using rolled paper as a means to inhale. “Columbus came back from the ‘New World’ to Spain with these kinds of rudimentary cigars wrapped in leaves and tied with string,” explains rolling paper mogul and historian Josh Kesselman. “They land in Seville, and the process of people smoking cigars in Europe begins.” Though only aristocrats could afford cigars at the time, they’d often throw their butts away on the ground, where peasants would retrieve and re-roll the tobacco in used newspaper. This practice eventually made its way to the nearby town of Alcoy, where its future fate would take root. “Alcoy is the true birthplace of rolling paper,” asserts Kesselman. Alcoy was founded in the 8th century by the Moors, who brought with them the art of papermaking they’d learned Alcoy, Spain—birthplace of rolling papers. from the Chinese (as well as
OCT. 2021
Left: The old Bambu factory in Barcelona. Above: JOB promo poster by artist Alphonse Mucha (1869).
the Arabian Acacia gum that would later be used for the adhesive strips). In 1154, Alcoy became the first city in the region to manufacture “mouldmade paper” – a machine-made paper renowned for its durability and surface texture – and over the next few centuries, established itself as the papermaking capital of Spain. “The Alcoyanos take one look at those people smoking in newspaper and they know that’s not healthy, so they decide to make a special paper just for smoking,” says Kesselman. “That was really the world’s first rolling paper.” It’s believed that a form of rolling paper was made in Alcoy as early as the 1500s. Those early versions were made from the recycled pulp of hemp and other textiles, and were sold as giant sheets that needed to be folded into squares and cut. It wasn’t until centuries later that they would be branded and take the forms we’re familiar with today. In fact, the practice of pre-cutting and packaging papers in a protective booklet didn’t come about until 1765, when it was introduced by a Dominican monk named Father Jaime Villanueva Estingo. Remarkably, the first 10 trademarks ever filed in Spain were all for rolling papers; by 1850, there were around 50 brands registered. The first and oldest continuously branded rolling paper company in existence is Pay-Pay (pronounced pie-pie), founded in 1703. Old-school Pay-Pay pack.
Another of Spain’s earliest manufacturers that are still in business today is Bambu. The company’s first factory opened in Alcoy in 1764, though originally it produced Bible paper; it wasn’t until the rise in popularity of cigarettes during the late 1800s that owner Rafael Abad Santonja switched to making rolling papers. The company premiered its trademark “Winking Spaniard” design Bambu’s in 1876 but didn’t officially establish the famous “Bambu” brand until 1907. “Winking
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
Spaniard.”
More than mere consumers, the vipers, beatniks, and hippies embraced cannabis smoking as part of their cultural identity...and rolling papers were included in that zeitgeist. Like Bambu, Zig-Zag adopted their own marketing mascot in 1879: an illustration of a French infantryman called a “Zouave” who became known as the “Zig-Zag Man,” aka “Captain Zig-Zag.” According to their lore, the original Captain Zig-Zag’s pipe was shattered during battle, forcing him to roll his tobacco in paper torn from a musket cartridge. The new century brought with it other changes in the industry: Rizla’s introduction of flavored papers in 1906, the creation of king-size papers, the formation of a rolling paper manufacturing consortium in Alcoy called Papeleras Reunitas in 1934, and changes in ownership for many of the most popular brands (including Rizla, Pay-Pay, Bambu and others). At one point, Bambu’s factory in Alcoy was even dismantled and reestablished in Barcelona. But perhaps the most significant change in the 20th century would be the dramatic expansion of their customer base, thanks to a new demographic of smokers: potheads.
Though rolling papers were invented in Spain, it wasn’t long before France got into the game. During the 16th century, Napoleon’s soldiers returning from Spain brought the habit of smoking rolled tobacco home with them (though it wasn’t until 1830 that they began calling them “cigarettes.”) Legend has it that, after encountering such Vintage a soldier in 1532, an enterprising Frenchman Zig-Zag booklets. named Alexandro Lacroix traded CANNABIS & THE COUNTERCULTURE a bottle of Champagne for the From the jazz age of the 1920s to the councavalryman’s rolling papers terculture of the 1960s and ‘70s, marijuana’s and began reproducing them popularity skyrocketed throughout the century. for himself and his family. In More than mere consumers, though, the vipers, 1736, his descendant François beatniks and hippies embraced Cannabis smokLacroix began mass-producing ing as part of their cultural identity – and rolling them as the Lacroix Rolling An antique papers were included in that zeitgeist. Soon, the Paper Company. It would be packet of Rizla+ papers. Zig-Zag Man was popping up on numerous more than a century later counterculture posters and flyers – most famously before the company would switch to rice paper and change its in June 1966, when underground artists Stanley Cover of Cheech & Chong’s name: taking the French word for rice (riz), and abbreviating Mouse and Alton Kelly used the logo on a the family name Lacroix to La+ (“croix” is the French word for “Big Bambu” album (1972). handbill for a pair of concerts by Big Brother “cross”), becoming RizLa+. and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin’s band) at San Francisco’s Avalon In the 19th century, competition in the industry started to Ballroom. (Twenty years later, hip-hop icon Dr. Dre would do something heat up. First, in 1822, two brothers – René and Guillaume Zig-Zag Man concert poster similar for his debut album “The Chronic.”) Bolloré – opened a paper mill on the banks of the Odet River by Mouse & Kelly (1966). Another famous example of artists incorporating rolling paper logos into in the town of Cascadec to produce rolling papers, calling their their projects were Cheech & Chong. The legendary comedy duo used Bambu’s branding twice: company OCB (“O” for Odet, “C” for Cascadec, and “B” for first in 1972, for their album “Big Bambú,” which looked like a Big Bambu pack and featured Bolloré). Next came Jean Bardou, a giant mock rolling paper inside; then again in 1978, for their first film “Up in Smoke,” whose whose company trademark promotional materials also utilized Bambu’s branding. was his initials “JB” separated One company that sprang out of Cannabis culture was E-Z Wider. by a small diamond shape. But Established in 1972, they were the first papers designed specifically for rolling when people kept mistaking the weed rather than tobacco. Founder Burton Rubin allegedly got the idea to diamond for an “O,” he went with create his “double-wide” papers in 1969 after watching some of his law it and changed the company’s school classmates connect two regular-sized papers to roll a larger joint. name to JOB in 1849.
INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS
The next breakthrough in packaging was “interleaving” – the method whereby papers are inserted into the booklet in a Jean Bardou criss cross manner – so that each one readies the next when it’s pulled out. Though Kesselman believes that the interleaving was actually created by Italian paper manufacturer Saul David Modiano years earlier, it was a Paris-based company that, in 1894, perfected and patented the horizontally-folded “z” shape method we’re familiar with today. This innovation was so popular that it not only won them a gold medal at the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris, it also convinced founders Maurice and Jacques Braunstein to rename their company after it: Zig-Zag.
PAST AND PRESENT
The past few decades have ushered in yet more innovations in this centuries-old industry: the addition of built-in wire roach clips and tear-off filter tips attached to the booklet; the creation of clear, cellulose papers, and even 24k gold leaf paper. But the most successful innovation of the modern era is undoubtedly the vegan, natural, organic, unbleached hemp papers and cones from Kesselman’s flagship brand Raw – which, remarkably, are all produced using the traditional machinery and methods at the old Papeleras Reunitas factory in the city where it all started. History, it seems, is still alive and well in Alcoy.
For more on the history of rolling papers, listen to Episode #15 of our podcast at worldofcannabis.museum/cannthropology. Story and photos originally published on worldofcannabis.museum and reprinted with permission.
STO RY b y B O B BY B LAC K @ CAN N T H RO PO LO G Y for LEA F NAT IO N
I’LL SEE IT WHEN I BELIEVE IT
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leafmagazines.com
by Mike Ricker
hen you really put your mind to understanding the human psyche, you’ll see that it is easily manipulated. There’s no denying the obvious, that if you reinforce a concept to curious individuals with the right degree of conviction, you are sure to make an impression. In fact, they may even become thoroughly convinced that what you’re pitching is going to improve their lives eternally. No matter how severely absurd something may be due to the limitations of logic and physics, the facts will not be recognized once their mind is made up. They will buy into your influence unconditionally, transforming into true zealots in pure defense of this information. Information, it could be maintained, may ultimately be to blame for the eventual downfall of our species. Because as big brains can defy common sense, small brains act entirely upon common sense. So, who is wiser, the man or the ant? But we’ve conquered the food chain, which allows us to live longer, so it’s ridiculous to argue, right? Wait, who conquered the food chain? The dude planted on a ripped sofa wiping Taco Bell fire sauce on his pants playing World of Warcraft? Lewis and Clark don’t think so. Anyway, as much as people think they dominate nature, the reality that we all face is that the bigger the brain, the more the insecurities will surface about who we are, what we’re doing and why we exist. And for people who crave certainty, this poses an existential conundrum. These people need to fill the gaps in their lives to feel complete, therefore, if you repeat something long enough … the illusion around truth is bound to take hold. We are gullible creatures. And yes, many still believe that Cannabis is for dirty hippies, too.
OCt. 2021
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