2 minute read
BUDTENDER Q&A
from June 2020 - Alaska Leaf The Leisure Issue
by Northwest Leaf / Oregon Leaf / Alaska Leaf / Maryland Leaf / California Leaf / Northeast Leaf
David Johnson
ALASKA LEAF BUDTENDER OF THE MONTH
HOW’D YOU GET TO SITKA? I’m 100% Alaskan, man. I’m from Angoon, was born in Juneau and I’ve lived in Sitka for 10 years. It felt like home for me the minute I came here.
DID YOU FIND CANNABIS, OR DID CANNABIS FIND YOU? I stayed away from it when I was young. It was always around, but I wasn’t into it because I was really into basketball. Then in college, I had a knee injury and I wasn’t into pills. I had a lot of pain and had some friends who influenced me to try it, so I finally did and I’ve been using Cannabis ever since. I believe in the medicinal properties and it just makes me happier. I live life happier.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE WHO CAME INTO YOUR SHOP AND SAID THEY THINK CANNABIS IS JUST FOR LOSERS? You know, there’s scientific proof that we have an endocannabinoid system. And the plant fits into our brains directly like a key - there’s no way you can deny that it is inside of our DNA.
WHAT PRODUCTS HAVE YOU BEEN RECOMMENDING LATELY? Right now, our AKO carts are second to none. It’s pure terp sauce, so all the flavors you get in the cart are from the plant. Our entire building was based on getting to that final product of sugar wax, cartridges and diamonds. The flavor profiles that we have, you can’t go wrong with any choice you make.
HOW DO YOU THINK ALASKA IS GOING TO MOVE AHEAD FROM COVID? Alaska sustains itself in so many ways because of the nature. It’s always rebuilding within itself. And people are no different. We are going to adapt. There will be a lot of changes, but we will be fine.
WHAT IS YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL? I’m a bear, man. I’m a grizzly bear. I’m actually from the Teik Wei Dee clan and I was born a bear - my grandma’s a bear, it’s a nature lineal society. So whatever your mother is, that’s who you are. I’m half native, half white, half Tlingit. I really do believe in my culture and understand my lineage and my family line.
AKO FARMS 1210 BEARDSLEE WAY, SITKA, AK AKOFARMS.COM @AKOFARMSLLC (907) 623-0322
DAVID is living his best life at AKO Direct Farms in Sitka where he enjoys the finest selection of concentrates, validating what he considers to be the best job he has ever had. His love for Cannabis equates to the positive energy he gives back to the organization that he considers a “well-oiled machine.”
