Alaska Leaf - May 2017

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NORTHWEST CANNABIS CLASSIC P. 12 FULL RESULTS & WINNER’S PHOTOS

PROFILES

INFUSED RECIPES

TASTY RECIPES

ORGANIC?

HEALTH

P. 52 DR.SCANDERSON DISCUSSES THE DIFFICULT BUSINESS OF MANAGING AN ORGANIC GROW

Bubba Berry

ISSUE 1

ISSUE 2

THE POWER OF BEING GRATEFUL

DR. SCANDERSON ON HOW TO BECOME A GOOD GROWER

3 WAYS TO GET HOT AND COOKING WITH CANNABIS

P. 52

TAKING A TECH BREAK

P. 32 HEALTHY EATING FOR A MEDICATED SPRING

3 WAYS TO COOK WITH CANNABIS

GROWING

P. 16

SUMMER GRILLING

POT (PROPERLY) AUTHOR DAVID BIENENSTOCK

AK LEGEND GARDENS FEATURE PG. 22

DR.SCANDERSON ON THE UNLIKELY CHOICE HE WOULD MAKE AGAIN

P. 58 AND IN EVERY ISSUE

PLUS DON’T MISS! -JUNE PRISON DISPATCH -BUDSHOT CENTERFOLD -JESSE VENTURA LIKES POT -HEALTH AND SCIENCE

tannins +terpenes

-NATIONAL NEWS

HOW TO PAIR ALCOHOL WITH CANNABIS FOR THE KIND OF FLAVOR EXPERIENCES YOU NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE. p.36

-PRISON DISPATCH -BUDSHOT CENTERFOLD -HEALTH AND SCIENCE

14-PAGE SPECIAL FEATURE AND 12 PAIRINGS INSIDE

Gekkeikan sake melon cocktail +

maui wowie

ISSUE 4

POLITICS ROCK THE VALLEY VOTE & CITY SMOKING BANS

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

JILL WILLIAMS, OWNER OF THE LOOK BOUTIQUE, ANCHORAGE

P. 40 HOW TO SMOKE

ISSUE 3

THE FIRST ISSUE

PROFILES

P. 16 ANDREW BAKER PIECE OF MIND ALASKA BUYER & GENERAL MGR.

Arctic blue strain

by Arctic Blue Farms

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GREATLAND

GANJA ISSUE 6

establishing that Cannabinoids have legitimate medicinal benefits (among other findings). Which makes the DEA’s recent decision to keep Cannabis as a Schedule I drug all the more mystifying.

Pg. 16

Finding community in the fields of an Alaskan Cannabis farm | pg. 32 STORY BY EDITOR WES ABNEY // PHOTOS BY OSCAR AVELLANEDA-CRUZ

Anchorage group donates Cannabis to veterans and those who truly need it. //////////////////// pg. 22

P. 16

SHARING OUR FAVORITE COMFORT FOODS INFUSED WITH CANNABIS

Laurie and Bruce Wolf share three fave Cannabis-infused dishes to try out this season. /////////////////////// pg. 38

P. 33

RAISE THE ROOF

Gear reviews

DR.SCANDERSON ON MANAGING VERTICAL HEIGHT IN YOUR GARDENS

Testing out a great way to keep your pipes nice & clean. ////////////// pg. 42

P. 48

growtech guide

Cofounder Leif Abel in the Kasilof, Alaska grow,

dec. 2016

FALL FLAVOR

fall cannacooking

Dr. Scanderson explains how redundant systems can help your grow. ////////////// pg. 58

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THE HARVEST ISSUE EXPLORES WASHINGTON AND OREGON GROWS

The Green Angels

Way back in 1998, the government obtained U.S. Patent 6630507,

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NORTHWEST GROWING

in this issue

TALK TO THE HAND ISSUE 5

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AND IN EVERY ISSUE

DenaliOG

-NATIONAL NEWS -BUDSHOT CENTERFOLD

Pg. 28-29

-HEALTH AND SCIENCE -GROWTECH GUIDES

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apr. 2017

NEWS

CBD DECLARED ILLEGAL

BY THE DEA. WHAT IT MEANS FOR PAIN. Pg. 20

EDIBLES

THREE TASTY RECIPES FOR A CANNABIS MEAL Pg. 36

HEALTH & SCIENCE

SIMONE FISCHER: HOW TO BEAT PARTY ANXIETY Pg. 42

GROWTECH

DR. SCANDERSON'S GUIDE TO THE BEST GARDEN PRODUCTS

RECIPES

Pg. 12

GLASS ART

HEALTH & SCIENCE

SIMONE FISCHER PLANS A CANNABIS DATE NIGHT FOR STAYING HOME GROWTECH

36

SWAN GLASS & TACOMA BRIAN

Pg. 44

Pg. 50

THE GLASS ISSUE

32

BUDSHOT

52

SUBMIT YOUR BEST POTOGRAPHY

GOODSINSE

Fairbanks garden & dispensary thrives with vertical integration p.22 STORY BY EDITOR WES ABNEY // PHOTOS BY OSCAR AVELLANEDA-CRUZ

ISSUE 12

FROM LAURIE & BRUCE WOLF Pg. 32

PART 1 OF 2 OF DR. SCANDERSON'S GUIDE TO SOW VS. CLONE

16

POT-INFUSED SANDWICHES WE CAN'T ST0P EATING

EDIBLES

VALENTINE'S DAY TREATS THAT WILL GET YOU HIGH

ISSUE 11

Political Update | Pg. 12

OPINION

PREDICTING THE STATE OF WEED

NEWS

ALASKA NEWS UPDATE: RECREATIONAL STORES SLOWLY START TO OPEN

ISSUE 10

ISSUE 9

LEGAL CANNABIS ACROSS ALASKA!

+

in this issue

Pg. 50

THANK YOU FOR READING AND SUPPORTING ALASKA LEAF THROUGH OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY!

JAMES GLADLE @HONEYPITGLASS

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MAY 2017

24 BUDD BAY GLASS Device of the Month

38 CANNABIS RECIPES Adding green to your greens

52 GROWTECH GUIDE Train your plants before they...

HIGH SOCIETY

On 4/20, Editor Wes Abney was invited to a very special dinner

42

PG. Photo by Amber Fouts

07 08 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 28 32 34 36 38 42 46 48 50 52 54

Editor’s Note National News Alaska Update Highly Likely Great Budtenders 101 Budtender of the Month Oregon Leaf profile AMIA Event Rehashed Device of the Month Strain of the Month Cannabis Testing & You CannTest Interview Steep Hill Alaska Interview Tasty Recipes by Laurie Wolf Dinner Party Rehashed Edible Reviews Book Review Budshot Submissions Growtech with Dr. Scanderson Behind The Strain

ON THE COVER

Art by Alaska Leaf

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CONTRIBUTORS OSCAR AVELLANEDA-CRUZ, PHOTOS STEVE ELLIOTT, NATIONAL NEWS SIMONE FISCHER, HEALTH & SCIENCE SEAN O’NEILL, ILLUSTRATION DR. SCANDERSON, GROWTECH DR. SCOTT D. ROSE, HEALTH ALIZA SHERMAN, FEATURES ERIC SKELTON, DESIGN PACER STACKTRAIN, FEATURES BRANDON VOSIKA, ILLUSTRATION LAURIE & BRUCE WOLF, RECIPES ANNIKA WOLTERS, EDITING

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Department of Corrections

Our profile on Calm N Collective last month mispelled the name of Lacey Bass in a photo caption, we apologize!

MAY 2017 ISSUE #13

Thank you for supporting this independent Cannabis magazine!

AS I SIT IN ANCHORAGE writing this at the end of April,

one year after my first trip up here, I can’t help but smile at the sense of excitement and energy in the air surrounding the Cannabis industry. What an amazing year it has been for the pot industry, full of challenges, obstacles, victories and a lot of dank weed.

To everyone who has read or supported the Alaska Leaf over the last year, I want to personally thank you. Our mission to serve the industry and educate through free magazines can only be accomplished with that support, and I feel extremely blessed to offer this service to the wonderful people and industry up here.

Now, enough with the sappy stuff! Spring is here, breakup is over, and the days are getting longer.

Soon more than 16 hours of sunlight will be hitting the fan leaves of outdoor Cannabis plants across the state, and the summer will truly begin.

With the sun seems to be a sense of renewed vigor and strength coming from retailers who are no longer having to worry and battle for inventory or to stay open, and from producers and processors whose permits and buildouts are finally finishing. While it may have been a long build-up to get the industry fully functioning, the wind sprints are over and things can settle into a steady growth phase that is quickly going to raise the industry into a new level of maturity. Here at the Leaf, we love the opportunity to review new strains and share new stories. We are looking forward to covering this industry’s growth over the coming years, to watch businesses build and grow and show the world exactly how cool the Alaskcanna scene is.

Thanks for supporting us in coming along for the ride. ~Wes Abney

SOON MORE THAN 16 HOURS OF SUNLIGHT WILL BE HITTING THE FAN LEAVES OF OUTDOOR CANNABIS PLANTS ACROSS THE STATE, AND THE SUMMER WILL TRULY BEGIN. MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/7

national

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

Alaska Internet Exchange Connects Cannabis Growers To LOCAL Pot Shops An Alaskan entrepreneur hopes to connect

Trump’s Drug Czar, an Anti-Pot Extremist, Supports ‘Hospital Slash Prison’ For Users Trump has selected Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA/10th) to

Partnership (LEAP). “Our top priority should be be director of the Office of National Drug Control funding supervised injection facilities and heroin Policy, colloquially referred to as the “drug czar”. maintenance programs, and making treatment and Marino, a former prosecutor with no background in other harm reduction services widely available and health or treatment, supports a punitive, 1980s style affordable. If done properly, it’ll be cheaper and approach to drugs, including mass incarceration and more effective than any drug enforcement efforts of coerced treatment, for medical and non-medical the past fifty years.” marijuana. Drug Policy Action As a U.S. Attorney Marino (DPA), the political arm of the Drug showed preferential treatment “OUR NATION NEEDS Policy Alliance, gave him an “F” in for a friend convicted of cocaine A DRUG CZAR THAT WANTS TO TREAT the 2016 congressional voter guide. offenses, while showing little mercy DRUG USE AS A “Rep. Tom Marino is a disastrous for others caught up in the criminal HEALTH ISSUE, NOT choice for drug czar and needs to justice system. In Congress Marino SOMEONE WHO be opposed,” Bill Piper said, senior voted against the RohrabacherWANTS TO DOUBLE DOWN ON MASS director of National Affairs for Farr amendment, which prohibits INCARCERATION” the DPA. “America can do much the Department of Justice from better. Our nation needs a drug undermining state medical czar that wants to treat drug use as a health issue, marijuana laws. He has called for “hospital-slashnot someone who wants to double down on mass prison” facilities where people caught possessing incarceration.” marijuana or other drugs would be forcibly detained.

“Any drug czar in step with the majority of Studies show that coerced treatment rarely works.

Americans would end the War on Drugs and Treatment works best when it is voluntary and invest in treatment and harm reduction,” Maj. Neill meets the individual needs of the person struggling Franklin (Ret.) said of Law Enforcement Action with substance-related issues.

8/may 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

Cannabis growers to sellers through the Alaska Cannabis Commodities Exchange, or AKCannex.com for short. The new website is described as a “web-based wholesale platform” for Cannabis industry operators with an Alaska marijuana permit.

There aren’t any other similar exchanges serving Alaska, according to website Founder Loren Dreyer, reports KTUU. He said he GROWERS ARE got the idea from ENCOURAGED TO FREELY POST entrepreneurs in states WHOLESALE like Colorado and CANNABIS FOR Washington, where SALE, WITH similar sites are already EITHER A PRICE OR BIDDING in operation.

OPTION No money is exchanged on the website, nor does it charge a fee to use. Dreyer said growers are encouraged to freely post wholesale Cannabis for sale, with either a price or a bidding option. Growers can then enter a purchase agreement with a marijuana store to settle outside the website on their own terms.

With a limited number of businesses growing Cannabis in Alaska, it can be difficult for small pot shops to secure a steady stream of product, according to Dreyer, who is a marijuana retail startup hopeful himself.

“Instead of making phone calls and emails all the time, you can have just one platform,” Dreyer said. “Post a product, retailers see it and buy it, and after that a purchase agreement is emailed out to both parties.”

Quoted “WE APPLAUD THE SENATE FOR APPROVING A THOUGHTFUL ALTERNATIVE TO MARIJUANA PROHIBITION THAT WOULD ACCOUNT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND IMPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY.”

College Course Offered on Cannabis and Health in Washington STATE Clark College, in Washington state, will be offering

Lauerman said he’d been helping line up a Community Education course in the spring quality speakers for the course.

2017 quarter, on “Cannabis and Your Health.”

“I also gave ideas on topics that the public would Led by instructor David Benedicktus, a retired find interesting and informative,” he told us. registered nurse, the class will also feature Cost for the course, which runs for five weeks input and information from Washington from May 18 through June 22, will be $89. state marijuana community icon Farmer Tom Lauerman will be on hand for the first Lauerman. week of the course, offering his “I feel it’s extremely important to knowledge in a lecture called “I FEEL IT’S EXTREMELY educate the public on Cannabis in “Growing Your Own.” IMPORTANT general,” Lauerman told the Leaf, He’ll be back the second TO EDUCATE “not to mention the importance of week to speak on the History THE PUBLIC ON the endocannabinoid system and the of Medical Cannabis and the CANNABIS IN entourage effects.”

GENERAL” fourth week, along with Courtney “This basic knowledge of Ann Braswell, to review medical Cannabis will give the public a Cannabis products including flower, oil, starting place to explore the benefits of this topicals, tinctures and sublingual sprays. miraculous plant,” Lauerman said.

The spring course won’t be the only time According to Lauerman, the class is geared Clark College will offer marijuana knowledge, to anyone interested in the benefits of Cannabis according to Lauerman. upon health. “We expect the class to be filled “The science department has asked me to do with baby boomers, seniors and inquisitive a summer workshop on taking your plants to young adults.” harvest,” Lauerman said.

— MATT SIMON (New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project) on a bill approved by the Vermont Senate on April 21 that would regulate the production and sale of marijuana in the state.

Quick Hits!

1 43.7 25,000

Billion dollars would be saved on Medicaid costs by Americans if medical marijuana was available in all 50 states, according to a new Health Affairs study.

Million dollars of Cannabis sales revenue came in the first three months of 2017 in Oregon, according to a report from the state Department of Revenue Marijuana smokers are wanted for a German research study, in which participants will smoke 30 grams of Cannabis per month.

may 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/9

national

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

Uruguay Legalization Finally Kicking In, Four Years Later Uruguay in July will become the first nation on Earth to fully legalize the production, sale and consumption of Cannabis. The South American country will take the big step this summer, when its pharmacies will be allowed to sell recreational marijuana.

“Cannabis will be dispensed in pharmacies starting in the month of July,” Juan Andres Roballo said, who is the head of the National Drugs Council, reports DW.com. Sixteen pharmacies have registered with the government of the small nation to sell recreational weed, reports Reuters. That number is expected to increase to thirty in the coming months, Roballo said.

Uruguay legalized the cultivation, distribution and consumption of marijuana in 2013, under then President Jose Mujica, but the rollout has been deliberately slow.

Pharmacies were originally expected to be authorized to sell Cannabis by the end of 2014, but that was delayed many times.

The country has stockpiled 400 kilos, 880 pounds, of Cannabis so far. Citizens and permanent residents who want to buy weed from a pharmacy are required to be 18 years or older, and must enroll in a

national registry of Cannabis users before purchase. The government registry for pot smokers is set to open May 2.

Customers will be limited to 40 grams, 1.41 ounces, per month with a limit of 10 grams per week. That certainly seems a little stuffy to 3- or 4-grams-a-day me, but I suppose it’s a start.

When marijuana goes on sale in drug stores, adults will only be able to buy it in 5-gram containers at $1.30 per gram.

Foreigners won’t be allowed to buy weed from pharmacies in Uruguay. Ten-gram containers are expected to be introduced later, allowing customers to buy a whole week’s supply at once.

Roballo said the government marijuana sold in pharmacies will be as potent as black market weed found on the street.

“Buyers will have complete certainty about the quality of the product they are consuming, and so the risks will diminish considerably,” Roballo said.

“This is not to promote it, but to compete with the informal market,” Roballo said.

Uruguayans are also allowed to grow their own marijuana at home, or in cooperative with Cannabis clubs.

New Oregon Law Allows For Anonymous Marijuana Shopping Oregon pot shops are no longer transcribing customer information at the door without first asking customers for their permission, because of a change in state law.

Gov. Kate Brown last week signed Senate Bill 863, ending the practice of Cannabis stores recording customer identification data, reports the RegisterGuard of Eugene.

“I think it’s appropriate under the circumstances,” Brown said, reports The Washington Times. The Governor said she fears the Trump Administration could make good on its threat of a “higher level of federal engagement” when it comes to legalized pot, reports The Oregonian.

Brown said in March that she is willing to “go to bat” for Oregon’s marijuana industry, and that she would “respond appropriately,” should the Trump White House take any action.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) in April sent notices to shops about the rule change. The stores have until May 18 to delete databases of customer information collected without customers’ approval.

“YOU LIGHT UP A JOINT AT A PARTY WITH A FRIEND WHO IS OF AGE, AND IT’S A FELONY TO PASS THAT JOINT TO THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU? THERE’S NO LOGIC IN THAT.” 10/may 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

Many recreational Cannabis stores have been keeping customer names, birthdates and purchase histories on file, according to Sam Terrall, manager of Serra in Eugene. He said the store did so for marketing and customer service purposes, using the information to know what products shoppers may want. The shops had been taking down the information from driver’s licenses or official ID that customers display in order to confirm their age and gain admission to a shop.

Customers can now opt in, or volunteer their information to be part of a loyalty program.

Oregon lawmakers said they wanted to make sure pot customers weren’t unknowingly being entered into databases that federal law enforcement might be able to access at some point. Legislators “wanted to protect the customers and employees from federal action” with a possible Trump Administration crackdown on the horizon, according to Terrall.

“It provides some level of consumer protection,” Mark Pettinger said, spokesman for the OLCC.

Quoted — EZRA EICKMEYER, CANNABIS LOBBYIST, describing one benefit of SB 5131, which would help clarify that it’s not a crime to give marijuana to a friend who is 21 or older.

political update

By ALIZA SHERMAN for ALASKA LEAF | ILLUSTRATION by BRANDON VOSIKA

MARKETING CANNABIS IN ALASKA IS TOUGH

Word is Alaska Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office enforcement is starting to create policy rather than enforcing the policies already adopted by the Marijuana Control Board. Enforcement is claiming that all promotional activity is prohibited as opposed to the actual language:

“A retail marijuana store may not use giveaway coupons as promotional materials, or conduct promotional activities such as games or competitions to encourage sale of marijuana or marijuana products.” An example of the This is the first time the Cannabis Classic is being held in Anchorage since the opening of Alaska’s legal marijuana stores, cultivators and manufacturers.

latest arbitrary restrictions is not allowing legal marijuana stores to give away t-shirts or trinkets at the door when customers enter, or not being able to have a band playing live on-site at the establishment. These legal activities are being prohibited.

Some in the industry suggest this kind of activity will stifle the growth potential of the legal Cannabis industry in Alaska. By hindering legal marijuana businesses in this manner, business funnels back to the black market, limiting the tax revenue the state can bring in and reducing the adult consumers’ access to clean and tested marijuana product.

In terms of online marketing, enforcement is requiring that the five advertisement warnings be prominently placed when posting to social networks. The actual language in the regulations reads: All advertising for marijuana or any marijuana product must contain the following warnings: (1) “Marijuana has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming and addictive.

(2) “Marijuana impairs concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under its influence.

(3) “There are health risks associated with consumption of marijuana.

(4) “For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children.

(5) “Marijuana should not be used by women who are pregnant or breast feeding.

Legal marijuana businesses are struggling to comply with this new and unexpected requirement due to space and feature limitations on each social network.

AN INTERNET EXCHANGE FOR A L A S K A C U LT I VAT O R S A N D S H O P S

May 2017 T

NORTHWEST CANNABIS CLASSIC R E T U R N S TO A N C H O R AG E M AY 2 0 - 2 1

he Cannabis Classic, formerly known as the Northwest Cannabis Classic, will be in its third year promoting Cannabis strains and products from Alaska. The event is scheduled to take place May 20-21 in Anchorage. The event includes a blind tasting, consumer-judged Cannabis competition and industry awards voted on by the public covering categories from Best Retail Product to Best Budtender to Best Cannabis Store of the Year.

This is the first time the Cannabis Classic is being held in Anchorage since the opening of Alaska’s legal marijuana stores, cultivators and manufacturers. The location of the 2017 Cannabis Classic was not yet announced at press time.

The previous event was held at Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center that banned the “possession, use or display of marijuana for any marijuana-related event” because it was a municipal building. Despite the rules, the organizer of the Cannabis Classic provided marijuana samples at the 2016 event to attendees who paid $299 VIP entry instead of the $35 to $60 ticket – until the convention workers were instructed to stop it.

12/MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

A new website launched recently to bring together cultivators and legal marijuana retail shops in Alaska. The Alaska Cannabis Commodities Exchange at AKCannex.com is a platform similar to ones found in the Lower 48 that allow cultivators to market their products to the licensed stores around the state.

AKCannex owner, Loren Dreyer, said that there is no charge for legal marijuana business owners to register, list product and search the site to find product. The goal of the site is to provide a more streamlined and effective way for growers to reach buyers and stores to identify and obtain product to keep their shelves stocked.

The site is password protected and the short registration form requires uploading a copy of an Alaska photo ID or passport and a copy of the company’s Marijuana Establishment License. Registration applications will be reviewed in three to five business days.

Dreyer is also the owner of Alaskan Leaf, a cultivation facility and retail store (no relation to the mag). He said growing began mid-April and, at press time, was anticipating opening his store before the end of the month.

BITS AND BITS

Talkeetna is getting their first ever marijuana store, The High Expedition, co-owned by Joe McAneney and Dan Nelson and located in a cabin once owned by Denali climbing legend Ray Genet.

Alaskan Blooms of Fairbanks is open for business and went on the market with all-flower pre-rolls of various sizes including the 10 gram ULTRA MEGA. Outdoor grows like Rosie Creek Farms and Greatland Ganja are set to have their first full season. And everyone is anticipating the on-site consumption conversation that will continue this month as tourist season approaches.

highly likely

By PACER STACKTRAIN for ALASKA LEAF

Column # 12

Highlighting amazing Cannabis pioneers who helped pave the way to greater herbal acceptance.

ICONIC ACTOR DISCLOSES “CANNABIS HELPS MY ARTHRITIS.”

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart is one of the most recognizable actors in the world today. Whether he’s playing the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: the Next Generation, or Professor X in the X-men series, or any number of roles in England’s Royal Shakespeare Company, Stewart lends a sophistication and gravity to each role he plays that few actors can match.

Stewart has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to drama, he’s won multiple Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards. More recently, he became one of the most important voices in the fight for the legalization and mainstreaming of Cannabis.

In mid March, Stewart released a statement in favor of the United Kingdom’s first comprehensive study into the benefits of Cannabis as medicine at Oxford University.

In the statement, he recalls a visit to his doctor in California where he was prescribed a Cannabis ointment for the severe ortho-arthritis in his hands. The ointment and topical spray, he later notes, have helped alleviate the pain of his arthritic hands better than prescribed pharmaceuticals.

“I believe that the ointment and spray have significantly reduced the stiffness and pain in my hands,” he said in the statement.

“I can make fists, which was not the case before I began this treatment.”

He elaborated that this relief came with no side-effects whatsoever, which cannot be said for the pharmaceuticals that he was previously consuming.

Unfortunately, as a British citizen, Stewart will have difficulty procuring Cannabis as medicine in his home country. Cannabis is illegal in all of Great Britain and that’s why Stewart, a longtime political activist for progressive causes, is speaking out now.

“This is an important step forward for Britain in a field of research that has for too long been held back by prejudice, fear and ignorance,” he said.

“I believe this program of research might result in benefits for people like myself as well as millions of others.”

Most of the world is still so far behind when it comes to attitudes about the herb and that’s why celebrities like Stewart are so vital to our cause. As peoples’ views toward Cannabis continue to shift toward legalization and tolerance, we continue to see more and more voices from the mainstream echoing support for Cannabis. Patrick Stewart is an unexpected, out-of-the-blue celebrity to come out of the green closet. Which begs the question, who’s next? We’ll find out in the coming months of Highly Likely.

STEWART IS AN UNEXPECTED, OUT-OF-THE-BLUE CELEBRITY TO COME OUT OF THE GREEN CLOSET.

14/MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

Thepacerstacktrain@gmail.com Instagram: @ThePacerStackTrain

Formerly

AK GREEN LABS

CUTTING EDGE CANNABIS TESTING LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 2015 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, PROFESSIONALISM STEEPHILL.COM/ALASKA BRIAN.COYLE@AK.STEEPHILL.COM 907.770.9997

feature

By PACER STACKTRAIN | PHOTOS by @BERMANPHOTOS

HOW TO BE A GREAT BUDTENDER Being a budtender is a relatively new profession and that’s a very exciting thing!

It means every day, people are finding creative new ways to make the customer experience better and more unique at businesses in legal states. While every shop experience will be different, there are some things that shops are doing to stand out from the pack when it comes to Cannabis.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE SERVICES AND KNOWLEDGE WE’VE FOUND THAT CAN HELP ELEVATE A CANNABIS SHOP EXPERIENCE FROM GOOD TO TRULY GREAT.

16/MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

Know the strains

A good budtender knows what’s on the shelf, inside and out. They should be well versed in the strain types the shop is currently carrying, and the typical effects of those strains. It’s helpful as well for budtenders to understand terpene profile for the flowers and concentrates they carry – since this affects the taste and scent of the flower. It’s also helpful to know how dense, or heavy the flowers are. If the customer is asking for an eighth, what will it look like? I’ve seen many a customer disappointed by “bag size” because of really denseflowers.

Ask lots of questions

Exceptional budtenders go the extra mile by exceeding customer expectations. Some of the best budtenders I’ve experienced have asked the question: “What size buds are you looking for?” It’s even better (if there’s time) to allow the customer to select the buds they’d like. Good budtenders can also interpret what makes the bud special at this point, showing off trichome production and density. Part of making the customer experience the best it can be is to first find out a little about their preferences. Simple questions like “what strains have you really enjoyed in the past?” or “What sort of effect are you looking for?” go a long way for an experienced budtender to serve a customer the perfect product for their needs. In short, find out what the customer likes, ask what size buds they’d enjoy, or about similar strains they’ve enjoyed in the past. This process involves having a connoisseurs-level knowledge of strains, which all good budtenders should strive for.

Take care

Let’s face it, in both the recreational and medical market – Cannabis costs more than it used to. That’s why it is so important that budtenders take care in packaging, choosing and sorting the flower that the customer has chosen. Their paying a premium price for this service – so keep that in mind when packaging. I would also urge any shop to reconsider “pre-packaged” herb. It just feels like bad service.

Be nice

Of all the pointers included in this category, this one should be the easiest. However, I find that it’s often the most overlooked asset to a great budtender. Many customers are visiting the shop for the first time, and maybe even a dispensary for the first time. A great budtender makes customers feel welcome and at ease. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to a shop and not felt welcomed with even a simple smile. Friendliness goes a long way, especially for an industry just starting to come out of the shadows.

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Who’s your favorite budtender?

Every month, our dedicated team meets to select a budtender that stands out above the rest! Tell us who you think should be the first Alaska Leaf Budtender of the Month

By WES ABNEY | PHOTO by @BERMANPHOTOS

JAKE DIMMOCK I miss providing medicine for patients, helping is rewarding, working with cancer patients and people with real afflictions Those days are kinda gone, and I felt guilty that some of the MMJ pioneers don’t understand why I help in recreational Cannabis. But today I am talking to more people about Cannabis than I ever did owning a medical shop because so many people are asking questions that have no idea about it. Its refreshing to be able to introduce them to that, in an environment where its normal, you can go into a shop and see the brands and get the info you need.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE METHOD OF CONSUMPTION? In the winter time, it’s dabs. Dabs are just easy, I don’t smoke in the house, I have a man cage in the garage to smoke at, but in the winter its cold and I dab, and I do a couple in the am and two or three at end of day. In the summer I smoke more joints because I can relax with them and enjoy the warm weather, and I enjoy the occasional bong hit.

We get samples as budtenders and it’s a good way to test it, i test samples in the morning with a bong toke and see how they affect me.

ANY FAVORITE STRAINS OR PRODUCTS RIGHT NOW? Certainly I’m a big fan of Solstice because we all grew up in the industry together. My favorite strain is the pre 72 Colombian Gold that has a heritage here, I believe it was Jerry Whiting who brought that in, and because of that knowledge I enjoy the pedigree, and the seed came from that batch. Treehawk Farms, I’m a big fan of them and take them home most.

For oil, its Seattle Refined or Oleum, they both have some of the best oils that Ive dabbed for sure. I also love Gold Leaf and the Cannagar, certainly they stand on their own.

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‘‘

YOU CO-OWNED NWPRC, ONE OF THE LONGEST RUNNING MEDICAL DISPENSARIES. HOW HAVE THINGS CHANGED SINCE MEDICAL? HOW IS RECREATIONAL?

MY FAVORITE PART IS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE, THAT CONNECTION WITH A NEW PERSON OR THE FAMILIAR PERSON WHO RECONNECTS EACH VISIT AND COUNTS ON YOU FOR GOOD INFORMATION EACH TIME AND HEARING “YEA THAT’S WHAT JAKE’S SMOKING.”

HOW DO YOU FIND THE RIGHT CANNABIS FOR SOMEONE? Well you want to listen, first and foremost, to be open to understand what their needs might be. Listen, and steer them in the right direction on dose size, sativa vs indica, when do you plan on using it, type of strain, etc. The most important thing you can do is to give the best advice on what you feel is best for them, with the understanding that Cannabis is an individual experience for everyone. You have to try it yourself, but in this environment you don’t have to buy from the parking lot at a 7-11, you can choose from a selection and find what is right for you. I tell people all the time, it’s a $10 gram, not buying a house, there’s no long term commitment, so you will know by tomorrow.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES AND INTERESTS OUTSIDE THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY? Other than the industry, I’m a caregiver for my father in law, he’s 86 and he lives at home with my wife and I. We’ve been married for 7 years, and he’s a welcome blessing to the home and tolerates everything I do! We have 5 dogs at home and live in West Seattle, and my wife works as a nurse, I have a pretty settled life, I guess my focus here at the household is looking after my father-in-law, and my focus is on my home and my dogs, which is my favorite place to be.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A BUDTENDER AND WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE JOB? As a budtender I wouldn’t be here without John Davis, who gave me my first chance at selling in 2012 when we opened our shop, Northwest Patient Resource Center. My favorite part is the customer service, that connection with a new person or the familiar person who reconnects each visit and counts on you for good info each time, and hearing “Yea that’s what Jake’s smoking.” People want the pot, but they also want the experience of the person who led them into that.

NWLeaf@gmail.com Instagram: @NWLeaf

budtender of the month

diego pellicer seattle 2215 4th Ave S, Seattle, WA

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By SIMONE FISCHER for OREGON LEAF | PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN

SARAH JANE GALLEGOS How this award-winning journalist went from teaching D.A.R.E to believing in Cannabis

G

allegos’ story captivated me as she spoke of her transformation from an overzealous Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) instructor into a bonafide Cannabis patient advocate. Her story of moving from a position of extreme opposition to a Cannabis ally is becoming more and more common within the industry.

Not all patients who use Cannabis were originally for it in the first place. Sometimes it takes a little more convincing.

“Growing up I was always anti-drugs because my mother was a substance abuser, and I was left with neurological disorder because of it,” Gallegos said over a lavender latte.

“It adds a layer of complexity to my story because both the pharmaceutical industry and an illicit drug trade has had an effect of me, so now I am seeking out an alternative remedy to treat myself.”

Gallegos watched her single mother struggle with drug addiction and swore off everything including the Cannabis. In her eyes, Cannabis was as morally reprehensible as any other serious drug.

“Ever since I was young, I wanted to be a teacher and push for a moral standard. Once I graduated college and started teaching, I worked with republican candidates; I was a volunteer speechwriter for Steve Ford when he was running for president.

I was completely on the other side of the fence that I am now,” Gallegos said as she revisits her original vindictive stance on Cannabis.

“I was extremely conservative. When I looked at things like Cannabis, I lumped it into the same category as cocaine. I was a child of the 1980s and (then) I was a teacher, trying to push for morals when it comes to drugs,” Gallegos said.

“When it came time to teach the D.A.R.E. program at my campus, I immediately volunteered. I taught D.A.R.E. for nine years as a site instructor.

Once a year, I would teach the D.A.R.E. curriculum to the kids,” Gallegos said.

“I started looking into the scientific validity of what I was teaching, and when you look at the D.A.R.E. program and the data that relates to Cannabis, I started auditing the information on a scientific scale.”

She wanted to prove why drugs like Cannabis were “bad” to justify Gallegos’ deep seeded moral stance on Cannabis. She started to realize that the evidence in relation to what the D.A.R.E. program was preaching was extremely lacking in truth – it was false propaganda at best. But she wasn’t convinced until her doctor recommended she try Cannabis after a spell of ill health.

“I didn’t want to use Cannabis (even for my health), so I started to do more research on the health benefits. At the time, I was 265 pounds and my diet was very poor and packed with processed foods. I developed a gastric disorder called gastroparesis, and I began to lose a ton of weight and dropped down to 94 pounds. I had a heart incident because of the weight loss.”

She was desperate for options and

ONCE SHE REALIZED HOW MUCH CANNABIS HELPED IMPROVE HER HEALTH, SHE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE WAR WAGED ON CANNABIS WAS A REAL SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE.

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pharmaceuticals didn’t help the nausea and vomit spells.

“They couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. So it kind of forced my hand in order to try Cannabis. I mean, I was completely straight edge—I didn’t even drink alcohol—and now I had to put an illegal substance in my system. For me, it was really hard to do. So I bought a volcano vaporizer, because I didn’t want to combust it. My first strain I ever smoked was Blue Dream I purchased at a dispensary in California. After my first inhale I began crying because I felt like I had crossed the line. Then, fifteen minutes later I start crying again because I couldn’t believe how much better I felt.

For the first time in so long, after throwing up all the time, and being in constant nausea and pain, I felt relief. I couldn’t believe this was a ‘thing’, and I couldn’t believe I villianized Cannabis so much.

And I totally discovered I had an iron lung in the process,” Gallegos laughed.

After her Cannabis-induced epiphany, she was still teaching in California at the time. No one knew she was a cardholder and she couldn’t be open about her Cannabis use, out of fear of losing her teaching license. I listened as Gallegos explained how her former self wrestled with this internal issue of health and morality.

Once she realized how much Cannabis helped improve her health, she understood that the war waged on Cannabis was a real social justice issue.

It seemed completely unjust to withhold a plant that could potentially comfort the sick.

While living in California, she began looking into growing her own Cannabis to cut back on the cost it took to keep her medicated.

“The cultivation style in California at the time was hydro. As a patient in California, I was paying $25 a gram. I couldn’t afford it so I started looking into different grow laws in different states,” Gallegos said.

“I wanted organically grown weed, so I came to Oregon. Everything was better, and I felt the real pressure to undo all the garbage I was feeding these kids over the last past nine years. I stopped teaching because of drug tests and I couldn’t be open about it.”

Since then, she’s become a part of the Oregon Cannabis community and never looked back.

Gallegos was one of the main patient advocates helping to get Post Traumatic Stress on the list of qualifying conditions in Oregon in 2014.

Through it all she has learned first-hand how Cannabis can help health issues. Stories like hers give me hope because it shows that even the staunchest, anti-Cannabis personalities can understand truth in healing through Cannabis.

rehashed

By WES ABNEY| PHOTOS COURTESY AMIA

Pioneer Park, Fairbanks | April 29, 2017

AMIA CONFERENCE The Alaska Marijuana Industry Association held its first conference in Fairbanks last month, with a fun blend of information and business that highlighted how far the industry has come since legal sales began.

The event featured a solid variety of cultivators, processors, retailers and ancillary businesses represented across over 20 booths, all tied into the growing Cannabis industry. Hundreds of attendees filtered in over the day, stopping by booths to learn about products and pot, all in a friendly environment. Unlike some business conferences that have an uppity feeling, this event truly lived up to it’s name as a community gathering.

Attendance was five dollars or a food donation, and by the end of the day the donation table was bending in the middle under the weight of all the donated food.

It was especially refreshing to see an event that was truly focused on doing good, both for the Cannabis community and the greater Fairbanks community, and it felt good to support a cause that wasn’t about profit or personal gain.

AlaskaMarijuanaIndustry.org The event Find upcoming meetings, featured speakers throughout the day, cool events and ways to ranging from up support the association! and coming cultivators to the board of the AMIA, who hosted a QnA that explored topics like licensing and new regulations. For anyone with questions or interest in the industry, this was the place to be.

And judging from the turnout, there is a massive amount of interest in how the industry is developing and reaching out to serve the Fairbanks community, and Alaska overall.

IT WAS REFRESHING TO SEE AN EVENT THAT WAS TRULY FOCUSED ON DOING GOOD, BOTH FOR THE CANNABIS COMMUNITY AND THE GREATER FAIRBANKS COMMUNITY

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CELEBRATING ONE YEAR

akleaf.com Facebook.com/nwleaf

PASSIONATE | RESPONSIBLE | LOCAL

Mat-Su Borough’s First Cannabis Retail Store!

The Valley’s finest selection of cannabis

with the most helpful and knowledgeable staff.

All you need is a VALID government issued ID and be of 21 years of age or older!

4901 E. Blue Lupine Dr. Suite E. Wasilla, AK (907) 631-3800 WWW.GREENJARAK.COM

FOR USE ONLY BY ADULTS TWENTY-ONE AND OLDER. THERE ARE HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONSUMPTION OF MARIJUANA. MARIJUANA SHOULD NOT BE USED BY WOMEN WHO ARE PREGNANT OR BREASTFEEDING.

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.

device of the month

PHOTOS by @BERMANPHOTOS

UNDER THE SEA

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Brailey wanted to showcase the power of the murky deep.

MYTHOLOGICAL

KRAKEN

A R T B Y R YAN B R A I L E Y

A

striking combination of frit, stringer work and dot stacking, this beautiful piece by Olympia, Washington artist Ryan Brailey, a glass blower since 2004, sold this year for $1,200. At a pound and a half and a foot in length, this work is full of impressive details the more you look. Swim around and you’ll spot milli eyeballs, disc flip razor jaws underneath the tentacles and a couple fishies exploring the coral, which also houses an 18mm joint for your bowlpiece.

TO SEE MORE OF RYAN’S WORK @BUDDBAYGLASS

MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

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This is a marijuana product. 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 reach of children. Marijuana should not be used by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

ALASKA Leaf

STRAIN OF THE MONTH Review by ALASKA LEAF | PHOTO by DANIEL BERMAN

With beautiful and chunky buds covered in crystals, the medical mass produced by and available from Green Degree is one of the most attractive CBD rich strains we have ever seen.

CBD flower has earned a reputation for being rather average, with subpar looks and a flat flavor. Not this strain! The Medical Mass from Green Degree is truly a work of art, with as much bag appeal as any pricey boutique strain.

Produced in their vertically integrated limited grow, the love and attention the plants are given is evident in the quality of the flower. Each plant is hand-watered and loved, and that translates into some really quality Cannabis. Every strain we saw at Green Degree was great quality — but above all, this Medical Mass surely stands out.

A hybrid offspring of Critical Mass, this lightly Indica dominant strain is an absolute treat. The flower gives off heady notes of lemongrass, citrus and pepper, all with a light sour funky twist. Each bud is well cured and delivers a solid and satisfying snap, releasing an even bigger burst of citrus and lemon flavors. The classic foxtail structure of the flower looks beautiful, and truly makes this bud something special.

Smoking a bowl or joint of this flower delivers a mellow and relaxing high that is perfect for any time of day. The flavor is all sweet lemoncitrus, with a light smoke that is easy on the lungs and an easy exhale. Taking big tokes of the Medical Mass delivers a high that builds from deep inside the body, slowly spreading to the extremities with a warm tingly feeling that ushers in feelings of calm and wellness, all while wiping pain and stress away.

With such a high CBD to THC ratio the flower is less psychoactive than many on the market, which is perfect for starting the day without being distracted by an overwhelming high.

The CBD effects are highly medicinal, and great for relieving pain and anxiety, amongst a wide variety of other conditions.

Available from Green Degree 2301 S KNIK-GOOSE BAY RD UNIT #1, WASILLA, AK 99654 (907) 376-3155 OPEN 11AM-7PM WWW.GREENDEGREE.NET

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MEDICA

GROWN BY GREEN DEGREE

7.10% tHC

10.9% cbd HARD-HITTING STRAIN BATTLES AGAINST ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND INSOMNIA

L MASS CBD

“Why fly? When you can enjoy the most beautiful ride on earth”

ANCHORAGE TO HOMER June 1st-Aug

31st

Monday – Friday Departs Anchorage Arctic & International – 724 W. International - Garrett’s Tesoro Cooper Landing Wild- man’s 300pm Soldotna Chamber of Commerce 500pm All times are approx. Stage Line Summer Schedule HOMER TO ANCHORAGE June 1st-Aug 31st Monday – Friday Departs Homer 830am 1242 Ocean Dr

Soldotna Chamber of Commerce 1015am Cooper Landing Wildman’s 1115am

SEWARD TO HOMER Locally owned and operated by a lifelong Alaskan, Stage Line offers June 1st – August 31st passenger transportation, freight, Mon Wed Fri parcel, and courier service, between Departs Seward 100pm Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. Our call ahead for pick up point schedule includes, Soldotna to Homer, Seward, Anchorage to Cooper Landing, Cooper Landing Wild- man’s 200pm Homer to Seward, Girdwood to Moose Soldotna 300pm Pass, Kasilof to Sterling, Homer to Clam All times are approx Gulch, Anchorage or Seward to Kasilof, HOMER TO SEWARD Cooper Landing to Ninilchik, Soldotna to Anchor Point. Any points in between!

June 1st - August 31st MP flag stops available! Private party Mon Wed Fri charters available! Reasonable rates, saves time and money for travelling or Departs Homer 1242 Ocean Dr 900am your shipping needs.

Soldotna Chamber of Commerce 1030am One of the top 10 most scenic highways.

Cooper Landing Wildman’s 1130

Sights seen from the road

The Stage Line PO Box 353 Anchor Point, AK MONDAY - FRIDAY 8:00AM - 5:00PM The Stage Line 1242 Ocean Dr Homer, Ak 99603 724 W International Anchorage, Ak 99518 Staging points only Phone: 907-868-3914 Phone:907-235-2252 E-mail: stage.line@yahoo.com www.stagelineinhomer.com

Feature

By WES ABNEY

TESTING CANNABIS

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PRODUCT Reading a testing label Every package of Cannabis sold will have a testing label on it like the one shown on this page. When purchasing Cannabis, it is important to read the label, to understand the information included and to ask questions if you are unsure about a product. That’s what your budtender is there for! Common elements include: Cannabinoids levels, Terpenes (If tested), Dosage (if applicable), Company information, Strain Name and Class (sativa/indica/hybrid)

How are edibles’ strength measured?

Alaska’s law limits a serving to 5mg of THC and a total package to 50mg of tetrahydroncannabinol (THC). All edibles will be within a target range of this potency, roughly more or less than 5 percent. For most users, one serving will have minimal effects. But don’t let that fool you. A good starting dose for anyone should be no more than 10mg.

This allows for a comfortable edible experience. A good rule of thumb is “you can always eat more, but not less.” Edibles can take up to two hours to take effect, so be patient! For those looking for a higher edible dose than the state limit of 50mg, we recommend purchasing a concentrate and infusing it into a cooking oil or butter.

Common Cannabinoids

WHAT IS A Cannabinoid?

The term Cannabinoid refers to a variety of chemicals found in the Cannabis plant. They interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system, which delivers the effects that we associate with Cannabis, both recreationally and medicinally.

What are terpenes, and how do they affect both strains and the user?

Terpenes are the basis for essential oils and the flavors that we associate with Cannabis. It’s what gives a strain the lemony-fuel sharp flavor, or the deep earthy muskiness in another.

But they affect more than just flavor.

Terpenes have a recreational and medicinal value in how they interact with Cannabinoids. This is known as the entourage effect. Different terpenes will cause a variety of differences to a high, from uplifting energy to calm and sleepiness.

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What are the most common terpenes and their effects/flavors?

Limonene This terpene has a citrus flavor, and is an appetite suppressant as well as a viable treatment against cancer.

Myrcene This earthy and musky terpene delivers the couch lock sleepiness, but it’s also beneficial as an anti-inflammatory agent and for pain.

Caryophyllene This terpene doesn’t have a huge flavor profile, but it is a mood elevator and great for treating depression and anxiety or PTSD.

THC The rock star of the Cannabinoid world, this is the chemical that causes the majority of our high from Cannabis.

But it is the interaction of THC with terpenes and flavonoids that delivers the full high (the entourage effect) Medicinal properties: Pain relief, anti-nausea, increases appetite, anti-epileptic/spasms.

THCA Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid is the acid form of THC, which is how THC is often shown on flower test results. When heat is added to THC through smoking or vaporizing the compound converts to THC, which delivers the high we all know and love. Medicinal properties: Sleep aid, anti-epileptic/ spasms, anti-cancer cell.

CBD Cannabidiol is known as a wonderfully medicinal chemical that is non-psychoactive and can be used with all ages. CBD products are currently sold legally nationwide, sourced from the hemp plant. CBD can also come from Cannabis, and finding products with CBD in them is a great indicator of medicinal value. Medicinal properties: Relieves pain and inflammation, anxiety, fights cancer, is an antipsychotic, relieves nausea, has anti-seizure properties, helps treat diabetes, PTSD, heart health and more.

CBG Cannabigerol. This Cannabinoid is often associated with euphoric highs, or the giggles, but is also highly medicinal.

Medicinal properties: Sleep aid, cancer cell growth inhibitor, bone growth aid, slows bacterial growth

Linalool This spicy and floral terpene is great for treating pain, inflammation, is a known sedative and antipsychotic. It is more commonly found in Lavendar extracts.

CBN Cannabinol. This Cannabinoid is what causes the “couch lock” sensation, although that can also come from terpenes like Myrcene.

Medicinal properties: sedative and sleep aid.

Many more There are dozens of terpenes that can be found in Cannabis. If you want to learn more, check online for enhanced info!

THC-V Medicinal properties: anti-epileptic/spasms and promotes bone growth.

What are residual solvents in concentrates?

All Cannabis concentrates like shatter or oil in a vapor pen are processed with a solvent. Often these solvents are industrial and carry potential health risks if they are not removed (purged) from the end product. The most common solvent we worry about purging is butane, and Alaska limits total parts per million (PPM) of solvents to 800. The lower the residual solvent level, the cleaner the product is. In products like Co2 or Clear/Distillate, this is not a concern, because the solvents are either benign or avoided completely.

TAKING A BUDTENDER’S ADVICE The most important rule is “Don’t be bashful.” Budtenders will generally have a pretty decent idea of what product can meet your price point and expertise level if you converse with them.

They should also be taken with a grain of salt because some producer/processor companies promote better than others and budtenders may be trained to be more knowledgeable in these companies’ products, and will promote them more than the others.

Not all budtenders are created equal, some take their job seriously and are very knowledgeable while others are just there for the discount and just want to shovel off grams. Let the budtender know if you are a first-time consumer or new to Cannabis so that they don’t send you home with something that may be way too potent for your experience level.

Remember, it’s always easier to consume more, take things slowly and learn where your line is. Yes, you can overdose on Cannabis, but overdoses won’t kill you. They will, on the other hand, make you feel extremely uncomfortable and can alter your plans very quickly, possibly making you look rather foolish when you are laying down on the floor. The point to take home here is that the budtender should have a decent idea of what the product is like and the effects, but do your homework; no one knows you better than you do.

OVERALL In the long run, the best way to find out what works and what doesn’t is by doing a little bit of research about what you are looking for along with trial-and-error sampling and questions for the budtender. Don’t buy an ounce of something unless you are sure you like that cultivar and the farmer who grew it.

Don’t forget that Cannabis is a commodity like any other crop and there are good harvests and bad harvests.

One farmer’s Northern Lights might not be the same as the next farmer on the shelf.

What is most important when looking at a test label and choosing a strain? Should I go for the highest THC possible?

The most important factor when choosing a strain is never “how high is the THC.” While high THC test results can be a solid indicator of how potent a strain is, simply buying Cannabis based on the THC numbers will leave you disappointed and missing a wide world of quality products.

All products sold in Alaska will have test results on the package listing THC content and other cannabinoids. Most new consumers assume that high THC content means the biggest “high.”

While THC does promote the majority of the psychoactive responses that one receives when they consume Cannabis, it is the entourage effect of cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids that has the most influence on how potent and how long the effects last after consumption.

With all the hybridizing of plants, we are now starting to see cultivars that grow like sativas but can carry a heavy sedative effect like an indica characteristically would do and vice versa. Just because a plant is 20-some-odd percent THC doesn’t particularly mean you will be on a space rocket ride for four hours. The combination of other cannabinoids and terpenes along with environmental stimuli will all play a role in how the effects are felt and their longevity.

The first decision you should make when buying pot is deciding what you want to use it for. Do you want a sativa for daytime use or a heavy indica for nighttime? There are thousands of strains, all with different effects, and dialing in the purpose for smoking goes a long way towards a good experience. From there getting a clear picture of the strain’s lineage, cannabinoid profile, terpene profile and overall looks will give you a solid base from which make your decision.

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Feature

By WES ABNEY | PHOTOS by OSCAR AVELLANEDA-CRUZ

TESTING CANNABIS

CANNTEST

HOW THE ANCHORAGE LAB IS MAKING AN IMPACT IN THE NEW MARKETPLACE

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CannTest Co-owner Mark Malagodi holds a vial ready for terpene testing using gas chromatography.

WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE STARTING CANNTEST?

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE THE FIRST COMPANY TO TEST LEGAL POT? HOW DID THAT FEEL?

I started out as a professor at University of Pittsburgh’s school of rehab sciences, taught classes and my main responsibility was setting people with disabilities up with assistive tech to help perform daily living tasks, and I also worked with people with spinal cord injuries, functional electrical stimulation, my Ph.D. thesis was on that and controlling exercise motions to regain bone mass, we tried to do an exercise regime for that.

Our first test was Oct. 24, 2016, we just had our six month anniversary since opening! Taking the first legal test in Alaska was cool. The first two companies here they both were outside the door at 8 a.m. Leif Abel from Greatland and Jana K from Greenrush Gardens, they were both here at 8 a.m. along with a reporter from [Alaska Dispatch News]. That felt really great, to be actually opening the start of the industry right here.

YOU ALSO STARTED A BUSINESS IN THAT FIELD. HOW DID THAT START?

HOW IS TESTING GOING NOW?

I started that business before the Ph.D., a technology business that created rehab software for companies that sold wheelchairs. I ran that company for 15 years in the private sector, and we had a bunch of different other projects as well.

We’re at roughly 1,400 done so far. We do all the standard ones that are required, the state only requires five cannabinoids, but we do 10, we do THCV, CBG-A, CBC, Delta 8 THC additionally.

We run high-performance liquid chromatography for the cannabinoids and gas chromotography with Head Space for residual solvency and terpenes, we do 19 terpenes and we can do sex testing for people, we can also do DNA genetics.

We do personal testing as well as commercial, so if someone has a home grow or looking at medicinal and they want to know the makeup of the plant, we can do that as well as working for commercial or state.

HOW DID YOU END UP IN ALASKA? DID YOUR BUSINESS COME WITH YOU? You know I’ve always loved AK, I took a couple vacations out here, hiked the Wrangell Elias goat trail for six days and didn't see another person. I was fascinated with AK and the outdoor opportunities here, so I finally convinced my wife that this was the place to go while the kids were small. For a while I still ran the company remotely, but it turned out to be difficult, so eventually I sold my shares to my partner, and that left me with an opening of what do I do next

HOW DID CANNABIS TESTING BECOME WHAT’S NEXT? When I heard about the vote coming up and that there was going to be an opportunity for testing labs I thought that fit me well, with a science and business background. I don’t use Cannabis myself, but I support legalization. For me it was more of a personal challenge, and that this is a new industry. It’s exciting, it’s something I could be a part of. In some industries, you are an incredibly small cog, and instead this was a chance to be a big part of the industry and provide a service that’s important.

DID YOUR BACKGROUND HELP WITH TESTING? I’m an engineer, but I knew I didn't have the lab experience. It took me time to find this place, and I started setting things up with the space and then in January 2016 I met up with Jonathan who was perfect for the role of science director. He was working on his post doctorate at University of Alaska, has Ph.D. in microbiology, and his undergraduate degree was a minor in chemistry, so he knows both areas of what's important for testing. For him he is more passionate about Cannabis, although I was definitely for legalization.

IN SOME INDUSTRIES, YOU ARE AN INCREDIBLY SMALL COG, AND INSTEAD THIS WAS A CHANCE TO BE A BIG PART OF THE INDUSTRY AND PROVIDE A SERVICE THAT’S IMPORTANT.

WHAT DRIVES YOU AT CANNTEST? Our mission is to work with other companies in the Cannabis industry to keep products safe, to help companies develop the best products possible. And definitely to provide the end user with knowledge of what it is they are buying, is it a super potent strain, is it something weak, what’s in the edibles it gives them info so they can make an informed decision and be assured that there's not anything bad in there.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS YOUR BIGGEST ROLE IN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY AND WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT FOR THE FUTURE? Testing companies are really partners with cultivators and producers. We have someone going out to the different areas to pick up, we have someone who goes to Fairbanks, to the Kenai, so that we can offer a service and keep the price low, and we don’t charge extra. Our goal is to eventually add that for the Southeast.

I’m excited to keep growing, cannTest and expect that toward end 620 E Whitney Rd B Anchorage, AK 99501 of summer we are going to (907) 258-6878 get really busy and we will CannTest.com get to use our full capacity!

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Feature

By WES ABNEY | PHOTOS by OSCAR AVELLANEDA-CRUZ

TESTING CANNABIS

STEEP HILL ALASKA

EXPANDING THE NETWORK OF STEEP HILL LABS WITH AN ANCHORAGE OUTPOST

36/MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

An interview with Steep Hill Alaska CEO Brian Coyle on the lab’s big ideas and goals.

CEO Brian Coyle and Scientific Director/Co-owner Tim Hinterberger

WHAT DOES STEEP HILL BRING TO THE TABLE?

Coyle comes from a background as a geophysicist & hydrogeologist while Hinterberger’s expertise is in molecular biology. He also teaches at the School of Medical Education at University of Alaska-Anchorage.

They’re the global leader in Cannabis testing and have a research and development department that is looking into new methods, expanding existing analytical methods to new compounds and changing how Cannabis is tested on a world wide scale.

Having access to their knowledge and experience as well as the infrastructure that we are able to leverage is great backup, and its good to have their support and years of testing experience and results. They’re licensing labs currently in Hawaii, Maryland, and there is even a Steep Hill Israel and that will really help with the medical research arm, because thats where the most active medical research is happening.

WHEN WAS YOUR FIRST LEGAL TEST AND HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE OPEN NOW? We opened Feb. 1 and our first legal test was on Feb. 8, a Sour Diesel by Greatland Ganja. It feels monumental. It feels great to have spent 11 months trying to get this thing to the point we could open, and through all that time period looking forward to being able to provide real answers to potency and contamination of the Cannabis products people are consuming. My idea getting into this was we wanted to primarily help the medical community so they know their dosage and have as clean of product as we are able to test, and the recreational users as well, to improve the safety of consumption, particularly on concentrates and edibles.

WHAT DID IT TAKE TO GET TO THIS POINT? IT MUST HAVE BEEN A MAJOR INVESTMENT. Capital investment to start was more than $500,000 to get to our first test, and that includes everything.

Equipment was half of that. We turned the page when we were allowed to open, and it’s better now because we have income coming in, and a whole new set of issues to address, but the biggest difference is we can finally serve the community.

DID YOU START TESTING BEFORE THE INDUSTRY WAS OFFICIALLY RUNNING, OR HAD “REC” SAMPLES? We’ve been testing oils and had a few personal samples, shatter, butter and flower. In our process development we tested about a dozen or more rosin, BHO and other samples. One woman came in with three different samples of butter, she and her husband are enthusiasts, and they garden and have more weed than they know what to do with, and they try different things, so they extract and make edibles and give them away to veterans. She wanted to get an idea of what dosages are in what she’s making, and I think thats great. And that’s something that we are going to support, and give them a break on testing. The backyard blasters selling on the black market have quite high contamination due to the solvents they use, and they aren’t doing anyone any good, and we’ve had personal samples come in from that that looked really nice, but had pretty high levels of residual butane.

Testing for the public is a major plus for health and safety, and we are happy to serve the community.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SIZE OF ALASKA AND THE LIMITATIONS ON TESTING AND TRANSPORTATION? WILL YOU TAKE A SAMPLE IN THE MAIL? It’s considered federally illegal to send MMJ through the mail, even for state licensed and legal products, but we have received samples in the mail, and when

WHAT TYPE OF TESTING SERVICES ARE YOU PROVIDING RIGHT NOW?

WE CAN TEST EDIBLES, CANDIES, COOKIES, CHEWINESS, BEVERAGES, TINCTURES, WE HAVE EXTRACTION PROCEDURES FOR ALL OF THOSE, WE GOT THOSE FROM STEEP HILL. we do we will test them and report results. At the risk of the sender, we are happy to help test and provide a service, if it gets here we’ll test it. How else are people going to get samples from the far corners of the state? We are pushing hard to find a legal courier service for testing samples.

YOU RECENTLY REBRANDED AS STEEP HILL ALASKA. WHAT DOES THE NAME CHANGE MEAN, AND WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT? The change is to better reflect our affiliation with the Steep Hill Network of Labs. We signed a licensing agreement with them to get their standard operating procedures for extraction and their chromatographic methods, so we are building on procedures that have been developed and refined over the last eight years through practical experience. We’re excited to build and move forward rather than starting from scratch.

SO, MORE THAN JUST A NAME, BUT A PARTNERSHIP WITH THEIR COMPANY. HOW DOES THIS HELP YOU? We want to bring leading edge information and processes to Alaska, and we see ourselves as the conduit of that info, to be a resource for the industry up here, for cultivators, extractors and also the medical folks.

Steep Hill is a global leader in testing. There’s no change in ownership, this is just reflecting our status as a licensee of IP, and this is still locally owned by Tim and I, and nothing changed except the name.

Potency, terpenes, microbial, two levels of terpenes, 10 on HPLC and 26 on Gas Chromatography with Mass Spec. We also run residual solvents. We can test edibles, candies, cookies, chewiness, beverages, tinctures, we have extraction procedures for all of those, we got those from Steep Hill. There is nothing in the state of Alaska Cannabis that hasn’t been tested by Steep Hill before, and we build from that experience to provide the best service possible.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT COMPETITION AND THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY? We are going to wait patiently and excitedly for the market to stabilize. I don’t want all the business, I think its good to have two labs. I don’t think monopolies are good for any industry, and I think there will be plenty of business to support two labs, possibly even a third. There are more cultivators coming on, there will be more products coming on by summer and we will have outdoor starting up again, and that’s a wild card. Overall there is a ton of business and success to be found for everyone if we all work together to support the industry.

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE ON HOW TESTING LABS SERVE THE INDUSTRY AND WHERE THINGS WILL TAKE STEEP HILL ALASKA? What we are doing, what our testing is providing to consumers is information on what they are consuming, which is important to the health and safety of consumers. My perspective is that we need everybody to succeed, and that’s what we are trying to help make happen. We want to help cultivators with processes, edibles makers, extractors, all their products need to be tested and developed to make the industry flourish and for us all to succeed!

steep Hill Alaska 2509 Fairbanks St Suite A, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 770-9997 SteepHill.com/Alaska

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recipes

By LAURIE WOLF | PHOTOS by BRUCE WOLF

Quixotic INGREDIENTS

SALAD SEASON

13 cups cooked quinoa 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 teaspoons canna-olive oil 1 cup corn niblets, fresh or frozen 1 cup edamame, frozen 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained & rinsed 1 bunch mint, rinsed & chopped 1/2 cup chopped red onion 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

QUINOA 1. Place quinoa in a large bowl.

2. Place the olive oil and Cannabis

oil in a medium sauté pan. Cook the corn, edamame, peas and chickpeas for 5-6 minutes. Allow to cool.

3. Add cooked vegetables to the

quinoa and your mint & red onion.

4. In a small bowl combine the olive

oil, lemon juice, cumin, garlic, black pepper and salt. Toss the salad with the dressing and divide among four plates.

Salad time and the livin’ is easy .

Farmer’s markets and my mini garden: that’s what’s for dinner at our house this month.

I’m testing Cannabis recipes for a project on leafy greens.

Their treatment has certainly become far more humane (look at what’s happened to kale!) and we are going to share the ones that seem to benefit most with the addition of Cannabis.

The recipes will be infused somewhat differently, so you can ramp up your repertoire.

Who doesn’t want that?

Laurie@LaurieandMaryjane.com

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Continues pg. 40

eoscreativemedia.com Travis Madden (907) 854-7547

RECIPES Continued from pg. 38

1. Remove the outer leaves

from the romaine and slice in half lengthwise. Mix the shrimp with the oil, lemon juice and pepper. Allow to marinate for at least a half hour. Thread the shrimp onto bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes.

Ganja Grilled

SHRIMP CAESAR SALAD INGREDIENTS

2 heads romaine lettuce 1 lb medium/large shrimp 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons plain yogurt 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 teaspoons French mustard 1 garlic clove, minced 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese 4 teaspoons canna-oil 3 slices whole grain bread, chopped 1 egg

All dishes serve fou

2. Prepare the grill. While

it’s heating, place the egg, olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice, mustard, garlic and Parmesan in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

3. In a small skillet heat the

canna-oil. SautĂŠ the croutons over low/medium heat until starting to brown.

4. Place lettuce and the

skewered shrimp on grill for about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

5. Place a romaine half and

the grilled shrimp on each plate. Sprinkle with the infused croutons. Drizzle with the dressing or serve on the side.

The Canna

COBB SALAD 1. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce

and the spinach. Place in the fridge.

2. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, canna-oil, salsa and dash of salt.

3. Divide the greens among four plates.

Arrange the remaining ingredients on the plate. Serve with the dressing on the side, or drizzle before serving.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups torn lettuce, any type 3 cups baby spinach 2/3 cup mayo or plain yogurt 4 teaspoons canna-oil 1/2 cup salsa, mild to spicy 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups sliced or shredded cooked chicken 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved if large 1 avocado peeled, cut in thin slices and tossed with lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon juice 6 radishes, thinly sliced 4 strips bacon, cooked, placed on paper towels to absorb grease and chopped 4 tablespoons crumbled bleu cheese

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rehashed

By WES ABNEY | PHOTOS by AMBER FOUTS

April 20, 2017

HIGH SOCIETY

Expanding minds with the power of conversation, food and Cannabis

42/MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

T

he world of gourmet food is slowly opening up to meet the Cannabis plant, and the result can be an absolutely beautiful and once in a lifetime experience. I was invited out to a private residence in West Seattle for a special dinner that promised to delight both the taste buds and mind, with a six course menu of delicious food and Cannabis.

How could I say no? So, at 6 p.m. on 4/20, I took my last dab before dinner and headed out the door to see what the creative team behind the event had to offer.

One of the best parts about Cannabis is that it can be paired with food or beverages in an endless variety of ways. The theme to this dinner was to pair regular—read: non-infused—food and non-alcoholic beverages with Cannabis in the smoked form.

The brainchild of KC Franks, owner of (Lux) Pot Shop, and Chef Derek Simcik, Executive Chef of the Thompson in Seattle, the dinner was a masterful trip into the art of food.

The idea came from another dinner that Chef Derek held with a tattoo theme, and it inspired this Cannabis version.

First off, let me say that the food BESIDES EATING AND SMOKING, being created by Chef Derek is THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE pushing the best edges of gourmet DINNER WAS TO BRING A WIDE cooking, and that anyone interested should stop by the Thompson.

VARIETY OF PEOPLE TOGETHER Arriving at the dinner a few FOR A CONVERSATION ABOUT minutes early, I was stunned to see CANNABIS, AND HOW THE PLANT a beautiful long table for 20 guests, INDUSTRY AND PERCEPTIONS complete with Cannabis place settings and a variety of flowers and ARE CHANGING IN PART DUE TO joints ready to smoke.

EVENTS LIKE THIS The kitchen was in full go mode, and the open-air layout between that and the dining area meant we got to watch the team in action on the food. I was sitting closest to the aptly named Julie Weed of Forbes and the New York Times, Pam Mendel of the San Francisco Chronicle, Alex Cooley of Solstice and Alison Draisin, a writer friend and all-around Cannabis industry superstar.

I immediately knew I was in for a unique time.

Besides eating and smoking, the main purpose of the dinner was to bring a wide variety of people together for a conversation about Cannabis, and how the plant industry and perceptions are changing in part due to events like this. Continues pg. 44

MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/43

rehashed

By WES ABNEY | PHOTOS by AMBER FOUTS

Continued from pg. 43

HIGH SOCIETY

44/MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

D I N N E R

I S

S E R V E D

We started with our first joint, a high CBD Sour Tsunami from Solstice, and then we were explained the format: Each course would be brought out with a custom beverage and a joint, all designed to blend and flow the evening together.

There was a true sense of excitement and raw epic-ness as we all sparked joints, the open-air room lightly billowing with smoke as a team of servers placed our courses in front of us.

The menu was too extensive to list, but my favorite pairing was the Halibut Cheeks with Dutchberry from Artizen, and both the plate and the flower were exceptionally done.

I also really enjoyed the #9 Hammer from Trail Blazin Productions with the Veal Cheeks, and the Gorilla Glue #4 from Gold Leaf paired with a wild Morrels plate was just spectacular.

The group talked about social justice, Cannabis law and changes, the meaning and future of 4/20, and a variety of other topics close to the Cannabis industry. It was enlightening and slightly surreal to be taking hits from a joint while eating 5-star food and talking IT WAS ENLIGHTENING AND criminal justice reform and taking SLIGHTLY SURREAL TO BE Cannabis on airplanes, but that was TAKING HITS FROM A JOINT what made the dinner so special.

WHILE EATING 5-STAR FOOD The six courses took us on a journey across Washington through AND TALKING CRIMINAL food, with a coastal, mountains, JUSTICE REFORM AND TAKING lowlands and several other pairings.

CANNABIS ON AIRPLANES, BUT Finishing with a spectacular fruit THAT WAS WHAT MADE THE and sorbet dessert plus a mocktail DINNER SO SPECIAL. and Black Cherry Soda from Royal Tree, the night ended blissfully.

We all settled in for a Cannagar and a final bit of conversation as 4/20 wound its way down.

As I left the house after hours of incredible food, company and Cannabis, I knew I had just witnessed the future of 4/20 and foodie heaven.

MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

/45

REVIEWS

By WES ABNEY | PHOTOS by @BERMANPHOTOS

PRODUCTS BY

FROZEN BUDZ

THC STARS

TOKER CHAI TEA CONTAINS We were so excited to try out the first infused drink in Alaska from the first 20MG licensed edible company in the state, OF THC and we weren’t disappointed. The Toker Chai Tea is a tasty and easy way to get high without the bother of smoking or hitting a vape pen. We sat down on a sunny afternoon with one cold out of the fridge, cracked it open and prepared for a relaxing and yummy treat.

The chai flavor was wonderful and had a lightly creamy consistency with a smooth mouthfeel. We drank it cold and absolutely loved it, a refreshing and tasty treat that can be enjoyed for breakfast or really as a snack at any time of the day.

The pro-tip from Frozen Budz is to lightly heat the chai over the stove until warm, add a little honey, and sip as a hot beverage. That’s the perfect way to end a day, but expect to get a little sleepy if you are consuming this warm.

THE SCORE Either way, the effects are surprisingly potent F LAVOR and this drink has some EFF ECT power for only 20mg, and LABEL between the high and the VALUE taste it’s worth a try. ($20, four servings) total 18/20

46/MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

CONTAINS Everybody wants to feel like a star, 5MG THC and Frozen Budz as delivered a way to be one and eat one at the same time!

PER BITE These tasty little stars are a tasty two-

WE DRANK IT COLD AND ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT, A REFRESHING AND TASTY TREAT THAT CAN BE ENJOYED FOR BREAKFAST OR REALLY AS A SNACK AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY.

bite option that is reminiscent of truffles but with a distinctly Cannabis kick. Which basically means it’s impossible to only eat one.We cracked open the six-pack of bites and grabbed one, ready to get our edible buzz on, THE SCORE and were surprised at how delicious they were.

F LAVO R The chocolate has a soft EFFECT bite and a mild green LA B E L taste that compliments and balances out the VA LUE chocolate truffle notes. tota l 18/20 Eating two or three of these bites is enough to satisfy both chocolate cravings and deliver a buzz, and just like the Toker Chai Tea, we found the dosage to have a little extra strength that we didn’t expect. These bites hit a little harder than the 5mg suggests, and we aren’t complaining. Try out the full line of Frozen Budz edibles for a variety of yummy treats, all with a solid of Cannabis for fun. ($30, six servings)

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Reviews

By STEVE ELLIOTT Editor, Tokesignals.com

OFF THE

STREET

By W.A. BOGART, 2016, 278 PAGES, $19.99

LEGALIZING DRUGS A nyone who’s paying attention knows that the so-called “War on Drugs” (which is really, like all wars, a war on people) has been an abject failure.

The cost of trying to control the production, sale and use of recreational drugs through criminal law is just too high.

Unjust incarceration (the U.S. imprisons a higher percentage of its populace than any other nation on Earth), illicit markets, tainted substances, exploited children and an untaxed industry are just a few of the ways we pay for this horrible policy.

“There is no evidence … that these weapons have been effective in achieving the traditional criminal justice aims of crime reduction, rehabilitation or deterrence,” Bogart writes. “The war on drugs has left a bloody trail of criminal activity born of underground, illicit and organized criminal control of all aspects of the drug trade, including supply, trafficking and distribution.”

48/MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

W.A. BOGART

But there’s a common sense alternative. And tory landscape and how it might end that’s exactly what W.A. Bogart’s hard-hitting up looking. He also takes an in-depth book, Off The Street, posits: that the legalization look at supply chain scenarios, and deof all currently illegal drugs is the smartest thing votes an entire chapter to prescription we could do about the “problem.” drugs which are currently The catchphrase for governments legal, but illegally abused, This book compellingly calls controlling the consumption of alcoand how they will fit into for a thoughtful, hol, tobacco, junk food and gambling the equation. comprehensive is “permit but discourage.” All are leLegalization and reguladiscussion of the gal, but, to greater or lesser degrees, tion can attack the underlegalization and harmful and their consumption is deground economy, Bogart regulation of recreational drugs. believes. Bringing illicit creased by targeted regulatory strategies. drug use into the realm of This eloquent book suggests that permitted activity will help lower exthe same approach should be adopted cessive use, provide revenue for prefor drugs. Pulling no punches, Bogavention, treatment and counseling and rt, a distinguished university profesbetter protect children, according to sor and professor of law at the Unithe book. versity of Windsor, predicts when Drug use is not going away. Off The and how the War on Drugs will end, Street compellingly calls for a thoughtand discusses whether Cannabis ful, comprehensive discussion of the leshould be considered separately, and galization and regulation of recreationshould stand alone with its own set al drugs, which Professor Bogart calls of policies. He explores the regulathe “least bad” way forward.

budshot

PHOTO by @KRISTEN ANGELO @APOTFARMERSDAUGHTER

INDICA-DOMINANT CROSS OF GIRL SCOUT COOKIES AND PINK PANTIES.

COLOR-RICH AND HEAVILY COATED WITH TRICHOMES, THIS STRAIN PRODUCES COMPLEX AROMAS AND A FLAVORFUL BLEND OF SKUNKY CITRUS AND SWEET BERRIES.

50/MAY 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF

Sequim, Washington

CANNA ORGANIX

SUNSET SHERBET Got sweet garden/bud photos?

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growtech

TRAIN THEM

OR THEY LL ’ TRAIN YOU

P

lants, for many people, are their greatest teachers. ever without an adequate light source. In effort to burn the candle from They garner the effortless ability, in a single moboth ends of the wick, the industry focuses on researching, discoverment, to impart knowledge at a level of complexity ing and manufacturing light solutions that more closely mimic the

BY ALASKA LEAF that would otherwise take several years of convenbenefits the sun imparts. On the candle’s other end, as gardeners, SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR tional study to grasp. Nowhere is this trait perhaps we can choose to train the plants to grow in a specific pattern that DR. SCANDERSON more easily demonstrated then when it comes to varies highly from how the plant grows with no training in effort to the topic of training plants. Training, or the physical customize the canopy and maximize the already inferior light source. manipulation performed on the plant that alters its otherwise natural But that’s just the root. growth pattern, is an area where much variety of applications and techTraining plants has many other benefits, which is why indoor and nique exists—each of which lends high levels of self-expression to us as garoutdoor gardeners alike use training and manipulations to maximize the deners. The techniques and methods used can be simple in their essence, but environment. Training and bending plants catalyzes root growth, as well as knowing when, how and to what degree to apply them determines to a large increases stem size, rigidity and strength. Having the opportunity to interact degree the overall health, vigor and success of the round. with the rhizosphere nearly as often as the canopy as a water gardener allows much feedback through direct observation with the techniques that impact W H AT I S T R A I N I N G ? the root zone. Unequivocally, a low or no stress training session will have a An ideological perspective on training is, in my mind, the area where the true arnearly immediate impact on increasing root growth when working with a tisan skill of indoor farming is most easily expressed. The places and ways we, as healthy plant. Other benefits include significantly improved pest and disease humans, choose to manipulate the plant is completely subjective and a reflection resistance, as properly trained plants will have improved light penetration, air on how we see and interact with the world around us. It also provides a special flow as well as air movement and less biological matter, especially in the risky and trusting interaction between the human being and the nonareas where pests most often find their footing. human plant being, where understanding and closely being able As indoor gardeners, the primary skill rests in being a canopy to predict future growth patterns can be used to maximize canopy manipulator. Being able to finish the plant’s stretch period such THE IDEOLOGICAL space as well as prevent disease and infestation. I call this area that the limited area where there is the greatest amount of phoPERSPECTIVE ON “sculpting tree” as much like a sculptor, the gardener is charged tosynthetically active radiation (PAR) light output is fully maxiwith moving and removing only the excess from an otherwise mized by the ideal number of plant tops. This will still allow for TRAINING IS THE AREA already flawless subject. Our subject in this case just happens to proper light penetration, air flow and in partnership with the WHERE THE TRUE have the feature of dynamic and regenerative movement. plant’s particular ideal production pattern. That’s it, that’s about the whole McCoy. The rest is a matter of knowing how and when to ARTISAN SKILL OF WHY TRAIN? the right equipment and resources, but is far less of a dynamic INDOOR FARMING IS MOST use The answer to this question is rooted in the fact that this article process. Doing anything less seems to wag a finger in the face of focuses on indoor cultivation. As an indoor farmer, you are forthe evident short coming we, as indoor gardeners, are faced with.

EASILY EXPRESSED

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TOPPING (TINY CROPPING) Topping your plants is a method of training manipulation in which the apical meristem is removed from the primary growth shoot at an early stage of growth (first few leaf sets). Removing this top has a few immediate impacts. First, by removing the apical tip you stop vertical growth from that tip, which is the highest point on the plant. Secondly, you diffuse the auxins, the hormone generally responsible for vertical or apical growth, throughout the plant allowing cytokinins, the hormones generally responsible for cellular division and lateral growth to be more dominant resulting in more branching.

The new branches then eventually become the new tops where the auxins will again be sent to improve vertical growth, but now over a greater number of “tops” or plant heads.

Other methods of topping provide for allowing the plant to remain un-topped, growing in its natural pattern until it reaches a point where the side branches are sufficient in the lower section of the plant to remove a large portion of the upper section, leaving only the lower sets of lateral, more branchy nodes.

In both cases after more branches have been established as “tops” the process can be repeated, creating an exponential result of tops each time. For example, the first main stem topping results in two tops emerging from a lower section of the plant.

Those two new tops now become the two dominant heads in that plant’s canopy. Top each of them again, and the two becomes four new heads that will want to grow into the dominant tops of the plant, top those and you have eight new tops and so on.

By starting this process early, as is dictated by the tiny cropping technique, you can end up with a very short main stem and many main branches to produce, which is particularly nice when producing in an indoor environment.

SUPER CROPPING OR HIGH STRESS TRAINING Without belaboring the various names people use when referring to this technique, I’m talking about the practice of breaking, snapping and extreme bending of plants as a way to deal with stretch. This practice is just as it sounds. Cannabis is an incredibly resilient plant, and one can use its ability to repair itself and sustain large amounts of damage as a tool in training. Much like topping, when you super crop or snap a top from a plant demonstrating vertical internodal stretch, you immediately slow the vertical growth of that node. The process of snapping a top is a matter of finesse and experience with the particular plant, but generally speaking, the goal is to create a break and softening of all the tissue

inside the stem without damaging the outer sheath.

Using tools like trellis netting, tomato cagThis results in the top flopping over rather perilously. es and stakes as a way to provide some reliable The longer term result however is that the plant internal structure to anchor the plant to and/or will slow or stop vertical growth of that internode in against is the primary methodology available for favor of repairing the damage. Much like building farmers looking to master this technique. Up uncalcium deposits to mend broken bones in humans, til the introduction of a product called the OG the plant heals itself by building up a bunch of rigSpring, it was straight trial an error. This nifty id biomass in that area. Within a few short days or little innovation’s simplicity is exceeded only by less, depending on the variety, the once limp and sad the results and ease of use it provides. The spring looking top will have turned itself right back up to is a simple inexpensive piece of metal that uses the light while the damaged area is repaired. A few the sacred geometric ratios found all over nature days later the once damaged areas become a bulky defined by us humans as The Golden Ratio and rigid and supportive bump that commonly known as the Greek protects the once damaged section letter Phi to effortlessly create of the plant. The node may stretch a low stress training model and TRAINING IS THE VERY again and the same process is resupport system that doesn’t SHORT TIME WHERE YOUR peated on a different section of the require any topping. Not only INTERACTIONS WITH same internode, creating a “staircase does this open the world of of knuckles” but also many large inlow stress training to gardeners YOUR PLANTS AND WHAT dividual bud sites sitting side by side of all skill levels by providing MANIFESTS FROM THOSE creating improved yield, airflow and a simple-to-follow technique light penetration.

INTERACTIONS IS MOST RICH that consistently results in exceptional plant structure, but AND VIBRANT LOW STRESS OR NO STRESS TRAINING also allows the plant’s natural In this technique, the gardener imgrowth speed to be harnessed, parts very small amounst of “enas the technique requires no couragement” guiding the plant’s topping of any heads. growth pattern usually through a series of anchors or ties. Without SUMMARY ever creating a break in the plant’s Training or “sculpting tree” is tissue, the plant’s natural elasticity is really one of the areas I can used to manipulate and expose different sections of easily identify as one of the reasons I know I the plant to light. This training creates a growth pathave been put on this earth to work with plants tern far more favorable for indoor production. Also, on the most intimate of levels. That is to say because the technique doesn’t demand damaging the the excitement, amount of available informaplant in any way, there is no “down time” while the tion and opportunity to impact a result is what plant is repairing itself. One only needs to regularly keeps many of us coming back for more, round guide and make small adjustments with regularity to after round, year after year, decade after decade. both leverage the plant’s natural growth speed and Make no mistakes, this isn’t a chore. Although response to being fed with light. labor and time intensive, training is the very To this end however, low stress or no stress short time where your interactions with your training demands the highest level of experience plants and what manifests from those interacin working with the plant as the manipulation betions is most rich and vibrant. gins within a few days of transplanting the clone.

If you have specific questions on training Knowing what to bend, by how much and when is techniques mentioned in this article, or anyessential to keeping the stress low or non-existent thing I missed, please feel free to message me and gaining the benefits intended. The risk of overat DrScanderson@protonmail.com doing it at this stage is also very much increased, a mistake at the beginning of the process may result HAPPY GARDENING in termination of that plant altogether. Additionally, it’s imperative that a general understanding of Follow along how to create the framework of the plant’s base.

Instagram @DrScanderson_gT How to deal with the myriad of new shoots the Drop me a line manipulation provides is something I was only able thegreengardengroup@gmail.com to master through experience.

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Drop me a line

thegreengardengroup@gmail.com

Watch a video

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BY ALASKA LEAF SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR DR. SCANDERSON

BAG APPEAL & SMOKE REPORT

THE PRIMARY FEATURE about the bag appeal with this plant

is its large and evenly sized buds. The ease of growth creates particularly evenly sized flower sites, each of which is ample in size and quite dense. Although the Albert Walker completely dominates in grow, the terps from the dried flowers are all earthy, grassy, fuel-like OG. It’s a unique and unusual combination to have such large, dense, bulbous flowers that absolutely explode with rich, OG goodness. The flavor doesn’t disappoint either.

Absolute rich, nutty earth, sour with just a feathering of roasted almond is all up in your business on the inhale and the exhale is all OG gas. It’s that lingering, tongue-numbing, borderline metallic sour that sticks with you; shattering the belief that true size and connoisseur flavor can’t coexist.

HOW IT GROWS DOMINATED BY the Albert Walker side of the

heritage in so far as growth is concerned, the Dawg Walker is vigorous, balanced and easy to grow. In stark contrast to the lanky, chaotic growth patterns Lemon Alien Dawg so often displays, the Dawg Walker grows into an evenly structured medium height bush with little training. This particularly flattering growth pattern sets up an even canopy ready to bulk into the large flower sites Albert Walker is known for. A fast finisher at eight or nine weeks for Kush, this plant lends itself well to outdoor cultivation with its early finishing times. Be extra cautious to provide plenty of airflow and a rich microbial population to inoculate against powdery mildew and other airborne pathogens. The thick heavy flower sites, paired with the medium bush structure, can impede air flow making this cultivar particularly susceptible.

ALSO KNOWN AS OREGON OG

Absolute rich, nutty earth, sour with just a feathering of roasted almond is all up in your business on the inhale LINEAGE

BREEDER

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Combining the huge yield and solid growth structure of the award-winning Ewok with the over-the-top potency and flavor of the famed Lemon Alien Dawg from Alien Genetics provides a winning combination elite enough to be assigned flattering nickname of Oregon OG.

THC DEVELOPMENT

Firestax.com

DAWG WALKER

BEHIND THE STRAIN

This plant lends itself well to outdoor cultivation with its early finishing times.

EFFECTS

DESPITE A SHORTER FLOWER PERIOD,

this power-packed OG flavored sweetheart of a cultivar is an adventure. The flavor and power of the Tahoe from the Lemon Alien Dawg really delivers that barely-functional-but-still-excited-to-try sort of experience. Any amount of overindulgence is sure to lead to a comfortable space that welcomes plenty of caloric nourishment and slumber.

GENETICS EWOK X LEMON ALIEN DAWG FLOWER TIME

EIGHT TO NINE WEEKS

2612 EAGLE ST. ANCHORAGE, AK (907) 644-1838

10AM-6PM 7 DAYS A WEEK AKFUZZYBUDS.COM

GUMMY BEAR

31.84% THC

THIS IS A MARIJUANA PRODUCT. MARIJUANA HAS INTOXICATING EFFECTS AND MAY BE HABIT FORMING AND ADDICTIVE. MARIJUANA IMPAIRS CONCENTRATION, COORDINATION AND JUDGEMENT. DI BIT 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 REACH OF CHILDREN. MARIJUANA SHOULD NOT BE USED BY WOMEN WHO ARE PREGNANT OR BREASTFEEDING.