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contents
AUGUST 2013
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66
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Access PROFILE
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sEATTLE HEMPFEST is an amazing time to be in the Pacific Northwest. Over three long, hot and strenous days, patients and
recreational enthusiasts alike collide on the Seattle waterfront. As the world’s largest marijuana protestival, Seattle Hempfest is the site of fierce smoking, passionate debate and an array of budding entrepreneuership. We’re at booth #506 // see map p. 50
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Medical Marijuana 101
The Snohomish Battle
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Coffee Table Classics
Marijuana Equality
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Device of the Month
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Healing all by yourself
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Puget Sound area raids
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Collectives see DEA action for 2nd time How access continues to be in jeopardy How two movements intertwined
Map 50 Hempfest Know your way to have a good day
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What every patient should know
Books for your futon and your mind
A Seattle artist’s $1000 bubbler rig The power of sensory deprivation
NATIONAL NEWS...................14 CANNABIS KID’S BOOK.........34 8 QUESTIONS DON SKAKIE.......38 FLY OVER HEMPFEST...............48 STRAIN OF THE MONTH ........52 SATIVAS VS. INDICAS............68 TASTY RECIPES......................74 CONCENTRATES.....................84 TOP 10 GROWING TIPS............92 NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE..........100 BEHIND THE STRAIN...............102
COVER & CONTENTS PHOTOS by Daniel Berman/Northwest Leaf
contents
54 MEDIBLE SPECIAL If you think the only thing
Medicated fortune cookie by FARM THERAPEUTICS 1-2 servings, 2.74mg CBD • Available @ NW Cannabis Market White Center
marijuana can be cooked into is a brownie, then you’re mistaken. From breakfast to snacks to dinner and dessert, we’ve curated a variety of tasty and potent medicated items that are sure to get you really hungry. Photo by Daniel Berman
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editor’s note
AUGUST 2013
Thank you for checking out the 38th issue of northwest leaf!
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his is our biggest issue ever and our 4th annual Hempfest issue, and if you are reading this issue from there I hope you are enjoying the festival! Our booth is #506, so please be sure to stop by for some free swag and a trip into our photo booth. Our cover this month is an epic shot from the main stage of the massive amount of people that come to Hempfest to celebrate Cannabis use. Most attendees would tell you, if asked, that they smoke pot for fun and “recreational” reasons. But what many don’t realize is that almost all use of Cannabis serves a therapeutic and medicinal value. Whether it’s after a long shift at work that leaves the ankles sore, or to alleviate stress from a unexpected life situation, or simply to make a day better-- big pharma wants to sell you pill for all of that. And they are scared of everyday people [their consumer market] replacing half their medicine cabinet with Cannabis. Because it grows naturally, and is better medicine than
anything made in a lab. That’s what medical Cannabis is all about. The freedom to choose an alternative medicine. The freedom to grow a plant without fear of arrest or prosecution. You can learn more in our special this month called MMJ 101. To celebrate all that medical Cannabis has to offer we’ve put together a spread of tasty medibles that stretches over 10 pages. From breakfast to dessert, and everything in between. There’s also a look into two great access points, a unique high CBD strain of the month, a delectable concentrate of the month & more. Be sure to check out our health and science section for some new lessons, growtech for the top 10 tips, our essential Hempfest guide and a sleek device of the month. Above all, thanks for reading and sharing the truth about Cannabis.
-Wes Abney
Contact Northwest Leaf editor Wes Abney to discuss advertising or displaying our magazine in a new location. We want to hear from you! Feel free to send submissions, share news tips, your take on a story or one we should hear.
Phone 206-235-6721 Email nwleaf@gmail.com
founder & editor-in-chief
Wes Abney
the truth about the plant you thought you knew, IN every issue.
photographer & designer
Daniel Berman contributors STEVE ELLIOTT KIRK ERICSON KYU HAN ASHER KOCH TYLER MARKWART BOB MONTOYA WILL RODENBOUGH DR. SCANDERSON DR. SCOTT D. ROSE
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Northwest
STEVE ELLIOTT is the editor behind tokesignals.com, an independent blog of Cannabis news and opinion
“Hippies don’t make good business people,” she told The Seattle Times with a chuckle last month. Muraco Kyashna-Tocha
founded The Green Buddha medical marijuana collective in Seattle, Washington, and posed for a portrait with pet Moluccan cockatoo, Big Bird Bubba, May 22, 2012 at her access point.
PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
Dispensary Owner Calls For Shutdown of Medical Marijuana in Washington
“MURACO KYASHNA-TOCHA,” alias Holly B. Mc-
Clintock, owner of the Green Buddha medical marijuana collective in Seattle — has bragged to Bloomberg Businessweek that she can “triple her income” under Washington state marijuana “legalization” measure Initiative 502, by switching from the medicinal cannabis business to the recreational. “Hippies don’t make good business people,” she told the Seattle Times with a chuckle last month. That’s fine, as far as it goes — but “Muraco” also says “I believe the successful implementation of I-502 will require shutting down the illicit market that is medical cannabis,” as revealed by a public records request, reports 420 Leaks. “Illicit market”? There are a lot of very ill medical marijuana patients who count on that “illicit market” for the strains, concentrates, tinctures and topicals that make life livable. So where does “Muraco” get off characterizing that entire community as “illicit” and in need of “shutting down”?
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“Muraco,” 55, has shown she has no problem throwing medical marijuana patients under the bus, as long as she can “triple her profits.” In any event, “Muraco” keeps saying really stupid things to the press; things like this: ”Since ‘naturopathic’ doctors were allowed to authorize the use of marijuana, any dude with a bad foot can now get a note from his doctor.” “Green Buddha (within blocks of Roosevelt High School) had assistance from our medical community to get going in 2009, and Muraco has now shown her true intentions,” states a press release from Kirk Ludden of the group Cannabis Patient Protection. “She has exhibited atrocious behavior towards patients, growers, medical staff and other members of the medical cannabis community,” Ludden said. “For example, getting no contact/restraining orders, terrorizing lawyers and other collective
owners while cyber bullying/hacking their websites.” Medical cannabis is not an “illicit market;” there are legitimate collectives supplying legitimate patients every day. But it’s especially ironic, since “Muraco” insists upon characterizing the medical marijuana market as “illicit,” that her very own actions and business practices are probably a big part of any existing perception in that regard. “People and organizations like this make our medical market appear illicit,” Ludden said. “It is time for them to get out. They need to pay back taxes from the day I-502 passed, since they were in it for profit from the beginning.” That shouldn’t be a problem for “Muraco,” since she boasted to Businessweek that she’s “undeterred by taxes” on the cannabis she sells. In fact, “Muraco” predicted that she’ll earn from $70,000 to $100,000 a year, compared to the $24,000 she made last year.
New Hampshire Governor Signs Mmj bill Into Law PHOTO BY FLICKR/MARCNA
>> Patients there will now be allowed to grow up to three Cannabis plants as well as visit four state access points
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overnor Maggie Hassan on July 23 signed in court if they were arrested before patient a bill into law making New Hampshire the ID cards became available, but the Senate 19th state to allow residents with serious illultimately (and unfortunately) removed the nesses to access and use medical marijuana provisions at the behest of Gov. Hassan. if their doctors recommend it. The amended bill also contained errors “This legislation is long overdue and comes as a that would have rendered the policy unrelief to the many seriously ill patients throughout workable. House and Senate negotiators New Hampshire who will benefit from safe access arrived at a compromise that included the to medical marijuana,” said Matt Simon, a New Senate’s removal of the home-growing and Hampshire-based legislative analyst for the Mariaffirmative defense provisions, but correctjuana Policy Project (MPP). ed the potentially fatal flaws. “Those suffering from debili“The vast majority of AmeriThe vast majority of tating conditions like cancer and cans recognize the medical Americans recognize multiple sclerosis deserve legal, benefits of marijuana and bethe medical benefits of safe, and reliable access to medical lieve people with serious illmarijuana and believe marijuana.” nesses should have safe and people with serious H.B. 573, sponsored by state legal access to it,” Simon said. illnesses should have Rep. Donna Schlachman (D-Ex“We applaud our elected ofsafe and legal access. eter), will allow residents with cerficials for enacting a law to protain debilitating illnesses, such as tect patients, and we hope legiscancer, multiple sclerosis, and HIV/AIDS, to use lators in other states will follow suit.” medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it. Nineteen states (including New HampPatients will be able to obtain marijuana through shire) and Washington, D.C. allow patients one of four non-profit, state-licensed alternative with qualifying conditions to use medical treatment centers. marijuana with recommendations from The bill initially approved by the House altheir physicians. The Illinois Legislature lowed patients to grow up to three mature mariapproved similar legislation in May, which juana plants in their homes and to raise a defense is now awaiting the governor’s signature.
Quoted
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Quick Hits!
1,452
Number of live marijuana plants seized from two commercial office buildings in Bakersfield, CA last year. Drug laws meant the buildings had to be forfeited to the government, but a recent settlement allowed the landlord to pay just a $1.7 million fine in lieu of turning them over.
20
Thousands of pot plants discovered in June growing between rows of corn at what officials described as a large marijuana growing operation in San Joaquin County, CA. It took more than a day to process the 20 acres of farmland.
5 700 150 4
votes to four, in favor of banning retail marijuana stores from Colorado Springs, CO even after Amendment 64 legalized marijuana last November.
Number of people in Connecticut who have become certified to use medicinal marijuana in the first year of the program, though they won’t be able to buy anything until 2014, when dispensaries open. ng/ml of THC in the blood stream that the World Anti-Doping Agency will allow professional athletes to have before Olympics disqualification.
Age of a boy in Michigan that found a marijuana pipe inside of his Kid’s Meal. Police said that the 23-year-old Burger King employee had hidden his device there and it was never intended to go to any customer. Police arrested the employee along with two of his friends, age 19 and 20.
69
Age of a Picayune, Mississippi man charged by police with trying to hide marijuna-laded baggies inside of his home’s air conditioner. No luck there.
WE OBVIOUSLY COULDN’T USE MARIJUANA IN THE BEER, BECAUSE WE COULDN’T SELL IT, SO WE WANTED TO USE HEMP TO HELP TELL THE STORY. WE DIDN’T REALIZE HOW MUCH HEMP WOULD CHANGE THE FLAVOR! - Redhook brand manager Karmen Olson, describing the brewery’s new beer release called “Joint Effort.” The product, made in collaboration with Seattlebased Hilliards Brewery, features a light hemp flavor imparting a certain nutiness. Olson said the beer does smell a little like pot, but doesn’t taste like it.
national
STEVE ELLIOTT is the editor behind tokesignals.com, an independent blog of Cannabis news and opinion
Mexico’s
Ex-President: Marijuana Could Be Legal in mexico within 5 years
PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
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exico could legalize marijuana within the said, when asked by Reuters whether Mexico next five years, former President Vicente Fox could legalize Cannabis by the time Pena Nisaid on July 19. The move could strip the eto’s term ends in 2018. “Once California gets nation’s notoriously brutal drug cartels of a major into this, Mexico is going to be obligated to source of income. speed up its decision process.” Fox battled the drug cartels while president bePrevious bills to legalize marijuana in Mexico tween 2000 and 2006; he has since have stalled; voters in California, Fox has been campaign- which borders Mexico, rejected a become an advocate of reforming Mexico’s drug laws, reports Ga2010 measure to legalize Cannaing for marijuana briel Stargardter at Reuters. Fox bis, though marijuana is legal for legalization at a series now argues that drug prohibition medicinal purposes. of events this year in the has helped create the criminal California is very likely to vote market that sustains the cartels. again by 2018 on marijuana legalU.S. and Mexico. Six years ago, under Fox’s sucization, according to Tom Angell, cessor, President Felipe Calderon, Mexico launched a spokesman for Marijuana Majority, which faa military offensive to crush the cartels, but the vors Cannabis reform. violence only increased. More than 70,000 people Fox’s views on legalization mirror a wider have been killed in the Drug War since the start trend in Latin American where a number of of 2007. current and former leaders, including President Legalization is the best way of ending the drug Otto Perez of Guatemala, are backing alternagangs’ “butchery,” Fox said, hosting a conference in tives to the aggressive U.S.-led War On Drugs. his home state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. Fox has been campaigning for marijuana leNew President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took galization at a series of events this year in the office in December, said he opposes legalization, U.S. and Mexico. but added that the decision by Colorado and At several events, he joined former MicroWashington state to legalize cannabis has given soft executive Jamen Shively, who claims he’s him a more open mind. creating the first national U.S. marijuana brand, “I think it’s going to happen much sooner,” Fox Diego Pellicer, based in Washington state.
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Fox’s views on legalization mirror a wider trend in Latin American where a number of current and former leaders, including President Otto Perez of Guatemala, are backing alternatives to the aggressive U.S.-led War On Drugs.
Kentucky State Senator BATTLES Stricter than I-502, Nevada For new Medical Marijuana law DUI law could harm MMJ >> Senator Perry Clark advocates for Cannabis after constituents tell of true pain relief
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state senator from Louisville is hoping to add Kentucky to the 18 states which have legalized medical marijuana. Senator Perry Clark has introduced a bill for the 2013 legislative session that would legalize cannabis for medicinal uses in the Bluegrass State, reports WHAS 11. Sen. Clark and dozens of people, including members of the group Kentuckians for Medical Marijuana celebrated at Clark’s home in July in It’s time,” Sen. Clark anticipation of a public hearing on Ausaid. “Forty percent of gust 21 in the Health and Welfare joint committee, composed of members of the the states have already Kentucky Senate and House. passed medical mariThe group used the party to announce juana laws and Kentucky that Irvin Rosenfeld, one of the four rehas kind of fallen bemaining recipients of federal medical marijuana, will speak at the August hearhind on that. The science ing, reports WDRB. is far on our side. “It’s time,” Sen. Clark said. “Forty percent of the states have already passed medical marijuana laws and Kentucky has kind of fallen behind on that. The science is far on our side. “Cannabis is medicine,” Clark said. “It’s medicine in it’s many forms.” “I will not stop advocating for this bill,” said Erin Grossman. Erin suffers from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, which affects the nervous system; she said marijuana would ease her pain. “We’re advocating for safe access, safe medicine for Kentuckians.” “I’m definitely not a criminal; I’m somebody that goes through a lot of pain every day and chooses not to use pharmaceutical medications to treat my pain,” said Jaime Montalvo, who has multiple sclerosis. Sen. Clark said he has been fighting to legalize medical marijuana after hearing from many of his elderly constituents who use cannabis for pain relief. “I am about getting access to natural medicine and compassionate medicine as to as many Kentuckians as I can get that too,” Clark said. Sen. Clark introduced a similar bill last year, but it didn’t get any traction in the Kentucky Legislature. Opponents of the bill claim they fear legalizing Cannabis for medicinal uses would “open the door” for marijuana in the state. Andrew Walker with the Family Foundation told WDRB that he fears marijuana would be “abused” and used for the “wrong purposes.” “Things like stress and jet lag become qualifying ailments for medical marijuana and the laws become blatantly abused,” Walker said. But Clark said the pro-medical-marijuana contingent will continue to push. “What is important is that you talk to your senator, your representative; you have to break the taboo,” he said. The official introduction of the medical marijuana bill will happen in January 2014, according to Clark.
>> Cannabis patients will have to contend with a very low 2 nanograms/mL THC limit
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edical marijuana patients in Nevada, after 13 years of waiting, are finally about to get safe access through state-licensed dispensaries. At long last, they’ll be able to obtain Cannabis without breaking the law. But will they be allowed to drive? The Nevada Legislature managed this session to pass a bill legalizing and licensing medicinal Cannabis dispensaries, but ran out of time working on a separate bill to address driving under the influence of marijuana, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Nevada’s marijuana DUI standard says it’s against the law to drive with more than 2 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) of active THC in your blood, or more than 5 nanograms of marijuana metabolites. That’s a stricter standard than exists for cocaine or heroin (50 ng/ml) methamphetamine (100 ng/ml) or LSD (10 ng/ml). There is no exception for patients who are authorized to use medical marijuana. That means that patients could use their medicine, then drive a car even hours later, unimpaired, and potentially be breaking the DUI law, much like patients in Washington state under the new “legalization” law, I-502 (Washington’s limit is 5 ng/ml of active THC). That inequity bothered Nevada Assembly Majority Leader William Horne (D-Las Vegas). Assembly Bill 351, which he authored, would have One failed bill would forced prosecutors to prove a driver was have forced prosecuactually impaired by marijuana, rathtors to prove a driver er than just show a certain number of nanograms was exceeded. was actually impaired “I think we set people up for facing by marijuana, rather charges that may be ridiculous,” Horne than just show a certain said. These laws can have tragic real-life number of nanograms consequences. In 2000, Jessica Williams fell asleep was exceeded. at the wheel of her minivan; it ran off Interstate 15 and killed six teenagers who were picking up trash as part of a county youth-offender work program. She’d smoked marijuana hours before the accident. Although a jury determined she was not under the influence of cannabis, she is serving a 42-year sentence in state prison, simply because she had more marijuana in her system than is allowed by Nevada law. Predictably, control-hungry law-enforcement organizations opposed Horne’s bill, which was eventually altered to call for a study of marijuana and driving under the influence. But the measure died anyway in the state Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Unfortunately, it’s a lot easier to get a b.s. “marijuana DUI” law passed than it is to remove it again -- just ask Washington state. Horne said that it’s wrong to treat marijuana differently than prescription drugs. Police and prosecutors are required to prove that legal users of prescription painkillers, for example, were actually impaired in order to convict them of DUI. There’s no automatic nanogram cutoff level for driving under the influence of Percocet, Lortab or Oxycontin. Horne is prevented by term limits from running for reelection, so it’s unclear if his bill will be up again in the next session of the Legislature.
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national
STEVE ELLIOTT is the editor behind tokesignals.com, an independent blog of Cannabis news and opinion
reducing the sheriff’s budget with every pot bust? one florida official wants to try people always had plenty,” James said. “It was the most plentiful place for county commissioner in northern Florida has been talking with pot that I had ever been to.” local law enforcement officials about ways to reduce the number Waldo’s Chief of Police, A.W. Smith, was involved with narcotics control of marijuana arrests in the county, and he’s come up with a novel in Alachua County from 1971 to 1980, and again from 1987 to 1992. He approach. As an incentive to get deputies to turn a blind eye to pot, says he seized “a lot of pot.” Smith estimates that 22 to 25 tons of marijuana Alachua County Commissioner Robert “Hutch” Hutchinson has prowas confiscated in Alachua County from 1970 to 1980. posed reducing the sheriff ’s budget by a set amount for “In that period of time, it evolved fairly quickly from each arrest made. Commissioner Robert possession of any amount being looked upon harshly by Hutchinson said he believes the focus should be on Hutchinson said he law enforcement to a level of tolerance, sort of looking the treatment instead of incarceration. Reducing the budget believes the focus other way and marijuana being fairly openly used,” said atwould steer the Sheriff ’s Office toward using its resources torney and former circuit judge Larry Turner. on more pressing concerns, he said, reports Beatrice Dushould be on treatment “In those days, it had an innocence to it,” Turner said. puy at Gainesville.com. instead of incarceration. “It was brought in by hippies or grown by hippies. After Not surprisingly, Sheriff Sadie Darnell is opposed to Reducing the budget awhile, local farmers started growing it as a money crop.” that plan to dock her office’s funding, and no other comwould steer the Sheriff’s In Gainesville attending the University of Florida, Scott missioners have signed on to it. But the various players, Camil, a Vietnam veteran turned anti-war icon who’d beincluding State Attorney Bill Cervone, Public Defender Office towards using its smoking in Southeast Asia, was a member of Vietnam Stacy Scott and others said they are open to discussions resources on more press- gun Veterans Against the War and one of a group that came to on how to deal with marijuana as long as it remains illeing concerns, he added. be known as the Gainesville 8. The group was involved in gal, reports staff writer Cindy Swirko at Gainesville.com. several cases, including a federal charge for conspiracy to Alachua County, and particularly Gainesville, have a disrupt the 1972 Republican National Convention in Miami Beach. long and storied history with cannabis. “Gainesville Green” attained Camil was also charged with a marijuana-related offense, and won. local fame back in the 1970s, reportedly putting cheap Mexican and “Gainesville was a very free-thinking town back in the ‘60s and ‘70s,” Camil Jamaican weed to shame. The annual Hempfest events in Gainesville said. “It was a fun time when people thought for themselves.” drew thousands of attendees, many of whom scrambled for joints in the “We used to sit in the Plaza of the Americas and smoke dope,” Camil “doobie toss.” said. Turner, who represented Camil in his legal cases, said the good times “The locally grown Cannabis was green and fluffy,” said Jodi James, vibe regarding marijuana began to change as other drugs, including cocaine, executive director of Florida’s Cannabis Action Network,” reports Branrose in popularity. don Battey at Orange & Blue. “The strain was very green and grown in Those drugs brought gangs, cartels and violence onto the scene and led to Gainesville, thus ‘Gainesville Green,’ “ James said. greater police crackdown on all illicit substances, including pot. “Gainesville Green was also higher potency than the Mexican that most In Florida, persons caught with 20 grams or less of marijuana face mispeople were used to at the time, so it was considered premium,” James demeanor charges, including jail terms of up to a year and fines of up to said. It reportedly cost about $120 a pound. $1,000. That should be a fair incentive for most to try vacationing elsewhere. “I don’t know who sold Gainesville Green, but I do know lots of
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German Group Plants Marijuana All Over City To Protest Pot Laws
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öttingen, Germany, is overflowing with Cannabis. From parks to planter boxes to gardens, and even at the police station, marijuana is growing. The pot was planted early last month by activists to protest marijuana’s illegal status, reports the University Herald. A shadowy group known as “A Few Autonomous Flower Children,” in a letter, claimed responsibility for planting the seeds across town. “We can’t set eyes on this useful and beautiful plant because it’s absolutely forbidden in Germany to grow it,” the group said in the letter, which questioned Germany’s strict marijuana laws, because citizens are allowed to buy alcohol and tobacco, but not Cannabis. Calling their actions a “sign against the demonization of Cannabis,” the group said the
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plants growing throughout the city were of a low-THC variety. The youth wing of the Green Party known as the Green Youth is also taking part in the pro-pot protest. “The legalization of hemp is a matter of interest for us,” a spokesman for Green Youth said. “A similar pot-planting protest took place last year in Göttingen, but on a much smaller scale. Now the plants are spread out across the whole city.” Police officials are busily uprooting the plants all over Göttingen; they’ve killed 70, and launched an investigation for violating Germany’s drug laws. “Everything that looks like hemp is torn out,” said Jasmin Kaatz, Göttingen police spokeswoman. “This action is a big deal, people really put effort into it. Everywhere seeds could be sown, hemp plants are sprouting.”
Poor Decisions
Man Gets More Charges by Taking Briefcase of Cash and Pot to Jail >> When a deputy asked Pollock for the code to open the briefcase, he refused to give it to him
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ne Florida man arrested for trespassing caught some additional charges after he took a briefcase full of cash and marijuana with him to jail. Jeff Pollock, 42, was arrested last month after his ex-girlfriend called the cops and said he refused to leave her home in Marathon, Fla., according to the Monroe County Sheriff ’s Office, reports NBC Miami. The ex-girlfriend told deputies she let Pollock spend the night, but in the morning when she told him to get out, he refused and laughed at her, according to the sheriff ’s office. Pollock told deputies he lived at the apartment, but the officer on duty reminded Jeff that he’d helped him move out of that very place, just a few months earlier. The ex-girlfriend also had a copy of Pollock’s current lease, proving he lived somewhere else. The dude just hadn’t thought his story through, man. Pollock had a previous trespass warning at the same residence, police said. He was arrested for trespass after warning, but before he was taken from the scene, he told deputies he had a briefcase with cash inside that he wanted to take to jail with him. When a deputy asked Pollock for the code to open the briefcase, he refused to give it to him. Once Pollock was taken to the Marathon Detention Center, he agreed to give deputies the code, and they opened the briefcase. Inside they found $9,480 in cash and 27 grams of marijuana, according to the sheriff ’s department. Pollock was charged with possession of marijuana, more than 20 grams; possession and/or use of “drug equipment”; and introduction of marijuana into a detention facility, in addition to the original trespassing charge. The nine grand in cash was seized for “possible forfeiture.” Pollock was released on $27,000 bond, according to online jail records.
Traffic Sign Hacked To Read ‘Smoke Weed Every Day’
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portable traffic sign in Staten Island, New York, invited motorists to “SMOKE WEED EVERYDAY” after someone apparently broke into the machine and changed its text. That phrase apparently wasn’t the only pro-marijuana sentiment to flash on the traffic sign in July, with at least one other passerby posting an Instagram picture of the sign reading something similar, reports Ryan Lavis at the Staten Island Advocate. The text on the portable sign was soon restored to its original message, warning drivers of shifting traffic patterns. The Department of Design and Construction is currently overseeing a large sewer project in the area, but responsibility for the sign itself falls on the contractor for the site, according to DDC spokesman Joseph Soldevere. The contractor corrected the sign and put on new locks, Soldevere said. Construction on the project should end next summer, he added.
Pot smokers in Netherlands say that their drug dealers don’t have any other kinds of drugs available
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he new report published by the Open Society Global Drug Policy Program shows the benefits of the Netherlands’ approach of “tolerance” when it comes to drugs. “Coffee Shops and Compromise: Separated Illicit Drug Markets in the Netherlands” tells the history of the Dutch approach, and describes the ongoing success of the country’s drug policy. This includes the separation of the more popular marijuana market from hard drug dealers. In the Netherlands, only 14 percent of cannabis users say they can get other drugs from their sources for marijuana. By contrast, in Sweden, for example, 52 percent of Cannabis users report that other drugs are available from marijuana dealers.
T h ou g h fa m ou s f or its cof f ee s hop s, where cannabis can be openly purchased and consumed, the Netherlands also pioneered needle exchanges and safer consumption rooms, decriminalized possession of small quantities of drugs and introduced easy-toaccess treatment services. “Governments are looking to reform their drug policies in order to maximize resources, promote health and security while protecting people from damaging and unwanted arrests,” said Kasia MalinowskaSempruch, director of the Open Society Global Drug Policy Program. “The Netherlands has been a leader in this respect. “As other countries and local jurisdictions consider reforming their laws, it’s possible that the Netherlands’ past offers a guide for the future,” Malinowska-Sempruch said. Though famous for its coffee shops, where Cannabis can be openly purchased and consumed, the Netherlands also pioneered needle exchanges and safer consumption rooms, decriminalized possession of small quantities of drugs and introduced easy-to-access treatment services. These policies, coupled with groundbreaking harm reduction interventions, have resulted in low prevalence of HIV among people who inject drugs, which has almost disappeared in the Netherlands. Moreover, Dutch citizens have been spared the burden of criminal records for low-level, nonviolent drug offenses. Additionally, Dutch teens report lower levels of Cannabis usage than those in the United States, according to a 2011 study published in the journal Addiction. “If Dutch drug policy offers one lesson to foreign policymakers, it is that change should be comprehensive, regulating sale to consumers, wholesale supply and cultivation,” said Dr. Jean-Paul Grund, research director at the Addiction Research Centre (CVO) in Utrecht and coauthor of the report.
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ACCESS
BY STEVE ELLIOTT FOR NORTHWEST LEAF
A DIFFICULT WEEK FOR ACC DEA Agents Raid Collectives from seattle to olympia
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ederal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration on July 24 raided several medical marijuana dispensaries in the Puget Sound area. Unconfirmed reports indicated up to 19 shots may have been raided, but only four shops were confirmed a day later. Despite higher estimates, the names of only four raided collectives – Seattle Cross, Tacoma Cross, Key Peninsula Cross, and Bayside Collective – had circulated 24 hours later. All four storefronts were among about 20 dispensaries raided by the DEA in November 2011. Bayside Collective was hit yet again on July 25, for the second day in a row, when agents reportedly seized a houseboat belonging to one of the employees. One of the raids was at Olympia’s Bayside Collective, where seven government vehicles showed up on the morning of July 24. Bayside employee Casey Lee thought his shop was getting robbed again (it’s been robbed three times already) when he saw the vehicles speeding into his parking lot. But when he saw the badges, he knew that this was definitely another raid. Agents, guns drawn, confiscated business records and about $2,500 worth of cannabis intended for seriously ill patients, according to Lee. Employees were cited and told they needed to appear before a grand jury in Seattle in September. “Things are going to be hell for you,” one of the agents said, according to Lee. “This is your second raid and your third robbery. Why do you keep doing this?” “I just told him it’s because we just enjoy helping people, and he told us that he wasn’t expecting that answer.” Bayside employee Addy Norton said DEA agents seized personal phones of dispensary workers, along with marijuana, but left computers and about $1,000 in cash. “I kept saying we don’t feel like we’ve done anything wrong; why are you guys here?” Lee said. “They said, ‘Well, you guys are state legal, but you’re still not federally legal.’” The agents took 16 marijuana plants off the shelves, Lee said, along with cannabis edibles and paperwork. Federal agents weren’t done with Bayside after the first day’s raids. They returned on July 25 and, according to
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Bayside Collective employee Addy Norton pleaded for agents not to seize the houseboat she lives on in Olympia. tacoma cross updated their website to reflect the raids, which also occurred there and at the Seattle location back in November 2011.
I kept saying we don’t feel like we’ve done anything wrong; why are you guys here? they said, Well, you guys are state legal, but you are still not federally legal.
Norton, seized the houseboat where she lives. Speculation in the marijuana community immediately centered around the possibility that Bayside’s employees spoke out immediately after the July 24 raid was a factor in the July 25 raid occurring. Even some other dispensary operators were reportedly unhappy that Bayside chose to open the day after a federal raid, according to sources. “We are still open!” Norton had posted after the July 24 raid. “We may not have meds at the moment but we’re still open! They will not keep us down!” Then on July 25, Norton posted, “The feds are back!” She went on to post that federal agents were seizing her houseboat, saying “the feds are taking everything we have again.”
CESS IN WASHINGTON STATE
city of bellingham
sued over moratoriums
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STORIES THIS PAGE BY WES ABNEY
atient advocates arrived unannounced at you do so with public comment, without declaring a Bellingham City Council meeting on bogus emergencies that don’t exist, and do so slowly July 15 with a message -- and a lawsuit. and deliberately and in accordance with the will of The action was in response to a July the people of the city of Bellingham.” 1 emergency moratorium passed by the city on Steve Sarich, director of the Cannabis Action recreational and medical marijuana. Coalition, was the last to testify. His organization Proposed zoning in the ordinance would affect is already entrenched in a legal battle with the city dozens of collective gardens, of Kent, and he was prepared to take including access points that serve on Bellingham. I hope in the future thousands of patients a month. “We would’ve loved to work with Olympia resident Arthur West, your city, coming up with reasonable when you make who testified before the council, policy you do so with regulations, but for three years we’ve said the lawsuit isn’t just about watched small-minded city councils public comment, the prejudicial zoning ordinance pass moratoriums ... Now there are without declaring and moratorium. It’s how it was over 50 cities and counties with passed. moratoriums, now there’s a plague,” bogus emergencies “I don’t see a justifiable he said. “We thought you would all that don’t exist, emergency ... without hearing maybe get the message, once one city and do so slowly one citizen’s testimony, passed in was sued, but apparently you didn’t and deliberately the dead of night,” West said. get the message.” “If you believed that there The suit argues that the city does and in accordance was an emergency, why didn’t have the authority or legal right with the will of the not you talk to the Liquor Control to regulate collective gardens. people of the city of Board? [about 502] ... I hope in The city has 20 days to respond to the future when you make policy the lawsuit. Bellingham.
Spokane passes ordinance for both MMJ, I-502
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pokane’s city council has taken a positive and progressive step in working with the community to regulate medical and recreational Cannabis. It passed a set of rules July 15, and is planning to hear public testimony in the coming months as the law comes closer to being adopted. The law gives clear guidance to medical access
points, and is being welcomed by many in the area. Spokane has undergone a years-long transformation over Cannabis, whose access points and patients have seen both raids and moratoriums. For Sean Green, a local resident and access point owner, the ordinance is a welcome change. “It is a step forward for the city,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s time to be treated like a normal business.”
TACOMA ’S WORLD FAM OUS C ANNABIS FARMERS MARKET SHUTTERED New CFM location, Next market Aug. 4 521 S. Monroe St. Seattle, WA 98108
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letter from the city of Tacoma ordering an immediate closure was sent the week of July 15 to the Tacoma Cannabis Farmers Market and the landlord of the property where the market was held. Jeremy and Kitty Miller have run the market at their Center Street location for more than two years, making it the longest-running market in Washington state and possibly the country. It serves more than 1,000 patients a weekend, and provides vending space to 40-plus individual collective gardens. The letter alleges that the market is itself a collective garden, and that it is exceeding the limits set by state law for possession. It also references the city nuisance ordinance, which has a blanket provision that makes any “dispensary” a de-facto nuisance. Again, the city failed to recognize the unique legal structures of the market and of collective gardens. A new location in Seattle has been found, though nothing has been able to address the issue of the patients in Tacoma whose city has abandoned their needs.
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BY WES ABNEY | PHOTOS BY DANIEL BERMAN
They ne
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ollege education in Italy — seasoned business owner with experience running multiple locations, background in international politics ... those are just a few of the bullet points that would head 27-year-old Laura Dana’s resume.
The question about Laura isn’t whether she’s talented; it’s why she chose medical Cannabis, a profession that comes with tremendous benefits, but also carries severe risks. Today, Laura is caught in the fight for medical Cannabis, and caught between the passion and the politics of safe access. Will Snohomish County respect the right of collective garden access points to exist? Should she
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fight for her collective, which has succeeded in helping patients and as a business? Or should she transition to a new model, adapting to the whims of the Snohomish County Council? She isn’t certain, but says she is going to fight for it.
Above: The Healing Leaf ’s $20,000 investment
in a gas chromotography machine for testing medicine will be risky if they cannot serve patients.
A Changing Story Of Zoning
Laura opened The Healing Leaf access point in Lake Stevens on June 23, 2012, confident that the zoning information Snohomish County had provided would allow her to operate safely. Her land-use application was approved by county building and fire inspectors, who visited the access point as part of the process. The occupancy permit was good for one year, and was expected to go through a basic annual renewal process. This year,
before she could reapply, the county sent her a letter on July 3 revoking her status and setting a closure date. It is important to note that no complaints or previous county code violations occurred during the past year. “The fire inspector said that there was an ‘accident’ when we were approved last year,” Laura said at the time of the letter, frustration evident in her tone. “How could they
eed us here. Laura Dana continues the battle for access in Snohomish County amid tremendous uncertainty
out in the more rural areas don’t accept marijuana as medicine. That perception has been quashed by the emergence of highly successful collectives in areas such as Granite Falls, Yakima, Spokane, Bellingham and along the state Route 9 corridor. For patient Katrina Matthias from the Lake Stevens area, local access has helped save her fuel and time. She was at the dispensary door at 9 a.m., along with many other patients who showed up early for the 10 a.m. opening time. “Removing the collectives [in Snohomish County] would promote illegal activity. I can’t make it to Seattle all the time, and it wouldn’t be an honest way of getting meds out here if it isn’t from safe access,” Matthias said. “It will hurt the community in the long run.” The irony is that state voters approved MMJ in 1998, and recently approved recreational legalization in 2012. What the county is doing doesn’t represent the will of the people. “When we recently extended our hours, we saw a lot more patients, and they were so happy for the extended access,” Laura said. “And our patients range in age from an 8-year-old with epilepsy to those in their 70s and 80s. There is a need for this medicine in Snohomish County.”
have accidentally approved something? And now they want to close me down because of their mistake.” As of July 25, there is some indication that the county fire marshal’s office will reissue an occupancy permit good through December 2013. This temporary hold on zoning enforcement would allow the county to create a new ordinance, though nothing is for certain. “We are hoping to be grandfathered in by December, but nothing is set yet... at least we will get five months, that’s good news for certain,” Laura said. “Its up in the air still, but it is good news.” The collective’s building is under construction. Stacks of new flooring and painting tools are piled in the corner, and exposed drywall bears the signs of carpenter markings. Inside The Healing Leaf “We are reinvesting right now, in the middle of all this,” Laura explained. “We are planning on tearing out For patients in need, The Healing Leaf has a lot a wall, doubling the size of the bud room, and building to offer. Its full selection of medibles, topicals and a new office in the back area. We are also adding a new concentrates are served by friendly and knowledgeCannabis testing lab, and are going to be bringing in able workers. In the flower department, the Sour new employees to run it.” Perma stands out as a sharp and smelly choice. The For most new businesses, hitting the one-year mark fluffy nugs are coated in sugary trichomes, and an brings several challenges. Struggling to meet bills, exploding taste of petrol leaps out when this strain growing pains, and a sometimes burned-out core staff is smoked. It has uplifting effects, making it an efcan make future progress difficult. This is not the probfective morning or daytime strain. lem here, where rising patient demand has helped the The Black Widow is darker and earthier than business grow in leaps and bounds. If anything, the letmost strains, with a light sweetness on the finish of ter has already had an effect by causing job losses. the taste. It, too, is a fluffy bud, with purple leaf tips “We had eight employees in here before the letthat stand in contrast to the bright green interior. ter, now I cut down to four,” she said. “It is hard to let The Indicas’ effects are quick to hit, and make this people go who are doing a good job for you.” a solid choice for pain or migraines. Six collectives in Snohomish County, out of the With cannabinoid testing now happening on-site nearly 20 that received letters, have banded together through NW Cannabis Test, Laura will be able to to fight the county. Attorney Kurt offer even more information Boehl is representing the group, and to medical patients in need. the healing leaf they have hired a lobbyist to work But with more than $50,000 9626 32nd St. SE Lake Stevens, WA 98258 with the county. A perception exists invested in new equipment in counties outside of King County (425) 322-5273 wwww.healingleaf.net and construction, she needs to that MMJ is a Seattle fad, that people stay open to make it a success.
A perception exists outside of
King County that MMJ is a Seattle fad, that people out in the more rural areas don’t accept marijuana as medicine. That perception has been quashed by the emergence of highly successful collectives in areas such as Granite Falls, Yakima, Spokane, Bellingham and along state Route 9. “We’ve already had vendors asking for testing for all their products. We want to test for other collectives, and for the products we put on our shelves,” she said. “I’m not sure if the county wants us here, but they need us here. Why eliminate 11 years’ worth of medical marijuana, especially with the research that has led to testing? It’s not fair to the patients.” Time is not always friendly to those fighting for MMJ, but it’s especially unfriendly to those with cancer or living in pain from a debilitating health condition. “When I came back from college I wanted to be an activist, and I almost entered the World Food Program. But in this industry we have to deal with the politics, we have to become activists and business owners,” she said. “Life sure takes you in some unexpected directions.”
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BY WES ABNEY | PHOTOS BY DANIEL BERMAN
Shaking up Rainier Avenue South A Greener Today is DistinguishING themselves from the competition BY TESTING
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nchored on a bend of Rainier Avenue South is one of Seattle’s most open medical Cannabis collectives. A Greener Today has developed a business model based on transparency and compliance with state law that has set a strong example for the MMJ industry. Along the way, a devoted following of patients has helped create a stellar reputation for the collective, setting them apart from the cluster of green crosses dotting Rainier Avenue South.
A Growers Approach Cannabis growers are known for being eclectic. Some develop legendary hermit habits, only emerging from their gardens to gift the world with delicious medicine and then disappearing again.
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But every now and then, a grower or group will emerge with uncanny business sense. That’s what happened with A Greener Today, where expert cultivators have developed a sophisticated collective model. “I’m a grower, a patient, and I use this as my medicine,” said General Manager Yevgeniy “Eugene” Frid. “I want my store to reflect the type of access point I would want to go to for medicine.” The collective produces a majority of its own products, and meticulously tracks them from seed to sale. Or, in many cases, from flower to concentrates or medibles. A cornerstone of that model is scientific testing of the medicine available for patients. “Over the last year, we’ve run hundreds of tests, probably close to a thousand now. I just dropped off eight more samples for testing today,” Frid told Northwest Leaf last month. “We wouldn’t want to put anything on our shelf
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The collective produces a majority of its own products, and meticulously tracks them from seed to sale, AND In many cases, from flower to concentrates or medibles.
that we don’t know about, and that we wouldn’t use ourselves.” Inside the nicely appointed bud room is a bar covered in displays, literature and one white, three-ring notebook. Inside the binder are test cards for a majority of the products on the shelf. It also serves as a time-mark for medicine that has come and gone. “All our new flowers are tested, along with concentrates and medibles. Especially our in-house projects, which is most of what we do,” Frid explained. “We were one of the first to do residual solvent testing for our solvent-based concentrates. That’s where the industry is going.” By combining testing with controlled environments, the Greener Today system has paid off with medicine that has received awards and built a loyal following. At the center of it all are the gardens. “We have a lot of strains that we have specialized in growing for a long time. Super Lemon Haze, A GREENER TODAY Ghost, Blue Dream, Bubba 9509 Rainier Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98118 Kush, Dutch Treat and the Pineapple Express,” Frid said, holding (206) 257-98118 agreenertoday.com up a jar to smell.
“We also run new strains, and are always looking for something different. We search for strains that win [Cannabis] Cups, strains with really high test results. It makes us a lot more passionate. We grew this; it’s our hard work coming to harvest.” Their Pineapple Express is world class, but it comes down to more than just genetics. Week by week, month after month, their strains stay the same. As Frid will tell you, it’s all in the process. “We are lucky to have consistent nutrients and a stable growing environment, and a drying/curing process that has become very familiar,” he said. “The collective opened last July, but we really established when we started the gardens months in advance. That’s the core of the business.” While many collectives are run with volunteers and experience quick bud-tender turnaround, Frid wanted a different model. He manages 13 employees, all of whom get a federally taxed payroll check and are accountable to both the time clock and internal business rules. “It starts with paying taxes [local, sales and federal], continues with having scheduled shifts and time sheets for all employees, and finishes by being in compliance with state law,” Frid said. “We run it like a business because it is a real business.”
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My mom has always been open and honest with me about how Cannabis is her medicine. It has not only healed her, but it has healed our relationship. Morgan Carman, 17 & Mother, Geneva
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BY WES ABNEY | PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
All in the family This mother and daughter dared to make a children’s book about Cannabis
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For the Carmans, the message has developed into a wo Floridians have journeyed to the political statement. Northwest to share a children’s book “We are ready for the people of the world, for that melds medical marijuana into the the negative and the positive,” Geneva said between fantasy world of one special bird. puffs from a sativa joint. If A Peacock Finds A Pot Leaf centers on “A lot of parents are now taking pictures of their the story of Peter, a peacock who embarks kids with the book, showing their support online on a journey of discovery about Cannabis. and sending us letters. We believe that once people The writing was from 17-year-old Morgan read the book, they will understand and lose the Carman with illustrations by her mom, Geneva. negative vibes.” Inside the thoughtfully illustrated pages are a series Discussing marijuana use is of memorable characters something most parents struggle who use medical marijuana Visit the duo Aug. 16-18 @ with when their offspring hit the to help their health problems. Seattle Hempfest Booth #523, teenage years. By age 12, the average The book has proven or go to Peterthepeacock.com. U.S. child has been pumped full of too controversial for any Signed copies of the book are reefer madness. mainstream publishers, available through Etsy.com. Take for instance programs like so the duo published it DARE, which, among many dubious themselves, bringing with claims, snarls that marijuana causes cancer. This their own money the message of hope and health book represents a different point of view, where to the people. Now, all they need is people to help parents have the ability to be open and honest with tell spread the word. their children. “We are the first people to speak for the children,” Morgan inhaled slowly from the joint. “My mom said Geneva. “These kids, they need knowledge has always been open and honest with me about about Cannabis, and many need it as medicine. how Cannabis is her medicine,” she said. “It has How as a parent is anyone going to deny that?”
not only healed her, but it has healed our relationship. We’ve switched completely over ... and we are closer because of that.” Many of the characters in the story represent friends and medical patients that the duo have seen in their own lives — even themselves. Geneva was the basis for the Peacock, who also struggles with depression. Morgan is embodied by the rabbit, representing her anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. “As soon as we came up with the titles, we were imagining the creatures, and what ailments they would have,” Morgan explained. “We also used a lot of creatures from my favorite childhood books. The rabbit, the spider ... all the animals I grew up with. Sharing the book with the world has been as much a form of therapy as just writing it. “[Publishing] has brought us out into the public, gotten us to interact with a lot more people,” Morgan said. “It has been good therapy, and it is who we are now. She’s a marijuana mom and I’m a marijuana kid.”
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PROFILE
Questions for the activist don skakie
on what legalization should really look like BY TYLER J. MARKWART FOR NORTHWEST LEAF PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
#1 describe your role with I-584 and how us washingtonians can learn more about it:
I am a Campaign Spokesman for I-584. Anyone can find I-584 at www.RealLegalization.org which has links directly to the filing with the state. Printing out a petition will give you a version with bolded text which makes it easy on the eye to quickly find the different points in the text. The initiative is only 2 pages long in easy to read 12 point font.
#2 How is i-502 going to be implemented for patients? The 502 campaign promised that it did not and will not affect Medical Cannabis, but we will soon find it under the authority of the LCB and subject to tax without any vote of the people to do so. Once the 502 stores open, it will likely be argued that because of access for all under 502, there is no need to allow patients to grow their own medicine. The real reason for this change is pure and simple greed on the part of the state. We know patients often struggle to afford their medication along with food, clothing and shelter needs. Subjecting their medicine
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Once the 502 stores open, it will likely be argued there is no need to allow patients to grow their own medicine. I-584 would allow 24oz/15-plant grows for age 21+
to a tax unlike any other medication is unfair to patients. Examining and sampling medication is important to patients, but likely impossible in 502 stores. When this becomes apparent and known by patients and those that support them, they will need to take action to serve their interests over the interests of the state. Qualifying I-584 to the Legislature will send a powerful message to lawmakers that they have gone too far and need to rethink the direction in which real legalization can be realized to best serve the people of Washington.
#3 Many people don’t understand that I-502 didn’t actually legalize cannabis, how will I-584 be different?
I-584 will actually legalize Cannabis! Adults 21 and older will be able to grow and posses at the current medical limits of 24 oz and 15 plants out of most public view as well as share up to one ounce of their gardens bounty with any other adult without tax, fee, license or permit much like you would pass a zucchini from your garden over the fence to share with a neighbor. This also means that patients will be able to get their medicine from anyone they choose. They will no longer be targets for theft of their medicine since everyone will be able to grow the same as they can. Patients will be exempt from the 5ng limit, but not the DUI laws. Additionally, video evidence of impairment will be required on these charges. There are cases where someone is pulled over where DUI is not considered until the moment an officer detects cannabis use. Juries need to see that evidence to fairly pass judgement on their peers. Another important effect of 584 will be that if someone has been previously convicted of charges that are no longer crimes, they can apply
to have those convictions expunged, which will have a huge impact on those seeking, housing, employment or other considerations affected by having a conviction on record. For young people under 21, the first offense will be a citation so that a parents first notice of cannabis consumption is not the arrest of their child.
#4 How many signatures does I-584 need and what will happen after they are submitted? We will need approximately just over 300,000 signatures to allow for invalids to end up with the about 250,000 valid signatures needed to qualify the initiative. Once verified, the initiative will be sent to the legislature where it will be passed into law (unlikely) or sent on to a vote in November, possibly along a legislature written alternative.
#5 How is I-584 being funded and can anyone send money in to help?
In the most grassroots way possible. Businesses like Frankie’s in Olympia, access points from around the state as well as individuals have printed and distributed many of the 4 signature sheets. They have the 20 signature sheets out on the counter or on petition boards. Anyone can download a petition, print it (or get it printed) on 11X17 double sided, get a few signatures and mail them in. For as little as $1, anyone can help 584 become the new Cannabis law. We are aware of many people working quietly around the state and they are sending signed petitions in. Donations to Yes on 584 can be mailed in and will be used for getting petitions in front of signing voters.
#6. What events will you speak at about I-584? I was fortunate over the past few years to have the personal resources to fund my activism. That has changed and this year I am working full time as a manager at the NW Cannabis Market in White Center. They have been accommodating when
possible, and I have been able to get to Bellingham, Olympia, and Vancouver and will be doing more through the summer and fall. I have been invited to speak at Olympia Hempfest, Seattle Hempfest and HempStalk in Portland and I’m going to be collecting signatures and spreading the word at Spokane’s Pig Out in the Park and other events in Eastern Washington.
#7 Who is part of the I-584 team?
Author Tom Butler, Sponsor Jared Allaway, tech team members Steve Pirk and Michael Bachera are at the core of Real Legalization, but it is like an onion. Everyone who signs the petition, has a friend sign it or enables anyone else to sign it is part of the team and we love hearing from them. Why wouldn’t anyone not be on the team? We can’t wait for 502 to take away everything we have gained in cannabis reform.
#8 What can patients do to help I-584 get on the ballot?
They can print and sign and return petitions. We have a one sheet self mailer with space for 4 signatures. Everyone knows 3 people who will sign 584. Printing several copies and giving them to those that sign to share with others is how this can be done. They will do what they can and what they are able to do and what they can afford to do. They can get their friends and family and neighbors to do the same. The truly committed can download the standard 20 signature sheets and gather out in public. Get these sheets in front of everyone that supports true Cannabis freedom and we will make this happen.
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Marijuana Equality How the countr y’s path to legalize marijuana and same-sex marriage have intertwined By Ki rk Eri cson for Northw est Leaf
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hen thinking about legalizing marijuana and
with it. At some point you look at the ridiculousness of it and say it has to stop.” The tide that’s pushing gay marriage and marijuana toward political, legal and social sanctuary is also chipping away at another longtime, intractable injustice: the treatment of the millions of undocumented immigrants in this nation. Like gays, and pot smokers to a lesser extent, these people live furtive lives that can be upended in a second. Joseph Garcia is the director of the Morrison Institute’s Latino Public Policy Center at Arizona State University. He sees changes in marriage equality, marijuana legalization and immigration reform traveling on similar paths and directions. “There is a parallel track for legalization of marijuana and gay marriage, but I would make the case there is a third rail, as well: Walsh, a Republican from Walla Walla in her fifth immigration reform,” Garcia said. term, was the only House Republican to vote for a “All three can be linked to a former state marriage equality bill during the 2012 session. generation’s societal ‘bogeyman’ syndrome -She’s no fan of marijuana prohibition, either. that marijuana is a gateway drug that leads Yet she still won re-election with 58.2 percent to either heroin or ‘reefer madness’; that of the vote in 2012 in her conservative southeast gay people are psychologically demented Washington district. with a demonic agenda of trying to recruit “We’ve always been a pretty progressive state our children; and that ‘lazy Mexicans’ are when it comes to policies – although trying to take our jobs and some people argue that we’re a bit of are somehow inferior to other a nanny state as well – but when it historical immigrant groups Support for marijuana comes to personal freedoms, this state striving for the American has always been in the forefront,” legalization exceeds 50% Dream.” Walsh said. House Republicans in “The thing with marijuana is that Congress are squawking about it’s not like you’re manufacturing the Senate immigration bill, but Support for same-sex methamphetamine. I mean, anyone it’s only white noise to satisfy marriage exceeds 50% can take a marijuana seed and go out their witless constituencies. an plug it in the back yard … why is Republicans have enough SOURCE: GALLUP POLL the government telling me I can’t take sense of self-preservation to that plant, dry the leaves, crush them understand that the electoral up, roll ‘em up in a rolling paper and smoke it? … politics are turning away from them, just It certainly makes it an unenforceable situation as they’ve turned away from them on gay because there are so many people in this state who marriage and legalizing marijuana. are growing marijuana and supplying their friends In the end, this ship will make port.
gay marriage, imagine the U.S. as a supertanker, slowly and inexorably plowing through choppy
seas, the captain following a charted course toward calmer waters
and blue skies just over the horizon. As one of only two states to legalize marijuana possession and gay marriage, Washington
is the bow of this ship. Colorado and us are cutting the waves.
A
nd states that oppose legalizing marijuana and gay marriage – former Confederate states like Texas and Alabama – aren’t even part of the vessel. They’re pirates trying to hijack the supertanker and knock it dead in the water. But the efforts of those states south of the Mason-Dixon Line will fail, just as all their retrograde efforts have failed. The tide of history will drown them. The toothpaste is out of the tube. The polls show it. Support for legalizing marijuana – not just medical marijuana – passed the 50 percent mark for the first time in October 2011, according to Gallup. In May 2012, a Gallup poll showed support for same-sex marriage hitting 50 percent for the first time in the U.S. Since those two polls were taken, support has kept rising. Washington fired two resounding shots in November when voters approved I-502 to legalize the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana and Referendum 74 to legalize gay marriage. The passage of those two measures seems to stem from the same impulse that’s working, to a lesser degree, elsewhere in the country: It’s not fair and it’s not American to discriminate against people for consuming a plant or loving people of the same sex. Even the language used by people in these subgroups is similar. More pot smokers are “outing” themselves to show society that they’re ordinary, taxpaying Joes and Janes. And both of our measures were approved by voters; they weren’t installed by legislative action. Politicians are still far way behind the swell of public opinion on both these issues. How far we’ve come in this country, and especially in this state, is shown by how some Republicans are willing to jump onto the ship. State Rep. Maureen
October 2011 May 2012
Even the language used by people in these subgroups is similar. More pot smokers are “outing” themselves to show society that they’re ordinary, taxpaying Joes and Janes. aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
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Welcome Back seattle Hempfest For many of us, Hempfest has become as much of a tradition as Bumbershoot
or Folklife. But the festival isn’t free to produce, and actually costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to make it happen. Last year the festival received less than 50 cents per attendee in donations. That is ridiculous! Hempfest spans three days, features multiple stages and bands, and gives access to some of the best vendors in the world of hemp and Cannabis themed products. If you value Hempfest, and want to continue to enjoy it for years to come, please donate at the gates.
Do’s & Don’ts
Check out NW Leaf booth #506 Donate to Hempfest Drink lots of water Bring a friend Bring a backpack/purse Share a message of hope Read something new Smoke something new Share the love with everyone Be respectful to the park Have fun!
Sell illegal drugs Steal from anyone Be rude to police, or anyone else Make graffiti, or any vandalism Bring propane torches Bring alcohol or other drugs Discriminate against people’s choices/self expression Litter
hempfest from a helicoper photo by daniel berman aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
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Page
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Pedestrian foot bridge
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Come VisitUs @ BOOTH #506!
The remedy
NORTHWEST LEAF
STRAIN OF THE MONTH BY WES ABNEY | PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
The phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover”
definitely applies to this strain, for its what is inside that counts. This strain is a perfect example of the type of Cannabis that is only going to be found in a medical Cannabis environment. With less than 1% THC the flower has almost no psychoactive properties, making it undesirable for just chasing a high. Instead, it is rich in CBD, an effective tool in fighting free radicals and pain within the body. She doesn’t look the prettiest, but the flower does have a very nice sweet smell that hangs around the dense nugs. Smoking the flower is like jumping into a wave pool of relaxation. The sensation is very calming, frees cerebral pressure, and leaves the body and spirit both feeling tingly and revitalized. It is a 50/50 hybrid, making it acceptable for use at any time of the day or night. For those looking to combine CBD therapy with high THC, putting a piece of bubble hash on a bowl of The Remedy will be just what the doctor ordered. Check this strain out at Dockside Co-op, where they typically have 3-4 high CBD strains available for patients, some with a more even ratio of THC to CBD.
Available from Dockside CO-OP 223 N. 36th St. Seattle, WA 98103 (206) 420-4837 docksidecooperative.org
8.67% CBD // 0.18% CBG 0.65% THC // 30 CFU/g Tested By
ANALYTICAL 360 Cannabis Analysis Laboratory
aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
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Special section
MEDICATED HIGH C
Nothing is easier than mixing a package of drink mix into a 16oz water bottle for a morning treat! $5 - 13.54mg THC dankwerks@gmail.com
Coco Bites Cereal
WAFFLE MIX
This chocolate cereal breeds nostalgia with potency, making it a great option for your breakfast table. Also available in bubble bites and cookie crisp flavors.
This family recipe for waffles mixes ground oats for a rich flavor and consistency, yet still packs a solid medicated punch.
$5 - 30.21mg THC dankwerks@gmail.com
$12 - 17.32mg THC/waffle dankwerks@gmail.com
b l i e d s e . M I f yo
ana can be cooked into is a brownie u j i r a m g y t h i n n n e r a n d d e s s e r t , w e ’v e c u ra t e d a v a r i e t y o f t a s t y a , t h e n y o u l n o e ’r i n
k t h o s n a c k s to d n i h ut ast t
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Descriptions by WES ABNEY Photos by DANIEL BERMAN Food styling by KYU HAN
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10-PG. BREAKFAST
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Special section
SNACKS Loaded Soda Gum
The next time you blow a bubble your gum could be doing a whole lot more for you. Original Flavor 29.96mg THC .26mg CBD Green Apple Flavor 29.35 mg THC loadedsoda.com
Ohana Farms Smoothie Cubes
Fresh picked and flash frozen Cannabis juice isn’t easy for those on the go. Fortunately, these 100% natural smoothie cubes are a easy health supplement that is high in CBD and low in psychoactive THC. Blend into any smoothie recipe or eat like a sorbet to enjoy true relief from pain and muscle spasms. $40, six cube pack 206.902.6326 ohanaedu.org
Chewy Chews Chocolate Chew Available in Indica, Hybrid or Sativa these chews are locally produced, look professional and are an effective and easy way to medicate. As a low calorie medible alternative, these can be enjoyed any time of day, particularly when discretion is key — such as at work or in public. $12 - 86.53 mg THC .84 mg CBD By Infusion Factory cale.morgan@gmail.com
Flour and Flower Raspberry Coconut Oat Bar This boutique bakery uses only the finest organic ingredients combined with premium Cannabis flower, and it is evident in each delectable bite. Hands down, between the sinful texture and natural flavoring, this bar is a winner. Their packaging is also beautiful. Bars available in hazelnut oat flavor. $70 4pk - 19.54 mg THC flourandflowerbakery.com
56/aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
Evergreen Herbal Lemonade Nothing is better on a hot day than an ice cold lemonade. You just got thirsty, admit it. $12, 16 oz. - 18.19 mg THC evergreenherbal.com
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Special section
LUNCH Loaded Soda Vitamin Water Citrus Blast
Enjoy the convenience of mixing a tasty drink and a healthy dose of medicine! Available in a variety of flavors & many access points. $ Varies - 13.29 mg THC loadedsoda.com
Pot Pocket
These are way better than the grocery store variety. We chose the vegatarian version, which came out great right from the oven. But if ain’t nobody got time for that, the microwave should also work. $10 - 15.17 mg THC By The High End
58/aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
Medicated PB & J
Elvis Presley would have stayed alive just a little longer if he had known about a medicated peanut butter for his famous sandwiches. Try it on a sandwich, on celery or an apple, or use it for baking a favorite cookie recipe! $30 - 53.64mg THC/1 oz serving By Capitol Hill Peanut Butter
Coco Canna Chips
It can be hard to limit yourself to a handful of chips, but beware these tasty triangles. Literally, three chips is all you need to start the fun and feel it. Serve with some fresh pico de gallo. $10 - Taco Flavor- 50.23mg THC Ranch Flavor- 49.64mg THC Dosage per one package www.cococanna.org
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Special section
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DINNER
Uncle Basils Pesto
Spice up boring pasta with this herbal blend that excites the taste buds. We topped farfalle noodles with the pesto, and found that one container was enough for four newbie edible eaters or two pros. $10 - 150.06mg THC per 2 oz of pesto dankwerks@gmail.com
Danks Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
We added this deliciously sweet and spicy sauce to grilled chicken a few minutes before it was ready to come off, and the results are oh so savory. Try using the sauce on top of pork, grilled peaches or pineapples. $10 - 15.39mg THC per 2 oz of sauce dankwerks@gmail.com
Tomato Bisque w/ coconut oil
A simple ingredient like coconut oil can be added to almost any side, and precisely measured to avoid over-medication. We added it to the bisque at the very beginning, using it as the base for the soup. You can substitute cannabutter for 25% of the butter called for in most recipes as well. Now you’ll have a wide range of choices to medicate a side. Dockside Coconut Oil 23.09mg THC per tablespoon Docksidecoop.org
aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
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Special section
Vanz Mangoberry ice cream $15 - 52.91 mg THC 420van@gmail.com
DESSERT Maple Bacon Chocolate Bar
Sweet meets salty and savory in this awardwinning chocolate bar. It features two types of chocolate, bacon and a solid dose of concentrated medicine! What more could you want? $15 - 23.59mg THC By Medi Bros Medibrothersmedia.com
Vanz Mint Ice Cream Dark Chocolate with Cherries
Dark chocolate dances with sweet and light cherries for a nice after-dinner treat. $10 - 47.65mg THC By Medi Bros Medibrothersmedia.com
62/aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
Made with Full Tilt Ice Cream, this dessert is potent and offers the proven taste of a great local brand. $15 - 36.64mg THC 420van@gmail.com
Cotton Head Hot Apple Cider
Stirring a hot cup of cider with a pair of cinnamon sticks should be considered therapy, and if you breath in the steam, it’s aroma therapy! Relax at the end of a night with this hot, or wait until it cools and serve with ice for a cold drink perfect for sweltering August. $12 - 17.05 mg THC
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sCenter t We are committed to patient satisfaction.
Y R E LE V E NG N SI RAI g STly $10/ z. on o
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We are proud of our quality products, modern facility and friendly staff.
We are in Granite Falls.
3 grams TGA BHO: $100 6 Keif Candies: $20 Cavicones: 2 for $20
HAPPY HOUR! 10:15-11:15A MON-FRI ALL STRAINS $8/G FIRST 4 GRAMS
360-322-7257 0 322 7257 8411 SR 92 Suite #2 Granite Falls, Wa 98252
Come on in...
Mon-Thurs: 10A-7P Friday: 10A-8P Saturday: 12-8P Sunday: 12-5P
RiversideWellnessCenter@yahoo.com RiversideWellnessCenter@y
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Hello new patient. We’ll be shedding some light into how this whole
medical marijuana thing works in Washington. Many patients and access point owners have been confused about how to stay safe and legal, even just talking to one another. We have put together a guide outlining medical marijuana terminology, etiquette, and procedures for using medical marijuana. It is important to note this code of conduct, because patients are still vulnerable to attempted prosecution and legal issues when confronted by law enforcement.
So what else should you know?
IT’S MEDICINE. NOT DOPE, CHRONIC, DRO, GANJA OR HERB. YOU’RE MEDICATED. NOT HIGH, STONED, BAKED OR TOASTED. INFUSED FOODS ARE MEDIBLES AND GO BEYOND JUST POT BROWNIES. IT’S A MEDICAL RECOMMENDATION. NOT A GREEN CARD. YOU VISIT AN ACCESS POINT, COLLECTIVE GARDEN. NOT A STORE OR DISPENSARY. YOU ASK FOR A MEDICINE’S WEIGHT IN GRAMS. NOT AS A DUB/ ZIP OR O. PATIENTS USE MEDICATING DEVICES. NOT PIPES, BONGS OR BUBBLERS. YOU MAY LEAVE ACCESS POINTS WITH MEDICINE. NOT A SACK, BAG OR STASH. YOU CAN ROLL YOUR MEDICINE. NOT CALLED A BLUNT OR JOINT. GROWING PLANTS ARE CALLED CLONES. 66/aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
Access Point Etiquette
w
PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
Law Enforcement and You
R
ule number one regarding the use of no time should you ever smoke and operate medical marijuana: if it’s outside private a motor vehicle, or smoke while inside your property, it can still be viewed as illegal. vehicle or anyone elses. Seriously. Don’t ever This includes medicating at a friends rented do it. Did we say don’t do it? We mean it. apartment, a hotel room, your car, or a campsite. The third and perhaps most important rule is Anywhere that isn’t owned by you is regarding your recommendation. It outlines the technically not legal for medicating. With that amount of both dry medicine and plants you in mind, if you do choose to medicate in an are allowed to have as a patient. Although some area outside your own home, you must be doctors will have different interpretations of extremely careful and mindful personal limits, law enforcement of what’s going on around has a basic set. 15 plants per use your house, you. There have been many patient, and up to 24 ounces of don’t medicate raids and arrests that started dry medicine at any one time. in public with a neighbor smelling — If you go over these limits, you guessed it — “marijuana law enforcement can and would don’t smoke odor.” A towel under the door love to prosecute you under in your car or is helpful. their draconian drug laws. Don’t anyone else’s The next rule regards give them the opportunity to MMJ and it’s relation to driving. violate your rights; stay within stay within the Under state DUI law, medical the legal limits by medicating 15 plant — 24 patients can still be prosecuted oz. dry med limit inside your private home or that for driving while medicated. At of another cannabis patient!
1 2 3
hen you first arrive at an access point you’ll need to be verified. If you have never been to the specific location before, the access point is responsible for verifying that you are actually a patient. This protects them, and you, and it is in your best interest as a patient to only go to places that properly verify. Keep in mind though that most places only verify your status Monday through Friday in regular business hours. The process involves presenting a copy of your medical recommendation and state ID to the secretary/door monitor, who will personally call your doctors office and confirm that you are a patient. You will also be asked to fill out a membership packet by the access point, which makes you a part of their organization. Ask any questions you may have. Each access point has different paperwork, so don’t assume anything is standard. Carry your ID and authorization with you everywhere you go Once inside, there may still be a waiting period before getting your medicine. Make an appointment ahead of time or prepare to be patient. Always wait to be invited/escorted into a back medicine room. Security is tight at most locations, and it is inappropriate to barge into a back room and can set security systems off. Just like any other business, wait your turn and be respectful to both staff and other patients alike. Now that you have chosen your medicine and acquired it, it important to be discrete when leaving an access point. Keep your medicine out of sight from the general public, and do not medicate near a location (or in public areas ever). Your medicine is for you only. If you plan to drive away, store your medicine in a secure place, preferably the trunk. This will help protect you if pulled over.
Disclaimer: We’re not lawyers and this is not legal advice. Follow all local, state and federal laws. Be respectful to law enforcement if contacted. aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
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guide
By WES ABNEY
Knowing which type of Cannabis you want to ingest will help you achieve the proper medicinal effects and a comfortable experience
SATIVAS vs. INDICAS Sativa strains are known for their energizing properties and euphoria. While most patients enjoy Sativa’s in the morning or daytime, they are acceptable for use whenever one isn’t trying to sleep. The effects associated with Sativa’s are great for social outings, and can make everyday activities much more pleasurable. Sativas can make you feel giggly and happy!
Indica strains are known for a more pronounced body sensation, with less cerebral stimulation, though a heavy “medicated” mental state often comes with Indica strains. Indica’s are best for later in the day/night time use, and are optimal for pain relief and relaxation. If you ever wondered what kind of a strain left you couchlocked, it was an Indica.
• • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • •
More stimulating and uplifting Energizing and thought provoking Increases focus and creativity Supports immune system Reduces nausea Stimulates the appetite Fights depression Positive, uplifting, cerebral effect Promotes creativity
68/aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
Relieves headaches and migraines spasms, reduces seizures Reduces inflammation Combats anxiety and stress Reduces nausea Pain Reducer Sleep Aid Appetite Stimulater Muscle relaxant
cannapi.org
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Gallery
STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOB MONTOYA FOR NORTHWEST LEAF
Micro Strains Up-Close Each month we’ll highlight growers crafting strains with the goal of helping specific needs, not necessarily obtaining the highest yields
G
REETINGS FROM THE EMERALD CITY! As promised I made my way to Seattle this month in search of specially formulated Micro Strains. As luck would have it I was fortunate enough to meet with a grower who has a decade and a half of experience crafting and perfecting medical Cannabis. Brian is an un assuming consummate professional with strong ethics and a wealth of knowledge in the field of medical grade products. The focus this month is on two strains that deliver relief anxiety, depression and pain. SOUR PERM is a near even balance at 60 / 40 Indica dominant. For those who hurt physically and suffer from depression and anxiety related to the pain, this cross between Permafrost and Afpak Widow delivers wellness from both ends of the spectrum. It is dieselly sweet; the thick smell of Permafrost is most evident. The desired effect comes on slowly and lasts for several hours when vaporized. AFPAK WIDOW is a heavy indica dominant strain at 90 / 10. A cross between Afpak and White widow can be counted on to deliver pain relief and restful sleep when the day is done. Sticky sweet with a very pleasing aroma, the smoke is smooth and tasty, which in itself is very soothing. Fast acting and with a couple hour duration can be expected. NEXT MONTH, I will be focusing on two strains that have shown beneficial relief for patients with nerve damage.
fOR MORE INFORMATION Go to SecretSeedsCollectivegarden.com or email inquiries to secretseedscollectivegarden@gmail.com
72/aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
Sour Perm 60/40 Indica
The white crystal-like trichomes are about half the width of a human hair — Seen in a 500x close-up
Afpak widow 90/10 Indica
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TASTY
COMPILED BY NORTHWEST LEAF
Recipes
Satisfy your craving with delicious medicated Treats
Parmesan & Italian Herb Cheesy Bread Sticks
Brownie Biscotti 2 1/4 tspn active dry yeast, (1 package) 1 Tbsp granulated sugar 1 cup warm water, between 110째 to 120째 2 1/2 - 3 cups all purpose flour 1/4 cup medicated butter, melted (divided) 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese , divided 1 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning 1 tspn garlic powder 1 Tbsp kosher salt cornmeal Medicated Olive oil, for brushing 1. Preheat oven to 450째F. Prepare jelly roll pan by lightly brushing with 1 Tbsp butter and sprinkling with corn meal. Set aside. 2. Add water to stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook. Sprinkle yeast and sugar. Swirl to combine. Allow to sit for 10 minutes while yeast blooms (it will be fragrant). 3. Prepare: Turn mixer to low. Add flour, salt, butter, 2 Tbsp cheese, Italian seasoning and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Mix on medium until combined. 4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll dough into a rectangle. Transfer to prepared pan. Lightly brush crust with olive oil and sparsely sprinkle with garlic powder. 5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, brush with 1 Tbsp butter and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
Chicken Alfredo Pizza SAUCE 4 tBSP medicated butter 1/4 tspn salt 1 dash ground black pepper 4 tBSP all-purpose flour 1 cup milk 3/4 cup grated Romano cheese GARLIC BUTTER 2 tBSP medicated butter 1 clove garlic, minced 1 pinch dried rosemary 1 pinch salt DOUGH 1 cup warm water 1 (.25 ounce) pack instant yeast 2 tBSP medicated vegetable oil 1 tBSP white sugar 1/2 tspn salt 1/4 tspn dried rosemary 1/4 tspn garlic powder 3 cups all-purpose flour Chicken 2 boneless chicken breast halves, roasted 1/4 tspn dried rosemary 1/4 tspn dried thyme 1/4 tspn poultry seasoning 1/4 tspn garlic powder 1/4 tspn salt
1. Sauce: Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Blend in salt, pepper and flour, then stir in milk and Romano cheese. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and cover. 2. Garlic Butter: Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Blend in garlic, rosemary, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is tender but not browned. Remove from heat and cover. 3. Dough: Pour warm water into small bowl and stir in yeast until dissolved. Allow to rest until yeast foams, about 5 minutes. Mix vegetable oil, sugar, salt, rosemary, and garlic powder in mixing bowl. Stir in yeast mixture, and gradually stir in the flour. Gather into a loose ball and knead until a smooth ball forms. Cover, and let rest 1/2 hour. 4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Season chicken with rosemary, thyme, poultry seasoning, garlic powder and salt. Chop or shred and reserve. 5. Assemble: Spread dough out on prepared pizza stone. Top with cooled garlic butter, covering entire crust. Next spread with Alfredo Sauce (if necessary, warm to spreading consistency), leaving crust edges. Top with chicken, turning to coat with sauce. 6.Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until bottom crust is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let set for 2 to 3 minutes.
74/aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
Photos tos byy FLICKR/TAESTELL & FLICKR/JMACKINNELL & FLIC FLICKR/FAIKEVIN
1/3 cup medicated butter, softened 2/3 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 tspn vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tspn baking powder 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 1 egg yolk, beaten 1 tbsp water 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease baking sheets, or line with parchment paper. 2. cream together butter and sugar In a large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa and baking powder; stir into creamed mixture until well blended. Dough will be stiff, so mix in the last bit by hand. Mix in chocolate chips and walnuts. 3. Divide dough into two equal parts. Shape into 9x2x1 inch loaves. Place onto baking sheet 4 inches apart. Brush with mixture of water and yolk. 4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm. Cool on baking sheet for 30 minutes. 5. slice the loaves diagonally into 1 inch slices using a serrated knife. Return the slices to the baking sheet, placing them on their sides. 6. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes on each side, or until dry. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
Got a recipe we should feature?
Email it to nwleaf@gmail.com and it just might appear here in our next issue!
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BOOK
Reviews
By WES ABNEY
Coffee table classics to treasure The Emperor Wears No Clothes: The Authoritative Historical Record of Cannabis and the Conspiracy Against Marijuana
T
his is a great mind-opening resource that every patient or pot user alike should be equipped with. The book takes an in-depth look at the years of Cannabis misinformation and prohibition. Written by the legendary Jack Herer, this book was first published in 1985. It was the result of years of culminating work, and sends an overwhelming message of truth about Cannabis and Hemp. The books back cover says it all: “If all fossil
Baked Italian
fuels and their derivatives, as well as trees for paper and construction were banned in order to save the planet, reverse the Greenhouse Effect and stop deforestation; then there is only one known annually renewable natural resource that is capable of providing the overall majority of the world’s paper and textiles; meet all of the world’s transportation, industrial and home energy needs, while simultaneously reducing pollution, rebuilding the soil, and cleaning the atmosphere all at the same time... and that substance is -- the same one that did it all before -- Cannabis Hemp... Marijuana!”
By Chef Yzabetta Sativa
If
you have ever wondered how to make a medicated martini to pair with a custom medicated meal, this is the book for you! It is centered around Italian cooking, though the thought and care in which the pairings are made makes me want to explore every other cuisine. The books goal is to overcome the “green” and “earthy” tastes associated with Cannabis cooking through smart recipes and delicious flavors. The book includes awesome recipes like Spaghetti Marinara, Crostini, Ganja Gin & Vodka, Lemon Panna Cotta and Coffee Gelato. And they are all medicated! Pick this book up and go step by step towards a better meal, and a better day!
Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower’s Bible
L
By Jorge Cervantes
ike the title suggests this book is a must for anyone wanting to grow Cannabis. Brilliant full color photos & diagrams teach the reader about everything under the sun, or 1000 watt bulb. With over 500K copies sold, there is a reason people keep coming back to the work of Cervantes. He wrote his first version of this book, Indoor Marijuana Horticulture in 1983, and has revamped it regularly. The current version is the fifth edition, and the best one yet. It features new information about greenhouse and outdoor growing, which could become an important part of I-502 legal Cannabis production. There’s also a new medical section, which is great for teaching people new to Cannabis about the medicinal properties.
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By Jack Herer
Marijuana Smokers Guidebook By Matt Mernagh
A
pocket sized book perfect for anyone who has ever asked themselves “What strain is that?” While this isn’t as common a problem in the high end medical access points of Seattle, there are still many moments of uncertainty when it comes to smoking. This book has 150 different high resoloution pictures paired with detailed information and a smoke report. Because the smoke reports are so well detailed, this can be a useful tool for patients choosing a medicine for their particular needs. It is also broken down alphabetically, making a quick flip to a page easy and fun! Check out greencandypress.com for many more Cannabis related books!
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Trinity BHO The smoke is salty and thick, like a deep breath of sea spray
61.05% THC-TOTAL • 0.5% CBG-TOTAL • solvency: 100ppm
T
his old-school Seattle strain has been concentrated perfectly into a dark and sensual honeycomb BHO. The smell rising off the thick chunks is actually reminiscent of bubble hash, with a dry and earthy smell that invades the lungs. The smoke is salty and thick, like a deep breath of sea spray that steals your breath away. An immediate relaxed feeling overtakes the mind
before moving on to conquer the body. After about 20-30 minutes a wave of calm and enlightened introspection occurred, and then mellowed out into a great relaxed feeling of oneness. This savory honeycomb is a delicious way to medicate, day or night, for a pleasant trip into the internals of the mind and spirit.
This savory honeycomb is a delicious way to medicate
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DEVICE OF THE MONTH
BY WES ABNEY | PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
hORNS Bubbler, $1000 by Chris Dragovich
This rig is all about function and a nice
smooth toke, but even more important to Chris are the aesthetics and flow. The big bubbler took about 10 hours to make, using 32 individual pre-made parts to assemble. The unique color application he used is known as “encalmo,” in which he pre built all the color into what’s known as “encalmo cups.” Next, he stacked and stuck all the cups together, creating the nice smooth bands in color going vertically up that also help give the piece the traditional Sherlock bubbler shape with his own special twist. One of Chris’ primary focuses has been curls, horns, carving of the horns and flow. It breaks apart from the traditional Sherlock that everyone recognizes, and allows him to be creative. He told Northwest Leaf that he is a firm believer that less is more with color, and it shows in the way he tried to present it simply, with only a few crisp clean colors. The piece represents Chris’ focus on attention to detail without it becoming overwhelming. Ultimately, he dedicates a lot of energy within the creative process to having a balance between shape and color, so one does not take away from the other.
Available from facebook.com/chrisdrags Instagram chrisdragsglass chrisdrags710@gmail.com
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He stacked and stuck all the cups together, creating the nice smooth bands in color going vertically up that also help give the piece the traditional Sherlock bubbler shape with a special twist.
MON-SUN: 10am to 9pm
growtech
BY DR. SCANDERSON FOR NORTHWEST LEAF
Top Ten Tips every gardener needs to know The green wave of enlightenment has blessed the Northwest with vigor, creating widespread relief, happiness and people who are leading the way toward a new Cannabis paradigm. The widespread availability of information has allowed people to seek alternatives to conventional Western medicine and enjoy Cannabis as part of a healthy life. As with many now-familiar behaviors, after the novelty wears off, people often become more willing to pursue more conveniences and freedoms to surround their normative behaviors. The area most Westerners look to is value. If I’m getting my meds at one recommended donation per gram, can I get medication I enjoy equally for a lower recommended donation? Go down the rabbit hole far enough and you might even find yourself exploring the possibilities of growing your own Cannabis. For most patients, growing is a simple matter of finding a breeder or two who puts out a solid line, and then you can grow your own, resulting in your most favorite flowers for about $2 a gram. While many patients appreciate the convenience, selection and, occasionally, elite quality that many collectives offer, for some, allocating a small amount of time to setting up a grow space and cultivating plants can be a relaxing, exciting and rewarding hobby. If you’ve ever considered starting a garden or perhaps recently started cultivating, you’re at the start of one of life’s wonderful endeavors. In this month’s grow tech, I will share with you 10 tips and tricks that I’ve been learned by working with some of the most accomplished Cannabis farmers and through my own trials and tribulations. The tips I’ve included are those I feel would have saved me the most time, money and frustration and provided more happiness and fulfillment had I only followed them earlier.
KISS: The acronym stands for “keep it simple stoner.” Like everything in ‘murica, we are dominated by a capitalistic economic system that almost exclusively rewards selfish intentions and greed. Cannabis growing is a market like any other and it too is dominated by products, services and systems, many of which are unnecessary and over-priced. All this hot air seems to add to the idea that growing Cannabis must be a highly scientific, complex and difficult– to-understand process. The effects most new growers experience by using all these products or growing in specialized systems are usually poor. Researching the top growers, using the highest quality strains and learning about their system is fine for overall knowledge, but thinking that you can copy their systems to achieve the same results is a mistake. Most products and supplements out there are useless and generally tend to affect the garden negatively if all other aspects of the grow are not dialed in. If your environment isn’t properly managing heat exchange to your garden or maintaining consistent humidity levels, it’s a waste of resources to add in supplements and amendments because the basics have not been mastered. Thinking about trying an obscure and esoteric lighting cycle or other growing technique in one of your first three rounds? Don’t. How about using a super-secret nutrient formula mix combining several brands of supplements and nutrients, mixed according to an old ancient recipe that knocks the socks off of every other nutrient program at first? Nope! If you are interested in learning to grow, keep it simple. Get a light, get a container, have some medium, choose one feeding program, use the base only, get a simple low-watt light that
If you are interested in learning to grow, keep it simple.
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doesn’t generate a huge amount of heat and a fan. If you’ve never done this before, you might not like it. You can avoid being one of the hundreds of sellers on Craigslist offering high-priced equipment at a huge discount because they didn’t keep it simple. In indoor gardening, we are trying to emulate the plants’ natural environment. Getting light and CO2 on the leaf surface and oxygen to the root zone within a proper and consistent environment is the goal. Only after you have a firm understanding of what it takes to mimic an outdoor environment, should you try to improve the system. Mother Nature had it right the first time. I recommend adding in one idea at a time and start out grounding to bring more nature to your garden before bringing in a new bottled nutrient. Use containers with pre-fed TLO soil that only require adding water. The KISS method is so important to achieving high-quality results in the lowest amount of time that I recommend taking it one step further by removing choices surrounding medium and nutrients. By choosing a True Living Organics medium in a container, you have just eliminated all choices surrounding two of the most difficult and important aspects of growing. That allows you to focus on some of the simpler aspects of the garden, including temperature, humidity, air flow, light penetration, stages of growth and finishing. Also, you are supplying the plant with the same environment and soil ecosystem that the plant thrives in naturally. By providing an ideal balance of nutrients in a properly layered medium, you will give the plant exactly what it needs, in the amounts and compounds it needs and at precisely the right times. Not only that, it’s considerably less expensive than most bottled nutrients and allows you to focus on the aspects that usually take less time to get the hang of.
Your f irst grow might be your most instructive. Take careful notes of what gardening activities you are engaged in, your environmental conditions and your observations.
Properly mixed and cooked TLO soil requires only water from beginning to end. Opportunities to augment the mix with beneficial teas, spikes and layers also exist after the basics are handled so you can still feel a little bit like a mad scientist even with TLO growing. Supersoil by TGA is an excellent soil that checks the TLO box and is widely available in Washington. The bags are expensive because they are completely and precisely mixed in a proprietary formula, cooked for the appropriate amount of time and ready to use. You are paying for the time, testing and convenience. For budget growers, TGA makes a charge pack that you can add to organic soil to cook and create your own TGA Supersoil at a fraction of the cost. You get the same formula, but have to mix and cook the soil yourself. A gardener who writes for Skunk Magazine and goes by the name of The Rev is generally credited with the term “TLO growing.” He has one the best TLO formulas available. His book, “True Living Organics; the Ultimate Guide to Growing All-natural Marijuana Indoors” gives precise instructions on how to create, charge and cook the exact TLO recipe he uses, including the spikes, layers and beneficial teas he recommends using and when. I have yet to find anything more cost-effective, simple to understand and apply, and consistently productive than The Rev’s methods for True Living Organics.
Properly mixed and cooked TLO soil requires only water from beginning to end.
Don’t use 1,000-watt lamps. Most of my secondary mentors are growers in Europe. Coming from my ‘murican point of view, I was surprised to find how partial growers in this country are to using 1,000-watt lamps for indoor gardening. I used them; in fact, I’d never didn’t use them. In gardening, if some is good, more is seldom better. Nothing could be truer, especially for newer gardeners. Most troubled gardens I am called to help are suffering because of over-lighting. It’s certainly not the case that a plant can’t use 1,000 watts of power, but it’s extremely difficult to create an ideal environment for that kind of power. In general, the heat exchange is not dealt with properly and as a result, environmental conditions increase stress on the plants. Stressed plants do not function at maximum potential, so they use and absorb fewer nutrients and light. Six hundredwatt lamps are more efficient electrically when considering the electrical draw and additional equipment needed to manage the heat exchange that 1,000-watt lamps produce. Use HID lighting. For beginning growers, I strongly recommend avoiding any lighting outside of high intensity discharge lighting. The vast majority of full-time gardeners use HID lighting because it works most effectively in the most applications. Some outstanding gardens use supplemental LED lighting panels, but when examining the cost, results and the availability of information of the higher wattage panels, it becomes clear that HID is the best place to start. If LED or plasma lighting were as efficient, easy to use or produced the consistent results that just about every LED manufacturer advertises, wouldn’t everybody be using them? In the next three to five years, I suspect we’ll have more powerful, finely dialed spectrums of
LED panel lightening, and it will become available around $300 to $500. The technology already exists and is available at low costs -- if you don’t need it assembled, packaged, marketed and shipped. Improve, augment and automate. Your first grow might be your most instructive. Take careful notes of what gardening activities you are engaged in, your environmental conditions and your observations. This gives you the framework to review your efforts and see whether you can link effects with a particular garden activity. For instance, if you are watering every three days and switch to every other day as your plants mature, and your plants are healthier and growing faster, go back and see when you changed to every other day. Maybe on the next round, you switch to an every other day method earlier and see the results of that and adjust. Make it easy on yourself. Plants thrive on consistency. When starting a garden, it can be difficult to create new habits that you follow 100 percent of the time. If you choose a TLO medium, just add water. Setting up an automated watering system that can apply a specified amount of water to a small number of plants at particular intervals is a low-cost, simple and easy way to compensate for any lack of consistency your life might create. Think about and write down some of your best practices. If you are entering your growing environment, be aware that any interaction between your immediate grow environment and the outside (including you) creates the opportunity for parasitic infestation. By always taking steps such as using hand sanitizers, having one set of clothes you wear when in the garden and removing your shoes, you are limiting your risk of infestation. Continued NExt PAge
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growtech
BY DR. SCANDERSON FOR NORTHWEST LEAF
Many growers have the idea that adding in CO2 is expensive. Not true. You can make enough CO2 to produce a visual change in about 48 hours for under $10 by simply combining water, sugar and baker’s yeast. For instructions, search YouTube for homemade CO2 generators for Cannabis gardens. Don’t grow from clones. Because one gardener ran a strain and got a particular result, you might not achieve the same result with that clone. The garden style, medium, methods, lighting and all the other variables are not likely to match your style. Even if all the data points match, the interaction between the plants and gardener are invariably expressed through differences in the product. That’s all assuming that epigenetic variation hasn’t affected the original mother plant. Some people like to debate the topic of genetic drift among clones. A clone is an exact genetic copy of the mother plant so it should produce the exact same medication repeatedly, right? Ask any gardener who has kept the exact same mom for a few years and you’ll find that the strain used to be different, according to them. First off, we are trying to imitate nature. Cannabis is an annual, so keeping it in its vegetative state for a prolonged period (mothering the plant so its purpose is to only give off clones), is not what nature intended. Eventually, most plants begin to show signs that they are not meant to stay in a perpetual vegetative state year in and year out. Of all the theories I’ve heard or read about -ranging from the location on the plant where you take the clones to the length of time a plant stays in a vegetative state -- the most compelling data I have found has to do with epigenetic drift. While many in the scientific community are hesitant to explore this field because of the potential of upsetting the largely accepted Darwinian idea that only
full genetic mutation causes evolution, epigenetic variance refers to changes in gene activity without an alteration of the DNA coding of the plant. Swiss scientist Barbara Hohn gets credit as the first scientist to document how epigenetic variation can create “memories” in plants that permanently affect the plant, any clones and seeds. It, in fact, changes the plant’s genomes, resulting in new combinations of DNA in the plants. That’s the good news. The bad news is that not only are you not likely to get the same product, but let’s suppose you don’t subscribe to that whole scientific community, DNA mumbo jumbo. This might hit home. Let’s assume for a moment that somehow, no matter what, you get exactly the same result. That’s only assuming the clone is clean and stays clean during transport. Pathogens are clever. They often can’t be seen by the eye and can thrive in healthy environments. Compare your desire to get a particular strain to the stress and havoc that you will be exposed to by bringing in parasites and pathogens. With the widespread increase in Cannabis cultivation, there has been a stark increase in parasites that are considerably more difficult, bordering on impossible, to eradicate. They can be devastating and can often only be treated using difficult to find, questionable products. Nightmares such as TMV (a virus with no known cure), Phylloxera (root aphids) and now broad or cyclamen mites are destroying gardens. If everyone stopped trading and acquiring dirty clones, the advancement and saturation of Cannabis-borne parasites would decrease.
If everyone stopped trading clones, parasites would decrease.
Choose easy strains to grow. Some of my favorite strains are the most difficult to grow. I didn’t choose to start with easy strains. My first round, as a result, had to be tossed. So was my second and third rounds, mostly because I didn’t choose an easy strain initially. I wish I had. Many breeders make it their job to take very desirable genetics and cross them to stable easy-to-grow genetic lines with the goal of creating an “easier to grow” version of a strain that possess the most desirable characteristics from the original strain with a lower level of skill required to produce a favorable result. I would much rather have my medicine be of a slightly less desirable strain but grown to actualize a higher percentage of its genetic potential than the ideal plant with only 60 percent of its genetic potential being realized. Once you know when a plant is maximizing its genetic potential, you automatically receive feedback on when it’s not. Air. When it comes to ventilation, more is almost always better. Until you are adding in massive wattage or many plants, you are seldom going to over-ventilate your garden. If you are using an open system to create ventilation, you will never be making a bad choice to go with a bigger duct size and fan. Larger usually means increased efficiency. Sure, a 4-inch fan might work to keep the environment at ideal levels, but so will a 6-inch fan, and it won’t have to work as hard, it’ll last longer and minimize heat transfer from the fan motor.
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Allow f ive to six weeks to elapse after harvest before using the plant. The plant’s biological functions don’t stop simply because you cut it down.
When it comes to ventilation, more is almost always better. Aerating your reservoir? More aeration increases saturated oxygen levels and decreases temperature, which also increases the amount of oxygen your water can hold. Place your air pump outside your immediate growing environment to manage heat and ensure the air is more oxygen-rich than CO2-rich. How much air movement do you need inside your garden? All leaves should be mildly shaking almost constantly. They should be fluttering. Creating enough air movement so that all the leaves on your plant are almost always shaking a little bit allows your plant to function at higher levels of efficiency. By increasing CO2 and oxygen exchange at the leaf surface, decreasing moisture buildup and improving the structural integrity strength of your plants are all benefits of adequate air movement. Prioritize supplementing with CO2. One of the most popular misconceptions I run into in gardening is that the nutrients you purchase feed your plants. They don’t. Your plants are fed from light and CO2. Many growers have the idea that adding in CO2 is a highly advanced step, is expensive and only is really needed when you’ve been at it for a while. Not true. Growing without CO2 is like starting a race without a leg.
Adding in CO2 super-charges your results, finishing times, plant health and natural resistance to pathogens. And it’s inexpensive. You can make an effective CO2 generator that keeps levels around 700 to 800 ppm for next to nothing in cost. By simply combining water, sugar and baker’s yeast into a closed plastic water jug, fitted with a quarter-inch air tube attached to a fan, you can add in enough CO2 to produce a visual change in about 48 hours for under $10. For instructions on how to do this, search for homemade CO2 generators for Cannabis gardens on Youtube and you’ll find detailed tutorials and methods of assembly to suit your application.
plant. The plant’s biological functions don’t stop simply because you cut it down. The plant is still driving massive amounts of water up through its roots into its branches – it’s now essentially an open-ended straw. Biological functions are occurring in your newly harvested flowers that are moving the blooms into a fully matured, ripened state that contains the highest levels of medicine. Cultivating your own medication is a rewarding, exciting and intellectually stimulating endeavor that can require many skills. While it’s not for everyone, most patients benefit in several ways from trying to grow their own. While some of us have found an entire life inside the cultivation of this plant and enjoy various applications and methods, most people are more than fulfilled by simply having a small garden that is simple to create, easy to maintain and cost-effective.
Growing without CO2 is like starting a race without a leg.
Plan adequate time and location to properly dry and cure your medication. Finally, it’s time to harvest. We all know what comes after harvest -- we get to enjoy our rewards. So let’s get to it, right? Wrong! If I had one gripe about the majority of the medication I run across, it’s that there seems to be an idea that harvest marks the end of the effort. However, harvesting marks the beginning of the last stage of producing medical-grade Cannabis, drying and curing. Northwest Leaf ’s most recent Harvest issue has many of my ideas and recommendations on drying and curing, most of which are beyond the scope of this article. One fact I’d like to impress on new growers is to allow five to six weeks to elapse after harvest before using the
For more information, questions or comments, e-mail me
at thegreengardengroup@gmail.com or visit my Youtube channel youtube.com/user/drscandersongt. As always, happy gardening!
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Green Monster
Club
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Health and science
BY TYLER J. MARKWART FOR NORTHWEST LEAF
isolate to medicate I float on Kneady Body and Feet Massage Clinic 14850 Lake Hills Blvd. Bellevue, WA 98007 425-558-9441
Float Seattle 408 NE 70th St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-673-5132
Urban Float
3420 Fremont Ave. N Seattle, WA 98103 206-257-4333
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solation tanks are relative newcomers in the field of health treatment, but the idea of floating in a high concentration of saltwater for medicinal uses dates back thousands of years. The practice of floating in a high-saline water solution has undergone little research, but many users of salt baths say the benefits are plentiful. Coupled with sensory deprivation while inside the isolation tank, patients might begin to see improvements as quickly as in their first one-hour session. Neurophysiologist John C. Lilly created the first isolation tank in 1954 while researching the effects of sensory deprivation on consciousness at the National Institute of Mental Health. The original tanks were designed to submerge the patient in a freshwater tank with headgear for breathing, though that method didn’t create a fully relaxed state because of the hissing of bubbles and the uncomfortable swimwear and mask. After some revisions to Lilly’s design, contemporary isolation tanks allow users to be suspended in a shallow saltwater bath in a more comfortable position. With more than 800 pounds of Epsom salt dissolved in the tank’s water, patients are suspended in the solution, floating naked with their face just above the surface of the water. Sound and light are removed from the tank to aid in achieving a relaxed state faster, while the temperature of the water is heated to nearly the same temperature as the user’s body to reduce the amount of sensations on the skin and increase the sensation of floating. Ear plugs are worn to further reduce sounds inside the chamber. The water is filtered and the tanks are
sterilized before each use. Users must shower before entering the tank, and showers are provided in each isolation tank’s room; a shower is recommended after the float to clean off salt in the hair, ears or any residual salts left on the skin. Patients with neurological disorders, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, back, neck and body pain, arthritis, insomnia, poor blood circulation and skin allergies might find that a one-hour session each week can reduce symptoms. Coupled with other therapies such as yoga and massage, patients can achieve a healthier lifestyle without relying on pharmaceuticals or using marijuana all day long. Another benefit of using the isolation tanks is that floating in a high concentration of saltwater allows skin to absorb magnesium. Patients who are claustrophobic and nyctophobic (fear of darkness) should avoid this treatment or look into an open room or a larger isolation booth -- the tank might create anxiety because of its coffin-like feeling. Some tanks do have interior lighting, but this takes away from the effect of light deprivation. Also, patients with open wounds or extremely sensitive skin should avoid the tanks. Other possible benefits of floating in isolation tanks include an increase in clarity, increase in blood circulation, improvement in creativity, relief from insomnia and an overall feeling of relaxation and wellness. The cost of floating is comparable to that of a good one-hour massage. As always, consult your physician if you have any concerns about using an isolation tank. The greater Seattle area has three locations with isolation tanks.
PHOTO COURTESY FLOAT-SPA.NET
How floating in sensory deprivation tanks may help with health concerns
Patients with neurological disorders, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, back, neck and body pain, arthritis, insomnia, poor blood circulation and skin allergies might find that a one-hour session each week can reduce symptoms.
Health & Science
BY DR. SCOTT D. ROSE, NORTHWEST LEAF SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR
Naturopathic Medicine and Cannabis
N
aturopathic medicine (NM) is a distinct system of primary health care. It is the art, science and practice of preventing, diagnosing and treating conditions of the human mind and body. Naturopathic physicians work with their patients to prevent and treat acute and chronic illness and disease, and strive to restore health by supporting the person’s inherent self-healing process. Treatment plans vary per individual and for what is being treated but generally include: diet therapy and nutritional supplementation, counseling, spinal and joint manipulation therapy, and botanical medicine (the use of plants as medicine) to name a few. Many medical cannabis patients may be new to NM, but Cannabis and NM have a long history with an undue hiatus. The modern practice of NM has its roots in the Nature Cure movement of Europe during the 19th century. In Scotland, Thomas Allinson started advocating his “Hygienic Medicine” in the 1880’s, promoting a natural diet and exercise with avoidance of tobacco and overwork. Benedict Lust is known as the “father of U.S. NM”. Lust had been schooled in hydrotherapy (the use of water as medicine) and other natural health practices in Germany and was sent to the United States to spread the drug-less methods. Lust defined NM as a broad discipline rather than a particular method. He included hydrotherapy techniques, homeopathy (a distinct system of medicine using minute quantities of substances to trigger healing reactions in the body stemming from Germany ), as well as eliminating overeating, tea, coffee, and alcohol. Lust described the human body in spiritual and vitalistic terms with “absolute reliance upon the cosmic forces of man’s nature”. In 1902 Lust opened the American School of NM in New York City, the first NM school
in the world. After a period of rapid growth, NM went into decline for several decades after the 1930’s. The advent of penicillin and other “miracle drugs” and the consequent popularity of modern medicine also contributed to NM’s decline. Some chiropractic schools incorporated NM into their curriculum and chiropractors continued to practice with NM therapeutics. NM never completely ceased to exist. Beginning in the 1970’s, interest increased in the United States and Canada in conjunction with the holistic health movement, viewing the body as a sum total rather than reducing to individual systems and symptoms. Currently, 17 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands have licensing or regulation laws for NM.
S
ir William O’Shaughnessy first experimented with cannabis on animals in 1830. He then tried it on his patients, claiming to successfully treat muscle spasms, pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Western doctors then followed suit, setting off a flurry of studies. Pharmaceutical companies did not miss a beat, marketing patent medicines containing cannabis to combat many of the same conditions cited by O’Shaughnessy. To collaborate and review, the first conference on medical cannabis took place in 1863 in the United States. Surveys show between 1850 and 1942 there were over 350 medicinal products in the U.S. containing Cannabis. These medicines were made illegal due to the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, and continued to be used in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (prescription and over-the-counter medicines) until 1942 when the American Medical Association gave up its fight for the continued medicinal use of cannabis. The study of botanical medicine is
The first conference on medical cannabis took place in 1863 in the United States
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entrenched within the curriculum of NM as well as that of pharmacognosy (the study of plant constituents), as well as pharmacology (the study of prescription meds). Not to understate the basic science education including biochemistry and physiology, all of which develop a broad base and depth of understanding of plants, their components, and how they interact with the body
Between 1850 & 1942 there were over 350 medicinal products in the U.S. containing Cannabis. systems. Chinese medicine consists of hundreds and hundreds of herbal formulas, all of which are combinations of herbs rarely would they use one herb by itself. The formulas were amended or balanced by the complexity of the formulations. NM often pulls from this wisdom and blends herbs together and under the current conditions of authorization versus prescription it is impossible to employ this in practice. It is time to start using cannabis medicinally in this way once again. In 2010 cannabis was added to the NM scope of practice in WA state, patients using cannabis started becoming more aware of NM at that time. Many were previously unfamiliar and have enjoyed the experience and education aspect. I am personally impressed when often an individual returns for a visit and they were able to make those dietary changes that we had previously discussed, or they have adhered to an exercise regimen for some time, or hydrotherapy techniques are being used as well as incorporating cannabis into their treatment. Educating patients on more healthful ways of consuming cannabis, rigorous training in botanical medicine, and the understanding
Naturopathic Medicine is distinguished by the principles which underlie and determine its practice. These principles are based upon the objective observation of the nature of health and disease:
THE HEALING POWER OF NATURE
IDENTIFY AND TREAT THE CAUSE OF DISEASE
Basically respecting the body’s ability to heal if given the opportunity with removal of obstacles to cure. A good example is when a patient is able to lower or switch to cannabis in place of pharmaceutical pain meds which have a poor track record for delayed healing, addiction, and death. Trusting the ordered system and that innate inelegance of an organism is also argument for whole plant cannabis versus reductionist cannabinoid therapy - ex. Marinol.
Rather than chasing symptoms with pharmaceutical band-aids the goal is treat the root cause of disease. With the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, the system of receptors and molecules made in the body where cannabis also has its effect, there is thought of deficiency states causing imbalance and dysfunction and the use of cannabis as replacement therapy.
DOCTOR AS TEACHER
TREAT THE WHOLE PERSON
The original meaning of the word “doctor” is teacher. A principal objective of NM is to educate the patient. This is a great opportunity to educate the medical cannabis patient about proper delivery routes of cannabis to their body’s to both increase effectiveness and minimize harm over time. ex.
Health and disease result from a complex of physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social and other factors. Many individuals who use Cannabis to help manage chronic pain describe that the effects may not take the pain away entirely, but the medicine alters their perception of the pain, thereby improving
FIRST DO NO HARM With one of three precepts being to utilize methods and medicinal substances which minimize the risk of harmful effects. There has never been a recorded death or overdose with the use of cannabis.
CURRENTLY... CUR 17 STATES HAVE LICENSING OR REGULATION LAWS FOR NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE.
Dr. Scott Rose is a Naturopathic Physician Acupuncturist with a private practice focusing on pain in Kirkland, WA.
aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
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BEHIND THE STRAIN
BY DR. SCANDERSON FOR NORTHWEST LEAF
questions?
Never hesitate to email me at thegreengardengroup@gmail.com. See a wide range of useful growing videos and tips at Youtube.com/DrScandersonGt
Lineage I know, I thought I had spoken the final words on the
cookies. I was dead wrong. The result of 20 months of testing, selection, comparison and retesting has brought us Angel Cake, the selection Cookie cross from redeyedgenetics. After comparing multiple pheno’s and sources of the Fire Cracker, Pak’s Hayward Girl Scout Cookie, Animal Cookie, KB OG Cookies, Thin Mint Pheno and Forum Cut, this one, uh, takes the cake. Unique from any other pheno, we discovered a very special plant displaying some of the most beautiful, previously unmatched characteristics I’ve come across.
HOW IT GROWS
It takes the tall stretchy structure typical of fire OG and
ANGEL
CAKE >> Warm vanilla baked goods envelope my senses and coat my mouth/throat/insides
Smoke report/bag appeal Easily the mosT show stopping, widely appealing flowers come from this plant. Possessing all the beauty of the forum cut, with a stacked structure hiding treasured pockets of sandy resin heads, Angel Cake named itself. The sandy trichomes laid against the bright orange hairs accented ever so delicately by the fleeting purple and blue calyxes instantly inspire the color of the inside & outside of this strain’s namesake. But it’s only upon smell that her full nature is revealed. I alway scratched my head when someone said it smelled like cookies. What kind of cookies are we talking here? Oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, cookie dough, brownie sorta smell? The sweet smells of burnt sugar and fresh baked vanilla cake slinks out of the jar in the most subtle but completely described fashions. Interestingly enough, break the flower open, give a good squeeze and out pops the deep pungent smell of rubber and freshly laid asphalt minus the acrid tones OG can be known for. Deep thick smoke packed with the light taste and flavor of Angel Food Cake with an edge of Nilla Wafers explodes from the flowers, which burn evenly and fully. The super sweet sugar tastes continue on exhale with an unbelievable complex and long lasting aftertaste that gives way to the more burnt side of the sugar until finally going to a sweetish burnt rubber OG kush flavor. The Genetics (clone) Forum Cut Girls Scout Cookie x unknown Fire OG Kush
102/aug 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
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Get out your support systems because these nodes can’t take that weight come week five.
increases internodal distances by up to 75%. It’s not uncommon for this slow starting, nutrient-sensitive plant to boast internodal spacing of 8 in. or more in veg and after tripling in height and doubling in size during the first couple weeks of 12/12 throwing out 12-14 inch spaces. The plant grows wide and about 30% taller than Eastcoast Sour Diesel. Truly hybrid teardrop-shaped deep dark green leaves blast out at evenly keeled interval requiring little thinning. Trained properly, this plant produces heavy yields of extraordinary dense flowers that are simply stunning to behold. She needs little Ca compared to her Fire OG dad and enjoys early P and K, best suited in lower nutrient concentrations. There are am unspeakable amount of trichomes indicative of many of the girl scout cookie cuts along with tall spear-shaped tops that stack between stretches. I recommend starting training ASAP, once she’s in the zone, she really flies. Give the full 10 weeks in container or 9 in highly dialed hydro for max maturity, flavor & color development all of which occur completely naturally and requires no environmental adjustment.
effects It comes on
quick & strong but unmistakably clear, elevating the sensations of the senses. It’s a medication I can forget I’m medicated on as it brings about higher levels of mental disposition with no fatigue or narcotic aspect when small-to-medium amounts are ingested. Our first volunteer, Jesse, was impressed with the look of the medication and described the taste as deliciously overwhelming and contributing to what he hailed as an already amazing psychedelic experience. Kelly from Capitol Hill said she was astonished at how potent and uplifted the medication made her feel at that time of night, given what she had already ingested throughout the day. I enjoy it prior to meditating as it truly brings a neutral yet alert sense of presence about, that makes other perspectives more easy to relate to. Stress, conflict, anger, frustration and greed all melt away for me as the innermost self and spirit is called out and so the ego naturally deflates. L is for love.
Sour OG Blue Afghani
Grape Ape NYC Diesel
Blue City Diesel
Dream Twilight Blue Blue Sour Diesel
Hawaiian
Jack's Cleaner
Purple Arrow
Space Queen
Purple Diesel
The White
Sour Cheese
Vortex
Sour Tsunami
CinexCheese Plushberry
Orange Kush
Lambs Breath Mango
DJ Short Blueberry
Lemon Skunk Greenberry
Obama
BlueTrainRhino Wreck
Unicorn Horn
Bubba Kush White Russian KG Elephant God Bud
Diesel Maui
Hours of operation Weekdays 12 – 8 Saturdays 12 – 4 Closed Sundays
206.402.3957 FusionMMJ.com 1602 Dexter Ave N Seattle, WA
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