Oct. 2021 - California Leaf by Northwest Leaf / Oregon Leaf / Alaska Leaf / Maryland Leaf / California Leaf / Northeast Leaf

THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE

#18 | OCT. 2021

CAL I F O R N I A

IN THIS ISSUE

GRASSROOTS NURSERY PG. 20 WEEDMAPS PG. 26 MENDOCINO APPELLATIONS PROJECT PG. 34 GREEN DAWG CULTIVATORS PG. 36 GLASS HOUSE FARMS PG. 38 F RE E / L E A F M AGA Z I N E S . COM

THE SCIENCE OF SCALE NATURA PG. 30

THE INSIDER ISSUE INDEPENDENT CANNABIS JOURNALISM SINCE 2010

#18

feature

The science of scale is evident everywhere you look at Natura’s sprawling facility on the outskirts of Sacramento. They have built unique and incredible systems to enable producing flower, edibles and concentrates for leading California brands.

Grassroots Nursery

INSIDE WEEDMAPS’ TECH PUSH HOW THE SITE CHANGED CANNABIS

GLASS HOUSE FARMS 500,000 SF AND STILL GROWING

GLASS HOUSE FARMS

[

44 A History of Rolling Papers

Maybe you take those little paper packets for granted. After all, they have always been there for you — ready to accept whatever you had lined up to roll up. But the long legacy of these tools, dating back to 8th century Spain, reveals how our community has been shaped by the humble items. ///////////// story by bobby black

OCT. 2021

feature

COURTESY OF WORLD OF CANNABIS MUSEUM

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SHOP REVIEW MARCH AND ASH, SAN DIEGO

JUSTIN STEWART

SANDY HUFFAKER

Founder Sergio Silva

9 10 12 16 20 24 26 30 34 36 38 40 44 46

EDITOR’S NOTE NATIONAL NEWS LOCAL NEWS MARCH AND ASH GRASSROOTS NURSERY SOTM: DOJA EXCLUSIVE WEEDMAPS’ TECH PUSH THE SCIENCE OF SCALE: NATURA ORIGINS COUNCIL FOUNDER GREEN DAWG CULTIVATORS GLASS HOUSE FARMS 710 LABS CONCENTRATES CANNTHROPOLOGY STONEY BALONEY

MICHAEL ROSATI

the INSIDER issue

issue

[

OCTOBER 2021

CAL I F O R N I A

the INSIDER issue

FEATURE

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GREEN DAWG CULTIVATORS

36 OCT. 2021

For roughly a decade, the team behind Green Dawg Cultivators has made its name as one of the most respected indoor gardening crews in California.

STORY by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANTS/CALIFORNIA LEAF | PHOTOS by MICHAEL ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS

E S TA B L I S H E D 2 0 1 0

T H E E N L I G H T E N E D VO I C E

N O RT H W E S T L E A F / O R EG O N L E A F / A L AS KA L E A F / M A RY L A N D L E A F / CA L I F O R N I A L E A F / N O RT H E AS T L E A F

A B O U T T H E C OV E R Leaf photographer Michael Rosati and Content Director Tom Bowers spent an afternoon at Natura with Josh Schmidt, (VP Business Development), Ori Bytton (CEO and co-founder), and Seth Sznapstajler (VP of Sales), exploring the state-of-the-art facility. Here, the trio showcases the redspectrum capabilities of their LED lighting setup. Read more about the Natura team and their impressive facilities pg. 30-33. Their story is one of many we are honored to tell his month, in an issue jam-packed with truly hard-wrought tales of ingenuity, passion, innovation and enterpreneurship.

PHOTO by MICHAEL ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS for CALIFORNIA LEAF

PUBLISHER

CONTRIBUTORS

WES ABNEY | FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

BOBBY BLACK, DESIGN + FEATURES JOSHUA BOULET, ILLUSTRATION TOM BOWERS, FEATURES JACKIE BRYANT, FEATURES EARLY, PRODUCTION MAX EARLY, FEATURES WYATT EARLY, FEATURES STEVE ELLIOTT, NATIONAL NEWS SANDY HUFFAKER, PHOTOS ALEXA JESSE, FEATURES ALVIN JORNADA, PHOTOS BAXSEN PAINE. FEATURES JEFF PORTERFIELD, DESIGN MIKE RICKER, FEATURES MEGHAN RIDLEY, EDITING MICHAEL ROSATI, PHOTOS ZACK RUSKIN, FEATURES EMEHT SHERMAN, SALES O’HARA SHIPE, REVIEWS JUSTIN STEWART, PHOTOS DAN VINKOVETSKY, FEATURES

WES@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

CREATIVE DIRECTOR DANIEL BERMAN | VISUALS & DESIGN

DANIEL@BERMANPHOTOS.COM

SALES DIRECTOR NATE WILLIAMS | ADVERTISING

NATE@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM 415-717-6985

CONTENT DIRECTOR TOM BOWERS | EDITORIAL

TOM@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

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ABNEY

Editor’s Note Thanks for picking up the Insider Issue of the Leaf! AS OUR Northeast Leaf Director Danny Danko recently tweeted, “I’ve been in the ‘Cannabis Space’ so long that when I got started, the ‘Cannabis Space’ was just a part of your home you didn’t talk about.” While the beloved Mr. Danko started in Cannabis long before I did, I still remember that same feeling in 2010 – where working in the weed industry was less a talking point than a risk factor, and even working in publishing for pot was taboo.

Fast forward to today and society is starting to get used to the idea of Cannabis as an industry with legitimate jobs, which allows us the chance to peel back the layers and highlight some of the insiders who are making the Cannabis industry a better place to be. “WE SHOULD With this issue we hope to show that the world of Cannabis NEVER TAKE is much more than just “stoners growing weed” and offer a OUR FREEDOM unique perspective on companies large and small that are FOR GRANTED, OR ASSUME doing it right.

THAT THOSE

ON THE INSIDE As those of us on the inside know, working in the Cannabis ARE ROLLING industry is often harder than taking a mainstream gig. I’ve IN MONEY OR met plenty of ex-professionals, and I don’t mean athletes, who LIVING THE left careers as lawyers, nurses, managers, executives and SWEET LIFE.” beyond for a chance to follow their passion. Most would say that they work much harder for less money and stability, but the thing they all have in common is their continued commitment to the plant. Those working in the industry, especially the entrepreneurs and heritage members, have risked everything to make sure we have the opportunity to go to a store and buy a pre-roll. With that said, we should never take our freedom for granted, or assume that those on the inside are rolling in money or living the sweet life. While there are many influencers on social media who would portray working in weed as a Hollywood dream, the Cannabis industry is really full of dedicated, resilient and strong-willed people who would again risk their freedom or security to defend a plant that helps so many lives. People who work hard, stay late … all to have a chance to work with our plant. And that’s the way we like it – and what it means to really be an insider in our beloved Cannabis community.

-Wes Abney

Have a strain, product, or news tip that the California Leaf staff needs to know about? Contact us at Tom@LeafMagazines.com!

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We are creators of targeted, independent Cannabis journalism. Please email us to discuss advertising in the next issue of California Leaf Magazine. We do not sell stories or coverage. We can offer design services and guidance on promoting your company’s medicinal, recreational, commercial or industrial Cannabis business, product or event within our magazine and on our website, leafmagazines.com. Email nate@leafmagazines.com for more info on supporting California Leaf!

WES

national news

NEW JERSEY EXPUNGED 362K POT CASES OVER THE SUMMER

ew Jersey courts have expunged 362,000 low-level marijuana cases over the summer, clearing a massive amount of criminal records in just two months. The state judiciary had estimated some 360,000 cases qualified for automatic expungement following the passage of marijuana legalization, reports NJ.com. That law did away with fines and penalties for possessing and selling small amounts of weed. The judiciary began vacating and dismissing cases in July, and then expunged them. That’s the final step that ultimately clears a person’s record. About 125,000 to 150,000 marijuana expungements remain for the courts to complete automatically, said MaryAnn Spoto, a spokeswoman for the judiciary. People with Cannabis cases not automatically expunged in New Jersey can file a motion for review with the court.

NEBRASKA GROUP LAUNCHES 2022 MEDICAL INITIATIVES

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2022 ballot campaign for medical Cannabis is underway in Nebraska, reports KLIN. Led by a coalition of families, patients and state senators, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana wants to qualify a pair of initiatives ahead of the November election next year. They must gather 250,000 signatures across the state before the July 7, 2022 deadline. Crista Eggers, a mother of two, is leading the effort to organize a statewide signature drive. One of Eggers’ sons, six-year-old Colton, has severe intractable epilepsy. With other families and patient advocates, Eggers helped build a grassroots movement to establish a MMJ program in Nebraska.

California marijuana companies had sued the state as of September 17, after having their provisional business licenses revoked.

OCT. 2021

POTGRESS

POLITICS

LEGALIZATION

CONGRESSWOMAN OPPOSES POT LAWS, OWNS POT STOCKS

irginia Foxx, a North Carolina Congresswoman, holds a voting record showing she said “No” to federal Cannabis legalization. But that has not stopped her from investing in the pot industry and cashing in on marijuana stocks, reports Indy Week. According to a report in Salon, Foxx, who wields power on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, has made at least six investments in Altria. Ever heard of them? Well, they’re “a leader in the burgeoning U.S. Can- FOXX IS A nabis industry” since MEMBER OF September of last year, THE U.S. HOUSE according to financial COMMITTEE ON disclosure reports. OVERSIGHT The stock buys haAND REFORM. ven’t previously been reported, according to Salon. They likely make Foxx the largest holder of Cannabis-related stocks in Congress, according to market research firm Unusual Whales. The stock trades are particularly notable for their timing: just a few months before the U.S. House of Representatives passed the the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment & Expungement Act (MORE) in December. Foxx voted “No” on the measure.

education

NIDA STUDY FINDS RISE IN COLLEGE POT CONSUMPTION STEEP DECLINE IN VA POT ARRESTS

annabis arrests have plummeted some 90 percent in the Richmond, Virginia region since the state’s Cannabis legalization went into effect on July 1. The law legalized adult (21+) possession of up to an ounce and the cultivation of four pot plants per household. During the first seven weeks of the law, police made only 25 marijuana-related arrests in central Virginia. The area includes Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico. For comparison, they made 257 pot arrests during the same seven-week period in 2020, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The numbers come from arrest data provided by law enforcement officials in those localities. “A 90% reduction in marijuana arrests indicates that the public policy is performing as intended and in a manner that is consistent with post-legalization observations from other states,” said Jenn Michelle Pedini, Executive Director of Virginia NORML.

fun & weird

GARBAGE TRUCK CRASH REVEALS HIDDEN GROW

crash involving a Michigan garbage truck has led to the discovery of an unlicensed marijuana grow operation. Early on the morning of Sept. 15, the driver of this garbage truck encountered a car that ran a red light. The garbage truck swerved, but still hit the vehicle. The truck then ran over the median and struck what was thought to be an unoccupied building. The out-of-control garbage truck knocked a big hole in one wall of the building. Police responding to the accident quickly noticed that this building was anything but empty. In fact, what cops found were rows of Cannabis plants and grow lights inside the building. Police counted about 260 plants inside, reports WDIV. Police are investigating who is behind the unlicensed grow operation. Marijuana is legal for adult use in Michigan, but large-scale cultivation requires a state-issued commercial growing license.

months was the age of Michigan’s youngest medical Cannabis patient as of September.

grams or more of Cannabis can get you a Level 6 felony charge in Indiana.

pounds of marijuana was seized from 49 bags at the Nashville Airport on Sept. 16.

125

Cannabis dispensaries are currently operating in Arizona, which launched recreational in 2020.

arijuana use continued to rise among college students over the past five years, and remained at historically high levels among same-aged peers who were not in college in 2020, according to survey results from the 2020 Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study. The study is financed by the federal National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which in the past has been a source of anti-pot misinformation. According to the study, current levels represent the highest rate of marijuana use recorded since the 1980s. The survey also found that marijuana vaping and nicotine vaping leveled off in 2020, after sharp increases reported every year since 2017 for both college students and same-aged respondents not in college. Among college students specifically, there was also a significant increase in the annual use of hallucinogens. Perhaps related was the substantial and significant drop in current alcohol use between 2019 and 2020. “The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the way that young people interact with one another and offers us an opportunity to examine whether drug taking behavior has shifted through these changes,” said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. “Moving forward, it will be critical to investigate how and when different substances are used among this young population, and the impact of these shifts over time.”

$25k

will be the cost of a medical marijuana license, the Watertown, South Dakota City Council decided.

STORIES by STEVE ELLIOTT, AUTHOR OF THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF MARIJUANA

local news

CALIFORNIA Lowell Farms Raises $18m in Private Equity Vertically integrated Salinasbased Cannabis company Lowell Farms received an $18 million private equity investment which will be used “for working capital purposes, automation investments, and expansion into new markets,” a press release said. Lowell Farms, formerly known as Lowell Herb Co., was acquired by Indus Holdings in February in a deal worth $39 million and is listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange.

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Cannabis Businesses Sue Illicit Market Operators, RICO-style In a strange turn for the legal Cannabis industry, which was once besieged by RICO cases from the federal government, Cannabis dispensaries are suing illegal dispensaries for monetary damages. The idea is to attack their entire chain of business and establish a conspiracy, one that operators say isn’t being effectively controlled by the black market. San Diego dispensary chain March and Ash sued a former sheriff captain imprisoned on gun charges who was involved in the illegal market. The other is in Mendocino, where growers are suing law enforcement directly.

OCT. 2021

Department of Cannabis Issues New Regulations The newly merged state agency, Department of Cannabis Control, released new regulations that consolidated regulatory rules from when the agency used to be split into three. Highlights include allowing non-vertically integrated Cannabis companies to sell branded merch from other businesses and streamlined rules for sample sharing between trade vendors. The agency indicated there are more changes to come. STORIES by JACKIE BRYANT @JACQBRY for CALIFORNIA LEAF

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SHOP review

SAN DIEGO

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When Seth Rogen’s Houseplant debuted in San Diego after being released in Los Angeles, March and Ash got the drop and no other dispensary did.

OCT. 2021

MARCH AND ASH S

outhern California dispensary chain March and Ash has come a long way from its first location in Mission Valley, a nondescript neighborhood in San Diego best known for its big box stores and now-defunct Qualcomm Stadium. Opened in 2018, it was started by a group of childhood friends who grew up in the backcountry outside the city. It was expected to be their only location, but their success convinced them to open another in Imperial, across county lines. Today, the mini-chain boasts four locations – the newest two are in Vista, which is in the northern part of San Diego County near Oceanside, and City Heights in San Diego proper. Three additional locations are coming in late 2021 and early 2022, all in the South Bay area of San Diego County: two in Chula Vista and one in Imperial beach. A large cultivation site in Imperial is also slated to open soon. It will be the brand’s first foray into growing Cannabis. March and Ash is known for a few things in its hometown of San Diego. First is the sharp design of the stores, which feature clean finishes and a modern aesthetic. In my experiences at their stores, their staff is also extremely knowledgeable and helpful, often more so than budtenders at other dispensaries in town.

In a city that many distributors They are also known for being and brands skip, having a dispensaone of the few union shops in the ry that routinely gets the high quality city, having recently ratified a conand flashy stuff is a big boon for tract with UFCW Local 135. That customers. makes March and Ash employees March and Ash is also committed part of the first wave of pot shops to being a good neighbor – particto unionize, which offers employee ipating in community cleanups and benefits like paid vacations and funding enhancements in the City revenue sharing options – none of Heights neighborhood of San Diego. which existed for Cannabis industry In Imperial, community developworkers until very recently. ment fees have helped build a new Another reason I always send teen space area in the city’s public people to March and Ash is that library. March and Ash also supthey genuinely have one of the best ports UCSD research initiatives, and selections of California brands out at certain locations participates in a of any dispensary in the area. program which offers When Seth Rogen’s discounted products Houseplant debuted to cancer patients who in San Diego after MARCH AND ASH wouldn’t otherwise be being released in Los CITY HEIGHTS able to afford them. Angeles, March and 2281 FAIRMOUNT AVE, Overall, March Ash got the drop and SAN DIEGO, CA and Ash has a more no other dispensary OPEN 7AM-9PM DAILY sophisticated vibe than did. @MARCHANDASHOFFICIAL the average mom-andWonderbrett, which INFORMATION & HOURS FOR THEIR OTHER LOCATIONS pop dispensary, but it’s is only sold at one AT MARCHANDASH.COM definitely not too fancy other San Diego to feel out of reach. dispo, is also found The employees at all locations are there. They also carry premium friendly, they seem to enjoy working brands like 3C, Alien Labs, Farmer there, and they are always psyched & the Felon, Cannabiotix, No Till to chat some of California’s best Kings, Maven and THC Design, weed products. among many others both large and True to being in San Diego, the small. experience is laid back and comfortConcentrates are also stored in able – like buying weed should be. a top-of-the-line custom terp fridge The marker of March and Ash is its that customers can look into from quality, whether the brand is a cult the outside, like a giant humidor in favorite or a flashy celeb release. reverse.

REVIEW by JACKIE BRYANT @JACQBRY for CALIFORNIA LEAF | PHOTOS by SANDY HUFFAKER @SANDY_HUFFAKER

Watch as the Winners from 2021 come to compete head to head in a challenge that will test their skills to the utmost. At stake are cash, prizes and a coveted spot in the Champs Glass Games “Hall of Flame”. It’s time to go big or go home. Past winners include AKM, Justin Jeneke, Hurley, HEndy. Grimm, McMillieman & Noah, just to name a few.

COMPANY PROFILE

GRASSROOTS NURSERY Sergio Silva brings years of traditional agricultural experience to Cannabis

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ERGIO SILVA recognizes the value of opportunity. In the 1970s, at the age of 13, Silva moved from the city of Portezuelo in Jalisco, Mexico, to the agricultural hub of Salinas, California. By the time he was 20, he was cultivating a career in a flourishing agrarian community, putting in long hours and plenty of sweat to earn his place in the field. Now, decades later, Silva heads up his own Cannabis propagation company in Sunol, California – bringing a wealth of knowledge from the ornamental and vegetable agriculture sectors to a regulated industry that’s rapidly scaling to a global level and that he knows will need people with his level of experience to grow. It’s a field-to-boardroom story that’s taken most of his life to tell.

OCT. 2021

P R O PAGAT I N G A N O T H E R T Y P E O F F LO W E R In the early 1980s, Silva started with a new company called Growers Transplanting, Inc., and identified an opportunity to grow with them. “I started there as the youngest employee, and I spoke very little English,” he said. “I knew that in order to advance with the company, I had to challenge myself to learn. To learn the language, how to drive equipment, how to do sales, that whole process from the bottom up.” And learn he did. With a significant amount of effort, he rose from the field to become the leader of the company. “It took me 14 years before I became the president of the company, and I became a partner,” he said. “I stayed with the company for 20 years after that.” Under Silva’s leadership, Growers Transplanting, Inc. provided baby plants to companies all over the state. At the apex of his time with that company, they were selling nearly 2 billion transplants per year. By the time Cannabis legalization seemed inevitable, the field hand turned executive was already making designs on a legacy to leave his family.

STRAIN HIGHLIGHTS

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Learning to operate multiple levels above anyTRANSL ATING FOR thing that’s existed before requires expertise, and a A NEW INDUSTRY significant amount of costly trial and error. It helps if Most people, when they think of growing Canyou’ve done it before. nabis, automatically picture big, sticky kolas. But “We used to manage 7 million square feet of the finished flower is only one piece of the picture. greenhouse throughout California,” Silva said. “We Many cultivators, especially at significant scale, look said, ‘We can grow orchids, we can grow poinsetto propagation companies like Grassroots Nursery tias, we can grow Cannabis.’” to provide clones and baby plants to feed their fields and grow rooms. GROWING TO FILL A NICHE Silva saw the future written on the greenhouse Grassroots currently oversees 1 million square walls. This industry was going nowhere but up, and feet of greenhouse space in California, and plans to it needed people like him. grow to suit the needs of the community. He couldn’t help but jump into the Cannabis The company employs 25 people, including Silwaters when it came time to build a new venture. va’s own daughter, Carina Silva, Not only was it an opportunity to build a legacy in a new industry Silva saw the future and his son-in-law, Leo Vieyra. They currently work with 26 – something that comes along strains from California breeders, once in a lifetime, maybe – but pot written on the paying back royalties in order plants are significantly more valugreenhouse walls. to be able to propagate and able than those in non-Cannabis distribute clones to cultivators. agriculture. Plus, the plant is, in a This industry They’ll be announcing collaboword, magnificent. licensing partnerships with “The first time I saw the plant, I was going nowhere rative genetics companies in the coming said, ‘My God, this is amazing,’” he said. “I decided that I wanted but up, and it needed months. Silva’s company also manuto spend the rest of my life in this factures and distributes its own industry.” people like him. brand of core substrate that’s He looked at the ways tradibeen formulated over the past two years to meet tional and medical market cultivators were growhis specifications. His plan is to specialize in a vital ing, and knew that he could offer his decades of niche in the industry and help bring systems and experience in the ornamental and edible agricultural quality control standards that will carry his clients sector to the Cannabis industry to growers looking and collaborators - and his family - into the future. for that level of consistency in their plant sourcing. “The industry that I came from is 200 years old, “You have the older generation, in the ‘60s, and customers have data, they have planning and growing their plants in the woods,” he said. “Then, schedules,” Silva said. “We will get there.” in the ‘90s, you have these young guys experimenting with growing indoors. When we came to greenhouses, we went from 5,000 square feet to several GRASSROOTSNURSERYCA.COM | @GRASSROOTSNURSERYCA hundred thousand.”

STORY by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANT/CALIFORNIA LEAF | PHOTOS by MICHAEL ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS

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STRAIN OF THE MONTH LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

“Delectable notes of guava, passion fruit, kiwi, pastry dough and cheesy funk.” DOJAEXCLUSIVE.COM | @DOJA.PAK

STUDIO 31.29% THC 36.12% TOTAL CANNABINOIDS

OCT. 2021

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midday on a Saturday, and Ryan Bartholomew is standing over a box of clones for his next project. “It’s a delicate process,” he muses, referring to the quest for new genetics. He pauses to hit a joint, and continues. “Our brand has built years of quality and innovation in the space. I’m going for stuff that’s new, that no one has. So many people have the same gear.” That brand is Bartholomew’s now legendary Doja Exclusive, which has spent the past few years earning a reputation for hunting and releasing some of the most hyped, exotic strains on the Prop 64 legal market. The joint he’s smoking on is the greasy, sticky sweet, Studio 54 – one of Doja’s hyper-limited releases. Doja made serious noise on the legal market a couple of years back with the release of Studio 54’s insanely crispy sister, RS11. That strain is said to inspire people to flock from all over the world to get their hands on the drop before it sells out. Bartholomew will be the first to tell you that he’s not the cultivator behind his strains – he’s a curator, selecting the best partners to help him achieve excellence in flower form. To bring his magic to the market, Doja linked up with Deep East Oakland, aka DEO Farms, who crossed the Pink Guava version of OZ Kush with Sunset Sherbert. The RS11 came from Sunset Sherbert #11, and the Studio 54 came from Sunset Sherbert #54. Doja then took those seeds and passed them to Wizard Trees in Los Angeles, who ran a massive pheno hunt. Doja and Wizard Trees qualified flower from every plant, judging them based on looks, nose and taste. “The Doja brand chooses to differentiate through the innovative genetics we select,” Bartholomew says. Out of that entire hunt, only two plants won the rights to wear the Doja label. Bartholomew then passed the genetics to some master indoor gardeners he knew from way back, Sacramento’s own Green Dawg Cultivators (see more about GDC on page 36). The resulting flower displays the art and expertise of those involved, and proves Doja’s reputation as a master curator with a platinum palate. The RS11 leans on the floral and gas side of the OZK x Sunset Sherb combo, with only a hint of sweet fruit. The Studio 54, on the other hand, cuts in a different direction – laying off the gas a little, highlighting delectable notes of guava, passion fruit, kiwi, pastry dough and cheesy funk. A Studio 54 party is a buoyant, hazy affair – rounding off the edges and leaving you feeling nothing short of comfortably delicious. As we wrapped up our talk, Bartholomew teased future strains and projects with the DEO/Wizard Trees/Green Dawg triumvirate, as well as new projects with other masters around the state. Only time will reveal what he has in store, but one thing is clear: Whatever Doja has in the pipeline is bound to live up to the hype.

WEEDMAPS

the INSIDER issue

F E AT U R E

How Data and Determination Are Driving the Future of Cannabis

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OCT. 2021

hen it comes to companies shaping the Cannabis industry, few, if any, loom larger than Weedmaps. Long known to consumers as a premier online destination for finding and ordering Cannabis products in available markets across the United States and Canada, the truth is that few likely know the true scope and depth of this tech business started by co-founders Justin Hartfield and Keith Hoerling back in 2008.

Over the course of 13 years, Weedmaps has drastically expanded both its workforce as well as its ambitions. Now boasting a staff of over 600, the company’s headquarters in Irvine, California is currently complemented by offices in Tucson, New York, Denver, Toronto and Barcelona. It is also the rare Cannabis-affiliated company to be publicly traded on the NASDAQ – another feather in the cap of a business that’s made a habit of leading by example. In addition to constantly refining its offerings as a top-notch repository for consumers to find the products best suited for their needs, at a convenient location and for a reasonable price, Weedmaps has also become an indispensable resource to retailers – courtesy of its cutting-edge POS (point of sales) and ecommerce integration software. Tasked with an ever-changing landscape of laws and regulations that vary not only by state, but sometimes by city, the mammoth task Weedmaps undertakes as its primary mission is to create technology solutions that universally lower the barrier to entry into the industry, be it a newbie consumer ready to make their first purchase or a past victim of the war on drugs now eager to start fresh with a legal Cannabis enterprise. According to CEO Chris Beals, who started with the company as legal counsel and was promoted to his current role in 2019, the mission of Weedmaps is a twofold proposition. “On one side,” he explained, “we’re the largest marketplace for Cannabis consumers to discover, learn about and find different Cannabis products, and to then be able to purchase and CEO CHRIS BEALS do online ordering from retailers. Then the other side of the business is what we call the ‘business in a box’ – which is this growing suite of stuff that’s like Salesforce meets Shopify for Cannabis businesses.” The latter set of tools includes a wide array of innovations, including POS integration (like the ability for retailers to embed their menus in their websites), as well as all of the compliance requirements that come with such undertakings (think pop-up disclaimers, age verification and ID collection). The company also offers its own POS system (WM Retail) available in Oklahoma and select other states, a wholesale exchange program (WM Exchange), and in August they launched an enhanced version of their iOS app with built-in ordering functionality.

STORY by ZACK RUSKIN @ZACKRUSKIN for LEAF NATION | PHOTOS by JUSTIN L. STEWART @JUSTNLSTEWART

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WEEDMAPS How Data and Determination Are Driving the Future of Cannabis

Co n ti n u e d f ro m p re v io us p age

taying up-to-date on so many moving parts requires some serious in-house talent, which is why Beals estimates that over 40% of Weedmaps’ employees are currently focused on engineering, product and design.

Among them are principal engineer operations concerns meeting consumCharlie King and software engineer er expectations when it comes to the Warren Applebaum. While King made shopping experience. That’s where King what he terms “a full 180°” when he comes in. pivoted from doing government contract “Consumers generally expect a work to joining up with Weedmaps, certain level of service,” he explained. Applebaum has been with the company “They expect to be able to buy things for nearly 12 of its 13-year existence. online and then pick them up in-store, Reflecting on Weedmaps’ evolution for example. Well, Cannabis has had to over his long tenure with the company, leapfrog into meeting those consumer Applebaum detailed how issues with expectations within an industry that’s listing medical-only dispensaries back highly regulated.” in 2008 – eight years before California Sure, it may seem simple to place an would approve Prop 64 – provided order via Weedmaps’ website or its app, an early lesson in how things in the but as King shared, the process behind Cannabis industry can often change on the scenes to make such a transaction a dime. possible is actually profoundly complex. “Before the Obama Administration “There’s a lot to it. We have to prodecided that the federal government vide a compliant ordering system, make would not pursue cassure that you actually es against state-legal pick up the product, The mammoth medical marijuana and then ensure that task Weedmaps dispensaries,” Applebaum the data is reported to undertakes as its said, “it would be this run Metrc or whatever the primary mission is around where the DEA or compliance body may to create technology state and local authorities be. I think an average solutions that would shut down dispenconsumer might take a universally lower saries, only for them to lot of that for granted, the barrier to entry come back online like but the Cannabis indusinto the industry. weeks later. Trying to keep try has been forced to up with that gave us a mature very quickly on preview of what things some of these things to were going to look like down the line give that experience to consumers.” years later.” Speaking with various members of Nowadays, as each new state comes the Weedmaps team, it’s abundantly online, Applebaum and his colleagues clear that the complex minefield of know to expect changes to these laws, compliance and geographically-specific and as a result, Weedmaps has heavily regulations that collectively define the invested in compliance and governlarger Cannabis industry in the U.S. ment relations teams, so that they can remains one of the company’s chief be aware of what those regulations areas of focus. are going to look like and bake those And no one arguably knows these elements into their applications to meet challenges better than Bridget Henregulatory constraints. nessey, who leads Weedmaps’ GovernAnother vital element to Weedmaps’ ment Relations and Policy team.

OCT. 2021

Irvine, CA HQ

Weedmaps VP of Government Relations Bridget Hennessey and Principal Engineer Charles King

Senior Engineer Warren Applebaum

“The work that we do on this team,” “I couldn’t have been happier with Hennessey shared, “is focused both the way that came together,” CEO Chris on opening new markets, while also Beals enthused when discussing the anmaking sure that current markets are nouncement. The result of six months of reflective of the community. We want to thoughtful conversation between the two ensure that people who were negatively parties, the partnership – announced in impacted by the war on drugs have a August – also ultimately required loopstake in these markets, so we spend a ing in some of the top brass at the NBA lot of our time advocating for social before becoming official. equity programs to be included in new The result, which will align Weedmaps legislation and ballot initiatives. Then with one of basketball’s most acclaimed we continue that work by making sure and influential players in a multi-year that we’re helping to educate people agreement, is reflective of the compaas an industry or market is coming to ny’s renewed desire to lead by example fruition and being implemented.” when it comes to making the Cannabis Given the relatively well defined industry a safer and more inclusive status of markets located on the West space. Coast, Hennessy confirmed that much “There are so many people who of her team’s focus is now directed would love to reduce KD to just being towards the East Coast and other some stoner guy who plays basketball,” emerging industries in various pockets Beals added, “but we’re talking about of the country. a generational talent here. KD is at the With a timeline top of his game, so the for potential federal fact that he is now involved WEEDMAPS.COM in this makes it very hard legalization still a rather @WEEDMAPS murky prospect, she for people to get out their feels Weedmaps’ efforts stigma paint brushes to try to ensure states with and dismiss it.” current legal markets are diverse and Overall, this focus on normalization is easy-to-access has only become all the one shared across Weedmaps’ various more important. teams and leaders. Be it normalizing And that goes for those interested in the process of conducting Cannabis leading the charge as well. transactions in the retail space or nor“We’re getting to develop the industry malizing the very concept of the plant from the ground up,” Hennessey said. for the public at large, solutions based “And that means that everybody has on a hybrid of cutting-edge technology, an opportunity to be at the table from relentless advocacy and an internal the beginning. For women and for desire to constantly improve, have minorities, I think that makes it a really proven Weedmaps to be a vital facet interesting time to be in this industry of the push to bring Cannabis to the and I encourage people of all walks of mainstream. life to look into it and to try to see how “At the end of the day,” Beals noted, they can be involved.” “this is simply about enabling an open Even Weedmaps itself is stepping and robust legal Cannabis system where up its efforts to reach the public with there’s an opportunity for folks of all a message of de-stigmatization in the different backgrounds – including those form of a new partnership with NBA who are arrested for Cannabis crimes superstar Kevin Durant and his startup, – to come in and have opportunity to Thirty Five Ventures. thrive.”

STORY by ZACK RUSKIN @ZACKRUSKIN for LEAF NATION | PHOTOS by JUSTIN L. STEWART @JUSTNLSTEWART AND @ MIKE ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS

the INSIDER issue

F E AT U R E

THE SCIENCE OF SCALE Natura brings cutting-edge capabilities to California’s Cannabis scene. Trekking from room to room and building to building through the Natura compound on the outskirts of Sacramento, one thing becomes apparent. This place is expansive. Not only that – it has to be expensive.

A state-of-the-art, veritable Willy Wonka’s wonderland of weed, Natura has spared no expense to set itself up with the capability of producing high-quality products for every segment of the market, using bleeding-edge technology at significant scale. Over a series of visits and Zoom calls, we dug into the formation, the operation and the vision for the company, as well as its approach to crafting products for brands and companies hoping to scale for statewide distribution and beyond.

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AN IDEA SPROUTS

The concept for Natura cracked the husk when its founders saw a need in the industry. Co-founder and CEO Ori Bytton had taken his experience and money from a career in the solar industry and paired it with an investing partner to enter the Cannabis real estate market. Using the financial resources at their disposal, they turned around industrial real estate and repurposed it for Cannabis use – serving Cannabis businesses of different shapes, color and size. After some time, they noticed that many of their clients came and went swiftly, as the competitive nature of the nascent industry caused significant churn and turnover. They designed a large, multipurpose facility and sought out Josh Schmidt, co-founder of the multi-state brand Pistil Point, and a long-time figure in the traditional and medical market. “It sent off signals in their heads,” Schmidt said of the high turnover rate for brands in the Cannabis market. “They got together, they used their brains, and they thought of this model – the Natura model – which is a supply chain opportunity partner for brands to launch themselves in the state.” Together with VP of Sales, Seth Sznapstajler, they crafted plans to flesh out a team that could utilize a facility equipped to tackle nearly every product category, and serve nearly any brand to walk through the front door. Now, a few whirlwind years later, Natura has staffed and launched its 290,000 square feet of operational facility and growing on its 11-plus-acre campus – with cultivation, extraction, production, packaging, a large commercial kitchen and R&D capabilities, to support the company’s 22 licenses covering propagation, cultivation, manufacturing, distribution and direct-to-consumer delivery. >>

OCT. 2021

STORY by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANTS/CALIFORNIA LEAF | PHOTOS by MICHAEL ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS

the INSIDER issue

THE SCIENCE OF SCALE Natura brings cutting-edge capabilities to California’s Cannabis scene. Co n ti n u ed f ro m p re v io us p age

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RIGHT NOW, NATURA PRODUCES SEVERAL NEW AND LEGACY BRANDS, INCLUDING JELLY WIZARD, DNA GENETICS, FIDELS AND PISTIL POINT. THE IDEA IS TO BUILD A DIVERSE SLATE OF BRANDS TO SATISFY ANY SLOT ON A RETAIL SHELF, INCLUDING HOUSE BRANDS FOR THE RETAILERS THEMSELVES.

OCT. 2021

“One of our markers,” he said, With all that space, it may “is does the brand have a foundbe surprising that Natura itself er? Does the brand have a face? isn’t a consumer-facing brand. Is the founder helping push things That’s not the point, Schmidt along? I’m one of the co-foundsays. ers of Pistil Point, and I’m going The concept, he says, is for out to retailers. I’m meeting the existing brands as well as new people. … I’m not too busy for it. brands to come in, share their I look at guys like Dan Akyroyd, vision, and utilize Natura’s with his brand Crystal (Head) facility and staff to execute and Vodka, he physically went around bring the brand to market. to BevMos and Total Wines … he Where many business owners sold it himself.” think “I need a building,” NatuRight now, Natura produces ra exists for the savvy entrepreseveral new and legacy brands, neurs that instead think, “I need including Jelly Wizard, DNA GeVP Business Development Josh Schmidt a production partner.” netics, Fidels, Dee Tropical Thai CEO and Co-Founder Ori Bytton Ever since it was a dusty lot, Rosin Gummies and Schmidt’s VP of Sales Seth Sznapstajler this place was really Ori (and own Pistil Point. The idea is to co-founder Craig Powell’s) vision,” Schmidt said. build a diverse slate of brands to satisfy any slot on “[VP of Sales Seth Sznapstajler] and I put all a retail shelf, including house brands for the retailthe pieces in motion. We had a vision for who we ers themselves. wanted [in] our family of brands. One of my visions “For every hippie brand, we’ll take a corporate of this place was always to have it become like the brand,” Schmidt said. “For every corporate brand, United Nations of Cannabis. When it’s fully up and we’ll take a vegan brand. … It’s just that United ready, you would drive by, and first you would see Nations model. There’s no person and no place the U.S. and California flagpoles, but eventually that we don’t want to touch. … Natura is the home you would start seeing the brand flags of all the of like-minded individuals and brands who are brand partners, just like when you would drive by wanting to create new, exciting SKUs together and an embassy in the world, or a building that contains scale them tremendously.” many embassies. … A lot of countries with different founders, and visions, and backgrounds, and they THE BRIGHT FUTURE all come to one place and put everything down for An avid whiskey collector, Schmidt nods to the a minute and work together.” history of Kentucky’s once-illegal industry when discussing Natura and the Cannabis community at T H E W I L LY W O N K A O F W E E D large. Go back far enough, and producing, selling One of the ways Natura plans to bring this vision and consuming alcohol carried with it significant to life is through its equipment and capabilities. levels of risk. Now, you can buy whiskey at corner “We worked with Osram and Philips to get those stores and in Duty Free shops in international airports. LEDs custom built,” Bytton said, pointing up as we As someone who came up in the traditional marstood in the open door of one of their 15 cultiket, Schmidt understands better than most that the vation bays. The lights transition from the blue to struggle for legitimacy and legality is a long game. red spectrum and can be dialed in remotely and In the early 2000s, he used to own a dispensary in programmed. Van Nuys. What a long road it’s been. Then Bytton pointed to the cameras protruding “Back then, I was in the face of the Feds, not from the ceiling every dozen yards or so. “You’d sleeping,” Schmidt said. “That was my mission – think those are for security, but they’re not.” until there was a dispensary on every corner and The cameras, he said, are for measuring everyyou could get Cannabis easily, and access in every thing about the plant, using micro and infrared county. Now, my new mission is to get it to the point analysis. “We’re using AI, machine learning,” he where guys like you and I are in JFK or Tom Bradley said. The cameras were there to feed information to (LAX), or Wherever International, departing, and their system to govern pest management, fertigabuying some of California’s finest. It’s not going to tion, and assist in breeding selection. be every brand. It’s going to be Cookies, it’s going Where many companies rely on human inputs for to be Stiiizy … just like alcohol’s not every brand. their breeding, Natura believes that future breeding But it’s going to be California brands.” efforts can be assisted through artificial intelligence As an entrepreneur with holdings in Colombia and computer-driven data analysis. and Thailand poised to jump off, Schmidt is a CaliThe investment in equipment doesn’t stop there, fornia cultivator with global designs, and that’s also as elsewhere in the facility, top-of-the-line kitchen the eventual goal of Natura Lifescience. And at the equipment, significant extraction capabilities, and root of that is a mission to stay true to the roots of custom-built joint packing machinery from Israel sets the industry. Natura up to handle large-scale production for its “We’re here for one thing and one thing only,” brand partners. Schmidt said. “To deliver the best medicine and Cannabis products to the consumers and patients – THE ART OF BUILDING BRANDS that’s the end goal.” When it comes to selecting partners, Schmidt says Natura handles its decisions carefully. A lot of it NATURA.IO | @NATURA_LIFE_SCIENCE comes from his personal experience. A UNITED VISION

STORY by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANTS/CALIFORNIA LEAF | PHOTOS by MICHAEL ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS

the INSIDER issue

PROFILE

GENINE COLEMAN

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Founder, Origins Council | Co-Founder, Mendocino Appellations Project OCT. 2021

THERE COULDN’T BE an Insider Issue without Genine Coleman, who lives in Mendocino County and is the founder of Origins Council, as well as the co-founder of the Mendocino Appellations Project. When it comes to Cannabis in legacy growing regions in California, it’s fair to say that they would be much worse off without Coleman’s work, which ranges from drafting policy to grassroots organizing for the rights of Cannabis farmers and everything in between. She also grew Cannabis for over 20 years, before switching her focus to patient and policy advocacy.

“O

weed wouldn’t want to buy weed from In particular, she was one of the main the Emerald Triangle if given a chance? architects of California’s Senate Bill 67, Who wouldn’t want to visit a Cannabis which ratified appellations of origin for garden in one of these historic regions Cannabis cultivation in the state. the same way one would a winery in In layman’s terms, it means that there Napa? In an age where it’s becoming is now a legal designation that can be harder and harder for small growers applied to Cannabis grown in, say, Mento make money off of actually selling docino County – the way that ChamCannabis, they are hoping to turn it into pagne must come from the Champagne a craft and luxury product with a special region in France, or it has to be called status owing to its legacy. something else. “Something like 95% of our members Under her guidance, the law lays out are, you know, homestead farmers,” specific rules for geographic and cultural Coleman says of the growers she repgrowing region boundaries, and also resents in her work. agricultural standards – such as grow“And so this is not just about a busiing organically and regeneratively and, ness and a livelihood. This is about a perhaps most importantly, outdoors. lifestyle, a tradition, multi-generational in It’s that law that Coleman hopes, in some cases, with land part, will help to save holdings, multi-genthe legacy regions from “WHO WOULDN’T erational genetics that the myriad of threats WANT TO VISIT A have been developed they face to their CANNABIS GARDEN IN over time. There are livelihoods: chronic ONE OF THESE HISTORIC unique practices – wildfires, the fast creep Cannabis is a very of corporate Cannabis, REGIONS THE SAME unique plant that historic price drops and WAY ONE WOULD A requires specialized an ever-present water WINERY IN NAPA?” care,” Coleman crisis, among other explains. indignities. “There’s a lot of inherent knowledge Maybe once interstate commerce right within the heritage producing becomes a reality, Coleman and others community. The appellations movement think they will have a fighting chance for Cannabis really started with the due to the pedigree of their name and stakeholders that we represent at Origins heritage. Who from anywhere in the Council,” Coleman says. “They really United States that knows anything about are legacy farmer driven policies. So, in a way, those broader missions are really coming together.” ORIGINSCOUNCIL.ORG | FACEBOOK.COM/MENDOMAP

rigins Council was really founded to give voice to the rural, legacy-producing communities of California, and to set policy precedents and research precedents that could serve traditional farmers, really, across the world,” Coleman says of the organization she founded in 2019. “I think all of our community, all of our traditional farming communities, are facing similar threats to various scales,” she adds regarding the context within which she views her work. Coleman also serves on the Board of Directors for the 420 Archive, which is devoted to collecting, preserving and sharing the history of Cannabis culture and prohibition in the United States. She is one of the founding board members of the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance, formed in 2019. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the California Growers Association and chaired the organization’s Appellations Committee. These days, she can be found lobbying for interstate commerce of Cannabis sales, as well as a member of the Alliance for Sensible Markets. It’s on the Appellations Committee where some of Coleman’s most recent successes materialized, and where her work also overlaps with Origins Council.

STORY by JACKIE BRYANT @JACQBRY for CALIFORNIA LEAF | PHOTO by ALVIN JORNADA @ALVINJORNADA

the INSIDER issue

F E AT U R E

Co-founders Keegan Manning, Drew Coggio, and Eliot Papas, standing between Dawg Breath cultivated for Green Dawg's own label, on the left, and UPDawg on the right.

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Crafting quality in a growing industry

From the outside, Green Dawg Cultivators looks like any indoor cultivation facility. Nondescript. Industrial. A sign stating that the building is “Not open to the public” posted on the front door. Inside, however, tall trees tilt beneath the weight of some of the industry’s most heavily hunted genetics. For roughly a decade, the team behind Green Dawg Cultivators has made its name as one of the most respected indoor gardening crews in California, and the cultivators behind some of the most sought-after brands you’ll see on the shelf.

OCT. 2021

Until now, the crew behind Green Dawg has never allowed their story to be told, or their faces to be shown. We spent a couple of afternoons in September behind the curtain, discussing their history, the challenges they’ve faced, and the method behind their magic. ON THE COME UP

Despite being a significantly sized facility, Green Dawg boasts a tight, efficient crew led by three partners: Drew Coggio, Eliot Papas and Keegan Manning. Lifelong friends, the three of them were born in Vermont and enjoyed a New England youth before moving to California. “Our parents are friends,” Coggio said of Manning. “We grew up in diapers together.”

Zoap, cultivated for DEO Farms

GREENDAWGGEAR.COM | @GREENDAWGCA

WE DISCOVERED WHAT VERY WELL MAY BE THE MOST DELECTABLE, MOUTHWATERING MOCHI WE’VE EVER HAD – AND THEIR NAMESAKE DAWG BREATH HIT LIKE A TANKER TRUCK OVERFLOWING WITH HIGH OCTANE FUEL.

Prickly Pear cultivated for Turtle Pie, and Dawg Breath. Not only did they toddle together, but the Green Dawg crew discovered Cannabis together – and learned to cultivate tall trees together. In 2014, they formed Green Dawg Management and Consultants, and began working in the Prop 215 medical market. They took over operations at a friend’s cultivation in San Jose, forging a partnership that allowed them to release their own genetics on a co-pack basis. The deal allowed them to build their brand, while also building out their own facility in Sacramento. In 2018, Coggio formed Sacramento Craft Collective, which then partnered with Green Dawg and Turtle Pie as separate entities, in order to offer contract cultivation to third parties. Their approach has allowed them to specialize specifically on cultivation and distribution/ fulfillment, and because of that, they’ve turned out some unbelievable gear. THE STRUGGLE

By the beginning of 2020, Coggio, Papas and Keegan had come out of the traditional and medical market to gain well-deserved respect in the legal Prop 64 industry. But then, just as their legal business was starting to take off, it nearly all came crashing down. Literally. The roof of the Green Dawg cultivation facility collapsed, taking out six of eight rooms. “It was so brutal, man,” Coggio said. “We had a sunroof. It was catastrophic. We were a sneeze away from being entirely out of business.”

Speaking of a sneeze away, that collapse happened on March 12, 2020 – during a rare soaking wet week in Sacramento that also ended up being particularly tragic beyond the walls of their facility – as Covid-19 began to truly ravage the planet’s populace. At that point, everything for Green Dawg was up in the air. But they didn’t tuck tail and run. They bared their teeth and dug in their claws to scratch their way back. It’s a testament to the trio’s unified strength that they pulled together, rebuilt, and in October 2020, relaunched in the midst of a fullfledged pandemic. As any connoisseur of indoor flower will tell you, it was the right move. THE BLUEPRINT

Though they have a bulletproof rep for cultivating hard to find, premium quality flower, Coggio will be the first to tell you that Green Dawg itself isn’t a lifestyle brand. You know those amazing artists that you only find out about when you hear that your favorite performer listens to them? That’s Green Dawg. They’re the guys your favorite farmers keep in their head stash. They cultivate for their own lifestyle brands, like Blueprint and Turtle Pie, but beyond that, they’re also the sticky green thumbs behind some of the most hype strains to come out of California in recent years. Zoap from DEO, aka Deep East Oakland? Green Dawg grows it. Same with Doja Exclusive’s legendary RS11 and Studio 54.

In a recent conversation, Ryan Bartholomew, aka Doja Exclusive, discussed his friendship and collaboration with Green Dawg. They go back to the pre-Prop 64 days, and Doja tapped Coggio and Co. to be the cultivation house for the genetics he curated with DEO Farms and Wizard Trees. (See more information and a review of Doja’s Studio 54 in the October Strain of the Month feature on page 24). “Now we have this legacy situation where I’m working with someone I’ve known since the Prop 215 days,” Bartholomew said. “It’s nostalgic. It’s dope to be able to be working with them like this.” THE HARVEST

We at the Leaf haven’t had the chance to try all 178-odd strains in the library at Green Dawg. But we did get the chance to sample a few. We discovered what very well may be the most delectable, mouthwatering Mochi we’ve ever had. Their namesake Dawg Breath hit like a tanker truck overflowing with high octane fuel. The RS11 and Studio 54 lived up to the hype, with complex, downright gourmet terpene expressions. In fact, we can honestly say that every single flower we sampled was phenomenal. According to Coggio, Green Dawg and its associated labels have designs to continue to scale along with the industry trends, but with one caveat. They will never abandon their current commitment to uniqueness and quality. “I think we’re the future,” Coggio said, referring not to Green Dawg, but rather to geneticists and cultivators who continue to hunt for unique, boutique expressions of the plant. “As this industry commoditizes, groups like us will be able to maintain their reputation by cultivating extremely high quality Cannabis at scale.” As much of the market moves to enormous-scale production for biomass and the inevitability of global distribution, Green Dawg believes that they’ll be able to keep the craft segment alive and thriving. “All we care about is the culture,” Coggio said. “And it comes in the form of our finished product.”

STORY by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANTS/CALIFORNIA LEAF | PHOTOS by MICHAEL ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS

the INSIDER issue

F E AT U R E

GLASS HOUSE FARMS Graham Farrar | Co-Founder, President and Board Director

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Just across Route 101 in Carpinteria is a sprawling property filled with greenhouses. From a glance, nobody would ever be able to tell that they house thousands of square feet of maturing Cannabis plants. This is Glass House Farms’ HQ, just outside of Santa Barbara, and for local boy Graham Farrar – who is the company’s co-founder, president and board director – this is where he both works and plays as one of the industry’s ultimate insiders.

he other thing that isn’t visible from 101 is the fact that, thanks to a recent property acquisition, Glass House is poised to become one of the largest Cannabis cultivators on planet Earth. That means Farrar is about to become one of the biggest growers in the world. Glass House Farms is currently one of the top-selling Cannabis flower brands in California, thanks in part to the company’s 500,000-squarefoot growing footprint, but also to the quality of the Cannabis grown. Glass House grows sungrown Cannabis, yes, but in a special way: Rather than growing fully outdoors or indoors, Farrar and his team harness the power of the sun and mix it with the benefits of climate-controlled greenhouses for a potent result that’s the best of both growing methods. This kind of innovation comes second nature to Farrar, who studied microbiology and biochemistry at CU Boulder many moons ago, after growing up in Santa Barbara.

OCT. 2021

A self-described techie, he also was a weed smoker from a fairly young age, so it was inevitable that the two would combine. “We have this plant, which is somewhere between a great time and medicine,” Farrar says, explaining his path towards growing and selling the plant. “We demonize it, we persecute people with dark skin, more people are in prison for it than anything else. It doesn’t hurt anybody. It’s never killed anybody. It cures diseases, it makes people feel better. And it’s the dichotomy that was always just kind of massively offensive to me,” Farrar says. Farrar explains that he’s a natural skeptic at heart. “When people and society say things, I like to check it a little bit. I checked what the rest of the world was saying with Cannabis. And it was all bullshit, right? So, I kind of said, ‘Well, I enjoy it. I don’t feel bad after it. I don’t see any negative effects from it. Other people feel the same.’ It all started with just being a consumer and saying, ‘Hey, this is pretty cool,’” he explains. “I’m a tech geek. And agriculture, in my opinion, when done well, is actually a pretty technological thing. The physiology of a plant is a technical process once you understand it, and so it kind of appealed to me in that way,” he says of his early days growing in his college dorm closet. In that 3x2 closet, he says he rigged an ebb and flow system he built himself with hydroponic rockwool, where he coated the walls in mylar, drilled a hole in the wall for an exhaust band with a carbon scrubber on it, put in timers and added a CO2 system. Typical college stuff. Anyone can relate. Fast forward to today and he’s now growing for his own company, which debuted on the Canadian stock exchange this past July with a $275 million market capitalization, and was started during the Prop 215 days. As Farrar looks to the future, it’s full steam ahead in the expectation that interstate commerce will open up, either before or in tandem with federal legalization. Glass House recently bought a 5.5-million-square-foot cultivation facility and plans to grow even more in anticipation of these changes, Farrar says. That sets Glass House up with the capability to become the largest cultivator in the state, and one of the largest in the country.

Farrar admits it’s all a bit of a blur. “It’s a trip. I walk around in a greenhouse, we have half a million square feet now, right? So it’s, like, a lot of weed, right? I mean, I’m picking up bags that, when I started, would have been worth like, $50,000, right? And one bag would have sent me to jail for you know, life or whatever. So that’s … different,” he says. We both laugh. Farrar also knows it’s a period of rapid change within California’s Cannabis industry, with larger cultivators like his poised for the future, while other smaller ones face difficulties in finding market share. He’s sympathetic to these market challenges and, while he says he has no interest in actually growing anywhere other than Southern California because he thinks it’s the ideal growing climate, he would like to bring legacy farmers from up north into the fold somehow. “What I would really like to do is find legacy operators who have something special and help give them a home in the legal, licensed market,” Farrar says. “Let’s find the best genetics and its best growers. They have something we want, which is awesome genetics. We want to make the best Cannabis and we have something that they need, which is licenses and space and facilities and, you know, the foundation to roll into the legal side of the world,” Farrar explains. “I really would like to put those things together.”

GLASS HOUSE FARMS IS CURRENTLY ONE OF THE TOPSELLING CANNABIS FLOWER BRANDS IN CALIFORNIA, THANKS IN PART TO THE COMPANY’S 500,000-SQUARE-FOOT GROWING FOOTPRINT, BUT ALSO TO THE QUALITY OF THE CANNABIS GROWN.

GLASSHOUSEFARMS.ORG | @GLASS.HOUSE.FARMS

STORY by JACKIE BRYANT @JACQBRY for CALIFORNIA LEAF | PHOTOS by GLASS HOUSE FARMS

concentrate of the month

710 LABS DEEP LINE ALCHEMY 4 PHENO #1 PERSY LIVE ROSIN Concentrate enthusiasts are no strangers to the 710 Labs brand and what it represents. Originating in Colorado, this small group of hash lovers brought the brand to the Golden State in 2017, and have been steadily pumping out the flame ever since.

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“A beautiful jar full of impressively blonde rosin chips, all stacked on top of one another like a delicious plate of nachos.” 78.55% THC | 1.35% CBD | 710LABS.COM | @710LABS

OCT. 2021

Industry catch-phrases like ‘small batch’ and ‘strain specific’ get thrown around a lot, but very few that use these terms truly represent them. Despite California having hundreds of licensed extraction companies, 710 Labs is one of only a small handful of indoor, single source solventless producers in the entire state. With an average batch size of less than one pound for the entire California market, they can truly call their products small batch and firmly stand behind that claim. That being said, for the most part they don’t use any of that language in their marketing – instead touting their motto “OGs Make Better OG” – an ode to their roots in the industry, and a statement about their dedication to quality. This Deep Alchemy 4 Pheno #1 was described to me by the team at 710 Labs as the “jalapeño pheno,” and to be honest, off the bat I wasn’t sure whether or not that sounded like a good thing. Upon closer inspection, however, this live rosin lives up to the elite quality standards the brand is known for. Each jar is sealed with a protective cap that protects the hash they’ve worked so hard to coax from the plant. Once opened, you’re met with a beautiful jar full of impressively blonde rosin chips, all stacked on top of one another like a delicious plate of nachos. Before you’re able to fully consume the gorgeous aesthetics of the rosin, you’re hit with what is surely one of the most unique aromas a Cannabis plant has ever produced. I immediately understood why the team dubbed it the “jalapeño pheno,” as it was bursting with an audaciously skunky and intensely herbaceous, quite literally spicy aroma that truly smells like slicing into a ripe jalapeño – even fresh out of the fridge. It’s an absolutely wild smell that intensifies the more you warm the hash, and ultimately comes across as incredibly enticing. The vapor from a low temp dab lets loose a cacophony of flavor delivered by a punchy, expansive vapor. Green bell pepper, race fuel, roadkill skunk and, indeed, the same unique spiciness detected on the nose is also present on the palate. This Deep Alchemy 4 Pheno #1 is something truly unique, and is yet another stellar example of the exemplary quality work that 710 Labs is known for.

REVIEW & PHOTO by NATE WILLIAMS @NATEW415/CALIFORNIA LEAF

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE CORNER leafmagazines.com

Floating Along THE POWER OF SENSORY DEPRIVATION TANKS

ensory deprivation or ‘float’ tanks have an abundance of physical health benefits, including increased endorphins, decreased blood pressure and overall body relaxation.

On the mental health side, these chambers offer many advantages, as they are known to lower anxiety, promote muscle relaxation and improve symptoms of depression. These safe spaces are the perfect place to clear your mind and improve your level of concentration and focus. Earlier this year, I embarked on a mystical adventure and took a look behind the scenes at Float Om Healing Center and Tranquility Tanks in Eugene, Oregon. As soon as I entered the building, a wave of tranquility and relaxation crashed over me as I took in my surroundings. After being greeted at the front desk, I walked down to the second room on the right, where I began my float session. Approaching the sensory deprivation chamber, I grinned and embraced what was to come as 50mg of THC:CBD started to take hold. After shutting the door to the tank, it took a few minutes to settle in and to start working on removing my mind from the outside world. Before this experience, I had floated on several occasions where Cannabis was not a part of the equation. Although isolation tanks are enjoyable while being completely sober, it can sometimes be a bit harder to shut off your mind entirely. With the right amount of Cannabis consumption, this venture can take you to infinity and beyond. Following getting comfortable, I familiarized myself with what appeared to be a giant black room that offered everything, yet nothing at the same time. This astral plane of existence was ever-expanding to the point where you had no idea if you were looking up, down, left or right. This feeling can be frightening initially, but once you embrace this empty yet immersive expanse, the magic all begins to unfold as your weightless body floats into a sea of space. The water for most tanks gets kept at 93.5 degrees, which is skin-receptor neutral, meaning you lose the sensation of where your body ends and the water begins. I couldn’t help but feel like the hand of a higher power cradled me throughout the float. Through the assistance of Wim Hof’s breathing method, as silly as it may sound, I saw my soul escape my body and start dancing around colorfully and happily – vibrantly full of life. For those of you who have seen the recent movie “Soul,” the character I saw similarly resembled one of the souls in the great beyond. I then heard the music start, which meant that my float was over. I was relieved to get out and back to my life, yet at the same time, still wishing I had a bit longer to continue with this astral soul projection. Upon opening the door back up, the room vibrated with a rush of colors and energies – and after having the opportunity to assess and evaluate my venture, I realized that I came out of this tank a lot more calm and relaxed than I originally started the day. For those looking for a unique way to nurture your mind, body and soul, sensory deprivation tanks just may be your ticket to the astral plane.

OCT. 2021

“I couldn’t help but feel like the hand of a higher power cradled me throughout the float.” STORY by MAX EARLY @LIFTED_STARDUST/LEAF NATION | FLOAT-OM-ISOLATION-TANKS.COM

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cannthropology

WORLD OF Cannabis PRESENTS

Roll With It

PHOTO COURETSY OF BAMBU

A double-wide, unfiltered account of the history of rolling papers.

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ORIGINS IN ALCOY

Humanity has been smoking herbs for millennia, but it wasn’t until after Christopher Columbus brought tobacco home from the Americas in the 16th century that we began using rolled paper as a means to inhale. “Columbus came back from the ‘New World’ to Spain with these kinds of rudimentary cigars wrapped in leaves and tied with string,” explains rolling paper mogul and historian Josh Kesselman. “They land in Seville, and the process of people smoking cigars in Europe begins.” Though only aristocrats could afford cigars at the time, they’d often throw their butts away on the ground, where peasants would retrieve and re-roll the tobacco in used newspaper. This practice eventually made its way to the nearby town of Alcoy, where its future fate would take root. “Alcoy is the true birthplace of rolling paper,” asserts Kesselman. Alcoy was founded in the 8th century by the Moors, who brought with them the art of papermaking they’d learned Alcoy, Spain—birthplace of rolling papers. from the Chinese (as well as

OCT. 2021

Left: The old Bambu factory in Barcelona. Above: JOB promo poster by artist Alphonse Mucha (1869).

the Arabian Acacia gum that would later be used for the adhesive strips). In 1154, Alcoy became the first city in the region to manufacture “mouldmade paper” – a machine-made paper renowned for its durability and surface texture – and over the next few centuries, established itself as the papermaking capital of Spain. “The Alcoyanos take one look at those people smoking in newspaper and they know that’s not healthy, so they decide to make a special paper just for smoking,” says Kesselman. “That was really the world’s first rolling paper.” It’s believed that a form of rolling paper was made in Alcoy as early as the 1500s. Those early versions were made from the recycled pulp of hemp and other textiles, and were sold as giant sheets that needed to be folded into squares and cut. It wasn’t until centuries later that they would be branded and take the forms we’re familiar with today. In fact, the practice of pre-cutting and packaging papers in a protective booklet didn’t come about until 1765, when it was introduced by a Dominican monk named Father Jaime Villanueva Estingo. Remarkably, the first 10 trademarks ever filed in Spain were all for rolling papers; by 1850, there were around 50 brands registered. The first and oldest continuously branded rolling paper company in existence is Pay-Pay (pronounced pie-pie), founded in 1703. Old-school Pay-Pay pack.

Another of Spain’s earliest manufacturers that are still in business today is Bambu. The company’s first factory opened in Alcoy in 1764, though originally it produced Bible paper; it wasn’t until the rise in popularity of cigarettes during the late 1800s that owner Rafael Abad Santonja switched to making rolling papers. The company premiered its trademark “Winking Spaniard” design Bambu’s in 1876 but didn’t officially establish the famous “Bambu” brand until 1907. “Winking

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Spaniard.”

More than mere consumers, the vipers, beatniks, and hippies embraced cannabis smoking as part of their cultural identity...and rolling papers were included in that zeitgeist. Like Bambu, Zig-Zag adopted their own marketing mascot in 1879: an illustration of a French infantryman called a “Zouave” who became known as the “Zig-Zag Man,” aka “Captain Zig-Zag.” According to their lore, the original Captain Zig-Zag’s pipe was shattered during battle, forcing him to roll his tobacco in paper torn from a musket cartridge. The new century brought with it other changes in the industry: Rizla’s introduction of flavored papers in 1906, the creation of king-size papers, the formation of a rolling paper manufacturing consortium in Alcoy called Papeleras Reunitas in 1934, and changes in ownership for many of the most popular brands (including Rizla, Pay-Pay, Bambu and others). At one point, Bambu’s factory in Alcoy was even dismantled and reestablished in Barcelona. But perhaps the most significant change in the 20th century would be the dramatic expansion of their customer base, thanks to a new demographic of smokers: potheads.

Though rolling papers were invented in Spain, it wasn’t long before France got into the game. During the 16th century, Napoleon’s soldiers returning from Spain brought the habit of smoking rolled tobacco home with them (though it wasn’t until 1830 that they began calling them “cigarettes.”) Legend has it that, after encountering such Vintage a soldier in 1532, an enterprising Frenchman Zig-Zag booklets. named Alexandro Lacroix traded CANNABIS & THE COUNTERCULTURE a bottle of Champagne for the From the jazz age of the 1920s to the councavalryman’s rolling papers terculture of the 1960s and ‘70s, marijuana’s and began reproducing them popularity skyrocketed throughout the century. for himself and his family. In More than mere consumers, though, the vipers, 1736, his descendant François beatniks and hippies embraced Cannabis smokLacroix began mass-producing ing as part of their cultural identity – and rolling them as the Lacroix Rolling An antique papers were included in that zeitgeist. Soon, the Paper Company. It would be packet of Rizla+ papers. Zig-Zag Man was popping up on numerous more than a century later counterculture posters and flyers – most famously before the company would switch to rice paper and change its in June 1966, when underground artists Stanley Cover of Cheech & Chong’s name: taking the French word for rice (riz), and abbreviating Mouse and Alton Kelly used the logo on a the family name Lacroix to La+ (“croix” is the French word for “Big Bambu” album (1972). handbill for a pair of concerts by Big Brother “cross”), becoming RizLa+. and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin’s band) at San Francisco’s Avalon In the 19th century, competition in the industry started to Ballroom. (Twenty years later, hip-hop icon Dr. Dre would do something heat up. First, in 1822, two brothers – René and Guillaume Zig-Zag Man concert poster similar for his debut album “The Chronic.”) Bolloré – opened a paper mill on the banks of the Odet River by Mouse & Kelly (1966). Another famous example of artists incorporating rolling paper logos into in the town of Cascadec to produce rolling papers, calling their their projects were Cheech & Chong. The legendary comedy duo used Bambu’s branding twice: company OCB (“O” for Odet, “C” for Cascadec, and “B” for first in 1972, for their album “Big Bambú,” which looked like a Big Bambu pack and featured Bolloré). Next came Jean Bardou, a giant mock rolling paper inside; then again in 1978, for their first film “Up in Smoke,” whose whose company trademark promotional materials also utilized Bambu’s branding. was his initials “JB” separated One company that sprang out of Cannabis culture was E-Z Wider. by a small diamond shape. But Established in 1972, they were the first papers designed specifically for rolling when people kept mistaking the weed rather than tobacco. Founder Burton Rubin allegedly got the idea to diamond for an “O,” he went with create his “double-wide” papers in 1969 after watching some of his law it and changed the company’s school classmates connect two regular-sized papers to roll a larger joint. name to JOB in 1849.

INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS

The next breakthrough in packaging was “interleaving” – the method whereby papers are inserted into the booklet in a Jean Bardou criss cross manner – so that each one readies the next when it’s pulled out. Though Kesselman believes that the interleaving was actually created by Italian paper manufacturer Saul David Modiano years earlier, it was a Paris-based company that, in 1894, perfected and patented the horizontally-folded “z” shape method we’re familiar with today. This innovation was so popular that it not only won them a gold medal at the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris, it also convinced founders Maurice and Jacques Braunstein to rename their company after it: Zig-Zag.

PAST AND PRESENT

The past few decades have ushered in yet more innovations in this centuries-old industry: the addition of built-in wire roach clips and tear-off filter tips attached to the booklet; the creation of clear, cellulose papers, and even 24k gold leaf paper. But the most successful innovation of the modern era is undoubtedly the vegan, natural, organic, unbleached hemp papers and cones from Kesselman’s flagship brand Raw – which, remarkably, are all produced using the traditional machinery and methods at the old Papeleras Reunitas factory in the city where it all started. History, it seems, is still alive and well in Alcoy.

For more on the history of rolling papers, listen to Episode #15 of our podcast at worldofcannabis.museum/cannthropology. Story and photos originally published on worldofcannabis.museum and reprinted with permission.

STO RY b y B O B BY B LAC K @ CAN N T H RO PO LO G Y for LEA F NAT IO N

I’LL SEE IT WHEN I BELIEVE IT

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

by Mike Ricker

hen you really put your mind to understanding the human psyche, you’ll see that it is easily manipulated. There’s no denying the obvious, that if you reinforce a concept to curious individuals with the right degree of conviction, you are sure to make an impression. In fact, they may even become thoroughly convinced that what you’re pitching is going to improve their lives eternally. No matter how severely absurd something may be due to the limitations of logic and physics, the facts will not be recognized once their mind is made up. They will buy into your influence unconditionally, transforming into true zealots in pure defense of this information. Information, it could be maintained, may ultimately be to blame for the eventual downfall of our species. Because as big brains can defy common sense, small brains act entirely upon common sense. So, who is wiser, the man or the ant? But we’ve conquered the food chain, which allows us to live longer, so it’s ridiculous to argue, right? Wait, who conquered the food chain? The dude planted on a ripped sofa wiping Taco Bell fire sauce on his pants playing World of Warcraft? Lewis and Clark don’t think so. Anyway, as much as people think they dominate nature, the reality that we all face is that the bigger the brain, the more the insecurities will surface about who we are, what we’re doing and why we exist. And for people who crave certainty, this poses an existential conundrum. These people need to fill the gaps in their lives to feel complete, therefore, if you repeat something long enough … the illusion around truth is bound to take hold. We are gullible creatures. And yes, many still believe that Cannabis is for dirty hippies, too.

OCT. 2021

F O L L OW @ R I C K E R D J | G E T T H E AU D I O V E R S I O N & EV E RY E P I S O D E AT L E A F M AG A Z I N E S . C O M

Find your flavor Explore the many flavors of cannabis

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Oct. 2021 - California Leaf

Articles inside

STONEY BALONEY

THE SCIENCE OF SCALE: NATURA

CANNTHROPOLOGY

MARCH AND ASH

GREEN DAWG CULTIVATORS

WEEDMAPS’ TECH PUSH

GLASS HOUSE FARMS

SOTM: DOJA EXCLUSIVE

NATIONAL NEWS