STONER OWNER

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED GROWING IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY? Well, I’m originally from the East Coast. I’m the son of a preacher man and was born in New York, but grew up in Philadelphia. As soon as I graduated high school at age 18, I moved out to California and started helping out on grows. It was 1995 – still the guerrilla growing days before Prop 215 – and we had to hide the plants from everyone. I learned from a few mentors out in Eastern Humboldt, in the mountains.

AND HOW DID THAT EVENTUALLY LEAD TO PRODUCING SEEDS AND STARTING UP A SEED COMPANY?

To make a long story short, I started by helping growers and within a few years, rented my own place and began a grow of my own. By ‘97-’98, I realized I needed to create my own starting material that was better than the clones I could occasionally get. So I started taking different strains that I could find and crossing them with other varieties that were available at the time, for my own purposes. Breeding my own seeds seemed to me to be more stable and a DIY approach to growing Cannabis. It was 25 years ago and there were still people that were getting locked up all around us.

So, my interest was sparked by needing genetics that worked well for Humboldt – and always having access to them.

The most secure way to do that at the time was to make them yourself, and out of that necessity sparked a great interest that became a passion and eventually a business. But it happened over time. It wasn’t like a light bulb went on above my head and said ‘I want to start a seed company’ – because back then, the idea of having a formalized business infrastructure based around Cannabis seeds was not a good plan. Keeping records wasn’t a good idea.

Of course, if you’ve ever made seeds, oftentimes you get extra and have more than you really need for yourself. So, I would always just share them with friends. And that’s a classic Humboldt thing – we’ve always passed genetics around to each other, so I think I had a little bit of a reputation as someone who had solid genetics. By around ‘98-’99, people had made it their tradition to come see me around December. At the time, I wasn’t charging them for the beans – just bring over a six-pack or something. It was actually my girlfriend at the time who convinced me to start accepting money. The best businesses seem to spring out of an obvious need.

NATHANIEL PENNINGTON

Nathaniel Pennington founded the Humboldt Seed Company in 2001 to produce natural, high quality Cannabis genetics for growers, patients and connoisseurs. Working with heritage varieties from the famed Emerald Triangle of California, he crossed and stabilized local genetics in order to improve terpene profiles, flavors and scents, as well as the allimportant potency levels. We recently sat down with him for a chat about what it takes to breed new strains and his new partnership with California’s largest Native American Tribe to produce CBD-rich seeds for the emerging hemp industry.

HUMBOLDT SEED COMPANY HUMBOLDTSEEDCOMPANY.COM

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE STRAINS YOU WERE WORKING WITH AT THAT TIME? One of the really popular ones was called Salmon Creek Big Bud. That’s one we incorporated into our breeding without really knowing who came up with it originally. I don’t think it was actually anyone from Salmon Creek, because you didn’t want to tie anything to your neighborhood and I would venture to say that the residents didn’t really appreciate that kind of recognition. Nobody wanted to be a target for law enforcement.

But that strain was well-bred for this region and produced massively. It reminds me a little bit of what eventually came out as Green Crack, with a little more of a peppery twist to it like an Afghani Kush flavor, but it grew a lot like Green Crack or Dream Queen or whatever you wanna call it. And another one I did a lot of work with was Purple Haze – some people call it Purple Craze. That came out of Oregon.

A lot of what was worked with were just unnamed batches of seeds that had been maintained by growers throughout Humboldt and Southern Oregon. It was different back then because no one was interested in being credited for anything. Of course, that’s all changed. What I worked with were strains endemic to Humboldt like the Arcata Train Wreck and the Big Sur Holy Weed.

WHAT DOES BIODYNAMIC FARMING AND BEING CARBON NEUTRAL MEAN, AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU? Along with ganja breeding, I ended up writing a ton of grants working for a nonprofit group here in Humboldt that was doing salmon restoration.

We focused on fixing up Humboldt’s rivers and the salmon, and this big project that’s embroiled with controversy right now – called the Klamath Dam removal effort – that I’m still involved in. According to National Geographic, it’s the world’s largest river restoration project.

There’s some rare salmon that were on the edge of extinction and we teamed up with a coalition of tribes and nonprofit groups to try to save them. As a company, what we do is make seeds – but we want to offset the impact we have locally, so we are a carbon neutral farm in that we make all of our electricity from solar and a micro-hydro set up. We’re not tapped into the energy grid and we’re not running big diesel generators.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PHENOTYPE SELECTION PROCESS. WHAT ARE “WE ARE A CARBON NEUTRAL FARM – THE DESIRABLE TRAITS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR? WE MAKE ALL OF OUR ELECTRICITY FROM In the summer of 2018 we ran a 10,000 plant pheno hunt at different farms. It SOLAR AND A MICRO-HYDRO SET-UP. WE’RE was a shit ton of work and I really burned the crew out that year, but we had NOT TAPPED INTO THE ENERGY GRID AND WE’RE a huge celebration at the end with about 40 people testing everything out to NOT RUNNING BIG DIESEL GENERATORS.” determine what to get rid of, because we only kept like 0.5% of the genetics. -NATHANIEL PENNINGTON We had a list of variables and everybody filled them out. There were dispensary owners and nursery owners – we chose some incredible genetics to keep alive.

THIS IS OUR HEMP ISSUE AND I SEE YOU NOW HAVE HEMP SEEDS AVAILABLE. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE YUROK TRIBE. The Yurok Tribe is California’s largest Native American Tribe and a huge presence here in Humboldt County, with a massive amount of reservation land. I worked closely with them on the fish biology work and restoration, including the dam removal effort. I had a level of comfort working with them and more importantly, I think, they had a level of comfort with me that they didn’t have with other folks in the Cannabis space.

Now all of a sudden, flash forward to the Farm Bill that legalized hemp federally in late 2018. The Yurok Tribe moved quickly to see if there were ways that they could stimulate their economy and get some benefits locally from hemp.

At first, I was concerned because Humboldt is a great place to grow craft Cannabis, but not so much for big agriculture. I didn’t think they could compete with 2,000-plus acre farms in Oregon, Montana and Colorado, but at the same time, we could breed hemp without requiring a ton of land.

Seeds are a much higher value product than flowers, so I brought our skillset, experience and brand to the table, and we’re now selling feminized autoflower and regular CBD-rich seeds across the country under the name Two Snakes Seed.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE STRAIN OF YOURS TO SMOKE? I would say our Blueberry Muffin, if I had to choose. It’s so comforting to me and a lot of people say it doesn’t give them any paranoia. It’s fun and it makes me goofy – which is nice because I’m usually working, so it enhances that experience. At night, when it’s finally time to relax, I’ll bust out something more gassy.

A Stoner Owner is a Cannabis business owner who has a relationship with the plant. We want to buy and smoke Cannabis from companies that care about their products, employees and the plant. You wouldn’t buy food from a restaurant where the cooks don’t eat in the kitchen, so why buy corporate weed grown by a company only concerned with profits? Stoner Owner approval means a company cares, and we love weed grown with care. Look for the Stoner Owner stamp when purchasing fine Cannabis, and let’s retake our culture and reshape a stigma by honoring those who grow, process and sell the best Cannabis possible.

RACHEL KING

KANEH CO.

Before she was creating delectable Cannabis treats, Rachel King was already acclaimed for her role in the restaurant world. Among her numerous honors was a 2013 nomination in Food & Wine magazine for Best New Pastry Chef. Since 2016, however, she has served as the founder and culinary director of Kaneh Co. As a family-run company located in San Diego, Kaneh Co. is dedicated to producing high-end desserts with premium ingredients. Chef King generously spoke with me about her company’s plans for expansion, tips for baking at home, and the importance of placing women in roles of power.

HOW DID KANEH CO. FIRST GET STARTED? I was transitioning out of restaurants. I had been a pastry chef for about 10 years and I connected with some business partners who had extensive Cannabis industry experience – whether they owned dispensaries, previously owned an edibles brand, were growing, all of that kind of stuff – and we created this brand together. We were in the medical market for quite a while and then we transitioned to recreational when the guidelines changed. We’ve been AT T H E I N T E R S E C T I O N around for over five years now. It’s been a roller coaster. If O F C O M P A S S I O N , I thought the restaurant industry was crazy, I was definitely E D U C AT I O N A N D kidding myself. I thought this was going to be easy and SOCIAL JUSTICE relaxed, but here we are. I think we had like five total employees when we started and now we have around 65. We’re also in Oklahoma and soon to be Michigan.

FOUNDER | CULINARY DIRECTOR

WHAT’S THE STATUS OF OPERATIONS IN OKLAHOMA AND MICHIGAN? We are not [in Michigan] yet. We are planning to launch around November 1, fingers crossed, but that’s if everything goes perfectly. The first state we got into was Oklahoma, which was not on our radar at all. People were like, ‘Oh, you’re in Oklahoma? That’s random.’ But they reached out to us. There are a few different options: You can go and set-up there, but then obviously, you have to run production there. It’s different operations everywhere because of the state laws. People think that we’re just opening another branch or whatever, but that’s really not how it works at all. It’s a separate business each time and that’s not just due to distance. All of our head people are from San Diego, basically, and we have families, etc. here so we thought it would be best to license.

What that means is that we are working with other entities that are local to that state, and they are making our products and distributing our products there. That just makes it easy on us and it’s also beneficial because they’re local to the area. They have a better understanding of the market and more interpersonal relationships with people there. In terms of Michigan, we do have some partners who are actually from there, so that was an easy transition. The markets, both in Oklahoma and Michigan, are still pretty young. That’s what appeals to us, because we don’t really want to go into a mature, oversaturated market. We’d rather become a favorite brand in the infancy of the industry, so we’re really excited for Michigan.

I KNOW KANEH CO. HAS MADE A PRIORITY OF DO YOU FEEL OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE STILL PLACING WOMEN IN POSITIONS OF POWER. CAN FAILING TO CONNECT LEGAL CANNABIS WITH JOB YOU SHARE THE NUMBERS? Yes. I would say, at any CREATION? Yeah. I won’t go down that rabbit hole. I’m given time, 60% to 70% of our staff are women. 50% of really upset about that because it’s ridiculous. I mean, our our management staff are women. We have a lot of moms main employees that have moved up that are managers now, working here, so you know we get stuff done! It’s a good have been with us since the beginning, and a lot of them are environment. It would be hard to have a female founder looking into buying homes now. That makes me feel a bit and not believe in hiring women for managerial positions, emotional and also proud that this is what this company can right? provide to people: a living where you can strive and grow in whatever way you’d like. WHAT HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH CALIFORNIA’S ADULT-USE MARKET BEEN LIKE SO FAR? It really has WHAT IS YOUR CHIEF FOCUS WHEN IT COMES TO been a roller coaster ride, for many different reasons. EDIBLES? I would say that taste is foremost. Myself and a Regulations played a huge part in that – just riding those lot of our kitchen staff and our COO all come from a culinary out – and licensing played a huge part too. However, at the background, so I think we might create products in a different end of last year, 2020 was predicted to be this doomsday way from other companies because of that. I’m thinking like, year for California Cannabis ‘Okay, this is what I want to businesses. We were very aware make, but how can I make it to of that coming into this year and “WE REALLY JUST fit with the regulations? What it really is interesting how it has played out. Our sales are better WANT OUR CUSTOMERS about shelf life?’ We really just want our customers to than ever and we’ve been able to hire people who were working in TO ENJOY THE TASTE, enjoy the taste, and obviously, the effects – and feel good restaurants and got laid off from their jobs. Our expansion has AND OBVIOUSLY, THE about what they’re eating. helped to create some different EFFECTS – AND FEEL WHAT ARE YOUR MOST jobs and stuff like that, which is POPULAR PRODUCTS? not what I expected for this year, GOOD ABOUT WHAT Our brownies are by far our but it’s been great. I know that’s messed up to say, but it’s true. THEY’RE EATING.” bestsellers. We have four different types and they’ve

been our mainstays since the beginning, although we are coming out with some new chocolate flavors that we’ve never done before. One of the flavors has some CBN in it, so that’s going to be something new.

ANY ADVICE YOU CAN OFFER TO ASPIRING HOME CANNABIS COOKS AND BAKERS? There are a few different ways you can go about it. I don’t really recommend making your own Cannabis butter because you won’t really know what you’re getting. You can follow guidelines or a recipe, but it’s not going to be the same as buying a lab-tested item. For that reason, I would recommend buying a tincture. Then you can dose your item that way, whether you’re baking or even making something like a salad dressing. There’s fun stuff to do with pre-made products, you know? You can make s’mores with an infused chocolate bar or make ice cream sandwiches with medicated cookies. That way, you don’t have to deal with the tough part.

KANEHCO.COM | @KANEHCOMPANY

La Reina de Las Olas

From New York to Nayarit, San Blas to San Francisco – Risa Mara Machuca is a

badass Latina who makes waves wherever she goes. She’s a two-time National Longboard Champion who runs her own surf school, represented Mexico in the 2019 Pan American Games, and has won bronze and copper medals from the 2013 ISA World Championships. In addition to being a semi-pro surfer, she’s also an awardwinning independent filmmaker who has worked on music videos for Snoop Dogg and Santana, with her work appearing in over 150 film festivals worldwide.

How did you get into surfing?

I’ve always been an ocean person because of my parents. My dad was a fisherman and my mom was a beach hippie. Even though they split when I was very young, I spent summers with my dad in San Blas and it had a big surf scene. So it was something I always wanted to do, but never did because I was a chubby girl and boys teased me. But at 27, after breaking up with the guy I thought I was going to marry, I said fuck it – I’m going to take a six month sabbatical and learn to surf. So that’s what I did.

Tell us about your surf school.

I came back to Mexico about 10 years ago to care for a family member and ended up moving to Sayulita and getting a job as a surf instructor. I loved it, but they tried to force me into an unfair contract, so I had to quit. Luckily, I had a reputation here, so clients just began contacting me directly. I started seven years ago, renting out surfboards to give lessons – now my partner and I have about 50 boards of our own. The school is called Surf it Out. My idea was that if you’re angry, lonely, sad, excited – whatever’s going on in your life – you can surf it out.

So, surfing as therapy?

Exactly! A few years ago I teamed up with a life coach and started a women-only retreat here called Surf Your Soul. We only do it twice a year and we only allow eight women max. It’s very intimate and focused. You surf, you talk things out, you get coached a little. You feel emotionally bare when you’re out there on a board, in your bathing suit with nothing – your makeup’s gone, you don’t have your phone, you have nothing to concentrate on other than what you’re doing. There’s something replenishing about feeling the energy of the ocean and releasing your energy into it. People have these emotional breakdowns in the water – for a lot of them, it’s a life-changing thing. It gives me goosebumps talking about it ... I’m really proud of it.

RISAMARA MACHUCA

You’re also an amateur filmmaker.

Yes. After graduating college in New York, I got an internship in San Francisco as a production assistant – so I got to learn the entire production process from behind the camera, from beginning to end. In 2006, I co-directed a short film called “Shortstop” that won runner-up for Best Short at SXSW. After that, I did another short called “Asi Es” about a young man who goes on this mysterious surfing trip. It was making its run through the film festivals and had won runner-up at Bend when I had to move to Mexico. I didn’t start getting back into film until I injured my back; I couldn’t walk for two months, so I started thinking about what I could do creatively.

Was Cannabis part of your recovery? Absolutely. I started using it a couple of years ago when I re-injured my knee. Somebody gave me this homemade CBD massage butter and the first time I used it, I was like, ‘Holy shit, this works really good!’ And also to sleep at night ... to sit down and have a joint at the end of the day with a glass of wine and watch the sunset definitely helps me chill out.

What’s next for you? I’m starting a bathing suit line for sporty, curvy women who are active. It’s hard to find good surf suits that fit my body and I know I’m not the only one. And within the next two years, I want to make a full-length movie of “As Esí” – like an extension of the short, except the lead character is a girl. I’ve been working on the script for the past nine years, so that’s my passion project.

surfitout.com | surfyoursoulretreat.com