STONER OWNER

MARTIN OLIVE

VAPOR ROOM

VAPORROOM.COM | @VAPORROOM 79 9TH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Martin Olive is a 20+ year San Francisco resident and President of Vapor Room SF,

possibly San Francisco’s first dispensary to voluntarily test every single product for potency and safety before putting them on store shelves, well before recreational legalization made that a requirement. While still drawing from their days of being a compassion and community oriented business, Vapor Room has made the leap to become a recreationally legal Cannabis retailer.

HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST ENCOUNTERED CANNABIS? CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE? In 1991, I had turned 15 and it was the summer before high school. My friends and I managed to score a few joints of some sensimilla weed from an older brother of a friend. We sat in a broken down VW bus in my friend’s driveway. We puffed (and choked) on a couple doobies while listening to Dinosaur Jr. and Nirvana tapes. I was one of those kids that felt the effects right away. It felt good and natural and calming. I knew this was a beneficial substance for my state of mind, even at that age.

HOW HAS YOUR CONSUMPTION CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? These days, I’m more of a quality over quantity stoner. I puff effectively, to relieve daily stresses and symptoms. While I puff every day, I do so with precision and intent, more so than previous times where I was all about puffing continuously to maintain a high level of highness all day and night. During the day, I hit the Mighty to keep a level headed and motivated buzz. When the day is done, I get started on bowls or joints while chilling on the couch or with friends. I remain curious about new products and technologies. I’m always on the hunt for heirloom strains. I love a lot of new genetics, but the familiarity of an old school strain really gets me where I need to go. I still hate bongs - always have, always will.

WHAT IS THE CRAZIEST WEEDRELATED EXPERIENCE YOU’VE WITNESSED? Ha! If only I could remember! In my 18 years and counting in the Bay Area weed scene, I’ve been lucky enough to be at some amazing sessions, meet so many inspiring people, and live a life that 15-year-old me could never imagine. I think that little dude would be pretty damn proud of who he grew up to be. Times where I was literally surrounded by dozens of turkey bags full of California’s finest will be memories I will hopefully never forget. Through the years, we’ve had more than a few fancy pants folks come through the shop, but my absolute favorite was Jack Herer visiting regularly when he was in the city. He’d sit down and simply hold court in the lounge in such a genuinely warm and caring way. Having the father of this movement bless your shop with his presence (and nugs) and say that we were his favorite San Francisco dispensary will always be a highlight of my career. Also, when Woody Harrelson would come by and hang out in the lounge. We’d play chess together (he’s really good!) while puffing and swapping stories. Man, what a rad dude!

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BECOME INVOLVED WITH CANNABIS ON “WHILE I PUFF EVERY DAY, I DO SO A BUSINESS LEVEL? In 2002, I was fortunate WITH PRECISION AND INTENT, MORE SO enough to get involved as an activist in the medical and therapeutic THAN PREVIOUS TIMES WHERE I WAS Cannabis movement here in San Francisco. I helped start a small collective ALL ABOUT PUFFING CONTINUOUSLY TO dispensary with some friends. Dispensary and cultivation groups were MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF HIGHNESS less of a ‘business’ back then, operating more like collectives of activists ALL DAY AND NIGHT.” motivated to bring this healing plant out of the -MARTIN OLIVE underground and into the hands of the ill, the impoverished and the I could likely fill up every disabled. People who relied on medical page of this magazine with Cannabis for effective and affordable challenges, frustrations and relief of their varied medical issues were complaints about today’s the founders of this movement, and market. And I’m sure I’m none of this would exist today across not alone in that sentiment. the country if it wasn’t for the first few I guess ultimately, I feel brave folks that risked life and liberty to like we’ve lost sight of the grow, dispense or consume Cannabis as core values of Cannabis advocates and activists. as a social therapy and a sacred substance. My We were all focused on fighting for safe biggest gripes are overregulation, highly funded access at the local, state and federal outside interests taking over, a cultural skew levels, keeping compassion programs towards ‘recreational’ use over therapeutic use; all thriving to support people with medical this while noting a decades-long blind eye at the needs despite limited funds, and being at federal level as to how amazing of a contribution the forefront of a movement that started Cannabis is to communities and society. Basically, in the Bay Area and has now, 24 years take all the hassles of running any other type of later, changed the world. It was a really tightly regulated business, and add in the hassles amazing time and I’m grateful for it every of over-regulation, over-taxation and lack of day. As far as running a business about it, access to standard financial services. honestly, it was simply out of necessity. We had to run a business to stay open and WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR continue being of service. SHOP’S LOCATION? We just reopened our shop in SOMA after our Lower Haight shop When the dispensary owner sold the was shuttered by the DOJ during their 2012 shop to someone we weren’t aligned ‘crackdown.’ While I deeply miss our old with ethically, our core group took neighborhood and community, our SOMA/ off and started Vapor Room in Lower downtown location reminds me of city living - that Haight in 2003. From there, it really all sort of frenetic energy where people are hustling began for me. It went from a fun stoner and moving all day. I’ve lived in city centers my job I believed in and loved, to my life’s whole life, so it feels oddly comforting to be calling and a source of pride in being an surrounded by so much diversity and energy in advocate for this amazing plant and its a central neighborhood that is quintessentially community. San Francisco. Our shop is small but mighty! This lets us pivot quickly, adapt to challenges WHAT’S THE MOST CHALLENGING easier, and keep the shop clean and stocked ASPECT OF OWNING A DISPENSARY with well-curated options from local, equity, IN TODAY’S LEGAL MARKET? minority and female led brands and products.

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.

SARA PAYAN

APOTHECARIUM PUBLIC EDUCATION OFFICER

TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR HISTORY WITH THE PLANT. I started using Cannabis at 13. In college I would smoke occasionally, kick back on the weekend or have a couple puffs at the end of the week - and then when I was going on 37 and started getting sick. Prior to that, I came to SF from Michigan in the mid-’90s looking for new meaningful work. I was always into art, but I got here and got into tech, in IT/ operations management. It paid the bills, but it made me really unhappy. I quit, walked out, took a year off and then started working in Civil Rights. I loved my work but I still felt really empty.

After getting sick, I used Cannabis to help with nausea and getting myself eating. I didnʼt realize how helpful it would be. I knew THC was important, but no one was talking about CBD back then at all. After chemo and while recovering I said, ‘I didnʼt almost die twice through chemo to lead a life Iʼm not happy with. I went back to school to get my master’s degree, and wanted to get a job that I didnʼt have to think about numbers with. Apothecarium offered me a job while I was going back to school - I was a patient first. I was always really passionate about herbal medicine and aromatherapy, and was going back to school to become a homeopath.

THIS IS OUR TANNINS & TERPENES ISSUE, WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE? Linalool. It’s relaxing. I have a terpene kit that I use when I have in-person classes. When I started medicinal weed, we werenʼt talking about terps. We were just talking about THC and we would just talk about the flowers themselves - like Sour Diesel can be good for antispasmodic effects, while White Widow is good for bronchial issues or migraines. Now Iʼm glad that we are getting more into strands or cultivars, the chemical breakdown and how that works in synergy to create effects.

HAVE YOU EVER MADE YOUR OWN EDIBLES? HOW DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE LOOKS IN THE CANNA-FOOD INDUSTRY? Oh yeah! Cannabis is such an amazing thing to mix with food. We have a lot of edibles where the Cannabis taste is taken out, but itʼs actually really complementary to a lot of different foods. For us, we have it in our smoothies every morning and I put in a whole bunch of chards and berries. I have THCA every morning. It really supports my adrenals. Iʼve baked with it, Iʼve cooked with it - but I donʼt have as good of a handle on dosage and I donʼt eat homemade edibles anymore, but I used to!

AT T H E I N T E R S E C T I O N O F C O M P A S S I O N , E D U C AT I O N A N D SOCIAL JUSTICE

The LNU Complex Fires are actively happening 45 miles away. Smoke is permeating the skies of the cities we live in, but that doesn’t stop Sara Payan, Apothecarium’s Public Education Officer, from happily giving me some of her time to not only educate, but be the embodiment of linalool in human form. The educator, consultant, writer and cancer survivor embodies the exact kind of empathy and compassion that makes the Cannabis industry a future we can find comfort in.

THE STIGMA IS STRONG WITH CANNABIS USAGE When she went to see her FOR CANCER. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR doctor, he said, ‘I donʼt know PEOPLE SEEKING AN ALTERNATIVE PROCESS TO what youʼre doing, but keep HELP THEIR LOVED ONES, BUT FIND IT HARD LETTING doing it, because for the first GO OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND TRUSTING time in two years Iʼm seeing THE PLANT? We are all really different. Some of us donʼt a change.’ It was so good tolerate endocannabinoids, and thatʼs OK. I will say, it’s not to see! Every day since the a cure - itʼs a therapy. These are therapies that work with day that I started working certain people and I would never tell someone this is IT. in Cannabis, Iʼve had those Itʼs a very personal experience whether you want to use moments and it’s part of my it or not. Cannabis can work in conjunction with a lot of healing process. It feels good traditional therapies, and a lot of research has showed it to be able to help people, can actually help them work better. because so many people in

We put things under the umbrella of cancer, but they my community helped me are all really different. Depending on body chemistry, age, when I was sick. Itʼs very etc. - you’re going to need different amounts and ratios rewarding. I really feel like to have a therapeutic effect. Itʼs maddening when youʼre my work and what makes me wake up every morning is my sick and scared. You want to know that youʼre gonna service: to empower people through the correct education survive. I really encourage people when they are looking and mentor people to become mentors and do the work. I to use cannabinoids as a cancer therapy, to work with came to this work in the weirdest of ways and Iʼm really lucky. practitioners who know what they are doing.

I will help people to work on symptom management YOU’RE NAMED ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT because thatʼs my specialization: to help with neuropathy, WOMEN IN WEED BY THE GREEN MARKET REPORT pain, anxiety and to get people eating again. Iʼm FOR 2020. YOU’VE GOT AN AMAZING PODCAST. responsible as an educator and a survivor to refer people YOUʼRE TEACHING IN UNIVERSITIES LIKE UCSF. DID to people that know what they’re doing. YOU IMAGINE IT WOULD GET TO THIS POINT? IS YOUR FAMILY ON BOARD? My mom is a cancer researcher and ARE THERE MOMENTS AT THE APOTHECARIUM OR an oncology hematology nurse. She was cool with me using WHILE EDUCATING WHEN YOU’RE LIKE, ‘YEAH, THIS Cannabis when I was sick, although she will say she meant to IS THE RIGHT PATH FOR ME?’ When I was first running say Marinol. Haha! I think had I not had a cancer experience, the Compassion Program, I had a patient come in on 4/20 I donʼt know that my family would have been as OK with it. of all days. She was in They definitely thought I was going pain and completely hunched over. She had CANNABIS CAN WORK through a phase, but were happy I was alive. I think they were really decided to use Cannabis to help with the pain IN CONJUNCTION surprised to see where I went with it. I certainly was. and couldnʼt use chemo because of her heart WITH A NUMBER WITH COMMERCIALIZATION, I condition. I started her OF TRADITIONAL SORT OF MISS THE UNDERGROUND off with 18:1 oil. Half gram. A senior on fixed THERAPIES, AND A CULTURE OF CANNABIS AT TIMES. HOW DO WE NOT LOSE ITS income. She had friends help her purchase it. LOT OF RESEARCH SACREDNESS, INCLUSIVITY AND MINDFULNESS? The mindfulness - She started using it and the next time HAS SHOWN IT CAN the social justice aspect of it - is really important. With the commercialization she came in, she was standing up straight and said, ‘It really helped!’ ACTUALLY HELP THEM WORK BETTER. aspect of it, I think the part that disturbs me is the magnification of parts of the culture I donʼt like.

The misogyny, the toxic masculinity. For me, being in San Francisco and working in the Castro, I think it’s a very queer-oriented herb. The bro culture and the objectification of women is the part that gives me pause. I think the ones coming into it with heart - we have to check people on that. Itʼs coming from a gentle healing place. Weʼre just a bunch of nerdy queerdos in this industry - it’s gotta be an inclusive place to be.

WHAT DO YOU SEE FOR YOURSELF IN THE FUTURE OF THIS INDUSTRY? I really want to build a richer education. We have so many people who have not had enough contact with the plant and the people. There are people who have the best intentions, but are out there miseducating.

What I really want to see and am hoping to work more on, is looking at the possibility of more of an apprenticeship model - where people are really working with Cannabis, so they actually understand. We started this movement, not the industry, but the movement of helping the patients.

I really want to help create a rich intersectionality of compassion, education and social justice. We had a compassion program that Iʼm relaunching this month. Iʼm in the midst of writing a book for people going through cancer treatment. I’m excited.