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issue #92
RETURNS How the shock jock transformed into a co-owner of WAM OIl and learned to believe in the power of medical marijuana.
Profile 24
herb-infused valentine’s day recipes Recipes 66 Unique northwest glass art Glass 70
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TROLLING DA POLICE Miggy420 is subverting the message
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PATIENT PROFILE
How Cannabis helps Chelsea Williams
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STONER OWNER
PNW Roots’ Ras Kaya Paul (new feature)
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THE LIFESTYLE ISSUE
Features | Profiles | Reviews | pg. 40-63 Reviews by Northwest Leaf staf f | Photos by Daniel Berman
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Shock jock Mike Ricker on making WAM Oil and discovering happiness. Profile pg. 24-27
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TASTY RECIPES
Something sweet for your sweetie By Laurie Wolf | Photos by Bruce Wolf
66
NORTHWEST LEAF
the truth about the plant you thought you knew, IN every issue.
editor’s note
FEB. 2018 ISSUE #92
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Thanks for picking up our first-ever lifestyle issue!
FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
to celebrate, I’m sharing a story about how Cannabis first entered my
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Our January issue feature on Cascadia Gardens contained several errors introduced during the production process. Cascadia Gardens’ CEO is Dave Scheibner. The garden manager’s name is Erin Lapsansky. The facility has more than 300k watts of flowering lights and mixed spectrum lighting in 30% of their flowering — with Gavitas in the rest of the grow.
lifestyle, and what a wake-up call it was, in a moment that I now get to laugh about. The first time I got caught smoking weed was my senior year of high school. I had just hotboxed my Jeep with three friends and two blunts, and it was reeking of pot. As I pulled into my driveway I quickly realized my truck would be reeking for hours if I didn’t take action, so I carefully adjusted all four windows down exactly 3 inches and headed inside, ignoring the incessant Seattle rain. About an hour later I was reading a book in bed when my Mom entered my room and asked for my keys. Being a (stoned) good son I tossed them to her, went back to reading, and completely forgot about my hotboxed truck. Like a scene from That 70’s Show, my parents took turns yelling at me, and I’ll never forget my Dad turning to my Mom and saying, “Look at him, he isn’t even listening, he’s stoned!” In that moment two direct things went through my mind. The first, I was screwed and definitely losing my car access for a few weeks. But the second was more transcendental and changed my life and view on Cannabis permanently-- I was getting in trouble for smoking, coming home on time, and thoroughly enjoying a book. It seemed ludicrous, to be causing no harm and still receiving major trouble, all over a little weed. The reason I share this story is to spread the lesson I learned that day, many years before I ever thought about becoming a Cannabis activist. The “stoner” lifestyle is nothing more than a celebration of life and activities that people already enjoy, with a plant that enhances and helps, and causes no harm. As I look back on all the bad decisions available to myself as a teenager, Cannabis was definitely on the least-harmful spectrum of possible choices. I’m thankful for that moment today, because I never again questioned if smoking weed was bad for me, or my lifestyle. Not surprisingly, I still love smoking a fatty and relaxing with a good book! But there is so much more that people do with weed, and that’s what this issue celebrates. All the different aspects of life, the amazing people, the wonderful creativity, all of which comes with a “stoner” label. I am proud to help shift the paradigm surrounding Cannabis, and to celebrate all that Cannabis adds to life.
—Wes Abney FEB. 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
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national
STEVE ELLIOTT is the editor behind tokesignals.com, an independent blog of Cannabis news and opinion.
Could Washington Legalize Home-grown Weed This Year?
States Ask Congress to Allow Marijuana Access to Banks State leaders are turning to Congress for help, due to for banks that want to deal with Cannabis businesses, Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to rescind according to the Los Angeles Times. a policy that kept the federal government from The Attorneys General begin their letter by interfering and conducting raids in states which arguing it serves no one to have Cannabis businesses have legalized marijuana. The focus is operating in a “gray market” where on banking, one of the biggest hurdles they’re forced to use cash for most THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL BEGIN for legal Cannabis businesses. transactions, because of lack of access THEIR LETTER BY Big banks won’t provide services to banking services. They directly ARGUING IT SERVES to Cannabis businesses, because they request a law that would provide “safe NO ONE TO HAVE CANNABIS don’t want to run afoul of federal harbor” to banks working with legal BUSINESSES banking regulations. Sessions’ decision Cannabis businesses in states where OPERATING IN A to rescind the Cole Memo has made “GRAY MARKET.” marijuana and sales are legal. That the situation even more unstable. would allow law enforcement to better In a letter sent last month to Congress, Attorneys monitor marijuana business transactions, they argue. General from 18 states that have legalized either This could result in more tax revenue, as it would be adult use or medical marijuana — or both — asked easier to track Cannabis business income and ensure lawmakers to change the law to create an exemption it is taxed properly.
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Washington is the only state with legal recreational marijuana that doesn’t allow home grown weed. Rep. David Sawyer is backing a new bill on home-grown Cannabis that he expects to be introduced in Washington’s Legislature this session. Sawyer said he’s interested in having the “most regulated” home cultivation system in the U.S., according KUOW.org. “Since we haven’t had directions from the federal government, we just have to use our best instinct about what we know, what we’ve learned from other states,” Sawyer said. “We learned what not to do. Colorado had a limit of 99 plants and law enforcement had no way of taking down the illegal operations.” In most states that allow home marijuana cultivation, the limit is currently six plants. Oregon allows four per household; Sawyer said Washington’s number could be between four and six. Sawyer said there are benefits to legalizing home grows, especially since some Washington cities still ban retail Cannabis sales. “If no other option exists, no retail store, a home grow is a way for at least some folks to provide their own marijuana without having to pay off a criminal element to give it to them,” he said.
Quoted “WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR HER RIGHT TO GO TO SCHOOL AND HAVE MEDICINE THERE, JUST LIKE THE NEXT KID HAS INSULIN AND AN EPIPEN AND TYLENOL.” — MAUREEN SMITH, on a Chicago elementary school’s decision to allow her 11-year-old daughter to use medical marijuana at school.
Oregon Leaders Vow to Fight Sessions’ March Backward Oregon’s governor said the state will fight Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ move to roll back lenient Obama-era policies on federal marijuana enforcement, to protect the state’s economic interests, according to AP News. Gov. Kate Brown said Cannabis is an important part of Oregon’s economy, creating more than 19,000 jobs. Oregon was the first state to decriminalize personal possession in 1973. It legalized medicinal Cannabis in 1998 and recreational use in 2014. “My state and agencies … will fight to continue Oregon’s commitment to a safe and prosperous recreational marijuana market,” Brown said. Billy J. Williams, Oregon’s U.S. Attorney, indicated he would maintain the same limited level of enforcement in Oregon.
“We will continue working with our federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners to pursue shared public safety objectives, with an emphasis on stemming the overproduction of marijuana and the diversion of marijuana out of state,” he said. At the same time, Williams claimed Oregon has an overproduction problem, when he said “overproduction creates a powerful profit incentive.” Oregon Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer urged Oregonians to mobilize against Sessions’ decision. “Going against the majority of Americans—including a majority of Republican voters—who want the federal government to stay out of the way is perhaps one of the stupidest decisions the attorney general has made,” Blumenauer said.
Quick Hits! 4 60 100,000
of the seven Portland marijuana retailers tested by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission failed to check minors’ IDs, scoring lower than any city in the state.
percent of Americans support legalization of marijuana for adult use, according to a new NBC News and Wall Street Journal poll. This is up from 55 percent in 2014. dollars settlement was paid to a 19-year-old man after Phoenix police forced him to eat marijuana during a traffic stop.
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STEVE ELLIOTT is the editor behind tokesignals.com, an independent blog of Cannabis news and opinion.
Vermont Governor Pardons 192 Marijuana Offenders
Colorado Lawmakers Want to Put a ‘Tracking Agent’ on Weed Marijuana advocates are concerned about a bill in the Colorado Legislature which would require all legal Cannabis in the state to be tracked, so that it can be differentiated from black market. The biggest objection is that the tracking technology “must include an agent that is applied to a marijuana plant, marijuana product, industrial hemp, or industrial hemp products and then scanned by a device.” The question of whether that “agent” will be a sticker, a tag, a microchip, or some sort of chemical additive remains unanswered. The fact that the bill specifies the “agent” be attached directly to the plant leaves open the possibility that lawmakers could approve some sort of chemical or tracking compound which is added directly to all legal Cannabis in the state. This has both consumer advocates and
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dispensary owners up in arms, according to Cannabis Consumer Collective (CCC) Executive Director Larisa Bolivar. According to Bolivar, few — if any — CCC members would knowingly smoke or consume Cannabis to which a chemical or biological “agent” had been applied. “What a great way to increase black market sales, because I can tell you now that most Cannabis consumers aren’t going to like the thought of something being sprayed on their weed,” Bolivar said. “This is going after individual rights, consumer rights and rights to even grow Cannabis.” Bolivar worries the bill could protect bigmoney interests while squeezing out residential grows, medical Cannabis providers and even hemp farmers.
Almost 200 Vermonters will have their nonviolent marijuana offenses removed from their records following a sweeping pardon from the state’s outgoing governor. Gov. Peter Shumlin announced the pardons on Tuesday for 192 people, all of whom had former convictions for Cannabis possession, and all but 15 of whom live in SHUMLIN’S PARDON Vermont. The state APPLIED ONLY TO decriminalized weed PEOPLE CONVICTED in 2013, and new Gov. OF POSSESSING LESS THAN AN OUNCE OF Phil Scott signed into WEED WHO HAD NO law a legalization bill VIOLENT CRIMINAL last month. HISTORIES. “What he’s doing is, it’s almost unimaginably safe [from criticism] if you think in terms of 40 years ago,” P.S. Ruckman, Jr., a professor of political science at Rock Valley College in Illinois, told The Christian Science Monitor. “It’s highly significant. I think it’s likely we’ll see more of it.” Shumlin’s pardon applied only to people convicted of possessing less than an ounce of weed who had no violent criminal histories, felony convictions or record of driving under the influence or reckless driving. In December he’d issued a call for former offenders who fit into that category to apply for a pardon. The 192 he pardoned came from a list of about 450; Shumlin said there are likely others eligible.
Marijuana products may be purchased or possessed only by persons 21 years of age or older.
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STEVE ELLIOTT is the editor behind tokesignals.com, an independent blog of Cannabis news and opinion.
Sessions’ Marijuana Advisor Wants to Drug Test Everyone A top-level advisor to Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants doctors to drug test all their patients, and to force users they suspect of addiction into rehabilitation against their will. If Dr. Robert DuPont gets his way, drug testing could become a required part of your visit to the doctor. DuPont, 81, is one of a small group of drug policy “experts” Sessions invited to a closed meeting last month to discuss federal response to marijuana legalization. He is one of the most hardline and influential architects of the War on Drugs, having started out in the 1970s as a liberal on the drug control issue. But by the 1980s DuPont had taken a hard right turn, popularizing the long-debunked “DOCTORS ALREADY claim that CHECK FOR THINGS LIKE CHOLESTEROL Cannabis is a AND BLOOD SUGAR, “gateway drug.” WHY NOT TEST FOR In an interview ILLICIT DRUGS?” last year, DuPont pushed for expanding drug testing. His idea includes having physicians force patients whom they believe to have substance abuse problems to submit to drug tests, or lengthy stays in treatment facilities, according to Newsweek. DuPont wants to force people into treatment for up to five years. “We want [drug screens] to be routine in all medicine,” DuPont said. “Doctors already check for things like cholesterol and blood sugar, why not test for illicit drugs? Right now the public thinks that if we provide treatment the addicts will come and get well … that’s not true. So let’s use the leverage of the criminal justice system.”
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opinion
By MIGUEL MIGGY | PHOTO by @BERMANPHOTOS
TROLLING DA POLICE 20/FEB. 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
Miguel aka Miggy420
counters the negative spin from law enforcement by publicly calling them out on their Cannabis lies. He has been banned from numerous pages, but he isn’t letting a little thing like that stop his message.
THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED! INSTEAD IT WILL BE STREAMED, TWEETED AND SHARED, WHILE PEOPLE VOTE WITH THEIR LIKES, DOLLARS AND ACTIONS. THE DIGITAL AGE HAS GIVEN EVERYONE A VOICE, BUT IT MATTERS HOW YOU USE IT!
W
hile the profiteers of prohibition continue to manipulate legalization efforts and promote reefer madness, America should focus on common sense and truth. Marijuana is nontoxic; there is no other way to say this. The United States has perpetrated the greatest lie in history by letting people believe a beneficial plant was a harmful drug. For me, it’s one injustice at a time, and it’s realigning the focus of the drug war that has the highest social justice impact and benefit. Each minute of every day in America there’s a sick or kidnapped child or adult who loses their freedom for a plant. Kidnapped is the word I use for imprisonment. Officials who follow the rules want to curtail conspiracy fears by convincing you that bad guys sit behind bars, but this is not true. The drug war doesn’t just ruin lives, it takes lives, and now is the time for peaceful civil disobedience. Until Cannabis is legal nationally, as legal as tomatoes to share, trade and sell, our work as a community is not done. Until Cannabis is legal every arrest, prosecution, event, march or protest is important. And you can help this cause with a simple like or a share. Along with changing laws in states and federally, we need to call out those willing to ruin a life in the name of a bad law. No longer should we be paralyzed by fear or anger watching people locked in cages for a plant. But instead of saying “Fuck the Police,” let’s “Troll the Police.” As the nation’s favorite marijuana troll sweetheart on America’s number three most visited Cannabis site, I have to say the time for negotiations and kindness are over when it comes to sentiments on the drug war. The “just doing your job” is no longer acceptable from the police, from the justice system, from my America. Please help us support our message of freedom, equality and accountability by doing your part in ending Cannabis prohibition. Share the message! Nobody deserves jail for a plant!
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By WES ABNEY | PHOTO by @BERMANPHOTOS
RICKER
RETURNS
MIKE RICKER IS AN ICONIC SEATTLE DJ WHOSE THEATRICAL IMPROVISATION AND SHARP COMMENTARY ANCHORED ROCK STATION KISW FOR 7 YEARS. EVERY DAY ON THE AIR, RICKER WOULD INCLUDE A HIGH NOON SEGMENT, WHERE HE WOULD INVITE CALLERS TO TALK ABOUT USING CANNABIS, WHICH WORKED TO DEFEAT THE STIGMA AND ULTIMATELY LED HIM TO MEET HIS BUSINESS PARTNER AT WAM OIL. RICKER RETURNED TO SEATTLE IN 2016 TO MARKET WAM OIL AND CONTINUE SPREADING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PLANT-BASED MEDICINE HE BELIEVES IN.
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MIKE RICKER
CO-OWNER, WAM OIL SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR
Profile
By WES ABNEY | PHOTO by @BERMANPHOTOS
MIKE RICKER | WAM OIL CO-OWNER SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR Continued from pg. 24
HOW DID CANNABIS COME INTO YOUR LIFE? I was around that
culture as a child. It was the 70’s, and Cannabis was just used in the household. I never tried it until my father took my best friend and me to a Santana concert. We were bored and I was 12-years-old, and we made our way up to the extreme back upper left corner of the auditorium just to see what the view was like. Sitting on the steps there, we noticed the guy in front of us rolling a joint, and he lit it. Then back came his hand with a joint pressed between the thumb and fore-finger, so my buddy who was a year older looked at me, gave a smirk, hit it and passed it to me and I followed suit. Boy, were those different times, or what? Today the guy would’ve been cuffed and taken to CPS. Mind you, I did not get high until I tried it again at 15 and an instant love affair with Cannabis began.
WHEN DID YOU FIRST START WORKING WITH RADIO? Growing up, my dad was a radio DJ, and I did my first commercial when I was 7 years old for a shoe store. I got paid $5. It was at that point I knew what I wanted to do for a living, because it was the easiest $5 I ever made. And when I went to class, I’ll never forget the teacher saying, “Everyone, we heard Michael on the radio this morning.” And there’s little Lisa sitting a couple rows over looking back at me and batting eyelashes. Five bucks and the attention of the females, I was sold.
HOW DID YOU END UP IN SEATTLE? My radio career brought
me here. I got fired in Tampa and my agent had passed my demo along to the program director of KISW right about that time. When he learned I was available, they made an offer to bring me here. I cried my eyes out when I got here, because this was the last place in the world I expected to be. I felt like I was being shoved into a closet. I came from Pensacola, my home town, and subsequently Tampa, where it’s sunny, lots of attention, we had a massive radio station, and then I came here and the station was rebuilding and I had to start over--hero to zero in a flash. It was November of 2002, the rains were incessant, the sun was gone by 5pm, and the Seahawks were horrible. And the Buccaneers were on their way to a Super Bowl. I was all about the party.
SEATTLE INSTANTLY FELL IN LOVE WITH YOUR STYLE AND PERSONALITY ON AIR. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ROLE? Provocative, theatrically based, and anti-hypocrisy. It’s based on the fictional story of a “sort of” Rock star named Ricker. Because my radio persona really was the alter ego of my real personality, the one I give daily to the Cannabis industry. There’s no pretending here. You get the real guy.
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HOW DID THAT EXPERIENCE CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE? HIGH NOON WAS A FREE SPEECH HOUR ON YOUR SHOW THAT CHAMPIONED CANNABIS IN SEATTLE, WHERE PEOPLE WOULD CALL IN AND TALK ABOUT USING CANNABIS AND ALLEGEDLY TOKING ON AIR. HOW DID CANNABIS PLAY INTO YOUR ROLE AS A DJ? Part of being a “shock jock” meant always looking for ways to blur the lines between indecency and entertainment. It was always my intention to draw attention, and I knew that Cannabis was a controversial subject. But I also knew I could get away with it. Because however controversial, it was not defined by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) as being actionable. So, you could talk about it so long as you didn’t smoke it in the studio.
BUT YOU HAD PEOPLE SMOKE ON AIR? Yes. But how do we
know that they weren’t creating theatre themselves, as I was. The whole show was theatre of the mind. Remember, George Bush was in office and Michael Powell was head of the FCC and although you could bring the funny on-air, you had to walk a very thin line for fear of being fined. And those fines were hefty for a major broadcast corporation, and were I the recipient of one of them, that could make my career very difficult to maintain. The witch hunt was bullshit, all fueled by the Janet Jackson nip-slip. In my opinion, their attacking of entertainment culture was a manipulated diversion from the wars that they were imposing on our country to protect multi-national interests. Total hypocrisy! I never had any inclination to sway anyone politically. I just know factually that shows like mine and Howard Stern’s were very much scrutinized because the government wanted to blame America’s problems on indecency while Afghans and Iraqis were being gutted. But my show wasn’t about politics, so I positioned Cannabis as a party tool, a common thread of communication between people who were cool. I never saw it as something medical at that time, just a sub-culture that was risky to talk about and fun to use.
WHEN DID THAT SHIFT? Coming aboard to WAM Oil
awakened me to the concept of medical marijuana. Technology has come a long way in recent years. There was no research funded until states started legalizing it. And now with extractions you get high levels of cannabinoids and that’s what WAM Oil specializes in. So, this party tool that we’ve been gravitating to for happiness, or for escape for the past 60 to 70 years, suddenly, we’re finding, has potential benefits for the human brain and body far deeper than anyone imagined. And with research continuing, the possibilities of the Cannabis plant are endless.
HOW DID YOU FIRST CONNECT WITH BRANDON HAMILTON AND GIANA LAMPREDA, THE FOUNDERS OF WAM OIL? Brandon
was actually a caller on the show. He’s a big Dallas Cowboys fan and back in the Tony Romo days he would call in every year to predict a Cowboys win over the Seahawks, and I’d always laugh and say the Cowgirls we’re going down. One day I was at the gym and I heard someone ask my name, and he shook my hand and said, “I’m Cowboy!” We became friends and then several years later he began experimenting with extractions. This became his passion and he quit his architecture firm in 2010 to start WAM OIL. Now, I love hash, and by this time I’d left Seattle for a radio gig at KUFO in Portland which only lasted two years, so I started decompressing and travelling the world. And every time I’d come back to Seattle, I would buy WAM Oil. Then, in 2016, he asked me to come aboard and help with marketing, and I initially said, “No thanks, I’m good.”
WHAT MADE YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND? At the time, I was
living in Ocean Beach in San Diego surfing a lot, burnt out on self-promoting, which is a big part of success in show biz. A while later I went to Machu Picchu, Peru, because I wanted to do something special for a mid-life birthday, and I meant this guy with full dreads, beard, traditional shaman garb. He was really cool, so I asked him if he had a joint, which is super illegal there, and he did! We smoked, and then he said “While you are here you have to do Ayahuasca.” At that time, I was kind of lost and wandering and I felt the need to get back into something exciting. My friend and I were supposed to go surf Chicama for the next ten days, but instead, out of pure instinct, we hopped a plane to a city called Iquitos to meet a guy in the Amazon who’d take us further into the jungle to a retreat.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE TAKING AYAHUASCA IN THE JUNGLE? It was butterflies and rainbows because I had been working on myself for years and had come to the realization that living in the now is imperative to happiness, learning to love and forgive yourself for whatever is making you anxious. That’s why I bring up this whole story. When I finished the trip, I wasn’t like some who say they are “cured of addiction” or “I’m changing careers” or whatever people go through in their metamorphosis. At that time, I wasn’t exactly certain what I got out of the experience, but I realized I was very intrigued with plant-based medicine because of how ayahuasca could be a way to spiritual healing.
IF IT WEREN’T FOR WAM OIL I PROBABLY NEVER WOULD HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME AN OWNER. SO I COULD GET IN AT A GRASSROOTS LEVEL AND BUILD THE BRAND WITH THE VISION THAT I HAD, RATHER THAN PIGGYBACKING ON SOMEONE ELSE’S VISION.
I knew I wanted to live life to the fullest. Now I don’t have time for games, it’s time to live in the present and shed your unhealthy conditioning, the reality is now. The past and future are only figments of our Imagination. So, suddenly I remembered that Brandon had asked me to be involved in his Cannabis business, and WAM! it was a Eureka moment, “This is it,” I told myself, “this is my destiny!” That’s what Mother Ayahuasca did for me: directed me into a whole new career, one that’s not based on ego, but one of plant-based medicine. It was the universe giving me exactly what I need for the next phase of my life and it’s really exciting.
SO ONCE YOU DECIDED TO JOIN THE INDUSTRY, WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO WORKING WITH WAM OIL? The aesthetic of the brand really spoke to me with the blue “W” as the logo. It’s clean and confident and an established brand with a platinum reputation. The product speaks for itself; it’s 100% pure, full-spectrum, carbon filtered Co2 oil that tastes delicious and is very effective. The fact is that my partner Giana Lampreda is a six-time cancer survivor by doing a full regiment of Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) and WAM OIL daily, mainly Lemon Remedy, our signature strain. How can you say no to that? The proof is there. I don’t claim that it will cure cancer for everyone, but I know that it did for Giana. So that was a big factor for having the faith to dive into this company head first. Another was that WAM Oil came into the 502 game late, as it stayed in the medical market until the very last day, so we fell two years behind the major players. If it weren’t for WAM Oil I probably never would have had an opportunity to become an owner. So, I could get in at a grassroots level and build the brand with the vision that I had, rather than piggybacking on someone else’s vision.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BREAK GROUND IN A NEW INDUSTRY AND BE BACK IN SEATTLE ON A NEW PATH IN LIFE? It’s wonderful, I love Seattle now! We are on this earth for a given amount of time, and in my opinion, to repeat the same things, the same ideas, over and over, is a curse. The Dalai Lama says that our purpose in life is to seek happiness, and I believe him. And I’ve heard other philosophers try to answer the eternal question of why are we here, and it took me a long time to finally realized the answer. And the answer is to gain experience, it’s that simple. So, I want to gain as much experience as possible. Sadness, pain, happiness, elation, this is all part of the human experience. I’m a human, so I’m going to drink up and not let a moment pass by unnoticed.
FINAL WORDS OF WISDOM FOR OUR READERS OUT THERE? I’m all for Cannabis use, but here’s some vital Information for all you millennials that think that happiness is found in a joint or a dab—if you love yourself and are happy with yourself the high is 20 times better. So start doing the work.
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pATIENT Profile
By SIMONE FISCHER | PHOTO by @BERMANPHOTOS
CHELSEA WILLIAMS HOW CANNABIS PROVIDES RELIEF FROM TREMORS After a commercial kitchen accident resulted in a traumatic brain injury eight years ago, 27-year-old Chelsea Williams began using Cannabis to help relieve pain and tremors on the right side of her body.
W
illiams didn’t start smoking weed until she was 18. She said she was no stranger to substance abuse and once believed that Cannabis was just as bad as hard drugs. Her early avoidance stems from watching people close to her struggle with demons and addiction. Williams never considered Cannabis until one of her close friends disclosed that he smoked Cannabis to treat his asthma. “This was my super-smart friend who was smoking weed to help with asthma? I couldn’t believe it. I always associated Cannabis with the lazy stoner stereotype, and he was not only brilliant, but also successful in his field of work. After that, I figured Cannabis might be something worth looking into.” Once Williams turned 18, she moved out and got her first apartment and promptly began experimenting with Cannabis. As Williams began her journey with the plant, it started out as pure recreational fun. As she was learning more about the Cannabis community, life began throwing major curveballs. “I unknowingly started to date a heroin addict and he inevitably started stealing from my apartment. He was taking everything, but I was so naïve and I didn’t want to face the truth,” Williams said. “Finally, one night it all came to a point. I had to pee badly and he wouldn’t let me in the bathroom. I finally broke in and I found him with foil and a lighter and the strangest, almost sweet smell hung in the air. I didn’t know it was specifically heroin at the time, but I knew he wasn’t supposed to be doing that and I lost my shit.” Life is fickle and when it rains in the Northwest, it pours. At the height of ending her toxic relationship, Williams endured a traumatic head injury while she was working at a bakery. She recalled how she was washing dishes when a 20-pound basket full of metal tongs fell directly on her head. “I stumbled back and my co-worker caught me. I had to convince management this happened, so I eventually traveled to the hospital because I
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Williams put her life into Cannabis and encourages people with traumatic brain injuries to look into Cannabis as a treatment option. couldn’t put words together. I could see the words, but I couldn’t say them. I went to the emergency room and got a CT scan and MRI and the results revealed my traumatic brain injury. I had to take two weeks off from work to recover—doctor’s orders,” Williams said. “And all of this was happening alongside a painful breakup.” Williams turned to Cannabis in order to heal herself physically and spiritually. “After the kitchen accident, I developed tremors on the right side of my body. I have always been a lover of flower and believe it is better suited for my needs and relationship with Cannabis,” she said.
Finding what works Williams relies on products with 1:1 and 3:1 CBD:THC ratios to help her condition. “I use capsules, topicals, edibles or transdermal patches. For flower depending on my headspace, I try to keep a cerebral strain, and a strain that heavily sedates the body. My usual arsenal consists of Mary’s Medicinals transdermal patches, TKO Kingpins, flower and a good homemade full-flower edible or capsule,” Williams said.
Williams started working as a grower for TKO Reserve in southern Oregon after her accident. “I use Mochi (Gelato 47) grown on our farm to help with tremors. I typically flare up during times of duress and anxiety, so find Cannabis allows me to be calm and receptive while diminishing tremors. It allows me to keep a creative flow which is necessary while working.” She put her life into Cannabis and encourages people with traumatic brain injuries to look into Cannabis as a treatment option. Be sure to discuss your own Cannabis options with a physician. “If it was easy, I’d tell you to do exactly what I do and use the cannabinoid spectrums that work well for me. But the truth is, without experimenting on your own - it’s hard to give a straight answer,” Williams said. “Having an educated grower or budtender to discuss what has or hasn’t worked well is important. Personally, when I focus on my diet and keep up on exercising, it improves how extreme the tremors are and affects how much Cannabis I have to consume to help with the ailment.”
highly likely
By PACER STACKTRAIN
Column # 31
Highlighting amazing Cannabis pioneers who helped pave the way to greater herbal acceptance.
ILANA GLAZER ACTRESS AND COMEDY WRITER
“I hadn’t been high on camera in a long time. I was like, ‘Right, right. This is why I never do this!’ ” Readers will recognize Ilana Glazer from her role on the hit Comedy Central series Broad City, in which she co-writes and stars in with her friend Abbi Jacobson. Even though they use their real names on the show, Glazer and Jacobson are quick to point out that their characters are fictional versions of themselves, with some similarities. If you’ve ever seen the program before, you know that the two of them like smoking Cannabis, especially Glazer. Nearly every episode features a different take on the Cannabis culture. But, for those of us who care about these things, that begs the question. Do they actually consume Cannabis in real life? I’m happy to report that the answer is yes. Glazer admitted to the New Yorker during an interview that she smokes Cannabis daily, but seldom drinks alcohol. The same article refers to a 4/20 party she threw, which her parents attended. On Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016, Glazer proudly talked about her Cannabis shopping regimen in ultra-behind-the-times New York City where she buys from a clandestine delivery service. “I get it from a full-on business man, like a restaurateur—it’s a whole market! This guy is so successful, and he’s got garbage bags of weed.” The statement was met with rousing applause from the audience. Glazer is GLAZER PROUDLY TALKED a deliberate normalizer for Cannabis—and that’s desperately needed now. ABOUT HER CANNABIS One sad thing is that the Cannabis they’re consumSHOPPING REGIMEN IN ing on the show is fake. Standards and practices at the ULTRA-BEHIND-THE-TIMES network prevent them from consuming the real thing NEW YORK CITY WHERE SHE on camera—instead they consume a fake herbal blend Glazer and Jacobson describe as “harsh.” BUYS FROM A CLANDESTINE thatIn both different interviews, Glazer admits freely that she’s DELIVERY SERVICE. a daily Cannabis user, and that her favorite method is smoking, not vaping. But when it comes to smoking on camera she told the Verge in an interview that “During shooting, I cannot blaze. Like, last week I did Snoop Dogg’s [online] talk show. First of all, he was smoking a blunt in the morning [so] I was like, ‘I must.’ But it scares me to look down the barrel of a lens and be blazed. I hadn’t been high on camera in a long time. I was like, ‘Right, right. This is why I never do this!’ So never with shooting, because it freaks me out.” As to how Cannabis inspires her for her profession—she notes that she has started to smoke in some capacity with Broad City. “But with editing this year, I’ve gotten more into it. Earlier with Broad City, I was like, ‘I can’t! I can’t! It’s bad!’ even though I’m this face of weed and I represent some section of stonerdom. I even have my own stigma against it. But I’ve been getting a little more high. I guess it’s a hit here and there for writing. Usually 80 percent of the day I’m straight, and then by the end of the day I could use a ‘mind plane change.’ I’ll take a little hit after lunch or something out the window of this midtown editing office. It’s so banal. It’s interesting,” she said. “It feels silly to say, but I like the idea that women carry their own weed and buy their own weed. I like that, because it’s me.”
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NORTHWEST Leaf
STRAIN OF THE MONTH By WES ABNEY | PHOTOS by
@BERMANPHOTOS
racking open a Mad Mark jar is like releasing a giant purple ape covered in trichomes that jumps out and slams into your nose with overwhelming force and massive sweet sugary notes. Loud, furry and dripping with flavor, this Grape Ape is one of the tastiest strains on shelves in Washington. The team at Mad Mark Farms puts everything in glass, down to the grams, and we really enjoy their attention to detail and passion for great Cannabis. Clocking in at 17 percent THC and 0.18 percent CBD, the Grape Ape is proof positive that test results don’t mean anything when it comes to quality, flavor and high. We’d take this handcrafted bud over a 30 percent generic bud every day of the week. The flavor is key, and this strain smashes the senses like an ape. A thick syrupy smell of grape juice and bright berries bursts out of the jar on first crack, filling the mind and room with the Mad Mark Farms sweet smell of top-shelf weed. The buds are covered in crystals on every available surface. Light and airy enough for any type of rolling, MadMarkFarms.com but with an underlying Instagram @MadMarkFarms density that delivers a long lasting smoke, the first toke is all grape — with a sourdough finish reminiscent of fresh baked cherry tarts. It’s sweet, but infinitely more complex when smoked, giving this killer strain a well-rounded palate pleasing flavor that is truly unique. Effects land quickly, with waves of indica crashing around the body and mind. We enjoyed the relaxing effects that take away pain and stress, while keeping the mind clear enough for daytime activities. It’s a well-balanced strain, with a relaxed euphoric mental high that combines with pure physical bliss for a perfect high that’s equally great for day or night.
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WE ENJOYED THE RELAXING EFFECTS THAT TAKE AWAY PAIN AND STRESS, WHILE KEEPING THE MIND CLEAR ENOUGH FOR DAYTIME ACTIVITIES.
Grape Ape
Marijuana products may be purchased or possessed only by persons 21 years of age or older.
NORTHWEST LEAF
THE LIFESTYLE ISSUE WE’VE ALL HEARD THE BAD JOKES, faced stereotypes and
even lost jobs or freedom over a plant we choose to enjoy. So how does one equate a lifestyle around something that has been illegal for nearly 100 years? It’s not easy! For the majority of Americans, possession of a single gram of Cannabis can mean jail, loss of job, housing, children and more. For them, Cannabis as a lifestyle means only one thing: orange jumpsuits. When identifying your lifestyle means jail and social stigma, the cautious stoner retreats back into the Cannabis closet, peacefully toking and waiting for the day when green pride We need to take back could be shown. the term stoner and We are here to proclaim, now is that time! wear it with pride! We need to take back the term stoner and wear We should embrace it, it with pride! We need to embrace it, redefine it redefine it and twist and twist it back on the powers that have hidden it back on the powers our community under waves of prohibition and that have hidden our militarized police. I am personally proud to help community under waves of prohibition shift the paradigm surrounding Cannabis, and to and militarized police. celebrate all that Cannabis adds to life.
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Above all, we must remember that we have a collective voice, and a collective demographic that knows no race, creed, age or orientation boundaries. Stoners are all people who choose Cannabis, and we have tremendous power as a collective voice. When we begin to think and act like a group, we will truly realize our power, politically and socially, as we strive to change the world. Who would have thought all that strength could come from a plant? Through activism we can plant change, one seed at a time. So how do we define the stoner lifestyle? That’s our question at the start of our first ever lifestyle issue. From musicians to athletes, artists to teachers, parents and even in the bedroom, Cannabis helps a foster a healthy lifestyle. Over the next 19 pages we will introduce you to amazing people and businesses doing positive things with the presence and help of Cannabis. We are excited to share these stories, the amazing people and the wonderful creativity, all of which comes with a “stoner” label. Thanks for picking up our special issue, and I hope you enjoy and wear your stoner label with pride! -WES ABNEY | EDITOR
Averill crafts everything from umbrellas to formalwear, all covered in her unique geometric Cannabis prints. Karen’s niece, Mel Steward, left, wears the pocket purse skirt ($145) manufactured in southern Oregon. Karen, center, wears the patchwork tanktop ($75). Friend Johanna Williamson, right, models harem pants ($125)
CANNAFLAGE DESIGNS KAREN AVERILL | FOUNDER
Cannabis-inspired clothing & gifts
Cannaflage Designs is a unique Oregon business founded by Karen Averill. Created as a “gag” gift, Averill was asked to create wallpaper from one of her photographs of her and her husband’s Cannabis garden. Little did she know, this would begin her on the path to entrepreneurship and now heads the small family business based in the Applegate Valley. Now, Averill crafts everything from umbrellas to formalwear, all covered in her unique geometric Cannabis print. “Images are fashioned into living art and fractal illuminations that are dripping with crystals and color,” Averill said. Her recognizable work and smiling face can be seen at most industry trade shows, where she vends her wares with her niece. Ten percent of Cannaflage’s monthly sales are donated in support of veterans, while all scraps and misprints from creating her clothing and accessories are used to make free “Bud-dy Bears” for sick children receiving Cannabis medicine.
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NORTHWEST LEAF
THE LIFESTYLE ISSUE
CANNABIS ARTIST & GRAPHIC DESIGNER JAKE CORMENY Eugene
STORY BY NATE WILLIAMS | PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
OUTSIDE ARTWORK
@OutsideArtwork
Jake Cormeny, better known as @OutsideArtwork, is the young artist behind TJ’s memorable handmade art, which accompanies every strain and product at their retail dispensaries in Eugene and soon in Portland. Cormeny’s work adds a colorful dynamic to an otherwise monotonous retail experience. Expect to see more retailers exploring similar concepts to better connect with customers.
WHERE DO YOU DRAW YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?
DO YOU ALWAYS CONSUME THE PRODUCT OR FLOWER THAT YOU’RE CREATING THE ARTWORK FOR?
WERE YOU CLASSICALLY TRAINED OR SELF-TAUGHT?
I wish it happened that way, sometimes we get enough product in at once that it takes me a few days to create signs and so I have time to try the product. But, I try to have the sign completed before we get the product so everything looks the best when we put it out.
I’ve always been inspired by people who create whether it be musicians, architects or any type of artist; so being a part of the world of creation is my driving inspiration. I started drawing when I was in elementary school, basically trying to copy my cousin; but, once I entered middle school and beyond, I took every art class I could to expand my creative skills. In 2015, I graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Graphic Design.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEDIUM TO WORK WITH AND WHY?
I don’t know if I have a favorite medium, but most commonly I work on the computer using my drawing tablet to create anything from design work to illustrations and posters.
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HOW DOES YOUR ART DIFFER FOR WORK VERSUS WHEN YOU’RE CREATING WORK FOR YOURSELF?
The main difference is that I basically have to detach myself emotionally from my professional work, because it will go through so many changes and revisions based on the client’s needs. I have to be able to accept criticism while maintaining the confidence that I can improve and finish the job.
WORKING ON ANY COOL LARGE SCALE/LONG TERM PROJECTS? I’ve been working with Greg Levine of Nelson & Co. on a potential rebranding project, as well as creating a farm poster for Love Life Farms. Additionally, In the future I hope to continue working with my friends at Willamette Valley Alchemy and Urban Canna. It’s been a great experience working with different people in the Oregon industry.
“Being a part of the world of creation is my driving inspiration”
ARTIST ERIN COLVIN
STORY & PHOTOS BY SIMONE FISCHER
FOUNDER | HIGH SOCIETY COLLECTION
Functional Jewelry Line
WHEN DID YOU START MAKING JEWELRY?
I started making jewelry 15 years ago. I graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in metal smithing in 2007. Back then, I was making jewelry under my own name. But in December 2013, I made a trial run of thirty different roach clips and I ended up selling all of them. In 2014, High Society Collection was birthed from that trial test. It started as an art project, but it spun off and became my own brand.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE FUNCTIONAL JEWELRY WITH THE CANNABIS SMOKER IN MIND?
It all started because my mom had a roach clip she was gifted from my aunt. She always kept it in a plant as “decoration” for the unassuming eye. But when my parents divorced, I kept the roach clip from the planter. Naturally, I lost the original roach clip within two hours of taking it. After I got my degree, I contacted the original creator of Squirken Works—an old roach clip brand from the 1970s. He helped me with the function action of the roach clips. High Society Collection aesthetically looks nothing like the clips from Squirken, but their help on the jigs was crucial to make sure my work was actually functional. My collection embodies minimalism with Art Deco details. Most of all, I wanted to be clever about my design.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PIECES FROM YOUR COLLECTION?
My favorite piece from High Society Collection is the Sunburst handheld joint clip. The necklaces are really popular because of the look and function—plus they are always around your neck for convenience. I have handheld clips, key chains and even my earrings are functional too! I make other pieces like rings and earrings without function, but I love making clever jewelry for those who partake.
Sunburst Lux Clip,$129
Highsocietycollection.com @Highsocietycollection
Artist and creator Erin Colvin is a seasoned jewelry designer who pulls her inspiration from a roach clip her mother used to keep in a houseplant. Her minimal, art deco-style jewelry is meticulously handcrafted with a hammer and anvil in Portland.
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NORTHWEST LEAF
THE LIFESTYLE ISSUE
STORY BY PACER STACKTRAIN | PHOTO BY NATE WILLIAMS
BRENT ROYCE
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER IN SKATEBOARDING?
I’ve been skateboarding for 35 years now and most of it has been unsponsored. When I was younger I did a lot of contests and almost always placed in the top five. I’ve had tricks in a few videos and I have a full part in a video called “The Orange,” years ago. I was on “Flow,” getting boxes from companies like Volcom Clothing, World Industries, Darkstar, Enjoi, Almost, I -Path and Savier. This was back before skaters made money like they do now, so I worked full time and passed up on traveling so I could build my life and career.
HOW DID YOU END UP STARTING YOUR SKATEBOARD COMPANY?
I teamed up with Troy and Stacy Moore to start Gromshop.com way back in the day. It was created for pre-teens and toddlers with skateboarding and snowboarding related stuff. Troy and Stacy had the idea and we used the companies I was skating for as our initial brands. I was lucky to have good friends like Tim Snail who was working at Volcom, so a lot of the initial clothing was little Volcom clothes. Tim now works with me at Odin and Who Oil as the sales director and Troy co-owns owns Oregon’s Finest.
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO WORKING IN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY?
I was living out of state doing a lot of snowboarding and snowmobiling and was really missing skateboarding in Portland with my friends. I decided to move back home and started working with my friends at Pure Oregon dispensary. I also started working at a few farms doing whatever I could just to make extra money and learn as much as I could about everything Cannabis. I teamed up with a Washington store called New Vansterdam and oversaw the state of Oregon and built out retail stores for them. I also did all the buying in Oregon and was the vice president of operations for S.B. Ventures in Washington, which is a consulting group. After that, I started Legit Business Solutions, which is a consulting group in Oregon. I am now with Odin and started Odin Wholesale with them and do the buying for Who Oil and Odin Wholesale. Finally, I have a recreational farm just hitting the market called Black Rabbit Cult.
DO YOU USE CANNABIS MEDICALLY TO TREAT THE INJURIES THAT COME WITH SKATEBOARDING? I use Cannabis to treat swelling and pain after a long day of skating or snowboarding. I also use Cannabis to help me sleep at night, since I have insomnia. It’s weird to say this, but I also use it for motivation. Your body can use Cannabis in many ways but what really matters is one’s mindset while you’re using Cannabis, and that will direct the energy of the plant in your body.
FOUNDER | ODIN CO.
Skateboarder & Snowboarder Cannabis business owner
DO YOU THINK SKATEBOARDING CAN BE ENHANCED UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF CANNABIS? DO YOU SMOKE AND SKATE?
I do smoke and skate for sure, like almost every time. Some of the best backcountry lines on my snowboard have been right after smoking a joint with my friends in the trees. I can be tired after skating for a while and just chill and smoke real quick and have all my energy and imagination snap right back.
WHAT DOES A “SMOKE SESSION” LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? DO YOU LIKE TO CONSUME CANNABIS AFTER SKATING? Brent Royce has a career that most would dream of: paychecks from two industries he’s passionate about. He’s been an avid skater and snowboarder throughout his life and worked in that business and now he is working in the Cannabis industry— specifically working with trusted retail storefronts and some of the most popular producers and brands in the Northwest.
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After a long day of skating, my energy levels are high and my brain is firing like crazy. That triggers my insomnia and restless leg syndrome. I’ll bounce back and forth between Treets CBD gummies and Odin CBD pills. I typically use a bong—taking hits of high THC flower or high CBD Who CO2 cartridges. I also enjoy dabbing live resin for the terps.
STORY BY WES ABNEY | PHOTO BY NESSEPHOTO
DOWNWARD DAB
Leading a class last month in Anchorage
Marijuasana Yoga showcases the power of Cannabis & exercise HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WITH CANNABIS? I spent the last six years working in the Cannabis industry after I quit my IT career to become a Pilates teacher. It was an abrupt change! I realized I hated my job, I wasn’t happy and I went through a big transformation. I went into training, and during that time I realized the innate compatibility between Cannabis and mindful movement, and I discovered that was my true passion.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY MINDFUL MOVEMENT? I consider that an umbrella term for exercises like yoga and Pilates that engage your concentration and mind to move your body. This isn’t jumping on your treadmill to tune out, it’s taking time to move with consciousness. It makes a huge difference on a physical and emotional level, and paired with Cannabis, it opens up a lot of opportunities for personal transformation and expanded consciousness.
WHAT DOES A MARIJUASANA CLASS LOOK LIKE? It's about an hour and a half, and the actual yoga we do takes about an hour. We start by drinking tea, which is important for the social aspect, and taking some CBD samples. I always include CBD because it’s part of education and reversing stigma about Cannabis as something that is only recreational; and that CBD is legal, and has tremendous benefits for something that doesn’t get you high. Of course, people can vape or roll a joint then too. Then we do 30 minutes of yoga, take a break in the middle for more tea and weed and talk, and then come back to the mats for another round. After another 30 minutes class is over, and by then people are pretty high from both the stretching and the weed, and we all wrap up and exchange cards and info.
DO PEOPLE NEED YOGA EXPERIENCE TO COME TO THE CLASS? SHOULD THEY BE REGULAR CANNABIS USERS? Lots of people come in doing yoga for the first time, but who have smoked weed but were intimidated by the idea of yoga. It’s an icebreaker, an opportunity for people who smoke to get to know one another and do a fun and healthy mindful activity that contributes to wellness. It’s a way to cast Cannabis in a light beyond ‘it just gets you fucked up.’ Which is also great for people who don’t smoke, to see our community in a different light. So you don’t have to smoke, or do yoga, just have an open mind. My goal is to help people who have resistance to Cannabis or yoga to take the class out of curiosity, and to learn about how
Marijuasana Founder Stacey Mulvey is a passionate Cannabis activist and leader, having worked in the industry in Colorado before taking her passion on the road as she teaches her yoga classes in Washington, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Alaska and soon to be in Oregon and California. She left a corporate job to pursue her passion of yoga teaching and combined that with her love of Cannabis for a truly unique experience!
beneficial cannabinoids are. This class opens hearts and minds. And it’s a chance to try something new, meet new people and have a fun activity that speaks for itself. That’s my master plan, to help shift the attitude around Cannabis.
HOW DOES CANNABIS ENHANCE YOGA? Cannabis is going to help you with yoga. It’s directly related to movement systems in the body, and with circulation and inflammation. In yoga you go through each body part as each pose is designed to test the range of motion, and work several joints and muscles at the same time. Cannabis will help blood flow into new areas, as circulation is cut off and expanded through poses, and help the body flow blood and cannabinoids into new areas.
HAS CANNABIS FINALLY DEVELOPED INTO SOMETHING THE MAINSTREAM YOGA COMMUNITY RECOGNIZES? It's not something the yoga community talks about or embraces with open arms, a lot are anti-Cannabis. There are a lot of degrees of opinion, but being within the industry inspired me with all the growth and innovation. Why not this yoga and Cannabis idea? I just kind of started doing it, and it quickly became the focus of my life. I only started the company in November 2016, it’s really taken off, people have been really receptive.
My goal is to help people who have resistance to Cannabis or yoga to take the class out of curiosity, and to learn about how beneficial cannabinoids are. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE CHANGING THE YOGA INDUSTRY AND THE STIGMA OF CANNABIS AND WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE? I feel the industry is on the verge of something really big, once we start tapping into the fact that we are a big community and what that really means. There's a chance for a huge shift. I started in Colorado, and then went to all the places I've taught since then, and finishing the year in Alaska of all places feels good. I’m seeing how widespread and connected the Cannabis community is, and we need to realize it and act as a community to make positive change.
Learn about upcoming classes & schedule at Marijuasana.com FEB. 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/NWLEAF
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Chad Roberts Tattoo by Jerry Ware @AtlasTattoo His incredible hand and arm tattoo was created over an eight-hour session.
Megan Bauer Tattoo by Alice Carrier @AliceRules who specializes in botanical tattoo art. The tattoo took over a year of work.
TATTOOS THAT TOKE
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Tyler Allen Tattoo by @SamuelBockelman Tyler’s stunning tattoo of a lion surrounded by Cannabis leaves required 22 hours in the chair. STORY BY NATE WILLIAMS | PHOTOS BY DANIEL BERMAN Cannabis has been taboo for about as long as tattoos have, and we searched low and high to find unique expressions of love for this plant. We found some amazing examples and interviewed a tattoo artist who relies on the plant to continue his craft.
BLACKLIST TATTOO TIM “LINUS” O’MALLEY | Owner & Founder The northeast Portland shop was founded in 2009 and moved to its current home on Broadway a year later. O’malley said he has been growing for personal use since the early 2000s and uses Cannabis topicals regularly to combat carpal tunnel and the stress on his hands and fingers from his work. When not tattooing or tending to his garden, Linus spends time with his girlfriend and four dogs.
Russ & Lori Belville Tattoos by Thomas Barrington @LuckyHorseshoeTattoo The Ft. Worth, TX-based artist created their linking THC and CBD chemical sequence tattoos.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN CONSUMING CANNABIS AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE TATTOO INDUSTRY? I have been tattooing since 2003. I have used Cannabis since I was 17 or 18 years old, so almost 20 years now.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE METHOD OF CONSUMPTION? I’m pretty old fashion and still prefer to smoke a joint.
HAVE YOU BEEN ASKED TO TATTOO THE PLANT MORE FREQUENTLY SINCE LEGALIZATION? I wouldn’t say more frequently, but I would say that most people who are getting Cannabis-related tattoos aren’t too concerned with hiding them.
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT A PATRON CONSUMING CANNABIS BEFORE BEING TATTOOED? I don’t mind if people use Cannabis before getting tattooed. My advice is to know your own body, clearly stay within your tolerance and maybe plan accordingly to select something that’s going to set your mood right.
I UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE BEEN GROWING YOUR OWN CANNABIS? It is a nice little Zen hobby to get away from the chaos of the tattoo shop. I have just a little garden that I run a no-till, living soil set up, so it’s all 100 percent organic and I know what’s being put into it. I work in an instant gratification driven industry so it’s nice to have something to keep me grounded and remind me to be patient.
WHO ARE SOME OTHER ARTISTS THAT INSPIRE YOU?
Emma Chasen
I’m inspired by a lot of different artists. Robert Crumb, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bert Grimm, Percy Waters are big visual inspirations. Nina Simone, Duke Ellington are always on my musical rotation. The energy from real Jazz music is super inspiring for me.
Tattoo by Pony Reinhardt @FreeOrgy The owner of Tenderfood Studios created her tattoo over 12 hours.
Blacklist Tattoo | (503) 796-0086 Almostalwayssometimesnever.com
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At this time we are only offering our products to licensed distributors. If you would like to be a processor/distributor in your area please contact: rob@eblunt.com (907) 351-8207
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TOM BOWERS
STORY BY NATE WILLIAMS | PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR INTRODUCTION TO CANNABIS?
It all started years ago because I had a crush on a girl. We were into the same music, and she was super cool. She and her friends were going to hang out after school with one of my buddies who’d scored a dime bag from a guy with purple hair. They invited me along. We smoked out of a converted elbow pipe joint from the hardware store, as you did back then. I didn’t feel it. The next time, later that evening, I felt it. And broke my toe on a hearth. I didn’t get the girl.
HOW HAS CANNABIS INFLUENCED YOUR MUSIC?
The first time I noticed the strong relationship between Cannabis and music, my friend busted out a mixtape he’d gotten from his buddy in Austin, Texas. The song “Dramamine,” by a new band called Modest Mouse was the first song. The second that bendy, woozy harmonic guitar line swayed into the room, my musical life was changed. Cannabis helped my brain break apart the elements of compositions by bands like Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Duster, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and Polvo, and they became my biggest influences.
DO YOU OR YOUR BAND MATES CONSUME BEFORE PLAYING A SHOW? HOW ABOUT FOR REHEARSAL, STUDIO TIME, ETC.?
When songwriting, a stimulating strain like Durban Poison helps with focus and creativity. For rehearsal and studio time, we’re locked in and dedicated to tightening everything up, so we generally don’t smoke or drink much. Though for creative, freeflowing jam sessions, anything goes.
IF YOU COULD SMOKE WITH ONE MUSICIAN, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE?
In all truth, my buddy Chris—the one with the mixtape. We came up together, played in our first bands together, and have a great time with a creative strain, a couple of guitars and the effects pedals he builds. But if we’re talking about well-known people... Brett Netson (Caustic Resin, Built to Spill) or J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.). As long as we could jam afterward.
WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED METHOD OF CONSUMPTION? Depends on what I’m going to do. Pre-rolls are perfect for concerts and hikes, but my Toko vape pen is my go-to for a night out. At home when playing guitar, I love flower in my old-school soft-glass bong.
WHICH IS BETTER? A DRUNK AUDIENCE OR A STONED AUDIENCE? ROCK AND ROLL MUSICIAN
Cannabis Enthusiast Tom Bowers is the friendly figurehead for Sweet Cannabis’ sales department. When not managing his sales team or assisting in other departments of the venture, Bowers is either spending time with his wife and two children or rocking out your local dive with his band Apology Calls. He’s been making music for nearly two decades and these days he pairs late-night song writing sessions with a cup of green tea and a bowl of energizing and creative ganja.
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I have no preference here, since people have to do their own experimentation on how to unlock their minds, slough-off their daily worries, and get lost in the moment. To each his or her own; just don’t get so wasted you ruin your time and everyone else’s.
The second that bendy, woozy harmonic guitar line swayed into the room, my musical life was changed.
JEN BERNARD
STORY & PHOTOS BY NATE WILLIAMS
SIGNAL BATH
OWNER & MUSICIAN | House of Cards Music
Jen Bernard is a multi-talented musician who plays everything from Yacht Rock to Classical music in a string quartet, and she uses Cannabis to help enhance her connectivity as a musician. She is the owner of House of Cards Music, acting as a talent buyer and booking agent in Portland. She shared her thoughts on Cannabis and music and how both can change our perspectives on the way we engage with sound.
BY WES ABNEY | PHOTO BY NATE WILLIAMS
HOW WERE YOU FIRST INTRODUCED TO MUSIC?
“Some sativa-dominant hybrids are perfect for getting into the zone or performance.
I was always immersed in music since early childhood, both my parents came from musical families. They sang a lot around the house, always doing Peter, Paul and Mary or Simon and Garfunkel, and I was absorbing all that as I grew up. I started singing along with them and they figured out that I could switch harmony parts and thought ‘Hey, this kid has an ear,’ and pushed me into music. They gave me my first guitar as a teen, I played flute in band, and learned quite a few instruments along the way.
WHEN DID YOU KNOW MUSIC WOULD BE YOUR PASSION, AND HOW DID IT LEAD YOU TO PORTLAND? I was always singing and writing music, but I took it more seriously when I went to Michigan State University for a creative writing degree. I realized I wanted to focus on playing music instead, and ended up moving to Portland in 1994, catching the early music scene here.
HOW DID CANNABIS COME INTO YOUR LIFE? My parents were hippies and my Mom always had Cannabis growing. They took it upon themselves to create a quasi-utopia community on a farm in northern Michigan, open to seekers and teenagers on a search to find themselves. They had a vision of creating a communal farm space on 300 acres where musicians and artists and expressive people could come, put some elbow grease into the land, and live a sustenance lifestyle. So, I was surrounded by a bunch of weird freaks, everybody was always stoned, and it was pretty normalized for me as a kid.
DO YOU PLAY MUSIC WHILE USING CANNABIS? DOES IT HELP ENHANCE YOUR ABILITY OR PRODUCTION? Well it depends on the strain! Heavy indicas aren’t the best for the manual dexterity required to operate a musical instrument, but some sativa-dominant hybrids are perfect for getting into the zone or performance. It definitely depends on who you are playing with, and what type of music. But it definitely helps calm me down, as far as nerves, and gets me into a zone where I don’t feel like I have an audience around me. I can completely express myself without self-consciousness, and really connect with my bandmates. Cannabis increases my receptivity, sense of rhythm and my listening, really making me a better band member.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CANNABIS AND MUSIC? It’s like tuning in. Tuning the knob just a little bit better. I go to my analogy of ‘opening your ears up a little bit.’ Cannabis has this capability of deepening the sensitivity of what you’re listening to, getting beyond our own thoughts and joining the continuum if you will. That’s what music is: jumping into an ocean of sound, pitch and rhythm, almost like a womb in a way. And I think that Cannabis enhances the experience of listening or performing, and helps deepen the relationship with the people who you’re playing with. For a band, you’re in a tighter groove together, your emotional connecting is better, and you’re functioning like an organism. Cannabis helps me get to that state, a malleable place where you are one with the organism, being carried along by the groove you are also helping create.
WHAT TYPES OF MUSIC ARE YOU PLAYING TODAY, AND WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND YOUR MUSIC? I play in a few different groups, some are what I do for a living and other groups are just for fun, playing shows with a $5 cover sort of thing. I’m in a group called Arthur and the Antics, a Yacht Rock glammy band, a group called the Stolen Sweets, the Ariel Consort and I also am a business owner, the House of Cards Music. I’m a talent buyer for local concert series such as the Oregon Zoo series, and I get gigs for bands and help with civic art budgets.
SHANE THOMAS | Electronic Musician Shane Thomas, aka Signal Bath, is an electronic artist based in Bend, Oregon. Shane’s love for Cannabis and his passion for music are united as he uses the plant to help him create new tracks. He’s worked in Cannabis at various times for Substance Cannabis Market, formerly Bloom Well, and is currently studying to be a professional sound engineer. His music is broadcasted worldwide through his label’s international radio station, Beat Lab Radio.
DID CANNABIS PIQUE YOUR INTEREST IN MUSIC, WAS IT THE OTHER WAY AROUND, OR WERE THEY INDEPENDENTLY FOUND AND THEN UNITED? I’d certainly say I was into music before I started consuming Cannabis, both as a listener and as a performer. It’s safe to infer however that I was perhaps attracted to music and Cannabis due to very similar variables or circumstances. Both can be very good at servicing the desire to feel a bit of escapism or relief from reality, as improved sense of well-being.
HOW MUCH DOES CANNABIS INTEGRATE INTO YOUR PROCESS? I don’t know if I’d call it integration... I do generally consume a lot when I’m writing music. Mostly just a pipe of whatever strain I’ve been feeling on lately.
HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE UNTIL WE SEE VENUES THAT ALLOW FOR CANNABIS CONSUMPTION ONSITE? Hard to say really... I think once we see regulations in place for public consumption, certain businesses will adopt more relaxed policy. Most venues frown upon or forbid bringing a flask from home or openly smoking a cigarette on the dance floor. There are usually designated smoking zones and designated bar areas. It’s hard to imagine how people will choose to treat Cannabis in regard to everything else people consume at a show.
FAVORITE ALBUM TO LISTEN TO WHILE USING CANNABIS? The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
HOW DO YOU THINK THE LEGALIZATION OF CANNABIS AND THE INCLUSION OF ITS CULTURE INTO THE STATUS QUO HAS IMPACTED THE MUSIC SCENE IN THE U.S.? It may still be too early to tell on a large scale. I think anything to do with “Cannabis culture being accepted into the status-quo,” with be largely reflective of a more tolerant society. More wide-spread tolerance of diverse culture will make the world a better place to live. It’s easy to imagine how the music scene will improve as people become more tolerant of each other.
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Green Box PDX Founder Adrian Wayman
GREEN BOX PDX
$120-$150 per box PdxGreenBox.com
STORY BY WES ABNEY | PHOTOS BY DANIEL BERMAN
GIFTBOXES MERRY MUNCHIE BOX $4.20 per box Jackinthebox.com
Co-branded with Snoop Dogg’s brand Merry Jane, the Merry Munchie Meal is the first openly Cannabis themed food item to enter the mainstream. While no amount of weed can help the overly fried food be any healthier, it can definitely make Jack in the Box taste better. Available in California and more states in the future, reportedly.
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Wine of the month clubs have existed for decades, allowing connoisseurs to take a shipment each month for new and interesting bottles, expanding their knowledge and wine cellar monthly. The same model exists today for razors, cigars, Legos and now Cannabis, which only makes sense. Whether ordering a Daily High Club box full of accessories for smoking, or a Green Box from Portland filled with legal Cannabis products, you can’t go wrong with a monthly service subscription. And because this is the lifestyle issue, and we are highlighting things that break down barriers, we also include the newest 4/20 friendly food item to go nationwide, the Jack in the Box Munchie Meal. Each of these boxes has its place, in lungs, stomachs or on the shelf, and all are helping break down barriers and normalize Cannabis usage and our lifestyle.
Oregon’s liberal Cannabis laws and creative thinkers have led to the creation of the PDX Green Box, the coolest weed subscription service we’ve ever seen! Curated locally by a team of Cannabis professionals, each box is filled with new, organic and high-quality products, and they are all made with Cannabis! They aren’t generic either. Founder Adrian Wayman works to make sure that each box is custom tailored to the end buyer through feedback on products. Boxes can come with flower, concentrates, edibles, topicals and more. With 10 percent going to charity, you can feel good about supporting a company changing the stigma surrounding Cannabis. Current deliveries are available in the incorporated areas of Portland, but we hope to see this awesome service expand in the future.
DAILY HIGH CLUB BOX
$1-$30 monthly DailyHighClub.com Daily High Club is a subscription service offering a new twist on the theme box subscriptions. Filled with all the accessories you could want, the only hard choice is picking your subscription level. One dollar monthly gets you a month’s supply of new rolling papers, $12 monthly gets you seven to nine products such as Raw cones or tips, custom papers and more. The best deal is the $30 El Primo box, which features $80 worth of items. We found cool glass, dab tools, papers and more in our boxes, which was like a magical weed gift.
We sat down with Pacific Insurance Group Owner J Carter Gray, CLU to learn more about life insurance, using Cannabis and why everyone should be protected for the unexpected.
INDICASURANCE With the Cannabis lifestyle movement becoming mainstream, consumers are looking to find normal benefits offered to consumers of alcohol or opiate-based pain medications. Cannabis has traditionally disqualified a consumer for a standard rate, forcing them to pay up to three times as much for a tobacco rate, which can cost tens of thousands over a lifetime. Pacific Insurance Group is trying to change that with a new policy that allows Cannabis users to secure life insurance, and peace of mind, all while toking up legally.
WHY SHOULD EVERYONE HAVE LIFE INSURANCE?
If you die, and we all do, do you or your parents or family have enough money set aside? Not just for end of life costs, but for living? If not, you need to take out life insurance if you care about your loved ones. Some people don’t but we’re looking for the people who care, who want the security of their income over the next 20 to 30 years guaranteed to create wealth and protect and provide for their dependents.
HOW MUCH LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE SHOULD PEOPLE HAVE?
It’s important to have the correct amount, but even something small is better than nothing at all. A general rule of thumb is ten times your general yearly income will get you close to the right place, but there’s no perfect number. That should cover any debt and provide and replace the missing income of a lost family member. The general goal is to make it to age 65 or retirement with a policy, so most people base their term length off that age.
WHEN DID YOU BEGIN OFFERING CANNABIS EXEMPTIONS AND HOW MANY OF THE 25 INSURANCE COMPANIES YOU WORK WITH OFFER IT?
Right now, we have four companies that will offer this exemption. They changed their underwriting guidelines about 18 months ago, where they can look at the statistics and see that Cannabis isn’t hurting life expectancy. They are always updating and some companies are more in tune, and some are asleep behind the wheel, so the ones that are more in touch with reality took a look at this and said ‘X amount of use is acceptable.’
HOW MANY OFTEN CAN I TOKE UP AND STILL BE CONSIDERED A CASUAL USER FOR THE RATING?
There are variations on what they consider normal use, and they base it on how many times per month you use Cannabis. It’s by the day, so you could smoke just once or be using all day long, they only look at the number of times per month you consume Cannabis. The magic number is 18, so smoke all you want 18 days a month and you can still qualify for protection under a non-tobacco rate.
HOW MUCH WOULD AN AVERAGE PERSON SAVE BY GETTING A NON-TOBACCO RATE FOR INSURANCE? It’s such a valuable piece of information for people to know! We don’t want people to pay three times what you should be paying and get hosed just because you use Cannabis. It’s at least triple if you are designated a tobacco user. That’s just money you are throwing out the window for no reason, and you shouldn’t have to.
WHY IS MEDICAL MARIJUANA VIEWED DIFFERENTLY THAN RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA?
A common misconception people have in regard to medical marijuana is that it is looked at more favorably than recreational marijuana. The problem with medicinal marijuana is there needs to be an underlying health condition before a doctor with prescribe a medical marijuana card, which can adversely affect the rating from the life insurance underwriter.
WHAT’S THE STARTING POINT FOR PRICE PER MONTH, IS IT HARD TO START OR CANCEL?
With life insurance you can cancel any time, no penalty. It’s an easy process. To start, there is a medical exam, it’s real simple and it’s like a free physical, the lab results cost about $500 at a normal doctor, but its free of cost—no obligation. Then there’s a short phone interview, and they give you a rating and an offer. It can go as low as $15 a month for a 45-year-old standard non-tobacco rate, and we don’t sell overpriced expensive life insurance. We want to educate you, give you quotes and options, and let you make the right decision for your situation.
WHAT’S YOUR FINAL MESSAGE TO FOLKS THINKING ABOUT LIFE INSURANCE?
It’s not like ‘Hey let’s go into this depressing fear-based conversation and get really dark and heavy.’ It’s ‘No, if you care, take care of it, chock it off the list, get life insurance at best price possible and have happy thoughts.’ It’s peace of mind, because once you have it you’re not letting it go. PacificInsuranceGroup.com
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STORY BY WES ABNEY | PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
THE LIFESTYLE ISSUE
SEX AND CANNABIS Here at the Leaf we don’t believe that sex should ever be used to sell Cannabis, but there’s nothing wrong with combining the two for consenting adults. These products are an ideal choice for Valentine’s Day, combining a little romance with the enhancement of Cannabis. We think it’s great to get freaky with weed and have prepared a short guide and products for you to try.
Cannabis and Sexuality
Cannabis Lubricants 101
Cannabis can increase connectivity and provide a relaxing euphoria, as well as physical benefits like increased blood flow, anti-inflammation, and physical relaxation and relief. Combining Cannabis in any form with a romantic scenario can enhance the fun. We support the right to be expressive, for safe sex, and for Cannabis to have its place in the world of sensuality. Whether smoking a joint before, or after, using a sensual massage oil, or trying one of these innovative new products, there’s a whole world to explore when you combine Cannabis and sex. Enjoy, and always practice safe and respectful sex!
Cannabis has found its way into a variety of lubricants. Meant for external or internal use, these products open a new world of uses for Cannabis that can surprise and delight. Here are a couple tips from the companies we’ve talked to who produce the goods.
1. Read the label! Make sure you aren’t allergic to any ingredients. 2. Start lightly. You don’t know how your body is going to react to Cannabis in this form. 3. Condoms and coconut oil don’t mix. If the base ingredient is coconut oil, it can dissolve the condom and compromise its integrity.
EMPOWER 4PLAY CANNABIS INFUSED SENSUAL OIL EmpowerBodyCare.com
The Empower brand has been producing quality topicals and bath salts in Oregon for years, and their 4Play is the perfect addition for anyone who has enjoyed their products. Made with coconut oil and essential oils, this oil is not edible but as it says on the box, “put it where you please.” It’s also great for more than just sex; woman can find relief from menstrual cramps with this topical as well. It also causes a light tingling and euphoric sensation on the skin, to help make the right moment even better.
KITTYO INTIMATE LUBE MyWickedOil.com
Kittyo by Wicked Oil is a silicone based Cannabis infused lubricant that is completely condom safe and focused on delivering happy results. The slogan “pleasure is everything” says it all. While it isn’t recommended for edible use, this infused oil will work perfectly for any other application, and comes in a classy glass bottle that blends elegance with sensuality.
FAIRWINDS O INTIMATE LUBRICANT FairwindsManufacturing.com
The O Intimate Lubricant is a hypoallergenic silicone based lubricant containing 140mg THC and 30mg CBD per bottle from the lauded producers at Fairwinds Manufacturing. This product was designed for sensitive or dry skin. With a long-lasting formula and a mild sensual aroma, this topical delivers the perfect mood and sensation for experimenting with Cannabis.
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STORY BY STEVE ELLIOTT/TOKESIGNALS.COM PHOTOS BY JULIA SUMPTER/LEAFLY.COM
PUBLISHED by TWELVEBOOKS.COM | 2017 | 240 PAGES | $27
THE LEAFLY GUIDE TO CANNABIS A Handbook for the Modern Consumer
T
his savvy connoisseur’s guide from the editors at Leafly, one of the world’s most well-known Cannabis platforms, is a distillation of the most popular and important articles from the site. This recent release aims at being a definitive guidebook, and largely accomplishes that considerable task. All of that information is packed into just 227 pages, which becomes even more impressive when one realizes that on the informational level, it outdoes some volumes twice its size. Step-by-step guides, descriptions and delicious recipes make it easier than ever for consumers to find and enjoy their best high. As legal restrictions are relaxed around the country, Cannabis enthusiasts—as well as the Cannabis curious—are seeking more information. Much as with beer and wine, people want to explore the art and craft of marijuana. Even more diverse than alcohol, Cannabis can have wildly diverse flavor profiles, as well as cerebral and body effects. And there are many ways to consume marijuana, from lotions to gourmet recipes. The growing amount of options available to consumers in the Cannabis market can be overwhelming, but this The growing amount book breaks it all into manageable of options available chunks of information. This reviewer has to consumers in the visited more than 200 pot shops, yet I still Cannabis market can got some great ideas about things to look be overwhelming, but for on my next visit. this book breaks it Any work of this scope and size, of all into manageable course, cannot be perfect, and The chunks of information. Leafly Guide to Cannabis is no different. Sometimes descriptions are far too vague, even misleading, and there’s no photo to help, as on page 15, “Males and Females.” The complete description of the appearance of male flowers is “male flowers produce smaller spheres near the base of the leaves.” That, to me, doesn’t come close to adequately explaining the appearance of male flowers, especially in the absence of a photo. But objections like that are more like quibbles when contrasted with the scope of this book. Leafly’s aim is almost always true, and this is one of the most valuable, information-packed books I’ve seen in a while.
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MARIJUANA PRODUCTS MAY BE PURCHASED OR POSSESSED ONLY BY PERSONS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. THIS PRODUCT HAS INTOXICATING EFFECTS AND MAY BE HABIT FORMING. MARIJUANA CAN IMPAIR CONCENTRATION, COORDINATION AND JUDGEMENT. DO NOT OPERATE A VEHICLE OR MACHINERY WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE. THERE MAY BE HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF THIS PRODUCT. FOR ADULT USE ONLY. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.
NW LEAF
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Bellingham
STORY BY WES ABNEY PHOTOS BY SARAH CLIMACO
BEST BUDS GAMING LOUNGE
BEST BUDS GAMING LOUNGE OPENED IN 2017 AS WASHINGTON’S FIRST VIDEO GAME LOUNGE, FEATURING MORE THAN 2,000 GAMES AND LOCALLY CRAFTED BEER. A HERITAGE MEDICAL CANNABIS BRAND, HUSBAND AND WIFE OWNER OPERATORS HUGH AND ALEX NEWMARK TRANSITIONED THE DISPENSARY BRAND INTO A WHOLE NEW REALM. THEIR FUTURE PLANS INCLUDE ALLOWING CANNABIS USE AT THE LOUNGE; FOR NOW, BEER AND VIDEO GAMES ARE THE DRIVER FOR A NEW WAVE OF CULTURE IN BELLINGHAM.
BEST BUDS GAMING LOUNGE
1121 MCKENZIE AVE, BELLINGHAM, WA OPEN MONDAY-FRIDAY 1 PM- 1 AM SAT 12 PM-1 AM / SUNDAY 12-8 PM
BestBudsLounge.com
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Married and running the show: Hugh and Alex Newmark @BOROPHOTO
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR OPENING THE FIRST VIDEO GAME LOUNGE IN WASHINGTON? Hugh: One of the original inspirations was that Alex and I acknowledged couch co-op is dying. Meaning the ability to sit on couch and game with buddies is dying. Gaming is trending toward online multiplayer, so there’s a chance to have 16 people in game, but you’re on couch by self. There is no human interaction! That was the motivation to open the lounge. We’re all getting older, I don’t have a game room, adults have offices and nurseries and spare bedrooms. We recognize that what we sell is nostalgia. The feeling you get when you sit down and someone hands you a N64 controller connected to a tube TV. Plus, there’s beer!
HOW MANY GAMES DO YOU HAVE FOR PEOPLE TO PLAY?
Hugh: We’re up over 2,000, game acquisition has slowed down though. When we hit 1,800 I promised to not buy any more games that suck. We have so many consoles, Nintendo, Virtual Boy, PS4 pro, we have pretty much everything ever made.
WHAT DOES IT COST TO COME IN AND PLAY?
Hugh: Three options for membership: hourly at $5 an hour, wristband, cash out at the end; there’s daily for $15 a day, come grab a couch and a game and say this is what I’m doing all day; and for $45 a month you can come and go as you please. Monthly membership also comes with other discounts and perks. At 8 p.m., all games become free play as long as you are eating or drinking.
SO, IT’S FAMILY FRIENDLY DURING THE DAY AND ADULTS ONLY PAST 8 P.M.?
Hugh: My name tag says owner/babysitter. We hang out with kids and cool parents while kids play video games during the day, and then we clear all the kids at 8 p.m. At 8:01 p.m., grownups start walking in. We stay open till 1 a.m. and are usually busy until close.
WHAT’S THE RECEPTION BEEN LIKE?
Hugh: We kept the name Best Buds, and for the first few months we struggled with that. It was a pot store, but we had a consistent brand that stood for highend compassionate family run business. At first people didn’t understand it was family friendly, but now that we are more established, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. Now the kids call each other best buds.
WHAT WAS YOUR PERSONAL HISTORY WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA (MMJ)?
Hugh: I moved out here just to do MMJ, had a friend in industry, and I really fell in love with Bellingham. Medical Marijuana has helped people in my family personally, so it’s a cause I believed in, and being part of it was such a pleasure. The medical law Washington used to have was beneficial to everyone involved, patients, growers, dispensaries. At one point, I had 20 employees and 40 vendors, we paid sales tax. Everyone got taken care of and patients had access to boutique meds, which doesn’t exist anymore. This place was originally supposed to be a side project. Like, “Hey I’m going to open this bar that will someday be a Cannabis lounge,” and the more we started working on it the more we realized this is a good idea. I proposed to Alex halfway through the project, and at one point I said you’ll own half anyways, might as well jump in, and she did.
SO SOMEDAY YOU WANT TO MAKE IT INTO A CANNABIS LOUNGE?
THERE’S 10-, 20-, 40-YEAR-OLDS, YOUNG WOMEN, TRANS PEOPLE, MEN, NERDY MEN, MANLY MAN DUDES... ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE. IF THEY ARE AT A LOUNGE THEY WILL PLAY TOGETHER.
Alex: I feel that that’s what it was meant for. I’m not a beer person, but it’s the only way to make this sustainable, and to each their own, we like letting people enjoy a beer and game. But I like to smoke and play games. So, we don’t hide it from people. Yes, we absolutely used to be a dispensary. We intend to switch over when it’s legal, and we’ll still maintain the family friendly vibe as long as can. I would feel better about selling Cannabis than alcohol, and think that Cannabis would actually make it more family friendly.
WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST SURPRISING AND REWARDING PART FOR YOU?
Alex: Creating this funny community of random people that probably never would have spoken otherwise. There’s 10-, 20-, 40-year-olds, young women, trans people, men, nerdy men, manly man dudes... all kinds of people. If they are at a lounge they will play together. I never imagined that a bar of any kind could have a community like this, people really have made friends here.
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NORTHWEST LEAF
THE LIFESTYLE ISSUE
CANNABIS CAN HELP US RAISE THE GENERATION THE WORLD NEEDS
POT FOR PARENTS
BY JENN LAUDER & CHAD DEAN // SPLIMM.COM | POT AND PARENTING
WE STARTED TALKING with our daughter
that felt digestible to a young child and empowered her to discover new solutions. about Cannabis because it was important to us The Cannabis plant is as complex as the to be honest with her. To build a foundation of circumstances surrounding its prohibition. When trust that she would rely on as she grows, and you talk to your children about marijuana, you can’t not to hide a part of our identities from her. We avoid science—biology, medicine, genetics and wanted her to know the truth before she was fed sustainability among other disciplines. propaganda. If you even mention the endocannabinoid system, Real educators teach children your kid will actually know not what to think, but how to more than many doctors! When you talk to your think. They encourage children have the opportunity children about marijuana, withWeCannabis to engage critically with the to reframe world around them and not to you can’t avoid science— “self-medicating” to mean reproduce the same paradigm knowing how to care for our but to innovate, evolve, progress. biology, medicine, genetics own bodies, and we must pass We believe children should be and sustainability among along the deep wisdom of equipped with the language they plant medicine to our children. other disciplines. need to describe their internal It’s our chance to bring and external lives as well as age appropriate ourselves back into balance, both internally and with information about what’s going on around them. our external world. But within these conversations about a If you go further to examine the social structures demonized plant that her parents enjoyed, our and policies that have kept Cannabis illegal, you’ll family touched on issues that transcend “drugs.” have to discuss the legislative process. Your kids We began dialogues about some of the most will learn not only how a bill becomes law, but also significant problems facing our world, in ways how to question policies that are irrational, unfair or
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oppressive. Citizen activism has toppled misguided drug war policies—what a beautiful example of the power of the people! Children will understand why their vote matters and how to be an effective advocate. Of course, when you open up this kind of dialogue, your savvy kids will likely notice that the science of Cannabis doesn’t exactly correspond with the laws around Cannabis. This will likely lead to conversations about the racial and political motivations behind prohibition, how the government wanted to vilify people of color and suppress dissent. The War on Drugs has solidified institutional racism in our country like no other force, and if it’s up to our children to dismantle it, we must give them the resources to do the job. While you’re teaching your kids about weed, you are, in fact, preparing them to be informed and contributing members of a democratic society. This is what our world vitally needs more than anything—a generation of young people who can think for themselves and who have the intelligence, tools and passion to make change. We need a generation that returns us to our source and our purpose by reconnecting us to ourselves, each other and our earth. Cannabis can help us achieve that, whether you consume it or not. It can be a vehicle through which we teach the most important lessons.
STORY BY SIMONE FISCHER PHOTO BY DANIEL BERMAN
FARMER TOM LAUERMAN CANNABIS EDUCATOR, GROWER & ACTIVIST
Federally Recognized Cannabis Grower HOW DID YOU GET THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN YOUR BACKYARD? HOW DID THIS RESEARCH KICK OFF IN 2015?
I would like to think it started back in 1999 when our collective was raided and I was arrested. Back then patients breathed a sigh of relief when the ‘Compassionate Use Act of 1996’ was passed into law, and I was involved with the first medical cooperative in San Diego to develop from that legislation. We were a private cooperative with no public access or storefront, and yet we were unfairly targeted and dismantled by the vice squad. The resulting negative media attention this circumstance received caused for ‘no charges’ to be filed by the District Attorney’s office. It also opened the way for the first ‘Medical Marijuana Task Force’ to be formed as an interface with the Mayor’s office giving Patients a voice within city government. This task force was originally headed by my quadriplegic friend who was deprived of his medicine and his rights after the raid. I met my wife at this cooperative as well, and even though we left San Diego in 2002 for the Pacific Northwest to become organic farmers, as patients we always had MMJ in our hearts and minds. We found and began working with a small group of Patients in Vancouver while also growing organic fruits and vegetables. After Cannabis legalization I hit the road between Portland and Seattle to attend as many MMJ Farmer’s Markets and Conferences as possible to establish a voice for organics and safe access that so many Patients don’t have on their own. And I broke the silence and began working heavily with the media to get in front of the issue and start educating and normalizing Cannabis. Over the years I’ve made a lot of contacts. Back in 2014, people were still blowing themselves up making BHO and giving extracts in general a bad rap in the State. KOMO news called one day and asked if I could arrange for them to see an ‘open-blast’ for a story they were doing. We all knew it was possible to create Cannabis extracts in a safe manner, so rather than just give them the open-blast demonstration they wanted to see, I brought a few other specialists along to give the group an overall Cannabis extract symposium. It lasted more than four hours and we also showed them everything else from bubble hash and RSO, to tinctures and closed-loop BHO. It was a great success. Communications with the local cannabis union came into the picture later that year and they also had ongoing concerns about injuries from unsafe BHO production within legal Cannabis operations. They had been trying to involve the federal government in the creation of industry regulation and I was put in contact with scientific federal agents from the CDC’s National Institute Of Safety and Health (NIOSH) to get the ball rolling. My activeness in MMJ and with the media proved I was vested in my community, but before any agents could come to my farm, I had to be vetted by the Department of Justice. And I was thrilled at the time because we have nothing to hide.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE VETTED BY THE FEDS WHEN YOU’RE WORKING WITH A SCHEDULE I SUBSTANCE?
I was on the phone with ten federal agents from the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in May of 2015. I didn’t know what they knew about Cannabis, so I asked if they had any handson education. The Lead Industrial Hygienist told me they were watching YouTube videos to learn about Cannabis production and BHO extraction. They had no clue what was actually happening on the ground floor, so I told them they should first come to the farm for a few Cannabis workshops. I would have plants in the ground and they could tour the farm and learn
@FarmerTomLauerman Farmer Tom Lauerman is a local Cannabis grower based in southwest Washington. Lauerman’s roots run deep as he began growing and using medical cannabis in 1977 in San Diego, eventually culminating in his arrest in 1999 during a raid on his legal medical cooperative there. After relocating north, he again became a medical grower in the Pacific Northwest. Lauerman is heavily involved in the community and currently co-teaches Cannabis health and horticulture classes at Clark College in Vancouver, WA. Back in 2015, seven federal agents ventured to Washington on two different occasions to learn about Cannabis production and processing, and to conduct worker safety studies on Lauerman’s organic Cannabis farm. The data collected from Lauerman’s farm was published on the Center for Disease Control website in a 2017 report.
more about Cannabis from local people working in different areas of the industry. And they thought this was a great idea. The CDC wanted to make sure our farm was a secure and safe place for their employees and, of course, ran a background check. Once we passed inspection arrangements were made for the first group to visit in August. When they arrived I had my lawyer and other groups of specialists scheduled to speak over the next two days, and together we got to educate scientific federal agents for the first time on the producing, processing, and testing of Cannabis. We smoked around them, rolled joints and took dabs. It was finally our chance to normalize Cannabis use face-to-face with them and I wanted to use this one chance to really educate them in every way. None of the agents indulged, of course, but we did all go and get beer and pizza together on the last day.
WHAT WERE THE FEDS HOPING TO LEARN FROM YOUR FARM?
The agents came back again to perform what is called an industry ‘Health Hazard Evaluation’ (HHE) and we wanted to give them systematic real-time data to collect. If you remember, 2015 was the year of all years for Cannabis farmers. There was no rush to finish the plants, so it really worked to everyone’s benefit. I broke down their visit into three days: on the first day, we harvested and de-leafed fresh plant material. The second day was ‘bucking’ buds from plants that were already dry; and the on the third day we performed time trials for both hand and machine trimming protocols. They hooked us up to scientific gear to collect data on employee movements and exposures through the various harvest processes. We had these special air sniffer machines attached to us to detect levels of bacteria, molds, and dust
in the different work areas, and stationary air sampling devices collected data in three different high-traffic areas as well. During the hand trimming sessions, we wore these “cyber gloves” that track and record repetitive motion while we worked. All of this data culminated in an official report that was finally published in April of 2017, and in August 2017 this report progressed into a searchable CDC.gov webpage dedicated to the findings of the study. This ground breaking HHE established baseline standards and information which is now readily available to individual organizations and states nationwide desiring to set workplace health and safety standards for their own workers. Cal OSHA is just one organization we know of currently using our report in this way. My farm is the first Cannabis farm to work with any federal agency – ever as far as records show. The reason the CDC felt comfortable diving into Cannabis from a federal standpoint at this time, was because workers in this country are the most valuable asset America has. They knew they had to eventually look into the Cannabis industry to study safety and protect the growing workforce. We urged to them to use the word “Cannabis” instead of “marijuana”. I mean, look. These people are some of the most renowned research scientists in the world and they wanted to get it right, and they did. And the HHE from our farm can also be found in the Library of Congress. The last time we talked with our friends from NIOSH was in the Fall of 2017. They said that they would like to do another visit and follow-up of the report bringing different scientists with them this trip, but they didn’t know if their department was going to receive funding for 2018. We haven’t spoken with them this year yet, but we do intend to.
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NORTHWEST LEAF
THE LIFESTYLE ISSUE
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STORY BY WES ABNEY | PHOTOS BY DANIEL BERMAN
STONER OWNER RAS KAYA PAUL FOUNDER & BREEDER PNW Roots | World Wide Roots HOW WERE YOU INTRODUCED TO CANNABIS?
One of my older brothers smoked weed, and I think I smoked at 13, 7th grade, and was really into it. I got high for the first time in high school, and I had some head injuries, they put me on anti-depressants for a side effect of being concussed, and I went off to college. One day my neighbors got me stoned and said, “Come back, you’re really funny,” and all week I kept coming over and I forgot to take my meds. At end of the week, I felt great and said I won’t take them anymore.
Next to cryptocurrency, Cannabis was the hottest investment trend of 2017, and given that everyone from Whoopi Goldberg to Mike Tyson has thrown their hat in the ring, it’s easy to forget those who helped pioneer us to the place we’re at today. Thus, our magazines are beginning a new monthly section giving credit to individuals who have developed their love for Cannabis into a business. Stoner Owner celebrates owners who love and consume the plant, just like we do, giving them insight into the industry’s true roots and culture. Northwest Leaf’s first Stoner Owner is also our Breeder of the month, Kaya, founder of PNW Roots and World Wide Roots. He is an exceptional Cannabis breeder and grower whose love and passion for Cannabis has deep roots in Washington. He is managing and launching a tier 3 grow here, with organically grown fire hitting shelves this May. We sat down to talk about what makes a true stoner owner and why we should all be conscious of how we treat the plant.
WHEN DID PNW ROOTS COME TO LIFE?
I started PNW Roots in 2010, and started providing meds to patients in the early medical days. Both shops I tried to manage and create got shut down. At this point I was frustrated because they kept shutting me down, so then I focused my efforts on gardening and expanding my space and breeding program. When medical rolled over, I could see writing on the wall, I pushed even further into genetics and seeds.
Cup in 2016, my investor found me, I made a list of demands and they didn’t blink. I have complete control of the facility, a total investment close to $10 million all in, in a three-phase rollout and they let me design the whole space. I built a state-of-the-art solventless hash room. I’m most excited about that and the ability to pop as many seeds as I want or can. And it’s totally family oriented, not corporate at all.
YOU ONLY DO SOLVENTLESS HASH, WHY IS THAT?
Our growing model is all organics, building soils, using Korean Natural Farming techniques, no-till living soil beds. If you’re going to take all the time to grow something organically, why would you then pour hydrocarbons over it. It doesn’t make sense to me. Let’s keep the loop closed and keep it all natural.
Since I was 18, I’ve been my own boss, I’ve worked jobs, I worked for Xerox in college, worked for thefood industry, but I was always hustling. It’s provided for me, for my family, it’s provided for our health. We live on a little acre farm, grow our own food, I have my own medical garden, and it’s really nice. The kids get to learn how to grow their own food, and we live a healthy natural lifestyle.
School gave me a $2,000 grant, and I bought half a pound of Canadian weed and started flipping it. I put myself through college doing that, ended up living in Tacoma and graduated from UW Tacoma. I had met this old timer on a forum, Lemonhoko was his name, and he said “Hey you can get into breeding.” My dad was a game fowl breeder, and so I understood breeding. I was hustling, selling weed for years, got into growing and then started breeding. Lemonhoko gifted me a male, and I converted my rooms into test rooms and seeded a crop about 2009.
count. Numerous generations and strains, we’re actually doing wine breeding, most people are just breeding F1s. We’re working lines out to filial generations, F4s and F5z, which makes for truer breeding. That’s what he taught me. There’s only so much time on this earth, if you’re going to be breeding, do it right, always be working lines.
HOW DID YOU END UP IN 502? I went to the Emerald
HOW HAS CANNABIS AFFECTED YOUR WORKING LIFE?
WHEN DID CANNABIS BECOME A BUSINESS FOR YOU?
HAVE YOU BEEN BREEDING EVER SINCE? HOW MANY STRAINS HAVE YOU MADE? Wow, I couldn’t even
PNW ROOTS PacificNWrootz
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE A CANNABIS BUSINESS OWNER THAT CONSUMES THE PLANT?
Custom packaging
WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO MAKE CANNABIS YOUR CAREER?
I started selling weed in the tenth grade and began messing around with growing it shortly after high school. I started working on an organic farm around the age of 20 and also began taking Cannabis growing seriously. The weed game and farming career went hand in hand, and next thing I knew 25 years flew by.
HOW DID YOU DECIDE ON THE NAME PNW ROOTS? Celebrating
the roots of who you are and our community. You think about what you want to leave your kids, not just a pile of money, a community they can be a part of that’s more sustainable. This plant gave us a great consciousness, it feeds our consciousness, we in turn need to do something for that. If your focus is solely money for money’s sake you have lost your way.
It means that I understand the quality and the subtleties in Cannabis itself. I think that especially if you are breeding Cannabis you have to be partaking to know the effects. If you’re not doing that, you’re doing the plant a disservice and you’re disconnected from the product that you are producing. It’s good to have the money to do things we couldn’t do before, but the money has to understand that we bring the values and the knowledge. Anyone can have money, but we need the values and wisdom surrounding how we take care of the plant, that’s important. Without that, the quality of the plant doesn’t advance, it becomes a commodity, and that takes all the fun out of it.
DO YOU FEEL RESPONSIBILITY AS A STONER OWNER?
We are rolling out the biggest cash crop in the world and at this stage we have the power to decide how to do it. Will it be like everything else, corporatized and no heart like our food and medicine? This is our one chance to affect how that rolls out and decide what Cannabis looks like in the future. You have to be that voice! It’s an important time for us to speak out and continue to claim our culture.
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Large Gypsy Wagon
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recipes
By LAURIE WOLF | PHOTOS by BRUCE WOLF
VALENTINE’S DAY RECIPES I’M NOT GOING TO GET INTO IT NOW, HERE, BUT CHOCOLATE IS SEXY FOOD. GOOGLE IT, YOU WILL SEE THAT CHOCOLATE DOES ALL KINDS OF GOOD STUFF TO YOUR MOOD...
INGREDIENTS
3 scoops dark chocolate ice cream 1 scoop coconut ice cream 1 cup coconut milk 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup 2 teaspoons canna-coconut oil or butter 2 tablespoons toasted coconut (To toast coconut, place in a nonstick pan and sauté, over low heat until golden brown. Allow to cool.
1. In a blender, combine
the ice creams and coconut milk and blend well.
2. Add the chocolate syrup and canna-butter and process until you reach the desired consistency.
3. Pour into two glasses and sprinkle with the toasted coconut.
Laurie Wolf has contributed to Oregon Leaf since 2015. Named the “Martha Stewart of Marijuana Edibles” by The New Yorker, Laurie has published four cannabis cookbooks, contributes to six Cannabis publications and runs Laurie + MaryJane, an award-winning edible company out of Portland.
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CHOCOLATE COCONUT SHAKE
CHOCOLATE, COCONUT AND CANNABIS HAPPEN TO BE QUITE THE TRIO.
FIGS ARE SEXY. DIPPING THEM IN CANNABIS CHOCOLATE IS OVER THE TOP.
STUFFEDFIGS
INGREDIENTS
8 dried large figs 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted 2 tablespoons chopped apricots, dried 2 tablespoons golden raisins 1 tablespoon apricot or raspberry preserves Pinch cinnamon 6 tablespoons dark chocolate 1-2 tablespoons canna-butter
1. Make a slit in the sides of each fig. Spread the fig
open and press to make as large a cavity as possible.
2. In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, apricots, raisins, preserves and cinnamon. Gently stuff the figs with the dried fruit mixture. Press the slit in the fig back together and place them on parchment or wax paper.
3. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate
and canna-butter on medium power at 30-second intervals. It may take a minute. Stir until smooth. Using a small spoon, drizzle each fig with the melted chocolate, or dip a portion of the stuffed fig into the chocolate. Place the figs on the wax paper and allow the chocolate to set. them on parchment or wax paper.
Feel free to mix up the fillings — in the center of each fig could be a chocolate covered almond, macadamia or a mini heart shaped chocolate — then drizzle with dark chocolate and dust with some cocoa. Figs can truly be the ultimate indulgence!
INGREDIENTS
2 cups good quality dark chocolate, chopped 2-3 tablespoons canna-coconut oil or butter 3 whole graham crackers, broken into pieces 1-2 cups miniature marshmallows 1 cup milk chocolate, chopped
1. In a double boiler,
melt the dark chocolate with the canna-oil. Stir well to mix.
2.
Place a large sheet of parchment on your work surface. Spread the infused melted chocolate onto the paper as evenly as you like. Different thicknesses are kind of nice.
Serves 10-12
CHOCOLATE BARK SPREADING THE WARM CHOCOLATE ON THE PARCHMENT IS MY FAVORITE PART.
3. Top the still melted
chocolate with the graham crackers and marshmallows. Allow to set for at least one hour.
4. In a double boiler,
melt the remaining milk chocolate and drizzle over the set chocolate bark. Allow to cool again. Break into pieces to serve.
glass art Presenting Partner
GLASS BY ERIK ANDERSON This 10mm fully functional Human Form rig is a tangible representation of the relationship between the glass and the artist. Artist Erik Anderson uses Northstar Yellow for the entirety of the piece, with the exception of the free-spinning miniature rig the form is holding. This piece appears to simply be a piece of art from a head-on perspective, but its joint is hidden on the figure’s back.
HUMAN FORM RIG
REVIEW by @NATEW415 | PHOTO by @BERMANPHOTOS
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@ERIKANDERSONGLASS