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THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE

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#15 | MAR. 2020

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the psychedelia issue

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FEATURES 7 editor note 8 national news 10 legal opinion 12 highly likely 14 budtender q&a 16 patient profile 18 PAUL STAMETZ PROFILE 20 VERILIFE SHOP REVIEW 24 strain of the month 28 PSYCHEDELIA 101 29 ABOUT THE COVER 30 ART EXCHANGE Q&A 32 JOHNS HOPKINS’ PSYCHONAUTS 36 HOLISTIC INDUSTRIES PROFILE 40 CONCENTRATE REVIEW 44 DYSCO’S CORNER 46 stoney baloney ISSUU.COM/NWLEAF

MAR. 2020

32 LEAF NATION INTERVIEWS THE INTREPID RESEARCHERS EXPLORING PSYCHEDELICS AND CONSCIOUSNESS AT THE JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER.

PHOTO by ERIC KAYNE @PHOTOKAYNE

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

THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE

#15 | MAR. 2020

ABOUT THE COVER

This month’s cover is a surreal and inspired depiction of a wonderful trip, the kind you hope for, the kind they describe in poetry and in fine films. Our first-ever Psychedelia Issue focuses on all the ways that humans interact with these miracle substances, and the cover reflects that beautiful, moving experience, for all to see. Cover Art by Brandon Palma F R E E / L E A F N AT I O N M D . C O M

INDEPENDENT CANNABIS JOURNALISM SINCE 2010

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CONTRIBUTORS

FOUNDER & EDITOR

Tom Bowers, writing

WES ABNEY Wes@nwleaf.com 206-235-6721

Wyatt Early, features Steve Elliott, writing Ariana Foote, writing

PUBLISHER EARLY Early@LeafNationMD.com

Eric Kayne, photos

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Taylor Martin, writing

Daniel bermaN | photography & design daniel@bermanphotos.com

Matthew Newton, writing Brandon Palma, Illustration Jeff Porterfield, design Mike Ricker, writing Mike Rothman, writing Pacer Stacktrain, writing Laurie Wolf, writing Bruce Wolf, photography

AD SALES / PRODUCER/PROCESSOR/RETAILERS

wyatt early Wyatt@LeafNationMD.com 410-961-8779 We do not sell stories or coverage. We are happy to offer design services and guidance on promoting your company’s recreational, commercial or industrial Cannabis product or upcoming event. We are targeted and independent Cannabis journalism. Email or call to discuss advertising.

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WES

ABNEY

Editor’s Note Thanks for picking up the first-ever Psychedelia Issue of Maryland Leaf! WHEN I FIRST BEGAN working with medical Cannabis in 2009, the idea of pot having value beyond getting stoned was both laughable and criminal to many. It was with great hope that I ventured into the world of medical Cannabis to prove the value of our plant, and today I feel the same way about the healing potential of psychedelics. To say we have a lot to fight for still with Cannabis is an understatement, and while it may seem funny for a decade old pot magazine to be dropping into psychedelics, I promise that we aren’t tripping balls over here. At least not right now! Psychedelics have been treated in the same vein as early Cannabis use, with fear and superstition leading the way instead of science, compassion and PSYCHEDELICS understanding. An entire class of drugs have been criminalized and locked HAVE BEEN TREATED IN out of society and science for the last 75 years! This has allowed modern THE SAME medicine to make major advances in the human body while completely VEIN AS EARLY ignoring the most fundamental part of our earthly experience - consciousness. CANNABIS USE, Modern science does not have an accurate definition of consciousness, WITH FEAR AND cannot tell us definitively where our spirit goes when put under anesthesia or SUPERSTITION during the dying experience, and the toolkit for exploring this realm has been LEADING THE hidden away. Let me make one thing clear: I believe we are spiritual beings WAY INSTEAD living in physical form. Whether Christian or Buddhist or Agnostic, to deny OF SCIENCE... consciousness is to deny life itself. And a life of unexplored consciousness is one not truly lived. Terence McKenna, an early and vocal proponent of Cannabis and psychedelia said, “Life lived in the absence of the psychedelic experience that primordial shamanism is based on is life trivialized, life denied, life enslaved to the ego.” Whether you have had a psychedelic experience or don’t ever intend to, there is research being conducted all over the world - both professionally and on an individual basis - pointing to the benefits of these drugs. Johns Hopkins Research Facility in Maryland recently restarted their psilocybin studies after a 30 year break over legality and funding, which we cover in this issue, alongside Time Magazine and mainstream media. In Switzerland, terminal patients and those seeking end of life therapy are using LSD to find peace with their existence ending on this plane, while ketamine and DMT are being used to help treat traumas and addiction from the jungles of Peru to laboratories in the United States. To say that there is potential for these substances is an understatement, and it all begins with perception. Humans fear what they don’t understand, and perhaps that is why we are all so fearful of death, the dogma of religion and our fundamental existence. My own psychedelic experiences have led me to find peace in all these areas - to open my spirit beyond my earthly flesh and ego to look forward positively to my journey - which will simply be taking a new path when I leave this body. But most of all, psychedelics have helped me to appreciate the moment, to see the natural beauty of the world around me, and to realize that everything can become a mandala if you are high enough. Thank you for picking up this issue, and I hope our stories help to open your mind to psychedelics. Remember that even if they aren’t for you, they are helping others, and nobody should be denied access to a medicine that makes life, or death, easier.

-Wes Abney mar. 2020

NATIONAL NEWS

2.5 15.6 20 ounces is the limit for Cannabis carried in cars under Michigan’s new legalization implementation.

dispensaries per 100,00 residents gives Oklahoma the second highest number of pot shops per capita.

BILL TO ADDRESS RACIAL INEQUITY IN CANNABIS LICENSING APPROVED BY WA HOUSE ashington state lawmakers in February passed a bill intended to address racial inequalities within the marijuana industry. The bill would issue previously forfeited, canceled and revoked retail licenses to applicants of a new social equity program. House Bill 2870 would require the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) to prioritize applicants who represent communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. The agency would consider factors including the applicant’s race, gender, history of marijuana convictions during prohibition, and plans to employ people of color. Also considered would be the impact the war on drugs had on the applicant’s neighborhood.

WASHINGTON CANNABIS FARM ACCUSED IN $4.85 MILLION PONZI SCHEME

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pounds of THC-infused vaporizer cartridges were found in an Iowa woman’s car during a routine traffic stop, along with a reported 130 pounds of raw marijuana.

percent of Alabama newspaper readers favored legalization in a February online poll hosted by AL.com, in which more than 2,000 people backed legalizing medical & rec marijuana.

700

Cannabis plants were found inside a Mocksville, NC, man’s home in February, as part of what was described as a “sophisticated operation” where police found 127 pounds of pot and seven firearms.

NORTHWEST

grams or less of marijuana have been decriminalized in Hillsborough County, Florida, home to nearly 1.5m people.

he owner of a Cannabis farm near Anacortes, Washington, is accused of using Green Acre Pharms in a complicated Ponzi scheme that allegedly took $4.85 million from 2015 to 2017. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, it included at least two dozen investors in Washington, Arizona, California and Texas, reports The Seattle Times. Many investors used retirement funds or family loans, having been lured by promises of huge profits from Russell’s Cannabis farm, according to an SEC complaint filed recently in federal court in Santa Ana, California. Green Acre Pharms - which closed shop in December - was never profitable, according to the SEC. Meanwhile, owner Robert W. Russell, 60, and his partner, smalltime California film executive Guy Scott Griffithe, spent $3.5 million of investors’ money on a 65-foot yacht, luxury vehicles, and other “extravagant luxuries, inappropriate personal expenditures, and unrelated business ventures,” according to the SEC complaint. Russell and Griffithe have been charged with civil violations of federal securities law and seeks the return of “all ill-gotten gains.” No criminal charges have been filed.

MAR. 2020

economy

NORTHWEST STATES RANK HIGH FOR CANNABIS JOBS Washington state ranks third in the nation in Cannabis industry jobs, with Oregon coming in fourth, according to online weed guide Leafly’s fourth annual national report. California, with 39,804 jobs, and Colorado, with 34,705, nailed down the number one and two spots. Those numbers don’t include hemp jobs, which are also rapidly growing, particularly in Oregon.

DISCRIMINATION

UTAH BILL SAYS EMPLOYERS CAN BAN MEDICINAL USE

roposed changes to Utah’s medical marijuana law would clarify that private employers aren’t required to accommodate workers who use Cannabis, nor are they barred from having policies restricting it. Some medical Cannabis advocates, pointing to what they say is the importance of Utah allowing businesses to run the way they choose, say they’re OK with that. But other advocates question why marijuana will be treated differently than any prescribed medication. ADVOCATES “It’s still private employers’ business,” said Desiree Hennessy, executive director of Utah QUESTION WHY Patients Coalition. She said Utah doesn’t want to “step on the toes of private employers.” MARIJUANA WILL BE TREATED But Christine Stenquist, president of Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis EducaDIFFERENTLY tion, or TRUCE, said her group “absolutely opposes” the bill not requiring private employTHAN ANY ers to allow use. “What other medication or medical treatment is subject to employers’ PRESCRIBED MEDICATION. scrutiny?” Stenquist asked.

east coast

FORMER TOP MARYLAND MEDICAL MARIJUANA OFFICIAL JOINS CANNABIS COMPANY Joy Strand resigned as executive director of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission last Fall. The former top regulator of Maryland’s medical Cannabis industry has joined a Frederick, Maryland-based marijuana company as executive vice president, reports The Baltimore Sun. Strand now works for Green Leaf Medical, the company announced in January. Strand is in charge of coordinating Green Leaf’s government relations in multiple states, according to Kevin Goldberg, president and general counsel of the company. “She brings a wealth of knowledge about the Cannabis industry and compliance,” Goldberg said. “We’re really looking forward to her input for all aspects of our operations.” health & safety

PITTSBURGH GRANDMA GIVES JOINTS TO GRANDKIDS

Pittsburgh woman is being charged after allegedly allowing her grandchildren to smoke Cannabis while recorded on social media. Tonika Averytt is charged with two cases of endangering the welfare of children and two cases of corruption of minors, reports CBS Pittsburgh. According to a criminal complaint filed by Pittsburgh Police, Averytt allowed her grandsons, 11 and 12, to smoke marijuana under her supervision. According to police, both juveniles were supplied with a joint, which they smoked while recording the incident on social media.

AVERYTT ALLOWED HER GRANDSONS, 11 AND 12, TO SMOKE MARIJUANA UNDER HER SUPERVISION.

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Cannabis LAW

“ Now that the FDA has finally taken the first big step in normalizing the use of psychedelics by approving the first large scale clinical trials, where can we go from here?”

Psychedelics

as medicine

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For the second time in a year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated psilocybin therapy as “breakthrough therapy,” an action that is meant to accelerate the typically sluggish process of drug development and review. This fresh look at psychedelics by the medical profession is not a completely new development. In March 2019, the FDA approved a nasal spray depression treatment for treatment-resistant patients based on esketamine, a substance related to ketamine - better known for its use as an anesthetic and also been used as an illicit party drug and animal tranquilizer.

ursuant to the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and state laws, both marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are classified as hallucinogenic substances. Drugs, chemicals, and other substances intended for human consumption are classified by the Drug Enforcement Agency into five distinct schedules depending upon a variety of factors, such as acceptable medical use and the drug’s abuse or dependency potential. Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Other drugs listed in the DEA’s Schedule I hallucinogenic substances classification include well-known illicit substances such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), psilocybin, phencyclidine (PCP) and mescaline. This category is commonly split into two smaller categories: classic hallucinogens (such as LSD) and dissociative substances (such as PCP). Both types of hallucinogens can cause hallucinations, or sensations and images that seem real though they are not. But does a drug that creates an alteration of perception necessarily mean that it is a psychedelic? Both psychedelics and Cannabis can produce mind-altering effects. But the effects produced by psy-

chedelics and the effects produced by Cannabis are fundamentally different at the molecular level. Drugs such as LSD, DMT (the active ingredient in ayahuasca), and psilocybin contain naturally occurring neurotransmitters that produce serotonin, a mood regulator, and dopamine - associated with the reward center in our brains. On the other hand, THC, the psychoactive molecule in Cannabis that induces the mind-altering effect, also interacts with dopamine, which can lead to feelings of euphoria. THC differs in that it interacts with the body’s own endocannabinoid system, helping to maintain the health and wellness balance (homeostasis). Moreover, Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that contains more than 100 organic molecules with a variety of psychoactive and non-psychoactive effects. The full effect from the compounds in Cannabis are elicited from the large variety of molecules that occur within the bud of the plant. There are two methods for determining whether a substance has psychedelic properties: a binder test and an effects test. The first method is based upon a molecular analysis of where in the human body the neurotransmitter binds and causes its effect on the brain and the body. In the molecular analysis, scientists look at the neurotransmitter receptors and will classify a drug as psychedelic if it binds to serotonin 5-HT2A receptors as an agonist or partial agonist. The possibility also exists that other serotonin receptors may be involved in the overall psychedelic experience of a user. THC and other compounds in Cannabis create their effects by binding as agonists or partial agonists on the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. Interestingly, scientists experimenting with THC recently have found evidence that THC can have a noticeable effect on the 5-HT2A receptors, further adding to the mounting evidence of Cannabis being a psychedelic drug based on receptor binding. In the practical effects analysis, scientists compare the practical effects of the drug on the person experiencing effects to classically considered psychedelic effects. If a compound meets the criteria for either or both, then it may properly be termed psychedelic. In 1964, psychedelic researcher and advocate Timothy Leary, along with colleagues Ralph Metzner and Richard Alpert, developed a scale for measuring the intensity of a psychedelic experience. Based on its effects, they included marijuana as a psychedelic in their analysis. The researchers said the effects of moderate to high doses of Cannabis included synesthesia, enhanced perception of music, visual effects (including patterns) with the eyes closed, the emergence of unconscious emotions, and unrestrained creative and abstract thought patterns. Now that the FDA has finally taken the first big step in normalizing the use of psychedelics by approving the first large scale clinical trials, where can we go from here? While current policies characterize any use of these substances as illicit abuse, approving such trials demonstrates that the FDA is capable of change. Psychedelic medicine may be the lever that moves drug policy away from the days of the drug war, in favor of more nuanced strategies that harness the benefits of psychedelic drugs while minimizing their risks.

Since 2008, Mike Rothman has counseled clients regarding Cannabis laws and regulations as the founder and principal of the Medical Cannabis Law Group and the Law Office of Mike Rothman in Rockville, Maryland. Mr. Rothman has testified on Cannabis laws and regulations before the Maryland House of Delegates, taught classes, and lobbied the federal government on behalf of patients and businesses. Mr. Rothman’s Law Office focuses on criminal defense, including use of the medical Cannabis defense.

MAR. 2020

COLUMN by MIKE ROTHMAN, ATTORNEY & PRINCIPAL | MEDICAL CANNABIS LAW GROUP

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H i g h l y L i ke l y h i g h l i g h t s Ca n n a b i s p i o n e e rs w h o p a ve d t h e wa y t o g re a t e r h e r b a l a c c e p ta n ce .

RAMDASS

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WHEN RAM DASS passed away in December of last year, a collective wave of grief moved across spiritual communities around the world.

hat’s because Dass was revered throughout A year later, he was an assistant professor many of the world’s spiritual traditions. But at Harvard, teaching clinical psychology. how did he come to spirituality? The answer In 1961, he met fellow Harvard profeslies in the molecules that make up the compound sor Timothy Leary, devoting himself to the known as lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. study of the therapeutic effects of psilocybin Dass was born Richard Alpert in 1931, raised (found in mushrooms) and LSD. in a Jewish family in Boston, and said that he felt One of the most notorious trials of halthat his religious upbringing lucinogenic compounds DASS ASKED IF HE was hollow. Dass said he on individuals at Harvard SHOULD CONTINUE THE “didn’t have one whiff of God took place in 1962. EXPERIMENTS WITH LSD Dubbed the ‘Good until taking psychedelics.” In AND THE YOGI REPLIED, college, he studied psycholFriday Experiment’ Leary “YES, BUT ONLY IF ogy – eventually earning and Alpert (along with his Doctorate in 1957 from graduate student Walter YOUR MIND IS TURNED Stanford University. Pahnke) conducted a TOWARD GOD.”

mar. 2020

double-blind experiment that administered psilocybin to theology students prior to the Good Friday mass. Almost every member of the group that received the hallucinogenic dose reported having a profound religious or mystical experience. While this experiment was revelatory, it also had the effect of getting both Leary and Alpert dismissed from Harvard. From there, the two founded the International Federation for Internal Freedom (IFIF) in upstate New York. In this location, known as Millbrook, Leary and Alpert set up a sort of communal setting for “seeking the divinity within each person” and rapidly changed the substance for seeking from psilocybin to LSD. In the late 60s, Alpert journeyed to India where he met the person who would change his life and name forever. It was Neem Karoli Baba - whom Alpert referred to as ‘Maharaji’ - who gave Alpert the name ‘Ram Dass’ meaning ‘servant of God,’ and set him on the spiritual path that would define the second half of his life. Dass told a poignant story of one of his first meetings with Maharaji, where the guru asked Dass, “Have you got any of that yogi medicine?” Dass figured out that what he was asking for was, indeed, LSD. From there he gave the Maharaji capsules that were 300 micrograms each (the guru asked for 3, which in Dass’s opinion was a massive dose). From there, Dass recalled, “Well this will probably be very interesting, but then – absolutely nothing happened.” Dass went back to the United States and told the foundation members the story of the LSD having no effect on the guru. He started to believe that the wise sage had fooled him and done a slightof-hand, not actually consuming the LSD. Upon returning to India two years later, the Maharaji asked, “Did you give me some medicine last time you were here?” Dass replied, “Yes, I did.” The guru then asked, “Do you have any more?” He then proceeded to take 400 more micrograms from Dass, carefully placing each dose on his tongue so that he would observe that he did, indeed, eat the acid. After about an hour, the Maharaji (still seemingly unaffected) looked back at Dass and said, “These were known about thousands of years ago,” but went on to explain that yogis don’t do the proper preparation anymore to prepare for the experience. Dass asked if he should continue the experiments with LSD and the yogi replied, “Yes, but only if your mind is turned toward God.” After these experiences, Ram Dass began work on what would become his most famous work, “Be Here Now” - the 416-page illustrated book and manual for conscious being that is still in print today. This is but a simple overview of the life of a very important human being who spent time on this planet. Dass’s contributions to society are far greater than his work with psychedelic drugs. For example, his work with end-of-life care is some of the most inspiring - but we only have so much time and space in this article. The reader is encouraged to go and explore more of his ideas in independent study.

By PACER STACKTRAIN for LEAF NATION

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interview

G OT A FAVO R I TE B U D TE N DE R ? TE L L US WH Y ! WYAT T @ LEA F NAT IO N M D . CO M

This friendly and experienced budtender was compelled to study the drug war and majored in criminal justice at Rutgers University before becoming the first budtender in the state, utilizing his passion for Cannabis to help educate patients.

“I CREATED A MASTER LIST INCLUDING OVER 200 MARYLAND CULTIVARS, AND A UNIQUE DESCRIPTION AND INFORMATION ABOUT EACH OF THEM.” HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT FINDING THE RIGHT MEDICINE FOR PATIENTS? So basically, I ask

Jeff Gutherz maryland leaf budtender of the month KIP CANNABIS | 9 CRANBROOK RD. COCKEYSVILLE, MD| (410) 403-0280 KIPCAN.COM @KIPMARYLAND

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HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START WITH CANNABIS?

I discovered Cannabis early on in high school and fell in love instantly. I didn’t want to just get high, I wanted to learn as much as I could. Once I started learning the hidden truth about Cannabis, I began questioning authority on a regular basis. I definitely got in trouble more than once challenging teachers and principals on the topic. Those experiences led me to go and study the drug war further during my studies as a criminal justice major at Rutgers University. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE MEDICAL CANNABIS INDUSTRY? Since I began using Cannabis, I

have come to believe that it being illegal is at its core the biggest social justice issue over time. If set free, Cannabis can lead us into the future in terms of medicine, industry and a generally happier society. There is also the personal connection - being raised by liberal Jews, I’ve made a connection between the atrocities and prejudice against Jews throughout history, and the injustices and discrimination against minorities that were

mar. 2020

occurring in the name of the war on drugs. After quickly realizing working in the corrupt legal system wasn’t for me, I had nowhere to realistically go to pursue my passion for Cannabis. I would’ve attempted to get into the medical Cannabis industry a long time ago if it were a thing at the time. I was sure to be one of the first people knocking on the door of opportunity when the medical program came to Maryland. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF WORKING IN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY? Working in the Can-

nabis industry is simultaneously the most fun and rewarding job I have ever had. Cannabis works - it’s not snake oil or harmful. It’s safe, effective and helps a lot of people. I feel good about the products I sell, and that I am able to contribute creatively to different elements at KIP like the marketing. I love the mom-and-pop environment here and the fact that the staff and patients are like family. Purchasing Cannabis should be a joyous event - I do my best to make patients chuckle when they come in.

questions. Sometimes a patient will only uncover their true needs if you ask the right questions. And listen! Take notes even. It’s very important to have Cannabis knowledge, but that only goes so far if you can’t apply it at the point of sale. You have to know your inventory inside and out, as well as how those products stack up against each other. In order to do that, from day one I began developing and maintaining programs that include rankings of products based on cannabinoids and terpenes. I created a master list including over 200 Maryland cultivars, and a unique description and information about each of them. Only then do I feel like I have given the patient the best option for their needs. YOU WERE THE FIRST BUDTENDER AT TEMESCAL WELLNESS (NOW THE LIVING ROOM), EXPLAIN HOW THAT FELT. I was the first budtender ever

hired at Temescal Wellness (now The Living Room) and the first budtender in Baltimore County. It was a very exciting time, and I was working with some great people who were chomping at the bit to get into the industry like myself. It was new to everybody - nobody really had any experiences to compare it to and we were flying by the seat of our pants for a little while. I was responsible for training initially due to my level of experience. The scientific knowledge of Cannabis dispensaries has increased a lot since then. There was a very limited amount of flower and overall products on the market to begin with. Since then, I have seen so many companies, including Evermore, progress to a point where I am very proud of the products I sell. TELL US ABOUT YOUR WORK WITH WITH NORML?

I started out in January 2017, and in a few short months I went from a volunteer to a company officer. During that time I was responsible for managing various campaigns and events, as well as outreach activities and our yearly, primary function lobby day in Annapolis. It is very important for me to give back - we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for groups like NORML and people who have paid sacrifices. We attend numerous events inside and outside the Cannabis community.

STORY & PHOTO by WYATT EARLY @ERRLYWYATT/MARYLAND LEAF

PATIENT OF THE MONTH

JENNIFER POSADA H E A L I N G

T H R O U G H

C A N N A B I S

ON A BRISK FEBRUARY MORNING, ROCKVILLE’S JENNIFER POSADA PULLS HER CURLY HAIR FROM HER EYES, SITS UP TALL AND FLASHES A SMILE FOR THE CAMERA. AFTER YEARS OF BEING DISPLACED, A RADIANCE HAS RETURNED TO HER YOUTHFUL FACE. “I love it here,” Jennifer says looking out over the calm waters of Lake Needwood, a 75-acre reservoir in Derwood.

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The lake is known to residents of Montgomery County for its calm waters, reflecting the inner peace Posada, a 23-year-old native of Damascus, has sought for much of her adult life.

“BEING AT BLOOM WAS THE BEGINNING OF MY HEALING PROCESS.” -PATIENT JENNIFER POSADA

mar. 2020

a sophomore at the University of Maryland, Posada was sexually assaulted by her then-boyfriend. Betrayal, confusion and panic quickly set in. “I was in a pretty toxic relationship,” she said. “After a party, I was unconscious and he did it without my consent. When I realized the next day what had happened, I was in shock. I didn’t know what to do. It was my partner; the lines were blurred.” Jennifer was scared to turn to her family and friends, but she also didn’t want to be alone. So she regretfully turned back into the arms of her abuser. “We dated for two years and my mental health during that time was not good,” she said. While the physical nature of the assault didn’t reoccur, Jennifer’s anxiety was constantly triggered in his presence. As it became increasingly difficult to concentrate on her studies, she chose to begin the process of a year-long therapeutic intervention. “I had to step back and acknowledge that it happened to me,” Jennifer said. “But I had just turned 21 and the alcohol was flowing, too. I reached a point where I had been drinking every other day for seven months, and I was finding myself needing refills of Xanax before they were up. My anxiety was high all the time.” During that time, Jennifer hit rock bottom. She failed out of school and unbeknownst to her, received a blessing when her then-boyfriend broke off the relationship. “In the first session with my therapist he asked me to look up the definition of codependency,” she said. “We talked through my past, talked about why I reacted the way I did and what I could’ve done differently. As we advanced, it got to the point where I was able to use these tools.” Cannabis also became a weapon against her anxiety. In May of 2018, Jennifer qualified for a medical card. Eager to learn more about properly medicating, she gained employment the following February with Bloom Medicinals in Germantown as a patient care specialist. “Being at Bloom was the beginning of my healing process,” she said. “My coworkers were amazing and that environment was really conducive to healing.” Jennifer found her daily interactions with patients cathartic. Their openness was inspiring, allowing her to feel more comfortable and willing to speak her own truth. “I put as much of myself into each interaction as I could,” Jennifer said. “It felt good to have that connection with people.” In the Fall, she enrolled at the University of Shady Grove in Rockville, studying psychology with the intent to become a therapist. Carrying a new outlook on life, Jennifer aced her performance in the classroom, receiving a 4.0 GPA in her first semester. “That did wonders for my confidence,” she said. Jennifer has since begun dating again, finding a steady shoulder in a kind, gentle young man named Rida. He is beside her on this cold winter morning, eager to lend an ear as she tells her story. “This lake brought me a lot of peace last year,” Jennifer said, admiring the colorful horizon. Recently she completed a painting of the lake at sunset. It was the first piece of artwork she was able to finish since the assault. “Imagination is one of the areas affected by PTSD,” she said. “So I felt kind of like I was able to tap into that area of my brain again.” Her renewed smile flashes once more as she laughs with Rida. “Thanks to some Cannabis, too!” Like the sun softening the cold edges of a dark winter morning, Jennifer’s shine has returned.

STORY & PHOTO by BAXSEN PAINE @BAXSENPAINE for MARYLAND LEAF

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the PSYCHEDELIA issue

PAUL STAMETS STAMETS’ “Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World” is the go-to reference guide for anyone looking for mushrooms with mind-altering properties in the wild.

Mycological Evangelist

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Just a few years ago, the name Paul Stamets was known only amongst an insular group of scientists known as mycologists, or those who study mushrooms. Now, he’s arguably the most famous ‘mushroom person’ on the planet, thanks to the West’s increased interest in mushrooms as medicine. I SAY THE WEST because in eastern cultures mushrooms have always been a source of medicinal benefit, but in Europe in the middle ages (thanks to a lot of bad science and medicine) the idea of mushrooms as anything other than a vegetable decreased significantly. Now, thanks to Stamets, all of that is changing. Paul Stamets is a Pacific Northwesterner. Born in Salem, Ohio, his Fungi Perfecti business - which cultivates and sells a variety of medicinal mushrooms - is located in Olympia, Washington. Stamets is far more than just an entrepreneur, though. He’s also a leading researcher of mushroom habitat, production and medicinal use. And yes, that medicinal use does include the use of psychedelic mushrooms for the benefit of human sanity and altered consciousness.

MAR. 2020

In 1996, Stamets published the first guide to finding psychedelic mushrooms in the modern world. His “Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World” is the go-to reference guide for anyone looking for mushrooms with mind-altering properties in the wild. In 2017, Stamets made a now-famous appearance on the Joe Rogan show where he described one of his more interesting instances of finding psilocybin mushrooms in an urban environment. Much to his surprise, they were growing in mulch at a police substation at the University of Washington in Seattle. He and a friend discovered them and collected them patiently (while waiting for periods in-between for police cruisers to leave). Taking these mushrooms had a heavy effect on Stamets - one where he had a vision of dead cattle. And weeks later he would experience the same scene: dead cattle due to extreme flooding near his cabin east of Seattle. Stamets believes that this experience was an immersion in the multiverse due to the psychedelic experience. But psychedelia isn’t the end-all-be-all of Stamets’ research, far from it. Stamets is somewhat of a ‘mycological evangelist,’ sharing with the

world his ideas and research of how fungi can help save humanity from itself. He’s been credited with discovering four new mushroom species and holds eight patents. Stamets still works as somewhat of an outsider, where he funds his own research and often shares views that are far flung and outside of the scientific establishment - but surprisingly often, correct. According to Stamets, mushrooms have a myriad of more applications beyond being used for altered states of consciousness. Indeed, they can help humans and the planet we live on in diverse ways. From helping with mental health issues, to supporting our immune system, to helping to cure specific auto-immune disorders, and even cancer.

Stamets believes that mushrooms can help to restore bee populations, and to help in restoring our planet’s damaged biodiversity. And then there’s perhaps one of the most important for our world today the idea that mushrooms can clean up industrial waste and oil spills. Much of the details on these ideas can be found and summarized nicely in his famous TED Talk “Six Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World,” which has been viewed more than three million times. STORY by PACER STACKTRAIN for LEAF NATION

SHOP REVIEW

FLOWER 5/5 From the amazing prices

to the top notch selection, Verilife is a great place to get high quality flower while not breaking the bank. Combining daily deals with their already low pricing is a great option.

EDIBLES

4/5 From the Dr. Solomons

RSO to the Dixie Elixirs, they have a great selection of edibles for any type of consumption. The edible selection includes tinctures, capsules and tablets, chewables, and drinks. There are only a few of Marylandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edibles that are not available here.

CONCENTRATES 4/5 The menu features a wide

STAFF

VERILIFE

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etween the boutique setting, friendly staff and competitive pricing, this second floor dispensary in the heart of Rockville is sure to keep you coming back. And with 14 other dispensaries located within just 10 miles of this one, standout qualities are needed to best serve patients. Parking is not an issue here, with more than enough spaces for patients and retail shoppers to jive smoothly. Verilife is located on the second floor of a small shopping center and they have the entire floor to themselves. Now some of you may be thinking: How can patients with physical disabilities easily navigate to a second floor dispensary? An elevator is how. And the elevator was just the beginning of the high-end features found at this dispensary. When you get to the second level, you are greeted by a friendly staff member, comfy chairs to wait in, and glass windows all around you.

MAR. 2020

After checking in you are led to the dispensary room, where two large glass doors slide open to let you in. Products are displayed in various cases throughout the room, as well as a few bud pods for you to be able to see and smell different flowers. As I gazed at the menu, the employees offered insightful product knowledge that patients find very helpful. One of the things Verilife prides themselves on is their low pricing compared to other dispensaries. I was able to purchase Verano flower for $53 an eighth. Rythm concentrates averaged 20-30% less expensive here than the average market price. Are the prices of the entire market going down? Probably not, but for now Verilife is doing their part to help out patients in any way they can. In addition to these low prices, first time patients receive 15% off their purchase, and military, veterans, SSI and seniors receive 15% off every single day.

range of concentrates from almost every processor in Maryland and the prices are incredible. Some grams that cost around $110 in dispensaries retailed for $80 before any discounts here.

ENVIRONMENT From the friendly and

5/5 helpful staff, to the well lit and upscale interior, this was a place I felt at ease buying Cannabis. I was also able to connect with each of the staff on a personal level.

OVERALL 18/20 There are many

TROPICANA COOKIES DIAMONDS / SAUCE BY EVERMORE If you have ever smoked Tropicana Cookies before in flower or concentrate, you will remember that taste and smell. Imagine slicing up a bunch of oranges in the middle of a bakery. That crazy concoction of smells comes through strong on every exhale. This strain proved to be a great morning or daytime smoke, giving me a strong amount of positive energy.

things that make this a great dispensary, but the staff was what made it so great for me. It truly makes the experience of buying Cannabis better when you are able to have solid conversations and laughs with the people selling it to you. We will definitely stop and say hello to our friends at Verilife on our way through Rockville again!

5544 NICHOLSON LANE, 2ND FLOOR ROCKVILLE MD 20852 VERILIFE.COM 301-494-8393 MON-SAT 11AM TO 8PM, CLOSED SUNDAYS

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STRAINS

One of the things Verilife prides themselves on is their low pricing compared to other dispensaries.

PRODUCT VARIETY

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LOCAL DISPENSARY MAKES NATIONAL NEWS ON THE TODAY SHOW. Greenhouse Wellness, the award-winning cannabis dispensary in Howard County, was recently featured on The Today Show with Maria Shriver for their active role in shifting the national perception of cannabis as medicine. Founders Dr. Leslie Apgar and Gina Dubbe shared on the show how, as two mothers, they find it important to create a dispensary that leads with education, patient consultations, and is rooted in science and medicine.

Greenhouse is leading the charge in this space and continues to garner national recognition by participating in studies with Stanford University and by sweeping awards for best workplaces

LOOKING TO HELP CHANGE THE NARRATIVE AROUND CANNABIS? Want to take a page from Greenhouse Wellness and help your friends, family, and community become open to the healing benefits of cannabis as plant medicine? You can now order High Heals: How Two Women Found Their Footing in the Medical Cannabis Industry, a short read about how two mothers found their former beliefs around cannabis completely altered and how they built a platform to help others understand the healing effects of the medicine.

(the dispensary is a two-time winner of The Baltimore Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work Award” and a 2020 recipient of “Top Company to Work For” in Cannabis Dispensary Magazine).

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grown by

CURIO WELLNESS “CLEARLY THE BUDS ARE MORE THAN EQUIPPED TO PUT EVEN THE HIGHEST TOLERANCE USERS INTO A BLISSFUL STATE.”

MAR. 2020

BLISSFUL W

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOME GOOD OLD-FASHIONED GIRL SCOUT COOKIES ARE BRED WITH CAPTAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S COOKIES? YOU GET THE POWERFUL HASH PLANT, BLISSFUL WIZARD, BROUGHT TO US IN MARYLAND BY CU RIO WELLNESS.

WIZARD

This cross, already winning Cannabis cups as early as 2015, is known for being bred to be a pure potency bomb! Already in 2015, this cultivar was testing at 29%, but Curio has coaxed the potency of this variety to an astonishing 34.8% THCa content - one of the highest Maryland has to offer. I am a huge proponent of the terpene profile, and this profile is a pretty decent one in spite of being up against a massive cannabinoid concentration. It is caryophyllene dominant, tempered by limonene and myrcene to round out a solid good mood, lower stress, and relieve pain in a cloud of good feelings. The smell is reminiscent of some of the more spicy, clovey and garlicky smells, with the high notably heady - even slightly cloudy, but not overpoweringly so. Blissful Wizard has a glittering, ice-like surface that reflects of some of the best trichome density I have seen in a bud. A thin film of ice crystals seems to coat the speckled purple and green coloration, almost creating a blueing effect that makes me feel like this flower is forever a winter flower. I think it is precisely this snow-like, magical appearance that originally got this cultivar its name. Clearly the buds are more than equipped to put even the highest tolerance users into a blissful state, while the glittering, color-changing wonder of the nugs could clearly only be accomplished by some serious wizardry. This cultivar has been a noticeably high tester, grower to grower, coast to coast, because it has been bred to be a hash plant. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get me wrong, you can absolutely grind this flower up and smoke a delightful joint with it, but the breeders had dreams of hash in mind when they started working on this cross. This Blissful Wizard cultivar by Curio Wellness is truly an example of quality breeding strategies manifested in a gorgeous product for our patients. The bag appeal and the numbers alone attract patients, but the euphoric and powerfully calm headspace that this smoke generates keeps the patients coming back. Clearly, Curio plant wizards have been hard at work to bring you the bliss you deserve.

REVIEW by TAYLOR MARTIN @MDCANNAINSIDER | PHOTO by WYATT EARLY @ERRLYWYATT/MARYLAND LEAF

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the PSYCHEDELIA issue

PSYCHEDELICS 101 Psilocybin LSD DMT Ibogaine Ketamine

There are more than 180 species of mushrooms that contain the psychedelic chemical psilocybin or psilocin. They have a long history of use in Mexico and are currently one of the most popular and commonly available naturally-occurring psychedelics. In recent studies at Johns Hopkins, psilocybin has been found to have beneficial therapeutic results when administered in a proper setting.

leafnationmd.com

Family Strophariaceae Genus Psilocybe Species Cubensis, Cyanescens, Semilanceata effects last 8 hours

LSD was discovered in 1938 by a Swiss chemist better known as Albert Hofmann. LSD was originally synthesized to treat respiratory depression. In 1943, Hofmann accidentally discovered its hallucinogenic properties after absorbing some through his skin. Over the next 15 years, LSD was used as an anesthetic and to support psychoanalysis. The counterculture of the 1960s led to it being used for recreational purposes.

dmt is a powerful, visual psychedelic which produces short-acting effects when smoked. It is also used orally in combination with an MAOI, as in ayahuasca brews. DMT is naturally produced in the human body, as well as many plants.

chemical name d-lysergic acid diethylamide effects last 12-16 hours

ibogaine is the active chemical found in the African Tabernanthe Iboga root, as well as several other plant species. It is a strong, longlasting psychedelic used traditionally in a coming of age ritual - but also known for its modern use in treating drug addiction and working through traumatic childhood events.

chemical name N,N-dimethyltryptamine effects last 15-30 minutes (smoked) 8-12 hours (orally)

chemical name 12-methoxyibogamine effects last 12-18 hours

Ketamine is a dissociative psychedelic used medically as an anesthetic. In recent studies, it has been shown that ketamine could have the potential to be a newer and faster path to treating depression. Ketamine may also have potential for treating other mental illnesses, as a preliminary clinical trial reported that ketamine reduced the severity of symptoms in patients with PTSD.

chemical name 2-(2-chlorophenyl)2-(methylamino)-cyclohexanone effects last 45-60 minutes

SOURCES: EROWID.ORG/PSYCHOACTIVES | MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM

MAR. 2020

STORY by MAX EARLY @LIFTED_STARDUST for LEAF NATION

THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE

#15 | MAR. 2020

17 03

18 20

F R E E / L E A F N AT I O N M D . C O M

OVERALL COVER DESIGN: Inspired by 4) EXPANSION: A glowing diamond MDLEAF_MARCH_2020.indd 1 the psychedelic experience, I wanted to represents the feeling one can have while capture the visual creative essence of it experiencing LSD. It also represents “Lucy while still honoring the cannabis plant. I in the Sky with Diamonds” envisioned the cover being a new door to the subject and the concept of “looking 5) SPIRIT: A golden sacred sun in” for the medicine and for the inner representing the spirit and how it can align journey. Colour wise I wanted to go with oneself with a spiritual understanding a modern take on the patterned neon and glowing. coloured visuals and integrate them into a storytelling theme of a quick history of 6) MEDICINE: A sacred geometrical shape LSD. represents the cellular structure and the research of medicinal connections of LSD. 1) TEMPLE DOORWAYS: In the center is an illustration of temple doors within 7) CREATIVITY: 2 golden keys representing temple doors, each with its own scene. This the unlocking of the the 2 hemispheres of represents oneself going within and taking the brain for new creative downloads and the psychedelic journey and discovering. insight. On each column is 3 sets of icons representing various aspects from historical 8) ALBERT HOFFMAN: The scientist that to beneficial. The bottom corner bases first discovered the psychedelic aspects of feature the THC and LSD-25 molecule LSD-25, years after creation. respectively. On top of the columns are a sphere of the globe and the space. 9) HIPPY LOVE: A crow chain of Daisies with a rainbow and sun representing 2) ERGOT: Featuring a few loaves of the Hippy Culture and Era and the bread, representing Ergot the mold and proliferation of LSD during the 60s-70s. how it grew. 10) COSMIC BALANCE: Represents the 3) RESEARCH: A book of knowledge cosmic consciousness and the facilitation of represents the scientific foundations of the this mind heart state on proper LSD doses. chemical and the continued study. 11) TIMOTHY LEARY: American psychologist that worked on the Harvard

INDEPENDENT CANNABIS JOURNALISM SINCE 2010

Psilocybin Projct during 1960-62 which led 2/23/20 to his strong advocacy of hullicinogenic drugs for therapeutic use in psychiatry. Coined popular phrase “turn on, tune in, drop out”

18) LOVE: Love is the ultimate technology and opens one up to receive and give loving kindness and relations.

10:53 AM

12) DOORWAY 2: Featuring a jungle like environment represent plant life, this scene features 2 neon jellyfish with a young lady looking through onto the next doorway. She looks up the rabbit as a representation of “going into the rabbit hole”

19) DOORWAY 3: An island paradise in the shape of a head when viewed vertically, this area represents the inner paradise of happiness and love that LSD easily bridges into. A peacock stands happily in the middle representing the psychedelic pattern and inner revealing of ones mind.

13) SANDOZ: A Swiss flag banner represents the home of Sandoz Laboratory, origin of LSD-25.

20) BICYCLE DAY: A man flying off his bike represents April 19, 1943 as the first day Albert Hofmann dosed himself with LSD.

14) CIA: The US CIA logo represents the usage and study of LSD through the government via the CIA, with multiple covert and hidden experiments held on the public on various aspects.

21) FEED YOUR HEAD: Based off 60’s psychedelic song “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane, this represents going into the rabbit hole and the Hippy era.

15) MIND: A phrenology mind map represents the study and focus of mental abilities, control, and expansion and LSD. 16) TRUTH: 2 swords representing cutting to the core of the truth of experience. 17) HEALING: a wreath representing healing and the insight LSD can give into opening up to those areas that still need acknowledgement.

22) SACRED VISIONS: A close up of divine feminine representing the visual stimulus of LSD. 23) SAN FRANCISCO: The Golden Gate Bridge is represented here as a shoutout to Haight & Ashbury, home of Hippie culture and cannabis & LSD counter culture movements. Explainer by Artist Brandon Palma Founder | 8th Day Create

STORY by BRANDON PALMA @8THDAYCREATE

the psychedelia issue

PSYCHEDELIC

ART EXCHANGE

Q&A | Founder Glen Trosch What makes psychedelic art different from contemporary art? Psychedelic art is art that was created to evoke, communicate or enhance the psychedelic experience. The imagery is generally influenced by that experience, rather than created under the influence of it, but not exclusively. What we specialize in at PAE are psychedelic concert posters that were being produced during the years 1965 to1971. This is the time when the social experiment that began in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury neighborhood became a nationwide youth movement. Where does your love for psychedelic art come from, and what does it mean to you? I was born in 1963. I couldn’t avoid psychedelic imagery. Having grown up in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, I saw the ‘hippie scene’ of the ‘60s influence mainstream pop culture in a big way. My family was in the magazine distribution business, so my first exposures were most likely through Mad Magazine, Playboy and National Lampoon. When I started buying records as a young teen, the album cover art really turned me on. Artists like Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso and Greg Irons were some of the best album cover artists. When I started buying underground comix, I realized those same artists were dominant in that genre as well. I then found out that they also crossed over into the concert posters. My first concert poster purchase was at a record store I frequented when I was a kid. I bought a mirror that was superimposed over a Bill Graham Fillmore poster. That hung on my wall for years, but it wasn’t until I first traveled to San Francisco to see the Grateful Dead that I bought my first original psychedelic concert poster. It was all over then, I was hooked.

do art and music go hand in hand? Yes, they are two sides of the same coin. They only differ in the sensory receptors that receive the stimuli.

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Where do you source the art in the gallery? We are at the center of a worldwide two-way market. We primarily buy from the public, but occasionally we will buy at auction. We advertise heavily on the web to find the posters our customers are looking for. We also take consignments for our online auction. We are currently auctioning 200-400 lots per month. Have you ever met or interacted with any of the artists whose work you sell? Yes, I have had the honor of meeting many of the originators of 1960s concert poster art. I met Rick Griffin in San Francisco in the ‘80s. I have had the opportunity to speak with Mouse Moscoso and Wes Wilson in recent years because of PAE.

“Having grown up in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, I saw the ‘hippie scene’ of the ‘60s influence mainstream pop culture in a big way.”

mar. 2020

What is the most historic / iconic piece of psychedelic art that has ever been sold by you or others? The most iconic would have to be the FD-26 - (Skull and Roses) that was created for a 1966 Grateful Dead concert at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. We sold a copy in May of 2019 for $56,000 and Heritage Auctions sold one last November for $118,000. The most historic would be the Grateful Dead Troopers Club poster that was the only poster ever created by Owsley. It’s at the heart of the birth of the Grateful Dead - it’s an incredibly important poster. INTERVIEW by WYATT EARLY @ERRLYWYATT/MARYLAND LEAF | CONCERTPOSTERGALLERY.COM

A woman-owned and well-trusted medical Cannabis dispensary promoting the health and wellness of the Baltimore area for over two years.

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the PSYCHEDELIA issue

PSYCHONAUTS

leafnationmd.com

how the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research is evolving our knowledge on the beneficial uses of psychedelics

THE MIND is a universe unto itself. At once nebulous and ordered. Chaotic and principled. Bordered and seemingly infinite. Those who attempt to traverse and map the universe of the mind via psychedelics go by an informal name: psychonauts. If those who experiment with psychedelics are astronauts of the psyche, then the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research is the NASA of innerspace. In the year 2000, this small but dedicated group of scientists - led by Dr. Roland Griffiths at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland - became the first group to gain regulatory approval from the federal government to conduct psychedelic experiments on volunteers. Since then, they have administered hundreds of doses of psilocybin - yes, the ‘magic’ in magic mushrooms - to willing subjects in order to measure the therapeutic efficacy of hallucinogens in treating several disorders and issues faced by patients. We connected with Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu and Dr. Matthew Johnson with Johns Hopkins’ Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit in February to learn what life is like on the leading edge of psychedelic psychotherapy.

MAR. 2020

Following Osmond, the science around psychedelic therapy took a radical turn, with the teachings and experiments of Dr. Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) and Dr. Timothy Leary, who became To understand exactly what the team at Johns Hopkins icons for the psychedelic movement in the 1960s. hopes to accomplish, it’s important to first understand the “In the broader culture, you have all of this counterculture roots of the psychedelic therapy movement. stuff going on,” Garcia-Romeu said. “You start to see a different shift as some of these psychedelics started to come out of the The journey began decades ago, many say with the introduclab and find more recreational usage.” tion of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), first synthesized in 1938 The effect of what many considered to be a mental and spiriand experienced by Dr. Albert Hofmann in 1943. tual awakening started to change American culture. “One of the ways that he did that was accidentally ingesting “I think it kind of came to a crescendo, where you have all of a very tiny amount, and noticing these effects,” Garcia-Romeu this turbulence going on, where you have this 1950s, suburban said. “Most drugs we take in milligrams, and LSD we take in housewife, conservative culture, and then you have the anti-war, (significantly smaller) micrograms. That all of a sudden becivil rights and women’s rights movements starting to emerge,” comes a very interesting compound.” Garcia-Romeu said. In those early days, the term to deThe movement was forced under“Guiding people scribe LSD and similar compounds was ground in 1970, with Nixon and the through these types ‘psychotomimetic,’ which refers to the Controlled Substances Act - which crepotential to mimic symptoms commonly ated the scheduling system which drugs of sessions is a associated with psychosis - such as seecontinue to be classified under today. unique and intimate ing things that aren’t there. This broadly Nixon’s policies were built specifically experience.” accepted term was eventually challenged to stamp out the radical, free thought DR. ALBERT GARCIA-ROMEU by Humphrey Osmond, whose studies led momentum in the anti-war and civil him to believe that while LSD and similar rights movements, “by getting the public compounds possess the potential to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, to inspire actions that resemble and then criminalizing both heavily,” as Nixon’s domestic policy psychotic behavior, these effects chief, John Ehrlichman, famously admitted in 1994. Mary P. Cosimano, are secondary at best. “That was kind of the beginning of the end of the research MSW, left, and “Psychoanalysis resembles that was going on,” Garcia-Romeu said. “It wasn’t necessarily Albert GarciaGalileo’s telescope, which lets one because there were huge risks that were going on with these Romeu, Ph.D., right, see a somewhat magnified image drugs. It was because of the social climate at the time.” reenact a psilocybin of an object the wrong way round Sanctioned research into psychedelics came to a grinding therapy session at and upside down,” Osmond wrote halt in the United States. No one would touch it. the Department in his 1957 research paper, A That is, until scientists like Griffiths and his colof Psychiatry and Review of the Clinical Effects of leagues at Johns Hopkins reopened the doors of Behavioral Sciences Psychotomimetic Agents. “The perception in 2000. at Johns Hopkins telescope changed our whole idea “I think that our generation is much more excited Medicine, Feb. 14, of the solar system and revolutionand open to the possibility of psychedelics as med2020 in Baltimore. ized navigation.” ical treatments, or even as spiritual sacraments,” Psilocybin, LSD and other simGarcia-Romeu said. ilarly classified agents, Osmond said, “are more like the radar “If you go back in history, the original uses of telescopes now being built to scan the deeps of outer, invisible psychedelics were in indigenous cultures.” space. They are not convenient. One cannot go bird watching At the time of this writing, the Johns Hopkins team with them. They explore a tiny portion of an enormous void. has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles They raise more questions than answers, and to understand on its findings and has helped volunteer subjects those answers we must invent new languages. What we learn tackle an array of psychological issues. >> is not reassuring or even always comprehensible. Like astronomers, however, we must change our thinking to use the potentialities of our new instruments.” These early findings led Osmond to coin the term ‘psychedelic,’ which began to replace psychotomimetic as the accepted term for these hallucinogenic compounds. “That shifted the whole classification of the drug class,” Garcia-Romeu said of this redefinition. “This was all happening because of these strait-laced, nerdy scientists.”

T H E H I G H H U R D L E O F H I S TO R Y

Researchers believe Psilocybin offers patients the ability to open up and confront themselves.

STORY by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANTS | PHOTOS by ERIC KAYNE @PHOTOKAYNE

the PSYCHEDELIA issue leafnationmd.com

Continued from pg. 33

PSYCHONAUTS B E YO N D T H E V E I L Relegated to the underground without legal, peer-reviewed scientific research to temper public opinion, psychedelics fell prey to Nixon and Reagan era propaganda campaigns which set the tone for how the mainstream viewed the compounds - setting them up as dangerous, unhinged, kaleidoscopic party drugs in the minds of the inexperienced. Recreational use will always be around, but the researchers at Johns Hopkins won’t be taking volunteers to a sunrise EDM show anytime soon. They aim for a well-controlled, clinical approach designed to elicit empirically measurable, therapeutically beneficial results. “Guiding people through these types of sessions is a unique and intimate experience,” Garcia-Romeu said, speaking to his participation in guiding more than 90 sessions to date. “Much of the crucial groundwork takes place in the weeks before the session. During that time, it’s important to form a solid working relationship that allows people to feel safe and comfortable diving into the experience and fully letting go. This includes a period of life review, so that we are aware of the major formative events, key relationships, life values and overall worldview of the person we’re working with - which hopefully helps them to feel seen and understood in a way that facilitates deeper explorations of these themes that may occur in the altered state that psilocybin can induce.” After laying this groundwork, the team sets the scene for the subject, Professor Matthew W. though it’s less about creating an Johnson, Ph.D., above, and external setting, and more about Albert Garcia-Romeu, Ph.D., creating a comfortable environment right, at the Department of for an internal scene to unfold in the Psychiatry and Behavioral mind. Sciences at Johns Hopkins “During the sessions we don’t do Medicine, Feb. 14, 2020 in much ‘guiding’ really, we take a Baltimore, Maryland. largely non-directive approach that involves the person lying on a couch with eyes covered ... and listening to a program of music,” Garcia-Romeu said. “We check in to make sure the person is doing okay and that their vitals are within normal range, but if that’s all fine, we typically just sit back and let the experience unfold, which can be a pretty intense inner journey that the person then fills us in on when the drug effects begin wearing off.” Sessions can range from psychologically challenging experiences such as fear, anxiety, and the unearthing of uncomfortable thoughts and memories - to profound feelings of love, gratitude, and interconnectedness with all existence, Garcia-Romeu says. “Not only are all these possibilities, but someone can have an experience that encompasses many or all of these flavors in a single session, and it’s hard to tell beforehand how this will unfold,” he said. “For that reason, we really emphasize going into the session with a sense of openness and acceptance for whatever comes up.” Sometimes, experiences can grow too intense for subjects, and they begin to manifest what’s commonly referred to as a ‘bad trip.’ Here, Johns Hopkins developed ways to bring subjects back to safe mental spaces within the clinical setting. “In the minority of cases where we do see strong fear or anxiety,” Garcia-Romeu said, “we would take a more hands on approach to reassure the person they are safe, that what they are experiencing is only temporary and will be over soon, and help them to feel more grounded and centered - for instance by adjusting the music volume, removing the eyeshades, bringing some water, doing breathing exercises, or providing physical reas-

MAR. 2020

surance like a hand on the shoulder or a hand to hold.” Volunteers usually experience some sort of revelation or positive changebecause of this process, though it often comes after the trip itself. In the weeks after the session day, the staff reviews the experience with subjects, in order to unearth lessons and longer term positive changes. “I find it can be helpful to think of this as a process similar to renovating a house,” Garcia-Romeu said. “There’s a lot of careful planning leading up to this, where people take stock of their lives, identify what’s of value to them, and make sure it’s packed up safely ahead of any major demolition. The drug session days can be like that demolition day, where in a relatively short duration, dramatic changes occur, walls come down, hidden passages are revealed, and new doorways can appear. Then afterward comes the laborious process of picking up the pieces and putting things in their right place.” According to Garcia-Romeu, volunteer psychonauts find themselves letting go of grudges, forgiving themselves for past transgressions, and unchaining themselves from damaging belief patterns. The experiment administrators often have their own moments, as well. “In witnessing and facilitating this process I often have my own ‘a-ha’ moments, like, ‘I should really make an effort to spend more time with and be nicer to my parents or siblings,’ or, ‘I’ve been harboring anger about X for a long time and should really do something to express this appropriately and work through it, rather than letting it fester,’” Garcia-Romeu said. “Some of the other more cosmic revelations seem oddly trite in comparison. A big feeling that people often come away with is this ‘All is One’ theme, which I wholeheartedly embrace as part of my own spiritual life as a mystic. But I think the messy human questions around how to live that out is usually where the rubber meets the road and a lot of the work takes place.” Johnson, a professor with the team whom Garcia-Romeu describes as

his mentor, feels the same way. “It’s more common for folks to have benefits related to topics they have already been struggling with - that they have known to be issues lurking in the basement, but just seem to never fully address them in the day-to-day grind of life,” Johnson said. “I think the ‘nature of reality’ stuff comes along for the ride, but my strong impression is that folks more or less come out of sessions with the same overall worldview they came in with - with maybe some minor modifications around the edges in some cases. I’m talking about belief in God or religion, belief in an afterlife, etc. But this doesn’t seem to be what’s driving the bus. It’s the day-to-day lessons about their life that make the difference.” It’s revelations of this psychological and interpersonal nature that the Johns Hopkins team focuses on with its research into the effect of psilocybin on depression, self-destructive habits and other real-world human challenges. “If the data continues to look promising, I anticipate psychedelics to be a game changer in psychiatry with efficacy across a number of disorders,” Johnson said. “Compared to traditional psychiatric medications, these treatments prompt psychotherapeutic process, which can in some cases constitute cures rather than just symptom reduction. And I anticipate that beyond therapeutics, they will be incredibly powerful tools for understanding the interface between brain and psychology.”

A T R I P B Y A N Y OT H E R N A M E At this point, the team at Johns Hopkins mainly works with psilocybin for its psychotherapy trials. There are a few reasons for this, some of which are societal, and some logistical. “It’s not spelled LSD, that’s one of the main reasons,” Garcia-Romeu

said when asked why their team focuses on psilocybin. “With LSD, there’s all this additional baggage of the counterculture of the 1960s. But you still get similar effects to LSD, and what’s better, you get them in an 8-hour window, not a 12-hour window.” That time factor plays a major role in choosing mushrooms as the starting point. Considering that the subjects must be monitored leading up to and through the trip, all the way through the comedown phase, it simply makes less sense, logistically, to experiment with LSD. A psilocybin trip means an 8-hour workday, whereas it would take up to16 hours for a researcher to properly guide an LSD experience. Contrary to popular misconception, both compounds are physiologically safe, and have no physical danger of lethal overdose, Garcia-Romeu reports, though they can have intense psychological effects. “You can take too much, and that will have temporarily mind-altering effects, but those will go away over time,” he said. “You’d have to eat an enormous amount of mushrooms in order to reach a toxicity level that might be harmful, physically.” They’ve done basic research into other hallucinogenic substances, such as salvia and dextromethorphan, but haven’t ventured into psychotherapy with those compounds. “We give it to people and see what it does to their heart rate, and see what it does to their brain state,” Garcia-Romeu said. “We’re not necessarily looking into the efficacy of those compounds yet.” Considering their successes with psilocybin, Johnson says the team at Johns Hopkins plans to experiment with the psychotherapeutic efficacy of other psychedelics in the future. Next on the list are LSD, DMT and 5-MeODMT, the latter two of which Garcia-Romeu says offers considerable effect in a comparably brief timespan when administered properly. The way Garcia-Romeu sees it, the work they are doing will hopefully lead to more effective, more humane treatments for mental health conditions. “They’ll shock your brain,” he said, referring to traditional treatments. “They’ll give people medications. They’ll put you in electroshock therapy. That’s how far they’ll go if their medicines won’t work…So why not try giving someone MDMA to get over their post-traumatic stress? What if it works?” Johnson sees another challenge of a more personal nature facing psychedelic psychotherapists: Staying grounded. “People have many philosophical ideas about what these experiences are, whether a glimpse into the nature of reality, something supernatural or religious, a materialist tinkering of the nervous system that can nonetheless be helpful in some cases,” Johnson said. “To stay grounded, we need to be agnostic about this and let patients make their own interpretations … There is a great gravity for folks to get sucked into playing guru, shaman, or priest ... but for mental health professionals, we need to stay grounded, be flexible, and not impose our personal non-empirical beliefs on the process.”

VOLUNTEER FOR THE FLIGHT CREW With growing political force behind the legalization of psychedelics - particularly psilocybin mushrooms - further peer reviewed, placebo controlled research into the subject is of paramount importance. If this interests you, Johns Hopkins is currently accepting volunteers through its website, www.HopkinsPsychedelic.org. They can also be found at Facebook.com/JHPsychedelics and on Twitter @JHPsychedelics. “We are recruiting locally for studies on quitting smoking, depressed mood in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, and anorexia,” Johnson said. “We’ll have more studies to come in the next year or two, including treatment of psychological aspects of post-treatment Lyme disease, opioid addiction, PTSD and alcoholism.” If someone’s struggling with mental obstacles or destructive behavior, they want to help. In turn, volunteer psychonauts can help Johns Hopkins forge the path to help more people in the future. Who knows? On a long enough timeline, FDA approval of psychedelics may be on the table. “I won’t hold my breath until it happens,” Garcia-Romeu said, “but things are looking really good right now. For the first time since the Controlled Substances Act, you have clinical trials to test whether MDMA or psilocybin have medical value. These are the last hurdles before the FDA approves something for medical usage. … We hope this [will] turn the tide. With the data we’re going to collect and publish in the next five years, we believe we believe we’ll be able to find out how and in what conditions psychedelics can be medically useful.”

STORY by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANTS | PHOTOS by ERIC KAYNE @PHOTOKAYNE

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GARDEN OF THE MONTH

HOLISTIC IN

apR. 2019 Mar. 2020

NDUSTRIES F

or our Garden of the Month we finally got the chance to tour Holistic Industries, owners of the brands Liberty and Strane. And I have to say I was genuinely impressed for quite a few reasons. Holistic’s facility actually surprised me with what I think are novel cultivation standards in Maryland, and might just be one of the most efficient industrial designs I have ever seen. But I am getting ahead of myself, as it is important to understand the compassion and advocacy that drove the growth of this behemoth company because after all, this industry was founded for some of the most vulnerable populations in our community.

HOLISTIC NOT ONLY LENT THEIR INDUSTRY VOICE TO THE PARENT’S MOVEMENT, BUT WENT AS FAR AS TO DEVELOP “JACKSON’S COURAGE,” A SPECIFIC PROPRIETARY BLEND OF CANNABIS OILS DESIGNED FOR CHILDREN WITH EPILEPSY.

After getting checked in, we were greeted by Rabbi James Kahn, the Director of National Outreach who was set to give us more of the history behind the start up of their company and their goals for the community. In the case of medical Cannabis, every patient population is riddled with hard questions and tragic stories, and sadly this fact is overlooked by many companies seeking to maximize their ROI. Not only is this suffering not overlooked by Holistic, it is their priority. Rabbi Kahn explained the history of how Holistic owners got introduced to Cannabis with story after story of compassionate motivation by the management and workers alike. Initially up and running in Washington D.C. before opening in Maryland, Holistic developed a patient forward reputation by working with groups of mothers advocating for medical Cannabis access for their children suffering from intractable epilepsy. Holistic not only lent their industry voice to the parent’s movement, but went as far as to develop “Jackson’s Courage,” a specific proprietary blend of Cannabis oils designed for children with epilepsy and named after one of the children who sparked the patient movement. As if this wasn’t enough, they made sure that every child within this program (in D.C.) was given access to the medication for free! Additionally, they have developed programs that provide outreach, support, education and access to veterans groups, senior citizens and addicts. Rabbi Kahn stressed that their outlook is focused on Cannabis as a social justice issue, which they have demonstrated by their continuous advocacy and partnerships with groups that suffer tremendously without access to medical Cannabis. Rabbi Kahn is a super nice dude and definitely helped us to understand the Holistic mission, but we were eager to see some plants. So we were passed off to Cultivation Manager Nick Denney and Facilities Manager Garen Stephens to show us around the grow itself. > > C o n t i n u e s p g . 3 3

STORY by TAYLOR MARTIN @MDCANNAINSIDER | PHOTOS by JASON KOLSTON @J6PHOTO | HOLISTICINDUSTRIES.COM @HOLISTIC.INDUSTRIES

GARDEN OF THE MONTH

>> Continued from pg. 33

HOLISTIC INDUSTRIES

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nd what a grow it is, truly a monument to industrial Cannabis efficiency that spares no expense in creating a system that is at once a massive organizational effort, as well as super easy to maintain. In many ways, it is quite similar to other grows, having traditional veg/flower rooms and separate areas for post harvesting process - but with two notable differences. First, they have no mom room - as in they do not cultivate and raise mother plants to clone from. Second, every single room that grows a plant is connected by a track that creates a loop through their facility, allowing for entire tables of plants to move seamlessly from room to room on a tight schedule. This is where their industrial circuit comes into play. Effectively they have a veg room, an early stage flower room, and a late stage flower room, all connected together by this track which allows for employees to roll entire tables from room to room with minimal effort. They set up their system

apR. 2019 Mar. 2020

for an eight week flower time divided into two rooms, early and late stage, and each room has four massive rows each. Plants are rolled in from the veg room and spend one week in each row, moving down the line each week like clockwork. As one new batch is being moved into the first row of early stage flower, another batch is being moved from the last row in late stage flower to harvest, and then the empty table is cycled back to the beginning to get filled with new veg stock and repeat the process. This whole system operates on a weekly basis - legitimately like clockwork and is really quite different. Most growers really pay attention to finding some great genetics and then try to tweak their system to optimize the production. In fact, some of the top quality artisan growers are known as mono-croppers who specialize in one or two cultivars that they really turn into excellent, small batch, Cannabis finery. Holistic is taking a different approach, recognizing that their goal is to build an industry around Cannabis and not just to focus on creating a specialized product. They have built a system that is extremely efficient and allows for them to produce year round, flawlessly within the confines of their system.

In part this is because they have created a fixed flower cycle, but really it’s because they saved a significant amount of space, time and energy by not having a dedicated mom room. They have been able to cycle through so many more seeds, and as a result acquire so much more data on the different genetics that otherwise would take years to understand. Many growers take the approach of designing a system to support a genetic line, but Holistic has flipped the script and are attempting to cater their genetics to a predetermined system. What this tells me is that they are very aware of their industrial size and capacity, and as such have taken responsibility for reconciling the quality control conundrum that arises when you scale up Cannabis. In short, this conundrum is that the larger you scale up a grow, the more difficult it becomes to maintain a consistent quality of production, and there becomes a real schism between small batch boutique growers and large scale commercial producers. Holistic is aware of this and made the determination to be a large scale commercial producer that remains true to the needs of the patients. The only way for them to do this is to get to know the Maryland marketplace, assess their needs, and find the Cannabis

varieties that really work for Maryland, as well as work within their system. This might seem like a long process, but literally every grow is doing the same thing in their own way. Holistic recognized this strategy from the get-go and has optimized their industrial design to its utmost potential - churning out exponentially higher and higher quality flower. But if there are no mom rooms and they just pop new seeds over and over, how can they maintain any genetic lines and continue to produce strains that do end up working well in the system? Well, it’s as simple as dedicating a table to being clone stock to remain in veg. You see, anything that goes through this system is rigorously studied to determine the proverbial winners and losers. Losers being discontinued and winners to be continuously propagated for patients. Plants are rotated through to complete circuit if they are to be flowered, harvested and packaged, but every batch has some stock set aside to go through a continuous veg circuit. Here, any strains that look interesting or have demonstrated vigorous growth in the system, or that end up testing really well, can be cloned from again and kept going through the system. Almost like a mother plant, but instead of one big plant that they clone off of, they keep a whole table of plants they can take clones off of. Again, all this is as easy as moving tables from one room to another room, nearly effortlessly, in what probably started off as a pretty chaotic mess of logistic organization - to what is today, a truly evolved and meticulously efficient system that provides patients with Maryland’s top tier Cannabis. I hope this gives you a grasp of what is going on at Holistic, because it is at once a logistical marvel, as well as a testament to quality production. Holistic has designed a system that can only produce better and better quality Cannabis as time goes on and they dial in their system. Since they have finalized their grow system and crushed the market for years now, they have started to expand to fully double their grow space, again keeping the same system. Now combine the efficiency of this system with the knowledge they have gained testing so many different phenotypes, and we very well may see a company who solves the great scale conundrum of quality. Maryland does not have a very diverse market and so all the growers have focused on large scale production, but soon, the small batch craft/artisan/boutique Cannabis people will be getting into the market, specifically to compete with the large Cannabis companies because that is untapped market space in Maryland. Holistic very well may be the first large scale production facility in Maryland that is able to manage small batch craft quality at a large scale commercial capacity! I look forward to watching this company’s Cannabis portfolio grow here in Maryland as they continue to optimize their genetics within an already hyper-efficient model. Holistic showed us that at every opportunity, they had made the investment into producing top quality Cannabis with maximum efficiency, directly with the needs of our most vulnerable patient populations in mind. A big thanks goes out to our hosts Rabbi Kahn, Nick Denney and Garen Stephens - probably the most transparent and forthcoming tour guides we have had the experience of touring with!

STORY by TAYLOR MARTIN @MDCANNAINSIDER | PHOTOS by JASON KOLSTON @J6PHOTO | HOLISTICINDUSTRIES.COM @HOLISTIC.INDUSTRIES

concentrate OF THE MONTH

C R ESCOLABS.CO M | @CR E S CO LAB S

LAMBSBREAD

LIVE DIAMOND SAUCE

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C resco Ca n n a b i s , a rel ati vel y new p ro cesso r i n Ma ryl and, h as a p pe a re d o n the scene wi th a stu nni ng rend i ti o n o f t he mys ter i o u s l y fa m o u s Lam bsbread l i ve d i am o nd sau ce. Befo re I d i ve i nto th is su ccu l ent and terp y da b, i t’s wo rt h menti o n i n g a b i t a b o u t the geneti cs behi nd Lam bsbread .

THE GENETICS are rumored to have originated somewhere in Jamaica, but no one seems quite able to confirm that. Nevertheless, it is generally recognized as evolving out of the island country and could possibly be a contender as a Jamaican landrace. The rumors go deeper when you look into the history of Lamsbread, where it is even believed by many to have been Bob Marley’s personal favorite! Whether or not this little factoid is true, its strong and vibrant tropical sativa nature is evident in the plant and after taking a dab of this complex, fruity and woody bouquet. The total terpene concentration crosses the 20% mark, immediately putting it “THE TOTAL into the highest echelon of flavor and vitality. At first glance, with a tremendous 7.63% TERPENE myrcene concentration, one would expect CONCENTRATION this profile to perform on the sedative side of CROSSES THE the spectrum. But after closer examination, I realized 20% MARK, that the rest of the profile is a powerful IMMEDIATELY combination of alpha and beta pinene, PUTTING IT INTO limonene, terpinolene and ocimene, which when combined balance the sedative effect THE HIGHEST of the myrcene and corrals it into a high ECHELON OF functioning, pain relieving high. FLAVOR AND This Lambsbread certainly brings a high VITALITY.” dosage of THC per dab, and as a chronic

Mar. 2020

pain patient, I absolutely need that higher dosage. I look for myrcene dominant profiles at every opportunity, specifically because they are so effective for my pain related symptoms. Here, as many of you know, some of the most pain relieving, stoney baloney cultivars produce what’s known as ‘couch lock’ - the deeply relaxed and therapeutic feeling of being glued to a comfy surface. Dropping one of the larger chunks of Lambsbread crystal - soaked in the slightly woody, fruity sauce with just a hint of gas on the top - brought an immediate rush of anti inflammation over my body, showering me with the heavy body feels that I adore when my body aches in cold weather. As my body started to relax, I noticed I was very distinctly not couch locked. Instead, the Lambsbread picked me up after a long day and helped me make the push to complete the work I needed to get done. Finding cultivars that can at once sedate your pain and energize your mind are an extremely useful dab to keep in your personal stash box, and Cresco’s Lambsbread live diamond sauce hits the spot. The flavor is complex and nuanced with aromatic layers that shift from the inhale to the exhale, supporting symptom relief and productivity in tandem.

REVIEW by TAYLOR MARTIN @MDCANNAINSIDER | PHOTO by WYATT EARLY @ERRLYWYATT

RECIPES

HAPPY & HIGH

DRINKS

MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE SERVES 2

1½ TABLESPOONS CHOCOLATE SYRUP

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1-2 TEASPOONS CANNA-BUTTER, ROOM TEMP ¼ CUP + 2 TABLESPOONS INSTANT DARK HOT CHOCOLATE MIX 2 SMALL PINCHES CHILI POWDER (OPTIONAL) ½ CUP WHOLE MILK, HEATED UNTIL WARM TO THE TOUCH 1½ CUPS WATER, HEATED UNTIL WARM TO THE TOUCH 2 WHOLE CINNAMON STICKS (OR 1 TSP. GROUND CINNAMON) WHIPPED CREAM INSTRUCTIONS 1. In a saucepot, over low-medium heat, combine chocolate syrup, canna-butter, dark chocolate hot chocolate mix, and chili powder. 2. Pour warmed milk over top and mix until well combined. 3. Slowly pour warmed water into milk chocolate and whisk to combine. 4. Once completely combined, warm over low heat, for two to three minutes. 5. Evenly pour into two mugs, top with whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon or cayenne.

What a fabulous indulgence. Hot chocolate is not just for cold kids anymore.

mar. 2020

DATE MARTINI SERVES 2

2 CUPS ALMOND MILK 12 PITTED DATES 1 BANANA, PEELED AND SLICED ½ CUP ALMOND BUTTER 2 TEASPOONS CANNA-BUTTER OR CANNA-OIL 4 TABLESPOONS HONEY OR MAPLE SYRUP, DIVIDED ¼ CUP SLICED ALMONDS, FINELY CHOPPED INSTRUCTIONS 1. Place the first five ingredients and half the sweetener in the blender. 2. Place the remaining sweetener on a small flat plate. 3. Place the finely chopped almonds on a separate plate. 4. Take the first glass and run the rim through the sweetener, followed by the almonds. If uneven repeat the process. 5. Blend the smoothie and carefully pour into the glasses.

THESE THREE DRINKS

If you have not tried Golden Milk, now is the time. You won’t be sorry and you will be high.

will keep you high and happy while waiting for Spring. Well, waiting for 4/20. It can be

GOLDEN DELIGHT SMOOTHIE

a long wait - may these recipes

SERVES 2

2 ½ CUPS COCONUT MILK

help pass the time.

3 TABLESPOONS HONEY 1-2 TEASPOONS CURRY POWDER ½ TEASPOON TURMERIC ¼ TEASPOON CINNAMON 2 TEASPOONS CANNA-BUTTER INSTRUCTIONS 1. Combine ingredients in a blender and process.

I’ve become quite attached to garnishing drinks with a cool rim job. Lol. I love the flavors as an introduction to the flavor palate of the drink. And it looks so good - although looks don’t matter - it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the mixture from the blender, stirring until very warm but not simmering - about 5-7 minutes. 3. Divide the mixture between two mugs. 4. Place a teaspoon of butter on top of each serving. Serve immediately.

RECIPES by LAURIE WOLF | PHOTOS by BRUCE WOLF

DYSCO’S CORNER

musings from a parent

GARCIA & THE VOLCANO “IS IT ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO HAVE SO MUCH SMOKE COMING OUT OF IT?” I ASKED GARCIA, MY 10 POUND CONSTANT COMPANION WHO WAS TEETERING PRECARIOUSLY ON TOP OF A PILE OF PILLOWS AT THE END OF THE COUCH. HE LOOKED UP BRIEFLY FROM THE VERY IMPORTANT JOB OF LICKING HIMSELF TO SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS WAS ABOUT. AFTER SU RVEYING THE SCENE, HE DECIDED THAT HE WAS MUCH MORE INTERESTED IN LICKING HIS, UH, BELLY THAN HE WAS INTERESTED IN DISCUSSING THE VOLCANO SPEWING SMOKE-LIKE VAPOR IN FRONT OF US.

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“Volcano?!” one might ask. “What? Why is there a volcano in your living room? Did you mix up your baggies? Are you on psychedelics? Seriously, where are you?” These are all fair questions I’m fully prepared to answer. Don’t worry - we weren’t in any mortal danger, nor were we on psychedelics. No lava or acid was involved. The Volcano in question was metal, only about 10 inches high, and fit easily on my coffee table. This Volcano vaporizes Cannabis material without carboxylation. No one was harmed during the blast from this Volcano. Although, all that Cannabis vapor escaping into the room seemed to be mellowing Garcia out quite a bit. But, I’m getting a little ahead of myself. I’ll get back to Garcia and the Volcano in a minute, but first, you have to understand that I have been on a two year quest to find the best way for me to consume Cannabis. As a medical patient who relies on Cannabis to treat my chronic pain, I have found that my body responds very differently to Cannabis depending on the type of material and delivery method utilized. Dabbing concentrates typically affects me more in my head than smoking flower, so for daytime pain management, I prefer flower. Ideally, I would prefer to consume edibles, but to date, edibles do not work for me at all. Believe me, I’ve tried. So for the last two years I was primarily using glass bongs, glass bowls, and pre-rolls to consume my flower. Of course, anyone who knows me immediately understands the inherent risk of me being around all that glass. I’m definitely not the biggest bull in the china shop, but I’m probably the spazziest and least self-aware. I was spending a fortune replacing glass every time I broke another piece. Also, I was developing a wicked smoker’s cough.

mar. 2020

& Cannabis consumer Smoker’s cough? Yes, smoker’s cough. Back in my 30s, I thought I was Chantix-ed and done with smoker’s cough forever. I can’t imagine smoking a cigarette ever again. I had a terrible hack when I was a cigarette smoker, but at least I sort of felt like I deserved it back then - like it was penance for my disgusting and unhealthy habit. But now? Yuck. Is there anything worse than hacking pieces of your lungs out every time you need to medicate? Clearly, that’s a rhetorical question. Even Garcia knows that there are worse things than smoker’s cough, but let’s all agree that smoker’s cough is a huge bummer for everyone involved. A smoker’s cough from medical Cannabis treatment seems like adding insult to injury. My mother did her best to raise me as a lady, but it is impossible to be ladylike when trying to suppress that constant jagged rattle in your chest. God forbid you start coughing around other people and have to excuse yourself so you can deposit part of your lung in the toilet. Each coughing fit alarms everyone around you unlucky enough to be within spitting distance. Not even a supermodel could look sexy with a smoker’s cough. WHAT WOULD A SUPERMODEL DO? So, back to the Volcano in my living room. I must have been rattling off all these thoughts out loud because Garcia looked up at me as if to say, “Uhh, you’re no supermodel.” Yeah, not exactly the point. But thanks, Garcia. You have three snaggle teeth and an underbite. I know I’m no supermodel. I also know that I’m not the only one who tells myself that it’s not crazy to appear to be talking to yourself, as long as you are actually having a conversation with your pet. Garcia had been my main technical consultant on the Volcano ever since its arrival earlier in the week, and between us, he really wasn’t much help. The two of us approached operating the Volcano like two middle schoolers working on their science fair project, and so far, we were getting Fs. By the way, the Volcano in question was the Cannabis vaporizer made by Storz & Bickel. I bought it to solve my glass and coughing problems. It’s not the only vaporizer on the market, but I think it’s the most established quality machine. It wasn’t cheap, but I am very happy I bought it. Totally worth it! I haven’t chosen to smoke my flower with glass since I got the Volcano. I haven’t broken any rigs and my cough is almost totally gone. The only problem was all the Cannabis vapor spilling into the room. Usually, the flower vapor shoots from the Volcano

top into a big plastic bag, similar to a Glad oven bag, where it’s contained until you inhale it through a plastic mouthpiece. But that day, the Volcano seemed to be expelling more vapor into the room than into the bag. I couldn’t figure it out. The room was much hazier than usual. Garcia had conveniently run out of suggestions and become very mellow. His eyes were barely at half mast, and he looked like he was about to roll off his pillow throne any second. I peered at the clear plastic bag to see if I could locate a tear. The bag was so crinkly, it took me a few minutes and a trip to the car for my reading glasses before I located three little punctures on each side of the bag. Huh? I wonder how those got there. No worries, that’s what tape is for. I covered the holes with tape and got back to business. The tape seemed to do the trick. The Cannabis vapor stayed in the bag. HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT Fast forward to the next day. I was so frustrated. I couldn’t find the bag to use with the Volcano. I knew I hadn’t misplaced the bag, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I turned to ask Garcia if he’d seen the bag and mouthpiece, when I realized he was acting very chill...again. He hadn’t been his usual annoying, yapping self. He was plopped down on top of his pillows, one paw draped over the other, guarding something underneath his belly. Once I put my glasses on, I could clearly see what looked suspiciously like a Glad oven bag. Garcia was the culprit! That Judas. He had stolen the Volcano bag and was now guarding it, like it was his toy. I considered taking it from him, but I knew enough to know I wouldn’t come out of that battle unscathed. Garcia might only have a few teeth left, but he’s not afraid to use them. The Volcano bag and every member of my family can attest to that fact. I wanted to get angry at Garcia for stealing my plastic bag, but how could I? It clearly made him relaxed and happy. Everybody deserves to be happy. And I have more oven bags. I learned a long time ago, you can never have too many baggies on hand.

-Dysco

SUBMITTED

I HAVEN’T CHOSEN TO SMOKE MY FLOWER WITH GLASS SINCE I GOT THE VOLCANO. I HAVEN’T BROKEN ANY RIGS AND MY COUGH IS ALMOST TOTALLY GONE.

to MARYLAND LEAF

by Mike Ricker What We Learned From Slugworth Ever yone has seen “ Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factor y,” right? Well Slugworth, in case you have the memor y of Dori the Fish, is the creepy, long-faced fucker who scares kids straight. Kind of like that sinister, spider-like pervert in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” who smells children better than his own farts, but that’s an entirely different thesis. These guys are good old-fashioned villains. Stories need them. They play a vital role, which is to initially cause you discomfort so that when there is a release of tension, your happy ending is a reward - leaving you with an accomplished sensation of satisfaction. It’s what keeps us buying movie tickets. And this earned relief is imperative in society today, because badly needed is a reinforced belief in the determination of humans. You see, real life used to mean having to overcome pestilence and armed invaders, but now we just live vicariously through film that does the work for us. Even “WALL-E,” a picture about how lazy and worthless people have become in the future because of the advancement of technology, has a conflict and resolution with a happy ending that leaves us with the positivity of goodwill. Which goes to prove that in cinema, even a society with no purpose other than to sit on their ass all day in a spaceship and drink Big Gulps is capable of redeeming value.

Mar.2020

Anyway, Slugworth was the x-factor Wonka’s inside double agent, the mole. It was his job to test the moral compass of these neurotic little rascals. So, what we learned from Slugworth, even though he led a misleading guise himself, is that honesty is the best policy. And if your values outshine your greed, the redemption is as inextinguishable as the Everlasting Gobstopper. And what we learned from Willy Wonka is that with simple imagination, flavored wallpaper, chewing gum meals, and fizzy lifting drinks are conceivable if you just believe in your dreams. And even more wonderful: They can all be weed-infused.

Get the audio version and every episode at Stoney-Baloney.com

@RickerDJ

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Maryland Leaf — Mar. 2020

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