CONC NTRATES
YOU'LL FLIP FOR THIS LIMITED EDITION BRIQ AND STRAIN
710 demands the gold standard of oil and Select shines again. This special edition Briq has a custom gold drip and is packed with 2g of our limited edition oil, Pineapple Upside Down Cake. This golden Hybrid is inspired by a long lineage of Pineapple Express strains and pops with sweet pineapple, vanilla pound cake, and caramelized sugar with a cherry on top for big flavor that's flippin' delicious.
It’s Better Live.
LEAF / OREGON LEAF / ALASKA LEAF
WES ABNEY CEO & FOUNDER wes@leafmagazines.com
MIKE RICKER OPERATING PARTNER ricker@leafmagazines.com
TOM BOWERS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER tom@leafmagazines.com
DANIEL BERMAN CREATIVE DIRECTOR daniel@leafmagazines.com
TERPODACTYL MEDIA CONTENT DIRECTOR amanda@leafmagazines.com
MIKE GIANAKOS ONLINE EDITOR mikeg@leafmagazines.com
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MICHAEL CZERHONIAK ADVERTISING SALES michael@leafmagazines.com
PAIGE RICHARDS ADVERTISING SALES paige@leafmagazines.com
ABOUT THE COVER
For the 2024 Concentrates Issue cover, the team dreamed up a dab like no other and passed the torch to the terrifically talented Mark Archer from Windham, Maine. He fired it up on a flawless Toro “Grail” (banger), roasted some rosin, and the rest is history. "Creating with hash rosin is one of my favorite things to do," says Archer. "When the Leaf approached me with the cover concept, I was absolutely stoked to try and bring the idea to life. Thankfully with the help of a fresh Toro Glass Grail and after a few (messy) days of trials, the hashterpiece before you was born."
PHOTO BY MARK ARCHER @THECURATORCO.ME HASH ROSIN BY @NORTHEASTSOLVENTLESS
CONTRIBUTORS
WES ABNEY, NATIONAL NEWS
ADHDDEAD, REVIEWS
MARK ARCHER, PHOTOS
BOBBY BLACK, FEATURES + DESIGNS
JOSHUA BOULET, ILLUSTRATION
TOM BOWERS, FEATURES
ALEX DUBS, PHOTOS
REX HILSINGER, FEATURE + PHOTOS
MATT JACKSON, FEATURES
JESSE JOHNSON, FEATURES
JAKE KERN, FEATURES
GREG MALCOLM, PHOTOS
LEXI PADUSSIS, SALES
MIKE RICKER, FEATURES
TONY RINALDO, PHOTOS
MIKE ROSATI, PHOTOS
BRIAN SANNER, FEATURES + PHOTOS
TERPODACTYL MEDIA, FEATURES + PHOTOS
JAMIE VICTOR, DESIGN
BRUCE & LAURIE WOLF, RECIPES
WES ABNEY
Editor’s Note
Thanks for picking up The Concentrates Issue of the Leaf!
We live in a glorious time of Cannabis freedom where we can consume our plant discreetly, in style, and with the simple push of a button or inhale and be high as a balloon. Concentrates are the essential extracts of the plant, delivering the purest form of Cannabinoids and terpenes for our pleasure in the form of dabs, cartridges, precursors for edibles, or topical products that have endless applications. This bounty of drinks and dabs in the dispensary has all come in the last decade or so of experimentation that has radically changed how we consume and share our favorite plant.
I often reminisce on times when smoking weed meant multiple hand washings, a shower of Axe Body Spray, and a triple piece of gum which definitely didn’t make me sound like a slurring stoned goofball when I stepped back onto the sales floor at Big 5 Sporting Goods. There, I would be fired for getting high, even if all the disgruntled shoe fetchers knew which water bottle was full of the manager's vodka in the breakroom fridge.
"IF THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD, COULD THE DAB PEN REPLACE BOTH IN THE FUTURE?"
Indeed, the smell of weed is what got folks in trouble, which is why the dab pen has really changed the game. Even the flavored cartridges, which high-brow rosin smokers look down on in snobby judgment, have a magical place in the modern world of getting high. How else might one get pleasantly baked in front of the bank, outside of church, or anywhere else you might want to blast off without the exhale smelling like piney-kushy-gassy skunks frolicking in the breeze?
Smoking a flavored pen lumps stoners in with the nicotine vapers, who are largely ignored. But, instead of inhaling cancer-causing chemicals, we’re celebrating the plant on the go and at home, with a perfectly timed and temperature-controlled glob of single-source cured resin.
We are creators of targeted, independent Cannabis journalism. Please email us to discuss advertising in the next issue of Northeast Leaf Magazine. We do not sell stories or coverage. We can offer design services and guidance on promoting your company’s medicinal, recreational, commercial or industrial Cannabis business, product or event within our magazine and on our website, LeafMagazines.com. Email paige@leafmagazines.com to start advertising with Northeast Leaf!
Exclusive Cannabis Journalism
Inside this issue of the Leaf you’ll find a curated selection of some of the finest resins, rosins, pens and extracts that represent the many ways the plant can be transformed into unique highs and medicinal products that are all safer than alcohol.
Cannabis is the healthy choice! The many reviews and all the pontificating and puffing make me wonder. If the pen is mightier than the sword, could the dab pen replace both in the future?
Albert Einstein famously said, "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” Given the choice, I believe it would be preferable if we all just got stoned.
NORTHWEST
/ MARYLAND LEAF / CALIFORNIA LEAF / NORTHEAST LEAF / UTAH LEAF
MARYLAND GOVERNOR ISSUES HISTORIC PARDONS FOR 175,000 CANNABIS CONVICTIONS
Maryland leads the way in drug war reparations with the historic pardons issued by Gov. Wes Moore freeing 175,000 from the burden of a drug conviction.
“Today, we take a big step enacting the kind of policies that can reverse the harm of the past and to help us to work together to build a brighter future," said Moore.
"This is a big deal. This is a really big deal.”
“...more than 150,000 convictions for simple possession, and over 18,000 paraphernalia charges.”
The pardons are largely for misdemeanor charges, with more than 150,000 convictions for simple possession, and over 18,000 paraphernalia-related charges. These backdated pardons cover arrests prior to Cannabis being legalized in the state in 2023, which linger on criminal records and can limit employment, housing or other opportunities. While 24 states have legalized Cannabis, none have taken such a significant action to right the wrongs of the war on drugs.
"We cannot celebrate the benefits of legalization if we do not address the consequences of criminalization," Moore said to WBALTV.
"That rollout [of legalization] must go hand in hand with pardoning past conduct, and Maryland is going to lead by example."
A pardon is not an expungement, but it will be noted on an individual's criminal record that the charge has been pardoned. This provides a legal shield against discrimination, meaning people can honestly say they have not been convicted of a Cannabis-related crime. While many of the early states to legalize focused solely on tax revenue generation and creating new rules that burdened the Cannabis industry, it appears that Maryland is truly living up to the goal of progressive legalization.
by the numbers
$40m
Amount of money raised by Smart & Safe Florida in their bid to get recreational marijuana legalization on the 2024 ballot.
MICHIGAN OFFICIALLY SELLS MORE
POT BY METRIC TRACKED VOLUME THAN CALIFORNIA
California has led the world in production, sales and export of Cannabis for decades, but California’s market domination might be changing, at least in legal tracked sales.
Michigan legalized Cannabis five years ago, but the Wolverine State has been growing weed in the woods for a long time.
Ann Arbor, Michigan decriminalized Cannabis in 1974, making it one of the few free cities for stoners pre-legalization. We know Michigan loves weed, but are they really selling more than California?
According to point of sale data from BDSA, a Cannabis market intelligence company, Michigan is selling more grams of flower and units of products like vapes and dabs than California. Headset (another top data firm) also confirms that Michigan is selling more units than California, at least legally.
In terms of overall sales by cash value, CA is leading the way with $5.1bn in annual sales, versus Michigan’s $3bn in estimated recreational sales. While it isn’t a contest, that’s a ton of pot, jobs and tax revenue to support the state.
Our take is that the analysis is only as good as the data given, which makes the sensational headlines about Michigan selling more pot than California wrong. By many estimates the illegal Cannabis market is two to three times as large in California as the legal market, which isn’t accounted for in traceability systems. The West Coast is still the top dog when it comes to growing, selling and shipping pot, but as demand shifts to local, legal weed in new markets, it’s clear that states like Michigan, New York and Texas will one day sell much more weed than the Golden State.
LEGALIZATION
MINNESOTA CRACKS DOWN ON WEED SALES AHEAD OF LEGAL MARKET LAUNCH IN 2025
IN
Minnesota, weed is illegal to sell in flower form until the legal market launches next year, prompting police to continue the war on drugs as sales continue in retail locations around the state.
Police raids netted 120 pounds of illegal flower from 91 retail locations, which sounds like a lot of risk, gas money and overtime for cops to fill a few tote bins full of weed that is illegal simply because it isn’t taxed or tracked yet. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) is responsible for regulating the market, and they were acting on reports of Cannabis being sold as hemp.
The Hemp Bill passed by Congress allows sale of hemp products with less than 0.3% THC, which includes high potency Cannabis flower, as the predominant Cannabinoid is THCA until it’s heated and smoked. This loophole has allowed “illegal” Cannabis dispensaries to flourish in states around the country that haven’t legalized.
The OCM of Minnesota has been on the warpath, seizing 320,000 edibles so far this year, and raiding many shops for selling hot hemp products that will soon be legal to sell. They also warn that retailers who violate the law will face fines of up to $1,000,000. There’s no word if they expect this to stop all Cannabis use in the state until it’s actually legal to buy next year, but the OCM wants those in fear of illegal weed to know that they are doing “targeted” and “complaintbased” enforcement until licenses become available.
2024 CA STATE FAIR TO OFFER CANNABIS CONSUMPTION AND SALES
Judges of this year's pie contests will have the added advantage of really tasting the home-cooked flavor after visiting an onsite consumption lounge at the fairground.
Visitors to the fair won’t have to get high in their cars or hit the vape pen discreetly, as this year’s offerings include a 30,000square-foot consumption lounge where people can buy and try Cannabis from around the state. Similar to an Amazon store in Seattle, but likely with better security, customers will be able to scan QR codes and purchase Cannabis thanks to Embarc’s onsite retail license.
“...a major milestone in the state fair’s 170-year history.”
“This initiative spotlights the significant role of cannabis in California’s agricultural industry, marking a major milestone in the state fair’s 170-year history,” James Leitz, executive producer of the fair’s Cannabis competition and exhibit, said in a release. “Expanding the competition to include all form factors and providing patrons the opportunity to directly engage with and consume winning brands is transformational for public understanding of the plant.”
This year’s fair will also have a Cannabis category, where growers can enter their best flower in the hunt for a blue ribbon, or in this case, a gold medal. Our hot take? Go for the fair food, stay for the dabs, but avoid the rollercoaster after a trip to the ice cream cart.
meltin’ in
The 2024 Northeast Dab-A-Doo got underway with a cast of 24 incredible competitors, each competing for a chance to win one of the most enduring and honorable competitions in the world of hashish. Created by Mila Jansen, the Hash Queen, Dab-A-Doo is a contest centered all around traditional and modern forms of resin. This is the competition Jansen has spent the last decade of her life hosting all over the world, where some of the most respected people in Cannabis have judged or competed in. Dab-A-Doo’s latest foray into the Northeast is the passion play of four talented individuals: Cassandra Purdy, Ben Handwerger, Ben McCabe and Ben Chambers.
A VEGETARIAN CHEF, activist and copy editor for Mila’s book, Purdy first met Jansen at a High Times competition in Amsterdam during the ‘90s. The plan for Dab-A-Doo Northeast really started about four years ago when Purdy started the plans to open New England’s first Hash-centric dispensary.
“Sweetgrass Botanicals is the only dispensary on the East Coast where you can watch the hash being made live,” Purdy told Northeast Leaf. “Part of the mission is trying to connect with people who are into hash and gather together the whole community. From the start, we knew one of the best ways to do that would be to have a Dab-A-Doo.”
When she got confirmation from Handwerger that the property they wanted was available, she knew this was going to be one for the books and enlisted the three talented Bens to help make the dream a reality.
“There’s such an honor in getting to throw this event,” Handwerger said between puffs of a thick joint.
“Mila is a legendary figure in our community and knowing that we can help create a moment like this is a dream come true.”
This was a slightly more intimate version of the event, with 24 different flavors in the lineup, no dry sift category, and tons of on-site amenities. People sat together on long tables that formed a U-shape in front of Mila so she could interact with everyone. You almost had lunchroom-style groups forming, where people shared equipment with their neighbors who had traveled for the event and bonded over a beautiful shared experience. Mila expressed that this is one of the parts of the event she has treasured since its inception: “What I like about Dab-A-Doo most is that nobody’s
looking at their bloody phone. Everybody’s communicating whether they’re from the same part of the world or not, and I think that’s so different from everything else today.” Along with cultivating a very community-session vibe, the team’s primary goal was to collaborate with Mila on some operational changes to the format of the competition. After listening to feedback from the community, especially around the subject of full melt, Cassandra and the three Bens wanted to update the way samples were distributed, which would preserve both temperature and terpenes. Every 15 minutes, a new number was brought out and served to the judges, who looked over the jars before passing them down and closely examining their samples to
MILA JANSEN
mass
"You almost had lunchroom style groups forming, where people shared equipment with their neighbors who had traveled for the event and bonded over a beautiful shared experience.”
not only women competitors but also women judges for the event,” said Purdy.
better score each entry. Every maker was allowed to submit temperatures for both their larger jars and the portioned-out samples the judges received, ensuring the optimal appearance and consistency for each one.
“When we first started this ten years ago, there wasn’t this whole thing about temperature. There wasn’t even much that needed to be kept in a freezer,” said Mila. “I’m glad to see the updates and I think it was good to get them one at a time and not just in a big pile.”
Judges like Dank Dutchess, Jenn Doe and Jillian Krall said they were also pleasantly surprised by the switch up. “At first it was a little slow but as we got going you really had to keep on your game to keep from falling behind,” Krall said between jars.
One thing Purdy mentioned was the strong female presence, not only in the judges’ panel but the entries as well. “We went to a tremendous effort to get
Being from the West Coast, it was refreshing to see a lineup of names I didn’t immediately recognize from Cali’s competition circuit.
There are so many Maine brands out there that you really got a chance to see what is making the state such a hotbed of up-and-coming hash and weed brands right now. Not to mention that the East Coast has a different set of favorite flavors, and the gassy, funky crowd was in full effect for this one and the full melt entries were outstanding examples of quality.
the full melt came out there was a coffee service and parchment paper delivered to the tables.
WINNERS LIST
rosin
1. Michelin Terps
“Super Boof” (jar 11)
2. Grow Space Killa
“Hachimaki Grape Juice” (jar 12)
3. Third Shift Resin
The soundtrack for both days was also an intentional pairing. A set of master musicians, Skot Hanna and Andy Algire, calling themselves “Wallpaper Weird,” performed a 10-hour-long set that created an immersive soundscape with drums, guitars, electric sax and even a koto. There were times where you genuinely felt like the audio was transporting you to some science-fiction session on a faraway world. More than once, I looked over and caught fellow judges Danny Danko and Adam Dunn grooving to the music.
“Wedding Pie”(jar 15) full melt
1. Third Shift Resin
”Stuntz” (jar 20)
2. Creme De La Creme
Alongside the 16 different rosins and eight different full melts, Dab-ADoo attendees were served a menu of small plate snacks prepared by professionally trained chefs who sent out personal charcuterie boards, chimichurri steak, woodfired French onion pizzas and traditional Austrian desserts. A longtime chef, Purdy prepared the menu, and it cannot be understated how well fed everyone was throughout this Dab-A-Doo. After sitting down, the only reason you’d need to stand up was to stretch your legs. They even made sure that before
“93 Octane” (jar 22)
3. Grind Cannabis
“Halle Berry” (jar 21)
With any luck, the crew will bring this back next year and I hope that they keep the same feeling of event-with-a-competition instead of competition event.
“We all worked so hard on this one that we’ll need a minute to look back and do some planning before next time, but I think everyone agrees there should be a next time,” said Organizer Ben Chambers.
www.shopsweetgrass.com
@sweetgrassdispensarylee @dab_a_doo-event @milahashqueen
The following morning I asked Mila if she knew this was going to be such a special time. She turned her head towards the morning sun, inhaled from her spliff and smiled mischievously, “I knew it would all work but I didn’t dream it would unfold quite like this.”
@werglz @benjamenmccabe @thecannacaptain
Mia Shea “Raincatcher #32”
Meet Mia Shea! She’s a tenured borosilicate glass artist who got her start on the torch at the Zen Studio in St. Petersburg, Florida, back in 2011. Since then, she’s done demos around the world, including Switzerland’s Cannatrade and at the Annual Degenerate Flame Off in Portland, Oregon.
THIS GLASS YOGINI currently calls Bellingham, Washington home. If you look closely, you might find her wandering the beaches on the shores of the San Juan Islands. You also might recognize Mia’s work from the cover feature in our Glass Issue back in April 2022.
Since then, this amazing artist has continued to grow her craft and solidify herself as a prominent artist in the contemporary glass art movement.
This representation is some of her most current work to date and highlights the range and intricacies of Mia’s translation from vision to physical art in the glass medium. Enjoy her description of this provocative journey into the past.
“In the Native American prophecy, White Buffalo Calf Woman came at a time of peril and brought with her the teachings of wisdom and peace so greatly revered in these ancient traditions” Shea says. “As the people circled around, she gifted them the Sacred Pipe so they could pray to all life. In regaining connection with ritual, balance was restored.”
Mia brings reverence of days past and transparency to this vestige of ancient Native
American legacy. This piece shines light on a story that is meaningful to the current times as we navigate our way through a changing civilization.
The ancients speak of a simpler time when the act of manifesting one’s success would ring true for the entire tribe. Be that of a physical construct like the peace pipe or the mindset of bringing individual empowerment to help society join as one. We all stand to benefit from understanding the history of our peoples’ great past. I, for one, hope that this piece transpires the realms of time.
“My art is a vision of borosilicate glass born from the alchemy of inner power,” Shea says. “Through my quest to understand the multidimensional universe and investigating the interior landscapes of the soul, the glass has become an instrument in which I express the beauty of these incredible forces, masculine and feminine, working together. For this art requires the marriage of softness and fierceness in equal proportion. Borosilicate glass has truly become my greatest teacher and I am grateful to have been able to learn from so many amazing flameworkers. It is an honor to make this art for the people and bring the mystical feminine to life.”
“Through my quest to understand the multidimensional universe and investigating the interior landscapes of the soul, the glass has become an instrument in which I express the beauty of these incredible forces, masculine and feminine, working together. “
@miasheaglass miasheaglass.com
miasheaglass.bigcartel.com
CHILL OUT!
No-Bake Edibles to Beat the Heat
SERVES TWO
PISTACHIO DREAMS
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
1 small banana, sliced
1 whole lime, cut into chunks
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
(from 2 large limes) or concentrate
1/4 cup shelled, unsalted pistachios plus 1 tablespoon chopped pistachios, for garnish 2 to 4 tablespoons honey (depending on how sweet you want it)
2 teaspoons canna-coconut oil
1. Put all the ingredients except for the chopped pistachios in a blender and blend on medium speed until smooth.
2. Divide the smoothie between 2 glasses and garnish each with 1/2 tablespoon of pistachios.
SERVES SIX
LET'S HAVE HUMMUS
1 medium garlic clove, chopped 1/4 cup tahini
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained/rinsed
2 tablespoons canna oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
1. In the bowl of a food processor, puree the garlic, tahini and lemon juice.
2. Add half the chickpeas and pulse to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining chickpeas.
3. With machine running, add the canna oil.
4. Add the zest, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse briefly to combine. Dust with paprika.
SERVES SIX
AVOCADO CRAB PASTA
3/4 pound spaghetti
2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Zest and juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons canna-oil
1 pound cleaned and cooked crab meat
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain and reserve 1/3 cup pasta water.
AS THE SUMMER HEAT and humidity intensify, I steer clear of using the oven and opt for cool beverages and no-heat meals. The top of the stove is OK, but I avoid turning on my oven until September. Obviously, I can’t always get away with this, but I try. I’m infusing with Girl Scout Cookies grown legally by my friend Teresa. It’s a lovely hybrid that leans indica, always uplifting and mellow. It’s a keeper. The recipes are guidelines; you can change ingredients, like shrimp instead of crab, and try a hummus with black beans instead of chickpeas. It’s summer, let’s chill out. Laurie@Laurieandmaryjane.com
3. In the bowl of a food processor, puree the avocado, scallion, garlic, lemon zest and juice, and parsley. With the machine running, add the oils in a steady stream until the mixture is a smooth paste. Thin with pasta water if too thick.
4. Place the spaghetti in a large bowl and toss with the sauce, crab and cheese.
5. Serve topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan and a squeeze of lemon.
PATIENTS OF THE MONTH
Jonathan & Caroline Crandall
JONATHAN AND CAROLINE CRANDALL are life partners as well as business partners. The couple celebrated the grand opening of their medical Cannabis dispensary, Green Theory, this past April. The shop is located on the outskirts of the Georgetown neighbor hood in Washington, D.C., and was something Jonathan had envisioned as a job since he was a teenager. He started using Cannabis to help with anxiety, not knowing much about it other than it made him feel better.
“This is where I wish I was back then,” he said about opening the dispensary. “I never really thought of it as an actual possibility because we can’t make the laws ourselves.”
Caroline, however, had not been involved in the industry until recently. Although she started smoking casually in high school, she said she did not become more involved in the industry until last year. She left her position at The Washington Post to help take on more of the business side of the shop, utilizing skills she acquired from her previous jobs and her master’s degree in analytics.
“We’re still relatively young at this point. I feel like if you’re going to take a leap of faith in life, let’s do it and try and see,” she said.
It required a few different paths to get to opening a dispensary. In 2017, Jonathan started The Highlands and would go to different pop-ups to sell various Cannabis products under D.C.’s Initiative 71 marijuana law, which is where vendors can offer Cannabis as a gift with the purchase of another product. Because there were only a handful of medical dispensaries and licenses available, the gifting market took over.
“It got pretty relaxed where people were ultimately selling weed with no regulation,” he said.
Not too long after he started the Cannabis delivery company Dessert First, D.C. announced it would be opening up licensing opportunities to I-71 gifters. Jonathan and Caroline jumped at the opportunity before the gifting scene was shut down.
“We became the first I-71 gifters to fully convert and open as a medical dispensary in D.C.,” he said.
The couple got their medical cards in preparation for opening the store and began
going to different dispensaries to try products and conduct marketing research. Before Green Theory’s grand opening, there were only six medical dispensaries open in D.C., and Caroline said there isn’t much information about D.C. medical Cannabis because of the small number of medical stores open.
“Any time anyone gives us any guidance, we jump on that because we’re out here flying blind because the I-71 market is so different,” she said.
Caroline also said the shop will focus on being compliant. While they were visiting local dispensaries, she said they observed how diligent the shops were at correctly labeling products, which is a change for them coming from the gifting market.
“As we’re starting out, we’re slowly building up our customer base and have all this overhead. It’s really nice to not be alone in this, so we’ve definitely been leaning on each other in that aspect,” Jonathan said.
With the dispensary now open, Jonathan and Caroline have their own goals for what they hope to bring to the D.C. Cannabis community and to those who are visiting from beyond the district.
“It’s awesomeforusto getthisopportunity tobecomelegal andcompliantwith thegovernmentand dosomethingwe bothbelievein.”
“It’s awesome for us to get this opportunity to become legal and compliant with the government and do something we both believe in,” she said.
When they aren’t working, the two enjoy indulging in indica-leaning hybrids or full indica strains. Jonathan said he loves the classics like Master Kush and Blueberry, while Caroline said her favorite strain is Gushers, preferring to vape her Cannabis.
In addition to wanting to introduce more analytics into the market, Caroline wants the shop to be inviting to the community, which she said includes a lot of female and older visitors. She said this became important to her after having a conversation with her mom.
“It could be uncomfortable walking into a male-dominated smoke shop,” she said. “They’re looking for a store that seems trustworthy, and I want to show our sincerity to the community by the way our store looks.”
While Jonathan’s main goal is accessibility and making sure his products are safely tested for his customers, he also said he hopes that by opening the dispensary, he can help with opioid harm reduction.
“Throughout my whole life I’ve had friends pass away from that,” he said. “I’ve also had friends who got completely off of it through edibles and using Cannabis in general.”
The two have built a strong support system through the process of opening the shop, saying that with all of the challenges and stress, they’re lucky nothing has gotten out of hand. greentheorydc.com @greentheorydmv
Chocolatina
“IN TREES WE TRUST” Massachusetts’ own Nature’s Heritage is known for a diverse range of genetics, and we at the Leaf love to see what they’re coming out with next. For this issue, we got our hands on Chocolatina, a strain hailing from the stable of Exotic Genetix Mike. It was created by crossing Tina (Constantine x Triple OG) with Mint Chocolate Chip (Sin Mint Cookies x Green Ribbon BX), both of which are also Exotic Genetix Mike creations.
Chocolatina
Upon opening the jar, my nose was met with a complex array of aromas. The first thing to hit me was the refreshing scent of a pine forest, quickly followed by what I can best describe as an earthy cheese funk that was left lingering in the air.
As I peered into the jar, my eyes gazed at the bright green trichomeladen buds within, each one with a little morsel of Cannabis joy just waiting to be enjoyed. What better time than the present?
I reached in and pulled a few choice buds out, and into my grinder they went. After a few turns, I opened up the grinder and stuck my nose to the freshly ground buds to get one more whiff of those pine funk terps before rolling it up to enjoy.
As the first pull from my joint passed through my lips, I could actually taste a slight smooth chocolate flavor on the inhale, with hints of nuts and rich sweetness left marinating on my tongue as I exhaled a cloud of rich smoke.
Almost immediately, a tingly feeling rippled outward from my forehead throughout my entire body just like a rock would create ripples on a lake after it was thrown in. The tingling faded into a blissful relaxation that eased my tensed muscles. Next time you are looking for a treat to help ease your day, I would highly recommend taking a trip to the chocolate forest, and give Chocolatina from Nature’s Heritage a try.
naturesheritagecannabis.com
32.07% THC | @naturesheritage_
REVIEWS
Mission Hill Melts Dayglow
Dayglow is a sativadominant strain that promises to provide you with a radiant, euphoric high and an energetic bounce in your stride. It’s the ideal companion for navigating the day’s unpredictable adventures, especially for those managing ADHD. The rich blend of zesty citrus and sweet pine aromas transforms your experience into an unexpected aromatherapy delight, inviting you to explore the intricate terpene profile it offers.
Nature’s Heritage Mimosa live resin cartridge is short, stylish and packs a flavorful punch. This 510-style cartridge will fit on most batteries on the market, and I find it best used 2.8v-3v setting, for best flavor and effects. During inhalation, the flavors of sour fruit with a hint of wood coat my tongue, followed by herbs on the exhale. A sudden shiver of energy rushes over my body and focuses my mind. Soon after, there’s a smile on my face and a slight droop to my eyes. Perfect for the end of the day. @naturesheritage
Wisely Hash
Golden State
Banana
Hash Rosin
The tropical fruit and ripe banana infusion in Wisely’s Golden State Banana rosin made my mouth water as the sweet terpenes wafted up from the freshly opened jar. I scooped a generous dollop onto my dabber and into my rig, and soon after, a fragrant cloud of banana terpenes enveloped the room, bringing a gentle relaxation to my muscles. Golden State Banana is certainly a treat to have on hand this summer. @wiselyhash
Weaving Genetics Fire Breathing Alien
Rory Farms Tres Leches
Tres Leches, celebrated for its superb flavor and uplifting high, is a prime choice for lovers of traditional sativa strains. It provides an energizing and uplifting effect that stimulates the mind and lasts for hours. In this state, you may feel creatively inspired and artistically concentrated, ready to address your tasks or enjoy a conversation with friends or family. @roryfarms
Fire Breathing Alien is an absolute powerhouse creation from Weaving Genetics. Made by crossing Fire Alien Romulan with Meatbreath to produce one sweet and funky combination of terpenes. Upon first inhale comes the sweetness; then on the exhale, it’s straight funk. Producing a heavy-headed high that hits you with a cerebral punch you will soon be pondering the universe and invading the fridge. Fire Alien Romulan x Meatbreath | @weavinggenetics3
Salty Cultivation
Wedding Pie Live Rosin
Sweet grapes with hints of nutty dough fill your mouth as you inhale. The flavor takes a pungent turn with a funny herbal overtone that’s followed by sour berries and grapes. Wedding Pie has full-bodied effects that hit both mind and body with different finishes. You’ll feel a light tingle that travels through your mind, filling it with blissfully unfocused calm. @salty_cultivation1.0
REVIEWS
Pleasant Effects Zangria
A caramel-colored sauce slick with terps, Zangria packs a fruity punch. This jar opens up with a sweet wine-like aroma that is immediately zapped with an unmistakably sharp Z that translates well to its flavor. It’s hard to overstate how the Z on these hits lingers with you, delivering a serious splash of terps with a graciously potent effect. Pleasant Effects’ Zangria was grown and washed in-house in Rhode Island, using coco and organic amendments. @pleasanteffects
Hazy Hill Farm Frutas del Diablo
Hazy Hill Farm’s Frutas del Diablo is so tongue-tinglingly sweet that tasting these terps may be worth a deal with the devil. This hash tastes as it smells with a berry sweet top note on the inhale that is undercut with hints of sour before leaving behind notes of cocoa on the exhale. You’ll feel the potency of this one, with a comfortable high that lures you back in for more.
@hazyhillfarm_official
Upstate Gardens
Scottie’s Cake
Enrobed in a crimson and gold baroque jar, Scottie’s Cake is a strain for celebration. A richly golden rosin with a firm butter texture, letting this hash sit for a moment reveals a layer of dewy terps that releases a complex aroma. Hitting your nose with a twist, Scottie’s Cake has a funky aroma cut with a floral sweetness. This is a light high that seems to uplift the whole body without inducing any foggy-headedness.
@upstategardens
Third Shift Resin
Pink Zugar #11
Third Shift Resin’s Pink Zugar #11 showcases its craftsmanship with an immaculate puck of cream-colored rosin. This strain has a clean-laced smell that really draws on the Zkittlez parentage. On inhale, the Straw Guava shines through for a blast of bright summery terps. As you exhale, you can feel the effects of this strain start to settle in, bringing you to the perfect mental and physical state for a day of relaxing in the sun.
@thirdshiftresin
Maine Trees
Blue Lobster
Washed by Third Shift Resin
Maine Trees’ Blue Lobster was one of the biggest flower sensations of 2023, so it is a treat to see a crop washed by the team at Third Shift Resin. These creamy dabs deliver a hit that lives up to this strain’s reputation for serenity-inducing effects. With an inhale of sweet fruit that flows directly into a thick sweet flavor, each exhale is buttery smooth, like wrapping your lungs in a warm blanket. @_mainetrees_
@thirdshiftresin
Art & Craft Canna Candy
Fumez x Papaya
Cold Cure Rosin
Sweet warm papaya notes as you open the jar, this cold cure hash rosin hits a little harder than most Papaya strains with its backbone of “Candy Fumez.” Sweet tropical fruit with a hint of gas on the exhale, a delicious daytime hybrid strain that leans heavily on the fruit candy spectrum.
Cold Cure Rosin
This Dulce de Uva and Sherbanger cross reeks out of the jar with nose-searing notes of allspice, rubber and caramel with a hint of black pepper bite. A complex and unique-smelling hash that perfectly balances sweet and savory before providing a long-lasting energetic, uplifting high. A pinnacle strain for those looking for sweet dessert terps that don’t fall all the way into the candy category. @alohaapothecary
Upward Organics Starburst
36 Cold Cure Rosin
This bright, sweet, melted bubblegum and candy-flavored cold cure rosin comes from a unique place. Upward Organics is Maine’s first net-zero Cannabis cultivator running a 100% solar-powered farm. Like a bright sunny day, this hash provides an uplifted mood and a focused burst of energy on top of its sweet flavor profile. A great strain for an afternoon of outdoor activities under sunny skies. Starburst OG x 97 KC 36 @upwardorganics
Super Saiyan Squish Kush
Lime Sorbet
Cold Cure Rosin
Like a lime green tennis ball that has been soaked in caramelized sugar, this unique mix infuses lime citrus notes with a non-acrid, sweet gas that lingers on the tongue. A strong high from its Bubba Kush lineage underpins a tasty, indica-leaning hybrid with a powerful body high that reduced nausea and left me searching the cabinets for yummy treats. It was my first time trying Super Saiyan Squish’s work, and I found myself going back to this jar.
@supersaiyansquish
YabaDABadoo! This cold cure hash rosin that was washed by Hidden Forest Farms and grown by Burny Terps has an incredibly enticing smell that translates beautifully to taste. A powerful lineage of Fruity Pebble OG x Z Cube x Red Piegasm leads to a fruit-forward, candy-soaked symphony of flavors that tease you before you get unexpectedly walloped with a heavy-handed high that will send you back to “The Stoned Age.” @burnyterps
Burny Terps Red Pebblez
Washed by Hidden Forest Farms
INTRODUCING
EXTREMELY TASTY & POTENT
Whole bud flower is infused with a proprietary process that combined diamonds, natural botanical terpenes and pure kief all contained within the pre-roll to produce a potent flavor explosion and high THC content for that desired Lift o or couch lock without the mess and burn of a traditional pre-roll.
REVIEWS
Oasis Refinery
Citron Cookies
Bright citrus terps with an underlying cookie dough nuttiness power an energizing and uplifting high. A perfect daytime strain for those who start early, this cold cure rosin leans into its citrus roots without being overwhelmed by them. A really nice balanced expression with a strong
Monkey Jones Maple Fumez Cold Cure Rosin
Sweet maple candy Z terps come bursting off this cold cure hash rosin from Monkey Jones. With maple syrup notes floating through this delectable combination of Black Maple and Candy Fumez, you might think this is a daytime strain. However, its surprising potency is not for the morning crowd and left this reviewer in a pleasantly enjoyable dazed stupor. Black Maple x Candy Fumez | @_monkey_jones
Flavor Farming
Mattabrand
90-149u
Helios Double Black Diamond
This jar has a “wow” effect, from the beautiful Justin Lovato artwork to the potent, complex nose and, of course, beautifully cured hash rosin. Upon cracking the jar, you’re greeted with a loud, sweet, gassy note before settling into a perfect ly balanced mix with sharp underlying stonefruit from its Wedding Pie lineage that stays back to linger and expands the full range of flavor. It hits heavy with its OG backbone shining strong. @helios_hash
Fernando Ufret
Rugged Roots
TK43 BHO
Hash Rosin
This delightfully doughy, first-wash, single-source, indoor soil-grown cold-cure hash rosin is a cross between (ECSD x i95) x Josh D OG.
A heavy hitter that leans into the Triangle Kush from two of its parents with just a hint of Sour Diesel on the exhale. The smell translates nicely on the palette, and
TK 43 BHO from Rugged Roots is a loud, heavy-hitting concentrate that stays true to its lineage. The jar revealed a pool of oily and orange terps that whipped up into a creamier badder. The nose was quite gassy, bringing the ammonia/cleaner type aroma that comes with TK 43 to the forefront, but with a light citrus note in the backend. The flavor and potency on the exhale are strong, but the effects are ultimately calming and put the user in a state of ease and relaxation. @fernanufret @ruggedrootscultivation
THE ART GALLERY HIDING IN YOUR FRIDGE!
PThe traditional market is also pushing at the fringes of design in a (mostly) friendly competition that often feels like that scene in “American Psycho” where they’re all comparing business cards.
Behind the crowd of embossed, spotcoated and reflective examples, brands are pushing the envelope, such as Ogre Farms whose Double-Decker series stacks two jars on top of each other and wraps them in a giant-size, full-color scene from their upcoming comic book. Other examples are the exquisitely done jars from Professor Sift and glass artist Kaj Beck which look less like a Miron jar and more like some kind of powerful relic from a video game.
It’s not just brands doing the heavy lifting. On the illustrative side, we’ve seen commissions from artists like Burrito Breath, Lot Comedy, Dynasty Design and Idio Synape release hit after hit towards the fences without any sign of stopping.
Whether disguised to look like an everyday object or covered in bright colors and holographic details, jars of hash are examples of modern pop art that nestle comfortably in the palm of your hand.
NOTEWORTHY COLLABS
At the end of 2023, San Diego-based CLSICS partnered with Bay Area creative Porous Walker to drop a collection of merch and products including “Nobra Venom” (Cadillac Rainbow x Apple Tart), which came out as live rosin and hash hole in collectible packaging. This project also spawned a live version of Walker’s bong toke arcade game that became part of the 2024 San Francisco Weed Week.
Over in Michigan, Peachy Hash & Co. released its first-ever blend titled “Hash Pie.” This triple-team-up came complete with a coupon to scarf down some slices at local pizza giants Pie Sci and Nardo’s. To commemorate this 400-gram moment, the project commissioned some stunning artwork by Detroit illustrator Jason Abraham Smith.
In the Golden State, Netflix just finished its 10-day “Netflix Is A Joke” festival, described as perhaps the biggest comedy event in history. To commemorate the occasion, comedy powerhouse Frank Castillo and Kalya Extracts put out an exclusive batch of Zazaya (Papaya x Z) called “Frank’s Headstash,” which featured the funnyman’s stoned face across the jar in a move that was described as “amazing,” “creepy,” and “accurate.”
ACKAGING ART is another way the concentrate world is making eyes water. These box and jar stickers are miniature masterpieces that hit the town with a splash and disappear once the flavor runs out, making this constantly evolving modern art form no different than the showcases in galleries from Manhattan to Milan. Since we put out our previous Concentrates Issue, some mind-blowing collaborations and concepts have been released through the imaginations of talented individuals in our industry.
Whether disguised to look like an everyday object or covered in bright colors and holographic details, jars of hash are examples of modern pop art that fit comfortably in the palm of your hand. When you reach into the fridge for your next jar, take a moment to marvel at the tiny world-class art exhibit you’ve curated between the sliced cheese and the orange juice.
KALYA EXTRACTS
CREATIVE CONCENTRATION
THE ART OF DAB SCULPTING
“HASH ART” hearkens to the hard work and passion behind the people pumping out delicious dabs. By catering to each product’s unique characteristics, artists look to provide a peek past the limitations of two-dimensional mediums like social media. The art form teases us to talk about consistency, color and texture in ways traditional product staging and styling can struggle to showcase. Additionally, it invites nonconsumers to explore extracts and concentrates in a friendly, new light. And it’s friggin’ fun! While we’re not attributing the origins of “hash art” to any one person or project — folks, like @ca_organic, were making magical creations with concentrates and extracts over a decade ago — it is worth noting that a few creatives have stepped into the spotlight over the last several years to spark the conversation of sculpture. It’s a style that, in our community, is still fairly fresh. However, it continues to grow as brands and artists alike look to captivate consumers in a sea of social media and marketing monotony.
IN THIS LIGHT, for the 2024 Concentrates and Extracts Issue cover, the team dreamed up a dab like no other and passed the torch to the terrifically talented Mark Archer (@thecuratorco.me) from Windham, Maine. He fired it up on a flawless Toro “Grail” (banger), roasted some rosin, and the rest is history. Archer’s “Dabman” became a star in recent years, but he has since found his footing in a few more styles of “sculpting,” all while developing a stunning set of self-taught photography skills. Intrigued by his journey, we spoke with him about the inspiration behind that delightful little Dabman, the loving labor poured into his craft, and more.
How did you find your way into dab art and sculpting? I was trying to find a way to separate myself after seeing a lot of weed photography becoming more popular around the time. Pretty much everyone was doing basic dabber shots and a lot of the same stuff. I thought, ‘What can I do in this medium to detach myself and make this more appealing.’ That’s when the first ‘Dabman’ was born.
Can you share a little bit about the work behind crafting the cover image? I had to make the word ‘Leaf’ out of hash, and then I had to make that pot leaf individually out of ‘snakes.’ Then I had to shoot that and superimpose it there because it would have been impossible to get the definition of the leaf otherwise. I shot the drips separately in single frames with a high aperture and then put it all together.
That sounds complicated, and all before you’ve even picked up your camera! What’s a common misconception about creative work of this caliber? Sometimes people think that you’re just taking a picture. When I first got into it, people would ask, ‘Why would I pay a photographer when I could do it with my cell phone?’ I’ve spent thousands of dollars on my camera body alone. And taught myself everything. Learning all the programs and techniques takes years to really get down. I went to college for business and marketing, and I try to explain to people that major companies put a large portion of their expenditures into marketing because the product is almost less important than how you present it. In order to get it into someone’s hands, perceived value is everything.
What can this type of creative perspective offer consumers and producers? I think it’s a way to draw new eyes to cultivators and hash makers that wouldn’t have been seen otherwise because of how saturated the market is with traditional Cannabis photography styles. When you’re used to seeing the same thing over and over, it becomes mindless. And when you mold the hash — especially when you’re shooting on a macro scale — you’re showing people a bunch of characteristics about it, while also giving them a palpable piece of media that they’re probably going to remember.
Cold Cured Sour Lemon 90u Hash Rosin by Hidden Forrest Farms
E-85
Live Hash Rosin by Absolute Chronic Farms
GMO
Dry Sift by Newtons Nursery
MARK ARCHER
Animal Style
Live Hash Rosin by Str8 Chronic
Guava Icee Live Hash Rosin by Grind Cannabis Co’s
THE “DABMAN” is an undeniably iconic creation. But this community offers boundless ideas, and with a handful of products and consistencies circulating, the medium provides a plethora of playful options. Many familiar with Archer’s work will recognize our next two talented artists: Alex Dubs (known as @workdubs), and Tony Rinaldo (known as @loud_n_errl_).
On top of crafting our 2023 Concentrate Issue cover, North Carolina artist Alex Dubs dives into an array of lifelike creatures and more. Her art form often features figures ranging from flowers to animals, but you’ll even find wonderfully woven blunts and delicately designed bowls of kief in her collection.
Tony Rinaldo’s style incorporates lively scenes with a mix of flower and other Cannabis forms. But you’ll also catch this Rome, New York resident sculpting everything from scary skulls to sweet snowmen, fun faces and “fresh” fruit. We spoke with Dubs and Rinaldo for more insight into this fascinating field.
How have your skills grown since your first sculpture creation?
Alex: I made a little hash rosin flower, and looking back, it was very basic, but I’m proud of it. I’ve now learned how to manipulate the hash using the heat from my fingers instead of fighting with it, so my flower petals are a lot more advanced and I can create more than just basic shapes now.
Tony: My first post (in 2014-ish) was a nipple made of shatter on top of half an Oil Slick container. I called it ‘Errleola.’ I think we would all agree that my skills have grown tremendously since then! Ha!
What draws you to this art form? Alex: There’s something very peaceful about making Cannabis art. I’m reminded of the Buddhist sand mandalas. It’s the process of creation and then destruction that’s almost spiritualistic. Instead of framing art to hang on the wall and look at, it’s something temporary and meant to be enjoyed. I can take a picture to memorialize it, but my favorite part is consuming it. To dream something
up, create it with your hands, just to combust and consume it — it’s a very refreshing form of art to me.
Why tackle creations outside of the typical jar and dab shot? Tony: They get you thinking and show the product in ways traditional staging and styling doesn’t. For example, they can show you multiple products at once where traditional often offers one at a time. Creative marketing, staging and styling are only limited to the imagination of the people creating it.
TONY RINALDO
PHOTO BY @LOUD_N_ERRL_
PHOTO BY @LOUD_N_ERRL_
PHOTO BY @WORKDUBS
PHOTO BY @WORKDUBS
Nug by Some Guy Organics Concentrate by Mr. Cleans Terpenes, Cheese Hash Co., & Hello Terpenes
Rosin by Sly Fox
Rosin by B.A. Botanicals
Bubble Hash Backstory
Before rosin was all the rage, the most popular form of “solventless” concentrate was water-extracted “ice” or “bubble” hash (so named because it bubbles up when smoked). But unlike charas and dry sift, which were known about millennia, bubble hash didn’t really enter the stoner zeitgeist until the 1990s — thanks to the entrepreneurial endeavors of a cadre of Cannabis icons.
SADU SAM’S SECRET
By most accounts, the history of bubble hash begins with two of the most notorious Cannabis breeders of all time: Holland’s Nevil Schoenmachers and David Watson, aka “Sam the Skunkman” or “Sadu Sam” from Santa Cruz. Legend has it that during their interactions in Amsterdam sometime during the early 1980s, Nevil shared with Sam the secret of how to separate resin glands (trichomes) from Cannabis by agitating it in cold water. He’d allegedly learned this method from an “unknown American” from the Emerald Triangle, who Sam reportedly suspected may have actually been a Canadian named Montreal Mike — an acquaintance of theirs who’d visited the top hashish capitals on the fabled Hippie Trail.
In any case, Skunkman decided to cash in on this valuable new knowledge. He self-published a little manual entitled “Sadu Sam’s Secret” that provided step-by-step instructions for the “hash washing” technique: crushing buds up into a container of cold water, shaking or stirring it briskly, letting it settle, then pouring it through a coffee filter. He then designed a small ad that offered an “amazing natural and organic resin separating technique” using “only 2 common household items” for just $10 and began running it in High Times’ August 1987 issue.
Though many stoners who ordered Sam’s booklet undoubtedly learned the method, it would take nearly a decade for water hash to really take off — thanks in part to the 1998 book “Hashish” by Sam’s pal, botanist/author Robert Connell Clarke that included the technique, and a valuable new tool from the infamous Hash Queen of Amsterdam.
ICE-O-LATION INNOVATION
By the mid-1990s, Mila Jansen was already renowned in the hash community for her invention of the Pollinator — a portable clothes drier-like machine that tumbled the resin glands off of Cannabis (for more on Mila, see Cannthropology - July 2022 at leafmagazines.com). Thus, when a Swiss inventor from Laytonville, California named Reinhard Delp attended the High Times Cannabis Cup in November 1997 seeking to market his new hash-making device, it was the Hash Queen he reached out to. At a private meeting at her house, Delp demonstrated to her his patented Ice-Cold Extractor: a funnel-shaped stainless-steel drum filled with ice water that used pressurized air to separate mature resin heads from the flower.
After signing a contract with Delp to sell his machine, Mila later showed it to two of her friends: a hash smuggler named Eldon and an entrepreneur named Mark Rose. Allegedly, after seeing it in action, Eldon pointed out that the same result could be achieved with just a couple of nylon bags with different screens (Mila denies this claim, saying the idea was hers). Rose then reportedly came up with the name “Ice-O-Later” (since they were using ice to isolate the resin glands) and later inked a deal with Mila for his company ACME Nepal to manufacture their re-envisioning of Delp’s invention. Mila’s Ice-OLator bags premiered at the 1998 Cannabis Cup, kickstarting a long run of award-winning Ice-O-Later hashes over the next several years.
Despite their product’s success, however, their partnership barely lasted a year; Mila split with Mark, retained ownership of the brand and shifted production to Turkey. Although the Ice-O-Lator bags were a revelation in the field, like any prototype, they had their limitations: reportedly allowing some unwanted plant material into the hash and losing more mature trichome heads into the wash. Luckily, these issues would soon be addressed by an enterprising young Canadian who was about to make some serious waves in the world of water hash. Original “Sadu Sam’s Secret” ad (High Times, Aug. 1987).
The extractor schematic from Delp’s patent.
Hash Queen Mila with her Ice-O-Lator kits.
THE BUBBLEMAN COMETH
A hemp grower/entrepreneur hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Marcus Gary Richardson began smoking Nepalese, Moroccan and Afghani hash smuggled in through Montréal and Vancouver in his late teens. It wasn’t until attending the 1995 Cup that he’d first tried bubble hash, courtesy of his mentor-to-be, Rob Clarke.
“It blew my mind,” Richardson remembers. “It just completely changed my life.”
In 1997, Richardson moved to Vancouver, where he started growing for the newly-opened BC Compassion Club and became a big player in the Cannabis market there. That is, until one day in 1998, when he was arrested at a roadblock with around 16.5 pounds of weed and $6,000 in cash — leading him to rethink his career as a Cannabis cultivator: “It was devastating to me. I was really good at it, and I didn’t know what else I could possibly do. And so, my wife just said, ‘Is it possible you can do something with Cannabis that maybe wouldn’t get us put in jail?’”
After a friend showed him the Ice-O-Lator system, Richardson had a flash of inspiration; at the 1999 Cup, he decided to approach Mila with an offer to buy 1,000 sets of bags and become her official distributor in Canada. Unfortunately, that meeting did not go as he’d hoped.
“She was having a very bad day,” Richardson recounts. “We did not have a good conversation.”
He returned home crestfallen, thinking he’d blown his big opportunity. But then, his wife suggested an option he hadn’t considered:
“She said, ‘Why don’t we just make our own bags?’” he recalls. “I looked at her like she was from another planet. I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? I don’t know how to sew!’ And she’s like, ‘Well … I’ll learn.”
But if Richardson was going to create his own water extraction set, he wasn’t about to just make a knock-off of the Ice-O-Lator bags — he’d need to improve on the concept. So rather than just two bags with screens of different micron sizes, he offered three. By March 1999, Richardson had started a new company called Fresh Headies and launched his new ice extraction system, called simply “Bubble Bags.” For the product’s slogan, he borrowed a phrase first coined by Skunkman that he’d learned from Clarke years earlier: “If it doesn’t bubble, it’s not worth the trouble.”
For Bubble Bags’ slogan, Richardson borrowed a phrase first coined by Skunkman that he’d learned from Clarke years earlier: “If it doesn’t bubble, it isn’t worth the trouble.”
Richardson began selling his Bubble Bags on the internet, which, at the time, was still a novel thing that not many people were taking advantage of — that is, except for the clandestine Cannabis community, of course.
“For the first time, thousands of people were gathering on websites such as Cannabis World, Cannabis Culture and Overgrow, and talking about things that were very secretive for many decades prior,” he explains.
Through one of these online forums, Richardson was contacted by Mila’s former associate, Mark Rose, who offered to be his manufacturing partner. Together, they then sourced top-quality materials, such as resilient, specially-coated parachute thread and superior silkscreens from Switzerland. Richardson also gradually expanded the set to eight bags, including the 90- and 120-micron screens able to produce the “caviar of bubble hashes:” 5- and 6-star-rated full melts. As a result, Bubble Bags became the new industry standard for making water hash, and Richardson earned a new nickname: “Bubbleman.”
TROUBLE IN THE BUBBLE
Unfortunately, though, Bubbleman’s successes drew disdain from those whose ideas he’d developed upon. In 2001, Delp sued Richardson for patent infringement: a legal battle that would last nearly a decade before being settled out of court.
“I worked out a deal and paid him six figures for the lease of his patent,” Richardson claims. “So I know how to do business the right way.”
Sadly, Delp passed away in October 2017 without receiving proper public recognition for his invention or the revolution it helped spark.
Even worse, Mila told everyone that Marcus had ripped off her intellectual property (even though, according to him, she herself had ripped off the idea from Delp).
“People thought I had stolen the idea from Mila,” Richardson laments. “So for a very long time in the community, I was looked down upon.” She became further aggravated in December 2002 when High Times writer Kyle Kushman — unaware of their schism or who Mila even was at the time — published the article “Bubble All the Way” that sang the praises of Bubbleman’s product with no mention of where the concept had originated and included photos (provided by legendary breeder Soma) that she believed were of her bags rather than Bubbleman’s. As a result, the Hash Queen called them out in person
at the Cannabis Cup that year — interrupting Kushman’s live “Grow Show” seminar to voice her grievance publicly. Despite Mila’s animosity towards him, however, Richardson says he harbored no hard feelings towards her.
“In her defense, I would’ve hated me as well,” he acquiesces. “She’s a strong woman and a legend in the community, and I respect that. I respect that she was fighting for what was hers, and I respect her hustle … all I wanted was for everything to be good.”
Thankfully, these two luminaries have since come to peacefully coexist in the international hash community that they helped create.
FULL-MELT FUTURE
Mila with protégé Nikka T. Right: Some “full melt” water hash.
With the explosion of butane hash oil (no pun intended) in the 2010s, bubble hash might’ve fallen by the wayside had it not been for the next wave of extract artists who innovated dabbable new forms of water hash by using fresh frozen flower and more complex equipment, enabling them to freeze-dry extracts and manipulate them into textures desirable for dabbing. Perhaps the most notable of these water hash wizards is Essential Extracts founder (and Mila protégé) Nick “Nikka T” Tanem, who coined the term “solventless.” After traveling to Amsterdam in 2003 to apprentice under the Queen herself, Nikka T brought the skills he’d learned back to the US — helping to set the standard, and the stage, for the next decade and beyond.
Today, there are countless concentrate companies across the globe producing some of the finest quality solventless hash that’s ever been made — each of them another ripple in the ice water, another aquatic echo of the stupendous splashes made by those original entrepreneurs of extraction and forerunners of full-melt.
For more Cannabis and hash history content visit worldofcannabis.museum/cannthropology.
Full set of Bubble Bags.
Above:
Marcus “Bubbleman” Richardson.
Kyle Kushman’s “Bubble All the Way” article (High Times - Dec. 2002).
MARCUS RICHARDSON
WE ALL KNOW what this means, right? But in case you’ve been held hostage in the lobby of a dental office for the past decade tortured with easy-listening music and nine-month-old gossip magazines, it’s an acronym for Laughing My Fucking Ass Off. Which implies that someone is overcome with a howling expression of jubilation. And this reflex is so genuine that it goes beyond the ability to contain one’s composure. This is not a giggle. This is not a smirk. This is a response to something that is so inherently funny that it results in a physical burst of happiness, expressed without restraint. The person is not just laughing, they are laughing hysterically.
However, he or she who uses this language, almost always through texting, is only chuckling … maybe. They are not laughing hysterically at all. They are pretending to do so by transmuting their emotions into modern terminology that seemingly does it for them, while the inherent expression of this joy — at whatever level — is still largely restrained within their mind and body. Kind of like being held captive in the lobby of a dental office.
Imagine standing in front of someone and telling them that you are laughing your fucking ass off. They would say, “No you aren’t.” The reply would be, “Right, but I think it’s really funny.” And the other person would say, “Then why aren’t you laughing?”
Yet, when an emogenius sends this expression through their mobile device, they intend to have us believe they are a fun-loving, outgoing friend who drinks up life with an outlandish sense of humor. Realistically, however, this person spends an average of 8-12 hours a day being occupied by a digital screen, and experiences very little to no reaction at all.
Just because you say something doesn’t make it true. By the way, Cannabis is my best friend forever.
