From Maryland to Maine, Your Favorite Brands All Along the Northeast

CURALEAF

@curaleaf.usa | flower, vapes & edibles

SELECT

@select.better | premium vapes & edibles

GRASSROOTS

@grassrootscannabisco | high-quality flower & concentrates

B NOBLE

@bnobleo cial | pre-rolls & flower for a cause

FIND.

@find.your.flower | high-quality flower at prices that’ll make you smile

Endless Coast

@drinkendlesscoast | infused beverages

About The Cover

Phenotype #109 from Humboldt Seed Company’s 10k Plant Phenotype Mega Hunt happened to be particularly photogenic and fortunately for us world class Cannabis photographer Erik “Nugshots” Christiansen was onsite to capture the magic. The cross is Pineapple Upside Down Cake x Squirt. Thefluorescentpinkhairs(stigma)weren’tas strikingwhendriedso#109didn’tmakethe winnerscircle,butstillthisphotohighlights the striking beauty of the Cannabis flower. For all you science nerds out there, check out those stigmatic papillae! Be sure to visit our website, LeafMagazines.com, to see the other covers we released this month with Erik's beautiful close-up work.

COVER & INTERIOR PHOTOS

ERIK CHRISTIANSEN @ERIK.NUGSHOTS

Contributors

BOBBY BLACK, DESIGN

JOSHUA BOULET, ILLUSTRATION

TOM BOWERS, FEATURES

ERIK CHRISTIANSEN, PHOTOS

AMANDA DAY, FEATURES

JENN DOE, SALES

EARLY, PRODUCTION

STEVE ELLIOTT, NATIONAL NEWS

MATT JACKSON, FEATURES

BAILEY JONSON, REVIEWS + PHOTOS

SARA MILLS-GAINES, SALES

BOBBY NUGGZ, REVIEWS + PHOTOS

LEXI PADUSSIS, SALES + FEATURES

BAXSEN PAINE, FEATURES + PHOTOS

MIKE RICKER, FEATURES

CHARLES TAGGART, FEATURES + PHOTOS

JAMIE VICTOR, DESIGN

DAN VINKOVETSKY, FEATURES

NATE WILLIAMS, FEATURES

BRUCE WOLF, PHOTOS

KATHERINE WOLF, FEATURES

LAURIE WOLF, RECIPES

Thanks for picking up The Flower Issue of the Leaf!

Flower power might be a hippie concept, but it really hits the spot with a tasty toke of delicious Cannabis. How lucky are we as humans that our favorite plant has evolved to not only get us high, but feel better?

When you look at the natural world of plants and animals, most evolutionary traits have been developed to protect the species – usually at the expense of whatever unlucky animal comes along for a bite. From the poison dart frog to the stinging nettle, there are very few options that humans can eat and feel better from. This idea is especially prevalent in mushrooms, where similar looking fungi can either be edible or deadly. Thankfully, we have thousands of years of human development and experimentation to credit for our current ability to safely choose our plant-based medicines and recreational adventures.

Going back to Cannabis, it seems beyond lucky that the trichomes and terpenes the plant develops and expresses to keep deer and bugs away, actually light up the human endocannabinoid system perfectly. And if you really want to trip out, don’t forget that it’s the same limonene terpenes in Cannabis that are also in citrus fruits!

“IT SEEMS BEYOND LUCKY THAT THE TRICHOMES AND TERPENES THE PLANT DEVELOPS AND EXPRESSES TO KEEP DEER AND BUGS AWAY, ACTUALLY LIGHT UP THE HUMAN ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM PERFECTLY.”

I feel very blessed to have found our plant beneficial to my health needs, so much so that I started the Leaf in 2010 to share that truth and fight the war on drugs. Back then we didn’t have advanced extraction methods or even the science to isolate THC, let alone the amazing developments of today that have taken the plant into so many uncharted territories. Walk into a dispensary nowadays and you’ll see a whole pharmacy of options that’ll get you high and well at the same time … but what you won’t see in most states is the plant itself.

That’s why we decided to revamp our strains/genetics-themed edition with the official Flower Issue of the Leaf – to talk about the plant, share beautiful photos, and reconnect with the gift that grows from the ground for all of humankind’s benefit. Thank you for reading and sharing the Leaf, and as we head into springtime, please consider planting your own flowers once the dreaded April showers have concluded. There are few greater joys in life than growing and consuming your own Cannabis – an experience every lover of the plant should have at least once. Flower power for the win!