May 2021 - NE Leaf

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INDEPENDENT CANNABIS JOURNALISM SINCE 2010

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SUSTAINABLE CANNABIS PRODUCTION

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TOPICAL OF THE MONTH

28 Dear Biden-Harris Leaf Nation Editor-inChief Wes Abney minces no words in an open letter to the Biden-Harris Administration, calling for those in The White House to follow their halcyon campaign promises and end the war on drugs.

////////// story by WES ABNEY

MAY 2021

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Naomi Lamb Top Hat Concentrates Lead Cultivator

Plant Jam & Cloud Creamery Owner David Yusefzadeh

COURTESY

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Huckleberry Hill Farms Founder Johnny Casali went from serving out a sentence in federal prison to owning a legal Cannabis business and thriving in the hills of Humboldt.

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EDITOR’S NOTE N AT I O N A L N E W S LEGALIZED IT? LOCAL NEWS STONER OWNER BUDTENDER Q&A GLASS ART HIGHLIGHT STRAIN OF THE MONTH THE ACTION ISSUE DEAR BIDEN-HARRIS FROM PRISON TO POT EQUITY IN CANNABIS THE EMERALD CUP S U S TA I N A B L E C A N N A B I S CANNABIS PHILANTHROPY TOPICALS C O N C E N T R AT E S CANNTHROPOLOGY STONEY BALONEY

JEFF DIMARCO

MIKE ROSATI

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E S TA B L I S H E D 2 0 1 0

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

N O RT H W E S T L E A F / O R EG O N L E A F / A L AS KA L E A F / M A RY L A N D L E A F / CA L I F O R N I A L E A F /

A B O U T T H E C OV E R The globetrotting artist Joshua Boulet is renowned for his unique sketches and portrait work, which he has brought to more than two-dozen Leaf Nation covers over the last decade. Chock full of icons, moments and whimsy, Boulet’s delightful illustration for the cover of The Action Issue faithfully captures this powerful moment for our country. As the Cannabis industry reckons with change, and the future of legalization looks ever more promising, there has never been a greater need for our community to come together, rise up, and speak out!

ILLUSTRATION

by JOSHUA BOULET @JOSHUABOULET JOSHUABOULET.COM

CONTRIBUTORS

WES ABNEY | FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

BOBBY BLACK, FEATURES JOSHUA BOULET, ILLUSTRATION TOM BOWERS, FEATURES JEFF DIMARCO, PHOTOS EARLY, PRODUCTION MAX EARLY, FEATURES WYATT EARLY, FEATURES STEVE ELLIOTT, NATIONAL NEWS BAILEY JONSON, FEATURES + PHOTOS BEN NEFF, PHOTOS BOBBY NUGGZ, FEATURES + PHOTOS BAXSEN PAINE, FEATURES JEFF PORTERFIELD, DESIGN MIKE ROSATI, PHOTOS MIKE RICKER, FEATURES MEGHAN RIDLEY, EDITING ZACK RUSKIN, FEATURES TAYPAC PHOTOGRAPHY, BOTM PETE THOMPSON, GLASS JAMIE VICTOR, ILLUSTRATION FLETCHER WOLD, PHOTOS

WES@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

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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 michael@leafmagazines.com to begin supporting and advertising with us!

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ABNEY

Editor’s Note Thanks for picking up The Action Issue of the Leaf !

EVERY PUFF IS A PROTEST, and we’re so full of smoke that we had to blow this Action Issue towards our beautiful Cannabis community.

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Pot might be legal where we live, and it sure feels good to express that freedom, but we have not yet reached the promised land of Cannabis freedom around the world. Our cover highlights a fictional protest for this very reason – with amazing detail including hiding myself and a few Leaf team members by artist extraordinaire Joshua Boulet – but the message goes beyond a fun piece of art. We still have many items to take action on, starting with our community coming together and OUR PEOPLE returning to the roots that drove Cannabis from the underground to HAVE SPOKEN, the mainstream.

AND WE DON’T BELIEVE THAT ANYONE DESERVES TO BE LOCKED IN A CAGE FOR A PLANT.

When I began publishing Northwest Leaf in 2010, the Cannabis community was small, full of passion, and its members at risk of getting arrested on nearly a daily basis. It was activism that drove legalization from idea to reality, from the early pioneers in the ‘60s and ‘70s, to the MMJ pioneers I grew the Leaf with. It was the caucus of voices that led to Hempfest’s spirit of protestival, the enduring Boston Freedom Rally, and the cries of the masses who called for the end of prohibition for the plant we know and love.

We stand on both a rich and sad history, as the true cost of our freedom was others losing theirs as victims in a battle on our own soil. As I state in my open letter to the Biden-Harris Administration printed in this issue, the war on drugs is quickly becoming a war on the American way of life.

Our people have spoken, and we don’t believe that anyone deserves to be locked in a cage for a plant. Or any other drug. So we must keep raising our voices, acting as activists, and bringing the spirit of protest to every pulpit until this unjust war is ended – and we are all free to share our plant and voices as one.

I hope that the stories within this issue inspire you to take action and give you pause when you take your next legal toke of Cannabis. And as you exhale, thank those that fought for us to enjoy that right – letting your spirit be filled with a desire to take action until everyone shares that same freedom.

-Wes Abney MAY 2021

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WES

N O RT H E AS T L E A F

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politics

TRENDS

LEGAL CANNABIS ARRIVES EARLY FOR VIRGINIANS

NEW BILL WOULD ALLOW VA TO PRESCRIBE MMJ TO VETS

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U.S.

Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on April 17 reintroduced legislation to allow doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs to prescribe medical Cannabis to veterans in the 36 states that have established medical marijuana programs, reports Maui Now. “In 36 states, doctors and their patients have the option to use medical marijuana to manage pain – unless those doctors work for the VA and their patients are veterans,” Sen. Schatz said. “This bill protects veteran patients in these states and gives their VA doctors the option to prescribe medical marijuana to veterans, and it also promises to shed light on how medical marijuana can “...IT PROMISES TO help with the nation’s opioid SHED LIGHT ON HOW MEDICAL MARIJUANA epidemic.”

CAN HELP WITH THE In addition to creating a temporary, five-year safe harbor NATION’S OPIOID EPIDEMIC.” protection for veterans who use medical Cannabis, the bill would also direct the VA to research how medical marijuana could help veterans better manage chronic pain and reduce opioid abuse.

west coast

UAE DETAINS LAS VEGAS MAN OVER CANNABIS

A LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

legalization

Las Vegas man who consumed Cannabis before he visited the United Arab Emirates has been detained for almost two months, his lawyer and officials confirmed to KLAS. Peter Clark, 51, flew to Dubai in late February for a business trip, according to his lawyer. After Clark became ill with pancreatitis and was hospitalized, a test found traces of marijuana in his system. Clark was detained and jailed.

While recreational marijuana use is legal in Nevada, it’s definitely not in the UAE. Clark now faces a prison sentence of several years according to his attorney, Radha Stirling.

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years have now passed since Pennsylvania legalized the medical use of Cannabis.

MAY 2021

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percent of the U.S. population now lives in states where recreational adult-use Cannabis is legal.

AMERICANS OVERWHELMINGLY SAY CANNABIS SHOULD BE LEGAL FOR RECREATIONAL OR MEDICAL USE

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ow, it’s down to the few. Fewer than one out of 10 U.S. adults (8 percent) are still saying that Cannabis should not be legal for any purpose, according to the latest survey from Pew Research.

An overwhelming share of American adults say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use (60 percent) or legal for medicinal use only (31 percent).

53 PERCENT OF ADULTS A separate AGES 65 TO 74 SAY question, asking CANNABIS SHOULD whether Cannabis BE LEGAL FOR BOTH RECREATIONAL AND use should be made MEDICAL USE. legal, has shown a “steep, long-term rise in support for legalization,” according to Pew Research.

Older adults are far less likely than young people to favor Cannabis legalization for recreational use, according to the survey.

This is particularly true of adults ages 75 and older, with just 32 percent saying marijuana should be legal for recreational/ medical use.

By way of contrast, 53 percent of adults in the next-oldest age group, those ages 65 to 74, say Cannabis should be legal for both recreational and medical use.

Among younger adults, there is even wider support for legalization for medical and recreational uses, including 70 percent of adults under age 30.

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pounds of Cannabis were seized by Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers in April near the Rio Grande River.

irginia lawmakers voted in April to move up the legalization date of recreational Cannabis in the state to July 1, 2021, reports ABC 3 News.

Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly had in February passed legislation legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use.

The legalization date had initially been set for January 1, 2024, but Gov. Ralph Northam added amendments to existing bills to fast-track the legalization. Northam, when proposing the accelerated timeline, THE LEGALIZATION said many Virginians DATE HAD INITIALLY BEEN SET FOR would be on board with JANUARY 1, 2024. speeding up the process.

“While not everybody is in favor of moving this forward, the great majority of Virginians are and that’s what this is about,” Northam said.

“When you’re in public service, you listen to Virginians and then move their thoughts and initiatives forward.”

GOP: WISCONSIN WON’T LEGALIZE MEDICAL CANNABIS

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he Wisconsin Legislature won’t be legalizing either medical or recreational marijuana during this legislative session, the Republican leader of the State Senate said.

Although Gov. Tony Evers and Democrats have for years urged legalization of both medical and recreational Cannabis, they’ve not had any luck in convincing the GOP-controlled Wisconsin Legislature.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Ooostburg) ruled out even the possibility of recreational or medical marijuana becoming law any time during the next year.

“First of all, we don’t have support from the caucus, and that’s pretty clear,” LeMahieu said.

“We don’t have 17 votes in the caucus for medicinal purposes or recreational purposes.”

LeMaheiu claimed Republican senators have “societal concerns” about Cannabis legalization. He also claimed states shouldn’t legalize medical marijuana before the federal government does.

19.9k $342m black market Cannabis plants were seized by the Riverside County, California Sheriff’s Department in April.

dollars is the estimated size New Mexico’s recreational Cannabis market will be one year after legalization.

$1.2b

Canadian dollars (about $950 million American) were lost

by Canopy Growth during the first nine months of its current operating year.

By STEVE ELLIOTT, AUTHOR OF THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF MARIJUANA

LEGALIZED IT? W ha t h a p p e n s wh e n t he w i l l o f t h e p e o p l e is o v e r t u r n e d ?

On November 3, 2020, marijuana advocates celebrated a clean sweep on the ballots as voters approved legalization in all four states considering the reform. Yet while the Cannabis community enjoyed the spotlight on Election Day, prohibitionists have been working in the shadows ever since. The result has been a muddying of democracy as we know it.

Montana residents approved legalization with 57 percent of the vote in November.

However, the state’s adult-use law is still up in the air.

// NULL AND VOID //

A voter-approved constitutional amendment legalizing Cannabis in South Dakota has been overturned. The amendment, passed by 54 percent of voters, would have allowed possession of up to an ounce of Cannabis and implemented retail sales. It also established a 15 percent tax on pot and permitted home cultivation.

While the amendment included a provision allowing local governments to ban Cannabis sales in their jurisdictions, state officials felt the need to ban legalization altogether.

Governor Kristi Noem (R), who opposed Cannabis legalization in South Dakota from the start, instructed Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Rick Miller to file a lawsuit challenging the amendment on her behalf.

Unsurprisingly, the Circuit Judge hearing the case, who was appointed by Noem in 2019, agreed with the governor and ruled that the amendment passed by South Dakota voters was unconstitutional.

Judge Christina Klinger wrote, “Amendment A is unconstitutional as it includes multiple subjects in violation of [the South Dakota constitution] and it is therefore void and has no effect…”

Essentially, Klinger found that the amendment went beyond a single issue – making it a revision to the constitution and not an amendment. In other words, several powerful prohibitionists came up with a bullshit technicality that allowed them to suppress the will of the voters and keep Cannabis illegal.

And, despite Noem denying her role in the suit to void voter-approved marijuana-law reform, an executive order signed by the governor in January states that on “November 20, 2020, I directed Rick Miller to commence the Amendment A Litigation on my behalf in his official capacity.”

Noem is also on record asserting that voters in South Dakota – the same voters that elected her – made “the wrong choice” when they approved the legalization amendment.

The issue will now be heard by the state Supreme Court after attorneys representing marijua-

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na-law reform advocacy groups appealed Judge Klinger’s ruling. Normally, the South Dakota Attorney General’s office would defend such a challenge to a state law. However, AG Jason Ravnsborg dropped his defense of the amendment.

Gov. Noem stated that she’s “confident that the South Dakota Supreme Court” will uphold the Circuit Court’s decision. The governor personally appointed two of the high court’s five justices.

South Dakota’s new medical marijuana law, approved by over 69 percent of voters on Election Day, isn’t safe from the governor either. Noem tried to push the program’s implementation back a year, from July 2021 to July ‘22 and, when that failed, she attempted to change the law to add restrictions. / / M O N TA N A / /

Montana residents approved legalization with 57 percent of the vote in November. However, the state’s adult-use law is still up in the air. Three separate Republican-sponsored measures are currently being considered. Unfortunately, all three bills change the original proposal that was laid out in the ballot initiative and approved by voters.

The legalization bill favored by Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte would create a system where local jurisdictions have to “opt in” to the legal Cannabis industry. The original law approved by voters allowed for an “opt-out” provision. This change makes the state’s default position “out” of legal Cannabis, and is sure to have a negative impact on the success of the program.

The bill would also delay the start of retail sales and reroute the majority of pot tax revenue to a fund proposed by the governor for substance abuse treatment.

And while the state’s recreational pot law is somehow being rewritten by the very people who opposed legalizing pot in the first place, at least one state senator has proposed a referendum for the ballot to repeal legalization.

But, at the moment, Montana appears to be moving forward with some version of a taxed and regulated system with retail sales. // NEW JERSEY //

Gov. Phil Murphy clashed with lawmakers, refusing to sign a bill establishing the state’s regulatory framework until amendments were made detailing penalties for underage possession.

During the resulting two-month stalemate, people continued to be arrested for pot possession in the Garden State.

Legislators ultimately passed a cleanup bill that satisfied Murphy. Shortly thereafter, on February 22, the governor signed the legal framework bill into law, legalizing Cannabis. Murphy also signed a decriminalization bill that ends pot possession arrests.

Unfortunately, in the three and a half months between legalization passing on Election Day 2020 and the governor signing the Cannabis bills in late February ‘21, more than 6,000 people were arrested for minor marijuana possession in New Jersey.

STORY by MIKE GIANAKOS @MIKEGEEZEEY/NORTHEAST LEAF | ART by ADOBE/FRESHIDEA

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LOCAL NEWS

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After administrative costs, 40 percent of the tax revenue from retail marijuana sales will go to communities most impacted by the war on drugs.

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annabis is legal in New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the state’s adult-use marijuana bill into law on March 31, just hours after the legislation passed the Senate and Assembly.

Cuomo has backed recreational Cannabis for the last three years and again submitted a plan for legalization with his budget proposal in 2021. However, the final bill that emerged after weeks of negotiations with lawmakers bears little resemblance to the governor’s plan.

New York passed a tax and regulate law that’s strong on social equity and provides plenty for marijuana activists to be excited about.

This is due in part to Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Sen. Liz Krueger, who introduced their own legalization initiative and headed up talks with the governor, hammering out the details of the unified bill that was eventually passed.

New York’s legalization bill establishes retail sales of Cannabis, which should begin sometime next year, and allows for the possession of up to three ounces of marijuana and 24 grams of concentrates.

Cannabis consumption will be allowed anywhere that smoking tobacco is permitted. And, New Yorkers can look forward to social consumption sites and delivery services for pot products.

Furthermore, the bill allows for personal cultivation of up to six plants (three mature) or 12 plants in households with more than one adult. Home cultivation was a concession by the governor, as Cuomo had banned personal grows (for recreational or medical marijuana) in his legalization proposal.

Regulators have up to 18 months after the start of legal sales to create the rules for recreational cultivation, meaning it will likely be more than two years before residents can legally grow at home. Medical cardholders will have a shorter wait, as home grow rules for patients must be set within six months of the legalization law taking effect. When personal cultivation does become legal, growers can store up to five pounds of pot at home.

The bill provides several strong criminal justice reforms as well, including automatic expungement of Cannabis-related arrest records and protections for pot consumers against discrimination in parental rights, housing or education.

Additionally, police cannot use marijuana odor to justify a search – a provision Gov. Cuomo fought for, and lost.

However, some legislators and advocates are most proud of the social

MAY 2021

equity aspects of New York’s adult-use Cannabis law – especially considering many felt that the governor’s proposal did not establish enough of an equity program. While previous attempts at legalizing in New York fell apart over disagreements on how to distribute tax revenue raised through sales, advocates got what they wanted this time around.

After administrative costs, 40 percent of the tax revenue from retail marijuana sales will go to communities most impacted by the war on drugs.

Analysts anticipate recreational marijuana in New York to eventually bring in around $350 million a year in taxes.

Additionally, the law aims to award 50 percent of Cannabis business licenses to qualified equity applicants.

Legalization will also benefit Photo by Sharon McCutcheon New York’s substandard medical marijuana program, as the new law expands the list of qualifying conditions, allows patients to actually smoke Cannabis (smoking had been prohibited by the medical pot law) and even increases the amount of medicine patients are permitted to obtain, from a 30-day supply to a 60-day supply.

Many aspects of this legalization law would have been nonstarters just last year. However, lawmakers were able to take advantage of the governor’s sexual misconduct and COVID-19 nursing home scandals, which have greatly reduced his negotiating power. Additionally, the legislature is armed with a supermajority, meaning it could override a veto from the governor, should he not approve the bill.

It’s possible the embattled governor accepted this reality and ultimately went along with amendments he had previously opposed. With Cuomo facing calls from his own party to resign, he likely wouldn’t mind if Cannabis legalization knocked him out of the headlines for a little while.

Either way, at long last, New York has legalized marijuana. In doing so, the Empire State joins a flurry of reform in 2021. So far this year, four states – New Jersey, New York, Virginia and New Mexico – have enacted legalization laws.

GOV’S POT BILL GETS A REWRITE A

fter initially being met with scathing criticism, Gov. Ned Lamont’s legalization bill is now gaining traction in Connecticut. The rebound comes thanks to a series of amendments that built up the social equity aspects of the governor’s proposal. And while legislators and advocates still consider the bill “a work in progress,” it recently managed to pass the Judiciary Committee.

Lamont has long advocated for legalizing Cannabis in Connecticut and has included a pot proposal in previous years. However, the governor’s desire to see legalization enacted is fairly transparent. Lamont badly wants adult-use pot sales tax revenue to help close the state’s massive budget gap, caused in part by the coronavirus pandemic. He’s also concerned with losing the market to neighboring states, as Massachusetts and Maine have already implemented retail sales, and New York and New Jersey are ramping up. Meanwhile, Rhode Island continues to make noise about passing a tax and regulate program.

Unsurprisingly, the governor’s pot proposal was mostly about the money and not nearly enough about equity and activism. A group called Black and Brown United in Action even called Lamont’s bill “an insult to democracy” and “another knee on the neck of Black and Brown communities.”

To his credit, Lamont insisted his bill was a starting point and not a finished

product. And as it’s made its way through the legislative process, lawmakers have been able to make considerable renovations to the marijuana measure.

The revisions have Lamont’s bill more in line with a competing Cannabis proposal introduced Photo by Kimzy Nanney

by Rep. Robyn Porter (D) that had received support from advocates and recently passed the Labor and Public Employees Committee.

The governor’s bill now earmarks 40 percent of Cannabis business license types for qualified equity applicants.

Additionally, equity applicants would have something of a head start under the revised plan from the governor, as the state could begin taking applications from social equity businesses and current medical marijuana dispensaries seeking adult-use licenses on July 1. Everyone else wouldn’t be allowed to apply for licenses until January 2024. This was an important change as critics accused Lamont’s original bill of handing the new adult-use industry over to existing medical Cannabis businesses.

The governor’s revised bill would allow possession of up to an ounce and a half of marijuana (and up to five ounces at home). Medical patients would be able to grow up to six plants, while recreational cultivation would be decriminalized and subject to a fine.

The bill now includes automatic expungements of past pot convictions and bars police from using marijuana odor to justify a search. Additionally, 55 percent of pot sales tax revenue would go to a Cannabis Equity and Innovation Fund after three years of legal sales.

MAINE LAW WOULD DECRIMINALIZE ALL DRUGS

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awmakers in Maine are doing their part to help end the drug war. A new bill introduced by legislators would decriminalize possession of all drugs.

The measure would replace the threat of jail time with a $100 civil fine for those caught with illicit substances.

The bill also essentially decriminalizes naloxone – the anti-overdose drug better known as Narcan. The proposal states that anyone who needs naloxone administered, or seeks it out and uses it on someone else, cannot be arrested or prosecuted. The measure’s sponsors, including Rep. Anne Perry (D), believe the provision could save lives by helping to prevent overdose deaths.

The decriminalization initiative will head to the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee first.

It currently does not detail the possession limits covered by decrim. But advocates anticipate more specific guidelines being added to the measure as Photo by Nathan Dumlao it is amended during the legislative process.

As is the case with a similar decriminalization bill recently introduced in Rhode Island, the Maine measure offers no protections for the manufacture or distribution of narcotics. So making or selling drugs would still be a criminal offense. Additionally, even under decriminalization, illicit substances can be seized by law enforcement. But more importantly, both proposals could positively impact lives by removing criminal penalties for possession.

Photo by Isaac Quesada

States around the country are beginning to turn to local decrim efforts to curb the war on drugs – particularly after voters in Oregon decriminalized all drugs through a ballot measure last November. Elected officials and citizens alike are increasingly viewing illicit drug use as a public health issue, which is often made worse though criminal penalties.

STORIES by MIKE GIANAKOS @MIKEGEEZEEY

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LOCAL NEWS

>> Continued from pg. 13

RHODE ISLAND’S

Adult -Use Bills

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t seems like just a matter of time before Rhode Island okays a pot plan, as both the Democrat-controlled legislature and Gov. Dan McKee support legalization. In fact, the governor and Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey have both introduced competing legalization proposals.

Those proposals received a joint hearing from two Senate committees as lawmakers must decide which bill to back, or begin negotiations on a unifying bill.

While the two legalization measures look a great deal alike, there are some key differences.

The governor’s proposal calls for sales to begin in Rhode Island in April 2022. His plan caps retail business licenses at 25 per year for the first three years of the program. While the licenses would be awarded through a lottery, five would be set aside for minority applicants. If there were a demand for additional businesses after the first three years of the adult-use program, more licenses would be issued. The lawmakers’ bill would establish a commission appointed by the governor that would award Cannabis business licenses.

Both bills allow for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, while McCaffrey’s plan also permits home cultivation. The governor’s plan only decriminalizes home grows, enforcing different fines and penalties.

When it comes to taxing Cannabis, both bills propose similar plans that ultimately amount to a 20 percent tax on retail pot. Analysts examining the governor’s plan estimate the state could take in approximately $16.9 million in tax revenue in 2023.

Neither bill is strong on social equity. The governor’s plan simply calls for a task force that would recommend how to best use tax revenue to support equity programs, while the lawmakers’ plan would use license and application fees to create a fund that somehow helps promote inclusive participation.

While other states have reserved a percentage of licenses or prioritized equity applicants, no such efforts are present in the Rhode Island bills.

The lawmakers’ plan does at least allow for expungement of past pot-related criminal records. While the governor has voiced support for expungement previously, he doesn’t include the provision in his proposal.

Rhode Island has been on the cusp of legalization for some time now.

Former Gov. Gina Raimondo, who left office after President Biden selected her for Secretary of Commerce, had been an outspoken proponent of reform, urging the state to keep up with its New England neighbors.

New York or New Jersey:

WHO YA GOT?

Photo by Jakub Matyáš

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ew York and New Jersey enjoy something of a rivalry. And when it came to legalizing Cannabis, the competitiveness of the neighboring states was crystal clear. New Jersey was first to approve recreational marijuana – its voters did so in November, while lawmakers and Gov. Phil Murphy made it official in February. Shortly thereafter, New York followed suit.

The Empire State had no interest in lagging behind the Garden State. But who will be first to market? And who will collect the most tax revenue?

MAY 2021

Both states are expected to pass $1 billion in legal pot sales. But Crain’s New York sees something in the state laws that might provide an advantage.

While New Jersey’s new regulatory framework law caps the number of cultivation licenses that can be issued at 37 over the next two years, New York’s law includes no such cap. This difference could give New York a leg up in keeping up with retail demand.

Industry analysts predict that having no cap on the number of cultivators will eliminate supply shortages in New York.

After all, we’ve seen newly legal states struggle to keep up with demand at the start of retail sales. Most recently, Maine was caught off guard during the state’s opening weekend of sales, where lines grew long and dispensaries were forced to limit purchases. And prices were high, particularly compared with nearby Massachusetts, which has had years to work out the retail weed kinks.

So, no cultivation cap means New York wins, right? Well, not so fast. While the cap was one of several issues Gov. Murphy and lawmakers fought over, it doesn’t necessarily render New Jersey incapable of stocking the shelves.

That’s because the state allows an unlimited number of microbusinesses, which must have no more than 10 employees and occupy no more than 2,500 square feet.

These businesses are more than capable of pumping out enough pot to keep recreational Cannabis customers satisfied.

And, while New York lawmakers specifically opted to go without a cap for both supply reasons and to prevent a few giant corporations from coming in and cornering the industry, there could still be a cap. The rules governing New York’s Cannabis law can be changed, and if a license cap makes sense, it could be included in the rules.

So, who has the advantage in this multibillion-dollar business? We’ll have to check back in at the start of legal sales.

STORIES by MIKE GIANAKOS @MIKEGEEZEEY

Stem is your cannabis comfort zone, where there’s always a warm welcome and a ready recommendation, right in buzzing downtown Haverhill. We stock the broadest, most exciting variety of top-quality products in the region, and our sociable staff will help you discover the best cannabis experience for you.

So, if you’re ready to feel at home, soak in some eclectic tunes, and kick back with our brilliant budtenders, then join us. And no matter where you’re from, consider us your local joint.

Flowers • Edibles • Concentrates Tinctures • Accessories • Artisan glass

MENU

S T E M H AV E R H I L L The Local Joint for All @stemhaverhill

View our menu stemhaverhill.com

Welcome to Stem!

Please Consume Responsibly. This product may cause impairment and be habit forming. For use only by adults 21 years of age or older. Keep out of the reach of children. This product has not been analyzed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There is limited information on the side effects of using this product, and there may be associated health risks. Marijuana use during pregnancy and breast-feeding may pose potential harms.

It is against the law to drive or operate machinery when under the influence of this product.

KEEP THIS PRODUCT AWAY FROM CHILDREN. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. The impairment effects of Edibles may be delayed by two hours or more. In case of accidental ingestion, contact poison control hotline 1-800-222-1222 or 9-1-1. This product may be illegal outside of MA.

stoner owner

NORTHEAST

HOW LONG HAS IT TAKEN TO LAUNCH CLOUD CREAMERY? We officially started the process in January of 2019, but the idea started in mid-2017 and it’s been such an honor to bring this vision to life. We submitted our application and started building a kitchen. We’ve had our kitchen ready for over a year and we’ve been waiting on the CCC to finalize our process, so that has been a challenge. We hope to be on shelves in the next 30 days, bringing our ice cream to 21+ adults.

TELL US ABOUT THE PLANT JAM CONCEPT? Plant Jam is our overarching brand.

Cloud Creamery is our frozen desserts product line under Plant Jam. We have a wide variety of edibles coming to the market and most of them are not frozen. We wanted to make sure that all food items could have their own independent platform.

Our goal is to bring new products, as well as new edible categories, to the market under Plant Jam.

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PLANT JAM & CLOUD CREAMERY Chef David Yusefzadeh

Cannabis-Infused Ice Cream?

Yes please!

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It’s true what they say – “the cream always rises to the top.”

This is the case for Plant Jam and Cloud Creamery LLC in Framingham, Massachusetts, who were recently granted their license to operate after two years of deliberation. At the helm is world-renowned food nerd Chef David Yusefzadeh – who has cooked for celebrities such as Tiger Woods and Cypress Hill – and worked at the famed Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. David’s knowledge and experience make him a force to be reckoned with in the Massachusetts recreational Cannabis market, and Northeast Leaf was blessed to take a trip to his ice creamery, taste some of the delectable flavors for ourselves, and get a glimpse behind the scenes.

WHAT’S YOUR BACKGROUND WITH ICE CREAM? IF I RECALL, PRE-PANDEMIC, DIDN’T YOU VISIT FRANCE TO STUDY THE ART OF ICE CREAM MAKING? I’ve been making ice cream since I was a little kid, and some of my first memories of food were of ice cream. All of the restaurants that I’ve worked at in the past had talented pastry chefs on staff, so I was tasting their work every day and was fortunate to pick up on some tips and tricks along the way. They all taught me so much and I am very grateful. I also always stop and get an ice cream wherever I’m traveling, so I can always know what’s out there – it’s really an important part of who I am and it makes me happy. I attended the ice cream short-course at Penn State which is the country’s leader in frozen dessert technology.

This class really helped me sharpen my skill sets. In France, I was just eating different flavors and doing R&D to expand my palate and vast knowledge of ingredients. They really had some of the best ice cream in the world.

I’VE BEEN MAKING ICE CREAM SINCE I WAS A LITTLE KID, AND SOME OF MY FIRST MEMORIES OF FOOD WERE OF ICE CREAM.

WHAT KIND OF ICE CREAM FLAVORS AND UNIQUE COMBINATIONS WILL CLOUD CREAMERY BE SPECIALIZING IN? We’re going to have delicious yearround staples like our Tanzanian Vanilla. We’re also excited to offer some fun collaborations and quite a few limited-time offerings. Seasonal ingredients will play a huge role in what we do – we’re partnering with multiple local farmers to capture all the best ingredients for summer and fall flavors. We want to focus on celebrating terpenes in edibles. Strain-specific flavors will be coming soon.

CAN YOU GIVE THE LOWDOWN ON THE INFUSION PROCESS AND WHERE YOU SOURCE SOME OF YOUR INGREDIENTS? The infusion process is a secret, however, fat is a great vehicle for most cannabinoids. We’re excited to bring a new product to Massachusetts dispensaries. We’re sourcing our vanilla from a sustainable farm in Tanzania. We’re also sourcing cacao from a B-Corporation (female owned) in Latin America. We believe in supporting small businesses around the world.

YOUR FACILITY IS MEETING THE HIGHEST STANDARDS. DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS REGARDING PROTOCOL FOR OTHERS TRYING TO GET INTO THE INDUSTRY? My team has opened multiple restaurants and other manufacturing facilities so we know what to expect from an operations side. The Cannabis Control Commission unfortunately gives us very little, if any, support. They didn’t answer any of our facility questions until the last 5% of our process. Our local health department has been wonderful. They’ve done their best to find answers for us, so I would recommend that people check with their local food safety officials to start.

WHERE CAN OUR READERS FIND CLOUD CREAMERY PRODUCTS AND STAY UP TO DATE WITH FLAVOR DROPS? Instagram is definitely the best place!

Learn more about Plant Jam and Cloud Creamery plantjam.co | @plantjam.co | @cloudcreamery

MAY 2021

A Stoner Owner is a Cannabis business owner who has a relationship with the plant. We want to buy and smoke Cannabis from companies that care about their products, employees and the plant. You wouldn’t buy food from a restaurant where the cooks don’t eat in the kitchen, so why buy corporate weed grown by a company only concerned with profits? Stoner Owner approval means a company cares, and we love weed grown with care. Let’s retake our culture and reshape a stigma by honoring those who grow, process and sell the best Cannabis possible.

INTERVIEW by BOBBY NUGGZ @BOBBYNUGGZ_OFFICIAL for NORTHEAST LEAF | PHOTO by BAILEY JONSON @BADMSBAILEY

DOT COM WE ARE ONE

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FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @NWLEAF @OREGONLEAF @MARYLANDLEAF @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG @AKLEAFMAG @NORTHEASTLEAFMAG

interview

CARLEE TIMMINS

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LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

NORTHEAST LEAF Budtender of the Month Carlee Timmins is a Dispensary Technician at Curaleaf in Bellmawr, NJ. Originally from Cherry Hill, NJ, Carlee attended Rowan University, where she got her degree in Business Management. Carlee started working at Curaleaf in August 2020, but has been interested in working in the Cannabis industry since college. Raised in a natural and organic household, Carlee is a firm believer in Cannabis as an alternative form of medicine, so working in a dispensary is a natural fit. In her spare time, Carlee enjoys lifting and running, even earning her All-American status in NCAA DIII Swimming in 2019 in the 1650 freestyle event.

She’s also an animal lover and has adorable guinea pigs named Popcorn and Honey!

MAY 2021

W H O ’ S Y O U R FAV O R I T E B U D T E N D E R ? T E L L U S W H Y ! E M A I L N O M I N A T I O N S T O D A N @ L E A F M A G A Z I N E S . C O M

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE STRAIN OF CANNABIS AND WHY? There are a variety of strains I like, but if I had

to pick a favorite, I would narrow it down to some of my favorite heavy indicas – Jelly Cocktail, Double Up Mints and LA Kush Cake, all from Curaleaf Bellmawr.

I’ve found that these three strains are amazing for my insomnia.

HOW HAS USING CANNABIS IMPROVED YOUR LIFE AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO CONSUME (SMOKE, TINCTURE, LOZENGES, EDIBLES, WAX/ DABS)? Everyone consumes Cannabis differently, and

for different reasons! For me, Cannabis has improved my life by giving me a way to balance my day, and by helping me find equilibrium. I focus on getting work done in the daytime, which can include going to work at Curaleaf, cleaning around my house, exercising, and attending classes when I was in college. In the evenings, THERE WILL I then have free time to relax ALWAYS BE A and decompress from stress.

TRIAL-ANDMy favorite way to enjoy ERROR PROCESS Cannabis is smoking flower!

IF YOU COULD SIT AND SMOKE CANNABIS WITH ONE PERSON, FAMOUS OR NOT, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE? There is an endless

TO FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU, AS CANNABIS IS NOT ONE-SIZEFITS-ALL.

list of people who I would love to smoke Cannabis with, but I think I would currently forego the obvious famous people for the opportunity to smoke with my older sister who has been living in Germany since August of 2019. She moved there to continue studying material science and engineering and has not come home since. She has done a lot of traveling throughout Europe since her move. It would be cool to be able to sit down and smoke with her again!

NEW JERSEY JUST LEGALIZED CANNABIS FOR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES. HOW DO YOU SEE THIS AFFECTING OR CHANGING THE MEDICAL CANNABIS INDUSTRY THAT YOU CURRENTLY WORK IN? I am

so excited for the changes that are on the horizon.

With the new laws going into effect, there will be much more of an opportunity for the people of New Jersey to use Cannabis. Not only will we be offered more locations for medical patients to purchase medicine, but soon anyone over 21 can buy Cannabis recreationally. This lays the path for New Jersey to become a more 420-friendly state and will hopefully lead to some needed changes in other areas, including homegrown and regulations regarding cannabinoid and terpene testing. Curaleaf is in the process of opening new dispensary and cultivation facilities to be able to adequately continue to meet the needs of our medical community while also catering to adult use, and I’m so glad that I’ll be able to help serve both communities.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS AND HOW DOES YOUR POSITION AT CURALEAF INFLUENCE THE FUTURE GOALS YOU HAVE SET FOR YOURSELF? My position at Curaleaf

is an amazing start to my journey in the Cannabis industry. I am unsure of what I will be doing in five years, but I know I will certainly still be working with Cannabis. With the new adult use laws coming into effect, I’m excited by the opportunity to help more consumers, as well as continue to serve my medical patients. My dream scenario would be utilizing my college degree in a higher position within Curaleaf.

NEW YORK HAS ALSO LEGALIZED CANNABIS FOR RECREATIONAL USE AND APPROVED INDIVIDUALS TO HAVE UP TO SIX HOMEGROWN PLANTS. DO YOU SEE NJ CHANGING THEIR HOMEGROWN POLICIES IN THE FUTURE? I think it’s a step in the right

direction that New York has legalized up to six homegrown plants, and I hope that New Jersey will consider the same.

Educating consumers and patients around their options with Cannabis and instilling confidence in consumption is important at Curaleaf, so legislation that improves our patients’ and consumers’ lives is a win in my book.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO IS CANNABIS CURIOUS BUT IS NOT SURE HOW TO START THEIR RECREATIONAL CANNABIS JOURNEY? My advice would

be to first ask around to see if any of your friends or people you trust have used Cannabis, so you can hear their personal account. I would also suggest researching the different types that are available to you so you can decide if you want to try a predominantly sativa or indica strain, or a hybrid, or maybe different kinds for different needs.

There are so many different ways to consume Cannabis: smoking, vaping, edibles, topicals, etc.

One of my favorite ways to smoke that I recommend for beginners is using a dry herb vaporizer. There will always be a trial-and-error process to find what works for you, as Cannabis is not one-size-fits-all. This is why working with a doctor to get your medical card, or with a dispensary associate like me, is so helpful to find the products, formulations and dosing that are right for you.

CURALEAF 640 CREEK RD, BELLMAWR, NJ (856) 933-8700 CURALEAF.COM @CURALEAF.USA

INTERVIEW by D.E. for NORTHEAST LEAF | PHOTOS by TAYPAC PHOTOGRAPHY @TAYPAC_LIVES

glass art

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WAUGHSTREETGLASS Hailing from Georgia, Will Waugh, better known as Waugh Street Glass, discovered his passion for glass art at the age of 17 through the glassblowing documentary “Degenerate Art.” During his early experiences in headshops, buying his first pipes, he became enamored with the color-changing effect of fumed glass.

When he found out that it was the result of essentially “painting the glass” with fuming metal, he was inspired to learn more about the niche of fume work within the world of glass pipes.

This quickly led to a rabbit hole of exploration in the world of fume work, which his artwork is most known for today.

“The cleanliness of scientific glass paired with the niche of fume work, that’s my main focus.”

As he learned more about glass, Will became influenced by the clean, crisp work of artists such as Merge Scientific, who started as a scientific glassblower, and Siren Apparatus, who deftly juxtaposes the look of scientific glass with a heady aesthetic.

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

The delicate precision of Will’s finely detailed, immersive fumed patterns wasn’t a skill that came overnight. Will has spent countless hours in deeply focused practice and experimentation honing his fuming skills, learning along the way from other glass artists.

It’s that level of discipline, determination and curiosity that has allowed him to create such balanced and immersive functional glass.

@waughstreetglass

MAY 2021

STORY by PETE THOMPSON/LEAF NATION | PHOTO by JEFF DIMARCO @IAMJEFFDIMARCO

Danny Danko teaches you everything you need to know to get growing now!

YOUR SOURCE FOR CULTIVATION INFO, INTERVIEWS, NEWS, ACTIVISM AND PRODUCT REVIEWS! Grow Bud Yourself podcast is available on all streaming platforms and whereever you get your podcasts!

Send questions to info@growbudyourself.com

Past Special Guests Include

Follow along! @dannydankoht @mikecheckg @growbudyourself

Jorge Cervantes, Kyle Kushman, Tommy Chong, Aaron from DNA Genetics, Jenn Doe, Milo/Big Buddha Seeds, Swerve/The Cali Connection, Ed Rosenthal, Chemdog, and Adam Dunn!

Growing your own marijuana can be both a liberating and political act.

Former HIGH TIMES Magazine Senior Cultivation Editor and author of the book “Cannabis: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Marijuana” Dan Vinkovetsky (Formerly known as Danny Danko) and cohost former HT Editor-in-Chief Mike Gianakos provide news, activism reports and cannabis cultivation tips for connoisseurs, aficionados and medical patients alike. Bonus: Interviews with expert growers and professional seed breeders, ‘Strain of the Fortnight’ and ganja growing questions & answers.

Are you

Interested in fighting against the racist legacy of cannabis prohibition?

Interested in helping to create an equitable marketplace for those seeking to run cannabis operations?

Looking for a way to meet new people interested in cannabis activism?

Self-motivated and willing to work as a volunteer within a fast paced and consensus driven environment?

For $30 per year, members receive * A MassCann T-Shirt * Membership and voting rights within the organization * The ability to participate in MassCann Committee Meetings * Volunteer opportunities through the calendar year (both digital and in-person, if allowed) * Participation in steering groups to help prepare for and run the annual Boston Freedom Rally * Access to educational programming related to the cannabis plant and cannabis reform (lawmaking and regulations)

JOIN THE ORIGINAL GRASSROOTS CANNABIS ACTIVIST ORGANIZATION IN MASSACHUSETTS, 31 YEARS ON THE GROUND AND STILL GROWING TOGETHER!

Join MassCann today at MassCann.org

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STRAIN OF THE MONTH

NORTHEAST

24

BANANA SPLIT

MAY 2021

On a warm and sunny spring day I drove up to Boston to meet with a friend and go on a dispensary tour. We entered Pure Oasis on Blue Hill Avenue and were immediately greeted by a competent staff in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

grown by

IN GOOD HEALTH

HAPPY AND EUPHORIC, WITH A TOUCH OF CEREBRAL PEACEFULNESS.

Walking through the door, our identification was checked and we entered a clean white room with large glass partitions. The bright sunshine came through to the checkout counter where I was greeted by a budtender named Gio. Gio was smiling and kind, and he seemed to be very knowledgeable. I purchased an eighth of Banana Split by a company called In Good Health from Brockton, Massachusetts – which runs about $55. However, after they add about $10 in taxes and an ATM fee of $3.50, it comes out to around $69 total!

Before leaving, we stopped and spoke to the manager William, who was very friendly and diligent. He made sure that I got everything I needed and then escorted us out. It was such a pleasant experience that I cannot give enough positive feedback to do it justice.

When I got home, I opened my brown bag excited to try the Banana Split. Upon smelling the flower, I struggled to find a terpene profile – instead finding only a grassy scent. Upon breaking the flower up, a lemony and earthy fragrance emerged. I also detected notes of sandalwood and a touch of spice. Clusters of brick orange hairs were trimmed neatly and tightly to the calyxes, with no crows feet or stems visible to the eye.

With a THC percentage of 21.5%, this strain gave me a zinging head-high. Smoking this gave me happy, euphoric feelings with a cerebral peacefulness. I also felt moderate indica effects, being fully relaxed without the couch-lock. The ash PURE OASIS burned white and 430 Blue Hill Avenue clean, telling me that Boston, MA the bud was flushed of (617) 420-6837 mypureoasis.com nutrients properly. ingoodhealthma.com Overall, I was happy with the strain and delighted by the Pure Oasis dispensary and staff. Get out and enjoy the sunshine with a fruity strain from Gio and the team – you’re guaranteed a great time.

REVIEW & PHOTO by BAILEY JONSON @BADMSBAILEY for NORTHEAST LEAF

THE ACTION ISSUE

26

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

THROUGHOUT HISTORY, advocates for social and political action have repeatedly returned to the same wellspring of change: The Protest.

The French Revolution. The Suffragette Movement.

The Civil Rights Movement. Tiananmen Square.

The 1999 WTO Protests in Seattle. Arab Spring. The Occupy Movement. Last year, hundreds of thousands of people broke free from couch-locked quarantine to protest the killing of George Floyd by a public servant who should have knelt at Floyd’s feet rather than on his neck. People who’d never held a protest sign in their lives took to the streets. People who’d never given to charity before held fundraisers for equity causes. More voters turned out for the 2020 election than any other election in the history of the United States.

That’s why we chose a protest scene as our cover on Leaf Magazines’ first-ever Action Issue. It’s the classic visual representation of change motivated by

MAY 2021

ADOBE/PATRONESTAFF

HOW THE CANNABIS COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO FIGHT TO FIX THE SYSTEM.

unrest. The Cannabis community is no stranger to the protest, and is no stranger to action. Since the dawn of the plant’s prohibition and criminalization, advocates have taken to the streets to fight for legalization, for expungement – and for understanding.

And while the face of change is often an angry mob that’s reached its breaking point, we want to look past the protest line and spend this issue showcasing those warriors within the Cannabis community who wake up every day fighting to change the system. They do so in offices, in the fields, and in the halls where legislation is crafted.

In the following pages, you’ll find stories filled with hope and positive momentum. We connected with an Oregonian woman of color who fights for legislative change with one hand, while using the other to help equity applicants find funding to realize their dreams.

We got to know a small Cannabis company in Alaska that makes a huge positive impact in its surrounding

community. We spoke with a California farmer who served nearly a decade in a federal prison camp for cultivating Cannabis, only to go on to become one of the most respected sungrown producers in Humboldt’s legal market.

We sat down with the founder of the Emerald Cup, one of the most respected drivers of Cannabis culture on the West Coast. Lastly, because no social action would be possible without a healthy ecosystem to support us all, we connected with an organization that hopes to steer the Cannabis industry toward sustainability and ethical responsibility.

We hope you find inspiration in these stories, as we did while putting them together. Next time you feel that call to action – whether it be to pick up a sign and hit the streets, or pick up the phone and call your local lawmakers – may you succeed in making the positive change you want to see in the world.

STORY by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANTS/LEAF NATION

the ACTION issue

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION It is with the deepest respect that I share these thoughts, with great regard for the difficulties faced in leading our beloved country. Upon being elected, the global community exhaled in relief when you were elected to lead the United States, but your Administration continues to perpetuate the war on drugs, which has become a war on the American way of life.

It is time to acknowledge that the foundation of the war on drugs is racist, predatory, and not fitting with the American ideals we project around the globe. It is also evident that the laws and law enforcement regulating drugs are more dangerous than the drugs themselves.

Americans deserve their constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness, and this includes the right to consume Cannabis.

28

In the last six months we have seen New York and New Mexico legalize Cannabis by legislative action, and the voters of New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota and Montana joined a total of 33 states whose voters all approve of an American’s right to use Cannabis.

Your response to overwhelmingly positive polling for legalization has been to fire White House staff members who admitted to using Cannabis. This is direct proof that your policies and beliefs do not reflect the will of the people.

What is mind-boggling is how can you have the vision to pull troops out of Afghanistan to end our country’s longest war, while continuing to wage a domestic campaign of terror featuring no-knock raids and mandatory minimum sentences for simple drug possession? Like the people of AfghanWE ARE CALLING ON YOUR ADMINISTRATION istan who are left worse off than when we began our needless war of aggresTO TAKE ACTION AND sion 20 years ago, today Americans FOLLOW THROUGH are worse off on the battlefield called ON YOUR CAMPAIGN Main Street – where innocent victims PROMISES, AND are killed, arrested and robbed through TO CORRECT THE asset forfeiture by a militarized police SHAMEFUL LEGACY OF THE WAR ON DRUGS force with less oversight than that for our THAT BOTH THE armed forces overseas.

PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT HELPED SHAPE AND ENFORCE.

We are calling on your Administration to take action and follow through on your campaign promises, and to correct the hypocritical legacy of the war on drugs that both the President and Vice President helped shape and enforce. We know your history and we are looking for you both to evolve with Americans, for America.

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

Madame Vice President, your legacy as a prosecutor includes thousands of lives fractured by the war on drugs. President Biden, as a senator you helped craft the language of the war on drugs that has led to the militarization of police, private and for-profit prisons, and decades of lives ruined by drug policies – vowing in 1989 to hold “every drug user accountable,” adding that there aren’t “enough police officers to catch the violent thugs, not enough prosecutors to convict them, not enough judges to sentence them, and not enough prison cells to put them away for a long time.”

MAY 2021

Mr. President, you recently stated that gun violence in the U.S. is shameful and that we need to limit legal gun ownership – but said nothing about the average of three lives taken daily by police shootings since the murder of George Floyd. I personally find your lack of action on police accountability, the continuation of the war on drugs, and giving police reasons to arrest and kill innocent people in minor possession of drugs, to be shameful – which predominantly affects people of color and impoverished communities.

Please, let’s end police violence, gang violence and cartel violence. This comes by removing criminal penalties for minor drug possession, and redirecting funds from law enforcement and the criminal justice system towards social support, mental and addiction health care – making direct investments into communities affected by the war on drugs.

When a person chooses to use Cannabis or other drugs, they choose their pathway to happiness – and criminalizing their decision is what creates criminals. It justifies the cartels, the violence, and even the corruption that drives both the criminal organizations and the criminal justice system. Let’s repeat an earlier mantra: Americans deserve their constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness, and this includes the right to consume Cannabis and other substances in the safety of their own homes.

Sincerely, Wesley Abney Founder | Leaf Magazines

STORY by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX | ART by JOSHUA BOULET @JOSHUABOULET for LEAF NATION

HUCKLEBERRY HILL FARMS | FOUNDER JOHNNY CASALI

the ACTION issue

INCARCERATION TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP

30

Johnny Casali was 24 years old in 1992 when federal agents came calling at the door of his multi-generational farmhouse in California’s legendary Humboldt County. It was a fateful day that would lead to nearly a decade of federal incarceration for simply cultivating plants in the style and tradition handed down by his parents. Now, nearly 30 years later, Casali holds a position of respect among the legal cultivators in the Humboldt Cannabis community. His path has not been easy, and his story, while unique in its details, rings with a familiarity that reverberates through an industry still shaking off the shackles of a failed Drug War.

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

F A M I LY L E G A C Y

“From the age of 10, I was following my mother around, watching her, learning from her how to cultivate Cannabis, and vegetables and fruit trees,” Casali said of his mom, Marlene Bandoni. “I really just fell in love with participating with my mother, and learning her techniques, learning what made her a master grower, per se, in the Emerald Triangle community’s mind.”

For Casali’s family, Cannabis was one of a number of crops and income streams that included fishing, crabbing and mainstream agriculture.

“We were really just living off the land, and supplementing our income with small bits of marijuana,” Casali said.

The budding cultivator’s interest grew along with him, and by the time he was a teenager, his mother struggled with whether it was OK to let her son begin to grow on his own. At age 15, she decided to allow him to grow 10 plants, as long as he agreed to hand over the Cannabis to her and put the money either into a college fund, or a wise investment.

“You couldn’t buy a motorcycle, you couldn’t go on vacation,” he said. His first solo grow yielded about 12 pounds.

“I ended up being able to make enough money where I put a down payment on 11 acres of property on the Eel River,” he said. His parents co-signed.

“That was my first experience with making money from Cannabis, and really, from that point, it was just on.”

plant count in order to maintain harvest volumes.

Being twenty-something, carefree, wave-riding Cannabis growers, they didn’t realize that the increase in plant count also increased their chance of attracting the wrong kind of attention.

F AT E C O M E S K N O C K I N G

Early one morning in 1992, Casali heard a noise on the farm that didn’t sound quite right.

After a couple of years of college, Casali’s par“I heard somebody driving up the driveway really ents bought a commercial fishing boat, and handed fast, and I just thought it was maybe one of my the farm over to Johnny, who cultivated Cannabis friends who wanted to go surfing, or this or that, but with his best friend, Todd Wick. we had a rule that you just don’t drive fast on the This was in the late 1980s, and with the Reafarm,” he said. “So I came running out the door, gan-era War on Drugs in full force, enforcement but instead of meeting one of my grew far more intense in the friends, this time I met a guy in camTriangle.

“Since I learned ouflage with a 9mm to my head, “You would see convoys along everything from my and there were 30 federal agents.” the roadways, you would see helimom, I thought it was so They gave him the option to leave copters overhead,” he said. “You important to just honor the property, but he chose to stay could no longer grow out in the while they searched the farm, conopen if you wanted to make it.” her, and to share her fiscating, among other things, seed They had to start cultivating story with people. So packs and 13 pairs of trimming underneath the tree canopy, with every strain that I grow scissors. They gave him a yellow such low per-plant yields that they here today is bred with ticket, and they left. His lawyer, Ron had to significantly increase their a strain that she used to SEA CHANGE

grow 45 years ago,”

MAY 2021

-Johnny Casali

Listen to Leaf Life Podcast Show #52 “Cannabis Prisoners” Visit www.LeafMagazines.com

PA S S I N G O N T H E L E G A C Y

Sinoway, warned that the Feds had a five-year window to return, and were likely to arrest and convict him.

“He said, ‘If you’re planning on cooperating with them, I want you to walk straight back out of my office right now,’” Casali said. That’s the moment he knew he’d found the right lawyer.

THE TRIAL

After a year and a half, the Feds came back for Casali and Wick, kicking off a two-and-a-halfyear trial during which the pair faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to life.

At one point, they saw a glimmer of hope in the potential that they could get a reduced sentence as nonviolent first-time offenders. In the end, the linchpin wasn’t the Cannabis, but the trimming scissors.

“The prosecutor was able to tell this judge that 13 pairs of scissors could only mean that I had 13 workers,” he said, “and these seed packets that I had in my house could only mean that I had a prior grow, since I had those seeds.”

In the end, Casali and Wick were sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 10 years at Lompoc Prison Camp in Santa Barbara County.

SERVING TIME

When describing his sentencing and his internment at Lompoc, Casali fights back tears – his voice shaking under the weight of regret.

“I didn’t feel bad for myself. I felt bad because of the pain that I had brought to my mother and father. All they wanted to do was to give me the best life possible, and they felt very guilty for what had happened because they blamed themselves.”

Casali recalls his walk up to the gates, where he waited with a group of 10 inmates for intake.

“They asked me how much time I had gotten, and I told them ‘120 months,’ and they were just

flabbergasted that they were looking at someone who had more time than anyone else at the camp at that time,” he said.

Casali spent seven years building relationships with the other inmates, as well as the farm managers and guards, working the cattle and cultivating vegetables.

He formed a particularly strong bond with the man who ran the prison camp, Ray Escobedo.

“I used to bring him little plants, habaneros and things, and he would plant them in a little garden,” Escobedo said when contacted via phone for this story. Escobedo remembers Casali as being an exemplary farmhand, and by the end of the first year of his sentence, Casali had already earned a solid reputation at the camp.

“One afternoon, I heard my name come over the speaker from the chaplain’s office, and you never want to hear that, because it’s never anything good,” Casali said.

“My inmate friends, they all looked at me, because that’s what you do, like, ‘Oh, God, what happened?’

I went to the chaplain’s office, and that’s when they told me that my mom had passed away. She was actually scheduled to visit me the next day.”

Escobedo went to the Warden and vouched for Casali to leave the prison with a Marshall to attend his mother’s funeral.

After seven years, Casali and Wick were transferred to a drug program in Las Vegas, then to a halfway house in San Francisco for six months, before being given probation. They were then granted leave to start their own landscaping business, Eel River Landscape.

“We were mowing lawns, and trimming bushes and hedges for little old ladies in town,” he said. “I still look back at those times, and just remember that first day when I got back up to Humboldt, and everything just put a smile on my face. I could sit out in the yard for hours, and the air smelled amazing – that’s what life should be like for all of us, all the time.”

After nearly a decade of federal incarceration for operating his family’s legacy farm in Humboldt, Casali feels overwhelmingly lucky to be able to finally share his craft with the California Cannabis community.

“Since I learned everything from my mom, I thought it was so important to just honor her, and to share her story with people. So every strain that I grow here today is bred with a strain that she used to grow 45 years ago,” he said.

“I do that in her honor. There are some that are named after her, called Sweet Marlene. There’s one that’s called Whitethorn Rose, and they’re all bred with her strain that she bred with my best friend’s mother, called Paradise Punch. I like the idea that nobody else in the world grows these strains, and whether they’re the best or not the best, it’s part of the story of Huckleberry Hill Farms. It’s part of her story, and it’s part of my story.”

Like so many people who’ve seen the damage caused by failed drug policies, the retired prison camp manager Escobedo now sees Cannabis in a different light.

“It shouldn’t be illegal,” Escobedo said. “It’s no different than alcohol. It’s probably better than alcohol, you know. But it was illegal then.”

In recent years, Escobedo and another former prison camp manager came to visit Casali at his farm.

“He gave me a couple of seeds,” Escobedo said, “and I planted them here, and I made some creams out of them, for medicine, you know.”

Despite the freedom Casali now enjoys, he still regards helicopters overhead with a watchful eye, and can’t shake the fear of the potential blowback that could happen to him as retaliation for speaking out. Even though his livelihood Johnny and and his craft are his girlfriend, considered legal under Brittany Rose California law, it is still Moberly. federally illegal.

“All it would take is for them to come here, and find something that they can point to,” he said.

“More often than not, someone like me should be quiet and fall by the wayside, but that doesn’t really help anybody. I owe the community to speak out about where this multibillion-dollar industry was created.”

STORY by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANTS/LEAF NATION | PHOTOS by BEN NEFF @BNEFF92 for LEAF NATION

the ACTION issue

EQUITY IN CANNABIS NuLeaf Project Co-founder Jeannette Ward Horton on collaborating with edible maker Wana

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32

The failed War on Drugs destroys countless lives, with racist and classist policies that tear communities of color apart at the seams. Jeannette Ward Horton, co-founder of Oregon’s NuLeaf Project,

will absolutely not rest until our broken, oppressive, unbalanced system serves all of the communities it touches. As a burgeoning new sector, the Cannabis industry is the perfect place to focus on the monumental work of halting the destructive, regressive and oppressive policies that still impact communities of color around the country, and repairing the damage done. It’s a multifaceted mission, comprising political action, mentorship, and a rebalancing of the fiscal playing field.

MAY 2021

POLITICAL POWERHOUSE

Horton’s organization was a primary driver for the Oregon Cannabis Equity Act, HB3112, which seeks to establish a Cannabis Equity Board within the Governor’s office to provide equity oversight of the state’s Cannabis industry.

Among her many contributions, Horton sought to change the language around equity in order to specifically speak to race in the state’s efforts.

The goal is to provide opportunity and representation for those most impacted by the War on Drugs – specifically to Black, Indigenous, and Latina/o/x communities.

Notably, as part of her efforts, Horton was able to include the divestment of Cannabis taxes from funding the police.

“I wouldn’t let that shit go,” Horton said. “And it worked.”

Horton and NuLeaf also provide mentorship, grants and avenues for funding for equity entrepreneurs looking to grow and thrive in the Cannabis industry.

In order to get funding for these efforts, NuLeaf partners with companies in the space who recognize the need for change.

SPREADING LIKE ROOTS

In addition to the work with Wana in Oregon, NuLeaf is branching out to take on other missions with collaborators around the nation, including a partnership with Ben’s Best Buds in Colorado, the upcoming Cannabis brand from Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s. Their collaboration will be laser-focused on the funding piece of the equity puzzle.

The overall goal, Horton says, is to build a future with a healthy economic ecosystem rich in diversity and opportunity for systematically oppressed and underrepresented communities.

“Our mission is to build generational wealth for our communities,” she said. “This is not about just building Cannabis businesses. This is about repairing harm, and building it into these wealth opportunities for the Black community.”

The goal is to provide opportunity and representation for those most impacted by the War on Drugs – specifically to Black, Indigenous, and Latina/o/x communities.

A SHARED MISSION

As with so many people in the Cannabis industry and beyond, the social revolution of 2020 – sparked by the killing of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless people of color by public employees being paid to serve and protect them – inspired Wana to spring into action.

“That lit a fire underneath us,” Wana CEO Joe Hodas said. “What do we do here? This is a crisis.”

A significant operator in the national edibles scene, the Wana team heard about Horton and NuLeaf’s work on HB3112.

That dedication to positive political action, and NuLeaf’s efforts to connect equity entrepreneurs with the funding they need to achieve their goals, was what brought Wana to the table with Horton and her organization.

“To give someone a license, that’s great, they have a license,” Hodas said. But without funding, the license is simply a document. That’s where Wana came in, providing a financial contribution to NuLeaf in order to assist in their efforts.

Wana also hired its first-ever Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Karla Rodriguez, to work on the collaboration with Horton and other company projects in the CSR realm.

The goal is to create robust collaborations that connect their company with the greater cause of equity and inclusion at a deeper level.

“Companies tend to operate in a vacuum,” Karla said. “You can throw money at it, you can throw donations at a cause. But working with NuLeaf … we can learn what needs to be addressed in each market.”

>> N U L E A F P R O J E C T. O R G @NULEAFPROJECT >> W A N A B R A N D S . C O M @WANABRANDS

“To give someone a license, that’s great, they have a license,” Wana CEO Joe Hodas said.

But without funding, the license is simply a document. That’s where Wana came in, providing a financial contribution to NuLeaf in order to assist in their efforts.

STORY by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANTS/LEAF NATION | PHOTOS by FLETCHER WOLD @FWOLD_PHOTOGRAPHY & COURTESY WANA

the ACTION issue LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

34

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

INSIDE THE EMERALD CUP Once referred to as the “Academy Awards of Cannabis” by Rolling Stone, the Emerald Cup has evolved from a small, underground competition for sungrown weed into the most respected Cannabis event in the country – beloved for both the humanity with which it runs its festival and the integrity it employs in running its competition.

Founder Tim Blake on-stage with Tommy Chong

MAY 2021

The story of the Emerald Cup begins 17 years ago, when an outlaw grower named Tim Blake decided to host a private community gathering of connoisseurs and cultivators in Northern California’s storied Emerald Triangle to celebrate their harvests and determine which of them had grown the best bud. Blake swears his inspiration for the Cup came not from other Cannabis competitions that had preceded it, but rather from an older, more wholesome source.

“As a kid, I loved going to the county fairs every fall,” he explains. “All the sights, the sounds, the smells, the friendly competition with the vegetables and fruits and animals … and I just thought, we should be doing that with Cannabis. Of course, it was still highly illegal, but we just decided to go for it.”

In December 2004, Blake leased a small event space just outside of Laytonville (christened Area 101 due to its proximity to the highway) and hosted an underground event for around 200 people disguised as a birthday party. Convincing a few fellow local outlaw growers to participate, he ended up with a couple dozen entries of some of the finest outdoor flower around. Prizes were awarded for first, second and third place, but two of the three winners didn’t even show up to claim their prizes for fear of getting identified and busted.

Over the next few years, Blake upped his game: incorporating a hash competition, creating event posters, and throwing all-night psychedelic parties complete with light shows and “survivors’ breakfasts” the next mornings. The Cup remained an annual tradition at Area 101 until 2010, when its continued growth forced Blake to seek out a larger venue. In 2011, it was held at Garberville’s Mateel Community Center … but the following year, they were unable to secure any dates or locations in Mendocino or Humboldt counties and had no choice but to move the event down to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.

“That first year in Santa Rosa, most of the outlaw farmers wouldn’t come down – they thought it was sacrilegious to leave the Emerald Triangle,” Blake recalls. “But it turned out to be such a financial success for the vendors, that the second year there we actually had a waiting list and couldn’t even get everybody in.”

EMERALD EXPLOSION

In its new home at the fairgrounds, the event exploded. Within a few years, they went from 30-40 vendors to a couple hundred, and their attendance quadrupled from 7,500 to nearly 30,000. Now a full-blown festival, Emerald Cup offers dozens of panels and seminars, multiple speaking and performance stages, and top-notch musical acts like Rebelution, Damian Marley and Big Gigantic.

But that exponential expansion brought with it huge logistical challenges that Tim and his team couldn’t tackle alone.

“It’s a big job to essentially build a small city for the weekend,” Blake observes. “I realized, I’ve gotta find some professional help!”

Luckily, he soon found an eager and experienced new partner.

“When Red Light Management came knocking on my door, it was hard to turn them down,” Blake confesses. “With all the experience they had managing Dave Matthews Band and Phish, and running shows like Outside Lands, Bonnaroo and SXSW … it was an amazing opportunity.

They brought in a world-class production team and took things to a level nobody had ever seen before – like a Cannabis Lollapalooza.”

FOR THE COMMUNITY

Though the event was scaling up significantly, Blake made a sincere effort to avoid what he perceived as the shortcomings of some of the other large Cannabis events: focusing more on hype and profit than on providing the best possible experience.

“What I’m proudest about is, when you come to the Emerald Cup, you feel a real sense of community vibe there; farmers and product makers and all of the industry people coming together to have a yearly gathering and celebration,” he says. “When you’re doing it because you want to do something great for your community and not just for the money, that really comes across.”

Blake and his partners went the extra mile to create as comfortable and welcoming an environment as possible: buying 100 couches from the Salvation Army and hundreds of umbrellas to hand out during heavy rain days, going out of their way to find organic food vendors, hiring a handicapped support specialist to ensure that every part of the show was accessible, and spending nearly a quarter-million dollars on cushioned flooring for booths.

“At first I was like, ‘We’re spending how much money on flooring?’” says Blake.

Traditionally, judging had always taken place in person at Area 101 from November to early December.

But as of last year, the competition dates were pushed back to March to allow entrants more time to harvest, cure, process and package their submissions.

And the judges, who are given around a month to choose their winners, now conferred via weekly Zoom meetings.

Thanks to the pandemic, this year’s event also went fully digital – airing on Social Club TV from April 5-11.

The virtual event featured Tim with seminars and panels on a daughter, variety of topics including Taylor, who regenerative farming, psycheruns the delic healing, social equity “When you come to the Cannabis and marijuana marketing – all Emerald Cup, you feel a competition. hosted by industry experts, real sense of community activists and celebrities. The vibe there; farmers and “But then all the vendors were festivities were capped with product makers and all saying how amazing it was to stand a live stream awards show at there all day and not have their 4:20 on April 11 and excluof the industry people backs killing them, and we had like sive appearances by Ziggy coming together to have 200 handicapped people come Marley and Michael Franti. a yearly gathering and through saying they’d never seen Undoubtedly though, celebration.” - Tim Blake that type of decency shown to them Blake’s most memorable at an event, and I realized it was all celebrity moment occurred in worth it.”

2018, when his hero Willie Nelson came out to And their magnanimity doesn’t end there. accept a lifetime achievement award.

According to Blake, they’ve gone out of their way “He agreed to do it under one condition: each year to raise money and awareness for local He wanted us to change its name to the Willie schools and parks, as well as Nelson Award. I was like, oh my God – what environmental groups like the a prestigious honor he’s bestowing upon us!”

Trees Foundation and Friends of Blake gushes. “That was one of my proudest the Eel River. They’ve also promoments, standing on stage with Willie, realizing vided free booth space to many that he was now part of the Cup forever.” non-profits and donated unused contest entries to groups like FUTURE CHANGES Weed for Warriors and Sweet Starting next year, Blake plans to permanently Leaf to distribute to veterans and move the main event to April in L.A. – avoiding terminally ill patients in need. the harsh weather often encountered at past events and allowing for a wider swath of the THE COMPETITION Cannabis community to attend. However, they Their Cannabis competition still plan to host a smaller “Harvest Ball” back in (which is run by Tim’s daughter Taylor) has also Santa Rosa in the fall – one more reminiscent of been lauded for maintaining its integrity despite their original gatherings. its exponential expansion. From its single original “The Emerald Cup was a really innocent, woncategory of sungrown flowers in 2004, it’s now derful idea that turned into this huge business up to nearly 40 categories this year – including all that I never really counted or planned on. It’s types of topicals, edibles and concentrates. amazing to think back on how far we’ve come At its height, the competition boasted an insince that day,” Blake recalls fondly. credible 1,200 total entries, but that number has “But people love the idea of a fall gathering of been cut in half in recent years due to restrictions the tribe, where the community comes together imposed by the legal market. There are between at the end of the year to reminisce, celebrate six and 16 judges per category, all of whom are the previous year’s winners, and see the latest Cali-based Cannabis experts and celebrities. genetics so they can plan their crops for spring.

“We had a really incredible pool of judges this We can’t give that up.” year,” Blake attests.

No, Tim … we definitely can’t.

“We’re really proud of the quality and diversity of people that have come in.” (Full disclosure: I >> T H E E M E R A L D C U P. C O M was one of those judges).

STORY by BOBBY BLACK @BOBBYBLACK420/LEAF NATION | PHOTOS by MIKE ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS

the ACTION issue LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

36

REGENERATIVE ORGANIC AGRICULTURE Prior to 1996, nowhere in the United States had legalized Cannabis. And while progress has been slow over the past 25 years, the country has witnessed steady improvements allowing for the medical use of Cannabis in 36 states.

With New Mexico’s most recent legislative success, 17 are now considered legal Cannabis states. But with great power comes great responsibility.

A 2017 study by Ithaca College found large-scale commercial production of Cannabis destructive to the local environment. Northern states rely heavily on the use of artificial indoor operations, which are ideal for maneuvering the difficulties of cold climates. The indoor cultivation of Cannabis requires an enormous amount of electricity, relying on high-intensity bulbs, ventilation, dehumidifiers and air-conditioners to power production. Without land-use policies to limit its environmental footprint, the impacts of Cannabis farming could get worse, the study showed.

Until then, the onus of nurturing Mother Earth’s finite resources rests in the hands of the growers.

Many will chase the dollar, consequences be damned.

Others have their eyes on leaving the world a better place than they found it.

MAY 2021

Aaron Howard, Mason Walker and Nathan Howard.

East Fork Cultivars

Naomi Lamb Top Hat Concentrates

CREATING SUSTAINABLE CANNABIS BUSINESSES BLAZING THE TRAIL

“We are in a climate crisis,” said Oregon resident and activist Les Szabo. “We can’t talk about expansion without thinking about the environmental disruptions this industry could create.”

Szabo is a board member for Sun+Earth Certified, a nonprofit regenerative organic certification program for the Cannabis industry.

Regenerative organic certification is considered the new high-bar in growing standards, covering soil health, animal welfare and worker fairness in a single certification. The company’s goal is to have its Cannabis and hemp farmers making high-quality, organic products while leaving a positive impact on the local environment.

“It goes a little deeper into ethical land stewardship,” said Executive Director Andrew Black.

“Our approach focuses on no-till, mulching, composting and cover-cropping as essential parts of the farm.”

Sun+Earth Certified opened its doors on Earth Day 2019 with a pilot program that featured 14 partnering farms. In two years of operations, the company has expanded to 45 partners, covering California, Colorado, Michigan, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.

“We’ve been really happy with the progress,” said Szabo. “This type of certification makes sense to both the producer and consumer.”

ONE STEP FURTHER

While they don’t share a partnership, Top Hat Concentrates (THC) Alaska embraces the same farming values as Sun+Earth Certified.

“It all starts with clean Cannabis,” said THC Alaska President and CEO John Nemeth. “We believe Cannabis is medicine that helps people in a myriad of ways, and adding chemicals seems counterproductive.”

Based in Juneau, the state capital of America’s northernmost state is run largely on renewable energy by way of hydropower. This has allowed for THC Alaska to minimize its ecological footprint.

“Essentially what we’re trying to do is give back more than we take from the environment,” said Head Cultivator Naomi Lamb.

Lamb, 33, has been in the industry for 15 years, sharpening her skills in her home state of California before joining the team in 2015. In Humboldt County, Lamb witnessed firsthand the

impact of a grow facility placing the value of the dollar above the environment and local community.

“My introduction to Cannabis was not pretty,” she said. “I came into the industry working for folks who valued quantity over quality. They were using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It was really ugly.”

In what she described as a “disheartening” experience, Lamb said, ”As a consumer, I had an expectation of the people who were growing having a more well-rounded concept that they were producing medicine.”

Armed with a team of forward-thinking activists, Nemeth hopes Top Hat Concentrates can lead Alaska into preserving what is considered The Last Frontier.

“The first step is creating business partnerships with people who want to do what we’re doing,” said Nemeth, voicing aspirations that regenerative agriculture could become the model for the country.

“There are a lot of problems on Earth and climate change is a big one. Where the tech industry has failed, I think the Cannabis industry has a chance to step up and really set a trend.”

THE CONSCIOUS CONSUMER

RECREATIONAL & MEDICAL DISPENSARIES

EVERYDAY LOW PRICES Monique Ramirez SunBright Gardens

Nick Mahmood Green Source Gardens

“We can’t talk about expansion without thinking about the environmental disruptions this industry could create.” - Les Szabo

“If we’re serious about addressing the combined threats to our health, environment and economy, we must take bold action quickly,” said Black. While Sun+Earth Certified farms take responsibility for creating clean Cannabis, the company hopes the cultural mindset circles the supply chain. MedMen Enterprises, or MedMen, has helped their cause, lending some of its 29 retail stores in a variety of states to support organic growers.

“There’s some real momentum behind this movement,” said Szabo. “But to have these major multi-state operators on-board is going to be really important for consumers going forward. They are a good vehicle for translating our values in concrete action.”

And then there’s the consumer.

“Buying mindfully,” is how Lamb describes it.

“It’s the same as when they talk about voting with your dollar,” said Lamb, a third-generation farmer. “You can educate yourself, source where your Cannabis is coming from and be mindful of the production methods behind it.”

Education, the industry experts all agreed, was the key to navigating a 21st-century landscape.

“People don’t understand the scope and the scale of Cannabis’ impact, both positive and negative,” said Szabo. “When we forecast the legal industry, we’re talking 50-60 billion dollars [per year]. This one crop is bigger than all of the organics in the U.S. When you talk about climate change, you can’t talk without thinking about the environmental disruptions this industry could create.

“We just want to let people know there is an alternative way that is safer and cleaner for the consumer.”

STORY by BAXSEN PAINE @BAXSENPAINE for LEAF NATION

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This product has not been analyzed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There is limited information on the side effects of using this product, and there may be associated health risks. Marijuana use during pregnancy and breast-feeding may pose potential harms. It is against the law to drive or operate machinery when under the influence of this product. KEEP THIS PRODUCT AWAY FROM CHILDREN. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. The impairment effects of Edible Marijuana Products may be delayed by two hours or more. In case of accidental ingestion, contact poison control hotline 1-800-2221222 or 911. This product may be illegal outside of MA. Please Consume Responsibly. For use only by adults 21 years of age or older. Keep out of the reach of children. Marijuana should not be used by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

the ACTION issue

38

CANNABIS PHILANTHROPY

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

H O W A L A S K A’ S T O P H AT C O N C E N T R AT E S IS GIVING BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITY

Puff, puff...Pass out a $10,000 check?

After witnessing a crippling of the local economy at the hands of a worldwide pandemic, Juneau’s John Nemeth and his colleagues at Top Hat Concentrates (THC) Alaska decided to step in and lend a hand to their friends at the South East Alaska Food Bank (SEAFB).

Nemeth, the company’s President and CEO, was joined by Founder Ben Wilcox in personally delivering a five-digit donation to help families in need during these troublesome times.

“They reached out to us last May and said, ‘Hey, we want to help out the communities,’” SEAFB Manager Chris Schapp recalled. “It’s not very often you get a $10,000 donation.”

The financial aid came at the right time.The food bank was able to provide healthy and nutritious food to 42 non-profit agencies across Southeastern Alaska. SEAFB witnessed more than a doubling of applications for assistance – rising from an average of 65 per week to a high of 193 at the peak of the pandemic.

MAY 2021

THC Alaska has delivered Cannabis products, including CO2 extracted concentrates, to the most northern parts of the United States since 2015.

The Cannabis is grown through farming and growing practices that are geared towards helping reverse climate change.

“In a COVID year, it was a little different,” Schapp said. “We got hit really bad. For us in Juneau, so much of our economy is driven by the tourist industry.”

The state was hit hard following a shutdown of international travel through Canadian waters, nullifying an estimated 1.4 million tourists expected to travel to Alaska by way of cruise.

As the region’s hub and the state’s capital, 99% of the ships stop in Juneau. Alaska’s tourism economy accounts for one in 10 jobs in the state, and results in more than $4 billion in total revenue. >> T H C A L A S K A . C O M “I just think that in the early stages of 2020, not knowing what was going to happen, we felt as though it was a good opportunity to give back,” said Nemeth, whose previous philanthropic endeavors include service to Habitat for Humanity and the United Way. The THC Alaska team is composed of like-minded activists and their outreach in 2020 only empowered their natural inclination, leading the group to expand its efforts in 2021.

“There are a lot of problems on Earth – it’s about climate change, social equity and reform,” Nemeth said. “Our initial goal was to set a trend and get other Cannabis organizations involved. 2020 really opened our eyes to new opportunities.”

THC Alaska has set its course for its next philanthropic adventure, working in concert with The Last Prisoner Project – a non-profit organization dedicated to Cannabis criminal justice reform. Leading the fight is political liaison, Lacy Wilcox, who is also the President of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association (AMIA).

“We’re all activists first,” said Wilcox. “Our hearts are for the plant, but also for building the industry and making a difference. It was really important that when we all came in, we understood this was an evolution and would need fine tuning, possibly for decades.”

STORY by BAXSEN PAINE @BAXSENPAINE for LEAF NATION | PHOTO by TOP HAT CONCENTRATES

TOPICAL of the month

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CBD MASSAGE OIL & 24K CBD GOLD FACE SERUM Hole in the Wall Care LLC is a CBD skin care and wellness company based in Central Massachusetts, owned and operated by Laura Huard. Hole in the Wall Care provides allnatural, lab-tested and award-winning products at affordable prices.

MAY 2021

CBD Massage Oil

24K Gold CBD Face Serum

This romantic and soothing oil feels rich and the lavender scent packs a punch.

Lavandula, or French Lavender, originates in Southern France and has been known to combat headaches, irritability, feverish colds and nausea, to treat wounds, rheumatic pain and even as an insect repellent. This essential oil mix also has undertones of citrus and is perfect to heal and revitalize dry, tired skin. Deep tissue massages become an essential oil experience and the 500 milligrams of CBD easily absorbs into the skin. Apply liberally all over to brighten and soften the body’s largest organ!

A magical and luxurious formula that fights the signs of aging, this 24K Gold CBD serum will activate the basal cells and increase elasticity in your skin – reducing fine lines, wrinkles, blemishes – and making you look younger! Gold has been used for hundreds of years to improve cell circulation in the skin, as well as increase the metabolism of cells. This serum can prevent the skin from drying and improve your overall complexion. Like magic, this formula slows down the depletion of collagen in your skin, which will prevent premature aging. Pure gold has been HOLEINTHEWALLCARE.COM shown to have antibacterial and antiinflammatory properties, and helps oxygen enter the skin to renew skin cells. Gold also increases the elasticity of the skin, making it more tone and firm. Apply every day directly to the face – the lower CBD amount is gentle, but still provides the healing benefits needed. This five-star serum is an essential skin care product for any CBD believer.

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REVIEW & PHOTOS by BAILEY JONSON @BADMSBBAILEY for NORTHEAST LEAF

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concentrate of the month

42 ORANGE-FILLED INDICA GOODNESS

Worries become a thing of the past because you’re distracted by sounds, colors and smells.

ORIGYN EXTRACTS

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

SFV OG BADDER After their recent launch, Seed Dispensary and Core Culture Museum now offers an array of flowers, concentrates and pre-rolls. As a concentrate enthusiast, I normally opt for some extracts and dropped in to say “high” while in Boston.

I purchased an SFV OG badder outsourced and processed by Origyn Extracts. San Fernando Valley OG Kush will always stand out to me when it’s featured on a menu. Having not experienced the enjoyment of this strain in quite some time, I wanted to indulge myself in its deep, heavy indica effects and rich terpene profile.

The packaging that came with this extract was standard, but neat and durable. If you happened to drop this box, it wouldn’t get damaged easily or even wet – and no child could easily get into it. Origyn Extracts brands a discrete and subtle, green letter “O” on their white-on-white glass jars that is fixed inside this small, square cardboard box.

Origyn’s SFV OG badder was a little bit darker in color – golden orange with a wet appearance. This consistency will definitely make one salivate.

MAY 2021

Upon smelling, I was disappointed because it was lacking terps and was hard to detect any type of OG Kush aroma, such as skunky-earth, pine or lime.

You really have to dig and waft the jar towards your nose. As the jar comes to room temp, it brings out the scent and you can distinguish undertones of a musky dankness and slight sweetness.

SFV OG is one of those strains that is supposed to be stinky, funky gas. If it doesn’t bang terps when you open the jar, it isn’t a good first sign – especially at the price point of $85 per gram after tax. You can get a gram of live rosin for that with tax at most dispensaries.

This SFV OG badder’s flavor was a little bit more pronounced than its scent, but still fell flat, not reaching the true pungentness this strain can hold.

Upon exhaling this concentrate, you definitely receive pleasant indica effects, making up for the lack of scent and flavor. Smooth sailing, worries become a thing of the past because you’re SEED DISPENSARY distracted by sounds, colors and smells.

AND CORE MUSEUM At the end of the day, this was an 401A CENTRE ST, BOSTON, MA enjoyable concentrate – but not the (617) 553-5922 SEEDYOURHEAD.COM experience I’ve come to know and love @SEEDYOURHEAD CORECANNABIS.ORG from a classic like SFV OG. @CORECANNABISMUSEUM

REVIEW by BOBBY NUGGZ @BOBBYNUGGZ_OFFICIAL for NORTHEAST LEAF | PHOTO by BAILEY JONSON @BADMSBAILEY

Cannthropology

WORLD OF Cannabis PRESENTS

Yippie High-Yay! COURTESY DANA BEAL

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Dana Beal (with arm on speaker) leads a Yippie rally at the White House (1977).

COURTESY DANA BEAL

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

Occasionally referred to as “Groucho Marxists,” the Youth International Party (aka the Yippies) were a radical leftist group from the 1960s that used absurd, satirical stunts to make their political points. Among the many counterculture luminaries involved with the Yippies over the years is Dana Beal, a man who was personally recruited by founder Abbie Hoffman and ended up succeeding him as the group’s leader.

AN ACTIVIST IS BORN Growing up in Lansing, Michigan, Beal displayed a passion for social justice from an early age. In August 1963, at the age of 16, he hitchhiked to Washington D.C. to attend Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Two months later he organized his first demonstration against the Ku Klux Klan back in Lansing.

At age 17, Beal managed to avoid the Vietnam draft by getting himself committed to a psych ward, then went AWOL and took off for New York City.

Once there, he quickly established himself in the Lower East Side activist scene. During the Grateful Dead’s first-ever New York concert in Tompkins Square Park on June 1, 1967, Beal organized the first of many “smoke-in” protests – blazing out the 3,000+ crowd.

That August, Beal was busted for selling LSD to a narc, prompting a series of protest marches on his behalf. His support in the community was so impressive that it attracted the attention of another prominent activist by the name of Abbie Hoffman.

MAY 2021

FROM HIPPIE TO YIPPIE Both Jewish, anti-war activists, Hoffman and Rubin met in 1967 in New York while planning an upcoming demonstration in Washington and immediately hit it off. On August 24, 1967, they pulled off their first major media stunt: From the visitor’s gallery at the New York Stock Exchange, they threw out handfuls of one dollar bills onto the exchange floor – interrupting trading and eliciting both cheers Young Dana freed and curses from the brokers below. after LSD arrest.

On October 21, Hoffman and Rubin invited Beal and his crew down to D.C. to attend a massive anti-war demonstration at the Lincoln Memorial. Hoffman then led half the crowd across the Potomac, where they encircled the Pentagon and began singing and chanting in a supposed attempt to “levitate” the building.

Naturally, the building never moved, but the group had found their purpose.

It wasn’t until three months later – while tripping in Abbie’s apartment on New Year’s Eve – that they found a name for their merry band of miscreants when friend Paul Krassner spontaneously shouted out “Yippie!” and they instantly identified with the exuberant exclamation (later elaborated to Youth International Party).

On January 16, 1968, the Yippies published a manifesto – inviting activists across America to a massive protest outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that August. Dubbed the “Festival of Life,” it was a mock

For more on Dana Beal and the Yippies, listen to Episode #11 of our podcast at worldofcannabis.museum/podcast.

convention held in Grant Park.

Skirmishes between police and the nearly 10,000 protestors that week soon escalated to riots.

Weeks later, Mayor Daley issued a report blaming the violence on “outside agitators,” and on March 20, 1969, a grand jury indicted eight of those agitators. Among these “Chicago Eight” (later changed to the “Chicago Seven” after Black Panther Bobby Seale’s mistrial) were Rubin and Hoffman.

The trial was a national media circus – providing the Yippie leaders a perfect platform for their political theater. On February 18, 1970, both Rubin and Hoffman were convicted of inciting a riot and sentenced to five years in prison (their conviction was ultimately overturned in November 1972).

Beal, who was unable to attend the event, stepped in as the group’s de facto leader in their absence. And on July 4, 1970, when President Nixon threw an “Honor America Day” rally at the Lincoln Memorial, Beal organized a Yippie counter-rally at the Washington Monument to shout it down.

Story and photos originally published on worldofcannabis.museum and reprinted with permission.

STORY by BOBBY BLACK @CANNTHROPOLOGY for LEAF NATION

KEVIN SCHUMACHER

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TOM FORCADE Another influential Yippie leader was Tom Forcade – a former Air Guardsman turned weed smuggler from Phoenix who connected with them after moving to New York in July 1969 to run the Underground Press Syndicate. Forcade’s moment in the spotlight came on May 13, 1970, when – after testifying at the US Senate’s Commission on Obscenity and Pornography dressed as a preacher – he shoved a cream pie into the face of a committee member. After that, “pieing” became a signature Yippie tactic (Yippie Aron “Pie Man” Kay continued pieing controversial figures for many years).

Unfortunately, Forcade and Hoffman never saw eye to eye.

Forcade allegedly felt that Hoffman and Rubin were “burned out” after their trial, and that they were selling out by Tom Forcade (left) and Abbie Hoffman Poster for 1973 “May Day” Smoke-In in NYC. abandoning their more radical tactics and endorsing (right) in “Movement Court.” a candidate (George McGovern).

Their rift came to a head over payments regarding accusations and essentially resigning from the Yippies. With Rubin Hoffman’s “Steal This Book,” which Forcade had and Hoffman gone, Forcade’s faction took control. But by that time, worked on. A counterculture “Movement Court” was Forcade had more pressing issues to deal with: namely, the new convened to settle their dispute, but ultimately neither magazine he’d launched called High Times. Tragically though, just party accepted the verdict: Forcade refused to shake four years later on November 19, 1978, Forcade committed suicide Hoffman’s hand, and Hoffman never paid Forcade – leaving Beal as the Yippies’ last leader standing. the agreed amount.

In the decades to come, Beal continued to hold the annual Yippie The schism grew so severe that in Janusmoke-ins in Washington and New York. And when New York ary 1972, Forcade formed his own group, City Mayor Rudy Giuliani attempted to kill the protest using the “Zippies” (Zeitgeist International Party). police intimidation in 1998, Beal reached out to international Caught between the two factions, Beal sided allies and rebranded the NYC Pot Parade into the worldwide In the decades with Forcade and became a Zippie. Feeling Million Marijuana March. Within just a few years, the event had to come, Beal betrayed, Hoffman and Rubin attacked Forexpanded to over 300 cities around the world. continued to cade – publicly accusing him of working with DENOUEMENT the police. Tensions quickly led to threats hold the annual and incidents of violence, including an asAbbie Hoffman finally resurfaced in 1980 – but sadly, like Forcade, he also Yippie smoke--ins committed sault on Rubin by one of Forcade’s goons. suicide in 1989. Jerry Rubin sold out and became a Yuppie before in Washington being killed by a car on the streets of L.A. in 1994. Krassner died of natural TRANSFORMATION, TRAGEDY causes in 2019 at the age of 87. Thankfully, Kay and Beal are all still alive and New York.

AND TRANSCENDENCE and kicking.

In October 1972, Beal launched his underground newsIn the past decade, Beal has been arrested for trafficking marijuana four times—though paper the Yipster Times. A few months later, Beal moved only one charge stuck. In September 2011, while in police custody in Wisconsin, he sufinto the three-story building at 9 Bleeker Street that would fered a heart attack and died for three and a half minutes before being revived. Tragically, become his home – and Yippie headquarters – for the next during his incarceration in 2013, the Yippie Museum was closed, and in 2014, 9 Bleeker four decades (eventually opening its doors to the public as was foreclosed on and sold. Nevertheless, Beal remains defiantly hopeful – looking forward the Yippie Café & Museum). to finally seeing the end of America’s pot prohibition, which he insists is imminent.

In spring 1974, Hoffman skipped bail on a cocaine charge “The War on Drugs is just no longer at the top of the list of things to deal with in this and went into hiding. Months later, Rubin issued an apolocountry,” he said. “It’s impossible to go to jail for pot anymore – they just take the weed gy to Forcade in the Village Voice, disavowing his previous and let you go. That’s how I know legalization is actually coming.”

WORLD OF CANNABIS MUSEUM

When NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani attempted to kill the protest using police intimidation in 1998, Beal reached out to international allies and rebranded the NYC Pot Parade into the worldwide Million Marijuana March. Within just a few years, the event had expanded to over 300 cities around the world.

WASTING TIME

It's

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LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

by Mike Ricker

an oxymoron actually, because it is impossible to waste time if you are here and experiencing life. The fact that you are actively conscious means that you are utilizing the energy that motors your body to gain experience. Therefore, the time is not wasted at all, but in fact, utilized.

And further, how can you waste something that is free? If you gave nothing to get it, then you are entertaining yourself with something you did not have before you began.

But time is a concept – a construct of our imagination – not a tangible asset in a physical sense. Therefore, it is impossible to waste.

In fact, the word “waste” is only a figure of speech. So, figuratively speaking, to waste time is to do something that does not uphold the value of the expectation that was set to optimize the moments of life you have. And there are many ways to frivolously attend to your life.

Like wondering what someone else is doing with their time...

Let’s take Thom Yorke, for instance. He’s the singer for the band Radiohead. I wonder what he is doing right now? Is he on the phone?

Is he on the toilet? Is he taking a bong hit? All three maybe?

But what does it matter if he is not in my presence, and why am I spending my precious time wondering with time I can never reclaim?

It’s arguably wasteful, but not a waste. Kind of like a box in bubble wrap inside of another box that’s inside of another box with Amazon packing tape striped around it … and what’s inside of the first box is a thumb drive. Like, was it necessary to quadruple pack that bastard? It’s wasteful, but not a waste – because you received the necessary item.

People are stupid.

Shit, that was a wasteful comment.

may 2021

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