Aug. 2023 - NW Leaf

THE PSYCHEDELIA ISSUE

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WES ABNEY CEO & FOUNDER wes@leafmagazines.com

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ASHLEY HIRCHERT SOCIAL MEDIA LEAD ashley@leafmagazines.com

WES ABNEY ABOUT THE COVER

This month's incredible cover comes to us from renowned psychedelic artist Chris Dyer. Writes Dyer, "I painted this image in Montreal back in 2001, as a college project. The teacher, Carmelo Blandino, didn't mind the illegal subject matter depicted, as he knew my art style was something unique and it deserved to be encouraged, not censored. He ended up buying the watercolour off me and we've stayed friends. When Leaf Magazines asked me to do the cover for the mag, I felt it was time to revamp this image, as it was neverdone correctly,sincemytechnicalabilitieswerestill growingbackthen. The image, named "Life," depicts an interdimensional creature of life, enjoying the electric blessings of the herb."

ART BY CHRIS DYER FOR LEAF NATION @CHRIS_DYER POSITIVECREATIONS.CA

CONTRIBUTORS

WES ABNEY, FEATURES

DANIEL BERMAN, PHOTOS

BOBBY BLACK, DESIGN + FEATURES

BRIAN BLOMERTH, ILLUSTRATION

JOSHUA BOULET, ILLUSTRATION

TOM BOWERS, FEATURES

AMANDA DAY, FEATURES

CHRIS DYER, ILLUSTRATION

EARLY, PRODUCTION

STEVE ELLIOTT, NATIONAL NEWS

JOELY FISHER, ASSISTING

MATT JACKSON, FEATURES

JESSE RAMIREZ, DESIGN

MIKE RICKER, FEATURES

MEGHAN RIDLEY, EDITING

TONY SIMONELLI, PHOTOS

KELSEY STEVENS, PRODUCTION

TERPENE TRANSIT, DISTRIBUTION

DAN VINKOVETSKY, FEATURES

JERRY WHITING, EMERITUS CONTRIBUTOR

KATHERINE WOLF, FEATURES

We are creators of targeted, independent Cannabis journalism. Please email us to discuss advertising in the next issue of Northwest 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 ricker@leafmagazines.com to start advertising with Northwest Leaf!

Editor’s Note

Thanks for picking up The Psychedelia Issue of the Leaf!

Like Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit hole, it feels like society has tripped and awakened into a new age of enlightenment and acceptance for the developing world of psychedelic experiences. This new class of drugs are following the policy road paved by Cannabis – using a combination of science and personal testimonies to advocate for the medicinal and recreational use of natural, plant-based psychedelics and laboratory-derived drugs.

From mushrooms containing psilocybin to ayahuasca in the jungle, the research done via personal experience for decades with shamans and at festivals is shifting to clinical analysis – providing the legal basis for freeing these chemicals and entheogens. It’s all about changing perception, which is ironic given the ego-killing 20,000 foot view of life a good trip provides, and convincing mainstream America that shrooms are more than a hippy escape or the flashback to a bad trip. In a society where we’ve been taught that there’s a pill or doctor for everything, could repackaging mushroom trips into therapy sessions be the missing link?

Oregon is embarking on this journey with the first state-licensed psilocybin producers, therapy centers and facilitators of psychedelic experiences. I had the pleasure of touring Satya in Medford where the first patients have passed through the veil into a legal trip, complete with pre-trip intake analysis, and a reintegration process to take the experience and apply it into lessons for therapeutic healing back in the “real world.”

Whether we are discussing entheogenic drugs like mushrooms, ayahuasca or toad DMT, or looking at laboratory-developed drugs like MDMA, LSD and Ketamine, we are at the bleeding edge of exploration that is finally being allowed. Research that began in the ‘60s and ‘70s and continued under strict hospital conditions at Johns Hopkins, is now happening all over the world. While recreating Cannabis as medicine in the lab was a failure (search Marinol for more), we can learn a lot by isolating and synthesizing the chemicals that make us trip. In the search for acceptance, we must also search to provide experiences that are familiar in normal life – so that our parents, teachers, police officers and veterans can head to a therapy center, take a capsule or ingest a tea, and have the opportunity to experience the world through the lens of a psychedelic experience.

If we really want to change the world, it starts with shedding the ego and the manipulation of mainstream media and governments – returning humanity to a simpler state of mind that rewards connection, community and love for each other. And if we are really going to start with change in America, I recommend a heroic dose for every politician in the country. That’s the true melting pot that a new age of enlightenment can be spawned from.

“WE ARE AT THE BLEEDING EDGE OF EXPLORATION THAT IS FINALLY BEING ALLOWED. ”

Sip into Summer bliss with möbius!

MORE THAN 1 MILLION FLORIDA VOTERS WANT LEGALIZATION ON BALLOT

Over a million Floridian voters want to see an adultuse Cannabis legalization measure on the 2024 general election ballot, reports Forbes. The data comes from the Florida Division of Elections.

State officials in June revealed the proposal from Smart & Safe Florida got enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

With the current count, the initiative has more than 120,000 signatures beyond the 891,000 required.

But it still must pass muster with the Florida Supreme Court, which must determine the measure is limited to a single issue and is not likely to “confuse voters.” The same court has already invalidated legalization bids on two separate occasions in 2021.

WILL GERMANY GO LEGAL?

Quoted

-Tourist Zach West, visiting Neptune Beach, Florida last month with his mom, who called local police. The sandy, stinky scene revealed several tons of loose, unpacked marijuana washed up on the beach. Police warned the public not to try to pick up the marijuana or take it home, saying it was degraded and rotten.

Germany’s Health Ministry has unveiled a bill to legalize adult-use Cannabis, submitting it to officials and the public for review, reports Marijuana Moment. The legislation would allow adults 18 and older to cultivate three plants for personal use. It would also sort out rules for “social clubs” where they could buy weed. Officials also plan to introduce a second measure establishing programs for commercial sales in cities throughout the country. No extraction of oils or concentrates from Cannabis are allowed under the measure.

19

percent of U.S. adults say they have used Cannabis in the past year.

37

states have what Marijuana Policy Project considers effective medical marijuana laws.

60

percent of U.S. adults approve of recreational pot legalization.

DEPUTIES SEIZE $200K WORTH OF DRUGS AT THE GORGE

Thousands of grams of weed, psychedelics such as LSD, and even cocaine were seized in July during two Dead and Company shows at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington state. Officials said the street value of all the drugs seized totaled more than $200,000.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office said 13 arrests were made by detectives, who conducted nine different investigations, resulting in more than 15 felony drug distribution charges. Dead and Company is a band featuring several former Grateful Dead members.

91

percent of U.S. adults say Cannabis should be legal in some form.

“Many concert events attract narcotics users, as well as people involved in the distribution of illegal narcotics and controlled substances,” the sheriff’s office claimed on Facebook. “The types of controlled substances seized by law enforcement over the weekend ranged from hallucinogenics (psilocybin mushrooms, LSD), dissociative anesthetics (Ketamine), stimulants (MDMA, MDA, cocaine), and Cannabis.”

STORIES by STEVE ELLIOTT | THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF MARIJUANA

“I did pick it up and smell it to see what it smelled like, and it was weed. So, I was like, ‘OK, that’s kind of crazy.’ ”

Weedmaps Triple Play Invitational

In celebration of all things baseball and Cannabis, the Weedmaps Triple Play Invitational set the stage for an infused skills-and-thrills event last mont h in Seattle.

ALL-STAR WEEK descended on Seattle in July to big fanfare, with events like the Home Run Derby and public meet and greets bringing a festive baseball scene to a community that loves sports.

To celebrate the hosting of All-Stars for the first time in 20 years, Devin Ryan, the Regional Marketing Manager for Weedmaps, decided to build a weed-themed sports day that’s one for the history books.

“Having been to my fair share of Cannabis events, seshes, budtender events – I feel like the common denominator is we get together and smoke and eat and have music – but there’s not a whole lot of activities,” explained Ryan. “And as an active stoner, I feel like having games and activities that are baseball themed would keep people engaged and wanting to stick around.”

In true Weedmaps fashion, the Triple Play Invitational celebrated the plant and the community – keeping the event alcohol free as participants focused on a healthy, happy sports vibe – with plenty of the kind shared by adults. The indoor and outdoor portions of the downtown venue featured a full-size batting cage and golf practice nets, nine holes of baseball-themed mini golf, and water pong with Liquid Death supplying the hydration to keep the competing

teams busy. There were tasty food trucks, art and clothing vendors, and a live piano and drums duo covering hits from T-Pain to Queen.

Local Cannabis companies were invited to put together four-person teams, keeping scorecards for all the events – also proving that Cannabis users are both athletic and able to do math in the pursuit of winning the coveted title of Weedmaps Triple Play Invitational Champion. This year’s title went to the team from Have A Heart, a storied Cannabis retailer dating back to the early medical days. And while there was only one winner, everyone who showed up to play and puff had a blast.

“This event wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Freddy’s Feugo, Cloud 9, Sungaze, Ray’s Lemonade, Wyld, Hella Loud, 1937 Farms and Leaf Magazines,” Ryan said excitedly, already planning the next event. “This was a true invitational – a private event with invitations personally delivered by myself and Weedmaps – but I would love to open it more to the public in the future. The next event will have a very similar production and activities, but we would like to bring the joy of sports and Cannabis to the masses!”

“This was a true invitational… but I would love to open it more to the public in the future.”

-Weedmaps Regional Marketing Manager Devin Ryan

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AARON MENDENHALL

NORTHWEST LEAF

OF THE MONTH

Aaron is an animal lover who parents four cats at home, while still feeding the strays outside (including raccoons and opossums). With its ocean and tide pools, the Pacific Northwest weather is a welcome change for this Texas native.

YOU’VE BEEN AT HOUSE OF CANNABIS FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR WORK BEFORE YOU GOT INTO THE CANNABIS BUSINESS?

I used to wholesale grinders, bongs, pipes and paraphernalia out of Austin, Texas.

WE’VE ALL HAD PREVIOUS CAREERS, RIGHT? WILL YOU EVER GO BACK TO THE GRIND OF WHOLESALING, OR ARE YOU HERE TO STAY IN THE ACTUAL WEED GAME? No, I don’t ever see myself having a typical job again. That’s a good question I’ve thought of multiple times over the past several years. Once you’ve committed to devoting your life to sharing the love of Cannabis, it’s really hard to go back. I love the thrill of encountering someone who is a first timer in the shop and getting to show them how this all works. However, my regulars are where I find the most juice. It’s a community I feel a part of, especially when I see them out in public.

BACK WHEN YOU WERE IN THE BONG AND GRINDER BUSINESS, WAS THERE ONE PARTICULAR BONG HIT THAT STOOD ABOVE THE REST? Absolutely, that was my first dab! It changed everything. It opened up a whole new world of getting high. (laughs)

WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING CURRENTLY?

I’m smoking Matriarch Wedding Cake. And Unicorn Poop from Skord.

WOULD YOU PUT THAT IN YOUR PIPE IF YOU WERE HIKING THROUGH THE FOREST AND CAME UPON A PILE OF UNICORN POOP? Yes, but I would check it for mushrooms first!

ARE YOU INTO PSILOCYBIN FOR MEDICINE? Absolutely, everyone here needs to be – this is the mushroom capital of the world!

“I DON’T EVER SEE MYSELF HAVING A TYPICAL JOB AGAIN.”

FLYINGHIGH

CA, CAW!

In the beginning, some dude named Matt came up with an idea to name the shop Smoking Crow. There wasn’t any reasoning – but that’s OK! Because we all know not to ask “why” when inspiration hits you, but to instead go with it. And now there is a collection of crow figurines and other art trinkets strewn about the shop as the city of Bellingham has jumped on board and contributed. “Hey, crows find trinkets themselves and bring them back to the nest – so that’s what many of our staff and clientele have done,” says General Manager Laurel Heater.

FRIENDS OF A FEATHER

Many people with an affinity for nature will only shop here because they love birds and animals. In fact, it has become a weird obsession with the staff where three of them have actually gotten crow tattoos on their ankles. They consider this place of employment their awesome refuge, welcoming any newcomers who are searching for education. They love getting asked questions because, for this shop, it’s always been about transparency – believing that consumers deserve to know if the products they purchase come from companies with integrity.

IT’S CALLED A MURDER!

Like a community of crows, this environment is built on communication and each budtender is given a rigorous questionnaire before receiving the honor of standing behind the counter. They’re very expressive about their passion for teaching about things like different terpenes and the entourage effect. This really is a versatile plant, and the love energy for it is palpable in this shop of high frequency. We should never forget that weed is supposed to be fun … and these guys take pride in sharing the love!

STAFF PICKS

FLOWERS

Khush Kush Tropicanna Headband

x Viking Monster Berry - Garrett

Sasquatch Greenhouses Tropicanna Cookies - Mika

Honeydew Farms Vanilla Lime - Bree

Joints

Gas Haus Gelonade - Garrett

With-it Weed Tropical Express - Mika

Trail Blazin’ Amnesia - Bree

dabs

American Hash Co. Cheesecake - Garrett

Soulshine CBG Isolate - Mika

Skunk Processors Dirty Zprite Rosin - Bree

CARTS

Treedom 9lb Hammer - Garrett

Fairwinds - Ratio 1:1:1 THC:CBD:CBG - Mika

Passion Flower - Jack CBG - Bree

edibles

Binske Mango/Lime Gummies Split Pack - Garrett

Journeyman 50:1 Berry Gummies - Mika

Verdelux Peanut Butter Meltaways - Bree

“FOR THIS SHOP, IT’S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT TRANSPARENCY –BELIEVING THAT CONSUMERS DESERVE TO KNOW IF THE PRODUCTS THEY PURCHASE COME FROM COMPANIES WITH INTEGRITY.”

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Step into the batter’s box for a home run edition of the Strain of the Month –honoring the Seattle baseball team and our legacy of local chronic with a heavy-hitting strain.

PEANUT BUTTER JELLY WITH A BASEBALL BAT PEANUT BUTTER JELLY WITH A BASEBALL BAT

GROWN IN LIVING SOIL by a true 206 company in south Seattle, the strain is the Peanut Butter Jelly Breath with a unique phenotype that earned the name “with a baseball bat.” We’ll spare any song lyrics, but google this strain name and you’ll find a viral and hilarious selection of YouTube videos that are much better after smoking this fire cut.

The buds are big and beautiful, with dark greens and purples coated in frosty trichomes. Opening a mylar releases a rush of woodsy-peanut-Kush with a sugar-berry-gas that is truly the perfect weed representation of the PB&J sandwich. Breaking open a nug delivers a satisfying snap and an excellent cure that makes loading a bowl or rolling a breeze.

First tokes are sweet and fizzy, with notes of strawberry gas on the smooth, breathy exhale that leaves an earthy finish on the palate.

Complex and sugary with an exceptionally smooth smoke, it’s easy to take fat rips that light up the senses with euphoric waves of stoney bliss. Perfect for a concert or movie, this strain delivers an old-school high that intensifies sounds and sensations – simplifying thoughts and imparting a truly stoned buzz. Pack a sandwich or plan for food though, as repeated bowls of this strain bring a side order of the munchies.

On top of growing fire weed, PNDUB is also here for the scene and the smokers with their project, Seattle Marijuana Smokers Club. The goal is to bring the community together along with musicians, artists, athletes and influencers to have events that normalize Cannabis – celebrating our roots in the Northwest and the lifestyle unique to this region. We hope to see their events launch soon, and more tasty strains coming from this living soil, OG-run Cannabis company.

CULTIVATED

ICONS ICONS PSYCHEDELIC PSYCHEDELIC

ALBERT HOFMANN

The Swiss chemist who first synthesized LSD while working with the ergot fungus in 1943. After purposefully taking a dose of acid, his historic afternoon bike ride on April 19, 1943 has become a revered psychedelic holiday. The author of “LSD: My Problem Child,” Hofmann believed LSD could be used to increase society’s respect for our place in the natural world.

MARIA SABINA

Posters of the famous mushroom shaman of Mexico still line windows in Oaxaca where Sabina lived until 1985. She famously used mushrooms – which she called “the children” – to cure sick members of her community and communicate with the divine. This ritual, or velada, was reported in LIFE Magazine and was responsible for an explosion of interest in psilocybin research.

ALDOUS & LAURA HUXLEY

Authors of numerous cornerstones of psychedelic literature including “The Doors Of Perception,” “Islands,” “Brave New World” and “You Are Not The Target” –the Huxleys believed using psychedelics could unlock the secrets of the mind, and perhaps existence. Aldous believed psychedelics help us achieve a spiritual and philosophical experience that has benefits for everyone. Laura – a self-described "restrained investigator of LSD" – believed acid and mescaline could help you navigate the heavy jungles of the human mind. In 1963, she helped her husband pass peacefully, administering 100 micrograms of LSD to him on his deathbed to ease his journey.

TERENCE MCKENNA

He’s been called a mystic, ethnobotanist, pioneer, and even “the Timothy Leary of the ‘90s.” Throughout McKenna’s travels in Jerusalem, Mexico and Nepal, he experimented using plant-based psychedelics to increase the spiritual connection to a combined consciousness. In 1976, he and his brother wrote “Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide” outlining spore cultivation techniques for the home enthusiast.

TIMOTHY LEARY

Referred to as the “father of the psychedelic movement” of the '60s, Leary was a psychologist who studied psychedelics and personality at Berkeley and as a faculty member at Harvard. He inspired young people everywhere to experiment with acid. Famous for the phrase "tune in, turn on, drop out" – he co-founded the Harvard Psilocybin Project and the League for Spiritual Discovery. President Richard Nixon called him "the most dangerous man in America."

RICHARD ALPERT (RAM DASS)

A researcher at Harvard who was fired in 1962 for giving psychedelics to his undergraduate students, Alpert worked with Timothy Leary to found the infamous Millbrook Commune – aka the League for Spiritual Discovery. Later, he’d journey to India and be renamed Baba Ram Dass by a guru, before returning to become a spiritual leader and write the influential book “Be Here Now.”

ALFRED M. HUBBARD

ANN & ALEXANDER “SASHA” SHULGIN

Together, this husband and wife team created and tested over 200 psychoactive compounds in their home laboratory. The process was documented in their 1991 book “Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved” and its follow-up “Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved” – commonly referred to as “PiHKAL” and “TiHKAL.” While not the inventor, Alexander’s work introducing MDMA throughout the ‘70s and ‘90s earned him the nickname “The Godfather of Ecstacy.”

HUNTER S. THOMPSON

Author, journalist and psychonaut who defined the literary style we now call “Gonzo.” Throughout his career, Thompson notoriously supplied the first psychedelic dose to influential artists, writers, actors … and even Hells Angels. He often used psychedelics to invite the unknown to write his next paragraph. “As for LSD, I highly recommend it. The feeling it produces is hard to describe. 'Intensity' is a fair word for it."

AUGUSTUS OWSLEY STANLEY III

“Clandestine chemist” is the best way to describe this pivotal figure in the ‘60s psychedelic scene. It was his talent for manufacturing acid that helped iconify the Monterey Pop Festival and fueled the Merry Pranksters’ Acid Tests. The Oxford English dictionary defines Owsley as a noun for a particularly pure form of LSD.

KEN KESEY

PAUL STAMETS

Over the last 40 years, Stamets has become one of the most famous mycologists of our time – spreading the message that mushrooms have the power to save the world. His stance that psilocybin mushrooms are a non-addictive, life-changing substance has helped him discover new types of hallucinogenic fungi and even inspired a character in “Star Trek.”

The Johnny Appleseed of LSD, it’s estimated that Hubbard dosed six thousand people between 1951-1966. Hubbard wanted to change the world by dosing influential and prominent figures in society. Using LSD he obtained from Hofmann himself, Hubbard preached the key importance of “set and setting” during an acid session and felt promoting psychedelic therapy was his angelic calling.

After volunteering in a 1959 government program that studied the effects of psilocybin, amphetamine, LSD and other psychoactive drugs, Kesey used the experience to write “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.” With his group of Merry Pranksters, he sought to defy conformity and promote psychedelic discovery. Their exploits were documented in Tom Wolfe’s novel “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.” (For more on Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, check out this month’s Cannthropology).

HEADY THREADS HEADY THREADS

THE BINDLE CONSPIRACY

Luke started The Bindle Conspiracy in 2016 after exploring Europe, Southeast Asia and Central America, then driving his van across the United States, Mexico and Canada. “A few things sparked my interest as potential careers while I was traveling,” he explained, “but really one thing stayed constant for me: my love for clothing.” So, he decided to learn how to make it from scratch and has been cutting and sewing every single piece by hand since. Currently based out of Boulder, Colorado, his one-of-a-kind wearables feature fun fabrics, trippy textures and playful patchwork. thebindleconspiracy.com | @thebindleconspiracy

KILLER ACID

Rob Corradetti has been making art for over 25 years and launched Killer Acid in 2010, which specializes in screen prints, t-shirts and psychedelic accessories. While the brand is based out of Santa Cruz, California, Rob’s style blends “head shop and punk rock” inspired by the technicolor coming-of-age in New York City – full of cartoon characters, bright colors and subtle references to classic art. So far, Killer Acid has done some killer collaborations with brands like Meow Wolf, Zumiez, VICE, Adult Swim and Santa Cruz Skateboards. killeracid.com | @killeracid

BROKEN PROMISES CO.

Founded by Mandee Bence and Jason Blake, Broken Promises Co. is “rooted in the expression of human emotions, with products that allow people to express their feelings by wearing them when sometimes itʼs hard to talk about how you feel.” Based out of Southern California, the brand has its own app where it drops an exclusive new collection every Saturday morning and has collaborated on capsules with Hot Wheels, Beetlejuice, Mountain Dew, Death Note and others. brokenpromises.com |@brokenpromisesco

A ROUNDUP OF ARTISTS AND CLOTHING BRANDS MAKING THE MOST WONDERFUL WEARABLES FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP.

SKULLY VIBES

Skully Vibes has been making art his whole life but started drawing skull characters in high school. He continued to evolve his spooky-stoney style, and the Skully Vibes brand was officially born in 2021 with a passion project called Smoking Skulls – a collection of 710 different hand-drawn skull characters with a poem to go with each one. Now, the skulls are a staple throughout his multimedia art including prints, stickers and t-shirts –each embroidered to order in Denver.skullyvibes.com @skully.vibes

GRASSROOTS CALIFORNIA

Grassroots began making hats for a documentary film in 2009 and has since hooked up artists like Method Man, Jerry Garcia and Griz with the headiest headpieces. They’re known for their signature holograms and designs on the interior of the hats, made with environmentally-friendly materials such as hemp. The company donates 1% of all sales to charity and has done limited-time collections with psychedelic artists such as Vincent Gordon and The Frank Brothers. grassrootscalifornia.com @grassrootscalifornia

Michelle started Wook Wear a couple of years ago to create stash bags for all her friends, specializing in “prizedpossession pouches” that are perfect for terp pearls or marbles. She designs her own patterns, cutting and sewing everything from scratch by hand, and says she “loves making insulated bags for hash or your favorite glass and psychedelic supplies – just about anything you can dream of!” Don’t miss the drops on her Instagram at 4:20 p.m. on #wookwearwednesdays. @wook.wear

STRAIGHT TRIPPIN CO.

Armed with his friend's printing press and his mom's old embroidery machine, Tyler started Straight Trippin Co. in 2021. Today, he makes shirts, hats and beanies that are each dyed and embroidered by hand in Austin, Texas. He draws inspiration from his own psychedelic experiences and says he started the brand to “challenge the prevailing stigma associated with substances often frowned upon in society.” straighttrippinco.etsy.com | @straighttrippinco

SHELTER CULTIVATION PROJECT

The Shelter Cultivation Project is an experimental retail space and apparel brand in Burlington, Vermont featuring zines, clothing, artwork and home goods by a collection of makers. Founder Shawn Dumont says, “This is really just a weird art experiment, and we only make something new when we have an idea worth pursuing or find an artist that we really want to work with.” Shelter has done a few group gallery shows, created a toll-free hotline for talking to exotic plants (give it a call at 1-844-Plant-Talks), and recently held a concert with Michael Nau and Benny Yurco. sheltercultivationproject.com | @sheltercultivationproject

PHOTO

Many people believe that when we consume psychedelic entheogenic medicines, we tap into both an inner space as well as an interdimensional, shapeless plane of existence too vast and complex for us to describe or define with our limited human capabilities. Through his art, Chris Dyer attempts to give a physical, visual form to concepts, beings and feelings conjured to his mind in part from his many experiences as a spiritual psychonaut. We had the chance to tap in with the Canadian-Peruvian skateboarder and psychedelic visionary to learn more about his life, his artistic process, and what he’s seen and felt during his many experiences with various journey-inducing substances all over the world.

ON THE INFLUENCE HIS PERUVIAN UPBRINGING HAD ON WHO HE’S BECOME:

Peru’s tricky. When people think of Peru, it's like, ‘Oh, it's so beautiful with the llamas running around the mountains and the ruins and the Incas, and then you go to the jungle and you drink ayahuasca – la la la.’ But no, for me, growing up in the ‘80s and the ‘90s in Lima, Peru was terrorism and blackouts and getting mugged four times a year for being white. I went to an all-boys school, so it's just like hyper-masculine scenarios where everyone's fighting over power, and me being a sensitive artist, I had to build a bunch of armors to protect myself from getting too energetically robbed. It gave me a lot of challenges that I've had to work through in my life. I'm better now, but I recognize where the wounds started.

ON THE INTERCONNECTED EXPERIENCES AND VISIONS REFLECTED

IN TRIBAL ART THROUGHOUT

GLOBAL HISTORY:

from ancient times, they were all tapping to the same place. And I'm tapping to the same place. Yes, I am Peruvian and I grew with a certain influence, but I've also traveled to 45 different countries around the world and observed the similarities. Then I go into that place of oneness and try to understand what these interdimensional consciousness beings are and what they're trying to tell us, and how they're trying to help humanity throughout time. They're in a place past time, so they're just waiting for us there. In that other dimension, they exist. If I were to go into an Ayahuasca ceremony today, I’d tap into that place. It's the same exact time and place –since it's timeless – that the pre-Inca cultures tapped into, and many other cultures around the world.

“What is this fractal consciousnessreality thatfeelslikemany soulsinone,that wantstohelpmeand wantstohelpus?It's almost like the elders arecheeringusfrom theplacebefore and after life.”

Cultures around the world somehow had access to the portals that take you to … the same center of creation, and it comes out and it manifests as a head in Mexico, or a carving in Nepal, or some motifs on textiles in Peru. This tribal artwork

ON THE EXPERIENCE OF AYAHUASCA:

When I'm there, I'm like, ‘What the fuck's going on here? What is this place? Is it alien? Is it collective consciousness? Is this an aspect of God? Is this God itself?’

A couple weeks ago, I did my 45th ceremony in Willow Creek – I was sitting in the other dimension for a few hours just observing it and letting it teach me how to fix my own corrupt coding so that I can shine more and help empower others to shine more. And thus, together we shine together and create a flame of

humanity that is so strong that we'll break through the darkness that's trying to hold us down as a humanity. … What is this fractal consciousness reality that feels like many souls in one, that wants to help me and wants to help us? It's almost like the elders are cheering us from the place before and after life. That's where I go with Aya.

ON THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AYAHUASCA AND OTHER ENTHEOGENIC MEDICINES:

When I did Bufo, I went somewhere else. Bufo took me to a white place where I wasn't even there anymore. And thus, I don't have many memories of it. There wasn't even a ‘Chris’ left to observe because I had dissolved into everything-slash-nothingness, and there's a subconscious part of me that remembers that place of expansion in my positivecreations.ca | @chris_dyer

dreams. With mushrooms, you can get to that place that Aya takes you, but you gotta take like, a lot, of mushrooms. … I think all of these medicines open different portals, and really, once the portal's open, those places are so big it makes the physical plane that we live in – with our planet, our solar system, our galaxy, the universe – look small compared to the astral plane where there's no up and down and it just goes on into infinity or eternity. Once you're there, it seems like that's the real place and this is the fake little video game that we play to kind of like experience physical reality, and all this array of human emotions and pain and joy. In the end, we're from beyond, and these places that we go through these medicines are closer to our real self. I would say our true, pure, real self is what we understand to be God –that oneness, the absolute energy of love and expansion. But that's just my personal belief.

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Satya Therapeutics is cultivating new and innovative psilocybin therapy treatments

Building on thousands of years of indigenous use and decades of clinical and individual studies, Oregon has inoculated a growing new industry of cultivators, service centers and facilitators to provide psilocybin therapy to any adult willing to take the journey. The first patients began seeing facilitators at service centers this summer, ushering in an entirely new era of care in a state that is leading the way in modern drug policy.

OPENING DOORS

Tucked around back in a main street medical park with a plastic surgeon neighbor and the occasional deer nibbling on decorative outdoor plants, there is a door with a small sign noting Psilocybin Service Center that’s a threshold of destiny for those seeking therapy.

Inside the glass door is a tastefully-decorated and mood-lit lobby and reception area, complete with shades blocking outside views and multiple mushroom themed pieces of flair. Even the bathroom is battery-candlelit, and comes with a cover for the mirror when patients need to use the facilities during an experience. It feels comfortable, trustworthy and professional – which embodies the vision co-founders and married partners, Jennifer and Andreas Met, had when they developed Satya.

“We’re the ambassadors of this industry. As one of the first of six service centers and one of the few to have facilitated an experience [at time of print], we’re all trying to navigate the regulations and maintain a level of professionalism, safety and integrity,” Jennifer shared. “We’re here with the excitement of legalizing to assist individuals that are seeking healing through a different space, a different set and setting.”

Another progressive aspect to the program is the requirement that all three areas of the business (growing, facilitating and service centers) must have a social equity plan, and demonstrate evidence of action during renewal each year. This can be in the form of discounted or free service center fees, a Psilocybin Access Fund to donate medicine to, or discounted/free facilitation for qualifying patients.

“We want this plant medicine – this mycelium – to grow. That’s why we are doing this. We recognize living in a society that is not being healed and that this is an option for whole health, and we want to make it accessible to everyone,” Jennifer explained passionately. “I feel as though our life experience and career choices and changes brought us to this special moment as spiritual beings on this spiritual journey.”

FARMING FUNGI

The Mets live on a small, sustainable, permaculture farm in the Medford area – keeping themselves busy tending to 40 varieties of fruit trees, chickens, ducks, coy fish and several beloved fur babies. They’ve lived in Spain and

Africa – where they consulted to help build a Cannabis program – and traveled extensively in search of psychedelic experiences. With Jennifer’s background as a special education teacher and yoga instructor, and Andreas’ corporate and Cannabis success stories, the two were ready when the idea of growing psychedelic mushrooms legally came up. This was 2020 – before the ballot measure, the lockdown was about to hit – and Andreas was running a major Oregon Cannabis company called Halo.

“I started doing research about Johns Hopkins end-of-life psilocybin studies, which showed terminal cancer patients going in for a session and coming out having lost their fear of death. I believed that, so I went to my board of directors, told them that I saw mushrooms becoming legal in the future, and that I was going to leave the company to work in that field,” Andreas explained.

He’d finally had enough, so the couple set out to learn how to grow mushrooms, starting with gourmets.

They produced Lion’s Mane, Oysters, King Oysters and others, learning the process and sharing the fruits of their labor. There’s a huge demand for gourmet and medicinal mushrooms in America, but the Mets quickly realized that demand for legal psychedelics was going to build slowly. At the time of our interview, Andreas had only sold 28 grams of product and temporarily shuttered his grow to wait for demand to build. He keeps his tested and finished products in

cold storage – with strain names and batch numbers similar to how Cannabis is stored at a production facility – waiting to be transferred to a service center and prepared for an experience.

“People are having profound experiences with the mushrooms we grew. We had a patient come in with the intention and goal to get rid of brain injury and vertigo, and the person looked 15 years younger when they came out,” Andreas said excitedly. “It happens a lot, where a weight is lifted off the shoulders. And if it provides relief for a month, that’s a lot better than alternatives – and there’s a pathway back. You can always do more mushrooms. People come out of sessions and give me a hug and say, ‘I love you, thank you for making this available.’”

As testing for potency and new strains of mushrooms are explored, so will the variety and demand for different experiences and results – something the Mets hope will drive a cottage industry of mushroom producers.

With some mushrooms providing vibrant colorful trips, and others sending the mind into processing and reflection mode – with even the names themselves conveying values like Albino Penis Envy or Golden Teachers – the wide world of mushrooms holds a plethora of secrets and applications that will be unlocked through clinical application and waves of data. For now, the tote bins and sterilized grains wait in storage – the humble tools of a trade that will literally reshape minds.

FINDING VALUE

While most older Americans associate psychedelics with the hippie movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s, younger generations of psychonauts (psychedelic explorers) have been using mushrooms for everything – from microdosing at work to vibing at festivals and heroic basement trips. And while those of a certain ilk or community might feel comfortable taking MDMA gummies from a stranger’s fanny pack, most patients looking for a therapeutic trip are not aiming to score street drugs.

“I believe in Western and Eastern medicine, and that new psychedelic users want to be under the care of someone who has studied to provide proper set and setting – which is what drove Andreas and I to do this,” said Jennifer.

To become a licensed facilitator takes a minimum of 160 hours of classroom and practical experience, covering areas including psychedelic history and traditions, social equity, ethics, administration (preparing and providing the mushrooms) and screening. Additionally, the process of screening and preparation takes multiple hours, including discussion of goals and traumas. It’s not a quick trip to the mushroom portion – there’s a process that includes the pre-trip and the post-trip (called integration). This is where the facilitator discusses the trip with the patient, helps them identify areas of growth, mental changes, or other areas of enlightenment. Patients are then given a list of counselors, therapists and doctors who are psychedelic friendly, to continue their therapy post trip.

“An analogy for after the ceremony ends (from the curriculum), is that psilocybin is like taking the helicopter to the top of the mountain of the mind: You can have brilliant insights, but you didn’t put in the hard work to get up the mountain,” Matthew explained. “It’s very easy to lose the impact of that experience – and while we aren’t licensed therapists – we work to help the patient take the insights from the experience and learn how to apply them in day-to-day life, and set them up for success with an outside therapist.”

This is the value of visiting a service center: the privacy, the intake process of screening, the safe trip in a comfortable environment, and knowing that the mushrooms were grown and prepared by professionals. And once the experience is over, the processing help and recommendations to in-network providers round out the experience. These are the elements that cannot happen within recreational experiences – and justify the value of pricing in the $2,000-$3,000 range. But even that will come down, with the Met’s goal for each session to be $750-$1,000 all in – very reasonable given the time, energy and regulatory hurdles companies have to face to provide the psilocybin experience.

“Psilocybin is like a beacon of light for those seeking help and relief. We need to not view this as the cure-all, but frame it as a tool to help. When people prepare and set intentions, and use the insights to change their lives – just like Cannabis – this doesn’t cure them, but it provides relief,” Andreas said. “I truly believe we are doing this in the patient’s best interest – creating a space to help people, so that the mushrooms can be the teachers on each journey.”

“WE'RE HERE WITH THE EXCITEMENT OF LEGALIZING TO ASSIST INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE SEEKING HEALING THROUGH A DIFFERENT SPACE, A DIFFERENT SET AND SETTING.”

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THE ART OF BRIAN

Aspreadfrom“

TWO HITS OF TWO HITS OF

BRIAN BLOMERTH might not have written the book on psychedelic history, but he’s certainly illustrated the novel.

A cartoonist and visual artist, he’s created work for Dead and Company, VICE, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, as well as Phish. Inspired by manga artist Suiho Tagawa and Disney legend Floyd Gottfredson, his art reflects the visual style of comic strips from the ‘40s and ‘50s. “The ‘funny animal’ genre of cartooning looks to me like the gold standard,” he told us from his home in Brooklyn. “I love it and think it’s utterly insane.”

Blomerth’s two graphic novels present stories from the history of psychedelics. “Bicycle Day” recounts the time Albert Hofmann took that historic dose of LSD, while “Mycelium Wassonii” involves R. Gordon and Valentina Wasson's experiences with mushrooms and is described as a “globetrotting vision of hallucinatory science and

religious mysticism with appearances by Life Magazine, the CIA, and the Buddha.”

Blomerth’s two graphic novels present stories from the history of psychedelics.

“Bicycle Day” recounts the time Albert Hofmann took that historic dose of LSD, while “Mycelium Wassonii” involves R. Gordon and Valentina Wasson's experiences with mushrooms and is described as a “globetrotting vision of hallucinatory science and religious mysticism with appearances by Life Magazine, the CIA, and the Buddha.”

He explained initially getting the idea while watching a documentary where Hofmann recounted his experience during that first intentional acid trip. After reading Hofmann’s book “My Problem Child,” Blomerth knew this was the perfect choice for jumpstarting the project. From there, his fascination and respect for the history has only grown. “Hofmann really believed LSD had an actual home as a substance within medicine …The Wasson’s were amateur mycologists,” said Blomerth. “They read about and researched mushrooms as a hobby and that snowballed into their meeting with Maria Sabine.”

You might assume this artist starts each project off with a heroic dose and a pad of paper, but the process really begins with tons of investigation. “I try to read as much as I can about the subjects, even things by other minor characters in the books, compile as much research as possible, then simplify it down as far as it can go,” he explained.

With each book, he’s illustrating more than a story – creating a visual language that reflects the substance. “In ‘Bicycle Day’ I used Neon Inks … which is made in a lab like LSD. For ‘Mycelium Wassonii’ I used watercolors because they have a long tradition of use by naturalists documenting plants, and because they are natural pigments,” said Blomerth. “Also, since language seems to play a big part in a mushroom trip, I gave one to the mushrooms in the book.”

Blomerth is crafting an easily digestible version of history for future generations. In his eyes, the quick-to-read, easy-to-follow path comic books carve out for readers can present dense information, but in an extremely simple way.

”Psychedelics are currently being re-evaluated by science and things are opening up in that regard,” said Blomerth.

“So I think a simple book about them is an easy way to get that history out there and maybe inform someone that wouldn’t normally go for a larger text. I don’t think that any of these will change someone’s mind about psychedelics … but the history to me is fascinating.”

We asked what his next book is about, hoping to catch a glimpse – but he answered cautiously. “I’m only on page 50 and it still has a way to go. These books all sort of work like puzzles and I’m still in the pulling my hair out phase.”

brianblomerth.com | @pupsintrouble

Blomerth’s two graphic novels, “Bicycle Day” and “Mycelium Wassonii,” published by Anthology Editions.

OF HISTORYOF HISTORY

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Further Education

Despite being “too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a hippie,” author Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters played a pivotal role in transitioning between the two subcultures and launching the psychedelic revolution.

MK ULTRA

After earning a BA in journalism from the University of Oregon in 1957, aspiring author Ken Kesey moved to the hip Perry Lane neighborhood of Palo Alto, California to enroll in Stanford University’s graduate writing program. There, he forged friendships with fellow writing student (and future BFF) Ken Babbs and a psych major named Vic Lovell – who informed him that the nearby Menlo Park Veterans Hospital was paying volunteers $75 a day to participate in a series of drug experiments, which Kesey immediately signed up for.

Codenamed Project MK Ultra, it was a military research program designed to study the effects of mind-altering substances. Over several weeks in 1959, Kesey ingested various psychedelics – including LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, peyote and others (all of which were still legal) –then underwent physical and psychological testing afterward. Through these experiments, Kesey realized the potential of psychedelics to transform society.

Kesey landed a job as a night attendant at the hospital so that he could smuggle the drugs out to share with his friends and the rest of the world. His interactions with patients there (often while tripping) inspired his best-selling novel, “One Flew Over the

Cuckoo’s Nest.” Published in 1962, the book was an instant success – adapted into a Broadway play, then an Oscar-winning film. The money he earned from “Cuckoo’s Nest” funded the next phase of his life as a counterculture icon.

MERRY PRANKSTERS

Word about MK Ultra soon made its way to Beat legend Neal Cassady (the basis of the Dean Moriarty character in Kerouac’s “On the Road,” which Kesey loved) – who, in 1960, also came to Palo Alto to partake in the experiments.

The growing influx of bohemians, coupled with psychedelics Kesey was supplying them, led to huge orgiastic parties in Perry Lane (aka “Sin Hollow”).

But in summer 1963, Kesey relocated to nearby La Honda – buying a ranch in the mountains and starting his second book, “Sometimes a Great Notion.”

By the time it was finished in 1964, he’d attracted an entourage of beatniks and freaks to his property –including his buddy Babbs, who after returning from Vietnam, allegedly came up with the moniker “Merry Pranksters” for their menagerie of miscreants.

The core cadre of Merry Pranksters consisted of 14

people, each of whom adopted new Prankster nicknames: Babbs became “Intrepid Traveler,” Cassady became “Sir Speed Limit,” and Kesey took on the title of “Captain Flag.” Kesey’s goal was to “explore what would happen when hallucinogenic-inspired spontaneity confronted what he saw as the banality and conformity of American society.” To manifest that vision, the Pranksters would embark on an epic entheogenic odyssey.

ON THE BUS

With the release of his second novel and the World’s Fair both happening in New York in the summer of ‘64, Kesey decided to lead his band of Merry Pranksters on a cross-country road trip. To accomplish this, he purchased a 1939 International Harvester school bus converted into a camper, and Pranksterized it: installing cameras and microphones, placing a stage on the roof, and painting it inside and out with psychedelic Day-Glo artwork. They christened their new magic bus “Further” (or “Furthur”) – a reference to their expanded consciousness.

On June 17, 1964, with Cassady at the wheel, the Pranksters set off with a lysergically-laced jar of orange juice on their own madcap version of “On The Road.” Along their trip, the Pranksters dosed as many willing recipients as possible, played a bunch of improvised pranks, and filmed the entire experience. Their mantra became: “You’re either on the bus, or you’re off the bus.”

Ken Kesey, from the film “Magic Trip.”

A poster of the Merry Pranksters cruising down the highway in their psychedelic bus “Further.”

Further arrived in “Madhattan” on June 29, where Cassady introduced the Pranksters to his beat buddies Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Kerouac was apparently unimpressed with their antics and distanced himself from the group. Ginsberg, however, embraced them –even making arrangements for them to drive upstate to meet fellow LSD pioneers Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert in Millbrook. Unfortunately, like Kerouac, Leary was not “on the bus” – he’d not yet embraced the dissemination of acid to the masses, still believing it should remain a controlled scientific pursuit.

By August, Further was back in La Honda with 40 hours of footage. Their two-month, cross-country sojourn – immortalized by several books and films, including Tom Wolfe’s 1968 classic “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” – is rumored to be the inspiration for The Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” and is considered by many to be the beginning of the psychedelic 1960s movement.

THE ACID TESTS

Once home, Kesey launched the next stage of his plan to turn on America: a more inclusive version of the MK Ultra experiments they dubbed the Acid Tests. The Acid Tests were multimedia “happenings” featuring spoken word, art, music, projected video, fluorescent paint, funky lighting and of course, loads of acid (courtesy of the their personal chemist Owsley Stanley) distributed in cups of Kool-Aid. The goal was to “usher in a societal paradigm shift” – away from egoism towards what they called “intersubjectivity.” After a few trial runs – including a three-day party in August 1965 at La Honda at which Hunter S. Thompson and the Hells Angels first tripped on acid – they were ready to take their message to the masses. The first semi-public Acid Test occurred on November 27, 1965 at Babbs’ ranch in Soquel, known as “The Spread.” The gathering was promoted via handwritten handbills asking “Can YOU pass the Acid Test?” distributed at Babbs’ Santa Cruz bookstore, The Hip Pocket. Around 50 attendees were dosed with acid and treated to hours of sensory stimulation – including live music by a local bar band called the Warlocks (who, mere days later, would change their name to The Grateful Dead).

The following year, more Acid Test parties followed at various locations around California (then later Oregon, Canada and Mexico). The Grateful Dead became the unofficial house band of these events, although other psych rock legends (such as Jefferson Airplane and The Doors) also made appearances – as did other counterculture figures who quickly became part of the Prankster entourage, including performance artist Wavy Gravy and Carolyn “Mountain Girl” Adams (who would eventually have a daughter with Kesey, then later marry Jerry Garcia).

MARIJUANA BUSTS & TRIPS FESTIVAL

Unfortunately, their parties attracted the attention of authorities, who began surveilling Kesey’s home. On April 23, 1965, DEA agents raided Kesey’s ranch, where they caught him flushing a jar of weed down the toilet. Ultimately, 14 people were arrested on marijuana charges, including Kesey, Cassady and Mountain Girl. Kesey was later found guilty and sentenced to six months at the San Mateo County Jail. Just two days after his sentencing, Kesey and Mountain Girl were again arrested on marijuana charges while smoking a joint on the roof of a house on Telegraph Hill. Kesey posted bail and returned to preparing for their biggest Acid Test yet, set to take place two days later: the Trips Festival at San Francisco’s Longshoreman’s Hall.

Held on January 21-23, 1966, the Trips Festival featured mime and acting troupes, dancers, avant-garde artists, light shows, and live music from The Dead and Big Brother and The Holding Company in their debut performance (pre-Janis Joplin). Over 10,000 people reportedly showed up, drank the Kool-Aid, and partied with the Pranksters. Considered the first true hippie event, the Trips Festival is credited with kick-starting the psychedelic scene in San Francisco.

Of course, since Kesey had just been arrested two days prior, he was forced to attend in disguise – wearing a spaceman suit and helmet. And with fears of a possible five-year sentence now hanging over his head, Kesey made a desperate decision.

FUN-LOVING FUGITIVE

On January 31, 1966, Further was found abandoned on a seaside cliff outside Eureka, along with what appeared to be a suicide note. Kesey hadn’t actually committed suicide – in another

prank to misdirect police, he’d jumped bail and escaped into Mexico. The media seemingly bought into the ruse; the FBI, however, did not – they launched a manhunt for the “fun-loving fugitive” but couldn’t locate him.

Meanwhile, the Pranksters were hosting more Acid Tests in Los Angeles, where Wavy Gravy filled trash cans with LSD-laced fruit drink and began handing out 300-microgram-dose cups – coining the term “Electric Kool-Aid” for the beverage (hence the title of Wolfe’s book).

After the LA tests, the Pranksters – along with Kesey’s family – drove Further down to Mexico to meet up with him. It wasn’t until after making their clandestine return to the Bay in the fall of ‘66 that authorities finally apprehended Kesey. Luckily, he was offered a plea deal that allowed him to spend only six months (including the Summer of Love) in a work camp, but the deal reportedly had one unfortunate stipulation: Kesey allegedly agreed to publicly disavow LSD.

GRADUATION & DISSOLUTION

With LSD becoming illegal in California on October 24, 1968, the Pranksters planned their last big hurrah for Halloween night at a warehouse in San Francisco: The Acid Test Graduation. They all wore caps and gowns, Cassady handed out “Acid Test Diplomas,” and Kesey delivered a “commencement address” in which he encouraged attendees to “graduate” beyond needing LSD. It was essentially an Acid Test party without the acid, which predictably didn’t go over very well: Only a couple hundred attendees showed up, and many reportedly grew bored and left early.

Sadly, the Acid Test Graduation party proved to be the Merry Pranksters’ swan song. They held a few more minor events and even took Further to Woodstock in 1969 … but after that, Kesey disbanded the group, took his bus and moved back to Oregon, where he spent the remainder of his life on a farm with his family. Kesey died of complications arising after liver surgery on November 10, 2001, at the age of 66.

While Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters may not have ushered in the utopian America they envisioned, the impact of their exploits created countercultural shockwaves that still reverberate to this day.

The Merry Pranksters’ epic entheogenic odyssey— rumored to be the inspiration for The Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour”—is considered the beginning of the psychedelic movement.

LSD pioneer Timothy Leary “on the bus” with Further driver and beatnik icon Neal Cassady

*ALLEN GINSBERG

Ken Babbs in a superhero mask at one of the Acid Tests.

Acid Test flyers.

#

PEEK INTO SOMEONE’S FRIDGE, AND YOU GLIMPSE THEIR SOUL. Because what one chooses to store in the crib’s chilliest place provides clues to those with inspective impulses while grabbing a glass of water. Are there indications of plans for the unexpected (or expected) Armageddon, or is it a bare bones, protein shake and salad with raspberry vinegarette affair?

Food lends definition to our existence. And what we choose to stock in the container of cool mirrors our personality. This inventory often reflects how we manage our bodies, entertain people, and what we stand for as members of society.

And the volume speaks volumes.

For instance, if you find frozen Salisbury steak television-ready dinners amassed on the freezer shelves, chances are good that the person bathes at least once a week – whether he needs it or not. If the veggies appear visibly abundant and there’s oat milk and faux meat, she most likely keeps a yoga mat close by. And if a tub of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream and leftover Domino’s pizza is evident, then it’s obvious they are a stoner. However, some may find that contradictory because a stoner probably wouldn’t have any Ben and Jerry’s ice cream left. So, let’s pretend they just made a grocery run.

And by the way, the Cap’n Crunch that sits on top of the refrigerator does indeed deserve inclusion.

It’s almost like the refrigerator is your butler. It stands ready at the guard; you chat with it. You audit the innards and shuffle the contents accordingly.

Its interior reflects a calendar of sorts, most items categorized by preference while others stay static – the capers, the horseradish, the sauce you took a chance on –accessibility based upon frequency.

This cold cache is an indirect barometer of your success. It’s important that you’re content with the contents.

And it’s where you stash your quality dabs. Right next to the Devil’s lettuce.