EDITOR’S NOTE

THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE

NORTHWEST LEAF / OREGON LEAF / ALASKA LEAF / MARYLAND LEAF / CALIFORNIA LEAF / NORTHEAST LEAF

ABOUT THE COVER

This month’s cover art came to life through the vision of Eric Simpson of Simpson Solventless LLC, who molded the center shape out of full-melt bubble hash, and the other shapes and letters out of solventless THC-A crystalline. You could dab the cover. The creative photo was styled with the help of photographer and Content Director Tom Bowers, our hash expert Eric, Sales Director Nate Williams, and Creative Director Daniel Berman Zooming in from Leaf HQ in Seattle, to fully realize this aspirational image that spoke to the continued innovation of the California Cannabis industry.

PHOTO by TOM BOWERS @PROPAGATECONSULTANTS

ART by ERIC SIMPSON @SIMPSONSOLVENTLESS

PUBLISHER

WES ABNEY | FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

WES@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM MANAGING EDITOR

MIKE RICKER | OPERATING PARTNER

RICKER@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM 206-229-WORD CREATIVE DIRECTOR

DANIEL BERMAN | VISUALS & DESIGN

DANIEL@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM CONTRIBUTORS

MICHAEL AHMANN, PHOTOS BOBBY BLACK, FEATURES JOSHUA BOULET, ILLUSTRATION TOM BOWERS, FEATURES KEITH BROFSKY, PHOTOS MAX EARLY, FEATURES EARLY, PRODUCTION STEVE ELLIOTT, NATIONAL NEWS TJ GAGNIER, REVIEWS JEFF PORTERFIELD, DESIGN MIKE RICKER, FEATURES MEGHAN RIDLEY, EDITING ERIC SIMPSON, COVER ART WEST SMITH, PHOTOS TERPENE TRANSIT, DISTRIBUTION JAMIE VICTOR, ILLUSTRATION JERRY WHITING, FEATURES

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WES ABNEY Editor’s Note

Thanks for picking up The Concentrates Issue of the Leaf!

OUR CONCENTRATES ISSUE is my favorite of the year for one simple reason: I love dabs! My first dab was around 2011 – in the century old boiler room below the now closed Northern Cross Collective Gardens – and I remember feeling the oil touch the red hot nail as the vapor burst into my lungs with the force of a thousand bong hits. The world closed in around me and I felt the reverberation of raw THC as it pulsed through my blood and into my mind, sending me away for the next few hours, humming with a high that was unlike anything else.

Over the last decade of publishing and working in Cannabis, I have personally seen the concentrate world evolve from homemade Rick Simpson Oil and open-blasted butane hash oil, to highly medicinal mono-cannabinoid extracts and vaporizable concentrates of all kinds, to being the precursor to a new world of edibles, topicals, capsules and more. For our Concentrates Issue we sought out the best examples of the different types of extractions, to share how they affect the body and the science behind the scenes.

Concentrating Cannabis means exactly what it sounds like: taking a full plant and using a process or solvent to extract the purest essence of it. This makes it incredibly important to only consume high quality, pesticide tested concentrates.

Quality concentrates have the ability to impart healing value that Cannabis flower alone cannot replicate, delivering a pure flavor and experience that captures the taste and effect of fresh Cannabis in a perfect dab. Look closely and you’ll see that concentrates cover every aspect of Cannabis – every product beyond flower – from medical to recreational uses and benefits.

Our comprehensive Concentrates Issue covers the different extraction methods, terminology, ways to consume and much more. So take a dab, flip through this beautiful and informational issue, and learn something new that you can share with someone in need of Cannabis – as both a plant and a medicine. And as always, thanks for reading and sharing the Leaf! FOR OUR CONCENTRATES ISSUE WE SOUGHT OUT THE BEST EXAMPLES OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXTRACTIONS.

legalization NEW BILL WOULD REVOLUTIONIZE FED DRUG POLICY

Last month marked the the 50th anniversary – on June 17 – of when President Richard Nixon declared the “war on drugs.” Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Cori Bush (DMO) observed the occasion by unveiling the Drug Policy Reform Act (DPRA).

The bill would end criminal penalties for drug possession at the federal level. It would shift the regulatory authority from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Additionally, the DPRA would expunge records and provide for resentencing, and reinvest in alternative health-centered approaches. THE BILL ALSO ELIMINATES MANY The bill also eliminates many of the lifelong consequences OF THE LIFELONG associated with drug arrests and CONSEQUENCES convictions. These include the ASSOCIATED WITH denial of employment, public DRUG ARRESTS AND CONVICTIONS. benefits, immigration status, drivers’ licenses and voting rights.

The DPRA also incentivizes state and local governments to adopt decriminalization policies. Last week, DPRA – in partnership with the ACLU – released a national drug policy poll that found 66% of American voters support removing criminal penalties for drugs and replacing them with health-centered approaches.

jul. 2021

MIDWEST MMJ PATIENTS IN MINNESOTA SEEK GUN RIGHTS

Staunch conservatives and advocates of legal marijuana have formed an unlikely alliance in Minnesota to pressure the Legislature to allow medical Cannabis patients to own guns, reports KIMT 3.

The more than 35,000 patients in Minnesota’s program can’t own guns as the law now stands because the federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance, on par with heroin.

Gun-rights supporters and prolegalization groups are lobbying for Minnesota to petition for an exemption.

If they succeed, the Star Tribune reports, Minnesota would be the first of 36 states that allow medical marijuana in some form, to appeal directly to the federal government on behalf of enrollees.

FLORIDA’S SUPREME COURT BLOCKS INITIATIVE FOR THIRD TIME

For the third time in three months, the Florida Supreme Court dashed the hopes of Floridians who want to see expanded access to Cannabis.

In a 5-2 ruling on June 17, the state’s highest court found a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana to be misleading. The initiative, titled “Regulate Marijuana in a Manner Similar to Alcohol to Establish Age, Licensing, and Other Restrictions,” would have also allowed Floridians to grow Cannabis at home. Had it reached the ballot, the initiative would have needed the approval of 60% of voters to become a part of the state Constitution.

Attorney General Ashley Moody asked the court to weigh in on the ballot language in September 2019. It took the court the better part of two years to issue its ruling.

THE INITIATIVE, TITLED “REGULATE MARIJUANA IN A MANNER SIMILAR TO ALCOHOL TO ESTABLISH AGE, LICENSING, AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS,” WOULD HAVE ALSO ALLOWED FLORIDIANS TO GROW CANNABIS AT HOME.