Nov. 2022 - NW Leaf

risks associated with the consumption of this product. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children. Marijuana products may be purchased or possessed only by persons twenty-one years of age or older.

Warning : This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health

ABOUT THE COVER

Fall is the time to reap the bounty of summer’s labors. In this fun moment of brotherly pride, Mammoth Labs Co-Founder and Head of Operations Connor Jackson and Lab Director and Chemist Bill Reichlin prove that green turns to gold once the flower is processed into oil. And as founder Wes Abney digs into the roots of how this Ellensburg farm manages to proliferate as a seed-to-sale passion project, he details the contagious joy of the farmer’s experience that translates directly to the lucky concentrate lovers who benefit from the love and attention put into their plants. Check out more Harvest Issues fromaroundthecountryatLeafMagazines.com

PHOTO by DANIEL BERMAN @BERMANPHOTOS

WES ABNEY

Editor’s Note

Thanks for picking up the Harvest Issue of the Leaf!

The harvest season is one of reflection and gratitude for the bounties provided by Mother Nature, and there’s no better crop to be dankful for than Cannabis.

A century of prohibition put Americans out of touch with Cannabis as a plant, relegating it to the “dangerous drugs” pamphlets – complete with a simple leaf translating to a symbol as feared as Mr. Yuck. It’s easy to be scared of an idea – like a symbol for a harmful drug – but it’s a lot harder to be in fear of a plant. Seeing ganja growing in the sun takes away the stigma, for there’s nothing more natural or beautiful than leaves and chunky colas dancing in the wind to an invisible beat.

Cannabis is an agricultural product, grown on farms – with the same salt of the earth, soulful types who would otherwise be growing corn or soy – if only those plants had terpenes. My favorite part of the Harvest Issue is sharing the pride and hard work it takes to grow plants from spring until fall. There are few experiences more magical than standing amongst head-high Cannabis plants glistening with THC crystals and filling the air with a pot-pourri of terpenes which serenade the senses.

No wonder one of the neighbors to Washington state’s Treehawk Farms is trying to get the county to “Stop the Stink” each harvest season. We can only hope somebody gets that person a joint…

I hope that you enjoy this issue of the Leaf, and invite you to visit leafmagazines. com to check out all of our amazing issues. From an outdoor crop in Fairbanks, Alaska to the rolling hills of green in Southern Oregon and Northern California, and stretching all the way to the Northeast where outdoor crops race to beat the first frost, we have wonderful photos and stories of the farmers and the plants we all love. It’s like a nature special you can smoke!

And please do support an outdoor farm by purchasing sungrown Cannabis this winter – you’ll be surprised how the natural environment creates a unique and potent high that is perfect for the holidaze.

“MY FAVORITE PART OF THE HARVEST ISSUE IS SHARING THE PRIDE AND HARD WORK IT TAKES TO GROW PLANTS FROM SPRING UNTIL FALL.”

hits

HOUSE GOP OPPOSES LEGALIZATION

A MAJOR GOP HOUSE CAUCUS in October released a “Family Policy Agenda” opposing federal marijuana legalization. The agenda tries to link pot use to suicide and violence. But the strident Cannabis criticism is leading to pushback even within the group, as staff for two members of the caucus said the lawmakers disagree with the prohibitionist rhetoric.

The 156-member Republican Study Committee (RSC) unveiled the agenda. It details 10 ideological principles and more than 80 legislative recommendations as its agenda. The stated goal is “to guide conservatives’ work to restore the American family.”

The committee includes nearly three-quarters of House GOP members.

VERMONT STARTS

21 + MARIJUANA SALES

VERMONT DISPENSARIES began selling Cannabis for adult use on October 1. But only three shops were ready to do so on opening weekend, reports the Associated Press.

Flora Cannabis in Middlebury, Mountain Girl Cannabis in Rutland and CeresMed in Burlington all opened to adult-use customers. The state licensed a fourth business to sell adult-use weed, but that shop wasn’t ready to do so yet. A total of about 50 retailers prequalified for licensing. This comes about two years after legalization took effect without the governor’s signature. At that time, Vermont was the 11th state to legalize. But it was just the second state to legalize through the Legislature, rather than through popular vote.

JAPANESE HEALTH PANEL ENCOURAGES MEDICAL CANNABIS

A HEALTH MINISTRY PANEL in October recommended Japan allow the importation and use of medical marijuana products.

The recommendation is based on medical needs, and to modernize Japan’s drug laws to conform with international standards, according to the committee. The panel wants to change the policy for Cannabis medicines when safety and effectiveness are confirmed.

Japan has harsh laws against non-medicinal use of marijuana. It should consider approving the import, manufacture and use of Cannabis medicines, subject to the same approval process as pharmaceuticals, the health ministry panel said.

states have legalized Cannabis for adult use.

nov.

states have legalized medical marijuana.

pounds of untaxed marijuana were seized in one Oregon raid in October.

pounds of untaxed marijuana were seized by Oklahoma authorities in another October raid.

of marijuana arrests in Virginia (where marijuana is legal for adult use) are of Black people, who make up 20% of the population.

worth of medical marijuana was bought by Missouri patients during the first two years of legal medicinal sales.

President Joe Biden in October pardoned all prior federal offenses of “simple possession” of marijuana.

Biden also wants the government to look at rescheduling or descheduling weed.

Biden requested a review of how marijuana is scheduled under federal law from Attorney General Merrick Garland. The president also included Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in that request.

“As I often said during my campaign for President, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana,” Biden wrote. “Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit.

“Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,” the President wrote. “And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.”

MARIJUANA CULTURE IS QUICKLY BECOMING MAINSTREAM CULTURE

Americans broadly agree that the country’s marijuana laws need an update.

According to polling conducted by Morning Consult/Politico just days before President Biden’s Oct. 6 marijuana pardons, 6 in 10 American voters said weed should be legal in the U.S.

That number rises to about 7 in 10 among voters under 45 (70 percent), Democrats (71 percent) and Black voters (72 percent). Even among the groups least likely to support legalizing marijuana – Republicans (47 percent) and voters 65 or over (45 percent) – almost half of respondents agreed. There’s no real divide across regions, either.

Public opinion has changed drastically on this issue in the past two decades. But getting skittish lawmakers to catch up with national savvy has not been easy when it comes to marijuana culture.

“Current laws ... do not reflect this sweeping bipartisan, universal support,” Five Thirty Eight reports. ”The legalization of marijuana puts a spotlight on the divide between Americans and politicians, namely Republican members of Congress.”

Quoted

“There is zero African American ownership in the city of Seattle, and to be supposedly this progressive state, this liberal state, it’s not showing,”

-Peter Manning, a Black Cannabis entrepreneuer in Seattle, lamenting the lack of diversity in Washington state’s retail Cannabis program, currently at just 5% black ownership overall.

STORIES by STEVE ELLIOTT, AUTHOR OF THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF MARIJUANA

in

also

animal

can keep

with

“EVERYBODY’S LOOKING FOR THAT HEAVY INDICA – SOMETHING TO JUST COMPLETELY CHANGE THEIR DEMEANOR AND HOW THEY’RE GOING ABOUT THEIR DAY.” -OSCAR

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BOTH BEEN PART OF THE HYPEHERBALLY TEAM?

Oscar: Two months officially, but I’ve been a friend of the company for years now.

Ralphy: Since we opened our doors on Jan. 1, 2019!

WHAT BRANDS IN THE SHOP HAVE YOU BEEN REALLY INTO LATELY?

O: For concentrates, Fugu. If we’re talking flower, I’m in between K Savage and Legendary right now.

R: I’m going to say Premier Cannabis for concentrates, and Legendary Laboratories for flower.

WHAT PRODUCTS DO YOU GET ASKED FOR THE MOST AS A BUDTENDER?

O: Everybody’s looking for that heavy indica – something to just completely change their demeanor and how they’re going about their day. Like maybe if they just got off work or are looking to pass out for the night.

R: Those heavy indicas are definitely the most requested category … We’re pretty fond of that over here, as we’re a high-level indica store.

BESIDES THE SHOP, HYPEHERBALLY ALSO HAS ITS “HYPE HOUSE” EVENT SPACE. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE HYPE EVENT YOU’VE BEEN A PART OF?

O: They’ve all been so much fun in their own unique way. My favorite event recently was Prosperity Glass Show, which was organized by the Hype Group.

WHEN YOU GO TO SMOKE FLOWER, DO YOU REACH FOR A PIECE OF GLASS OR ROLL UP?

O: Glass while I’m rolling up.

R: Rolling up, always.

OKAY, SO WHEN YOU’RE ROLLING UP –JOINT PAPER OR BLUNT LEAF?

O: I prefer blunts, but joints are my favorite for trying out new cultivars just because you can get really nuanced flavors in papers that would otherwise get washed away.

R: I’m notorious for my “Ralphy blunts.” I use Fronto leaves, and can honestly take credit for putting a big portion of the Pacific Northwest on to them.

GO-TO MUNCHIE SNACK?

O: Uncrustables and Wheat-Thins.

R: Chips and dip. Right now, I’m loving the Elote dip from Trader Joe’s. Just about any Trader Joe’s dip, I’m a fan of.

RALPHY, WE’VE ALSO GOT YOUR TWO DOGS HERE IN THE SHOP. TELL ME ABOUT THEM! Churro is a mini doodle and Luna is a beautiful mutt mix. They love hanging out at the shop with all of the employees. They’re celebrities over at the Hype House, too.

AND OSCAR, I HEAR YOU’RE VERY CLOSE WITH YOUR CAT… Yes, her name

is Irie. My ideal way to spend a day off is at home, kicking it with her, just blazing it.

DO YOU GUYS EVER GIVE THEM CBD?

O: Irie is pretty low key, so we really haven’t had to – but one time when she was having a reaction to a medication, we gave her some and it really helped.

R: When daddy needs a couple of hours to himself, they definitely get a dose every once in a while. I’m a big fan of the CBD from Fairwinds. They have a bacon flavor that they absolutely love.

FINALLY, IF YOUR PETS WERE A STRAIN, WHICH ONE DO YOU THINK THEY’D BE?

O: Irie would be something offensive, like

or Egg Roll.

R: Churro is super upbeat, so she’s sativa vibes all day. Sour Diesel for sure. Luna would have to be Gelato because she’s sweet, strong and mighty.

R: I’d have to say the Freddy’s Fuego pheno hunt back in 2021.

WITH LOTS OF

GROWING

STAFF PICKS

FLOWERS

Lifestyle Cannabis Maui Waui - Caroline Plaid Jacket Perfect Pair - Ethan Blue Roots Superglue - Tyler Plaid Jacket Ethiopian Sky Cuddler - Matthew

Joints

From the Soil Layer Cake - Caroline Washington Bud Co Durban Poison - Matthew Trailblazin’ Dutch Grapefruit - Rony SubX Waiting Game - Alleana

CARTS

Harmony Farms Beach Cruiser - Kiley MFused Balance Tranquility 1:1:1 - Jack AiroPro Black Mamba - McKenna

When owner Ryan Bean left professional baseball, where he played both overseas and in the MLB for the San Francisco Giants organization, it was to pursue a place in the world of legal Cannabis. Having spent time at Harmony Farms, he eventually learned how this game is played. And when recreational Cannabis was announced, he was fortunate enough to win a license –allowing him to return to his roots and open this shop in the sweet community of Ellensburg, where he split his childhood with the city of Olympia.

FAMILY OPERATED

They say teamwork makes the dream work, but only if you’ve got the right players on the field. And when it comes to working with people who want to see you win the game, no one has your back more than your own mother. So, with mom and younger brother Dayne in the manager’s box, there’s no shortage of home runs.

CHILDHOOD DREAMS

As with lots of kids growing up, Ryan wanted to be a fireman – which is no surprise with so much flame in here. And they’ve also got the gas … literally! The shop is sandwiched between a 76 and a Chevron station right off the I-90, so you’re sure to have your pot and petrol needs covered.

DABS

Mammoth Labs Emergen-C - Tyler Seattle’s Private Reserve Guava Juice - Caroline Plaid Jacket MAC - Alleana

EDIBLES

Smokiez Tropical Fruit - Rony Wyld Marion Berry - Jack Binske Mixed Berry Soft Lozenge - McKenna

THE FIRE HOUSE

SIDE

TOWN,

EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE

SWELL EDIBLES BLOOD ORANGE FRUIT CHEWS

MY FAVORITE Starburst commercial is the one with mini fighter jets shooting extra flavor as someone bites in, with the family dog nabbing one of the fighters mid-juicing. While the TV bits might be made for kids, I bet there are some stoners on the production team who would appreciate an infused chew. And while this might all sound ran dom, it’s exactly the type of nostalgia that this writer felt when sinking their teeth into a delicious blood orange chew from Swell.

The mouthfeel is per fect, with a thick bite and a quick juicy melt, coating the palate in fizzy orange yumminess and summery flavor. They’re not too big, but small enough that you’ll want to eat a few, especially if you enjoy higher edible doses. We found two or three were perfect to deliver a heady buzz, but it was honestly hard not to eat the whole package.

With a ton of flavor options and dosages, Swell really has a candy for every situation. We loved flavors like the slightly sour apple, the tangy and grapey purple punch, and there’s even a mystery flavor box for a surprise edible experience. Each box is labeled as either Hybrid, Indica or Sati va, and with 40:1 high CBD and 1:1 CBD/THC options, you’re guaranteed to have a Swell time no matter what buzz and flavor combination is right for you.

“With a ton of flavor options and dosages, Swell really has a candy for every situation.”

SWELLEDIBLES.COM

THC/PACKAGE

Biting

– bringing an after

the

to

(or begin infusing) your day.

DUTCH TREAT is one of the first strains that we reviewed at the Leaf back in 2010, and it’s considered a beloved classic within the connoisseur community for a reason. A cross between Northern Lights and Haze, this is an archetypal cultivar that carries unique flavors and effects that aren’t found in the modern strain world – where everything is a Cookies/Runtz cross with a Z added for zing.

Grown full-term outdoors by Puffin Farm in Eastern Washington, the Dutch Treat thrives in living soil and encourages terpene production in the plants. Living soil means the soil is buzzing with microbes and nutrients from organic-style growing, which when combined with the elements of being outdoors, creates as natural of an environment as can be found in the weed world. Google Sun + Earth Certified or Clean Green Certified, both accreditations Puffin carries, for more on what it means to grow without using synthetic chemicals or nutrients.

Puffin has been growing with the earth for many years and has a fantastic reputation for their flower and high-terpene CO2 extracts. It’s a process without hydrocarbons that when combined with the sustainable farming practices, results in arguably the cleanest and most natural concentrates in Washington. Their Extra Virgin Flower Oil, or EVFO, features slow-cured flower that’s extracted at low temps to preserve the terpenes and flavors – resulting in a taste of fresh-squeezed plant with each dab.

First inhales are rich and creamy, with a thick but smooth vapor that dances into the lungs before exhaling with a whisper. Flavors float into the senses with notes of herbal haze and pine trees, plus a bright citrus reminiscent of the foam above a Blue Moon with an orange slice. Sweet and gentle on the lungs, the high level of terpenes brightens the senses while filling the mind with a gentle euphoria and elevating the mood like a hug from an old friend. This feel-good sativa vibe is perfect for morning or daytime use, providing energy and clarity without clouding the mind. We recommend taking a puff before a walk or a hike in the woods, where the piney flavors fit right in as the morning fog burns off at your favorite trailhead.

the

A TELLTALE SIGN of changing seasons in the PNW is that crisp, chilly air that rolls in right around November. While shorter days and dropping temperatures certainly bring the cozy winter vibes we’ve been waiting for all year, they also bring those dry, cracked hands nobody looks forward to. That’s why this month, we’re rounding up some top-tier topicals that use THC to salvage scaly skin. Your self-care routine is about to get elevated.

WEATHER TOPICALS

WILD MINT REST

WHIPPED BODY BUDDER

Wild Mint’s Rest Body Butter combines full-spectrum Cannabis oil from Skagit Organics with a therapeutic herbal blend. The combination of bergamot, laven der, vanilla and jasmine essential oils makes this topical smell like a soothing, steaming cup of Earl Grey tea. With a thick, whipped consistency that feels ultra-lux urious, we recommend keeping this one stored in the fridge –pulling it out before bedtime and applying it to dry skin right before curling up under the covers. (2.5oz) wildminttopicals.com

@wildminttopicals

FAIRWINDS FLOW

CREAM

This multiple-award-winning FLOW Cream uses Fairwinds’ exclusive Canna Vera base, which contains polysaccharides, lipids and waxes juiced directly from the Cannabis plant. It has a faint aroma of menthol and a consistency similar to hand lo tion that goes on smooth, minus the oily mess. Blended with ceramides, which help to strengthen the protec tive skin barrier, and hyaluronic acid to retain moisture, this pick will have your skin feeling soft and supple even on those rare Seattle snow days. 175mg CBD | 175mg THC 175mg CBG | fairwindscannabis.com @fairwinds_cannabis_

HEYLO HEYLOTION™

BUDDER

Heylo uses full-spectrum, highpotency Cannabis wax – a sustainable byproduct of one of their processing steps – as the base for their reformulated vegan and hypoallergenic Body Budder. Blended with lavender, eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils, it has an earthy, herbal scent and a consistency more like something you’d get from a lavish spa than off dispensary shelves. Word of advice: Heat your Body Budder up in the microwave for about five seconds and apply it warm for calming, comfy relief from irritated skin. 150mg THC | 150mg CBD heylocannabis.com @heylocannabis

faster

Mango

worry if the wedges are not exactly the same size. Brush each scone with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until the scones are light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Cranberries, tasty and tart, are also super healthy – rich in both anti-inflammatory properties and considerable vitamins and minerals. They are a fruit native to this country and are quite versatile, making their appearance in salads, dips, stuffings, drinks and desserts. And occasionally, they make an appearance in a jello mold … although I am not sure anybody actually eats them. This season, I am infusing food and drink with Applegate Valley Oregon’s Cherry Pie. It’s a delightful strain that I puff a bit when recipe testing – a hybrid with notes of pine and fruit, cherry in particular. It’s kind of a sweet and sour cherry pie vibe, and I love it.

PUMPKIN BREAD

by LAURIE

by BRUCE WOLF

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

While Alice in Wonderland might be more of a psychedelic flick, the watch ing of the movie is much better done with weed than with LSD – especially if you choose the 2010 Tim Burton remake. Cannabis is perfect to enhance entertainment and the aptly-named strain that shares the movie’s legacy is an equally-trippy cerebral sativa.

Sungrown Cannabis brings out won derous terpenes and flavors, especially when grown to full term. CannaSol takes the time to grow sativas through the long summer and into the fall, all starting with clones that began their life earlier this spring. Grown utilizing organic-style methods, with Sun & Earth Certified practices and Clean Green Certification, CannaSol cares about the environment – which leads to great-tast ing weed with robust effects.

The Alice In Wonderland produces thick and chunky buds with glisten ing trichome heads covering the deep-green flower body. Lifting the woodgrain top from the glass jar is glorious as it releases a rush of vibrant grapefruit effervescence that’s slightly sour in the most perfect way. There’s also notes of lemon peel and hints of earthiness cre ating a skunky pink lemon ade vibe that amplifies when snapping open a well-cured nug.

First tokes of flower burn sweet and warm with flavors of grapefruit-honey that tingle the palate and senses with each exhale. The high builds from a warming in the chest that slowly spreads out to extremities, loos ening up tensions. It’s a mood-altering sativa that makes you feel different in your own body – pulling senses into the moment with a euphoric immediacy. Creative and undeniably fun, this strain is perfect for a trippy movie night or a Danksgiving sesh to celebrate the bounty of this year’s harvest season.

DIVE HEADFIRST DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE FOR A SUN-POWERED CANNABIS JOURNEY INTO A EUPHORIC HIGH THAT’LL PUT A HOP IN YOUR STEP THIS HARVEST SEASON.

RISING FROM the earth like the fossilized behemoth that bears credit for the powerhouse brand, Mammoth Labs continues their tradition of soil-to-oil farming in the windswept city of Ellensburg.

MAMMOTH LABS

From the start, the team focused on brand building through consistently quality concentrates, while building relationships with farms around the state for processing material.

YEARS BEFORE co-founder Connor Jackson was growing legal Cannabis he was a student at Central Washington University, where the science department had spent over a decade studying a fossilized mammoth skeleton found in a farmer’s backyard. The area’s rich geographic history dates back to the last ice age and as the glaciers retreated to carve out the valley, herds of the iconic beasts once roamed the land. Now long turned to dust, or perhaps a different type of oil, the prehistoric animal became the inspiration for the brand – leading to the creation of Mammoth Labs in 2016.

“When we first started, the idea was to be a flower-first growing company. But with the Ellens burg weather patterns we realized that the best op tion was to grow outdoors, freeze everything and focus on creating delicious, affordable live resin,” said Jackson, who is both a partner and Head of Operations at Mammoth.

From the start, the team focused on brand building through consistently quality concentrates, while building relationships with farms around the state for processing material. Despite setbacks with the county – like the inability to build anything with a foundation and a hostile-to-weed permitting process – the farm has grown one container and prefab shed at a time into a thriving compound that processes concentrates year round. With products available in hundreds of retail stores around the state, it’s amazing that such a large volume of products flows through a relatively small facility.

“Last year we filled our 40-foot walk-in freezer with 8,000 pounds of fresh frozen material, just from this farm. We can run 400-600 pounds of material into live resin each day, so we will process our material and be working with outdoor and indoor farms year round,” Jackson explained. “We have a team of 13, and we’ve chosen to take care of them and keep our growth organic, which has helped us survive this market,” Jackson said. “There are times where things are booming and everyone is doing well, but there are times like now where companies are struggling, and we haven’t seen a dip because we stay consistent with our products and sales.”

Staying lean has kept the farm growing at a healthy scale, with a brand footprint as big as one from a real Mammoth, touching all corners of the state. Their concentrates are known for great quality at multiple price points, with offerings ranging from budget distillate or disposable vapes to connois seur-grade live resin and hash rosin. The lab is run by the enigmatic Bill Reichlim, who spent years as a craft brewer before turning his attention to terps.

“There’s something special about running an extractor, and tweaking this or that setting to take the same material and make a completely different product. Just adjusting the temperature makes a huge difference, like with beer, where a temp change can make it drier or sweeter,” Reichlim explained passion ately. “Each batch of material brings new variables, there’s always something to learn and a new craft product to extract – just like with brewing.”

Tropicana Punch

Connor Jackson & Bill Reichlin

MAMMOTH LABS

AS THE FARM has progressed they've adapted techniques and started growing some full-term sungrown in hoop houses. The greenhouse's plastic material acts more as a protection against the gusty winds than as a controlled environment, with the plants exposed to natural amounts of sunlight. The farm also grows out doors in pots and the plants have to be vegged outside to acclimate to the wind, starting their life as small plants in the elements. Only certain strains are able to handle the unique environ ment of the Kittitas Valley, which funnels wind from the Cascades right through the city of El lensburg. While most outdoor farms are planting around Mother’s Day in May, Mammoth has to wait until late June for the conditions to be right.

Between the greenhouse and the outside area there are several thousand plants – some new to the season, and some proven winners. Some strains do well and some do terrible (like the heavy indicas and Kushes), but the grow team has noticed that heavy-lim onene strains like the envi ronment. The Cherry Bomb smells like purple Flinstone vitamins, with thick colas and sweet terps that

captivate the senses – ready to be turned into dabs in just a few weeks.

Once harvested the flower gets fresh frozen for at least four to five days, but can be stored fresh for up to months in the freezer before being extracted at super cold temperatures. The extractor will adjust the temperature depend ing on if the desired concentrate is live resin or budder or diamonds, usually between -60 to -90 degrees. Mammoth doesn’t use any powders or filters (so no CRC products), sticking to all-natural live resin for the 200,000 grams a year that they process and sell.

“We love processing, so we’ll make anything from live resin to budder to rosin, infused pre-rolls, edibles … we are even building a new kitchen at a

different site to launch the Tyson Bites, and are working on a new water-soluble THC for tincture and drinkable lines,” Jackson said excitedly. “I love pure hash rosin and unfiltered BHO as live resin, and don’t really have a preference between the two – they are the top tier of products and I love that we get to produce both in house.”

The most recent addition to the farm is a shipping container-sized walk-in freezer that keeps mate rial at a mind-blowing negative -40 degrees Celsius. The cold air is what creates fresh frozen weed for live resin, preserving the trichomes and terpenes while keeping water molecules frozen. During hot spring and summer days, the team runs quickly from the freezer to the lab, for even those couple minutes can start to thaw the product.

The goal is to have as little water moisture as possible, because the moisture pulls chlorophyll, which can lead to dark and less flavorful oil.

That said, the Mammoth team has dialed in their process with the addition of the huge freezer, allowing for the terpenes and trichomes to stay fresh and frozen until the buds are ready to be turned into concentrates.

“We grew this harvest for flavor and terps, and it’s turned out to be a great harvest,” Jackson said with a laugh. “We’re resin farmers, not flower farmers.”

“When we first started, the idea was to be a flower-first growing company. But with the Ellensburg weather patterns we realized that the best option was to grow outdoors, freeze everything and focus on creating delicious, affordable live resin.”

-Co-Founder Connor Jackson

CHERRY BOMB GELATO

A

OPENING THE CAR DOOR, the still, crisp October air suddenly comes alive with noise.

Steady chopping of shears from the trim team, full-bel ly laughs from the four co-founders who operate like brothers rather than business partners, and the faint hum of high-tech equipment firing on all cylinders in the hash lab can be heard as we step out of reality and into the whimsical world of PNW Roots.

Ras Kaya Paul, known (and adored) around town simply as Kaya, estab lished the brand back in the 2010 medical market days alongside Phil Vandever, Tory Madsen and Jason “J Money” Wilcox. Rooted in regener ative agriculture since day one, the five-acre farm is home to multiple unique growing environments: out door fields, primitive and light-assist ed greenhouses, and indoor rooms.

Of course, we start our tour in the heart of the operation: the outdoor fields. There’s a rich and earthy aroma of roasted coffee grounds and wet soil as we walk alongside a dense patch of Kaya’s Koffee f6 plants just days away from harvest. Rather than sitting in individual pots, the rows of thick, hearty roots poke out of raised garden beds and stretch towards the sun using Hügelkulture – a traditional German style of farming that literally translates to “mound culture.”

These mighty heaps of layered wood, compost and locally-scav enged plant debris create a self-sus taining ecosystem that breaks down over time, naturally warming the soil and extending the growing season. Decaying woody matter becomes a breeding ground for indigenous microorganisms that enrich the soil, while also acting as a sponge that stores and releases rainwater during drier periods.

Korean Natural Farming (KNF) practices are used throughout the property as well, established by Dr.

Cho Han Kyu in the 1960s in response to the nation’s growing reliance on synthetic chemicals. This style combines traditional Asian farming methods with fermentation to replicate processes that naturally occur in nature, with the goal to generate as much of a farm’s fertility needs from waste produced by the farm itself.

PNW Roots is certainly a pioneer of KNF in American Cannabis cultiva tion – over 90% of materials used in their growing process come from local, natural inputs, and any of the minimal waste produced is compost ed. The self-proclaimed “Roots Crew” even borrows from Master Cho when it comes to their team motto: “Your garden can be as big as your heart.”

The gnarliest natural waste item used around here? Frozen salmon car casses, caught up the street by J Money himself on days off spent fishing and smoking joints along the basin. Mixed with brown sugar to create Fish Amino Acid, one of the KNF inputs, this secret sauce sits stewing in giant barrels for an entire year before being added to garden beds as a rich nutrient source.

After clearing our nostrils (Kaya insists the mix smells like banana bread, but the verdict is still out on that one), we head inside to check out one of the three rooms utilizing living soil beds and LED lights. “We never harvest our GMO early,” Kaya tells us as he ties back his infamous dreads, sticks his nose right into the center of a plump nug nearly bursting at the seams, and takes a deep in hale. “Everyone else does that. We let it really stink up. Mhmmm. It’s gnarly, like your grandpa’s breath.”

COFOUNDERS AND PARTNERS PHIL VANDEVER, JASON WILCOX, TORY MADSEN & RAS KAYA PAUL.

FROZEN SALMON CARCASSES ARE USEDTO CREATE SOME KNF INPUTS.

Tier Size:

Employees:

PNW ROOTS

MOVING THROUGH the 10,000-squarefoot converted indoor space, there’s also a propagation room and a mother room holding the brand’s widely-re nowned and award-winning genetics, from Kaya’s Koffee to Hamma Hamma and The Freeze. And let’s not forget about the hash lab cranking out some of the only six-star water hash you can find in the state.

Unlike most outdoor farms, a whopping 90% of the Cannabis grown on this property is har vested for hash. Flowers chopped during “Cro ptober” are lightly trimmed, then head straight into the freezer. Once the final red leaves have fallen and those Washington skies turn gray and rainy, the Roots Crew will be huddled up in the lab all winter, letting the self-sustaining soil beds do their thing outside and making hash until the sun reappears in the springtime. Talk about a hashy hibernation.

Finally, we see an old horse-barn-turned-house that one of the co-founders now lives in (and where the Roots Crew has their brainstorming sessions), and end our tour right where we started: in the fields, under the sun, back in the heart of the brand. It’s so incredibly rare for one Cannabis company to excel in breeding,

full-time

Top Strains: Kaya’s Koffee, Hamma Hamma, The Freeze Motto: “Your garden can be as big as your heart.”

-Dr. Cho Han Kyu

regenerative farming and hash making – but PNW Roots hits the trifecta and makes it look effortless.

Perhaps this is because PNW Roots is about growing so much more than just Cannabis.

Tobacco, hops, CBD, and a variety of herbs and vegetables can also be found on the farm, as well as two dogs, some cats, geese, chickens, roosters and goats. High ly sought-after genetics aren’t even the only thing being bred around here; the ducks and cats were actually bred on-site as well.

It’s truly about cultivating a community – so, how will the brand’s roots continue to deepen from here? Ras Kaya Paul has a vision to eventu ally transform the property into a totally self-suffi cient and sovereign “food forest,” complete with yurts where visitors can stay and learn how to harvest their own food and Cannabis.

“I see a secure and sustainable environment for agriculture in many forms that nourishes the complete self: mind, body and soul,” he says.

“Cannabis plays such a large role here … even in hard times, people want their herb because it gives us the conscious lift we need to ponder what we’re truly doing on this planet and how we can make it better for everyone.”

Count us in as your first yurt guests, Kaya.

WASH ROOM LEAD EDDIE MARTINEZ

Katherine Wolf is a Cannabis writer, branding specialist, and the Chief Marketing & Operations Officer of Malek’s Premium Cannabis, a smallbatch Colorado cultivator focused on flavor-first genetics.

PRE99 BLUEBERRY

CBD

HEADING FOR THE FREEZER

HAMMA HAMMA

LAZY BEE GARDENS

LAZY BEE GARDENS is located in the Methow Valley near Winthrop, where beautiful scenery and hot summers have created an ideal environment for greenhouse Cannabis production. Growing in living soil with organic practices, Lazy Bee is known for clean and flavorful Cannabis that is both award-winning and all-natural. We sat down with Owner and Manager Matthew Frigone Bernhard to share his passion for pheno hunting, growing with the sun, and his hopes for the future of sustainable agriculture for Cannabis and food production.

WINTHROP

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GROW CANNABIS OUTDOORS? I started growing medically around 2007, originally because my Pop’s was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. We were making Rick Simpson Oil for him, which is the whole reason I started growing. Back then as medical patients, we could grow outside in the garden and luckily my Mom’s veggie plot had incredible soil for our garden. Our first plant was eight feet tall and put out a pound! Since we weren’t selling it and were focused on growing economically and organically, it made sense to grow outside – and once I knew how well the sun could work, I got more into utilizing it.

WHY IS SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE IMPORTANT FOR BOTH CANNABIS AND THE WORLD’S FOOD PRODUCTION? I believe it’s important for longevity. We cannot continue on the same path indefinitely. The sooner we get to regenerative farming, the sooner the world will be in a much better spot for future generations. I’ve been operating under a no-till system with living-soil practices, where we use the same soil and add organic amendments, and it started with learning about food production in the Midwest. Our modern agriculture with salt-based fertilizers and monocropping is leading to another dust bowl. Whether it’s veggies or Cannabis, growing organic is better for the planet and mankind, and when you utilize natural systems, the process can continue indefinitely – just like the forest, where nobody tills or fertilizes. With this process our living soil has actually gotten better each year, and there’s so much less waste.

EXPLAIN WHAT IT MEANS TO GROW CANNABIS ORGANICALLY WITHOUT THE CERTIFICATION, SINCE IT ISN’T AVAILABLE DUE TO FEDERAL REGULATIONS. We actually are Clean Green Certified, which is basically the same thing but for Cannabis. It’s the exact same protocols as the USDA Organic program, but you can’t say that. I think it’s bullcrap that we can’t use the name, that we can’t use the designation. It’s a strange thing to have a classification federally controlled and not be able to use it because Cannabis is still federally illegal.

POWDER HOUND: AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE SCENERY.

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

LAZY BEE GARDENS

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF GROWING CANNABIS?

I’m definitely a stinky weed person, I judge Cannabis on smell almost exclusively and love finding and creating new strains. We do a large pheno hunt every year – hunting beans, and I’m really close to having lines that I can release.

Getting to smell hundreds of plants with different expressions and choosing which one is best is really enjoyable. Going from 300 seeds to five keepers is what has kept my interest alive and makes growing fun. I grow whatever I feel will be the best weed. And we grow sativas that many outdoor farmers won’t – and let them grow for as long as they need.

WHAT’S YOUR MESSAGE TO PEOPLE WHO HAVEN’T TRIED SUNGROWN CANNABIS? I’d love to see more farmers and consumers embrace sungrown and not look down [on it]. I’d love to see more high-end outdoor so people can have a better perception. A farming-related challenge is that sungrown is garbage, which can be a true or false statement about any method of growing. I want to prove to our consumers that we can have clean Cannabis that tastes naturally like the unique traits of the plant. Once you discover great outdoor weed, the real question is: Why not grow with the sun? The terpene profiles are very robust – which makes for flavorful weed.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE OF SUNGROWN CANNABIS? It would be wonderful to see a direct-to-consumer model like wineries, where we could have tasting rooms and pot tours. Everyone who is growing craft weed now is doing it because they love growing, not because they’re getting rich. If you are still doing this right now, it’s because you love weed … and it would be special to share that with consumers who love Cannabis as much as we do.

LAZYBEEGARDENS.COM

FOR

FARMHANDS OSCAR DOMINGUEZ AND BRIAN MICKLES.

SUNGROWN CANNABIS, AVAILABLE NEAR YOU.

STOP AND SMELL THE SLURRICANE.

“The sooner we get to regenerative farming, the sooner the world will be in a much better spot for future generations.” -Owner Matthew Frigone Bernhard

TREEHAWK FARMS

RIVE BY the Treehawk farm today and you’ll be greeted by a waft of earthy, sweet and skunky terps oozing from the greenhouse that runs year round.

But just a few generations and 50 years ago, the gentle lowing of cows ready to be milked would have been the indica tion that this was a different type of farm.

For founders and married partners Jason and Samantha Olsen, the connection to the land is part of their sustainable competitive advantage – one which offers hope for a

future that includes direct-to-consumer sales and tours, much like the renowned Finnriver Farm & Cidery nearby on con verted dairy farmland.

Walking amongst the plants with their giant dog Bodhi, daughters Gloria and Chloe and their new son Xavier, Jason and Samantha are in their element. The kids ignore the plants the way a child notices their parents’ paperwork or the chaos of a remodeling job as their giggles bounce off the walls of the greenhouse, bringing

an uplifting energy to the harvest sea son. They race up and down the spongy unplanted portion of the field, stopping to swing little brother around by his arms, in a perfect representation of the new American Dream.

“It’s a blessing to be working from home and to have the kids able to share this expe rience with us,” Samantha explained. “The girls are six and seven now and have grown up with Treehawk – they don’t see it as any different from other parents’ jobs.”

NESTLED IN the rolling fields of Chimacum a family farm continues to grow, adding new strains and a son as the Treehawk clan carries on a decades-long legacy of working with the land.

While the pandemic created worldwide disruptions, it did inadvertently lead to a rule change that allowed families to bring their children to work at Cannabis farms, much like owners of breweries are able to have their kids present. With a background at Microsoft (where she’s had to go back for a few of the eight years that Treehawk has been growing), having the ability to pick up kids from school and swing by the farm is keeping the operation sustainable. Both parents are con stantly shuffling duties between kids and plants, and it feels both natural and beneficial to have the joyful, youthful energy helping push the farm forward.

“This is a woman-owned farm – Samantha deserves all the credit for keeping the business running,” Jason said lovingly.

“I just grow the weed, I can’t run a P/L. I’ve spent eight years learning how to run this, but I haven’t spent any time at a spreadsheet or desk.”

Outdoor farming is as much a gamble as predicting both the weather and the score for the next Seahawks game, with tens of thousands of dollars and hours on the line as the plants grow each day.

“Since we built the greenhouse, we haven’t had the bandwidth or the weather [to grow out doors] since the last three seasons were short. This spring was so wet we didn’t put plants out side until early July, vegging until August, and we still weren’t really sure the weather would hold,” Jason explained seriously. “Luckily the weather has been amazing and this is some of the best sungrown we’ve ever produced, in part because we broke record highs for heat this October.”

Walking amongst the rows of plants on a 70-degree day in mid-October feels perfect and surreal, especially given the farm’s location on the Olympic Peninsula. The weather is usually about 10 degrees colder than Seattle, and the summer season is generally a few weeks shorter – especially when compared to Eastern Washington, where most sungrown Cannabis is produced in the state.

“Walking amongst the rows of plants on a 70-degree day in mid-October feels perfect and surreal, especially given the farm’s location on the Olympic Peninsula.”

LEAD CULTIVATOR JASON MYER HAS BEEN GROWING SINCE 2001, GOING FROM THE BLACK MARKET TO MEDICAL TO RECREATIONAL.

OWNERS AND PARENTS JASON AND SAMANTHA OLSEN JUGGLE FARM DUTIES AND FAMILY OBLIGATIONS WITH DAUGHTERS GLORIA, 7, AND CHLOE, 6, SON, XAVIER, 10 MO., AND DOG, BODHI.

TREEHAWK FARMS

EVEN AS A SMALL, CRAFT, outdoor garden, the plants require constant love and attention – starting with the two or three hours each morning with a leaf blower to blast away morning dew. All the plants are hand-wa tered and pruned, by the same team that Treehawk had before the harvest. A team of eight carry the weight, literally, with most of the crew in their fourth or fifth years on site.

“My livelihood is dependent on the weather and environment, not that we have any control over it. We have to decide when to harvest, how to find room

to dry, and we don’t have extra labor so we have to shift resources constantly,” Jason explained. “I enjoy doing all the things, just like getting your kids ready for school, but if you’re late or rushed it’s not fun. If I have time to do the things I love, but I’m rushing to get to the next thing for years, it can be rough.”

With low margins and uncertain economic times in the Cannabis industry, Treehawk has stayed lean and self funded, and made moves to streamline their process without sacrificing quality. These changes include only selling eighths of flower, focusing on full-flower joints and hash-infused joints, and making their own bubble hash and rosin in house. They sell through every crop, with the greenhouse producing three bumper harvests

a year – and this year’s outdoor plants will add a ton of new flavors to the infused joints. Even with a successful brand and the family able to shoot hoops next to the grow, the Tree hawk farm is missing one factor: the ability to connect with their community and consumers.

“The cideries sell wholesale to stores like Costco and make very small margins, they make their money from direct retail and hav ing people on site,” Jason said. “The Small Farm Craft Bill is what we have been hoping for for years and they keep shooting it down. That’s what would allow direct sales, but the state doesn’t want to undercut stores.”

If the farm was able to sell the same gram direct to consumers for a consumption expe rience at a higher price, similar to how a $4 bottle of cider is poured on site for $10, it would create sustainability and a relationship between consumers and the farms that is missing in the Washington weed market.

“If we could do exactly what we are doing now, but have an opportunity to sell to consumers a portion of our harvests at better margins, we would be able to do this forever,” Samantha said promisingly. “The only thing that keeps us going is the hope of regulations changing, because we don’t ever want to cut corners to lower quality.”

TREEHAWKFARMS.COM

Greenhouse

of 8 + Dog Bodhi Motto: “Small Batch Craft

with Love,

&

WATERMELON

WILSON ZERO AND PAPAYA

products may be purchased or possessed only by persons 21 or older. This product has intoxi cating effects and may be habit forming. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgement. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associat ed with consumption of this product. For use only by adults 21 and older. Keep out of reach of children.

The Guru of Ganja

PLANTING THE SEEDS

Born in the Bronx on December 2, 1944, Edward Rosenthal had a “very unhappy” childhood growing up in a “typical dysfunctional family of the ‘50s era.” As an escape, he developed a passion for horticulture that would later become his life’s work.

Though he doesn’t specifically recall the first time he smoked marijuana, he knows he was around 21.

“I first started in 1966,” he said in a 1984 interview with High Times. “I bought a lid and smoked it with my college roommate … and I remember thinking, ‘This is the greatest thing that’s ever happened in my life.’”

Soon after, he bought some fluorescent lights, planted a few seeds he found in some Mexican weed, and started growing his own smoke in a spare room of his apartment.

THE YIPPIES

In 1967, Rosenthal dropped out of college and moved to the East Village to become a hippie and immerse himself in the city’s thriving counterculture.

“I went to a ‘Be-In’ in Central Park, and Abbie Hoffman was onstage. He jumped down, started handing out acid. He put a tab on my tongue, and I swallowed it and went through a really powerful, horrible experience,” Rosenthal recounted to HT. “After that, I never suffered from serious dysfunctional depression again.”

Around the same time, he fatefully encountered another soon-to-be Yippie activist icon.

“One day, I walked out of my apartment and noticed there was a march going on. I said, ‘What’s it about?’

And they said, ‘This guy has been arrested for selling acid and taken to the federal building.’ I thought, ‘Well, that’s a good thing to march for.’”

The person who’d been arrested was Dana Beal. After his release, Beal befriended Rosenthal and recruited him into the Yippies. It was through Dana and the Yippies that Rosenthal met pot smuggler

Tom Forcade in 1971. The two quickly sparked a friendship, and one day while getting high together, they came up with a brilliant idea.

“Tom, a fellow by the name of Ron Lichty and myself were all living in a collective down on 11th Street,” he recounts. “We were all part of the Underground Press Syndicate, and we had a bit of money in that organization, so we decided to start a magazine, and that magazine became High Times.”

Unfortunately though, Rosenthal was never credited as a cofounder, because shortly after coming up with the idea, a questionable acquaintance convinced Forcade to threaten Rosenthal and throw him out.

“There was a friend of Tom’s that was working undercover for the government,” Ed alleges. “He tried to destroy the magazine, and he’s the one who split us apart.”

LIZZY COZZI

Ed Rosenthal has authored (or co-authored) nearly 20 books on Cannabis which have collectively sold over 2 million copies. The eccentric cultivator, activist and educator is also credited with discovering Durban Poison and cofounding both High Times magazine and Amsterdam’s Hash, Marihuana and Hemp Museum. It’s no wonder he’s come to be known as “the guru of ganja.”

Rosenthal speaking at a rally in Madison, Wisc. during the 1990s.

THE GROWERS GUIDE

Thankfully, Rosenthal didn’t need HT to establish himself as an expert in Cannabis cultivation.

In 1971, he began building and selling small greenhouses, and in an attempt to get free promotion in their “New York Flyer” supplement, pitched Rolling Stone an article about growing pot. As it happens, another cultivator named Mel Frank had beat him to the punch. After Rolling Stones’ editors arranged a meeting with Frank, Rosenthal suggested that they collaborate on a book. Though reluctant at first, Rosenthal’s persistence eventually persuaded Frank.

As part of their research, they met with Dr. Carlton Turner of the University of Mississippi’s Marijuana Research Project – the only legally-sanctioned Cannabis farm in America. Turner provided them access to recently-published scientific papers on pot, which they then used – along with their own knowledge of horticulture – to produce the first comprehensive textbook on Cannabis cultivation: “The Marijuana Growers’ Guide.”

The first edition of their groundbreaking grow manual was published in 1974, and by 1978 an updated edition of the book was reviewed by the New York Times. Thanks to that review, the book sold over 1 million copies – informing and inspiring a generation of ganja growers, and establishing Frank and Rosenthal as America’s leading authorities on Cannabis cultivation.

HIGH TIMES

That same year, Rosenthal helped organize and judge the first-ever Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam. After Forcade’s suicide in 1978, Rosenthal had been welcomed back into the HT family as a regular contributor. In 1983, he premiered his monthly grow advice column “Ask Ed,” which became the longest-running column in the magazine’s history – that is, until 2000, when it was discontinued due to a legal dispute between Rosenthal and the magazine’s owners.

The trust Forcade had set up to fund the magazine stipulated that in the year 2000, ownership of the magazine would be passed to “loyal employees” who’d been with the company for 10 years or more (Rosenthal claims it was five years, but other accounts say 10). Rosenthal believed he qualified to receive shares in the company, but the trustees disagreed – claiming that he was merely a freelancer, rather than an employee. As a result, he filed a lawsuit against the company to obtain the shares he felt he was owed—a suit which he ultimately lost.

UNITED STATES v. ROSENTHAL Unfortunately, Rosenthal would end up back in court a couple of years later: like many other Cannabis cultivators and activists, he found himself in the crosshairs of the DEA when, on February 12, 2002, federal agents raided his home and nursery in Oakland.

Recognizing that the trial was a farce, Ed employed classic Yippie theatrics by wearing a “wizard of weed” costume into court. These tactics helped draw national media attention and sway public opinion about medical marijuana. Nevertheless, without a viable medical defense, he was convicted in 2003. After the trial, when the jurors learned about the mitigating circumstances, most of them recanted their verdict and begged for his forgiveness.

“They felt terrible,” Rosenthal says. “At my sentencing, 10 of the jurors gave a news conference saying that they were duped by the judge. That was the first time in American history that ever happened, to my knowledge.”

Capitulating to social pressure, Judge Charles Breyer sentenced Rosenthal to just one day in jail, time served. Three years later, after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his conviction on a technicality, the U.S. Attorney’s office decided to re-indict him – instigating a second trial in May 2007, presided over by the same judge. Once again, he was prohibited from mounting a medical defense and was convicted.

“I was found guilty again, but I had already done my time, so after the verdict I just walked out. They’d given me a day, and I had done 36 hours, so they still owe me 12 hours,” he jokes.

GIVING BACK

MARIJUANA MUSEUM

In 1985, Rosenthal flew out to Amsterdam to connect with other leading breeders and growers – including Wernard Bruining, Old Ed Holloway, Skunkman Sam and Nevil Schoenmakers. While there, he was contracted by two coffeeshop-owning Dutch brothers to curate the first international Cannabis museum.

“They’d put together this whole museum – it was only missing one thing: the exhibits. They needed somebody who could fill it in three weeks, so I put together a team, worked 16 hours a day, and got it done.”

In 1987, Rosenthal’s friend Ben Dronkers purchased that project, rebranding it as Sensi Seeds’ Hash, Marijuana, and Hemp Museum. (A few years later, Dronkers also bought the Holland Seed Bank from Schoenmakers, who Rosenthal had introduced him to.)

“It was six in the morning, and there was banging at the door. Since I sleep naked, I went down naked to see what was happening … so they knew I was unarmed,” he jokes.

Rosenthal was charged with the cultivation of over 100 plants, but the irony was that the city had legally permitted his garden; in 1999, he’d been appointed an “Officer of the City of Oakland” – deputized to grow those plants for various medical marijuana clubs around the Bay Area. Although it was a nonprofit grow that had the blessing of the city and was legal under Prop 215, his lawyers were prohibited from presenting any of that information to the jury because the case was federal – and therefore state law didn’t apply.

At age 77, Rosenthal is at the peak of his prestige. He’s won numerous lifetime achievement awards and continues to make appearances at Cannabis events around the world. His latest project is the Million Marijuana Seed Giveaway – doling out free seeds of different cultivars he and his friends have bred in an effort to encourage his fans to become pheno hunters. Some of those free seeds are included in the “Prisoners of Weed” book packs for sale on his website, with 10 percent of the proceeds going to the Last Prisoner Project. So far, the packs have raised over $6,000 for pot POWs.

Prepping some seeds to include in one of his Prisoner of Weed book bundles.

“I didn’t have to do time after I was raided … but there are still people out there doing time for a plant many are profiting on now, and that’s wrong,” Rosenthal recently told HT. “We need to change that – yesterday.”

To read the full, unabridged version of this story and listen to the interview on our podcast, visit worldofcannabis.museum/cannthropology.

With attorneys in his “wizard of weed” robe outside the courthouse (2007).

PHOTOS

ED

HT family as a regular

“The Marijuana Grower’s Guide” informed and inspired a generation of ganja growers, and established Frank and Rosenthal as America’s leading authorities on Cannabis cultivation.

Ed (right) with fellow growers Soma, Wernard Bruining, and Old Ed Holloway in Amsterdam circa 1985.

Ed (right) with fellow growers Soma, Wernard Bruining, and Old Ed Holloway in Amsterdam circa 1985.

THE MOMENT YOUR AUTOMOBILE DOORS are shut with the driveshaft engaged, the contest is underway. Regardless of who is behind the wheel of other vehicles competing for space on the road, your primary objective is to circumvent them to save precious minutes while en route to your destination. And although the unidentified drivers against whom you jockey for position are often good people in your own neighborhood, they have now become faceless adversaries crowding the track.

Like the butts of cigarettes, courtesies are flicked out the window.

And there’s no surprise that this daily race causes tension. Because traffic is a drain on your fragile psyche. And you are not proud of who you become in these moments of frustration when it turns you into a triggered bitch.

You see, we all have a threshold of tolerance that, when crossed, causes a discomforting level of anxiety and stress –fueling the impatience and adding to life’s pressures. And because there is no immediate resolve, you learn to live with the strangulation while building a resentment that weighs on you like an addict’s regret.

You blame the other drivers. “Oh, if only those idiots hadn’t dug themselves into that inescapable cavern of debt like I did.” There’s the mortgage, the auto loan, the kids, the boob job – all the shit you have on autopay that prevents you from turning right out of the driveway instead of left. It’s the right turn that leaves the city toward a tropical paradise … far, far away from the giant magnet that tugs you into the grind.

Fortunately, Cannabis improves your perception. One small toke from a vape pen makes the speakers speak, the seat heaters glow, and the engine vibrate comfort ably for the most optimal enjoyment during your relaxed commute.

You are quite aware that it is against the law to drive stoned.

Thank God for Visine.