Mother's nature by Oklahoma Gazette

AUGUST 2019

THE ULTIMATE MEDICINAL CANNABIS RESOURCE Extract is circulated at its designated distribution points free of charge to readers for their individual use and by mail to subscribers. The cash value of this copy is $1. Persons taking copies of the Extract from its distribution points for any reason other than their or others’ individual use for reading purposes are subject to prosecution.

PUBLISHER Peter J. Brzycki

EDITORIAL

OPERATIONS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF George Lang glang@okgazette.com

OPERATIONS & MARKETING MANAGER Kelsey Lowe

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Brittany Pickering

MARKETING ASSISTANT Kendall Bleakley

MANAGING EDITOR Matt Dinger

ACCOUNTING/ HR MANAGER Marian Harrison

CONTRIBUTORS Chad Crow Tony G. Frietas Sr. Matt Patterson Dr. Steven Ross, MD Justin Williams PHOTOGRAPHER/ VIDEOGRAPHER Alexa Ace

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The statements in this publication have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Therefore the information listed is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

CONTENTS LEGAL

Stephanie Mathis | Photo Alexa Ace

4 legal safety-sensitive jobs

BUSINESS 8 11

CO2 extraction at Releaf Labs cannabis job placement services

CONSUMERS

12 cannabis packaging 14 COVER cannabis and parenting 16 medical What do sativa and indica mean? CANNABIS AND PARENTING, P. 14 19 What are terpenes? LIFESTYLE 21 infographic terpenes 24 recipes Green & Clean Gourmet Chefs 23 dispensary listings Each month, Extract explores trends in the CBD and medical marijuana business, from new treatments andCBD products to emerging Each month, Extract explores trends in the and medicinal companies, but its primary focus is on this new world of medicinal cannabis business, from new treatments andand products to emerging treatment and how it affects readers consumers. companies, but its primary focus is on this new world of medicinal treatment and how it affects readers and consumers.

EDITOR’S NOTE This month, Extract speaks with two very difference kinds of cannabis mothers, one who has always kept her medicating a secret for fear of societal reprisal and a mother whose son was failed by traditional cancer treatment and whose life is thought to have been saved by cannabis treatment. One made the headlines and airwaves of national media while the other might just live next door to you. Both of these discussions happened during interviews on other topics but coalesced to form a portrait of two friends with drastically

different paths on their cannabis journeys. Justin Williams with Overman Legal Group takes an in-depth look at what “safety-sensitive” provisions of House Bill 2612, which takes effect this month, mean for employers and employees. Dr. Steven Ross tackles the distinction (or lack thereof) between sativas and indicas. Chad Crow found out what it takes and what one makes getting a foot in the door of the Oklahoma cannabis industry, while Matt Patterson looks at a negative side effect of medical cannabis use: waste products. Ariel Parson, the lab manager of Releaf Labs, walks Extract through the process of supercritical CO2 extraction, and Tony Freitas returns with his promised infused Bananas Foster milkshake recipe. This month, we also take another in-depth look at terpenes and what they mean for patients. I have heard two good analogies about the synergy between terpenes and THC levels. David Heldreth of True Terpenes said that cannabinoids are the gas pedal and terpenes are the steering wheel. Another person

has said that terpenes are the music and THC is the volume. Obviously, an important relationship when it comes to the effects of cannabis on patients, so expect to see this topic featured again repeatedly in future issues. For the next issue, J. Blake Johnson returns with a look at cannabis and the criminal justice system and Dr. Steven Ross explores pediatric recommendations in-depth. Extract also speaks with some older folks who share their cannabis experience with readers and provides a cut-out “cheat sheet” for beginners, a primer on cannabis ingestion methods and a few tips on how to behave during your next trip to a dispensary, among other topics.

Matt Dinger Managing Editor Extract mdinger@okgazette.com

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LEGAL CONCERNING SAFETY House Bill 2612, passed by the Oklahoma Legislature this session, allows for a broad range of professions to be considered “safety-sensitive” exceptions to medical cannabis use. By Justin Williams Since over half a million Oklahoma voters approved the passage of Oklahoma State Question 788 (SQ788), its opponents have quickly shifted their attention toward the restraint of its most progressive features. House Bill 2612 (HB2612), commonly referred to as the “Unity Bill,” goes into effect Aug. 29. It was the Oklahoma Legislature’s effort to develop a comprehensive framework for implementation of SQ788. It was advertised as a compromise between the many competing interests affected by SQ788, yet its enactment significantly undermined one of the most important patient protections contained therein: license holders’ protection from adverse employment action by an employer for off-duty consumption of cannabis. Specifically, HB2612 materially departed from the text of SQ788 in its grant of discretion to employers to “refuse to hire, discipline, discharge, or otherwise penalize an applicant or employee solely on the basis of a positive test for marijuana components or metabolites” where “the position is one involving safetysensitive job duties.” A “safety-sensitive” job duty is defined as “any job that includes tasks or duties that the employer reasonably believes could affect the safety and health of the employee performing the task or others.” The Legislature provided a number of examples of safety-sensitive job duties, including the operation of motor vehicles, machinery or power tools and direct child-care, but the list is not exhaustive. Thus, while a pizza delivery driver would appear to fall 4

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directly within the definition of holding a safety-sensitive job duty, the pizza establishment’s cook, server, janitor or manager might not. Arguably, each of them are employed in a position that “could affect the safety and health of others,” should they do a poor job of carrying out their work. Even compared to other states recognizing a safety-sensitive exception, Oklahoma’s Legislature approved one of the more expansive definitions of what might constitute such a position. This means that a licensed medical cannabis patient in Oklahoma may be subjected to termination by their employer for engaging in the same conduct that would not be deemed “safety-sensitive” under another state’s laws. Complicating matters, some states, such as New York, mandate that the government determines what positions may be “safety-sensitive.” Under Oklahoma law, that discretion is vested directly in the employer. Importantly, SQ788 imposed no safety-sensitive exception to the rule that an employer could not take an adverse employment action against an employee on the basis of the employee’s positive test for cannabis unless doing so would “cause an employer to imminently lose a monetary or licensing related benefit under federal law or regulation.” In fact, SQ788 explicitly stated that “[e]mployers may not take action against the holder of a medical marijuana license holder solely based upon the status of an employee as a ... license holder or the results of a drug test showing positive for marijuana or its compo-

nents.” Thus, the enactment of the “safety-sensitive” exception to workplace discrimination within HB2612 conflicts directly with the bill that Oklahomans approved last summer. Undoubtedly, there are employment positions where it is inadvisable, even unsafe, for an employee to work while under the influence of cannabis. SQ788 recognized this. Whereas SQ788 expressly denied an employer the right to discriminate against employees for a positive drug test, it granted employers the right to make an adverse employment action if the employee “uses or possesses marijuana while in the holder’s place of employment or during the hours of employment.” Cannabis metabolites can be present in patients for weeks following use, long after the effects of its consumption were last felt. This fact leaves licensed patients secure in their employment under SQ788 but at great risk of termination under the standards imposed by HB2612. Each employer is vested with the discretion to determine which duties are “safety-sensitive.” Thus, an employer may implement a zero-tolerance drug testing policy for anyone employed in that position. The limitations on an employer’s ability to designate a position

Justin Williams, an attorney with Overman Legal Group | Photo Alexa Ace

as safety-sensitive are also scant. An employer must only reasonably believe that the position “could” affect one’s health or safety. Each employer may set its own threshold for determining the likelihood of injury. Thus, while an employer must be reasonable in its designations, there is little restraint on their exercise of that discretion. Pursuant to HB2612, employers are not required to impose a zero-tolerance drug policy on medical cannabis patients employed in safety-sensitive positions. Instead, employers are granted the right to make an adverse employment action only if they choose. Thus, many employers have embraced the national trend toward acceptance of cannabis use. Each employer would be well-advised to carefully consider its designation of any position as safety-sensitive. The matter is incredibly important. Should an employer interpret the safety-sensitive designation too narrowly, the employer arguably invites additional liability from workplace accidents or injuries. Alternatively, if it were to interpret the language too broadly, the continued on page 6

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employer invites litigation from its employees in addition to the increased expenses of employee turnover. Sadly, for licensed medical cannabis patients, HB2612’s language certainly permits — perhaps, encourages — employers to apply as broad a definition as reasonably possible. Under HB2612, the negative effects of broadly applying job duties as safety-sensitive will be borne primarily by the licensed employee who now risks termination. Consider our example of a server at a local pizza shop above and let us assume that they are a licensed medical cannabis patient. While this server might have only a limited role in direct food preparation, it might be one of their many job duties. They might also use chemicals around the food to clean the restaurant or its equipment, and if improperly mixed, these chemicals could pose an even greater risk to customers than food contamination. So, if the server’s employer were to terminate them on account of a positive workplace drug test following a determination that the server’s job position could affect the health and safety of others, what remedy would this license-holding Oklahoma employee have? Few that are likely to matter. To date, legal challenges to an employee’s termination for a positive cannabis test while holding a medical cannabis license have not been successful where the employee was employed in a “safety-sensitive” position, as each respective state defines that term. Even some of those states that have legalized cannabis use do not provide any limitations on an employer’s ability to terminate employees for positive workplace drug testing, regardless of their status as licensees and the character of the work being performed. For those employees who are subjected to an adverse employment action, HB2612 provides a private cause of action, which is certainly better than reliance on public bodies to police employer conduct. Under HB2612, however, an Oklahoman’s lawsuit against his or her employer is governed by the Oklahoma Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing

Act. While the applicable section of that act permits an employee to file a civil action against their employer, it expressly limits their damages to twice the amount of lost wages stemming from their termination. Moreover, any wages earned during the interim period between termination and an award of damages will offset any award that the employee might recover in the lawsuit. The prevailing party is also entitled to, but is not guaranteed, an award of their reasonable attorney’s fees. Thus, even those employees who are willing to initiate a lawsuit to protect their status must consider the distinct possibility that they might not only lose the lawsuit, but be compelled to pay their employer’s attorney’s fees as well. For the majority of employees, such as our hypothetical server, the prospect of potentially paying high-priced attorney’s fees might very well outweigh the benefit of recovering twice the wages they lost upon termination (less whatever wages they made from a more accommodating employer in the interim period). This cap on damages will undoubtedly serve to deter many employees from challenging their termination in court. Ultimately, the safety-sensitive exception to workplace protections undermines those specific workplace protections contemplated by SQ788 and approved by Oklahoma voters. The r e me d ie s H B2 61 2 p r ov id e s Oklahomans in place of these protections are so limited as to be of little recourse to all but those suffering from the most egregious of abuses. Considering the wide discretion HB2612 provides to employers to classify a position as “safety-sensitive,” victory in lawsuits challenging the exercise of that discretion might ultimately prove hard to come by.

JUSTIN WILLIAMS Justin Williams is a founding partner and member of Climb Collective and Overman Legal Group. Since graduating with distinction from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2015, Justin has practiced law widely across the spectrum of civil litigation.

BUSINESS

SUPERCRITICAL MASS CO2 extraction is a popular method for creating THC distillate for cartridges and edibles. Releaf Labs lab director Ariel Parson shows how it is done. By Matt Dinger Vape pens are ubiquitous in cannabis culture, with their popularity now rivaling that of raw cannabis flower. Many labs use a process known as supercritical CO2 (carbon dioxide) extraction to create their distillate for cartridges and edibles. This solvent method contains a number of steps and utilizes several pieces of specialized equipment to process the distillate. Releaf Labs gave Extract a tour of its facility, and lab manager Ariel Parson spoke about each step of the process in its labs, which he estimates contain about $1 million in equipment. Each production run is between 10 and 20 pounds. Releaf Labs was Ariel Parson, lab director for Releaf Labs | Photo Alexa Ace

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conducting two runs a day at that time. material to create what we call crude 1) The first step is decarboxylating oil. It is CO2-extracted plant material. the flower, or heating it for a length of We normally do supercritical, which time in an oven. is low pressure, high heat. And that’s “For our extraction purposes, we going to pull some of the fattier canturn THCA (tetrahydronabinoids out,” Parson cannabinolic acid) said. “1A is going to into THC, which be our separator will then be tank. That’s pr o c e s s e d where we through collect our our CO2. crude oil. THCA is 2A would not psybe the choacoverflow Ariel Parson tive. It has vessel; bato be actisically any vated to turn oil that into THC. So car r ies over we decarb the mawill be caught in terial,” Parson said. “It that one so it does not also helps lower the humidgo into the CO2 compressor ity of the material before it goes into the and cause a clot or anything. After we CO2 extractor because water carries have our crude oil, we then have to over chlorophyll, which will give the winterize our crude oil to get the fat distillate a darker appearance.” separated. And so it goes to the freezer 2) “We put that decarbed material first, to pull the fats away. And then into the CO2 extractor, and what that we filter and then it goes to the does is pass CO2 through the decarbed Heidolph.”

Raw distillate does not taste very good.

Releaf Labs | Photo Alexa Ace

3) “The Heidolph is evaporating the ethyl alcohol from the crude oil and ethyl mixture, so we mix ethyl with the crude oil to separate the fats and then we filter out the fats and then also evaporate out the alcohol and we’re left with winterized oil,” Parson said. “The Heidolph evaporates the ethyl out of it, so that’s the same as winterizing. You don’t necessarily have to get it as cold as we get it. It just speeds the process up.” 4) Next, it goes into the purge oven. “That is to remove any remaining ethyl and also any lighter terpenes and anything like that that’s going to bubble off in the vacuum of it,” Parson said. 5) “From there, we go to short-path distillation. Distillation is where we separate the THC and other cannabinoids from the terpenes and the heavier cannabinoids and other plant material, whatever’s left in the winterized oil. First, we distill what we call the head, and that’s going to be terpenes and aromas, the stuff that really gives the smell and the character to the material. And then we have our body, which is the raw distillate that we use to make our carts, and then the tail is going to be any post-distillate run, so any of the heavier cannabinoids will be in the bottom of the heating glass when we’re finished. It’s similar to an alcohol distillery. “Our last and final step before packaging is terpene infusion. Because we distilled all of the terpenes out of the distillate, we then have to reintegrate those terpenes to give it a flavor because raw distillate does not taste very good.” The terpenes are re-added using stirrers, and then the distillate is ready to be packaged. 6) “This is our 710 Shark. This allows us to fill 100 carts simultaneously,” Parson said. “We have an oil basin down here that is heated and then also this injector head that is also heated. We can do our disposables or one-gram carts over here as well.” Once capped, the distillate cartridges are ready to hit dispensary shelves for patient consumption. Visit releaflaboratories.com.

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BUSINESS GREEN ENERGY Oklahoma’s new cannabis industry welcomes a new labor force with lower wages than other states. By Chad Crow Fresh to the workforce, searching for a career change or simply wanting to catch a ride on the green train? Oklahoma’s medical cannabis game might be the career path for you, but the industry offers some unique barriers to entry. If you can’t lean on someone for a gig or have the resources to set up your own operation, going through a placement service might just be your ticket through the cannabis industry door. Local cannabis specialty placement services like Colorado-based Hemp Temps or Oklahoma’s own Chronic Staffing are dedicated to helping bridge the gap between potential applicants and cannabis business owners. While job types vary, by and large, these staffing services offer two entry-level gigs, either working on a farm or grow, trimming plants for distribution, or meeting patients’ needs working as a budtender in a dispensary. Trimming cannabis allows handson types to really dive into the production side of the industry. Before those beautiful nuggets fill up dispensary jars, they have to be processed by skilled trimmers whose primary job is to work closely with growers, carefully weighing and trimming flowers to release their full potential, all while carefully protecting the trichomes from damage. If the idea of working with plants all day appeals to you, this might be a great career path, but keep in mind these workers labor long hours in a full range of temperatures and require incredible focus to stay sharp at these repetitive, physically demanding tasks. If customer service is your background and working with people is your passion, perhaps working as a budtender could be your ideal gateway gig

into the cannabis industry. “Patients can spend 90 percent or more of their time in-store, interacting with just one person: the budtender,” wrote industry veteran Trevor Smith in a piece for Leafly. “The best budtenders are passionate about cannabis, exceptionally knowledgeable about the products and thrive on providing great customer service.” Sounds great, right? Well, these jobs typically pay around $10 an hour. “For some reason, $10 an hour is the number in Oklahoma,” said Carri Lawrence of Chronic Staffing. “We’re not anywhere near close to the other states in pay, but we’re Oklahoma. … At $10 an hour, you’re not going to get that rock star that you need in there controlling your life savings, but we all have to do the best we can with finding someone, and at least you have another person helping you.” Lawrence, who ran national hospital staffing agency Hive Staffing for over two decades before co-founding Chronic Staffing, cites several factors for the low pay. An inexperienced labor pool, Oklahoma labor laws that only allow workers to be paid by the hour rather than the pound and lack of education among industry professionals in this burgeoning industry all combine to create an environment that does not pay as well as more established cannabis marketplaces across the United States or even in other industries across Oklahoma. “For Hive,” Lawrence said, “I’d charge around $16 or $17 an hour for staff. It doesn’t make sense that I’m paying less on cannabis, but that sticker shock of $15 is too high for the current market. I’m going low so they can see the value that I’m bringing to the table.”

That value includes matching staff personnel with the right client fit and handling all the nuts and bolts of employing people — from payroll through to HR — allowing the grower or dispensary to focus on their true passion. “I tell my clients all the time, you have to treat your cannabis business like a real business; paying people in product or paying ’em as independent contractors is going to catch up to you,” Lawrence said. “You guys will lose your license — not because you weren’t following guidelines for the OMMA, but you’ll lose it on the labor board side of it.”

Career benefits While the benefits of utilizing a staffing service are pretty clear-cut for business owners, low pay aside, this model also offers benefits for jobseekers. For starters, working as a W-2 employee through an agency allows potential staff to avoid the headaches and potential tax pitfalls of 1099 contract labor. Until the federal government relaxes banking regulations on the cannabis industry, the business remains cashbased. As a work-around, Chronic Staffing pays its workers with a cash card, allowing them to do business with anyone that takes Visa while not having to carry around a pile of cash. Getting legitimately paid also allows workers to avoid potential legal pitfalls or employer disputes from getting “paid” in merchandise. Yes, the pay is poor, but as the industry grows, working hard and gaining inside experience could pay off by blooming your passion into a beautiful career. But Lawrence warns that it is hard work. “I get applicants … that think it’s some magical job — they’re gonna be high all day, they’ll be able to smoke all day for free — and that’s illegal for one,” Lawrence said. “It’s just a misconception; they’re in love with the idea of working in the cannabis industry, but

Carri Lawrence | Photo provided

they get in and realize it’s real work and get right back out unless they have a passion for it.” To help address the pay disparity between older, more established markets and actuate a prepared workforce, local cannabis staffing services offer various online and classroom courses geared toward bridging the knowledge and skills gap. Hemp Temps offers industry-specific weekly immersive classes covering a range of topics from onboarding patients to budtending at its Oklahoma City and Aurora, Colorado, locations. Currently, Chronic Staffing has partnered with a Colorado company to offer online training available as a whole course or with a la carte modules for both industry professionals and the home grower. Looking toward the future, Chronic Staffing is working on rolling out a 30-day intensive boot camp later this year. “I just really look forward to being able to roll out that boot camp. I think that the manufacturing as a skill set is a vital thing for our state; you can’t require people to have experience when you don’t have it,” Lawrence said. “We’re trying to build a solid pool of talent for the growers to tap into.” Visit chronicrxsolutions.com.

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CONSUMERS

TRASH TALK An unfortunate byproduct of Oklahoma’s burgeoning cannabis industry is added plastic waste. By Matt Patterson For decades, the humble plastic sandwich baggie was the vessel of choice for purveyors of black-market cannabis. They are cheap, easily adaptable to a variety of amounts of flower and keep it relatively fresh for short periods. But with the legalization of recreational and medical cannabis across the country, the plastic baggie has officially become passé and often illegal in a retail setting, given childproof packaging requirements in most states. The cannabis industry’s explosion in the United States has been transformative. Laws have changed in one way or another in a majority of states, and public opinion broadly favors legalization, according to polls. But one thing that has not changed is the use of plastics when it comes to how cannabis is delivered to consumers. With a projected $11-$13 billion in cannabis sales this year according to Marijuana Business Factbook, it is easy to see how plastics add up. If you broke down a pound of cannabis and sold it in 1-gram increments, it would equate to about 450 individual containers. Vape cartridges, tinctures and edibles require loads of plastics in both their packaging and production. In many cases, the packaging weighs more than the cannabis product inside. Seeing the amount of plastics used in the industry inspired Ron BasakSmith to fund Sana Packaging, a company that makes cannabis containers made from reclaimed ocean plastic. What started as a graduate school project with his friend and co-founder James Eichner at University of Colorado in Boulder has turned into a career. That path is not surprising. Growing up in Colorado, Basak-Smith developed a healthy respect for the environment and how waste products can impact water and land resources. “I’ve always been concerned about 12

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the environment,” he said. “After my undergrad, I got a job at a liquor store and saw a lot of single use plastic packaging in that job, and my father is a veterinarian, so I saw a lot of plastic waste there too. There’s reasons behind that, but we’re saving dogs and cats while we’re killing sea turtles. So it’s the same in the cannabis industry. There’s a lot of plastics. I don’t see that changing, but we can use plastic responsibly. I think that’s imperative as we see the industry grow.” Sana Packaging has been in operation for about three years. It sells primarily to distributors of cannabis packaging products. The company offers two products: a tube for pre-rolls and a box for flower packaging that can also be used for vape cartridges. Both are childproof. The idea to use reclaimed ocean plastic came from a chance encounter at a cannabis conference with a distributor. As an added environmental benefit, the containers are made from one type of plastic, meaning it’s easier to recycle than plastics of varying grades. “That’s another big thing about it,” Basak-Smith said. “It’s 100 percent one type of material, so that goes right back into the recycle stream.” But Basak-Smith said the industry and lawmakers can do more to reduce plastics. Most states require flower containers and edible packaging to be childproof. But he wonders if the need for childproof packaging for flower is necessary. Basak-Smith said it makes sense for childproof containers on products like edibles that contain activated THC. Most small children might be tempted to eat cannabis that looks and tastes like candy, but they are far less likely to munch on buds. “A lot of rigid plastic waste is from flower packaging,” he said. “If it were

a situation where we had people dying from cannabis, that would be one thing, but prior to legalization, there wasn’t any kind of child-resistant packaging. It’s a case where maybe the industry and lawmakers are making a problem where there isn’t a problem.”

Recycling cost Some Oklahoma City area dispensaries are trying to stem the plastic container tide. Emerald Alley Dispensary offers patients a 10 percent discount if they bring in 20 used containers. If they are of the variety and color scheme used by Emerald Alley and are in good condition, the containers are cleaned with the same fluid used to clean dentures and re-sold. If they are not the kind the dispensary uses, they go into a bin for plastic recycling. “We started doing it because the amount of plastics is something that concerns us, too,” Emerald Alley manager Hunter Quinten said. “All that plastic adds up in landfills.” The program has been in place for about three months and has been successful. “We have some people who do it religiously,” Quinten said. “When someone finds out about it, it’s usually a really positive reaction. We had one gentleman who said it was gross to use them over again, but once we explain the process of cleaning, they understand it better.” Glass is another highly recyclable form of packaging, but few area dispensaries use it, largely because of its cost. Fire Leaf uses glass for its packaging for just about every flower product amount larger than a gram or a pre-roll. “We feel like it offers patients a better quality than plastic,” Fire Leaf

Examples of cannabis packaging in the Oklahoma medical cannabis market | Photo Alexa Ace

co-owner Cassi Doolittle said. “Glass keeps the flower fresher for a longer amount of time. It’s better all around.” Fire Leaf offers patients the opportunity to bring in their old glass jars to be refilled at its five central Oklahoma locations, which helps reduce packaging usage. The response has been positive, with the biggest complaints centering on peeling off the labels so they can be relabeled. “Patients love it,” Doolittle said. “We have had some bring them in to be refilled. I would love for the number to be higher, but the response has been pretty good.” The downside is cost. “Glass is significantly more expensive,” Doolittle said. “It also costs more to ship. So there’s also that part of it that you have to take into account.” And that is what Basak-Smith runs into with Sana Packaging products. A typical pre-roll tube costs 8-10 cents. Those sold by his company can cost up to three times that amount. “That is a constant challenge,” Basak-Smith said. “You have to have someone who wants to commit to reducing plastic and make it a part of their business.” Expense is one reason Emerald Alley uses plastic containers. “We use it because it’s more economical,” Quinten said. “With the Oklahoma standard for packaging, it makes more sense than glass because you can’t see the product anyway because of the labels. Until less expensive options come up, I think the majority of people will continue to use plastic.”

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CONSUMERS

PATIENT PARENTS Until recently, using cannabis was a dangerous situation for parents, and even more so if they were treating their child with it. By Matt Dinger Sierra Riddle is a different kind of cannabis parent. She made national headlines when her son, Landon Riddle, was dying of cancer and was the youngest cannabis patient in Colorado state history. Her struggle with treating Landon made national headlines. “Landon was born in Utah and was a healthy child up until he received his [measles, mumps, rubella] vaccinations. And then within 30 days, Landon was dying from terminal cancer,” Sierra Riddle said. “He was given an 8 to 10 percent chance of survival, and we began treatment. They say that it’s a 93-plus success rate for the type of cancer that my son had, but unfortunately, my son was not going to be in that 93 percent. He was going to be in the 7 percent. He was reduced to half of his body weight. He went in at 40 pounds. Within 90 days, he was 14

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20 pounds. He lost his ability to talk, to walk, to eat. He did not eat. For more than 30 days, he was IV-fed and he was only 2 years old. ... He was on a myriad of varying detrimental pharmaceuticals such as oxycontin, morphine, Ativan, fentanyl, along with all of the treatments they were giving him. They did cranial radiation for 30 days, which really damaged Landon. At around the 90-day mark, they told us that Landon was dying and we needed to take care of him and they were sending in hospice to make him comfortable. And my mother and I did not accept that, and we left straight from that hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, and drove my son into Colorado. Met with the Stanley brothers, who were the first creators of the CBD strain Charlotte’s Web, and my son became the youngest American citizen given

a medical marijuana card at 2 years old. And it saved his life.” After moving to Colorado, Riddle was reported to the state’s child protective services more than a dozen times because she took Landon off the powerful pharmaceuticals and began treating him with cannabis instead. “I had no idea that nobody had never done that before, and so it was a really big deal and we were plastered all over CNN and Yahoo and MSNBC and everything else because I refused treatment and they tried to take my son for me and put him in medical foster care solely to poison him and kill him, which is what would have happened,” Riddle said. “But I refused to give up, and I stood my ground. I searched high and low. I could not find a doctor or a lawyer that was willing to stand with me for fear of losing their law license

or their medical license, and Landon was the only child anywhere near his age doing that, and they couldn’t tell me that it would cure his cancer or help him. They could only tell me that, obviously, it was making him better. So it was very, very harrowing experience. Definitely sprinkled a little PTSD into my life over all that, but I eventually was able to find a criminal cannabis lawyer who was willing to stick up for Landon and his constitutional rights as well as a PhD in the endocannabinoid system. “They showed up for me. They testified. They spoke to the lawyers, the judges, CPS, and told them that what I was doing was not wrong, that it was saving my son’s life and that if they allowed these oncologists at this hospital to resume treatment of my child that they would kill him. It was just a

Stephanie Mathis and 10-year-old daughter Scarlet | Photo Alexa Ace

very difficult year of our life. But we won. … And from there, things just kind of exploded. A lot of families started doing what I did. They moved from their home states — Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, Arizona, wherever it was — to be able to have access to even attempt to save a child’s life. We started a group called the Medical Marijuana Refugees, and we all would get together with our sick kids and hang out, and it was almost like we were outcasts because of what we were doing, and everybody really martyred us and talked very badly about us and acted like we were all just a bunch of drug addicts trying to get our children high, when really medical treatments failed our children and we were just searching for anything that was going to save their lives.” Years later, Riddle said, the same hospital is running studies on cannabis and its efficacy with epilepsy, dosing patients inside the hospital. “All of the things that I was punished for and martyred for are now acceptable guidelines,” she said. “And Landon now is going to celebrate seven years cancer-free this year, which also will mark five years past any medical treatment, which is what the medical community considers cured. So Landon will be cleared medically this year and is the first and only child to have successfully survived childhood leukemia without the treatment.”

Producing medicine Riddle tried just about every cannabis product on the market. “Finally, I switched over to solely doing the cannabis oil, which is a thick, black oil. That is just a reduction of the whole plant. And so Landon would take one oil for his CBD and then one oil for his THC up until I created my product line,” Riddle said. “The whole reason I created it, it’s called Landon’s Health Hut, obviously for a reason, because I was being literally robbed. I was paying $2,000 a month for his CBD that wasn’t even including his THC. So, essentially, his first year of cannabis therapy treatment cost me over $25,000. And I was a single mom

with a sick and dying child. I had to leave my family and my support.” So she started planting her own seeds and growing, eventually founding Landon’s Health Hut in order to bring high-quality cannabis medicine to patients. “Now I have farms with acres and acres and acres that I’ve provided genetics to because back then, there was only one company putting out this CBD and they were not allowing anybody else to do it. They weren’t going to share. There was a waitlist that you had to put your child on. You had to move to Colorado, become a Sierra resident, get the medical card, and then go on a waitlist for a year, and sometimes it was over a year. And your child is suffering this whole time,” she said. “So I created Landon’s Health and started doing it myself and offering an organic, potent and, most importantly, affordable option for parents out there that we’re looking to treat their children with CBD. I was one of the first people to start a CBD product line. I’ve owned it since 2014, and so, back then, that was a whole other path of martyrdom where everybody was, ‘Oh, it’s a snake oil and CBD is fake and it doesn’t really do anything.’ It was a very trying time and now flash-forward, everybody and their mom, including Oprah Winfrey, has a CBD product line. Back then, they talked mad shit about us, that we were out to hurt the industry, that we were bamboozling people and selling snake oil. And so it was a very difficult journey to down that road as well, but I knew that these parents were being taken advantage of, much as I was. It can be very, very expensive to purchase this oil, and if it’s something that your child literally depends on for quality of life, it really puts you in a very bad

position and makes you feel like you are a bad parent if you cannot afford it. And so should my child’s life not be saved because of my financial status?” Riddle said she still owes $50,000 for the first round of traditional cancer treatment but has been able to blaze a trail so future families do not have to contend with the same ordeal, whether it is with their child or another loved one. “We’ve been very successful, as we have 30-something states now with some type of cannabis law, whether it’s CBD or THC or re c re ational. So it has been a long five years, but it’s obvio u s l y Riddle been very successful. A nd we’ve been able to save a lot of lives,” Riddle said. “And that’s really where it comes down to and now being able to put out genetics and to allow people to grow their own and to process their own and to really take not only their health care but their child’s or their wife’s or their husband’s or their grandmother’s health care into their own hands and not be at the mercy of pharmacology.”

All of the things that I was punished for and martyred for are now acceptable guidelines.

Careful leader By chance, Stephanie Mathis met Sierra Riddle at a convention. The dispensary she and her husband own, Steve’s Greens Cannabis + Wellness, carries some of her products in a state that, until recently, treated her like a criminal and made her keep certain aspects of her life locked down to protect her daughter and stepchildren. “I’ve never been able to be an activist because running a business, for one. My husband ended up getting full custody of his kids, so we had fulltime stepmom. And I had also been in a variety of nonprofits, if I want to name-drop them,” Mathis said. “I’ve been a Girl Scout leader for years and am a 13-year Girl Scout with my Gold

Award. I didn’t really want to be out there in a public sense on supporting cannabis because it was scary. And plus the fear that someone’s going to turn you in and my husband losing custody of his kids. Of course, we wanted to have a kid, and then once my kid came around, even the possibility of someone turning you in and losing your own kid, it’s just terrifying. Even opening the CBD store; I was so hesitant to put out publicly that I was opening a CBD store. What if they find out? What if they tell me I can’t be a Girl Scout leader anymore? What are the parents going to think? This Girl Scout leader now is running a dispensary or running a CBD store, which is basically the next thing to having a dispensary. So it was very, very terrifying. I’ve always considered myself an advocate and just very much appreciate what all the activists in this state have done over the years because I was never in a position where I could be publicly vocal about it.” That all has changed since the passage of State Question 788. Mathis’ stepchildren are now adults, and her daughter just turned 10 years old. And while she has left a leadership role in the Girl Scouts, incidentally over a cannabis sign she purchased, her daughter is now active in the organization and sold cookies outside Steve’s Greens earlier this year. “I always said, ‘I’m going to have that kid. That’s going to be my kid. Once my dispensary’s open, my kid’s going to be the kid selling Girl Scout cookies in front on 4/20,’” Mathis said. “I feel like that fear is no longer there. So I’m pretty comfortable talking about being a parent. You do what you gotta do because your kids come first, and even with employment, I’ve had to stop smoking I don’t know how many times to get a job or to do what I have to do to make sure my family’s supported. It is a double life that you have to live. And that fear; I still find myself looking over my shoulder. I’ve walked into my store, like, ‘Man, it smells like weed in here.’ But that’s okay! It’s just imbedded in your head to look over your shoulder.”

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CONSUMERS MEDICINE OR MARKETING? Is the distinction between sativa and indica still valid? What patients should consider in their cannabis selections. By Dr. Steven Ross, MD Indica or sativa? This is often the first question that medical cannabis users are asked when they enter the dispensary. It is helpful for the patient and the dispensary to know if the patient’s condition requires effects such as intense pain relief and sedation or mood-enhancing products that support energetic activity and focus. To many users, there is no doubt that these different effects are real. They feel it, and that is what matters. But what is the science behind the difference between indicas and sativas? What is the actual basis for these effects? We should start with where the terms originated. Centuries ago, botanists noted a different morphology for cannabis plants. Some were short and bushy with fat leaves. These were termed indica and grew in colder climates. Others were tall and rangy with narrow leaves, were termed sativa and grew in warmer climates. Those plants originally called sativa are now modern-day hemp. Meanwhile, what are now called sativas in the dispensary are simply more narrow leaf varieties of indicas. Then, to add to the confusion, these plants are now hybridized. Confusing and unscientific? Yes. Useful anyway? Not really. The primary problem with this classification system for therapy is there is no molecular basis. We all agree that Dr. Steven Ross, MD | Photo Alexa Ace

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the primary molecules in cannabis that cause the effects are THC and CBD. However, there are no differences in the amount of CBD and THC based on the indica/sativa/hybrid classification. Some will claim indica has more THC. Others claim the same thing for sativa. The truth from the lab is that there is no difference. How can the effects be so dif-

ferent while the molecules causing the effects are exactly the same? There are three possible answers. One, it isn’t the CBD and THC that cause the variation in effects; it is the terpenes. Terpenes give cannabis its aroma and have some effect. Some terpenes such as myracene are sedating. Others, such as limonene, appear to lift mood. Yet this does not explain the sensation of indica versus sativa. Most studies show that the terpene content of cannabis does not vary between indica and sativa. While terpenes have effects, the classification does not capture those effects. Second, there could be an unknown factor present in these plants that accounts for the effects. Since cannabis has been analyzed in great detail at this point, this would seem unlikely. There have not been any distinct molecules found in indica or sativa to explain the difference, but science has been surprised by the unknown many times, so the idea cannot be completely excluded. Finally, there is the power of suggestion. Our brains and bodies have incredible abilities in the face of prominent suggestion. For example, in a study, people were given placebo pain medication and told it was morphine and had pain relief. They were then given naloxone (an opiate reversal agent). Without even knowing that they received naloxone, the placebo effect was reversed. This shows that their own bodies released an opiate in response to the suggestion of the placebo. It is very plausible that

people given a medication like cannabis known to have euphoric effects could be susceptible to the suggestion. The patient would feel these euphoric effects as either mood uplifting or sedating if told that is what will happen. The euphoria of cannabis combined with the power of suggestion to release endogenous (within our body) molecules could explain much of the difference. On the research front, there is a clear move away from this indica/sativa terminology. “Chemovars” is now the preferred term. A chemovar is a profile of the content and amount of the active molecules within the plant. The cannabis user can see the chemovar and know the expected effects. It is anybody’s guess if this more specific term makes the jump into the dispensaries and the market for medical cannabis consumers. The benefit is a more complete guide for the user so the effects can be detailed. The downside is that the simplicity of the idea that the appearance of the plant can be a quick guide to the effects that you feel will go away. Marketing and familiarity are strong forces. It will be a likely be a long time before the indica/sativa classification goes away. For the medical cannabis user, the best guide is knowledge. It is a waste of time and negative energy to try to debate with people using these terms. On the other hand, it can be a waste of your time, money and potential beneficial effect to buy products based on a false classification system, a system that doesn’t give a proper indication of the effects the active ingredients will cause. It is far better to consider the effects you desire and then check the cannabinoid and terpene profile. Then you will see if the product is likely to meet your needs.

DR. STEVEN ROSS, MD Dr. Steven Ross is a physician who has practiced and taught medicine in several countries worldwide and is now a practicing cannabis clinician and founder of MMDOKC in Oklahoma City. He has a passion for assisting patients with cannabis recommendations and guidance for medical use.

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CONSUMERS TERPENE TIME Extract dives deep into the science of terpenes. By Matt Dinger Cannabis beginners have undoubtedly heard the word “terpene” bandied about in their exploration of the plant. But what the hell are those? “The simple version is that terpenes are the building blocks of essential oils or other flavors,” said David Heldreth, chief science officer at True Terpenes, a Portland, Oregon, company that produces terpene blends from noncannabis sources. “A terpene is actually just a hydrocarbon, which is an oil. The most likely thing that people would associate the terpene with that doesn’t have any background with cannabis would most likely be an essential oil. “That’s the easiest way to reference for most people because most people have used lavender, and lavender contains the terpenes, primarily anyway, linalool and myrcene, and basically that’s why lavender or lavender essential oil smells and tastes the way it does; that flowery tone is primarily linalool, which makes up most of its oil.” David Heldreth is the chief science officer at True Terpenes. | Photo provided

A borrowed cannabis metaphor Heldreth uses is that cannabinoids are the gas pedal and the steering wheel is the terpenes. However, the two most common are beta-caryophyllene and myrcene. “Beta-caryophyllene is actually the terpene that drug dogs smell for. It’s not CBD and it’s not THC because otherwise sometimes they wouldn’t hit it. Beta-caryophyllene is the compound they actually smell for, or betacaryophyllene oxide, more correctly. … Beta-caryophyllene is also, as far as we know currently, it’s the only terpene that acts on the cannabinoid system. Beta-caryophyllene acts on the CB-2 receptor director,” Heldreth said. “So far, it’s the only terpene that’s been shown to do that. So that’s why caryophyllene is so good, even not from cannabis, for certain things. There’s old wives’ tales about clove for toothaches. Scientific studies have shown — I’m not just saying — basically a lot of that is because the caryophyllene is acting on the CB-2 receptor, which then deadens the nerve pain. And since caryophyllene is in all cannabis, people believe that that is part of the reason.” Myrcene is the second most prevalent terpene found in current strains of cannabis. “It’s pretty much in most varieties. I have a few varieties that I’ve seen that don’t contain myrcene. There are, definitely. It’s just that it’s most common, and I believe part of that is due to prohibition personally, because obviously you can breed for anything. That’s kind of the other thing. As far as we know, there is no linkage between various cannabinoids and terpenes. It’s just that humans breed for specific things,” Heldreth said. “Again, science is still so new in this space, but myrcene is what’s responsible for a lot of the heavy effects, the more down,

what people refer to as ‘couch-lock’ I guess is the term, and myrcene is responsible for a lot of that. And I believe that narcotic type of effect, the ‘high’ if you will, that type of effect is what people were breeding this plant for, at least in the underground scene, which is where most of the breeding is occurring. So they were breeding for a specific effect. Not that there weren’t other effects, but they were after one thing, and so, as such, due to that, we’ve had this kind of overexpression of that particular phenotype and genotype because that’s what the market was after. So I think that, as legalization is occurring, that’s opening up because we don’t always want to feel that. Sometimes we want to be awake but have some of that feeling, or a piece of it, so that’s why having that diversity of terpenes is important because myrcene is great for some feelings, but sometimes you need to be awake.” Conversely, the terpenes that tend to provide energetic feelings are ones like alpha-pinene and limonene. “Those can be touchy for people who are overenergetic, but it is helpful for some people,” Heldreth said. “Rosemary is often used in things for aromatherapy or lotions or shampoos even for morning time. And I believe the largest reason for that is that it contains things like alpha-pinene, which are energetic. Rosemary is primarily eucalyptol and alpha-pinene, which creates that sort of uplifting stimulating type of effect. With an energetic terpene like limonene and then something similar with that like alpha-pinene, it might be a little much for some people. I know people who, for example, Durban Poison may be a little too strong for them, unless it’s the morning time, but I think the same thing goes for coffee. Everyone’s so in-

Laboratory employees isolate and test terpenes at True Terpenes, based in Seattle. | Photo provided

dividual as well in terms of how these compounds affect them. “One that I think is interesting is terpinolene. Depending on what it’s used in combination with, [it] can be kind of either/or. For example, terpinolene for some reason when used in combination with things that have some pinene, some of the limonene, tends to give people some of that racy, energetic feeling. But whenever a small amount of myrcene or linalool is added, but still terpinolene is the dominant profile, it has a completely different effect.” He said there are “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of terpenes. “That’s why there’s so many different flavors in cannabis in the broader world in general,” he said. “Cannabis tends to produce more terpenes in a diversity, more individual terpenes, than other plants. … There’s hundreds and hundreds of different ones you can get in a particular cannabis plant versus maybe 10 in some basil or peppermint or lavender.” Though terpenes exist in other plants, cannabis is at the forefront of a lot of the research. Heldreth suspects but is not certain that cannabis leads the plant world when it comes to terpene diversity. “Science is kind of scraping at the edges of some of this, not just in cannabis, but in plants. Every year, there’s another paper that comes out that shows more terpene diversity because the testing data gets better,” he said. “So I would say my belief is that currently, there probably isn’t, but I’d hate to say there isn’t because science always proves in the long run.”

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COMMON CANNABIS TERPENES CARYOPHYLLENE Aroma: spicy Properties: anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal Common Uses: insomnia, muscle spasms, pain relief

LINALOOL Aroma: floral Properties: anti-anxiety, anti-epileptic, anti-psychotic, pain killing Common Uses: depression, convulstions, insomnia, pain relief

HUMULENE Aroma: earthy Properties: anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor effects Common Uses: appetite suppression, cancer, infections, pain relief

MYRCENE Aroma: citrus, cloves Properties: relaxing, sedating Common Uses: inflammation, insomnia, spasms, pain

LIMONENE Aroma: bitter citrus Properties: anti-anxiety, anti-cancer Common Uses: digestion, gallstones, liver detoxicification, weight loss, sleep aid

PINENE Aroma: pine Properties: anti-depressant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial Common Uses: asthma, bronhitis, cancer, depression, memory, mental alertness

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LIFESTYLE An infused Bananas Foster milkshake created by Chef Tony Freitas | Photo Alexa Ace

COOLED CANNABIS Chef Tony Freitas offers up an infused Bananas Foster milkshake recipe perfect for the last days of summer. By Tony G. Freitas Sr. With this Okie summertime and its accompanying heat waves, it is always important to think about cool, refreshing drinks that will heighten taste buds. No pun intended. Even though this beverage is infused, more importantly, it uses all clean ingredients. While this milkshake is still packed with an abundance of sugars, I find that my body can process these plant-based clean sugars much easier than most unclean drinks and desserts. The mission Go Green and Get Clean means that if we are going to indulge in a big, sugary

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treat, then we should do everything possible to clean it up so our body is not slowed down as much. As an added bonus this month, there are three recipes in one. This infused coconut oil recipe is one of my favorites and most consistently used in all my dishes. The Bananas Foster syrup is one I have used in so many culinary creations from shakes and sundaes to a topping to finish a cake or other dessert. This syrup was inspired by one of my favorite French flambé dishes, and it is amazingly delicious to just eat a spoonful by itself.

When all that goodness meets a coconut milkshake, there is an incredible combination of amazing and clean plants. For even healthier alternatives, drizzle one tablespoon of syrup over a fresh sliced banana with some pecans sprinkled on top. Adding it to a hemp protein shake with some ice and coconut milk will give you a much lower dose of sugar but just enough to kill a sweet tooth craving. One of my special anti-inflammatory ingredients here is the turmeric, which is an ingredient that most people think they dislike. The confusion arises because this root is one of several ingredients used in curry dishes. However, when properly seasoned, it is an amazingly tasty ingredient that creates a delicious chai-type spiced flavor. I have used turmeric in all my pumpkin-spiced recipes for a while now and find so much more depth in the flavor profile. The best part is its amazing phytonutritional (plant-based nutrient) benefits. It contains curcumin and has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits that have been thought to help everything from arthritis to skin issues and might have the potential to help prevent heart disease. Personally, I try to use turmeric daily to help my pain issues, and I have found additional benefits for my gut and related brain fog issues. If you struggle with any related symptoms, I recommend you drink turmeric tea daily, as it is a great replacement for various inflammatory sugary drinks many tend to consume these days. I know some of you will look at this recipe and think, “This has coconut and turmeric, and I dislike both,” or

you might already know your household or guests will not ever drink this if they know what is in it. To that, I say follow one of my most important chef rules: Never tell people what is in the dish until after they have tried it. Never! When people ask, just say something to the effect of, “This is a delicious Bananas Foster milkshake,” intentionally withholding any common ingredients people believe they dislike. When they talk about how good it is, ask them what they taste and gently surprise them that they are actually drinking something with green and clean ingredients. I promise you and your guests will not be disappointed by this infused, nonalcoholic beverage. Green & Clean Gourmet Chefs offers private chef services, nutritional coaching, catered cooking events and private parties in homes and businesses. Follow Chef Tony on Facebook (facebook.com/greenandcleanchefs) and Instagram (@greencheftony). He participates in a multitude of local events, including the upcoming Tulsa GreenGrow Expo Sept. 27-29.

Mon - Sat 10am - 6pm 3023 E. Waterloo Road Edmond, OK 73034

405-657-2771 okcgrowersupply.com okcgrower@gmail.com

E S T I M AT E FOR CANNABINOIDS C A L C U L ATO R : 1 5% T H C 10g x 1000 = 10,000 15% x 10,000 = 1,500 1500/60 tablespoons = 25 mg THC per tablespoon of oil 30 tablespoons x 25 mg = 450 mg total THC in syrup 200 mg/6 servings = 33 mg THC per milkshake

HAPPY HOUR SPECIAL!

Sweet Coconut Oil Infusion Ingredients 10 grams ground dried cannabis flower (taste preference of fruity cannabinoid profile) 32 fluid ounces coconut oil Small pinch of orange zest

| Photo bigstock.com

Directions 1. Decarb the cannabis flower by heating in an oven, covered, for 30 minutes at 240 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Place the coconut oil in a slow-cooker on the warm setting. (I don’t recommend the low setting, as it tends to be too hot and slightly burn the oil and herbs.) Let it warm for 30 minutes before adding the other ingredients. 3. Mix all of the ingredients into the oil and cook the mixture on the warm setting for two hours. 4. Strain the herbs from the oil using a cheesecloth. 5. Store the oil in a mason jar in a cool, dark place. The infusion generally lasts more than six months.

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Bananas Foster Syrup Ingredients 2 cups infused coconut oil 1/2 cup water 3/4 cup Grade A pure maple syrup 1/2 cup coconut sugar 1/2 cup raw cane sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ginger (powder) or | Photo bigstock.com 1/4 teaspoon fresh raw ginger 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (powder) or 1/4 teaspoon fresh raw turmeric root 1 teaspoon pure vanilla 2-3 bananas Directions 1. Using a double boiler, add all liquids and bananas to the pan and bring the mixture to a slow, rolling boil. Slowly whip the mixture with a whisk throughout the cooking process to maintain a slow boil. 2. Slowly whisk in all dry ingredients and continue to stir. 3. Boil the mixture slowly for approximately 15-20 minutes until a mediumdark caramel color is achieved. Consult any caramel sauce recipe for additional tips on making this type of syrup. 4. Cool the syrup and store it in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

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SHOW US YOUR GROW! We want photos of your cannabis plants growing or flowering. Your photos could be featured on Extract’s social media accounts or in Extract, our glossy medicinal cannabis magazine.

Bananas Foster Milkshake Ingredients 2 cups plain coconut milk ice cream 1/2 cup Bananas Foster syrup 1/2 cup coconut milk or coconut cream | Photo Alexa Ace 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla Add additional cinnamon, ginger and turmeric to the shake according to your personal tastes and/or finish the drink by adding kief to this mixture of spices and sprinkle a bit on the top of each glass (optional). Directions 1. Using a blender, combine all the ingredients and mix them to a desired consistency. 2. As always, taste the mixture first and add other ingredients to customize the recipe for your personal tastes.

Submit your photos to mdinger@okgazette.com. Submission must include high-resolution photos, your name, location of grow (city), strain name and if it is a personal or commercial grow.

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