NUG Magazine Issue 05

PUBLISHER’SLETTER Thank you for picking up yet another issue of

FEB 2010 VOL. 2 ISSUE #2 NUG Magazine Staff: Publisher: Ben G. Rowin

Associate Publisher: Brandon Lee Editor: Dion Markgraaff Associate Editor: M.J. Smith Copy Editor: Hashley Events Editor: Cletus “KRON” Greathouse Music Editors: Ras Mike, Oscar Castillo Fashion Editor: Ready Rube Photographer: William West Calendar Editor: Courtney P. Videographer: Chris Gabriel Contributors: “The Guru”, Pat Hegarty, Terry Martinez, Dion Markgraaff, Fred Gardner, Mike DeBartolo, Kim Twolan, Darcy Stoddard, Terrie Best, William West, Eugene Davidovich, Donna Lambert, James Dean Stacy, Colby Benham, Ava Madison, Scott Whytsell, Rocky Neptun, Amelia Amore Green Reefer Comic by. Joshua Boulet Sales Director: Ben G. Rowin Advertising Sales Reps: Dion Markgraaff, Cletus Greathouse, Eugene Davidovich, Brom Richey, James Dean Stacy Art Director: Ian Rie

San Diego’s Original Cannabis Publication! February is here and love is in the air! Check out our travel section for some heady ideas on how to celebrate Valentine’s Day, locally or abroad. As always, Kim of Mother Earth Co-op has provided us with a month’s worth of HOT and tasty recipes. Looking for something to do? Check out our events calendar. There are a lot of great bands and DJ’s playing in SD this month, so go out and support local music!

We are beginning a new Patient Profile column, this month’s hero…Rudy Reyes. If you are, or know of a local patient who deserves to be recognized, contact me at info@nugmag.com for the possibility to be included in a future issue of NUG. Since our first issue, we have been proud supporters of the San Diego Chapter of Americans for Safe Access. We are pleased to announce that beginning with this February issue we are now supporting SoCal NORML as well! We here at NUG are proud of both of these organizations and respect what they each do for the medical marijuana community. Check out both of their websites and take note of their events and causes that we can all help support with our time and efforts.

Americans For Safe Access - www.safeaccesssd.org SoCal NORML - www.normlsc.org We hope you enjoy this issue of NUG and we want to hear from you. All of the comments we have received make our hearts warm. You can send comments and letters to the editors to submit@ nugmag.com We are really excited about the future and the many terrific articles we have scheduled for our upcoming issues, more activism, more culture, so keep picking us up! Stay informed, stay active and most of all stay medicated!

-Ben G. Rowin

Finance Manager: M.J. Smith

CONTENTS

Distribution/Subscriptions: Beau’s Distribution Service info@beausdistribution.com NUG Magazine Staff Contact Information: 9880 N. Magnolia Ave #168 Santee, Ca 92071 (619) 616-4961 For general information or to reach our Publisher: info@nugmag.com For all art/design information: art@nugmag.com For all editorial related information: dion@nugmag.com For submissions: submit@nugmag.com NUG Magazine is published and distributed by NUG Magazine LLC. All contents are for entertainment and educational purposes only and are intended for mature audiences. We are not responsible for any actions taken by our readers nor do we condone any illegal activity. Advertisers are responsible for their own ads and content. All opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily of the magazine. All submissions become our property and may be used for publication. At times we may use materials placed in the public domain. If you own it let us know and we will acknowledge you. Reproduction of any content is encouraged if you get permission from our Publisher.

All contents copyright. 2010

master Kush grown in canna coco

10

26

50

13

29

54

16

38

19

41

22

45

\\:A.D.D. NEWS

\\:MAKING CENTS

\\:ACTIVISM

\\:PATIENT PROFILE

\\:NUG TIMES

24

\\:READER SUBMISSIONS

\\:MMJ TASKFORCE

\\:CULTURE WAR

\\:COOKING

\\:GROW

\\:SCIENCE & HEALTH

48

\\:MOVIE REVIEWS

\\:MUSIC : SLEEPING GIANT

\\:MUSIC : RHYTHM

58

\\:RESTAURANTS

61

\\:TRAVEL

64

\\:PRODUCT REVIEWS

66

\\:EVENTS

“LAPD Chief: Pot Clinics Not Plagued By Crime”

Excerpt from story by Tony Castro, dailynews.com Despite neighborhood complaints, most medical marijuana clinics are not typically the magnets for crime that critics often portray, according to Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck.

“Banks are more likely to get robbed than medical marijuana dispensaries,” Beck said at a recent meeting with editors and reporters of the Los Angeles Daily News.

Opponents of the pot clinics complain that they attract a host of criminal activity to the neighborhoods, including robberies. But a report that Beck recently had the department generate looking at citywide robberies in 2009 found that simply wasn’t the case.

“I have tried to verify that because that, of course, is the mantra,” said Beck. “It doesn’t really bear out.”

In 2009, the LAPD received reports of 71 robberies at the more than 350 banks in the city, compared to 47 robberies at medical marijuana facilities which number at least 800, the chief said in a follow up interview, in which he provided statistics from the report.

Beck said he had asked for a comparison of robberies at the two types of businesses because of the growing public outcry -- as the City Council debates tighter restrictions on clinics -- that those facilities have become an increasing target for crime.

He said he thought a comparison of banks and medical marijuana dispensaries was appropriate because of their similarities as potential targets -- both have large 10 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

sums of cash and are often heavily fortified.

Calif. High Court Strikes Down Medical Pot Limits Excerpt from story by (AP) – San Francisco

A unanimous California Supreme Court has struck down a law that sought to impose limits on the amount of marijuana a medical patient can legally possess.

The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that state lawmakers were wrong to change provisions of the voterapproved Proposition 215.

The 1996 measure allowed for patients with a doctor’s recommendation to possess an unspecified amount of marijuana.

The Legislature, seeking to give law enforcement guidance on when to make marijuana possession arrests, mandated in 2003 that each patient could have a maximum of 8 ounces of dried marijuana.

The high court says only voters can change amendments that they’ve added to California’s constitution through the initiative process.

CA Cops Must Return 60 Pounds of Medical Marijuana By: Don Duncan, Americans for Safe Access

The outcome of legal victories

by Americans for Safe Access (ASA) could be seen again last week, when Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William Sterling ruled that the California Highway Patrol

(CHP) must return sixty pounds of medical cannabis confiscated during a traffic stop. ASA successfully sued the CHP to stop illegal confiscation of medical cannabis in 2005; and secured the right to return of property, regardless of federal law, when the US Supreme Court refused to overturn our victory in Garden Grove v. Superior Court in 2008.

The defendant in this week’s case argued he was transporting the confiscated medicine for his collective in Venice. The judge disagreed with an expert witness from the CHP, who argued that only a Primary Caregiver can transport medicine under state law. The judge acknowledged that any member of a collective or cooperative could transport medicine on behalf of other members.

Cities and counties still working to develop and implement regulations for medical cannabis should take note of decisions like this, which acknowledge the broad immunities offered to collectives and cooperatives under the Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420).

Patients involved in collective cultivation can maintain storefronts to provide medicine to members (and be reimbursed for doing so), grow medicine, possess enough for members, and transport it. Local regulations should respect these collective immunities – not try to roll them back with onerous restrictions.

New Jersey Legislature Approves Medical Marijuana Bill Excerpt from story by CNN

The New Jersey legislature voted Monday to make that state the

14th in the country to approve marijuana for medicinal use, pending the governor’s signature. Gov. Jon Corzine, who leaves office next week, has said he would sign the bill.

Two years after the bill was introduced to the legislature, the New Jersey Compassionate Medical Marijuana Act was passed by the state Assembly in a 48-14 vote. It received Senate approval just hours later in a 25-13 vote.

According to the news release from the state Senate, the bill would allow doctors to give to patients with state-issued identification cards prescriptions to buy marijuana legally from registered alternative treatment centers. The identification cards would be issued by the Department of Health and Senior Services.

Ladies & Marijuana – The New “NORML Women’s Alliance” Excerpt from story by Paul Armentano, NORML

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the nation’s oldest and most well respected grassroots marijuana law reform organization, is pleased to announce the launch of the NORML Women’s Alliance.

The NORML Women’s Alliance is a nonpartisan coalition of prominent, educated, successful, and geographically diverse professional women who believe that cannabis prohibition is a self-destructive and hypocritical policy that undermines the American family, sends a mixed and false message to our young people, and destroys the cher-

ished principles of personal liberty and local self-government.

Says NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre: “The prominent role of women in the effort to end marijuana prohibition is pivotal, necessary, and long overdue.

According to recent national opinion polls by Gallup and others, the dramatic rise in the public’s support of marijuana law reform is being driven primarily by an increase in support among America’s women.

The NORML Women’s Alliance will bring a contemporary approach to the public policy debate, and will proudly represent the interests of modern, mainstream women who believe that the negative consequences of marijuana prohibition far outweigh any repercussions from marijuana consumption itself.”

Federal Government Too Stiff on Hemp Legislation Excerpt from story by agweek.com

Not surprisingly, two North Dakota farmers have lost their appeal in an attempt to secure approval to grow industrial hemp.

50,000 letters to President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder asking them to end the status quo and let farmers grow versatile and profitable industrial hemp.

Hemp is Our History Week wants you to sign up ASAP to be contacted by our coordinators to begin planning for local Town Hall meetings to present historical data about hemp farming in your area prior to its prohibition. You will be connected to other like-minded hemp advocates that will plan the events with you and help get the word out that its time for change. And, you’ll receive coupons for hemp products as a thank you for being part of this historic movement to resume hemp farming in the U.S. Save the Date: May 17-23, 2010 is Hemp is Our History Week!

Web Site: http://www.HempIndustries.org

International Stories: British Man Jailed Due To “Speck” Of Marijuana on Shoe Excerpt from story by Jordan C. Alston, hiphopwired.com

The North Dakota Legislature in 2007 made it legal to grow the crop in the state, and Wayne Hauge and David Monson received the first two licenses. But the licenses must first be approved by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which steadfastly maintains that hemp, a cousin of marijuana, is a drug and refuses to act on the license requests.

A British man that journeyed to the most opulent city in the world has found himself up a creek without a paddle, proverbially speaking of course.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the case’s dismissal by U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland, who threw the case out of court and suggested the farmers take their case to Congress. So far, they’ve had no luck there either.

Weighing less than a whopping 0.003 grams, the particle was so small that it was not detectable with the human eye, requiring microscopic vision tools to be utilized for confirmation of the substance.

Hemp is Our History Week

Excerpt from newsletter by Hemp is Our History Coordinator Adam Eidinger A joint project of America’s leading hemp advocacy organizations, Hemp is Our History Week is looking for patriotic Americans to anchor and organize events in their hometown as part of a national grassroots, media and public education campaign.

The effort hopes to mobilize at least

Keith Brown was stopped at Dubai’s largest airport only to be detained after a search uncovered a speck of marijuana on his shoe.

After sitting in a local prison for four months, Brown was ordered to serve four years in a United Arab Emirates jail.

The UAE has strict Zero Tolerance policies for those visiting its lands, a fact that many travelers are unaware of.

An ignorant and equally unlucky traveler was given a fate resembling the one given to Brown after a search by local officials yielded three poppy seeds from a sandwich in which he had previously devoured before entering the predominately Islamic

nation.

Bolivian Government to Produce “Coca Colla” — It’s The Real Thing from Coca Leaves Excerpt from story by Glenn Church, foolocracy.com

Bolivian President Evo Morales announced that his government will come out with a carbonated drink called “Coca Colla.” Yes, it will be made from coca leaves.

Billed as an energy drink, it will appear slightly similar to Coca Cola in packaging with a red label and black swoosh. Morales hopes to produce the drink in a joint venture with a private company.

Bolivia’s new constitution recognizes coca as a “cultural heritage, a natural and renewable resource of biodiversity in Bolivia and a factor of social cohesion.”

Morales is known to regularly chew on coca leaves, even when he appears at international conferences around the world.

MAKINGCENTS

Photo: Rob Henak www.henak.net/henakhome/drugtax.htm

California’s Public Safety Committee Approves Legalized Marijuana Bill Source: www.csmonitor.com Medical Marijuana use in CA is already legal, but the new bill removes existing statues defining it as a controlled substance and makes it legal to possess, sell, and cultivate by those 21 & older, but with a tax imposed to fund drug abuse programs.

Won by a 4-3 committee vote, this is the first time a legislative committee in CA has approved legalized pot.

A tax of $50/oz is expected to raise over $1b annually according to a state tax board assessment.

Public support is at 84%. Tough economic times may be influencing state and city reconsiderations towards pot as CA’s budget deficit is a recordsmashing $60B. NORML’s Paul Armentano argues taxing and regulating it is better than banning it and battling drug cartels.

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 13

As activists, we start to see which grassroots methods work and which do not. One of the most effective methods is going to the courthouse and supporting the persecuted members of our community. Court is very scary and technical, and if you are not a trained attorney, it can be quite a struggle. Defendants need all levels of support, and making yourself available in the courtroom gives the defendant a friend and shows the judge, media, jury, and public that we are aware of the injustices and are standing up together.

16 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

Defendants vs. Attorneys

Often defendants are fighting against their own lawyers, feeling as though they are not really being represented, are being forced into plea bargains, and that their lawyers lack the passion and fire necessary in a courtroom while simultaneously paying out retainer and representation fees. Other contributing factors are the lack of cooperation with the court system and that medical marijuana rights have not been recognized for about fourteen years. In 1996, the California voters approved the California Compassionate Use Act, also known as Proposition 215, which states, “The law removes criminal penalties for personal use possession and cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes by patients (and their designated “primary caregiver”) who have a physician recommendation or approval,” yet often the medical marijuana defense is not granted to the defendant because of the prosecutors’ manipulation of the law..

Trial by Jury

Many people do not have the ability to go to trial, and those who do often go broke going

to trial, and they will still be sentenced, with their rights taken away and freedoms lost. This battle for your life is both an emotional and a political rollercoaster. If you remember right, Jovan Jackson was thrown in jail twice while in pre-trial hearings. As a viewer at many of these hearings, it was an intense learning experience in what the prosecutors will try to say about you and your collective/co-operative; they will tear you apart for making a profit, and seem to forget the basics of business and that the money the company brings in is not illegal. Prosecutors’ like labeling defendants extreme criminals and profiteers. Supporters in the courtroom make it a lot more difficult for attorneys to lie and judges to show bias.

Media in the Courtroom

And thus, the importance of court support is it shows the court that there is a presence of people who have beliefs and values about the stakes at hand. As mainstream media catches on and becomes more accepting of our message, the truth about cannabis and court injustices are just a reporter away.

With cameras rolling inside courtrooms, prosecutors, defendants, and judges all know they are subject to scrutiny from the public and the threat of their outcry. Media coverage gives us the ability to spread public knowledge about the effects of prohibition and disregard for state law regarding the patients and cannabis community.

Crowds of people leave an impression, an image of an aware group of people fighting for justice and standing by the side

of the persecuted until the prosecutions stop. The pressure from public opinion and the push to finally legalize cannabis all-together make an impact on the ability of the prosecution to focus on these cases. Many of these contributing factors are to our benefit.

The times are changing, and in order to progress this movement, we must continue to come together in our community and stand up for our beliefs by supporting members going to battle and making changes through the judicial system and court policies.

Trial

Of the many circumstances surrounding being charged with a crime, going to trial is the most stressful. Financially, it is a minimum of $5,00020,000 for attorney fees, while going to an appellate court could cost you $100,000. You do have the right to obtain a public defender, but they are often unequipped with the knowledge of medical marijuana laws, which obviously has an effect on the proceedings; as was the case with Cletus Greathouse, who was thrown in jail for two months after an unfortunate turn of events which eventually led to him being forced into a plea bargain. There are a few well known cases coming up. Donna Lambert and Eugene Davidovich have been vocal about their stories’, meriting local and regional coverage and public sympathy. The more support, the better impression on the media and the effect of change in public opinion.

Learning Experience

Trial is also an excellent place to learn what people are being prosecuted for, reasonable or unreasonable reasons, and how you can avoid making the same mistakes. As a viewer of these events, one of the major benefits of going to a court support is the ability to see the Narcotics Task Force Officers and hear what qualifies clubs for court problems; avoiding those mistakes is a wise idea. At one case, known-undercover officer Scott Henderson AKA FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 17

Jamie Conlan was being cross-examined, and counsel was able to establish that the Narcotics Task Force was trained by the

California Narcotics Officers Association which only gave a few hours of informational training on medical marijuana. The first few sentences in the training manual

18 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

state, “…marijuana is illegal… and has no medical benefit;” which makes you wonder if they even know the law at all. Counsel was then able to establish that these officers went to training, but do not recognize the basics of the medical marijuana laws (they couldn’t remember them, didn’t know parts, etc.), yet arrest people for supposedly breaking those laws. At another court date, these undercover officers referred to the collective verification or sign-in process as “just a piece of paper [they] signed to get the stuff,” not an actual applicable agreement. They also said they didn’t read it so it

does not establish joining a collective/co-op, and then they were sold marijuana. It would be sensible for clubs to send a representative to learn about what has been said, what the defendant is going through, and to not make the same mistakes.

Conclusion

Remember that numbers count, numbers are what make a community, and with San Diego on the frontlines, we need to come together as a community and continue to fight this battle more than ever. There will be a few members who need the support; you can learn about these defendants on the news, at San Diego ASA and NORML meetings, and at NugMag.com. These trials coming up would benefit from a full courtroom of polite, respectable community members who are there to learn and support our San Diego Cannabis Freedom Fighters.

Rudy Reyes:

By: Eugene Davidovich

On October 26, 2003, the Cedar wildfire was raging through San Diego County, claiming over a dozen lives and taking with it thousands of homes. Many believe the fire caused the worse damage in the history of San Diego County. According to Wikipedia, “The Cedar Fire burned 280,278 acres (1,134.2 km2) 2,820 buildings (including 2,232 homes) and killed 15 people including one firefighter before being contained on November 3, making it the largest fire in recorded California history up to that time.”

Rudy Reyes, an Archaeology major and instructor at several local colleges was living near the Barona Indian Reservation of San Diego County on the night of the 26th.

Watching and listening to the news coverage of the fires, he had no idea that the part of San Diego County where his family lived was directly in the path of the Cedar Fire. On that night, the fire would change the direction of his life forever.

By the time Rudy realized his family’s home was facing imminent destruction from the oncoming tower of flames, he also realized the firefighters themselves had already evacuated. Rudy knew he had to act fast. Believing that his family members were still in their home and in danger, Rudy jumped in his car, rushed to the house, and managed to evacuate everyone to safety.

Once his family was safe, Rudy tried to get out of the way of the fire. Unfortunately by that time, the fire had grown exponentially stronger and Rudy found himself trapped.

His car that just a few minutes ago had run with no problems would no longer start. Rudy explained during the interview, “When I turned the keys, nothing happened. It was like the car was disabled.”

Rudy went on to explain that the nearby flames had sucked up all the usable oxygen in the area, and since all internal combustion engines require oxygen to operate, the car

wouldn’t start.

Now realizing that if he remained in his car he would surely not make it, Rudy got out, ran in to the house, and jumped in the shower in hopes the water would protect him from the imminent threat of the flames.

While standing in the shower Rudy recalled, “I looked up at the ceiling and saw that it had become fluid and covered in waves of blue flames. I knew it was time to get out, and get out fast.” After making his way out of the house and back onto the driveway, he found his car had already caught on fire and that there was only one way out of the situation; run through the fire line.

Without having much time to ponder the issue, Rudy covered his face with his hands and made his way through the tunnel of flames that appeared to have on the other side of it a safe exit. Only a few seconds into his escape, he felt his muscles tighten and “it became extremely difficult

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 19

to move my feet, what was an easy walk on a paved street on a normal day began to feel like I was walking through quicksand, I felt the elasticity in my muscles start to disappear.”

Knowing that if he stopped he surely would not make it till morning, Rudy pressed on. Minutes later he miraculously emerged on the other side of the fire, still conscious and in severe shock, yet still able to walk.

He made his way down to the road and tried to wave down the first truck he saw driving by. Shockingly Rudy describes, “The truck flashed his lights, honked the horn, and passed me without stopping.”

Rudy kept on.

As he described, what felt like an eternity later, Rudy saw another car. This time the driver pulled over, and at the sight of Rudy shouted, “Get in the back now, we have to get you to a paramedic right away.”

The Good Samaritan drove Rudy to the nearest ambulance and the paramedics eased Rudy into what turned out to be a two and a half month drug induced coma.

Rudy woke up to over 70% of his body covered in third degree burns and the realization that he now faced a lifetime of excruciating chronic pain, countless surgeries, and a body at the brink of overdose from the narcotics/pain relief medication administered to him at the hospital.

He quickly learned that the narcotics prescribed by his doctors were no longer working, and the pain became intolerable. In hopes of saving himself from a life of addiction to narcotics, Rudy listened to the recommendation of one of his doctors at the hospital and tried medical cannabis.

To his amazement, while an inpatient at the hospital, he was allowed to go outside and medicate using cannabis cigarettes in the hospital’s gazebo, as well as apply cannabis infused creams to his burns which his family brought him.

20 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

Rudy Reyes: Cont.

Once out of the hospital and in need of safe access to the only medicine that helped him live a normal life, Rudy found himself on the frontlines in San Diego County’s war like effort to eradicate access to medical cannabis. Rudy made the cause his own, and for years now has lobbied in front of the Board of Supervisors, City Council, and countless politicians for medical cannabis patients’ rights.

In 2008, Rudy’s efforts brought him to the race for San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

He ran with the San Diego Democratic Party’s endorsement against incumbent Republican Diane Jacob for her seat. Although he wasn’t successful in winning the seat his first time around, he did manage to get an unheard of 20,000+ votes.

Today, dozens of surgeries later and with the full support of the community of patients in San Diego behind him, Rudy Reyes is gearing up for another fight. He has officially announced his candidacy for San-

tee City Council in 2010. Rudy told NUG Magazine, “The City of Santee needs a change.”

In 2010 Rudy intends to bring this change, and in 2012 he intends to make another bid for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

By 2012, Rudy will have two political races behind him and years of experience in the public eye. This combined with his resilience, ambition, and dedication to the community will make him a political force to be reckoned with.

The County Board of Supervisors and Santee City Council are just the beginning of Rudy’s political aspirations. His ultimate goal, as he told NUG Magazine, is to go to Congress where he can help address national issues related to interstate travel for medical marijuana patients as well as federal medical marijuana policy.

end.

The S.E.P.T.I.C. System – Bonnie DA Mantis By: Eugene Davidovich

The fierce fight against medical marijuana in San Diego commonly referred to as Operation Green Rx that District Attorney (DA) Bonnie Dumanis has been waging for years, has resulted in thousands of San Diego citizens outraged at the fraud, waste, and abuse of power by her office.

One such outraged citizen is Marcus Boyd of Imperial Beach whose involvement in San Diego Medical Marijuana policy began with his efforts to open a collective in Imperial Beach.

Mr. Boyd, himself a medical marijuana patient, approached the Imperial Beach City Council with his request to open a collective last year.

The request was answered with an unequivocal denial and an immediate push back which included the council quickly voting in a moratorium and promising to work on the issue.

Almost a year later, Imperial Beach still has no medical marijuana regulations, and all of Mr. Boyd’s further attempts to start a dialogue with the council have landed on deaf ears.

After the 9/9/9 raids on medical marijuana collectives in San Diego, Mr. Boyd launched “The S.E.P.T.I.C. System / Bonnie DA Mantis” website (http://bonniedamantis.wordpress.com/) which has attracted attention from both the media and the community at large.

In a recent article published by San Diego City Beat, Dave Mass wrote “Patient and aspiring collective operator Marcus Boyd specifically targets Dumanis, accusing her of using televised shock and awe enforcement tactics to effectively harass and terrorize the seriously ill and dying patients.”

The S.E.P.T.I.C. System stands for San Diego Electronic Prohibition Tracking & Information Collection System, which as Mr. Boyd put it is “a central place where we can both track the prohibition/denial of safe access as well as information regarding court cases related to the prohibition of safe access in San Diego.”

22 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

PHOTO: http://bonniedamantis.wordpress.com/

In a telephone interview, with NUG Magazine, Mr. Boyd explained that the reason he started the blog was “because there is a real need to have a central location to look up the fierce fight that we are experiencing in San Diego.”

He went on to explain that the website’s purpose is twofold; first, to track the prohibition specifically related to all the San Diego County municipalities and San Diego City itself with regard to progress and legislative development of medical marijuana law. Second, the site focuses on information collection of the court cases and information pertaining to the denial of safe access for patients in San Diego.

“If it weren’t for Bonnie Dumanis, we would not have denial of safe access, which goes to the second name of the site, DA Mantis; without the DA Mantis we wouldn’t be in this mess”, Mr. Boyd explained.

More recently, Mr. Boyd’s efforts with the site have been focused on the upcoming 2010 election for San Diego County District Attorney. He launched the first public effort in San Diego to find a replacement for Bonnie Dumanis, and has already collected over $18,000 in pledges of campaign contributions for the next potential San Diego County DA. Mr. Boyd has interviewed at least a half dozen candidates and has approached dozens of attorneys encouraging them to run against Dumanis.

“She is but a county District Attorney, and the fact that this DA is doing what no other county DA is doing, stands to reason that without her we wouldn’t have this problem.”

Operation Green Rx Victim Sebastian Maselli Receives Order for Return of Property By: Eugene Davidovich

Sebastian Maselli, a founding member of the Healing Dragon Collective, suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and chronic back, knee and joint pain, all as a result of his military service with the US Marine Corps. Sebastian writes, “The Marine Corps definitely kept me in good physical shape, but at a cost.”

“While in Iraq, I was exposed to countless dangers and situations no human being should have to encounter. Medical marijuana has helped tremendously with my PTSD and it makes my back and knee pain tolerable.”

Sebastian went on to tell NUG Magazine, “I was dealing with combat related injuries and deaths at 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (IMEF), as well as the injured Marines and their families after they came home. The most important lesson I learned was compassion.”

With the recommendation of his physician, Sebastian has been using medical cannabis to successfully treat his symptoms and help deal with his daily pain.

As a founding member of the collective, he helped operate the non-profit organization in full compliance with state laws. On September 9, 2009 however, he was arrested in front of his wife and child, charged with felony possession of marijuana, subjected to interrogation and finally thrown in jail, all part of the 9/9/9 Operation Green Rx raids.

San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ Operation Green Rx is an ongoing effort in which the San Diego County’s Cross Jurisdictional Narcotics Taskforce (NTF) systematically targets, arrests, and raids medical cannabis facilities, doctors and patients. Undercover officers visit local doctors, lie about their symptoms and arm themselves with legitimate recommendations. The undercover agents then proceed to join local collectives, purchase small amounts of medicine to create a record of “buys” and then subject the members of the collective to a raid.

Sebastian was bailed out by his family shortly after his arrest, and when he came to court on the scheduled day a few weeks later, he was handed a letter and told that no charges would be filed at this time. The District Attorney’s office apparently had decided to hold off filing any charges against the 9/9/9 raid victims, as they wanted to see how the cases that were already going through the court system from their previous raids would turn out first.

Sebastian left the courthouse that day knowing that for the next two years the DA could still press charges against him.

The raid, the fear of prosecutorial discrimination and retribution by the DA, as well as the theft of his property by the NTF, did not deter Sebastian from standing up for his rights.

Sebastian researched the Americans for Safe Access website where he found a sample return of property motion as well as other related information. After a little encouragement and help from friends and family, Sebastian completed the required forms and submitted them to the San Diego Superior Court in Vista, CA. In January of this year, Sebastian went to court to argue his return of property motion. NUG Magazine caught up with Sebastian to find out how the hearing went and whether the return of property motion was granted. Sebastian writes, “I am happy to report that my motion was granted by the judge! I have a piece of paper stating that all property belonging to the ‘defendant’ is to be returned by 02/08/10.”

All of the victims of the Operation Green Rx 9/9/9 raids should demand their property returned and San Diego needs to begin holding the responsible people accountable for the continued subversion of state law and persecution of legitimate patients.

Information on the return of property motion can be found on the Americans for Safe Access Website at: http://www. safeaccessnow.org/section.php?id=187.

Jovan Jackson, Victim of Racial Discrimination and Repetitive Prosecutions By: Eugene Davidovich

Jovan Jackson of Answerdam Collective is a medical cannabis patient, navy veteran, and a victim of two Operation Green Rx raids, part of District Attorney (DA) Bonnie Dumanis’ effort to overturn Proposition 215 and eradicate safe access to medical cannabis in San Diego.

The first raid on Answerdam occurred in August 2008, the second on September 9, 2009, the same day that over a dozen other collectives were raided in San Diego.

In December 2009, Mr. Jackson was tried on charges related to the August 2008 raid and the issue went in front of a jury. All five medical marijuana counts were unanimously tossed out by the jurors. Charges related to the 9/9/9 raid have not yet been litigated.

Most people in San Diego and around the state that followed Jackson’s trial were certain the DA would not continue with the second prosecution. Dumanis’ office, however, maintains they intend to proceed with their full prosecutorial might.

Much like the first trial, Jackson intends to fight vehemently against these charges and on February 8, 2010 at his preliminary hearing for the second trial, Jackson’s Attorney Lance Rogers, will argue a motion to dismiss the case based on prosecutorial discrimination, otherwise known as a Murgia Motion.

The defense is claiming that Jackson has been deliberately singled out for prosecution on the basis of his race.

Jackson argues that the Cross Jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force (NTF) has been investigating Mr. Jackson for two years and as the motion describes, “at least ten non-black suspects actively involved in the possession, sales, distribution, and transportation of marijuana” were also investigated, yet no charges were brought forward nor were any other suspects prosecuted.

registries listing all 1,649 members of Answerdam. The only persons charged by the DA’s office are black males.”

The defense argues that in addition to the prosecutorial discrimination, the DA’s office investigations and prosecutions of medical marijuana patients are discriminatory by design. Whereas over a dozen other medical marijuana collectives were raided on 9/9/9, of those arrested, only two individuals have been prosecuted in State Court. The motion reads, “The District Attorney’s Office has offered no explanation as to why these two black men are the only persons currently being prosecuted.”

Will the judge find racism and discrimination in the DA’s office and the Narcotics Task Force?

At another hearing on February 11th, Jackson’s attorney will argue Collateral Estoppel, which is somewhat similar to ‘Double Jeopardy’. That day, the court will be asked to consider that a “later prosecution will necessarily entail a grossly absurd and unjust result”, as Mr. Jackson has already been vindicated of all charges related to operating a legal medical marijuana collective.

Finally, on February 19th, Mr. Jackson will go to court for the third time this month to argue a Return of Property Motion. The defense will request that the Judge order the return of all property stolen from Answerdam Collective by the NTF during the August 2008 raid.

Many thousands of concerned citizens in San Diego are hoping the Judge will see through the vindictive and repetitive prosecutorial discrimination and dismiss the second case against him, as well as return the stolen property.

NUG Magazine caught up with Mr. Jackson a couple weeks ago at Answerdam Collective where he said, “DA Dumanis and her team of lawyers and narcotics officers seem to be dedicated to overturning state law, but I will fight as long as it takes for both mine and Answerdam Collective members’ rights.”

The motion goes on to read, “When Answerdam was raided in 2008 and 2009, non-black individuals were detained at the scene. However, only the black members were arrested and prosecuted.

Law enforcement obtained detailed

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 23

//ReaderSUBMISSION

PHOTO: OLD MAN

Update from

San Diego

by James Dean Stacy

By the time you read this, I will have gone through a motions hearing where we have asked to get all the discovery, challenged the warrants, and asked that I get to use my medicine. If it is passed Feb. 3rd, then I have had an evidentiary hearing to show that the Movement in Action Collective was in compliance with state law.

Since I’m being charged by the Feds in contravention of what Pres. Obama said, I’m hoping that the next update will be that he has stopped this madness.

Obama said that they would not preempt state law in a memo dated May 20th, 2009.

It has been over four months since I have been allowed to use medical marijuana and it has started to take its toll on me. I have put on 20lbs from the stress and have ground out one filling. I used medical marijuana for chronic pain. The Marinol pills are very expensive and not as effective. I applied for my state card, and you should know that you need two forms of ID when you go.

NUG Magazine and Cannabis Planet TV have started to have parties at the Cannabis Resource Center located at 1050 S. Santa Fe Ave. Vista Ca. 92084 on Saturday nights starting at 7:00pm. In February the parties will be on the 6th and 20th with a special all day concert on the 13th. For more details, check out the calendar page on www.movementinaction.org. Chef Mike from the show has committed to coming 24 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

out and teaching cannabis cooking, as well as talking to people about the show. We hope to be able to contribute more about what we are doing here in San Diego.

Not everyone knows that I teach martial arts and have been training for over 21 years.

I give special discounts to medical marijuana patients. If you saw the movie Book of Ely you have seen some of the styles I teach. The movies 300, Matrix and Bourne Identity have fights that used the styles of Kali, Silat and even Jeet Kune Do that I teach. You can get more information at www.sifujames.com

We are now in a new decade and the wind has started to blow in our direction. The real facts of marijuana are starting to come out into the light of day, and the prohibitionist who keep yelling lies at the top of their lungs are being seen as the misinformed people they are. I ask everyone to come out of the cannabis closet and let the world know that marijuana is your medicine of choice. Until we make marijuana mainstream, we will continue to be attacked, ridiculed and arrested. We must register to vote, show up for jury duty, and elect only the people who support our movement.

The last thing I would ask is that you write your elected officials and demand that they follow state law or respect the rights of the states. It is only through our votes and voices that they will listen.

Reporting from the City of San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force

Kim Twolan –Task Force Collective Director Representative On December 8, 2009 at the San Diego City Council meeting, the San Diego Medical Marijuana (MMJ) Task Force presented to the City Council our recommendations that were published in last month’s NUG Magazine.

An enormous amount of gratitude is expressed to my fellow Task Force members for all their hard work and dedication on this MMJ history changing City Task Force. I’m proud of everything we have managed to accomplish so far in such a small period of time!

On January 5th, 2010 the San Diego City Council voted in favor of passing the recommendations of the San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force to the Land Use and Housing Committee for their input. The vote was 7-1 in favor of the issue. The no

26 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

vote was cast by Councilmember Carl DiMaio. Mr. DiMaio stated at the beginning of the council meeting that he believed California Proposition 215 provided clear regulations regarding medical marijuana and that there was no need to provide further clarification for patients and caregivers.

The City Council accepted the report and passed it to the Land Use and Housing (LU&H) Committee (chaired

by Councilmember Gloria). It is common that zoning issues are referred to the LU&H Committee for input. The LU&H Committee will have the opportunity to properly vet the recommendations. By March, the LU&H Committee will provide feedback to the City Council on the proposed recommendations and hopefully propose to amend the Zoning Code to allow for safe access and regulations of medical cannabis collectives.

At the beginning of the council session, representatives from Americans for Safe Access (ASA) spoke during public comment to encourage the City Council to pass the regulations.

Although the item was closed for public comment since it was heard at the previous meeting, there were numerous medical cannabis patients and concerned citizens from a variety of

local organizations including SD ASA, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), and NORML who came to demonstrate their support for the City’s Medical Marijuana Task Force recommendations for safe access and clear sensible regulations.

A complete ordinance regulating medical marijuana collectives will go up for vote before the end of 2010.

MMJ patients require clarity and safe access.

I respectfully urge you to e-mail the San Diego City Council members and genuinely thank them for their dedicated hard work on the medical marijuana issue. Please share with them how medical marijuana has benefited you or a loved one, and advise them to rapidly bring the issue out of the Land Use and Housing Committee and back to the City Council for a positive vote for safe access.

For your convenience, listed below are the email addresses of San Diego Council Members. donnafrye@sandiego.gov martiemerald@sandiego.gov kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov toddgloria@sandiego.gov anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov carldemaio@sandiego.gov

benhueso@sandiego.gov sherrilightner@sandiego.gov I challenge each and everyone one of you to take responsibility and help educate the public with MMJ facts and how MMJ benefits your life at every speaking possibility you have.

The next agenda item for the MMJ Task Force is to recommend the guidelines for the City of San Diego Police Department for enforcement regarding medical marijuana. The Task Force will be working in conjunction with SDPD, which I look particularly forward to.

I also strongly advocate you to be there and show your support for the MMJ Task Force by attending the planned meetings from 9:00 to 11:00 AM in the Committee Room Friday February 5 Friday February 19

Downtown San Diego, January 5……A seemingly dysfunctional San Diego City Council voted 7 to 1 at its first meeting of the New Year to stall many more months deciding the mere basics of regulating medical marijuana dispensaries by rejecting the modest recommendations of its own task force.

The transparency of its motives in setting up the task force rather than having staff prepare ordinances shows its smoke and mirrors approach to the issue - pretend to do something while an organizing effort of the usual NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) suspects gets under way. Someone named Grandma posted a right-on explanation, “Fork tongued politicians,” she wrote, “I may be old but I know bait and switch.” While Fred Williams pointed out, “This is not leadership…its cowardice.”

With five of the councilpersons seeking re-election or election to another office and the two brain-dead tokens of identity politics blabbering along, (at least Councilman Carl DeMaio is honest in his usual right-wing, knee-jerk opposition) the Council showed that it seems too scared to help the many citizens who are in pain and need a safe, legal place to obtain medical marijuana which was approved

by California voters through Proposition 215.

The vote, which sent the plain and simple recommendations of the Medical Marijuana Task Force to the Council’s Land

Use and Housing Committee, is a ploy to allow organized resistance to the use of medical marijuana to focus on preventing the logistics of providing it for those in need by using zoning ordinances and building codes as weapons, like those used against youth arcades and adult entertainment. Tellingly, included in that vote was a requirement that local Planning Groups weigh in on the discussion; which is kind of like asking the Catholic Diocese where the abortion clinics should be located. The city’s dozen planning groups, for the most part, are made up of property owners and businesspersons wedded to land values, NIMBY’s all. (The City Heights Area Planning Committee where I was elected in 2001 was run by real estate interests.)

Now, a deceitful City Council and its big lie about wanting to really develop a comprehensive policy on medical marijuana use could laughingly be passed on as politics as usual if it were not for the fact that many innocent San Diegans are being persecuted and prosecuted by an ambitious, despotic District Attorney.

Bonnie Dumanis; Republican Party ideologue, personal tyrant, part crook (see my upcoming book, San Diego: 1st City of Empire) has stepped in where a fearful City Council has failed to act and has been busting legal, legitimate users and dispensers of medical marijuana.

Using her prosecutional power to imple-

ment public policy in an attempt to appear tough on crime, she steps over the ruined lives, broken families and lost jobs of ill people who tried to follow the law as best they know how. Like a local version of former despot J.Edgar Hoover, without the secret dress, Dumanis seems to bully the Council by creating an illusion of crime around medical marijuana by selective prosecution and outright lies about the defendants, thus creating a trap for any politician who supports upholding California law allowing personal medical use of cannabis.

Buried in January 5th’s cowardly Council action was a quiet removal of any language calling for an ordinance to be drafted regulating the dispensaries. The hard-working 11-member Task Force on Medical Marijuana, established by the Council in September, and co-chaired by my friend and former Council candidate Stephen Whitburn, labored to bring before the Council a set of common sense recommendations on basic regulations such as dispensaries had to be more than 1,000 feet from schools, playgrounds, libraries, areas where children frequent and barred from being within 500 feet of one another. Also, the storefronts would have had to hire security and obtain appropriate land-use permits as well as limit the hours they are open and operate as non-profits. These fairly small recommendations from the Task Force were a natuFEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 29

ral process of the thinking of its members, mostly business persons, clergy, former police officers and professionals, rather than actual providers or patients.

However, one member of the task force, Mark Robert Bluemel, a San Diego attorney saw the matter clearly. He said the District Attorney’s misinterpretation of state law “has cruelly criminalized innocent medical marijuana users who not only suffer maladies but now face arrest, detention and federal charges.”

In early summer, the San Diego Renters Union proposed to the City Council that it find some statesmanship on this issue by setting up a permanent San Diego Medical Marijuana Regulatory Board, which would oversee the operation of the dispensaries including the cost, quality, personnel and non-profitability of the coops and cooperatives. The Renters Union suggested that if the providing process was taken out of individual hands and became a volunteer effort on the part of an organized group of patients, overseen by the city, then the District Attorney could not attack them on an individual basis as she has in the past.

While Councilwoman Fry supports the use of marijuana for medical purposes, her timidity reflects an interest in running for the County Board of Supervisors. “The goal here is to put in some guidelines that actually make sense and people can understand what the rules are,” she said “the guidelines put forward by the state are not clear.” Yet, even she did not support the humble suggestions of the task force.

However, the average citizens in San Diego are beginning to have their say on the matter. In a clear rebuke to the D.A. a Superior Court jury found Jovan Christian Jackson, 31, not guilty of five charges of possessing and selling marijuana illegally from a medical marijuana dispensary in Kearney Mesa called Answerdam Alternative Care.

Jackson’s attorney, Lance Rogers, successfully showed the jury that the collective operated legally and professionally.

He said members of the collective were asked to show a valid doctor’s recommendation before obtaining any marijuana and sign an agreement that they abide by the collective’s rules.

A San Diego police detective testified that he lied to a doctor, used a false ID and fraudulently signed a contract/agreement with the collective to make two buys in June and July 2008. Now, trying to find out who set up this ridiculous entrapment

has been difficult. Steve Walter, the assistant chief of the narcotics office in the D.A.’s office agreed to talk to me and then backed out (could it be because Bonnie Dumanis has appeared on my annual list of San Diego piss-ants 4 years in a row?). Captain Miguel Rosario of the SDPD’s vice squad originally agreed to an interview about the marijuana busts but when I e-mailed him a list of questions about the D.A.’s involvement, he quickly canceled.

Dumanis and the San Diego Front of the Cultural War

San Diego’s District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis struts onto the stage, her swagger, her measured pace, her menacing stare in front of the cameras reminds me of the persona John Wayne created on his way to becoming an American icon.

I once overheard him tell my aunt at

breakfast that an acting advisor once told him that he had to forget his rather sissy name Marion and that he worked in an ice cream parlor and find an image which would represent the fading world of the “Old West.” Grinding away in B-movies, he successfully created a tough, supermasculine, militaristic image that went to the heart of what American Empire was all about; whether slaughtering Indians or carving up the ungrateful Vietnamese.

There is a popular video game circulating the Internet called “Heroes of Annihi-

lated Empires” where mythical creatures live alongside humans in “lands which frontiers are impossible to be located on any world map presently” and whose actions “are able to change the world.”

Like these “creatures,” John Wayne was never real – I saw it trapped in his eyes, a butchered Marion – he was a prisoner of his own sham; trapped in the image and the make-believe, and like that mechanical dummy of Abe Lincoln in Disneyland, wobbled through life owned by others and was what they needed him to be.

As I watch Dumanis swagger on to the platform, amid camera flashes and reporters’ shouts, my friend, who is gay, whispers “Who does this tough broad think she is – Raymond Burr in high-heels?”

“No,” I answer, “I know many really tough gals who are lesbians; cab drivers, construction workers, even a few rodeo gals, whose personalities are real, they are warm, caring persons.”

“This demeanor, this show, is not about Freudian over-compensation or being tough in a masculine world; it’s all about power and ambition,” I comment as she is book-ended on the stage by two modern “Dukes” of bluster and armed might, San Diego County Sheriff William B. Kolender, who allows his deputies to shoot down unarmed Latinos in the barrios and San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne who has protected murdering police officers, tries to encourage brutality against the homeless and uses his detectives to circumvent city ordinances.

John Wayne, even though he provided a cultural context, a mythical arrogance to the national character, which continues to drive American Empire, never personally harmed anyone in his chimera; while Dumanis wields her power as District Attorney to enrich herself and manipulate the legal system for personal ambition.

American Empire seems to be a double-edged sword. It is not just bombing distant cities to protect oil pipelines or corrupt world corporations. Empire is also reflected in ideology and national assumptions. From the Romans to the British to modern Corporate-Owned Capitalism – an emerging state without defined borders and its own armed forces as the movie Avatar spectacularly highlights the domination of others, the plunder of national resources, was always driven by a mind-set that depended on power and hierarchy.

Thus, the flip side of U.S. troops making the world safe for Wal-Mart and McDonalds is the other edge of the blade; nar-

rowing the parameters of freedoms and liberties in our neighborhoods and in our everyday lives. Empire must own and control its base, provide wonderful motivations for conformity and terrible consequences for dissent and, most importantly, make alternatives not only impossible but unthinkable. Today, everywhere; human beings, either individually or in associations such as governments, are increasingly incapable of calculating possibilities because the freedom to choose is an illusion. Like shoppers on an escalator or cattle prodded through chutes, there is no room to maneuver. Behavior is no longer innovative and spontaneous because consciousness itself [to stand apart, the ability to give things meaning] is hammered into a socially determined aspect of self. In a corporate-owned world, most of us are trapped by the lack of alternatives and increasingly, the inability to even imagine options.

Human praxis, the reflective process of thought and action, has become stunted; liberty an illusion, and the notion of individuality a cruel myth. C. Wright Mills’ warnings, decades ago, about the continuing constraints on human freedom by those who have institutional and economic power has come to pass. Political and economic tyranny, even the manipulation of truth itself, has become commonplace, with little dissent. Thus, the San Diego District Attorney can go before the press and not only spoon feed local journalists a fraudulent legal basis for her harassment and downright lies about her victims’ personal affairs but is never challenged by the media – even when her statements are not what the official court documents say.

Dumanis, like any self-respecting addict, is hooked on the egotism of power and the selfishness of wealth, the rewards of Corporate-owned Capitalism, its high, its opiate, its material comforts, its insatiable requisite for supremacy’s selfdefinition and purpose.

Her place in the continuing cultural wars for economic purposes where everything is made into a commodity and sold at a price including even the health of one’s own body and the alleviation of pain, is assured as she persecutes and prosecutes medical marijuana users in San Diego. Her place at the public trough, her personal wealth extracted from wealthy corporate donors, especially the medical industry, overshadows and is an affront to her membership in our Rainbow Coalition. The violence of stalking ill persons, particularly fellow LGBT members, for personal ambition makes her addiction to wealth and power even more sad and pitiful.

My mother advises me not to suggest a fierce District Attorney is vindictive, deceitful, power hungry and a crook. Of course, dear old mom lives in the far-off piney woods of the Ozark Mountains and worries about her only son; she doesn’t see the shattered lives and broken families that Dumanis has scattered around San Diego neighborhoods.

My mother suggests that most politicians are dishonest from the get-go and that the money District Attorney Dumanis receives from selling her prosecutional powers to a rich Chula Vista landlord to punish a local city councilman for voting against one of his projects or to corporate lobbyists who reward her legal jihad against ill people who are attempting to secure safe, legal, effective use of cannabis for their pain - rather than expensive, dangerous, addictive painkillers packaged by wealthy corporations - is the reward for being in office.

I assure my mother I have nothing personal against the

DA. In almost 20 years in San Diego, I have never been arrested or even had to pay a traffic fine. I can pity Dumanis; her infirmity, her madness, the tyrannical, autocratic abuse of authority for personal gain, like Nixon or Abramoff, and still fight the system that allows one person to have so much power to destroy lives, circumvent state law and the will of California voters and for great personal greed.

“The authoritarian ideology she represents, owned by corporate dollars and backed by the armed might of all our militarized forces is what I fight,” I tell my mother, “not this tragic, fleshy android, another piece of equipment in Empire’s mechanism.”

The Love and Death of a San Diego Hero

Dumanis is, indeed, just another delusional villain in a long list of San Diego prosecutors and legal violence which, under corporate-owned ideology and the police power of local authorities, has disrupted lives, harassed, entrapped and imprisoned many innocent people and led to the martyrdom of San Diego’s greatest hero – Steve McWilliams.

The only time I ever saw Steve McWilliams laugh was in early summer of 2005; little realizing that soon, like a Buddhist monk wrapped in flames, he would use his own life as a metaphor for justice and light in a society gone blind with fear and greed.

I stood there talking to him, as I often did when he walked his dogs along the sidewalk in Normal Heights, discussing the weather, the dogs or the large garden I tended. With great sadness, he looked beyond my eyes, over my left shoulder, watching the bulbous clouds as they slid 32 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

through the blue-green brightness. As the gray shadows moved over the daisies and roses; he remarked how, as human beings, driven by either selfishness or compassion, we can make the world either ugly or beautiful.

On his walk back, where the street ends at the edge of that great San Diego canyon, Mission Valley, he was on the opposite side and watched as I came out of the courtyard just as someone was pulling their dog off the grass, leaving a large pile of doggy doo. Now, I had a shovel in my hand, so I scooped it up onto the shovel and walked behind, yelling “sir, you forgot something.” All the neighbors came out to witness his attempt to ignore the selfishness and contempt reflected in this act. Steve joined in that communal laugh.

It will take more than a shovel, even a skip-loader, to trail behind Judge Reuben Brooks or U.S. District Attorney Carol Lam and all the other government tyrants. Not even a freight hauler could carry the blood, anguish, wasted lives in prison, the pain and suffering they have created in their obscene efforts to control our lives.

McWilliams, nailed to a cross of pain for his efforts, fought the power of the state to regulate our personal freedoms and choices, not only for himself but every person in need of inexpensive medication without side effects. Yes, the truth shall set you free, and the government and media, both owned by powerful pharmaceutical companies, don’t want you to know that you can grow your own medicine in a coffee can, right there on the table in front of the window, alongside the geraniums and ferns.

If Steve, who suffered from severe neuropathic migraines caused by a traffic accident, had continued to quietly self-medicate with marijuana, after his arrival in San Diego in 1997, he would still be with us today. However, his integrity and compassion drove him to found, with his partner, Barbara MacKenzie, Shelter from the Storm, San Diego’s first Medical Cannabis Resource Information Center.

He sought to not only empower sick people in pain with informa-

tion but to liberate them from the evilness of store bought chemicals. Manufactured dangerous pills; without long-term study, threatening side-effects, developed primarily to make others, CEO’s and wealthy investors, richer.

He understood that the power of the federal government has been bought; from the President, through Congress to the Supreme Court; ordered by their corporate masters to make the world safe for profit. This is what the War on Drugs is all about, why there are over 2 million young people, mostly of color, in our prisons and jails; more than the rest of the world combined.

Poor folks don’t have the resources for Valium or Prozac, so they have been criminalized, persecuted and stigmatized by the fear mongers as an excuse, the learning methodology, over the years, to build the links of the chain - a prison state, with the police and military in control, to protect the rich and to punish all who dissent.

When President George W. Bush was re-elected, a new phase in the clash of freedom over corporate tyranny began.

The federal police system, using its years of experience in the hoods and barrios, moved its battle lines into middle-class neighborhoods, to win the cultural war, once and for all; to mop up the last vestiges of hippie notions and free will. Using simple-minded, cruel Judges like Reuben Brooks, who McWilliams called “a wretched, evil little gnome” and ambitious, ruthless agents of fear, like agent Carol Lam, they sought total control of our private lives.

And while the Obama administration has sought to stand down a little on the federal offense against marijuana users; local right-wing elements and tyrannical

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 33

ideologues, like San Diego Police Chief Lansdowne, using his badge and taxpayer money to fund his goon squads, have gone after San Diego medical marijuana users, even though that use is protected under city ordinances (as well as state law).

Steve McWilliams called himself an “impeccable warrior” in his death letter. He was facing the usual fascist response to dissent - prison - and in increasing pain, under court order not to grow or use the natural herb of relief. Saying he refused “to allow the government to control my life,” his last words were that he had “given everything to the cause - all my possessions, my time and, now, my life.”

In an obituary posted on the IndyMedia Website in July 2005, I wrote the following, “our greatest tribute to Steve, will be our own efforts toward overcoming hypocrisy and selfishness; to fight this increasingly cruel, authoritarian government on behalf of our children and neighbors. Steve, like all great and noble persons of history, hands back through space and time the courage to be free. His walk with love and death widens that path that we all must take; to make our lives meaningful, loving and liberating.”

One of Dumanis’ Victims

In his brief 28 years, Eugene Davidovich has followed all the rules, adhered to the law and lived an exemplary life. Yet today, he stands broken, alone, homeless, persecuted and in daily pain. Clean-cut, 34 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

honest spoken, go-getting; he was a child of the American dream, going from good son to impressive student to serving his country in the military. Afterward there came a fine loving marriage, a young son and a promising career in the computer programming field.

When the migraines came several years ago, he followed convention; visiting his doctor, prescription after prescription, with side-effects, until a friend turned him on to the benefits of medical cannabis.

Again, following all the rules; Davidovich joined a medical marijuana collective, got a doctor’s recommendation and a city issued patient card. Self-medicating, effectively and cheaply, he continued his family’s support, confident that he was a law-abiding citizen following the guidelines issued by the California Attorney General as outlined in Proposition 215 and adhering to the city codes and ordinances that legalized and regulated medical marijuana use.

Last year, along with other legal patients of citywide medical collectives and cooperatives, he was swept up in what appears to be an illicit conspiracy by the Police Chief Lansdowne and the ambitious Dumanis, to use the power of the badge and the prosecutional muscle of the D.A.’s office to overturn and nullify city ordinances adopted by our elected officials.

Representative democracy appears to be under attack in San Diego as the Police Department, under the apparent orders of the D.A., has broadened a legitimate campaign against drug use on military bases and our campuses called Operation Endless Summer into a witch hunt against medical marijuana users, particularly in our LGBT community.

Week after week, Davidovich and other legal cannabis users, trudge down to City Council meetings, hoping for fairness and justice, using the open forum period to plead their case. And week after week; eight sphinxes sit, roll their eyes, study reports and continue to ignore the persecution of San Diego citizens and the usurpation of the representative process in San Diego by dictatorial powers. Now, they have added insult to injury by withdrawing a mandate for city action on any kind of protection from the predatory D.A. and leaving the 30 or so dispensaries in legal limbo at risk of more attacks by Chief Lansdowne’s twisted priorities.

If the Police Chief can attack legal protected patients, as he is doing in Opera-

tion GreenRX; if the District Attorney‘s office can tell a judge that they have arbitrary and tyrannically decided that San Diego’s ordinances and laws are invalid [which they did at the preliminary trial of Donna Lambert] without ever informing the City Council or using the legal process to go to a Superior Court or Federal judge to get them overturned: then we have moved ever closer to an Orwellian state.

“I believe in our justice system, in the rule of law,” Davidovich told me over coffee when I interviewed him in late 2009, “If I had done anything wrong, if I had broken the law, then I would simply plead guilty, accept a plea bargain and end this nightmare.” His fight back is, indeed, our struggle. If his rights, his legal protections are not valid and can be withdrawn on a prosecutor’s whim or ambition; then, are any of us safe?

Davidovich, who followed the rules yet ended up in this Kafka-like nightmare, and all the other ill San Diegans who thought they were protected by law, only to be attacked and prosecuted by those very authoritarian forces that should be protecting their legal rights, need our help.

What We Can Do to Help Our Fellow San Diegans in Pain

1. Call, write or e-mail your Council person and demand that they quit hiding from the issue and develop ordinances that protect the rights and access of legal users of medical marijuana.

2. Contact the District Attorney’s office and insist that this blatant political use of her office to persecute and prosecute legitimate medical marijuana users stop.

3. Contact San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne and suggest that department manpower spent lying to doctors, falsifying documents, and infiltrating professional co-ops and collectives should cease – scarce funds could better be used to fight real crime against persons and property.

Rocky Neptun is media coordinator for the San Diego Renters Union and writes for the website MediaLeft. He is a former elected member of the City Heights planning board and served on the City of San Diego’s Needle Exchange Task Force.

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 35

the benefits of medical cannabis.

This is a special month

of love with Valentine’s Day on 2/14, followed immediately by 215. From this day forward, let’s make a committed effort to practice an assortment of unsystematic acts of compassion and to bring peace and understanding to each other and to our community! Imagine a shared vision, in which we all assume responsibility for maintaining the health of our community and truly show compassion. Let’s celebrate what we have and dream for a time of peace. Let’s appreciate everything that each and every one of us is doing to assist in educating the public on

Let’s do each other an enormous favor and think before we speak!

A useful mantra or acronym for THINK is to ask yourself before you speak. Is it T=True, H=Helpful, I=Inspirational,N=Necessary, K=Kind...if it’s not, don’t say it!

Hemp has had multiple uses, first documented in 770 AD. Since that time, it has been used to make everything from rope to clothing, paper and food. As a fabric, hemp filters the UV light; therefore your skin is protected. It also resists bacterial growth. Hemp is a renewable resource. Hemp has four times the strength of cotton so it won’t weaken when washed and softens the more you wash it. So buy a hemp T-shirt and add hemp to your diet.

PINA COLADA SPIKED SMOOTHIE (Beverages) 1 cup pineapple (crushed w/juice) 1 tsp coconut extract 2 cups vanilla frozen yogurt 1/2 cup ice cubes 3 tbsp cannabis (very finely ground) 1 tbsp hemp seeds Combine all ingredients in blender. Process until completely smooth. Serve immediately. Makes 2 healing servings.

Note: This healing beverage is reminiscent of a great Pina Colada with a curative twist to it.

38 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

The addition of hemp in your life actually helps heal our planet and our bodies! Hempseed is a high protein seed that includes all nine of the essential amino acids that our bodies require. Hempseed contains a high amount of fiber, fatty acids, vitamin E and trace minerals as well as a rare protein known as globule edestins that is very similar to the globulin found in human blood plasma. Hemp seeds contain the most balanced and richest natural single source of essential oils for human consumption. The essential fatty acids not only help to restore wasting bodies, but improve damaged immune systems.

Hempseed has a balanced ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats, about a three to one ratio. This will not correct your omega balance if it’s off, but it gives you the right balance to start with and can help you feel better. The protein content of the hemp seed is easy to digest. Hemp seed protein does not cause gas or bloating like other proteins have a

BAKED PANAMA RED CABBAGE & APPLES (Vegetarian) 1 medium red cabbage 2 medium Granny Smith apples 2 tbsp brown sugar 1/3 cup red wine 3/4 tsp flour 1 tbsp hemp seeds

tendency to, such as whey. Soy has high amounts of phytic acid (antinutrient that prevents the body from absorbing minerals) hemp seed does not.

The following recipes are taken from Mother Earth Co-op’s “Special Medicinal Recipes – A Medical Cannabis Cookbook.”

Kim Twolan © 2008

MOTHER’S CANNA ICING (Icing) 1/2 cup cannabutter 1 (16-oz) box powdered sugar 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese 2 tbsp lemon juice (fresh) Blend cannabutter and cream cheese together and slowly add in the powdered sugar (also known as Icing Sugar) and add a dash of salt. Blend thoroughly in food processor or with electric mixer. Spread evenly over cake. * Cannabutter recipe, please refer to the first edition of NUG Magazine * Kief recipe, please refer to the third edition of NUG Magazine

1/2 cup seedless grapes 1 medium onion (finely chopped) 4 tbsp cannabutter 3/4 tsp white vinegar 1 tbsp flour 1/4 tsp smoked salt

Shred the cabbage; cook covered in small amount of boiling salted water for 5 to 8 minutes. Pare and slice apples. Add vinegar to preserve the color. Drain and reserve 1 cup of liquid. Place layer of cabbage in greased baking dish. Combine grapes cut in halves, apples, onion, sugar, hempseeds and salt. Arrange in alternate layers with cabbage, making top layer cabbage. Add cabbage liquid and wine. Dabble with melted cannabutter. Cover and bake at 375 F for 1 hour. Shake flour evenly over top and mix lightly with fork and bake 15 minutes longer.

Note: Nutritious meal when served with brown rice and salad. Assists patients in digestion, relief of nausea and sleep.

EFFIE’S ELECTRIC ROCKEFELLER CASSEROLE (Casseroles)

JAMAICAN ME HOT (Appetizers) 1 lb. cream cheese (room temp) 1 package crackers 1 bottle Jamaican hot pepper sauce 1 jar mint sauce or mint jelly 1/2 tsp kief 7 mint leaves (fresh chopped) 2 tbsp hemp seeds 1 tbsp cilantro (fresh chopped) Place the cream cheese onto the center of a plate and microwave for 30 seconds just to soften. Mix the kief and hempseeds with the pepper sauce thoroughly. Pour the hot pepper sauce over the cream cheese so that it drips down the sides. Mix fresh chopped mint and cilantro with jelly and pour on top of hot sauce. Serve with fresh cut veggies and assorted breads or crackers.

Note: This is not recommended for patients with digestive challenges; however this medicinal appetizer will take away pain and help you totally relax.

GOD’S GAZPACHO TREAT (Soups) 3 cups beef broth 2 small cucumber (peeled, sliced) 1 medium red onion (chopped) 2 bunches scallions (chopped) 8 cloves garlic (chopped) 1/4 cup cannabis (finely chopped) 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

1 quart raw oysters 1/4 cup cannabutter 1 stalk celery (chopped) 1 medium onion (chopped) 1/2 cup parsley (fresh, chopped) 1 bunch spinach (fresh, chopped) 2 tbsp cannabis (finely chopped) 2 tbsp hemp seeds

1/4 tsp anise seed 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs 1/4 tsp ground pepper 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 1 cup parmesan cheese (grated) 1/4 cup bread or crackers ** 2 tbsp cilantro (fresh, chopped)

Preheat oven to 450 F. Grease a large casserole dish. Drain the oysters and arrange in a single layer in bottom of casserole. Melt the cannabutter and sauté‚ the celery and onions until they begin to soften. Add parsley, spinach, cannabis, hemp seed, anise seed, Worcestershire Sauce, soft bread crumbs, salt, pepper and cayenne.

Spread this mixture over the oysters. BAKE casserole for 30 minutes. Remove and if necessary, pour off water that has cooked from oysters. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and a very thin layer of bread or cracker crumbs and cilantro.

Return to oven for 10 to 13 minutes or until slightly browned on top.

Note: If you enjoy Oyster’s Rockefeller, you will have the benefit of this medicinal variation. If you must use frozen spinach then it should be thawed and drained. ** Cracker crumbs work great to substitute for toasted bread crumbs.

1 tbsp dill (fresh, chopped) 3 small plum tomatoes (chopped) 1 small green or red bell pepper 2 stalks celery (chopped) 1/4 tsp cumin 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 3 cups V-8 Juice

Place all the ingredients for the soup base in a food processor or blender and chop vegetables. Transfer to a large serving bowl or container. Stir in enough V-8 juice to give the soup a thick consistency. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Serves 6 to 8 Note: Garnish with parsley and chopped vegetables.

RED VELVET SPACE CAKE (Cake) 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 tbsp cocoa 1 tsp coffee (ground finely) 1 tsp baking soda 1 tbsp vinegar

2 large eggs 1 cup cannaoil 1 cup buttermilk 2 oz red food coloring 2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream cannabutter or cannaoil and sugar together in a large bowl. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Sift flour, salt & cocoa together. Add alternately with buttermilk. Beat together well, after each ingredient is added. Sprinkle baking soda over vinegar and stir in mixture. Pour equally into three greased and floured 8-inch cake pans.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Cool ten minutes and remove from pans.

Note: Although details are a bit sketchy there is a story that circulated in the 1940’s, claiming that Manhattan’s elegant Waldorf-Astoria granted a diner’s request for the recipe and billed her $100. The angry diner with possible revenge in mind circulated the recipe along with her story. This curative cake was inspired by the Waldorf’s Classic and is a deep rich red color that is perfect for Valentines and works well topped off with our Canna Icing recipe.

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 39

OPEN VS.

CLOSED LOOP GROW ROOMS

By: The Guru

2009 turned out to be a good year for the growing community of San Diego. Finally, the government is listening to what the people of California voted for and is easing off the medical growing community. But what to do with all these new people coming into the growing game, and in some cases flooding the market? It’s simple. Be educated and prepared; be a good gardener and produce the best product you can by having the proper grow room environment.

During winter, many growers are having their best harvests. The environment is the most important factor in a grow room. If the environment is good, then most anything will grow well. Factors such as humidity, temperature, air quality, air circulation, ventilation or air exchange, and CO2 levels determine an environment. All of these factors must be perfectly in line. There is a complete line of environmental controllers and products available to control all of these factors, for the times you need it most, such as when spring and summer approach us again.

There are two different ways to set up a grow room. Open loop or closed loop, also known as a sealed room. An open loop system has open ventilation, or a fan pushing air into the room and another fan exhausting air out of the room. This is known as ventilation or air exchange.

Exchanging the old air in the room with fresh, cool CO2 enriched air. In an ideal grow room you need to exchange the air at least once every one to two minutes at minimum. Personally, I like to exchange the air about once a minute up to every

30 seconds. Some say that’s not necessary but the more air exchange the better in an open loop room. The air exchange is controlling three different elements in the grow room. It is controlling the air temperature, the CO2 levels, and the air quality. As the fresh air is delivered to the room it brings cooler temperatures, flushing out the hot air and replacing it with fresh CO2 enriched air.

The fresh air exchange, for air quality and CO2 replenishment, is one of the most critical factors in a successful grow room.

it. If temperatures get too hot, the plant is not processing photosynthesis at 100%, and molds, fungi, diseases and especially bugs are likely to establish their colonies as they often prefer warmer environments. If the room gets too cold, below 70 degrees or so, then the plant is not performing or growing to its full potential. Approximately, a ten degree difference in temperature between daytime and nighttime is helpful in keeping the plant healthy and the fruit or flower clusters tight and firm.

Air circulation is just that, oscillating fans or blowers moving and stirring up the air constantly and keeping the plants moving gently. Bugs and molds don’t like wind and fresh air.

Somewhat like exercise, a plant works the stocks and stems making them stronger, healthier and larger by being gently blown around. By stirring up the air and moving it around, the air never has a chance to get stale or stagnant. All parts of the garden should have air gently blowing through it.

There should be no dead spots, where air is not moving is the most likely place that molds, fungi, diseases and bugs will first appear and develop.

Oscillating fans should be spaced all around your garden on the walls and at different levels ensuring that the garden and plants have plenty of fresh air flowing all around them.

If your room is completely sealed, and the vents bringing in and exhausting air have filters on them, the chances of bugs and diseases getting into the room are greatly lessened. As long as you don’t bring any dirty or infected plants into the room, and don’t transport something in from outside on your clothing as you enter the room, then you will have a bug and disease free grow room. You should always wrap and line your walls with black and white panda film with the white side facing in to the grow room. Molds and fungus can’t absorb into the plastic, as they can into wood, drywall or any other porous surface. It’s easy to put up using a contractors staple gun. Also make a tight seal and cover your floors, and walls up to the ceiling. It’s cheap and easy to put up and replace when sterilizing or cleaning a grow room.

As for the temperature, plants are most comfortable in temperatures between 76 and 80 degrees. If temperatures get too high, even in the mid 80s, the plant is not performing properly. Using an infrared temperature gun on the top leaves of the plant, any hotter than 82 degrees and the plant is not at optimal performance. A plant’s fruit or flowers can develop airy and leafy as a result of the plant trying to cool itself off. A plant will stretch out and develop loose rather than tight fruits as a method of keeping air flowing through

Plants breathe or consume CO2 gas and convert the CO2 into oxygen. Without plants in this world, the CO2 in the air would kill us instantly. Plants are basically the oxygen filters of the world. This is why it is so important that our few rain forests left, like the Amazon, do not get destroyed for profit any more. Day by day, as they strip the forests of the trees, the giant lungs of the world, they are stripping away our natural filters. The rain forest is the FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 41

grow cont. perfect example of a sustainable organic garden.

A plant must have the proper CO2 levels in the air to be a healthy plant, with a healthy immune system, which will fight off molds, diseases and bugs, and produce healthy bountiful fruit.

Outside, the air we breathe has about 400-450 ppm (parts per million) of CO2 all the time. For plants, this is a happy level of CO2. However, at levels around 200 ppm, a plant can actually start choking or suffocating. At levels this low the plant will not be healthy and may even die. Plants can use levels of CO2 up to 2000 ppm, 4-5 times that of normal ambient levels, and achieve optimal growth and production. Performance can be enhanced by adding CO2 to the room, increasing the levels significantly. This can only be done efficiently in a sealed or closed room. This is why air exchange in the room must be happening constantly, ensuring the CO2 does not drop below ambient.

ity levels. The humidity level is like a pressure cap on the plant, keeping the moisture in the plant, allowing it to have proper transpiration rates of the fluids. Ideal humidity levels in a grow room range between 50% to 70% in vegetative growth, and 50% to 60% for flowering plants.

In an open loop system, supplementing with CO2 is a bit wasteful since the fans are constantly exchanging air in the room, bringing it back to ambient CO2 levels in just minutes.

In most cases, especially here in San Diego, a grower can not turn off his exhaust and intake fans for more than a few minutes without the temperatures climbing too high. Come summertime, don’t even think about running CO2 in an open loop system. The temperatures are too hot in the summer and ventilation systems are running 24/7, constantly exchanging the air in the grow room. There’s really only one way to beat the heat and other factors that affect the grow rooms environment; build and run a sealed room with no exhaust!

Conversely, when humidity levels get too high, moisture is building up on the plants and walls, forming whole colonies of molds, fungi, and mildews. Even if you had none of these developing before the high levels, the moisture would create the perfect environment for all of these to start developing in a very short amount of time. These pathogens will destroy your garden if not taken care of immediately. This is one more reason why a controlled, closed loop, sealed room is the best way to build and run a grow room, as you can control every element of the environment with the right equipment.

Humidity is also a very critical element that must be maintained at proper levels. The humidity controls the transpiration rate of the plant and how the nutrients are received by the plant. Just as with humans, if the humidity gets too low, our skin can become dry and flaky. We transpire by sweating more fluids out in lower humid42 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

When humidity levels drop too low, the plants transpire at a rate much quicker than that of nutrient uptake. The nutrients or minerals do not transpire thru the plant, only the water does. So this leaves behind a concentrated level of nutrients in the plant that will actually cause a nutrient burn.

Most people don’t realize in situations like these that the humidity could be responsible; usually thinking that it is too many nutrients in the reservoir. Just as a lack of CO2 can cause a plant to go dormant, low humidity can cause a plant to have nutrient problems, resulting from the transpiration rate being much too high in low humidity level environments.

Compared to an open loop room, a sealed or closed loop system has no fresh air intake and no main exhaust. The only air running into the room is for cooling the lights and removing the heat from the room. Since the fan is connected by ducting to an outside fresh air source such as a window or adjacent room, the air never comes in contact with the room air, as long as you use proper air cooling lights with a sealed glass lens. The air is sim-

ply brought in through the ducting (always pushed, never pulled through the lights) and pushes the hot air out of the lights through further ducting, normally up into the attic, as heat rises.

With no fresh air exchange to control CO2 levels, air quality, and humidity, how do you control the environment? Simple, by creating and building a sealed closed loop grow room! By using equipment such as air conditioners, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, and supplemental CO2, either a CO2 tank with a regulator or a CO2 burner. You must also have a CO2 monitor on both of these, and possibly an environmental controller to synchronize all the components together to create the optimal grow laboratory. Check out www.CAPcontrollers.com to view a complete line of environmental controllers, CO2 generators and burners. The Fuzzy Logic CO2 controller and monitor is one of my favorites (all come with a 3 year no hassle warranty, and a winner of the High Times Stash Awards). A simple charcoal filter, with an inline fan for scrubbing and recalculating the air, is also needed to accomplish this properly. The filter or scrubber in this case is running through the room, constantly cleaning the air free of molds, fungi and diseases.

The air conditioner is definitely the main component to this sealed closed loop room. A true AC is recirculating the same air in the room. The air never leaves the room! These types of AC units are usually referred to as split unit ACs. It has vents in every room putting cold air into the room, and also has a return duct of equal CFM (cubic feet per minute) creating equal pressure, cooling the same air over and over again. This allows CO2 to be run efficiently and not be wasted as the air is moving and recirculating. The only loss of CO2 is that which the plants have consumed.

The AC also acts as a natural dehumidifier, so you need to watch your humidity levels in case the AC is dropping the levels in the room below ideal. The closed loop and sealed room only work with the right AC unit, one that has a

return and recirculates the air.

The amount of BTUs produced by the AC unit that you will need to cool the room is based on the amount of heat that is being produced by the lights. With quality AC units, you will need 4000 BTUs for each 1000 watt light, even with air cooled lights. I like to rate them at about 4500 – 5000 BTU’s per 1000 watt light to ensure that it covers my CO2 burners’ heat as well, and that the AC motor is not running at max load which is harder on the AC motor and costs more in electricity. Any motor running at lower than max load will run more efficiently for the most part. So when purchasing an AC, it’s not a bad idea to get one larger with more BTUs than you actually need. One of the most impressive AC units I have seen is the Kwikool. They are portable and offer true recirculating at commercial levels, and do not allow any of the air from the room to contaminate the outflow exhaust duct which could allow unwanted odors out of the room.

Finally, you have the CO2, the life of the plants and the grow room. Since the temperatures, humidity, and air qualities are controlled at this point, you just need to supplement CO2 with a burner or tanks. But instead of being at roughly 450 ppm of CO2 in the air as in an open loop room, we can increase the levels up to 1500-2000 ppm with the right equipment. By doing this, we can enhance the plants metabolism rate and its growth, and flowering will be dramatically enhanced.

Plants don’t use CO2 when they’re sleeping so it would not be on during the night cycles.

So with either open or closed loop systems, if you maintain high levels of CO2 and all other factors in the ideal range, you will have the perfect grow room.

end.

SCIENCE HEALTH Published

Study Shows How Cannabis

Inhibits Brain Cancer This is a guest blog by cannabis researcher and ASA Medical & Scientific Advisory Board Member Jahan Marcu As a member of ASA’s Medical & Scientific Advisory Board, I’ve been actively engaged in pursuing further evidence of the medical efficacy of cannabis-based medicine. Some of this work occurred while I was working at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute (CPMCRI), and yesterday the findings of that work were published by the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. With this study, we have shown that cannabis compounds can work together to inhibit glioblastoma (GBM), one of the nastiest and most aggressive of all brain cancers. GBM is the type of brain cancer that caused the recent death of Senator Ted Kennedy.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the most prevalent compound found in the cannabis (marijuana) plant. Many studies have focused on THC and its therapeutic qualities; however other

compounds in the plant should not be overlooked from a medical and scientific standpoint. In fact, the recently published study illustrates how THC and other compounds (known as Cannabinoids) found in the cannabis plant work synergistically to kill cancer cells and reduce tumor size. The anti-cancer effect, which is mediated through the activation of cannabinoid receptors on cancer cells, has been shown through both in vitro and in vivo experimentation.

The other most abundant compound in the cannabis plant is Cannabidiol (CBD). One of the main findings of our research was how THC and CBD act synergistically to inhibit GBM brain cancer cell proliferation. The research team at CPMCRI, lead by Dr. Sean McAllister, discovered that a ratio of about 4:1 of THC to CBD resulted in a synergistic or enhanced killing effect. This THC and CBD combination was determined after assessing anti-cancer activity resulting from the interaction of THC with some of the more-than-70 cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant.

Interestingly, the individual doses of THC

and CBD had little effect on the cancer cells or other proteins in the cells.

However, when these two compounds were combined, the amount of cell death, or apoptosis, dramatically increased. And, as if this wasn’t enough, our research team discovered another potential breakthrough from the combined use of THC and CBD — a decrease in the protein known as ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase). The levels of ERK, often associated with cancer found in the body, were only affected by the combination of THC and CBD, suggesting that these compounds either converge on a shared pathway or together they activate a specific response in cancer cells.

Since these cannabinoids are relatively nontoxic and selectively kill cancer cells, large doses can be provided for in vivo studies. Hence, a direct injection to the site of the tumor or cancer, versus the more widely used methods of smoke or vapor inhalation, may be the most efficient for killing cancer cells. With more targeted applications, a much higher concentration of the active ingredients can be used without toxic side effects. We also speculate that other, noncannabinoid components of the plant may also improve anti-cancer activity.

An improvement in the life expectancy of people with GBM has not occurred in 50 years, and because GBM is so aggressive and effective treatments have not yet been found, this study may represent a major breakthrough in the field. The next obvious step is further testing of how this combination of cannabinoids affects brain cancer and finding ways to put this important discovery to use.

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 45

AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana, Urges Further Research Largest and oldest U.S. physician-based group reverses long-held position on medical marijuana

Houston, TX -- The American Medical Association (AMA) voted recently to reverse its longheld position that marijuana be retained as a Schedule I substance with no medical value. The AMA adopted a report drafted by its Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, “Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes,” which affirmed the therapeutic benefits of marijuana and called for further research.

The CSAPH report concluded that, “short term controlled trials indicate that smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis.” Furthermore, the report urges that “the Schedule I status of marijuana be reviewed with the goal of facilitating clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods.”

The change of position by the largest physician-based group in the country was precipitated in part by a resolution adopted in June of 2008 by the Medical Student Section (MSS) of the AMA in support of the reclassification of marijuana’s status as a Schedule I substance. In the past year, the AMA has considered three resolutions dealing with medical marijuana, which also helped to influence the report and its recommendations. The AMA vote on the report took place in Houston, Texas during the organization’s annual Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates. The last AMA position, adopted 8 years ago, called for maintaining marijuana as a Schedule I substance, with no medical value.

“It’s been 72 years since the AMA has officially recognized that marijuana has both already-demonstrated and future-promising medical utility,” said Sunil Aggarwal, Ph.D., the medical student who spearheaded the passage of the June 2008 resolution by the MSS and was one of the CSAPH report’s designated expert reviewers. “The AMA has written an extensive, well-documented, evidence-based report that they are seeking to publish in a peer-reviewed journal that will help to educate the medical community about the scientific basis of botanical cannabis-based medicines.” Aggarwal is also on the Medical & Scientific Advisory Board of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the largest medical marijuana advocacy organization in the U.S.

The AMA’s about face on medical marijuana follows an announcement by the Obama Administration in October discouraging U.S. Attorneys from taking enforcement actions in medical marijuana states. In February 2008, a similar resolution was adopted by the American College of Physicians (ACP), the country’s second largest physician group and the largest organization of doctors of internal medicine. The ACP resolution called for an evidence-based review of marijuana’s status as a Schedule I controlled substance to determine whether it should be reclassified to a different schedule. “The two largest physician groups in the U.S. have established medical marijuana as a health care issue that must be addressed,” said ASA Government Affairs Director Caren Woodson.

“Both organizations have underscored the need for change by placing patients above politics.”

Though the CSAPH report has not been officially released to the public, AMA documentation indicates that it: “(1) provides a brief historical perspective on the use of cannabis as medicine; (2) examines the current federal and state-based legal envelope relevant to the medical use of cannabis; (3) provides a brief overview of our current understanding of the pharmacology and physiology of the endocannabinoid system; (4) reviews clinical trials on the relative safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis and botanical-based products; and (5) places this information in perspective with respect to the current drug regulatory framework.”

Sex Pot

An outrageously funny comedy that delivers just what it says; pot smoking and a lot of nudity. Geeky virgin stoners, Spanky and Mert get caught peeping on their bi-sexual neighbors, find a stash of African magic grass that works like an aphrodisiac, and then get invited to a party where the aforementioned neighbors will be. They set out on a mission to get to the party, smoke out the neighbors, and get laid. What could be more hilarious than two stoners on their way to a party, with some really great, sex inducing pot? Well, throw in Mert’s older brother’s crazy ex-girlfriend Pinky, two prostitutes named Cherry, a chick with a dick, and Princess who finds out that she is not good at turning tricks.

Have yourself a good time with this laugh out loud movie that you will want to watch again and again.

Puff, Puff, Pass

One of the funnier stoner movies I have seen, this movie takes its rightful place next to cult classic movies like Friday, Half Baked, and Dazed and Confused.

It has a plot that only a pothead could love…What do two stoners do after they decide to go into business for themselves and get evicted from their apartment all in the same day? Find a place to watch the Shawshank Redemption marathon on TNT…With a memorable cast of characters and a few good stoner jokes, Puff, Puff, Pass delivers on everything you have come to expect about a good stoner movie. This movie will have you laughing from beginning to end, a must see for every pot smoker with a little time to kill.

48 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

Remember The Daze

Remember The Daze comes off as your typical, cheesy high school movie with a bunch of suburban kids played by amateur actors, doing the best they could with a horrible script. It’s the last day of school before the summer of 1999, (I wonder where I’ve seen this plot before). The characters were not very interesting and the story does little to hold your attention through the entire hour and forty one minutes.

Now let me be fair, if you’re under the age of 18 you might find some good in this movie. It has your random cast of high school students, who all drink and do drugs while they figure out what they are going to do with their lives. If you’re an older movie watcher like me, you should not feel too bad about skipping right over this film. If I can give any advice at all it would be this; just because a movie has the word Daze in it, does not guarantee you a good movie. I smoked a lot of weed hoping it would make this movie easier to stomach, but in the end all I ended up with was the munchies and an uncontrollable urge to take a nap. I was able to find some kind of silver lining during the time I wasted watching this movie; warm chocolate brownies with peanut butter spread on them and a scoop of vanilla ice cream make for one amazing dessert.

Gone are the days of the wake up show, The Mixx Masters and any real live DJ-ing. What happened to the creative process and the live aspect of a radio show? I thought it would be appropriate to pay homage to those who have kept this vital art alive. San Diego has always had talented DJs like DJ Fingaz, DJ MikeSki and the great Disco Rick (R.I.P) just to name a few. As a former radio DJ, I wanted this article to be fair and unbiased, so I recruited the help of my 13 year old daughter (Sabrina) to find me some elite DJs. After two hours of listening to tons of music we came across giantsarise.com, which led us to Sleeping Giant Music.

This label from San Diego, has a DJ roster like no other; the who’s-who of the DJ community in “America’s Finest City.” DJs like Fresh One, Chris Cutz, Demon, Who, the infamous Mike Czech, and the ever so skillful Mikey Beats, the premier DJ for Monster Energy Drinks. I knew we needed to talk. After a few e-mails and some phone tag, I received an e-mail from Freddie Harb (Founder) simply stating an address and a thank you… not to me, but to my daughter for choosing them for the article. They must read the magazine!

50 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

NUG: Tell us about Sleeping Giant Music.

SGM: Sleeping Giant Music started some six years ago as a full service agency for artists and DJs based out of San Diego. We handle everything from their marketing to booking, even ordering any supplies they need, allowing the artist to focus on being an artist.

NUG: How did SGM come about?

SGM: Originally Blest, One Son and I started with a name; got a logo design to brand our mix tapes and our music, and we were always in the studio at that time just doing music. It wasn’t really a business, maybe more of a record label than an agency, but over the years it turned into everything you see now, a place where we can house everybody’s materials.

NUG: Why the name Sleeping Giant?

SGM: One Son came up with that name. He always felt that San Diego was a sleeping giant, a city with talented artists, musicians, and DJs who were just waiting to explode on the national music scene; but nobody has ever played them. One of our goals was to awake the sleeping giant and put San Diego on the map.

NUG: What advice would you give to that up and coming DJ? SGM: I would tell them to definitely be skilled in the trade, be very knowledgeable in music and have some type of marketing presence.

NUG: The internet, love it or hate it?

SGM: We embrace the internet. Our site is the central hub of all of our stuff: social media, FREE downloads and pod casts, and guest list access to all of our events.

NUG: With over 13 DJs on your roster, how do you keep them all happy?

SGM: Put it this way RAS, a paid DJ is a happy DJ! Make sure their checks come quickly and make sure their needs are taken care of.

NUG: With Valentine’s Day approaching, which DJ do you recommend for my wife and me to sip some wine and puff a J to?

SGM: I would suggest Beatnick’s pod casts for a worldly vibe if you just want to chill at home and do your thing; each DJ offers something different, it really depends on what you’re into. We also have music by Self Sounds, One Son and Miki Vale, which is worth looking into.

NUG: What’s the best way for a DJ to contact you?

SGM: You can contact John Chase in our A&R (Artist & Repertoire) department at john@giantsarise.com or a&r@giantsarise.com.

SUPPORT YOUR

•ARTISTIC •BEATNICK •CHRIS CUTZ •DEMON •DON DADA •FRANKIE M •FRESH ONE •JON SAUTTER •LAVELLE

•LSDJ’S •MIKEY BEATS •MIKI VALE •MIKE CZECH •ONE SON •SCOOTER •STILL LIFE •W STEELE •WHO

LOCAL DJ

NEXT MONTH PART 2: SLEEPING GIANT DJs FRESH ONE and MIKEY BEATS

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 51

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 53

Can You Feel the Rhythm?

NUG Magazine Interview with BY: BEN G. ROWIN

Rhythm and the Method

We have had our eye on the San Diego music scene long before we started this publication! That is why we always bring our readers music coverage. San Diego has a reputation for launching artists. With some huge national acts coming out of San Diego and some of the best undiscovered talents gracing our local venues, San Diego has been regarded by some as one of the top music cities.

One local band that has always been on my radar is Rhythm and the Method.

Rhythm and the Method is a San Diego based band that is in a genre of their own.

Mixing rock, blues, soul and a little funk with powerful, poetic lyrics written and belted out by Rhythm Turner. Rhythm has a soulful voice and an amazing stage presence. The band is compromised of five talented and accomplished musicians including Rhythm’s father and brother, keeping the line up a family affair! Rhythm’s father “Papa Shawn” Turner and her brother Evan both play guitar, and bassist Laura Payne and harmonica player Nick Walsh round out the group Growing up in a house full of musicians, Rhythm began her love for music as a small child, reaching a level of comfort on stage that you would not expect from someone her age. I was really impressed the first time I saw this young lady live!

The Method is tight to say the least, the members of the band give off the vibe that they have been playing music together for their entire lives and some of them actually have!

54 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

I caught up with Rhythm to ask her a few questions about the band and was surprised to learn that she in fact is a medical marijuana patient. She knew about our magazine and was excited to do an interview for the NUG readers.

NUG: I understand you grew up in a music filled household. Tell us a bit about how that helped develop your passion for music.

Rhythm: Because my parents were playing all kinds of different old records constantly, we were always surrounded by music. Not only that, my mother sang in a chorus, and my father has played music in San Diego since the 70s. My brother and I both played in bands throughout our adolescence, including school concert and marching bands.

The thing that developed my passion the most was the unwavering love and support we had from our parents, in particular our father. He was so excited that his kids were in to music, and now he is livin’ the dream by playing along side them.

NUG: I know your father and your brother and you have been playing music forever basically, when did you officially start playing together as Rhythm and the Method?

Rhythm: Rhythm and the Method began in 2005 with just the three of us. We booked ourselves residencies at a place called 5ifth Qtr. (now Whiskey Girl) and the Hot Monkey Love Café, which helped us build our repertoire and fan base while we looked for other musicians to fill out the band.

NUG: I remember reading an article in San Diego CityBEAT about the hate crime assault that happened to you last year. Can you tell our readers about what happened?

Rhythm: I posted a video on YouTube about it (Rhythm Turner: Hate Crime Survivor) that explains in more detail, but basically this guy approached me and my girlfriend at the time outside of a bar in Mission Beach and was harassing us about us being lesbians. Things turned real ugly very fast and he ended up attacking me, breaking my nose and eye bone. Luckily, my brother was nearby and was the one who ended up apprehending him and ensuring his arrest. The perpetrator was arrested on felony battery and assault charges, but not for a hate crime.

NUG: WOW! I can’t believe that! I hope that guy does a grip of time! We at NUG are very supportive of the LGBT community and believe, as with the case of medical marijuana, that ALL humans have the right to make their own choices. Whether it is the choice of who you love or what you use as medicine. I also understand that you had to have surgery and without insurance it was difficult to get together the funds, but that

the extreme anxiety associated with my insomnia and especially my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It worked well for me, and did not have the side effects of the pharmaceutical medication originally prescribed.

NUG: What is your favorite collective?

you had an outpouring of help from the community with some donations. Can you tell us about that support and how it helped you get through that troubled time?

Rhythm: The outpour of support from my family, my band, the LGBT community, the music community, and the network of people, both friends and strangers, was really the thing that kept my hope alive through this terrifying experience. I have been able to turn this trauma into a catalyst for change, and an opportunity to raise awareness on many fronts. Although my face has healed up very well, I am still struggling every day to learn how to live my life as the survivor of a violent crime. It really does change everything…and I want to let everyone who has gone through something like this know that they are never alone, and that you can reclaim your power, self-love, and your life.

NUG: You talked in our last conversation about being a medical marijuana patient; can you tell us about how cannabis has helped you?

Rhythm: After the incident happened, I was prescribed pain medication, but was always very interested in pursuing alternative healing methods. Not only do I already practice Buddhist chanting and meditation, during this time I got really into acupuncture, chiropractic, and tuina massage. A friend of mine who is a medical marijuana patient suggested that I get an evaluation. I went and was prescribed cannabis not only for the physical pain, but also to help deal with

Rhythm: My favorite is California’s Best Meds! They have a great selection, and more than that, the people there are genuine and really care about their patients. They also have great patientappreciation days like “Free Joint Monday” and “Tasty Thursdays” where they give a free edible with any donation.

NUG: Thank you for taking the time out to speak with us, we wish you the best of luck in the future and will continue to watch you climb! Tell our readers where they can find your music and about any upcoming shows.

Rhythm: It was my pleasure! And thank you, NUG Magazine, for not only supporting Rhythm and the Method, but many other notable causes including local music, art, and politics, as well as giving a voice to those who are in support of the pursuit of human rights!

Also wanted to give a shout out to a couple close friends who really made Rhythm and the Method possible: Yuri, Chach, Jade and Noa! They have been our behind-the-scenes support from the start!

Please check out our website http://www.rhythmandthemethod.com as well as our Myspace

http://www.myspace.com/rhythmandthemethod

for music, pics, upcoming shows and news updates. We also have tons of videos and press releases, which you can browse through by simply searching our name on the web in quotes (i.e., “rhythm and the method”). We really hope to see you NUG readers out at a show! Thank you so much for your support…we couldn’t do what we are doing without you!

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 55

Loving Hut Mon-Fri: 11a.m.-2p.m., 5p.m.-9p.m.

Sat: 11a.m.-9p.m.

Sun: Closed 1905 El Cajon Blvd.

San Diego, Ca 92104 (619) 683-9490 Loving Hut is a unique little hole in the wall restaurant with a positive green motif and healthy Asian-style food. Loving Hut is packed with pleased patrons, who pour in to devour their 100% vegan menu. Loving Hut has an appetizing variety of Asian-style dishes (with mock-meats) and a few seafood and western specialties. I tried the Loving Hut burger and was content with the taste, quality, and size of their burger and yummy fries. I also treated myself to a peacefully pink drink made of, cranberry juice, soy milk, and sprite (odd combination, yet tasty with the perfect zing!)

Their motto is a positive message for the future, “Be veg---go green--save the planet,” and on the wall are positive thoughts about being vegan. This holistic hut strives to bring in the best quality organic and fair-trade foods. I was unable to pack away one of their good-looking variety of desserts, but I can not wait to try one on my next adventure to the Loving Hut. I felt the love!

Evolution

2949 5th Ave (at Quince) Mon-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 550-1818

Evolution, formally known as Nature’s Express, is the perfect place to follow through with your New Year’s resolution of eating healthy and going-green!

Evolution leads the green way, using corn-based biodegradable and recyclable to-go containers and napkins. They take all eco-friendly and health conscious measures by providing 100% vegan food, and utilizing as many fair-trade and organic products as they can. They have it all; from mock-burgers, pizzas, organic soda and shakes, to a variety of buffet-style raw foods, salads, and fresh juice bar juices, and don’t forget the wide variety of delicious raw and vegan desserts.

There is a glossary on the buffet wall of all the alternative foods used in Evolution’s delicious menu. If indecision comes your way, I recommend the “chicken” chipotle sandwich and their shakes, which are made with hemp milk! They too understand the powerful health and nutritional benefits that hemp and cannabis produce.

Across the street from Balboa Park, Evolution has a conveniently placed drivethrough (perfect for picnics), and on the other side is the restaurant and out-door patio, armed with unique metallic life sized sculptures, created by a local artist.

Evolution is filled with inspiring cool employees and good vibes. Don’t miss out on this scrumptious treat, and do not forget about the juice bar open from 11-6, everyday of the week, and often holidays too!

58 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

Ranchos 3910 30th St. Mon-Sun: 8 a.m.-10 p.m.

San Diego, Ca 92104 (619) 574-1288 Hidden behind a lattice of flowers and vines is Ranchos, offering fun Mexican style vegetarian and traditional cuisine. Full of the Hispanic culture and littered with an assortment of pictures of inspiring artist and revolutionary people, such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Pancho Villa, and more. Ranchos has a wide variety of options for everyone; this place is perfect for vegetarian options (as well as vegan ones!) along with real meat...everyone leaves happy!

la ol

Dr .

c

Blvd.

ont

lla Mesa Dr. La Jo

e se

ne

Balb

CLAIREMONT

Mo

.

t Dr.

Ingra

Blvd

on

na

em

re

y Ba Dr.

St.

ham St.

MISSION BAY PARK

274

Ave

oa

r Clai

n

ont

. d Ave

Rd

Lam

MISSION BEACH

Mission Blvd

PACIFIC BEACH

n

.

St

ve. et A

Gran

M esa

Claire m

sio Mis

ai

oise Turqu Garn

5

nt

lv d.

ed

Ge

ol

J La i en Sc

52

Mo u

l la Jo

B

Birdrock

INTERSTATE

ad

La

Windansea

UNIVERSITY CITY Rd.

t.

Nau tilus S

nt

S Soledad Rd. D Cardeno r.

LA JOLLA

Mt. Soledad Park

St.

s

Pear l

Rege

rd Gira To rr ey

Not only do they have a few eat-in locations, they also do to-go, and catering! Their menu reads “Made fresh daily with the finest ingredients… rice and beans made vegan…sauces made from scratch...” as well as this, “organic fish, and coffee, and as many fruits and veggies possible,” and they use organic soy milk for their non-dairy liquados and smoothies that taste great!

It is great to have places to eat that are leading the way in serving more eco-friendly foods and products. These restaurants are spreading a very positive message of eating naturally, and giving us a place to enjoy the good grub and cool art.

BAYPARK

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 59

60 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

By Scott “Scotty B.” Whytsell

ebruary is here and what’s that smell in the air? No, not that one silly…LOVE, love is in the air. At least that is what the card companies want us to believe, but as most of the male readers out there know, this is the month where many of us stress out and act like robots shopping for cards, candy and flowers, hopefully not at the last minute! Blah, blah, blah! How about a new twist on this concept?

With Valentine’s Day falling on a Sunday this year, why not celebrate LOVE & LIFE by going out for a ROMANTIC GETAWAY WEEKEND? Whether you’re madly in love, or just looking for mad love; here are a few creative suggestions for you. I’ve also included what I feel to be the most appropriate, albeit most obvious, accompanying bud for each destination.

Depending upon your budget, you first should decide whether you want to stay somewhat local, venture up state, out of state or out of the country. Rather than dealing with traffic and crowded lines in shopping malls, go online from the comfort of your home to websites like Orbitz.com or Travelocity.com to book transportation and lodging for your exciting and adventurous weekend.

Southern California Los Angeles: LA Confidential Pack your overnight bag and don’t forget your munchies! Book online with Amtrak. com to take a train up to LA. Round trip ticket prices for two from San Diego go for a mere $116 for the 2 hour and 40 minute ride.

A visit to Santa Monica Beach & Pier is one of the most romantic things to do in Los Angeles. Casually exploring the pedestrian Third Street Promenade makes for a great afternoon. The street is lined with bars, restaurants, shops and street entertainers. Just follow the fresh ocean breeze 2 blocks west, and you’re at Santa Monica State Beach and Pier, with its famously retro seaside amusement park and ferris wheel.

Northern California San Francisco: Chocolate Thai What goes great with California wines? Chocolate! Flights from San Diego to San Francisco can be found from around $400 each. For the most romantic sunset walk, the walking path at Crissy Field provides a west-facing view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Time it right, starting about an hour or so before “official” sunset and you can watch the lights come up in the city on your way back.

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 61

Out of State Hawaii: Maui Wowie Airline tickets to Oahu start at about $620 per person. If snorkeling is on your list of things you like to do, you’ll find Hanuama Bay a nice “snorkel and sand” excursion for the day. You can rent your gear there. The water is fairly calm, and the underwater visibility of the coral is quite nice!

The bay is easy to get to, even if you don’t have a car. Currently, Bus 22 takes you straight through Waikiki and east to Hanuama Bay.

International Jamaica: Skunk Feeling a little hedonistic and have your passports ready? Take the short 7 hour flight to Montego Bay. A driver can meet you at the airport and transport you safely to the 7-mile white sandy beach of Negril.

Pack lightly because the average temperature for February is a very comfortable 75 degrees. For a truly authentic taste of Jamaican hospitality, I recommend staying on the beach at “Mom’s Place”. Rooms are priced at $65 or $75 depending on whether you want air-conditioning, and the food they serve is to die for!

Hope the suggestions I give here spark the “travel bug” in all of you.

Happy Trails!

62 NUGMAG.COM | FEB 2010

420 Science The guys at 420 Science sent us a generous package with a sampling of their products to review. The story of the two individuals that started this company shows exactly the kind of motivation to achieve one’s goals that I love to see! Two roommates, working in totally different fields, came together to do something that they both enjoy. If you have the time, I highly recommend reading their story on the website.

Now on to the review…they sent over the 420 Scope. This powerful mini microscope magnifies for 60-100X, getting you right in there to see the trichromes. It is useful for growers, but also for regular cannabis consumers. You will be able to see the ripeness, potency and if there is any mold or mildew on your cannabis.

They also sent us an assortment of their glass jars. Air tight, assorted sizes obviously, but they go a step further for their customers. You can go on their website, choose the size you like, the type of lid, and even customize it with a vast assortment of decals! The decals aren’t just stickers either; they are painted on and are super clean! Sizes range from an x-small that holds 1.5 grams, all the way up to a gallon size that holds up to 336 grams!

Check them out online at www.420jars.com

Enjoy Jars Looks like this is the month for cannabis containers! We received some jars from Enjoy Jars that are really unique! The main difference with these jars is that they are designed with the ability to store up to 4 strains, completely separate in one odorproof jar! Designed for the medical cannabis user, these jars lock in the freshness of your medical herbs and keep in the skunky smell! Another cool feature is the fact that you can label each strain with a permanent marker and when you are ready to add a new strain just wipe off the old label with rubbing alcohol and you have a clean canvas to write on! Each section of the jar holds up to 5 grams of herb.

Check them out online at www.enjoyjars.com

Handguns for Hearts Clothing 100% hand printed clothing made with love in California. These guys sent us some samples of their t-shirt line. They have really cool graphics and are all made in house. The slight variances of each shirt make them one of a kind! The shirts are printed on 100% cotton, and wash and wear well!

As always, we love to see individuals doing what they love, and you can tell the guys at Handguns for Hearts love what they do!

Check them out online at www.handgunsforheartsclothing.com

To get your products reviewed send samples to: NUG Magazine Product Reviews 9880 N. Magnolia Ave #168 Santee, CA 92071

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 65

UPCOMING EVENTS

FEB 01 The Supervillains and Mike Pinto At The Casbah @ 8:30

Lady Dottie and The Diamonds At U31 every Monday @ 9

Dub Monday At The Office Every Monday @ 9

Reggae Night At Stage Bar Every Monday @ 8

FEB 03 Roots Covenant At Diamond Jim’s Night Club @ 9

FEB 04 The Mighty Diamonds At Belly Up Tavern @ 9

Roots Covenant With Edi Fitzroy At Gallagher’s @ 9 FEB 05 Medical Marijuana Task Force Meeting At SD City Hall @ 9am The English Beat At Belly Up Tavern @ 9

Michael Palmer At 710 Club @ 9

Raiz Muzik At The Leucadian @ 10

Badfish (Tribute to Sublime) At House of Blues @ 7

FEB 06 Bob Marley’s “65th” Birthday!

Fundraiser for Haiti At Portugalia @ 9 LA Skasifieds and Steel Foundation At The Flying Bridge Reggae Night Every Saturday @ 8

Fortune Youth, Tribal Theory and HI Roots At Winston’s @ 8

Four Minutes Till Midnight and High Tide At 710 Club @ 7

FEB 07 Super Bowl!

Tribe of Kings Presents: Up Town Ranking At U31 Every Sunday @ 9

The Devastators At RT’s Longboard Grill Every Sunday @ 9 FEB 09 ExtravaGANJA Howard Rover At La Jolla Comedy Store @ 8:30

FEB 11 Sound Tribe Sector 9 At House of Blues @ 7

FEB 12 Stranger At Winston’s @ 10:30

G Love and Special Sauce And Red Eye Empire At House of Blues @ 7

North County American’s for Safe Access Meeting At 1050 S. Sante Fe Road, Vista @ 7

FEB 13 SO CAL NORML meeting At World Beat Center, @ 10AM

Without Papers And Ziggens At O’Connells @ 8

Rootsicali and Seedless And Shoreline Roots At Beachside Grill @ 8

Mike Pinto At Jumping Turtle @ 9

Ray at Night Art Walk in North Park @ 6

Babylon Saints At The Leucadian @ 9:30

Los Lonley Boys At Belly Up Tavern @ 8

FEB 14 Valentines Day!

FEB 15 President’s Day!

Tribute to Reggae Legends “Bob Fest 2010” At The Sports Arena @ 12

FEBRUARY 2010

FEB 16 Project: Out of Bounds At Winston’s @ 9

Mardi Gras Downtown San Diego @ 6

FEB 19 Medical Marijuana Task Force Meeting At SD City Hall @ 9am

Project: Out of Bounds At The Leucadian @ 9

Raiz Muzik At JJ Purty Launders @ 9

FEB 20 Ladera Skateboards presents: Winter Blackout.

The Expandables And Iration At The House of Blues @ 6

The Devastators At Winston’s @ 9

Stick Figure And Mystic Roots At 710 Beach Club @ 9

FEB 26 Tomorrows Bad Seeds At Winston’s @ 8

North County American’s for Safe Access Meeting At 1050 S. Sante Fe Road, Vista @ 7

619 At Second Wind Santee @ 9

Dubluva At Hennessey’s Tavern @ 9

Stick Figure And Jack Maness At Gallagher’s @ 9

If you think your event is NUG worthy, you can add it to our list by emailing us at SUBMIT@NUGMAG.COM

FEB 23 San Diego American’s for Safe Access Movie Night At 6070 Mt. Alifan @7

FEB 24 Rhythm And The Method At Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge @ 8

FEB 2010 | NUGMAG.COM 67

Secure private parking

Discount for Veterans, Senoir Citizens, College Students w /ID

Handicap access

A non-profit Collective

Friendly Staff

619-544-1555 vd Bl

Victory 215 215 Victory #105 San San Diego Diego C.A. C.A. 92101 92101 1025 W. Laurel St #105

Free lunch for new members w/any Donation

4gramss Get 4gram onwith thisanycoupon1/8

10% off any donation with this coupon