Sacalt may 2014 by SacAlt Magazine

may 2014 PRICELESS

FREE

Incredible Edibles

New Glory

Lee Camp

Rebelution

Super Foods

SacAlternative | May 2014

Staff Publication Editor Lovelle Harris For Advertising, contact info@sacalternative.com Contributors & Photographers Josh Burke, Chavez, Joey Cline, Andy Conn, Megan Lee, Ron Mullins, Ty Rivers, Steph Rodriguez, Dan Scott, Joe Sinclair, Sarah Sinclair Design & Layout Kory & Steph for whiskey&sour info@whiskeyandsour.com SacAlternative 916.800.5884 www.SacAlt.com info@sacalternative.com

may 2014

Contents 04 AltNote

20 PatientProfile

07 AltReviews

23 AltTender

10 Cannabis

28 AltRadicals

Community

31 GrowGuide

Corner

35 AltMusic

13 AltBrews

16 AltTalks

46 Directory

18 AltAndAbout

Check out what we did last month!

LettersEditor We appreciate your feedback. Letters to the editor may be edited for length and clarity. Email us at letters@sacalt.com

AltFood & Health

April introduced a couple of new features to you guys. The AltFood, Health, and Brews segments return this month. Hopefully your 420 was as awesome as ours. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be covering some of the 420 fun in this issue.

sacramentoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

SacAlternative | April 2014

alternative

magazine

april 2014

Mission Statement SacAlternative is a monthly news and arts magazine with a mission to inform, report and provide quality content to all individuals living in the Sacramento area. Our writers, editors and staff aim to present a variety of social and political topics, balanced with interest to the alternative arts, grassroots movements and green lifestyle representing the region. Advertising Information All advertising is subject to final approval from the advertiser. The advertiser provides SacAlternative with digital files when available. The advertiser, and not SacAlternative, accepts all responsibility for the content of the advertising. The advertiser accepts responsibility for concept, design, photography layout and content of the advertisement, not SacAlternative. Disclaimer You may not use, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, distribute, or modify the Marks in any way, including in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of materials in this Magazine or on accompanying Website, without SacAlternative prior written consent. The views expressed by the authors and writers in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of SacAlternative. Comments on this publication are the sole responsibility of their writers and the writer will take full responsibility, liability, and blame for any libel or litigation those results from something written in or as a direct result of something written in SacAlternative. The accuracy, completeness, veracity, honesty, exactitude, factuality and politeness of comments are not guaranteed.

SacAlternative | May 2014

AltNote

Let it Grow! by Lovelle Harris When I think of the growing season, I’m instantly transported back to my home state of Alaska. With only a few short months of warm weather, but seemingly endless hours of daylight, Alaskans learn to take advantage of every ray of sunshine in order to make the most of a ridiculously short season—summer is merely a blip on the radar with just a couple of months of sunshine and warmth before Old Man Winter envelopes everyone back in its frigid embrace. After a long, and I mean long, winter—think months of darkness accompanied by a bitter and unrelenting torrent of cold temperatures that can, and often do, dip to -65 F—it’s hard to believe that anyone can cultivate a vegetable garden of more than a few ragged and malnourished offerings that barely resemble something you’d find in the produce section of your local supermarket. But, during those glorious months of summer, Alaska makes up for those dark and desolate winter months, with a pretty legit growing

season—thanks to an abundance of light, as most of the state receives upwards of 24 hours of daylight. While the growing season is short the days are long and it’s not unheard of to hear of tall tales around the farm stand about pumpkins toppling the scales at 1,000 pounds, or more. But here in California, the growing season never seems to end. Here in the Sacramento Valley alone, we have it especially good. In this issue of SacAlt, Joey Cline provides a quick and dirty account of a few of those muchhyped superfoods that can be procured at the many farmer’s markets that have seemingly sprouted up all over town, not to mention all of the local farms that are producing quality, oftentimes organic and pesticide-free, fruits and vegetables. Yes, we’re damn lucky to live in the vegetable and fruit basket of America.

cannabis. Though our intrepid cannabis activist, Ron Mullins, points out that the fight for the freedom to grow is still being waged in local governments all across the state. So, it’s time to dig out those trusty coveralls, or head to a local venue where the bounty of Sacramento’s fertile lands can be had on the cheap, or pick up a few picket signs and rally your fellow cannabis activist friends and revel in all of that beautiful California sunshine, because summer is coming, my friends. Back in Alaska, we’d say “Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!” Here in Sacramento I say, “Let it grow! Let it grow! Let it grow!”

Of course the growing season doesn’t end with just fruits and veggies. Steph Rodriguez gives us the lowdown on all of the tips and tricks necessary to produce a quality crop of

SacAlternative | May 2014

AltReviews

Dispensary Finds

Edibles from River City Phoenix Prove Effective by Chavez I am 52 years old and I have systemic sclerosis, Raynaud’s disease, pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension—a nasty combination of diseases that typically proves fatal.

product, all of it, had to undergo mandatory testing before it could be placed in the product room. He assured me that quality control at RCP is outstanding.

When I was diagnosed, the doctors started me on some strong chemotherapy, which made me sick. It wasn’t until my 18-year-old daughter recommended I try medical marijuana to alleviate my symptoms that I realized its healing power. She suggested I try “edibles” because I have lung disease and can’t smoke. The medicine worked—I could finally control my pain effectively with fewer pharmaceutical side effects.

Next, I learned about all the different kinds of digestible medication which RCP carried: Electric Chews, extracts/oils, coffee beans, Cheeba Chews, Kiva Bars, lollipops, and much more. I wanted to try an assortment of products so I donated and took home two oil extracts ($60.00), Cheeba Chews ($14.00/pkg), and a Kiva bar ($18.00/bar). As I was donating, Nick noticed my fingers were turning blue. Shayna and Nick looked at each other and simultaneously said, “She’s got Raynaud’s, get her some of the THC lotion.” As soon as I got into my car, I rubbed a dab of the lotion into my hands. The emollient was absorbent and smelled nice. After 30 minutes, I noticed that I had no pain and stiffness in my hands, and that lasted several hours. I was ready to dive into the rest of the testing.

As a card-carrying medical marijuana patient, I have experienced moments when I could have used a product review manual to guide me through the different kinds of medication, potency and dosages. So, in the interest of paying it forward, here’s the lowdown on my recent dispensary finds. I visited River City Phoenix, a highly regarded dispensary in Sacramento which prides itself as the “leader in personal choice health options.” When I parked in front of the small building, there were two lines of patients snaking out the glass doors into the parking lot. Michael, the security officer at the front door, explained that on this particular day they were extremely busy because of 4/20 week. After about a 20-minute wait, I was able to meet with the manager on-duty, Shayna, a very pleasant, helpful young lady who said she’d be happy to show me around the dispensary. Once inside, after a military-like security check and ID presentation, Shayna introduced me to my smiling budtender, Nick, an extremely knowledgeable and compassionate person who obviously loved his job. I felt I was in expert hands. Nick schooled me on the accepted terminology to use while in RCP. Nick insisted on using “digestibles” instead of “edibles” to describe medical marijuana made into edible medicine. He said the process of absorbing the medicine is digestion so “digestibles” is more appropriate. He told me that I should always use the words “patient” instead of “customer,” “donate” instead of “purchase,” and “potency” instead of “strength.” He said these terms are important in the current political atmosphere of medical marijuana activism. Shayna explained to me that their dispensary was “a collective of patients helping patients.” Nick revealed that their

SacAlternative | May 2014

Full Extract Cannabis Oil—a nominal oral dose is .10 gram. As a means with which to deliver the medicine, I put the oil on a piece of bread and ate that. Not a very pleasant taste for me. I also waited 45 minutes for an effect and noticed no notable relief of symptoms. After, I took another .10 gram dose and then felt its pain relieving power. Finally, wave after wave of excruciating pain quietly subsided. I highly recommend this product. Cheeba Chews—has a nice chocolate flavor that’s much like a tootsie roll but delivers good potency with a mellow body high. I tried one chew first and it took about 45 minutes to kick in and relieve my symptoms. The next night I took three chews and I woke up the following day at 1 p.m.; obviously too high a dose. Two doses worked perfectly for me, and I firmly believe that this product will work for you, too. Kiva Bar—yields a great milky, vanilla chai taste. One dose, 45 mg. THC, took about 30 minutes to take effect. I was greeted with a complete alleviation of my symptoms without an overpowering sedative side effect. I will happily recommend this product to anyone. As I continue to fight to stay alive, the healing power of medical cannabis has proven an invaluable ally—along with my new friends at RCP. River City Phoenix, 1508 El Camino Ave., Sacramento, CA 95815, (916) 925-5696, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday - Saturday

SacAlternative | May 2014

CannabisCommunityCorner

by Ron Mullins

So, spring has sprung and the time has come for people in our community to plant their medicinal marijuana gardens. It’s also the time when state and local governments scramble to pass regulations that restrict this practice. This time they apparently planned to accomplish their goals by preventing anyone at all from growing any cannabis anywhere, outdoors or in. At least that would have been the case if Roberta MacGlashan of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors had gotten her way. The District 4 county supervisor proposed two separate ordinances in April, one to ban indoor and one to ban outdoor growing, with zero tolerance and zero plants allowed. MacGlashan insisted that her proposals would impose no criminal liability; however, they would have created civil penalties for growing just a few plants, even in the absence of any nuisance or smell complaints. You heard me right. Her law would have made any cannabis a nuisance, even if it didn’t bother anyone. In what seemed a dog-and-pony show of conservative mumbo-jumbo designed to frighten people, the April meeting of the board focused on large-scale grows for profit and came complete with photos of environmental destruction sites and dour tales of barbed wire, vicious dogs and armed guards. What none of us, including Supervisor Phil Serna from District 1, could understand was how a small, six-plant indoor grow would be a nuisance. The various speakers went around and around on this topic, but none of them could produce a real problem that small patient grows create. One speaker from the Sheriff’s Office even claimed that small grows are a problem because they might create mold which the police would then breathe in. This caused scattered laughter around the room. Serna pressed Sheriff Scott Jones about the mold comment. He got defensive and claimed that officers spending many hours pulling up plants in grow rooms were at risk. However, he

didn’t explain how it could take hours to remove six plants and nobody was allowed to chime in on that and challenge Jones’ assertion. More than 20 people from the cannabis community spoke to the board, and it actually seems as if they listened. The speakers in opposition to the proposed bans pointed out that many inaccurate statements had been made by the so-called professionals in the field. Dale Gieringer and Ellen Komp of the California Chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, Bob Bowerman of Sacramento NORML, Kim Cargyle and Rich Miller of Sacramento Americans for Safe Access, and many more speakers utilized their three minutes well. I noted, and patient advocate Bette Braden also pointed out, the absence of specific data when the proponents presented their information. “Many,” “a lot,” and “much,” took the place of statistics, data, and pie charts. “I ran a business,” Braden scolded, “And if you worked for me, Mrs. MacGlashan, your report would be considered vague and incomplete. And all of your supporters showed clear bias.” Unfortunately, in the end the boogieman tactics seemed to work where outdoor growing was concerned and the outdoor ban passed unanimously. However, the indoor ordinance was rejected and the Board decided to seek regulations that would allow small, sensible grow sizes for patients only. In the end they decided to wait until May 28 and see what the staff could come up with in the way of a proposal for regulating indoor cultivation in the unincorporated areas of Sacramento. Just a day earlier, Senate Bill (SB) 1262, authored by Senator Joe Correa, was moving its way through the California Senate. It was designed to look like a harmless regulatory bill that would close the loopholes left by Proposition 215. It raised a few hackles in the activist community because of its far-

reaching limitations on doctors, limitations that essentially would have made it next to impossible for them to recommend cannabis. After some lobbying from our community, the bill came out better than expected. One of the draconian proposals removed was an audit of any doctor recommending cannabis more than 100 times a year. Patients under 21 can receive treatment as long as a pediatrician signs off on the recommendation and non-smoking methods of administration are taught. In the Senate committee hearing held April 21, ASA removed its letter of opposition and supported “with reservations” a revised, less aggressive form of the bill. Cal NORML also supported it and Sacramento NORML took a neutral stance. Crusaders for Patients’ Rights opposed it “with reservations.” The bill will now move on to the Public Health and Safety Committee. If it survives, we will see medical cannabis regulated by the California Department of Public Health, not the Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control, which makes more sense for medical use. It does give a lot of power (too much, in my opinion) to local cities and counties to regulate and ban the cultivation and distribution of cannabis. The bill will also regulate marijuana advertising and require cannabis doctors to adhere to the Medical Practice Act, which prohibits discounts, incentives and gifts. SB 1262 still has some hurdles to jump, but it will be interesting to see if we can actually achieve what we have been working for in the medical cannabis community all these years. I truly believe there is cause for optimism for the future. The boards and bodies cooperating to form new legislation never took anything we said seriously just a few short years ago. Now they are offering to work with us. At the very least, most of them have stopped saying that cannabis isn’t medicine.

SacAlternative | May 2014

AltBrews

Powerin’ Through Local Brews Sacramento’s two newest breweries are playing a part in Power Inn’s transformation by Dan Scott The Power Inn area, tucked into the southeastern corner of Sacramento, was named for a popular roadhouse of the early 20th century, according to the Power Inn Alliance, a coalition of over 1,100 businesses and property owners and local social service agencies. Forming Sacramento’s largest industrial and business park, it contains dozens of warehouses between California State University, Sacramento and Tahoe Park. In 2006, the City of Sacramento designated the area as a property and business improvement district which began to transform it into a more diverse neighborhood.

and the names of the various beers often reflect American history and values. Julien connects deeply with the American emphasis on a strong work ethic, close families and patriotic pride, which he feels were not emphasized in France.

Contributing to this transformation, Julien and Erica Lux opened New Glory Craft Brewery in 2012. While most new breweries spend years looking for a suitable location, their 30,000 square foot warehouse was already in the family and sitting vacant. When Erica insisted that Julien’s large-scale homebrew obsession be removed from their garage, the warehouse property became a clubhouse where he and his friends could brew beer, watch sports and barbecue. Julien soon realized the space had all the necessary accommodations for a commercial brewing operation. The neighborhood offered cheap rent, access for deliveries and simplified permitting.

Julien’s beer is brewed with a goal of welcoming inclusion. He says he wants Old Glory beers to be smooth and therefore rejects a focus on aggressive, hop-forward brews. He cites the preferences of consumers who are newer to the craft beer world. They tell him they are turned off by beer that is too bitter, too hoppy, which is why he brews a variety of more traditional brewpub styles that are becoming less common in new operations such as his. The result sets him apart from the numerous breweries that emphasize a variety of India Pale Ales.

New Glory is the byproduct of Julien’s love for America. Born and raised in France, he came to California as an exchange student, met and fell in love with Erica, and emigrated permanently after high school. The New Glory moniker is a play on the Old Glory nickname of the U.S. flag,

SacAlternative | May 2014

The tasting room is one reflection of Julien’s desire to support family and community. While most industrial tasting rooms are sparse, even cold, New Glory’s is covered in rich, dark wood. Plush couches and beer barrel tables create a number of intimate nooks where couples and groups can enjoy privacy in the midst of a busy public house. Food trucks offer guests a different menu every day.

His target audience is the majority of American beer drinkers who are not craft beer converts, but are beer curious and more receptive of gateway beers that entice them to try more. This strategy has quickly made his handles more common in a variety of Sacramento businesses, from alehouses looking for a wider selection of styles to restaurants seeking foodfriendly beer for consumers who want comfort and familiarity in their glass.

One of his lighter offerings is American Country Farmhouse Ale, which has a flavor profile similar to an American Hefeweizen, with pronounced banana, clove and sweet citrus in the nose but a dry and tangy finish. Another flagship beer is Rapid Fire Red, traditional American red ale pleasing to fans of almost any beer style, complex yet light and clean with balance of malt and hops. During my last visit, I discovered the Imperial Red Ale, an amped-up version of the Rapid Fire Red that had more of everything but managed to keep the same balance. Seasonal brews include Red, White and Bloom Golden Ale, Valley Forge Oatmeal Stout and Fall Freedom Brown Ale. The Mighty Eighth IPA possesses a decent hop wallop, but is much less aggressive than the typical West Coast IPA. Julien also has several barrel-aged beers maturing in his cellar and plans to debut one each quarter. The first in this series, Honey Springs Bourbon Ale, was released at the tasting room’s grand opening in February. With three-quarters of the warehouse still empty, New Glory has ample room for expansion. While continuing to make a variety of approachable beers to entice new drinkers into the craft beer fold, Julien also plans to take his show on the road at a number of regional festivals and team up with local restaurants on special beer pairing menus. Stand by for a greater presence of this remarkable label in the future.

SacAlternative | May 2014

AltTalks

Lee Campâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Moment of Clarity by Josh Burke

Recently, I had the pleasure of talking with Lee Camp, one of my favorite up-and-coming young comedians, a brilliant guy who has a ferocious appetite for the truth, combining hilarious wit and a social activist persona with a knack for calling authorities out on their bullshit. Photo: CS Muncy

SacAlternative | May 2014

Best known for his short “Moment of Clarity” podcasts, which he posts weekly to YouTube and his website, I first saw one of these about a year ago and have been following him ever since. Because Lee is a late night kind of guy, we set our phone call for 11 p.m. Eastern time. He answers the phone sounding a bit tired, but cordial. After a few seconds of shooting the shit and drinking a beer we relax into conversation about his motivation and how he came to the decision to use comedy as a form of activism. A lot of comedians might make a political point here or there, but Lee takes pot shots at the establishment with nearly every joke. I wanted to know how he came to be not just a comedian, but a comedy activist. “I’ve wanted to be a comedian since I was 12. I was a regular comedian without any political point for a while, and then it was just a combination of becoming more informed about what was going on the world...and there just aren’t that many forums where people pay to come hear you speak your mind,” he explains. “I mean I had to make it funny, but...I just felt like I wanted my words to matter.” “The other thing...is there [are] no real gatekeepers with stand-up comedy. Everything people are getting through the corporate media has been carefully vetted,” he says. “That doesn’t mean you won’t see some [comedians] go off the reservation now and again, but basically [they’re] not on the airwaves unless [they’re saying acceptable things]. Six media conglomerates own 80 or 90 percent of everything people see, hear, or take in. The fact that I get to have a way to speak to people… outside of...those gates is pretty important.” Damned important, I’d say. So, I pondered, what is the most annoying thing about the mainstream media to a guy like Lee Camp? He chuckles. “God, there’s so many problems, and they’re all interconnected. But I guess it comes down to whatever gets ratings. I mean…CNN has done [endless] coverage of this missing plane... and it’s because it’s getting ratings. They’ve doubled their ratings on it. And they’ve showed time and again it doesn’t matter if they get things right or not. They can sit there and make up the wildest theories about where the plane went and it doesn’t fucking matter. The ratings come in and that’s what counts to them. You know, independent studies showed that at least half of what was reported in the crucial 24-48 hours after the Boston bombing…was wrong. And that pissed me off. If that incident were to happen again, they’d do it again because their ratings were through the roof.”

SacAlternative | May 2014

In one of his recent podcasts, Lee hammers authorities in Texas for conducting an armed raid upon a sustainable community called the Garden of Eden. He starts it off by saying: “Many of us have that thought, just for a second, ‘What if I lived off the grid? What if I lived on, like, a sustainable farm? Growing my own food, gathering my own water, getting my energy directly from the sun?’ Well, now we have an answer to that question. You would be a fucking no good, dirty criminal, all right? You’d be an anti-American scoundrel sucking off the system!” I asked him why to explain his perspective on why our government would give a shit about what on the surface seems to be just a harmless bunch of hippies growing their own food.

“My ‘Moment of Clarity’ connects the dots between sustainable living and the way people who are good examples are shut down...” “Well, government forces will do whatever the fuck they want. My ‘Moment of Clarity’ connects the dots between sustainable living and the way people who are good examples are shut down... because good examples can be so powerful. They can ignite minds, they can make people think, and turn them into activists and change their lives.” I think Lee is right on the money with this. And I also know how intimidating it can be to try to stand up to the government when they can roll in with guns and helicopters, when all we have is words and maybe some organic kale. And so I asked him for his thoughts on how people who want to make a difference, but feel disenfranchised and powerless, can get involved and effect change in the face of this kind of oppression. “Well, I truly believe it needs to be all approaches...we each do our own thing if we choose to be an activist, or choose to speak up about these things,” he says. “Some people do art; some people do music...some people march in the streets. Some people are kind of more confrontational, about, ‘We’re going to go after this congressperson who’s corrupt,’ and some people are like I’m going to go live on this little farm and create an example of the way the world should be. And I think all those things add up is what it is.”

Lee also cautions that change, as we all know, is a long and hard fought endeavor. “It’s very easy to fall into the trap of, ‘We’re gonna do this overnight,’” he says. “But it almost never happens that way. If we’re going to change the system it tends to be death by a million bee stings. I have a tattoo on my arm (a quote) by Howard Zinn that says, ‘Small acts multiplied by millions of people equal a power that no government can suppress, a power that can change the world.’ And I think that’s how it’s gonna be.” Lee also suggests that educating oneself about the injustices around them is an incredibly power catalyst for change. “The other thing is just awareness; reading magazines like yours, and hopefully listening to comedy like mine, and getting media from outside the regular thought paradigm,” Lee says. “And it’s a slow awakening you see happening...even on things like gay marriage, or legalizing marijuana, especially for medicinal use. You know these things have changed immensely...over the last 10 years. And it’s because of this information revolution. People are waking up to not just those issues, but waking up in a massive way. The power elite is losing control of the situation, which is the best thing that could happen.” I couldn’t agree more. Suffice it to say that I find Lee’s courage and wit both inspiring and entertaining. We need more people like him if we’re going to transform the world we live in from a place of corporate welfare, greed, tyranny, war, wealth disparity, ignorance and intolerance to a place with a lot more beauty, truth, courage, compassion, and unity. That’s a large task indeed and one that will take not just political changes but a revolution in consciousness, a re-imagining of what it means to be human. We can no longer stand idly by, believing that the problems of others are not our own. We are all one, we’re in this thing together, and we have a responsibility not just to ourselves, but to each other, to the planet we call home, and every living thing on it. To access all of Lee’s work, just hop on your interwebs and go to www.leecamp.net. You can view all of his outrageous and informative moments of clarity, and he’s also got a new comedy special “We Are Nothing” online that you can download for a suggested donation of $5, a book titled “Moment of Clarity, The Rantings of a Stark Raving Sane Man” and his comedy album, “Pepper Spray the Tears Away.” After laughing your ass off for a few minutes, why not think about whatever little thing you can do to stand up for truth, freedom, and human dignity? We need all the help we can get.

AltAndAbout SacAlt dropped by Hippy Hill for a 4/20 celebration and an Earth Day Festival at South Side Park in downtown Sacramento on April 19.

SacAlternative | May 2014

PatientProfile

by Ron Mullins Rusty Hart is a 44-year-old who describes herself as a “medical marijuana refugee.” Like most refugees, her story is not unusual. Persecution and alienation were the catalysts that drove this native Californian to flee Lubbock, Texas in February 2014 to return to the West Coast. Her salvation: safe access to quality cannabis. “In Texas, you can do real jail time for weed,” Hart says. “Though I never got caught, I lived in fear of being discovered.” Hart left California in 2004 to help her mother care for her father, a Vietnam War veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and neural neuropathy linked to his exposure to Agent Orange. In less than a year, her mom had passed away from multi-organ failure due to misdiagnosed nonHodgkin’s lymphoma and she spent the next nine years taking care of her dad. Growing up, her family was not shy about drug use. Her parents used cannabis on a regular basis and she first tried it when she was 15. “When I was a teenager, my friends worried about getting in trouble if their parents found their stash. I worried about my parents smoking mine,” she jokes. “[But] I really didn’t look to cannabis as a medicine until my mom got sick.” During the early stages of her mother’s illness, when she was able to return home from the hospital for holidays, they smoked marijuana together. During those times Hart observed that her mother felt and looked better than she did at any time during her entire hospitalization. “I knew nothing about the science, but I knew what I saw,” Hart recalls.

In 2009, through the internet and her Facebook connections, Hart, who was suffering from a host of her own debilitating ailments, was introduced to a whole new world—the world of medicinal cannabis.

Charlie arriving at the chocolate factory, my brain flooded with amazement and wonder. I learned that day that I could eat cannabis, drink it, and rub it right on my arthritis. I’ve felt 180 percent better since I came back to California, especially knowing I won’t be persecuted for seeking a pain-free life.”

“I read about the fight for marijuana as medicine,” she says, “And I wanted to move back [to California] then. I was suffering from depression, Hart is now working on the necessary sciatica, and arthritis in my hips and my knees. documentation to get her father a cannabis I didn’t have healthcare, so I would go to the recommendation. ER several times a year for treatment when the “We need a lot of documentation, including an pain became unbearable. Otherwise, when I ID [card], which we can get right after we get could afford it, I found relief in marijuana, which his birth certificate,” she explains. I could get on the underground market without a prescription. I really feared persecution, Hart is also working on qualifying for disability however, and knew that back in California I benefits through Social Security for her chronic could get consistently high quality marijuana condition, which makes it impossible for her to without having to put my life and personal work, while she and Wade look for housing in record in danger.” Arden-Arcade or Carmichael. Although her father’s continued use of cannabis Hart’s story is not unique among medical seemed to benefit his various conditions, they cannabis patients. Though there aren’t exact couldn’t afford to move. Then her dad’s pension numbers of patients seeking greener pastures fund came through and she, her fiancé Wade, and her father planned their move west. As they in the Golden State, there are more and more made their final plans to move in 2013, Hart people who’ve moved to California from a became inexplicably blind. non-medical state so they are able acquire their medicine free from persecution, not only “I was declared legally blind in January 2013, from police and government agencies, but also two weeks after my dad got his pension check,” from a society uncomfortable with those who she says. “Since I was the only person who could drive, our trip was held up for over a year.” acknowledge cannabis as medicine. After multiple surgeries, Hart overcame her bizarre affliction, using cannabis to treat the pain, swelling and depression it caused. Then in February 2014, with her vision restored, Hart, Wade and her dad loaded up their 2001Yukon SUV and hit the freeway. Seven days later, despite a host of ongoing medical issues, they were in California “In less than two weeks, I had all [of] my doctor’s paperwork and was able to get good medicine from a real dispensary,” she says. “I felt like

As Hart can attest, cannabis is far more accepted in the western states than in the South. “In this enlightened day and age,” Hart says. “It’s insane that I had to move 1,600 miles to get the relief I need from a plant that never harmed anyone. But I did and I’m glad I did and I’ll never again live in a state that doesn’t have medical marijuana.”

SacAlternative | May 2014

Free meal from our food truck with full paid admission, 9pm-2am Free meal with paid admission, 9pm-2am Hiring Entertainers! Call for more info!

SacAlternative | May 2014

AltTender

May’s Budtender of the Month by Ty Rivers

Name: Jessica Johnson Dispensary: Doctor’s Orders Vitals: Single Over/Under 25: Under Favorite Strain: Monster Cookies

When SacAlt chooses a budtender to feature each month, many elements come into consideration; experience, knowledge, expertise and recommendations from patients are some of the determining factors. This month, Jessica Johnson, budtender extraordinaire at Doctors Orders in Sacramento, takes the crown. Johnson possesses all the qualities that make budtenders an important asset to patients. Equally impressive is that Jessica has only been working in the industry for a few months. Armed with that knowledge, we put her to the test and asked her questions about strains, THC and CBD levels, patient needs and overall understanding of the industry. We were impressed! She is informative, knowledgeable and knows her stuff. I asked her about the difference between Purple AK and Grand Daddy Purple, (a question I could not answer if given a 2-foot bong and an 8-hour study secession with Jack Herer) and she dutifully explained the finer details of the indica strain, the THC levels and the dominant characteristics of both. Whoa! What Jessica lacks in experience she makes up in knowledge and smarts. SacAlt is proud to honor Jessica Johnson as May’s Budtender of the Month!

College) and am enrolled in the pharmacy technician program, so working as a budtender is similar to what I’m training for. More than that, I’m very interested in the clinical side of cannabis, the chemistry. I have been around medicinal cannabis for years and have seen the wonderful effect it has on healing and bringing relief to patients who suffer from chronic pain and other afflictions.

How long have you been working in the industry? I’ve been in the industry for a few months.

You mentioned you have experience in the industry. If you just received your card, what was the experience you had with medicinal cannabis? I have family members that use medicinal cannabis. It has had an immediate and wonderful impact on their lives with absolutely no side effects. It’s (cannabis) really the only medicine that [offer] that. Once receiving a medicinal cannabis prescription, it was an amazing transformation. They could function normally and maintain a healthy lifestyle including relief from pharmaceuticals because of medicinal cannabis.

Is Doctors Orders the first place you have worked in the medical cannabis industry? Yes. Wow! Do you find it difficult working in an industry with so many variables, like patient assessment, medicinal uses of the product and many other ancillary components with only a few months experience? It’s challenging but I love it! I researched and studied diligently before I started, so I hit the ground running with a solid foundation. I graduated early from school and have always challenged myself. I am attending (Heald

SacAlternative | May 2014

How did you find employment with Doctors Orders? I received my card (medical marijuana ID card or 215 card) a few weeks before I started working here. I’ve always been interested in the medicinal elements of the plant and did a lot of research before receiving my prescription. Once I had it (215 card) I talked with the manager at Doctors Orders and thought this would be a good fit for me and them. Do you enjoy working here? I absolutely love it! It’s such a homey atmosphere. Everyone is focused on helping the patients. It’s a true collective in that we help each other, staff and patients, to find the best solution possible. It’s laid-back but very professional.

Understandably you are focused on the medicinal aspect of cannabis. Do you find that most patients recognize the variances in strains and how they can affect each

individual differently? Yes and no. For example just before we started talking I had a patient who wondered about indica versus sativa, and how they affect people differently. Indicas and sativas affect some patients opposite of others. Together we formulated a plan. Previously he had tried the GDP (Grand Daddy Purple), which is a heavy indica, but I suggested the 707 Headband, which is a sativa, and will allow him relief from his pain, but also allow him to function normally with a certain amount of increased energy. He is really happy with the choice. I have found that all the budtenders at Doctors Orders are really concerned with finding the right medicine for each patient. I realize you’re new, but what do you think sets Doctors Orders apart from other dispensaries? First and foremost, it’s homey and warm, but tremendously professional. [It has] a great atmosphere. It’s obvious we care, and want our patients to get better and feel better. We don’t rush you. We interact with our patients in a professional and caring manner. We understand their comfort level is the most important thing. Again, although you are new to the industry do you think people follow budtenders? Absolutely! I’ve only been here a few months, but I have people ask for me and feel comfortable talking with me. I really see that with the other budtenders that work here. Patients will wait for a certain budtender, or even come back if he or she is not working. It’s a personal decision, and our patients seek advice by someone they trust. What is the hot product right now? Actually, clones are the hot movers right now. We list them online and people jump on them immediately! What do you do with your free time? (Laughs) I have no free time.

SacAlternative | May 2014

AltRadicals to the wagon should be their focus or those of us locked inside the bank branch. We were eventually removed from the bank before the officers tried to figure out how to unchain the protestors from the Wells Fargo wagon sculpture. In front of the bank about 50 of our cohorts played an oversized Monopoly game that mocked the broken financial system. No one got arrested, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

The Real Radicals of Sacramento: Closing Down the Banks by Andy Conn Over 5.7 million Americans have lost their homes to bank foreclosures since 2008. An estimated 6.5 million are still in danger. Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America have used tactics like robo-signing staffers hired to sign anything they are given without reading it, forged signatures, and duplicitous methods of stalling court-ordered loan modifications until after foreclosure procedures have been initiated. According to Lisa Wuriu, a member of Occupy Sacramento’s Foreclosure Action Group and Urban Outreach, the financial toll of these foreclosures is enormous. Families face homelessness, financial ruin, crushing stress and lifelong poverty. “The Latino and Black communities were particularly hard hit, with many being permanently knocked out of the middle class and back into poverty,” she said. “Since 2008, millions of families have had their lives shattered due to an ugly mixture of predatory lending, absurdly inflated home prices, dual tracking, and denial of reasonable loan modification. The list of bank transgressions goes on and on. Banks have made countless errors and often outright lie, falsifying paperwork, giving homeowners confusing, contradictory and false information, even foreclosing on the wrong houses and on homeowners not in default.”

Information that has been leaked to the media showed that banks actually gave employees financial incentives to deny modifications, lie about alternatives to foreclosures, and shove as many homeowners into foreclosure as possible. The indignation felt by activists like Wuriu has resulted in real action. The Occupy Foreclosure Action Group has planned and carried out four bank shutdowns in Sacramento over the last two years, spearheaded by Wuriu, Cathy ShoreGrant, Bob Saunders, and a number of other rabble rousers. The institutions closed down include the Wells Fargo on Capital Mall (twice), the Bank of America in Oak Park (once), and the Chase Bank on Watt Avenue (once). Before this article goes to press we will have shut down yet another bank. Last year’s shutdown action had the group barge into Wells Fargo on the Capital Mall dressed as Monopoly characters with postersized property cards, oversized dice and a giant “Get Out of Jail Free” card. Two of the members chained themselves to the Wells Fargo wagon while the other players barged into the inner sanctum of the bank and announced, “This is an Occupy-mandated shutdown of Wells Fargo Bank.” After our proclamation, we were locked in the bank and the police were called. The befuddled cops couldn’t decide if the women chained

The shutdown of the Bank of America in Oak Park speaks to the excitement and efficacy of planning and executing attention-grabbing stunts. Twenty-five people, coming down different streets, wearing disguises and carrying props, approached the bank only to find that Facebook spies had announced their coming. A troop of second-tier Blackwater-style mercenaries from a company called G-4 were already standing guard. A couple of our soldiers got into the bank as the body-armored guards tried to shut the doors. Luckily, Brother Carter, known as the spiritual voice of the Occupy movement, was not to be denied entrance. Brandishing his Bank of America ATM card, he loudly demanded he be granted access to HIS bank to, “Do some business.” A long skirmish took place at the door, where pushing, blocking and shoving ensued. Carter and the group were eventually overpowered and the doors shut and locked. We surrounded the bank and kept it down for the rest of that business day. Nationwide, the Occupy movement has not only shut down hundreds of banks to highlight the destructive tendencies of the greedy 1 percent, but have also come up with solutions, such as “The Rolling Jubilee,” that have raised millions of dollars to pay off bank and school loans and medical debts for citizens in need. Thus far not a single CEO or CFO of these banks has been tried or jailed for their crimes against citizens. It is our job to keep reminding the public that these heartless bankers are still perpetrating their crimes without consequence. If you would like to get involved with us, contact Occupy Sacramento through Facebook: facebook.com/OccupySacramento We will be effective in our struggle. We are banking on it.

SacAlternative | May 2014

Spring

AltGrow

Grow Guide

by Steph Rodriguez

The spring season marks not only a time for sun-kissed shoulders and open-air barbecues, but also inspires green-thumbed gardeners to begin the first stages of outdoor cannabis growth. Tom Danx, Sac Alternative’s expert agriculturalist, offers the following guide to the basic requirements for a successful grow.

PLANT AHEAD Before a seed is even sown, a successful grow requires proper planning and preparation. Many gardeners therefore nurse seedlings or clones indoors under metal halide lights during the winter in order to be ready for the spring. This prepares the young plants for the great outdoors when the right time to plant arrives. Happy, healthy plants require a warm and humid space during this phase.

SOIL BORN According to Danx, plants should be fed only organic materials, which for him includes Gardener’s Gold soil. He also uses perlite, little white pellets sprinkled throughout most commercial soils to absorb moisture. Soil should never be too moist due to the adverse effects excessive water can have upon the plants. Fertilizer is of course hugely important. “That’s the food for the plant itself,” Danx says. “You can’t just give it water and expect it to live. It literally needs to eat just like everybody else. We make a fertilizer base in a big ol’ wheel barrel and scoop it onto the base of the plants and water it into the soil. That way the fertilizer drops down and absorbs into the plant’s roots. We’ll do that once a week from May to

SacAlternative | May 2014

September and then we’ll add bloom food. Our personal favorite is Tiger Bloom, a high phosphorous fertilizer, which changes the ratio from 12-6-6 to 2-8-4.” “What we look for in our basic fertilizer,” Danx notes, “is a 12-6-6 balance, which is the pH level of nitrogen potassium and phosphorous. Those are the best ratios. Too much of either ingredient will cause an imbalance that can kill off the plant. You could also go natural with bat guano and earthworm casing, which we also use.”

DETEST THE PESTS Just like people, a variety of pests enjoy the benefits of cannabis. Depending on the outdoor environment, insects like spider mites or silkworms will ruin pounds of precious buds if organic pesticides aren’t utilized. “A while ago we lost several pounds to silkworms crawling down from oak trees onto the buds of the plants and eating solid holes through them,” Danx explains. “Spider mites are another indoor and outdoor issue for any cannabis person. These are extremely small, usually black but sometimes red mites that hang on the under leaf of the plant. You’ll notice white spots starting to form on the top of the leaves because the mites are eating through. Eventually they’ll stunt the growth of the flower.” We personally use organic pesticides and our favorite is Neem Oil.

DRYING Danx counsels the grower to be ready for harvest and that includes preparing a place in which to dry the plants.

“Make sure you have a complete area where you can dry all your plants at once. You don’t want to leave multiple plants in the ground for long periods of time or else you’re going to over ripen. So, plan well ahead and have a dry room,” he says. “We built a 40-foot long, 20foot wide and high steel and vinyl carport with an industrial-sized dehumidifier and fans. In it we have metal racks and can hang tree by tree.” Danx even has a suggestion to determine when the buds are perfectly ripe and ready to pick. “If you can break the stem,” he says, “it’s dry enough. If it bends, leave it a little longer because it’s not ready yet. After that, start trimmin’.”

CURE AND ENJOY The curing process is converting the remaining CBGs [Cannabigerol] sugars and starches into the psychoactive THC. This process increases the bud’s potency and allows it to ripen fully, much like an avocado. “There’s still a lot of moisture and gases inside the flower when it’s done,” Danx advises. “Curing allows it to expel all that stuff. The best way to cure is in large glass air-tight containers. The plant will release its carbon dioxide and the rest of the moisture. Every single day we’ll open up the lid, let in fresh air and then reseal the container. We’ll do that for about two weeks. Curing also makes the plant smell a lot better because it gets rid of the chlorophyll. The result is a much better taste and a much better high.”

SacAlternative | May 2014

AltMusic

Concerts in the Park

SacAlt Chats with Kaos of the Play Big Committee by Steph Rodriguez In 2011, a group of musicians, promoters and radio personalities formed the new Concerts in the Park panel under the moniker Play Big Sacramento. Members include Andy Hawk, Danny Secretion, Jake Desrochers, Justin Nordan, Mark Gilmore and Laith Kaos. With more than 70,000 people in attendance last year, the CIP panel looks to its third season headliners in !!! (Chk Chk Chk) and 7 Seconds to set the tone for the summer. Still, online critics and music enthusiasts openly argue that the panel’s final lineup decisions ultimately lack in terms of genre diversity and also in fair balance of male to female represented musicians. Sac Alternative magazine turns to Play Big committee member Kaos to answer the tough questions and also to shed light on the overall lengthy process of just how this six-member panel chooses their lineup year after year. What’s the process like for choosing performing acts? First, we started taking applications … then we started looking for bands that we’ve heard of. Three of us are in local bands and five of us book shows all over town. So, odds are we’ve either seen you on fliers or we’ve seen you in Submerge. If we haven’t at least heard of you or seen your name in print somewhere, you probably aren’t working hard enough. What does the committee mean by “working hard” exactly? The working aspect is only one bit of what we want to see. On the other side of it, you have to be able to fill a big stage and have peoples’ attention. It’s not just a place to come and sample a Budweiser. We want to display the 30 to 40 best bands in town and that includes how talented they are [and] how much they can fill a stage. There’s been a lot of buzz in town and on Facebook about the lack of hip-hop performers versus rock, country, folk and indie music on this year’s lineup. What can you tell Sac Alternative about this? I run the [CIP] email account. I accept every application [and] assemble them for all of us to look at. This past year, I received two applications from hip-hop artists—two. If we don’t get the applications, then we don’t know what hip-hop acts there are for Concerts in the Park. We put the word out there and, obviously, a lot of people know because I get a lot of applications from country acts, rock acts [and] folk bands, but I just get nothing from hip-hop. Who applied from the hip-hop community? Blaquelisted was one of the first to hit us up. What I liked about them was the fact that they had used a lot of different genres into what they were doing, which was a big reason why we liked Iconoclast Robot last year. We would have more hiphop acts, but you know, just wish they would apply.

SacAlternative | May 2014

Do you go to hip-hop shows? The last one I went to was actually Blaquelisted because they were on our watch list. As far as the rest of the [committee], Justin [Nordan] does a lot of the booking and ticket sales for a lot of the venues around here. So, every time a hip-hop show or a local show gets put together, he knows exactly how many tickets were sold by each musician. A lot of times, hip-hop acts just don’t have a following and don’t really bring people out to shows. If the lineup’s genres are skewed in one direction like rock, is that viewed as a full representation of the Sac music scene? If it’s one person up on a stage singing to a back track or to a deejay, it’s hard for someone to grasp and there’s very few artists that can do that really well. That’s why we’re trying to expand the deejay stage to make it a mini hip-hop stage as well. If the hip-hop community wants to see more of their artists, we have to see more than two or three applications. Committee members Danny Secretion and Jake Desrochers will perform this summer. Desrochers’ wife, Sarah, lead vocalist for Fudi, will too. Many critics call favoritism. Did the panel take this into consideration? The Secretions and The Lonely Kings have been together collectively for over 40 years and they’ve been rocking in Sac way before Concerts in the Park. They’ve paid their dues. With a band like 7 Seconds, a staple in the punk community in Sacramento, it just made sense that this was the year that we wanted to display some of our most influential bands in town. What about the representation of women on this year’s lineup? We wanted more of a female presence [this year] because people say they want to see more of that at Concerts in the Park, which is why we brought back Autumn Sky and why we have bands like The Kimberly Trip and like Fudi. Is it true that Autumn Sky had to write a lengthy email to be considered this year and she also signed it, Beyoncé? Oh yeah, I got that email. Way before she sent us that email we already decided that she was going to be playing again this year. We knew that last year. We didn’t bring her back last year because we wanted to wait. I couldn’t respond back, “Hey, you’re already on the show, no worries.” How do you personally respond to critics of the final lineup? I’m the guy who runs the [CIP] Facebook. I know a lot of people get upset with what bands we pick and don’t pick, but it’s nothing but good intentions with trying to display who we feel are the hardest working bands in Sacramento. We wish we could please everybody and bring in every genre, but we have to learn what we can from our successes and our failures.

SacAlternative | May 2014

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AltMusic

Welcome to the Rebelution by Ty Rivers SacAlt recently caught up with Wes Finley, the drummer for Rebelution—the rock, reggae and world band out of Santa Barbara, California. You have a new album coming out in June, “Count Me In.” What has changed for you musically since “Peace of Mind,” your last album in 2012? This time around I think we branched out a bit farther as we continue to dabble in slightly different genres. We embraced electronics a little more as well. “Lost in Dreams” was produced by hip-hop DJ Amp Live, and on “Fade Away” I used my electronic drum kit to obtain a rock ballad vibe. For the first time, we also have guest vocalists, specifically Collie Buddz and the legendary Don Carlos. What was the inspiration for your new album? I don’t know that there was one thing I could point to for all of us. Maybe we just had fun taking our time with it instead of rushing to get it out, making sure we were totally happy with where each track ended up. If you could jam with any musician past or present, who would it be? Flea would be a fun choice for me. He plays his bass like a lead guitar so I’d have no choice but to follow his crazy mind wherever it wanders. It would be

SacAlternative | May 2014

a fun jam session just grooving funk and rock lines and improvising with him. Who is your hero? My hero is Dino Campanella, the drummer for both Dredg and Crosses. He plays with such precision, power, and conviction that I’m renewed in my musical faith every time I witness him play. He’s really out there hustling to make a living, too, which I greatly respect. How long will you be on the road this year? We’re typically on the road half the year. Half of that is travel time, but we manage to play between 100-150 shows a year. It can be grueling, but we’ve been good about not working ourselves so hard that we start getting sick or injured. We’ve also started making regular trips to Europe and South America to expand our horizons. You’ve been together 10 years now. Where do you see yourself in 10 more? Hopefully we’ll have finally grown up by then. But kidding aside, we’re moving in a very professional direction. There’s a good chance we’ll probably be married with kids and be valuing family time even more, so I envision being selective about the shows we play and doing a lot of home recording.

What are some of the positives and negatives to your job? The positives are obvious—playing music for a living and being able to support ourselves and others, making people happy through our art. The negatives are playing while sick or sleep-deprived, dealing with relationships that go sour, disappointing fans when a show sells out or we have to cancel, being away from our loved ones and missing important events. At the end of the day we truly are blessed and know we have something special here. What is your favorite pre-show ritual? My favorite is drinking a really good craft beer and stretching out. If there’s one nearby, Rory [Rebelution’s keyboardist] and I will seek out a local brewery and taste its offerings. Next to disc golf, it’s my favorite thing to do on the road. How do you bring your stage energy into the studio? Play the song with the same passion that I would if I were in front of a thousand people. When I give it my all, that energy translates onto the record. I try to make recording an emotional and spiritual experience, not work.

SacAlternative | May 2014

AltFood

by Joey Cline Echinacea, also known as purple coneflower, is a perennial herb that belongs to the Asteraceae (aster) family, which includes daisies and sunflowers. Originating in eastern North America, echinacea species were used as traditional herbal remedies by the Great Plains tribes and other indigenous Americans for a wide variety of conditions ranging from snakebites to cancers. Settlers in the central U.S. in the 1800s followed their example and used echinacea to treat ailments like scarlet fever, syphilis, malaria, blood poisoning, and diphtheria, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. The roots and herb (aboveground parts) of echinacea species have attracted scientific interest from immunologists because they seem to activate chemicals in the body that decrease inflammation, which might reduce cold and flu symptoms. Laboratory research by scientists and doctors at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Pennsylvania State University suggests that it does stimulate the body’s immune system.

SacAlternative | May 2014

According to WebMD.com, echinacea is widely used to fight infections, especially the common cold and other upper respiratory infections. Some people take the leaves, flowers and roots of several species in various preparations, most commonly in capsulated form, at the first sign of a cold, hoping they will be able to keep it from developing. Others take it even after the onset of symptoms in the hope they can reduce the severity. Research shows that echinacea probably reduces cold symptoms somewhat, but it’s not clear if it prevents colds from developing. Natural medicine experts continue to recommend oral extracts of echinacea for the treatment of the common cold and for other conditions requiring immune stimulation. Botanical.com lists these medicinal actions and uses of echinacea: it increases bodily resistance to infection and is used for boils, erysipelas, septicemia, cancer, syphilis and other impurities of the blood, its action being antiseptic. This information is corroborated by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative

Health, a division of the National Institute of Health of the U.S. Department of Health. Other uses not related to infection include chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatism, migraines, acid indigestion, pain, dizziness, rattlesnake bites, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It can also be beneficial when topically applied to the skin to treat boils, abscesses, skin wounds, ulcers, burns, eczema, psoriasis, UV radiation skin damage, herpes simplex, bee stings, and hemorrhoids. It also seems to contain chemicals that directly attack yeast and other kinds of fungi. For a time, echinacea enjoyed official status as a result of being listed in the U.S. National Formulary from 1916-1950. However, it fell out of favor in the United States with the discovery of antibiotics and due to the lack of scientific evidence supporting its use. Now, however, people are becoming interested in echinacea again because some antibiotics no longer work as well as they used to against certain bacteria.

AltFood

by Joey Cline Although our planet provides all the nutritious foodstuffs we need to live long and healthy lives, many Americans choose convenience over health when it comes to fueling up for the rigors of our fast-paced lives. While packaged and convenience foods reign supreme, a much-heralded, and somewhat controversial form of sustenance could potentially save the dietary day—all behold, the superfoods. Fortunately, in the Sacramento region many of the superfoods getting lots of buzz these days are locally grown and readily available. And while the list of superfoods is extensive, here is a short rundown of those readily available in Northern California or easily grown in a home garden. Tomatoes—a single serving of red, ripe, raw tomatoes (one cup or 150 grams) is a good source of vitamins A, C, K, foliate and potassium. Tomatoes are naturally low in sodium, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. They also provide thiamin, niacin, vitamin B-6, magnesium, phosphorus and copper--all of which promote good health. One serving yields 2 grams of fiber, 7 percent of the daily recommended amount. Tomatoes also have a relatively high water content, which makes them a filling food. Broccoli sprouts—in its sprout form, broccoli has 10 times more of the cancer-preventing compound glucoraphanin than the table variety you buy at the market. That’s right, 10 times the nutritive value. For every 1/4 pound of broccoli sprouts you get the equivalent of 2 1/2 pounds of whole broccoli. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, broccoli sprouts effectively reduce the intestinal bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which causes gastric distress and stomach ulcers. Not typically available at your local supermarket, broccoli sprouts can be obtained at health food stores and co-ops, but are also easily grown at home with seeds procured from online vendors. Avocados—these superfruits rank high on this list since they grow all over the region and provide the essential fats the body needs to absorb nutrients from other foods consumed. They are readily available throughout Northern California in season and from just south of the border during the winter. A truly versatile fruit, avocados can be added to just about everything from salads to guacamole to pizza and even frosting. Best of all, while hybrid varieties occur in different climates, there are no GMO avocados.

Walnuts—grown locally and available wild along rural roadsides, this powerhouse of a nut is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and alpha-linolenic acid. A study in the 2011 edition of Science Daily by the American Chemical Society indicated walnuts are loaded with antioxidants: and with the price of seafood rising and concerns regarding the contamination of the salmon population, walnuts seem a logical alternative. Eating as few as seven walnuts provides twice the daily dose of omega-3, which makes it an economic alternative as well. Sweet potatoes—chock full of vitamin A, just one half of a medium-sized sweet potato provides nearly four and a half times the recommended daily allowance of the vitamin that protects vision and the immune system, according to Dr. Suneel Dhand. Add to that the benefit of their natural sweetness, rendering typical, fattening additions to a regular baked potato unnecessary. And, last but not least, Blackberries—the king of the berry family boasts more antioxidants than strawberries, cranberries or blueberries. They grow wild along rivers and streams and are free for the taking. They can also be found at most farmers markets in season. Pick plenty and freeze them for year-long enjoyment; freezing does not diminish their nutritional value. And while these heroes of the food world are certainly poised to save the day, keep in mind that it is always a good idea to source these fruits and vegetables locally, since the travel time of produce from outside an area can diminish its nutritive value. Locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables often cost more than conventionally grown produce, and they’re the safest, freshest and most flavorful. And buying from local farmers supports our local economy, and keeps small farmers in business. Also, smaller local farms typically produce and grow crops with sustainable and organic methods. Typically, they don’t use toxic pesticides or herbicides due to the prohibitive costs. So, ditch the frozen entrees and tap into the power of these nutritional superheroes.

SacAlternative | May 2014

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