The Leaders of Cannabusiness Ganjapreneurs by Sativa Magazine

DECEMBER 2013

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DECEMBER 2013

DO YOUR PART TO GROW THE CULTURE. LET OUR ADVERTISERS KNOW THAT YOU SAW THEM IN SATIVA MAGAZINE. Atmos Rx Bubble Bowls Cannabis Camera Cannaline Cannaventure Seeds Celebration Pipes EZTrim Flipz Guardian Data Systems Happy Daddy Products Herbivore Designs Kasher Tools Kushed Clothing Method Seven MTG Seeds Shaman Genetics Stoner Couture Threefourink

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President & Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor & Design Director Marketing Director/Project Manager Social Marketing Director Social Marketing Expert Art Director Designers Photographer Executive Editor Assistant Executive Editors Writers

Sativa Magazine Online Issue No. 11 December 2013 Tiffany Greene Michael Carter Cheryl Addington Jason Osburn Mekinsey M. Molinaro Carly Hofer Josh Clappe Emily Cain Andy Rostar Max Bortnick Gloria Martinez Paul Josephs Dan Bariault Johnathan Cilia Richard Drew Gina Epps Cory Francis Hippy KK Adam Kain Kip Jarvis Paul Josephs Joe Martin Michael Mojave Suzanne Quiett Samuel Wells

All contents ÂŠ2013 Sativa Magazine. Sativa Magazine is published and distributed by Vanguard Click Publishing, Seattle, WA. Sativa Magazine does not condone or endorse any illegal use of any products or services advertised herein. All material is for educational purposes only. Sativa Magazine recommends consulting an attorney before considering any business decision or venture. We take no responsibility for the actions of our readers.

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All we want for Christmas is you

Welcome to issue number eleven of Sativa Magazine. We’ve almost made it to our first birthday! We can’t wait to celebrate many more with you. We have accomplished so much thanks to all of our great readers. As a group of volunteers with a “$0” budget, we have manifested a miracle. Actually — you have. We just provide cool stuff to read and look at. You have helped and continue to help spread the message about our positive pursuits. Thank you. You are helping build a foundation that will support a brand new industry. Issue number eleven of Sativa Magazine brings your world view closer to the future of Cannabis as a business. We spotlight a handful of key leaders in the industry and provide insight into how those interested in putting food on their table legally in the Cannabis and hemp market, can do so while still following regulatory guidelines. The business of Cannabis and hemp will provide thousands of jobs and save many millions of tax dollars used to fight a failed war on drugs. But the people employed by the war on drugs will need jobs when it’s over. Our returning soldiers need jobs. Cannabis and hemp and all the ancillary products surrounding the industry will provide many jobs. We’ll do the research and find you a number on that soon. Voters need to know how many jobs this plant can provide. They need to know the facts and see it treated like any other drug or food product. We will provide all the information, data and education you need to take advantage of opening markets and compete in the field you SATIVAMAGAZINE.COM

have already selected. We will soon roll out our market research books and provide priceless research at no cost to the reader. Ganjapreneurs/ entrepreneurs will drool over our data. We believe information should be free. And our wonderful advertisers are the sponsors of this priceless research. Please support them. Sativa Magazine is part of a not-for-profit publishing company. Our goal is building a strong Cannabis and hemp industry that will create jobs and stand as the foundation to a currently unstable industry. We will fix that. Cannabis and hemp are big business and they are going corporate. Who will be the leaders that show us how a responsible corporation is run? Will you be one of the leaders in this new industry? Please read through the pages and let it spark your imagination. How will you change the current landscape? We are writing the future at Sativa Magazine. We could use your help. Will you be a leader in the movement? Become a volunteer with Sativa Magazine and we will open doors for you to make your goals and dreams possible as well. My email is below should you choose to donate some of your time to the cause. I would be happy to hear from you.

Michael Carter Editor-in-Chief michael@sativamagazine.com

DECEMBER 2013

DECEMBER 2013 COLUMNS Business Highdeas

Stayin’ alive by any means necessary Business opportunities — old school and new.

Bright Shiny Objects Mama P’s Wholesome Grinding Co. Hippy KK checks out this family business.

Homemade Cannacrafts Hemp milk soap recipe It’s homemade. It smells great. For everyone on your gift list.

The Need for Seeds Making an educated seed purchase Billions and billions of seeds. How to score smart.

Spotlight on Cannacrafts Gorgeous gifts from Cannacrafters everywhere.

Did You Hear? Adam Kain brings you the skinny on legal developments.

Incredible Medibles Extra virgin Canna oil Make now, use later. A staple of the cannakitchen.

FEATURES

MIND YOUR CANNABUSINESS Social Media Activism No time to be an activist? Action is as close as your smartphone.

The Craft Beer Model Kip Jarvis looks at a sane model for regulation.

Top Ten Strains of 2013 Hippy KK runs down the good and the better.

SEO for Ganjapreneurs 42 The first of a multi-part series on how to optimize your online presence. Business Plans Are Important The ins and outs of creating this vital document.

Untapped Potential 50 Who knows the power of Cannabis? Sadly, not the research community.

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Sativa Magazine’s 2013 Cannabusiness Spotlight These businesses are doing it! Read it and get inspired for 2014!

The Hemp Conspiracy: Part Three R. Robinson wraps up his investigation of the history of Prohibition.

Vertical Integration Colorado’s medical Cannabis model.

Portfolio Our monthly collection from around the country.

DECEMBER 2013

ELEBRATION PIPES marks 40 ICTORY GREEN

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with the same Gold that now costs $1,600 / oz. and the 40th anniversary pipe is VICTORY GREEN. Each LAVASTONEWARE piece is still handcrafted 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit, then meticulously plated in 22

bowls exterior is plated in Gold, Platinum, Opal, Black VICTORY GREEN. Each pipe is encased in a velvet bag Authenticity, signed and numbered. Over the years, CELEBRA TION PIPES have been commissioned to create pieces that are in the

collections of AEROSMITH, BOB MARLEY & the WAILERS, CECELIO & KA PONO, CHEECH & CHONG, DARYL HANNAH, HUGH HEFNER, FLEETWOOD M AC, JEFFERSON STARSHIP, MESSINA, KEITH STROUP, (founder of NORML), WILLY NELSON, WOODY HARRELSON, and ZIGGY MARLEY. To help complete the war on PROHIBITION, we are proud to support NORML for their tireless efforts lobbying all levels of Government to FR EE THE WEED. Each purchase of a VICTORY GREEN pipe sends a few more bucks to NORML that will someday lead to safe and sane LEGALISATION once and for allâ&#x20AC;Ś!!! GO TO : www.celebrationpipes.com or find us @ www.norml.org and order your collectors 40th anniversary edition TODAY ! Aloha, DaPiper

BUSINESS HIGHDEAS HIPPY KK/CARTER

Stayin’ alive by any means possible Cannabis tissue bank Acapulco Gold immediately comes to mind when thinking of a Cannabis tissue bank. In 1975, the Government of Mexico began an aerial spraying program to destroy Cannabis fields with paraquat, a poisonous herbicide, bringing Acapulco Gold to near extinction. Luckily, that wasn’t successful, but it was a close call indeed. As dreadful as it may have been, had they succeeded, a Cannabis tissue bank could have been a savior by resurrecting Acapulco Gold after the Mexican government’s attempt at abolishing the historic strain. Without using all the scientific and technical terms, but making it as simple to understand as possible, a Cannabis tissue bank would hold samples of your Cannabis strain for later use by using a technique that keeps the tissue alive and growing. These samples are what’s called, undifferentiated cell tissue, or in layman’s terms, a cell that has yet to acquire a special structure and function. You don’t need a whole plant to regenerate your Cannabis strain, a single cell will do. By taking the cell and placing it in a tumbler

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that contains a culture medium of chemicals, hormones and agar, the sample is then placed on a shaker table. This process will keep the tissue sample alive and growing. Note: this is only a few steps of the process, but you get the gist of it. Rapid multiplication means that as the tissue continues to grow, it will become necessary to divide the original, now-grown tissue sample and repeat the process for as long as necessary. What might have started off as one Cannabis tissue sample, over time will easily climb into higher quantities. This entire procedure must be done in a completely sterile environment.

Other benefits in having a Cannabis tissue bank: if your seeds are no longer available or aren’t germinating, if the plants are infected or diseased, it’s possible to produce new plants without infection or disease, and restore a strain to its original genetics. Samples can be moved without the fear of pests and diseases, mass-mass produce. Best of all, because these are only tissue samples, it’s completely legal! With permission of the sample owner, tissue samples could be sold to others, making all those tiny pieces of tissue very profitable to the sample owner. Most

DECEMBER 2013

importantly, be prepared for the unthinkable, keep your strain alive at a Cannabis tissue bank. AVAILABLE URLS WWW.CLONETISSUE.COM WWW.PETRIGENETICS.COM WWW.GENETICDISH.COM WWW.PETRIPLANT.COM WWW.SAVETHESTRAIN.COM WWW.MATRICLINOUS.COM WWW.DNATISSUE.COM Clone library delivery service Special ordered clones — who’s heard of such a thing? Much like a seed bank, a clone library would offer the cultivator clones of any species and strain. They will even go one step further by offering delivery service right to the ganjapreneur’s front door. Say you want seven clones of a specific strain but don’t know anyone from whom to obtain cuttings, and there are no seeds available. A quick phone call to the local clone library would solve that dilemma, as they have clones of just about every strain a cultivator could dream of — in fact, it’s a grower’s haven! Offering a full line of strains to choose from, the clone library guarantees that upon receiving your order, the clone is free of disease and pests when signed for. With rows upon rows and shelves upon shelves full of various strains to 12

DECEMBER 2013

choose from, most likely the strain you’re looking for can easily be acquired through the clone library. Special requests could be taken as well. For instance, if there is a certain height the cultivator would like to receive their clones at, such as 12 – 16-inches, or maybe one would rather have four-week old clones rather than 10-day- to 2-week-old clones in order to obtain a little more stability; the clone library can do that! Advertise on and insure your delivery vehicles accordingly as well as have all delivery personnel dressed in a company uniform and be professional at all times. Build a reputation that will make your cannabusiness stand out. As with every other type of grow facility, it is highly recommended that all mother plants be kept separated and secluded, away from all other plants. Clones are a touchy subject in many states that have passed medical legalization, so it’s imperative to know the legal status of clones under the appropriate state MMJ guidelines. Are they allowed or aren’t they? According to your state, are they considered a Cannabis plant once they have developed roots? And if so, are they considered to be one of the plants allotted that a caregiver is allowed to grow or are clones excluded

from this number but in addition to? Please don’t just assume that clones are allowed to be possessed, check the state laws and if there is no wording for clones included or if it’s questionable, take whatever steps may be necessary to get this important information revised and clarified so it’s better understood in the appropriate states’ MMJ laws. It’s reasonable to believe that these two cannabusinesses could be partnered-up. Think about it, if clones were needed from a tissue sample that had previously been dropped off at the Cannabis tissue bank for safe keeping, a quick phone call or trip down to the local Cannabis tissue bank could easily bring back to life what was thought to have been lost. The Cannabis tissue bank could then hand over tissue samples of the strain to the clone library, which would then grow the clones out for you. Once specifications have been reached, the clone library would hand deliver them to your door. AVAILABLE URLS WWW.CLONETAXI.COM WWW.CLONEDIAL.COM WWW.PHENODROP.COM WWW.BESTPHENOS.COM WWW.PHENODRIVER.COM WWW.SAVETIMECLONES.COM WWW.PHENOSHOPPER.COM S SATIVAMAGAZINE.COM

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Mama P’s Wholesome Grinding Company

Having just celebrated being in business for two years this past November, Mama P’s Wholesome Grinding Co., is quickly becoming consumers’ number one choice when it comes to selecting the finest American-made accessories available. Being the recipient of The High Times, Best Product award seven times over, along with many other achievement awards, reassures Mama P’s that their hard work, dedication and determination are being noticed and it’s paying off. Before jumping right into the history of the business and the products they offer, let’s meet Mama P’s family. Mama P is the beautiful blonde seen on the box of Mama P’s grinders, she’s also the one to welcome and assist customers upon entering Mama P’s brick-and-mortar retail storefront, Spicewood Smoke Shoppe located in Spicewood, TX, not far from Austin. Grand Master Grind is the salesman of all salesmen. He single-handedly travels around the country from event to event representing, promoting and selling Mama P’s products. Li’l P is the adorable young lady seen on

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the box of the Li’l P pollen presses, and the youngest member of the family. She can also be found helping Mama P in the store or the warehouse where I met her. Last but not least, there’s their son, Michael aka the Dinkman, and the mastermind behind all the designs of Mama P’s products. It would not be appropriate to continue, without acknowledging their other daughter who is not involved with this particular family business because she’s running her own in Colorado. They are all supportive of one another and their businesses. A few years back, Dinkman, a Texas resident pitched his business idea to his dad, Grand Master Grind, a retired Wall Street banker who at the time was living in Austin with Mama and Li’l P. Dad asked to see the product and shortly thereafter, gave Michael the green light to go into production with their first product, a magnetic lighter which ultimately won Mama P’s the Best Product in the United States award at their first-ever-attended event, the National Association of Convenience Stores b2b trade show in Florida a couple years

back. As Grand Master Grind explained, “there were over 7,000 vendors at this show and we beat out all fortune 100, 500 and even fortune 1,000 companies who are always bringing new products to the market.” It took a lot of hard work, long hours and dedication for Mama P’s to get where they are today, and it wasn’t necessarily an easy road to travel but one this family knew would be worth the struggle. Looking back to the beginning, it’s hard to believe that Grand Master Grind was actually hoofing it from smoke bar to smoke bar with his homemade lighter display selling anywhere from 30 to 50 lighters per night to where they are now, one would think their beginning days were many years ago, not just two. Grand Master Grind and the Dinkman originally started out by traveling cross country doing events together, but came to the conclusion it would be beneficial to the business if the Dinkman stayed back in Texas inventing and producing products while Grand Master Grind worked the road. Since introducing the

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The family: From left, ‘Lil P, Grand Master Grind, Mama P.

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DECEMBER 2013

magnetic lighter, they have since What does the future hold five put out a slew of other items. years from now for Grand Master However, their top sellers seem Grind and Mama P’s Wholesome to remain the same; Mama P’s Grinding Co.? His response was, grinder which is designed dif- “we laugh a lot, as long as we conferent than any other, with four tinue having a good time as a family, additional teeth, placed precisely it doesn’t really matter. What’s cool so, and its replaceable 60-micron about us is we’re only two years titanium screen is backed with a old. So when you consider all the lifetime guarantee. Their pollen things we’ve accomplished and presses, which by the way, pair up all the accolades we’ve received nicely with their grinders by easily for a two-year-old company, it’s removing the bottom of each. And something to be very proud of. then of course there’s the mag- We’re about building one of the netic lighter that is available in most valuable marijuana brands 196 different color combinations around the flower in the country that are all available at http:// that people will feel good about mamagrind.com/. using and we feel great about standing behind. We also want to Here’s a peek at some of the other focus on customer service because items offered by Mama P’s: cases, we feel without the customer, we tools, storage containers of various are really nothing and we truly sizes, curing vaults, humidors, sevbelieve that. But I think we’re at a eral other grinders, V-Pens, the Li’l P very interesting time in the industry, pollen press, several different pipes and it’s very clear and evident to including the Sub-Zero that was me that prohibition is falling, and introduced in October, the Ultimate it’s going to be very interesting to Dugout that made its debut in see what happens to these types of August and the Papas’ Publer that cannabusinesses as we enter more became available on 4/20. To see of the mainstream in the country. I the full line of available products, really think the sky could be the visit Mama P’s website. All prodlimit, and our timing is really right.” ucts are made in the USA and come with a lifetime warranty. Happy Because Mama P’s products are Daddy makes a tool, the Grindson, not targeted as Cannabis-specific that was specifically designed for products, they are 100 percent Mama P’s grinders and it can’t legal in all 50 states. Classified be found anywhere but at http:// as ‘smoking accessories’ allows the mamagrind.com/. company to do a wide range of

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trade and distribution shows that would otherwise prohibit them from doing so and in turn, broadens the reach of their clientele base. But yes indeed, they do participate in Cannabis events. In fact, you may have them at the Seattle Hempfest or Hempstalk this year. Their website offers a ‘travel’ link that keeps the inquiring mind updated on where they can be found next. Mama P’s is scheduled to be in Novi, MI, Thursday, Dec. 5 - Sunday, Dec. 8 at the Christmas Wonderfest located at the Suburban Collection Showplace. Be sure to visit their booth, Mama P’s products make great gifts. When discussing the quickly approaching holiday, Grand Master Grind stated, “We also want to focus on the customer’s experience by providing the best customer service possible. Online orders will be shipped to arrive by the holidays.” Please visit them at http://mamagrind.com/. Sativa Magazine would like to wish the Grand Master Grind a happy belated birthday on Nov. 23rd. Mama P’s website: http://www. mamagrind.com/ Spicewood Smoke Shoppe 19601 Happy Hollow Spicewood, TX 78669 Telephone: 512- 582-0182 Email: hello@mamagrind.com S

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HOMEMADE CANNACRAFTS

SUZANNE QUIETT

Hemp Milk Soap Hemp Milk has a tremendous amount of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, is great for healing and moisturizing, and can even help fight breakouts, which is why using it in soap could be so beneficial. Hemp milk contains gamma linolenic acid (GLA), a fat in the omega-6 family. GLA has rejuvenating properties, increasing cell resilience and moistening the fatty layer beneath the skin. The resulting reactions, such as aiding collagen loss, soothing dry or scaly skin, combating wrinkles, and nourishing dry and brittle hair, are beautiful! You can usually find hemp milk at whole foods and organic grocery stores, as well as ordering online. So let’s get started making soap! You will need: 20 ounces 5 ounces 20 ounces 5 ounces 5 ounces 4 ounces 5 ounces 9 ounces 1 ounce

coconut oil Shea butter olive oil rice bran oil avocado oil castor oil sweet almond oil hemp milk 100-percent essential oils (optional) 1/3 cup dried herbs, such as lavender (optional) 9 ounces sodium hydroxide (lye) 9.5 ounces water Soap molds of some kind, have fun with different shapes and sizes! Make sure you have goggles and gloves for safety, sodium hydroxide is caustic. Assembly: 1 The first step is to make the lye solution. With your gloves and goggles on, measure out the water and the lye. Add the lye to the water and mix in a well-ventilated

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area. Set that aside. 2 Weigh out the Shea and coconut oil and melt together. Once melted, add all of the liquid oils to the melted oils. 3 Add the hemp milk to the melted oils. 4 Now get your lye solution. If there is a floating white film on the surface just mix it up a bit. It’s just a reaction between the lye and the carbon in the air, forming sodium carbonate. Lye — in the form of an un-dissolved crust — stuck to the bottom of your container, however, is not good and you should throw it out and start the lye solution over. 5 Add the lye solution. Make sure you have your goggles on! 6 Now it is time to mix it up. A stick blender works best, but if you don’t have one, a hand blender will do too. Blend until trace. Trace is a sort of “point-of-no-return” in the soap-making process. Once your soap “traces” the mixture will not separate back into the original oils and lye-water. To test for trace, dip a spatula or spoon into the mix and dribble a bit of it back into the pot. If it leaves a little “trace” behind, you’re there. 7 If you are adding herbs, fold them in now, or reserve half of the soap mixture and add to that and pour layers into the molds. 8 Fill the molds. You can use actual soap molds, or you can line loaf pans with plastic wrap. For some decorative ideas, leave a little soap left in the pot and wait until it starts to thicken a bit. At this stage you can use some natural food dyes to add a little color, stay away from water- dyes. Then spoon it out and swirl it around to make a decorative pattern. 9 Let it sit overnight, and then cut or pop out of the molds. Let cure, or harden and dry, at least two weeks. You can wrap soap bars in decorative paper and use twine, like hemp twine, to make custom-made packages for gifting! S

DECEMBER 2013

THE POWER OF

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A social media visual primer by Mercedys M.

} }

The net is a powerful equalizer in the struggle for power. It allows for democratic access to power It allows for easy organization of people and causes.

Evidence: The importance of Twitter in organizing the wide-scale protests against corruption in the Iranian elections in 2009.

Social media sites play a powerful role in inspiring change.

What people discuss and think about helps determine what they consider important.

Without society demanding it, drastic changes are rarely made, even when desperately needed.

Evidence: The lack of support for responsible Cannabis regulatory reform despite the support of over half of all Americans.

DECEMBER 2013

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THE INTERNET Fact: 56 percent of Americans use at least one social media

site, according to an early 2012 survey by Statistics Brain.1

Fact: 15 hours and 33 minutes is the average amount of time

spent per month on Facebook.1

Make the most of your online efforts.

 Be mindful of what ideas you are putting in other people’s minds with your actions while online.

 Be active in online communities revolving around issues you support.

Social media activism

encourages the Cannabis community to grow and spread. Before internet usage became the norm, Cannabis supporters thought they were an isolated group of individuals. An estimated 75 percent of social media users have said they support medical Cannabis use; 75 percent of them thought their neighbors did not. In order to connect with like-minded individuals and to spread the word about the first

 Share pictures, posts, etc. which support causes you want in the public consciousness.

raids on medical dispensaries, activists utilized phone chains. You know the idea: you call me, and then I call five other people, and slowly 100 of us would find out and could possibly organize a protest or support for the jailed ganjapreneurs. Now, with the reach and efficiency of social media, 100,000 could easily learn about current and future events. Even if you are not an activist, your social media presence can be powerful.

1 http://www.satisticsbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/

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DECEMBER 2013

THE NEED FOR SEEDS

PAUL JOSEPHS

Making an educated seed purchase

With an ever-increasing number of seed companies and strains to choose from, how can you make an informed decision regarding what to buy and from which seed company? Educating yourself about genetics and growing is a smart first step toward that decision. Know what you want The more you know about what you are looking for, the easier it will be to find. Ask yourself what it is you are seeking with your seed purchase. Are you looking to grow plants for production, spectacular phenotypes, breeding purposes, or all three? What type of growing environment will you be utilizing â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is it a tiny indoor space, a large grow room, a greenhouse, or the great outdoors? Do you want a pure sativa or indica, a hybrid of both, or an autoflowering strain? Will odor be a concern? Getting a solid handle on the answers to those questions will make your search more effective. Do some research Take the time to learn the distinctions between the various Cannabis

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species and strains. You will want to choose the type best suited for your goals and growing conditions. This will help make your growing experience rewarding rather than frustrating. The April and May issues of Sativa Magazine feature several articles that will help with deciphering the genetics terms

often found in seed catalogs, and offer information on varieties suited for different growing conditions. Regular, feminized, or autoflowering? This should be your first major decision. Regular seeds are the result of a male Cannabis plant pollinating

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a female one. The seeds will usually grow out approximately half female and half male. If you are breeding and/or want to make seeds for the next batch, you will need males to do so. If you want all your plants to flower, feminized seeds will yield all female plants. If time and space are a concern, autoflowering varieties stay small and flower regardless of the photoperiod. These can be planted outdoors and only need food and water, or can be grown indoors under an 18- to 24-hour light cycle with minimal extra effort needed. Sativa, indica, or both? Choosing the right ‘flavor’ of Cannabis is another important decision to make. Cannabis sativa or sativa-dominant strains tend to grow lanky and tall. They will take up a lot of space with their height and outstretched branches, and usually take longer to flower than Cannabis indica plants — sometimes twice as long. Sativas are excellent for outdoor growers in warm, long-season climates. They can be grown indoors with some pruning and training, or allowed to initiate flowering when plants are quite small. Cannabis indica and indica-dominant strains tend to grow short, squat, and flower quickly. They are well-suited to colder, short-season climates, high altitudes, and indoor performance is excellent. Sativa/indica hybrids tend to exhibit qualities from both

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species, often having a good deal of vigor. Many popular hybrids are those able to blend the soaring sativa high with the manageable growth habit and shorter flowering time associated with indicas. Read between the lines Sometimes there are subtle warnings in the wording of hybrid descriptions. If you are new to growing, be wary of words like “finicky” or similar tags meant to warn you that the plant has specific environmental or nutritional needs. It might be a light or heavy feeder, or it might have weak stems that need more support than others. Descriptions that indicate special care, such as “does best with lots of air movement” might be a warning that the plants are susceptible to pathogens like grey mold or powdery mildew. “Challenging” often means the plant is a beast and will outgrow its confines easily or grow in a manner that requires additional effort to control. “Patience” is a virtue you may need, especially when you find it used in reference to a sativa’s long flowering time. Breeders like to present their plants in the best light possible, as well they should, so just be aware that words like “airy” or “delicate” mean that you aren’t likely to get average or aboveaverage yields, these terms are a more poetic description when referring to skimpy yields. Those

airy flowers might be exceptionally psychoactive, which might make it worth the effort. Obtaining seeds It’s disclaimer time: some governments have laws prohibiting the sale, possession, and import or export of Cannabis seeds. Please make sure you are not violating your local jurisdiction’s laws in your quest for quality genetics. If you are a medical Cannabis patient, you might be able to find seeds for sale at a local dispensary. It is quite likely that the folks working there know the breeder or grow the same genetics, so you can get some good information and advice from them. The advantages to this are that you can see what you are going to get and can visually assess the seeds for apparent viability, and you will walk out with seeds — something that is not guaranteed when ordering on the Internet. The Internet is host to many seed breeders and brokers (seed banks) and there are a lot to sort through. The importance of thorough research on your part cannot be stressed enough if you choose this route. There are several internet sites that rank the various seed banks, and by looking at them you will see that some seed banks are consistently given high marks CONTINUED ON PAGE 84//

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CANNACRAFTERS SPOTLIGHT SUZANNE QUIETT

Dope on a Rope Soaps Based out of Bailey, Colorado and Fort Myers Beach, Florida, husband and wife team Jason and Jenny Wilhelm began their unique hemp oil soap business in the summer of 2009. Specializing in hemp oil soaps on a rope, in an interview, they explained it best, “We began with our most popular shape — the Cannabis leaf. All of our Dope on a Rope Soaps are named after strains of Cannabis and what we think they would smell like...for example, our Northern Lights soap is infused with Eucalyptus and Peppermint essential oils. Lime Kush is created with Lime and Sweet Orange essential oils. For our Panama Red soap we combined Sage and Cedarwood oils. Aside from our

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Cannabis-shaped soaps, we have developed many other shapes and bars for all walks of life, all infused with moisturizing hemp oil!” “All of our soaps are handcrafted by us! We enjoy spreading the word about hemp oil and the benefits of marijuana. The soaps are also a good segue for educating the many people we come in contact with about the differences between hemp and marijuana! We love to see the smiles and looks on people’s faces when they see Dope on a Rope Soap, and we look forward to introducing many new strains of soap during the upcoming year!” — www.DopeonaRopeSoap.com

DECEMBER 2013

GanjaGlam Founder and main crafter Carissa Temporado, a 23-year-old entrepreneur from Phoenix, Arizona, began this business in late March of 2013. Currently selling all types of metal herb grinders, some glass jars and specialty theme lighters, her shop is one of glamour. All too often the women who enjoy Cannabis get left out with only manly items available for them, GanjaGlam has changed that for good, offering cute and trendy accessories that actually function and look good while doing it!

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GanjaGlam, a sister shop to Carissa’s main store, can be found on Etsy.com, a wonderful site in itself that only allows handmade or vintage items to be sold. Wonderful gift ideas, I urge you to check out the shop for yourself! As the founder states, “They do make great gifts I believe, I have so many guys ordering these super girly items and I can only assume its for their special ladies.” — www.etsy.com/shop/GanjaGlam

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Knotty and Nice Hemp Kelsie Wimsett, the founder and main crafter began Knotty and Nice Hemp in 2009 in Kalispell, Montana specializing in hemp macrame. Her shop is filled with unique and stylish jewelry for all ages, Knotty and Nice Hemp has just the thing you may be looking

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for! “I hand-knot hemp necklaces, hemp chokers, hemp bracelets, hemp anklets — even hemp rings! All for sale right here! I use natural, eco-friendly and azo-free hemp cord. I make everything here with lots of love and lots of knots!” — www.KnottyandNiceHemp.com

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Mystery School Founder Ian Flynn is a queen of all trades for her business, Mystery School. She designs, sews, and hand dyes as well as screen prints all of her own items. Based out of Eureka, California in famous Humboldt County, the first items she ever sold were hemp necklaces. Self taught from books she found at the library, she then started sewing and selling clothing in 1995, selling her first items in a Grateful

Dead Concert’s parking lot. “I specialize in custom made ... I make most items to order ... organic and sustainable fiber clothing, including hemp, organic cotton, bamboo, and soy fabrics, I use low impact dyes and water based inks to print with.” — mysteryschoolclothing.com or www.mysteryschool. etsy.com; and big shout out to Jessie Bell Photography!

Hemp Beadery Founder and main crafter, Claire started her business now based out of Grand Junction, Colorado. She first started selling hemp jewelry and hemp products as a business in 2000 in Australia. She was even able to support her world travels for a few years making hemp jewelry. Specializing in hemp products and craft supplies, as well as everything you need for making hemp jewelry, and eco-friendly products.

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Hoping to clarify her stance on Cannabis, Claire states, “I have been involved in the industrial hemp industry for 21 years, I do not support recreational weed, I support industrial hemp for fiber, food and fuel. I do not want to contribute to the confusion that hemp is a drug.” — www.hempbeadery.com

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Hemp Craft Located in the rural woods outside of Eddyville, Oregon, founder and the only crafter, Valerie, decided one day in 2010 to take a very small monetary gift she received as a college graduation gift and start a small, home-based business doing what she loved — making creative, elegant hemp jewelry. And she did it all without borrowing a cent, no investors, financial

institutions, or lenders. She eventually found out about sites like Etsy and Artfire and began to promote and sell her products online. She does all of the product photography, editing, social media, website creation and maintenance, advertising, crafting, accounting, DIY videos, blogging, and more. Her specialization is certainly

hemp jewelry and accessories although jewelry is not her only passion. Valerie and her husband, an extremely proud and supportive man, are huge proponents of industrial hemp production and products, not just in terms of basic fibers and oils, but also from an ecologically beneficial standpoint. — www.myhempcraft.com

Hempress Arise Founder and main crafter Heidi Carlson started Hempress Arise about 10 years ago in Southern Oregon, a small, family-grown hemp clothing business. She sells her clothing to independently owned and operated retail stores as well as at fairs and festivals on the West Coast. “I take pride in maintaining solid roots to my local community and to our Mother Earth while creating a conscious role model for small businesses.”

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She says, and shows it in her beautiful clothing. While she specializes in women’s clothing, she also makes some handsome garments for men, and all of the clothing is just gorgeous. High quality, and handmade, you simply cannot go wrong whether you are looking for something for yourself, or a gift for a special someone! — www.etsy.com/shop/hempress

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UNITED STATES ELECTIONS (Nov. 5) Elections held nationwide had varied results related to the Cannabis industry. Voters in Portland, Maine, legalized adult-use Cannabis for residents 21 and older. The measure passed with about 70 percent of the vote, making Portland the first East Coast city to legalize adult-use Cannabis. Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck said his department will continue to fine those in possession of Cannabis, but that the department has always seen regulating Cannabis use as a low priority. Possession of less than two and a half ounces of Cannabis is decriminalized in Maine. Voters in Colorado approved a 15 percent excise tax and a 10 percent sales tax on adult-use Cannabis. The measures, approved nearly 2 to 1, go into effect Jan. 1, 2014 and are expected to

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bring in $70 million a year to be used for school construction and regulating pot sales. Michigan voters in three cities â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Lansing, Jackson and Ferndale â&#x20AC;&#x201D; voted to decriminalize possession of up to one ounce of Cannabis for personal use. Police are to ignore the adult use of Cannabis in anyone 21 years or older. Sources: http://www.thedailychronic. net/2013/26233/portland-police-chief-ignore-marijuana-legalization-vote/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-votersapprove-big-tax-on-recreational-marijuana/ http://www.wnem.com/story/23890441/ 3-cities-vote-to-ease-marijuana-laws MULVANE, KAN. (Nov. 6) Fire It Up Kansas, a group working to promote the Cannabis industry, kicked off a billboard campaign with a digital billboard near the

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A COMPENDIUM OF LEGAL NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY...AND BEYOND BY ADAM KAIN

Kansas Star Casino south of Wichita. The billboard states that Cannabis “is more civilized, and safer than alcohol, and has no harmful side effects.” The ad time was purchased from http://advertisingwichita.com and the owners of the board. The digital ad, which is displayed for 10 seconds every 3 minutes, is visible to drivers on U.S. Interstate 35. The ad has drawn citizen and media interest from all over the conservative state, which is set to consider legalizing medical Cannabis in coming years. Group president Mike Golden said the billboard is the biggest billboard in the state of Kansas and in the Midwest. Sources: Mike Golden, President of Fire It Up Kansas http://www.kstatecollegian.com/2013/11/21/ kansas-nonprofit-fires-up-for-marijuana-legalizationvia-billboard-campaign/ OLYMPIA, WASH. (Nov. 15) The Washington State Liquor Control Board, along with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, announced that more than 200 pesticides will be allowed for use in the production, processing and handling of Cannabis sold through state-licensed stores. Under Washington’s adult-use law, I-502, no private home growing is allowed so patients will be forced to buy the buds from licensed producers that may be covered in the pesticides. The law also calls for 25 percent

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taxation to be applied at the growing, processing, and retail levels amounting to a 75 percent tax, Cannabis with any of the 200 pesticides could run as low as $15 and as high as $50 a gram. Source: http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/ topic/44951-washington-to-allow-200-pesticideson-medical-marijuana/ SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA (Nov. 15) New College of Physicians and Surgeons rules say Saskatchewan doctors must keep a record of who they prescribe Cannabis to, and when. The college’s council voted to pass a bylaw meant to steer Saskatchewan doctors clear of conflicts of interest and prevent the potential for specific physicians to prescribe Cannabis to too many patients. In addition to keeping a record of prescriptions, doctors must also draw up a written agreement describing what the Cannabis is to be used for and for how long. The prescribing doctor must also be treating the patient for the condition the medicinal Cannabis is meant to aid. Steps were taken because Health Canada, the nation’s health department, was removed from the medical Cannabis approval process in October. Health Canada will now focus on regulating producers and suppliers of marijuana.

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INCREDIBLE MEDIBLES

HIPPY KK

Extra virgin canna oil Happy Holidays! It’s hard to believe that December is already upon us — that special time of the year when family and friends gather ‘round the table to celebrate the season. This month, I decided to provide a very simple recipe that has endless possibilities — Canna oil. This oil is perfect as a salad dressing and can replace regular cooking oil in any recipe. Use it to sauté the onions and celery for your stuffing, or even to baste that holiday turkey! Like I said, the possibilities with this versatile oil are limitless! Yield: 2 cups Prep Time: 13 hours (set it and forget it) Ingredients: 2 cups 1/2 ounce

extra virgin olive oil well-dried, crushed Cannabis trimmings or bud (I use sugar leaves) You will also need a 1.5-quart mini-crockpot, a strainer, cheesecloth, and a storage container. You may also need a funnel. 1 Assemble ingredients.

2 Place extra virgin olive oil and Cannabis into mini crockpot. Cover and turn heat on the lowest setting. Allow to steep for at least 12 hours. Feel free to check it periodically if you feel the need.

4 Line the inside of the strainer with cheesecloth, overlapping the sides of the strainer so you have enough cloth to gather in order to squeeze out all the oil. 5 Depending on the type of container being used to store the Canna oil, a funnel may be needed. The original glass bottle that the oil came in is being used to store my Canna oil, so a funnel will be useful to avoid spills. However, if you’re using a container with a wide mouth, you might not find a funnel necessary. Please do this step over the sink. Place funnel inside mouth of bottle, hold cheesecloth-lined strainer over funnel or container and carefully pour oil through the cheesecloth to strain the Cannabis out. Once all the oil is poured over cheesecloth, gather the edges and squeeze any remaining oil into your container. Discard the cheesecloth and Cannabis. 6 If you choose to use the original bottle, make sure you remove all labels and mark bottle appropriately so the Canna oil is not used unknowingly. Extra virgin Canna oil has the same shelf life as the original oil used. Refrigeration is not necessary. I hope you find this simple recipe useful this holiday season. And remember, cooking with Cannabis has its effects just as all medibles do so DO NOT operate a vehicle or machinery after consuming Canna oil and please, do not over-consume! A small amount of this magic oil will stick with you for a very long time. Enjoy! S

3 Remove from heat. Allow oil to cool for one hour before straining.

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DECEMBER 2013

Mind Your Cannabusiness • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

By Kip Jarvis Illustration by Josh Clappe

December 2013

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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

The Cannabis community of Washington is anxious as to the direction of the industry. The Washington State Liquor Control Board is pushing recommendations for the medical marijuana dispensaries to be scrapped in favor of a purely adult-use general store model. Naturally patients of medical Cannabis are taking issue with these proposals, as the healing properties of the plant for specific conditions are often best treated with an equally specific strain. The recommended changes to the law will likely make these specialized strains unavailable on the new streamlined and regulated market. Not to diminish these very real concerns for the patients that depend on Cannabis, but these changes left one thinking of another group that should share in lamenting the future woes about to be codified into law. What of the connoisseurs? What’s wrong with the craft beer model for Cannabis?

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Mind Your Cannabusiness • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Just because I write for a Cannabis-centric publication doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy my fair share of alcohol. Tunnel-vision is not complimentary to the ethics of pleasure, in my personal estimation. Even within my love for the stronger drink, I embrace variety. The great thing about being a drinking enthusiast is that this variety is satisfied in layers at my local supermarket. This applies to any type of alcohol, but is most clearly evident when it comes to beer. It also relates best to what’s about to lost for the Cannabis market in Washington.

The endless menu In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few decades, you’ve probably noticed that the craft beer industry has been on a steady rise. There has always been a variety in U.S. beer since the end of Prohibition in 1933, so long as you enjoy a strict diet of light pilsners and even lighter lagers. The growth of the craft beer industry has broken out of this model and provided customers with a near endless array of options in their choice of brews. This multitude of small breweries have been able to sufficiently compete with the larger industrial breweries, while at the same time being able to coexist within the market. The reason is simple; consumers like variety. States regulate alcohol sales, all in their own unique ways. Craft-breweries must adhere to the state and federal laws on the same playing field as the larger distributors. The reason that they can compete with the Budweisers and Millers is their ability to operate on a smaller model that caters to a more specialized consumer-base. This is because brewing at this level is viewed as an art-form. Customers of craft beer are looking for more than just getting a solid drunk on with some friend; they’re looking for a unique experience and a

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unique taste. If any of you readers have been to a local brewpub for a night of sampling, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, I strongly recommend it. If regulations on alcohol changed in a way that made the craftbrewery no longer economically viable or legal for the beer artisan? If craft beers completely disappeared from the shelves of stores or from the coasters of the small pubs that dot this nation? I shudder to think how lifeless and bleak such a panorama would look when the colorful world of beer was cast in only muted shades of gray.

Can Washington get more grey? This is forecast for Washington’s Cannabis industry if these plans go forward. On the artisan scale, Cannabis cultivation and the craft beer model are strikingly similar. As an intoxicant for adult use, both Cannabis and beer can be made in bulk quantities of a more generalized product, and both can be created by more careful hands to forge something more unique. For the consumer, the general quantity-over-quality deserves its place, but there must also be room for the multitude of artisans to work their specialized craft. Under the new plans, licenses for Cannabis production will be too expensive and rare to accommodate a craft beer model. Naturally, the wealthy capitalists that can secure these licenses will extol a level of variety in what they produce, but it will still be on a massed scale. Cannabis artisans will be completely pushed out of the picture, as even growing at home will be made illegal. The beer hobbyist that churns out a seasonal brew in the basement, to the great delight of his or her friends, won’t even have a noncriminal counterpart in the future Cannabis CONTINUED ON PAGE 85//

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By Hippy KK

From coast to coast and several states in between, compassionate centers and dispensaries were randomly polled in order to bring you this month’s Top 10. When the question was asked regarding their top 10 selling Cannabis strains for this year, only one state polled hesitated, but eventually disclosed their top sellers, while the others responded without hesitation. And even though everyone has their favorite strain, which may or may not have made our list, sales ultimately show which strains consumers prefer. Have no worries. Whether your personal preference is indica, sativa or a hybrid — all types made the list. With bud description and medicinal benefits included however, to keep the debate door closed, THC levels are not included due to the fluctuation from cultivator to cultivator and other key factors that could affect such results. In no particular order, Sativa Magazine introduces you to the Top 10 selling Cannabis strains of 2013. Drum roll please!

1 2 3

White Widow, sativa-dominant hybrid — extremely dense buds that are just absolutely covered in trichomes, giving the bud an appearance that it was rolled in sugar and no doubt the key attribute from which the ‘white’ in her namesake came. Her smell is quite potent with hints of cinnamon and spice, yet peppery and she tastes just as she smells. Great for daytime use as it’s easy to stay focused after consumption. Medical benefits: good for pain relief, stress, nausea, depression and appetite stimulation. White Widow is the mother of a long lineage of White Cannabis strains. Bubba Kush, indica — with flecks of purple throughout, her dense, fluffy buds are covered with trichomes. Consumers beware, break one open and expect the room to instantly fill with that typical Kush smell. This one both tastes and smells rather fruity, but is everything you want and expect from a Kush. Recommended for early evening consumption since she’ll leave you extremely relaxed, quite possibly wanting to nap. Medical benefits: stress, insomnia, depression, nausea and pain.

Girl Scout Cookies, indica hybrid — the trichomes really sparkle on her tight buds of various green tones. GSC is known for her smell that’s earthy and fruity, yet has a sweet aroma with a hint of mint all rolled into one bud. Great for daytime or early evening consumption, she’ll leave you feeling happy and relaxed yet still able to focus. Medical benefits: inflammation, depression, insomnia, pain, nausea and anxiety. 40

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4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Jack Herer, sativa-dominant hybrid — under all those trichomes, Jack Herer is probably quite dark green in color, but appears light green from all the shimmer. Smell and taste is earthy with hints of spice and is an exceptional strain for daytime consumption. This one will leave you creative, motivated and full of energy — yet easy to remain focused. Medical benefits: pain, appetite stimulation, stress, anxiety, migraines, depression and nausea. ChemDawg, sativa-dominant — Regardless of the spelling, ChemDawg or ChemDog — these big, fluffy, lime-green buds have golden undertones that glisten with trichomes. There’s no mistaking CD’s smell and taste. She has a very distinct sour lemon smell but when consumed adds a diesel-like taste. Since this one provides the consumer with a strong head-in-the-cloud effect, it’s best to be consumed in the evening hours when attention to detail isn’t required. Medical benefits: anxiety, pain, appetite stimulation, nausea, stress, depression and insomnia. Skywalker OG, indica-dominant hybrid — her light green dense buds appear to be layered in ice from all the trichomes. Smell is unmistakable as this one is dank while taste is very piney. Keep this one double bagged — her smell will keep inviting you back for more. Recommended for evening consumption — it’s a couch-locker for sure! Medical benefits: stress, pain, insomnia, appetite stimulation and muscle spasms. Northern Lights, indica — her bright green buds are generously covered in trichomes, giving them the appearance they’re covered in frost. This one has a smell that is very sweet but when consumed tastes spicy sweet. Northern Lights is a strain best to be consumed in the evening, as it will lay you back wanting to close your eyes. It’s no secret Northern Lights is known as one of the most potent indicas. Medical benefits: stress, anxiety, nervousness, depression, pain, nausea and insomnia.

Super Lemon Haze, sativa-dominant hybrid — her dark green buds are evenly coated with trichomes, so much so that at a glance, these buds appear to have a yellowish tone. Smell and taste are exactly what would be expected in a name such as Super Lemon Haze; zesty, sweet and tart and very lemony in every aspect. Great for daytime or early evening as it leaves the consumer energized, uplifted and relaxed, but not so relaxed that one can’t stay focused. Medical benefits: migraines, depression, anxiety, nausea, pain, appetite stimulation and stress.

Pineapple Express, indica-dominant hybrid — her dense dark green buds are thickly coated with trichomes. Many say this one looks like an indica but smokes like a sativa. Either way, her powerful scents of spice and fruits [yes, with a hint of pineapple] can be smelled throughout the house. The taste echoes her smell. Since she leaves the consumer feeling energized, daytime consumption is recommended. Medical benefits: appetite stimulation, depression, stress, anxiety and pain.

Chocolope, sativa-dominant hybrid — her light green, super dense buds often look purple if the sugar leaves are closely trimmed and will sparkle in any light since she’s covered in trichomes. She is known to taste and smell somewhat fruity but sweet with just a hint of chocolate. Great for daytime consumption, especially when staying focused is necessary, Chocolope will leave one feeling uplifted and happy. Medical benefits: migraines, depression, pain, nausea, appetite stimulation, stress and anxiety. If by chance your particular favorite strain didn’t make our top 10 selling list, end this year with a bud rather than a bang! Try those that you haven’t already checked off this list, or go back for more of the ones you have. One never knows — current favorites could easily be replaced by ones on this list. Happy testing! S SATIVAMAGAZINE.COM

DECEMBER 2013

YOUR CANNABUSINESS

In the Age of Information,

a strong presence on the World Wide Web can make or break a business. Even the most useful product or service can drown in the vast sea of hypertext if it doesn’t stand out. Web designers can make a website visually appealing, and Flash coders can draw in visitors with

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animated interactivity, but rarely will an ingeniously crafted site be enough to establish a web presence. To truly market oneself through a website, a business needs to maximize its search engine optimization (SEO), a system of techniques that brings visitors to the site through search engine queries.

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SEO for Ganjapreneurs Master the rules of search engine optimization to ensure your product’s visibility to your target audience.

YOUR CUSTOMERS Part One of a Series By R. Robinson SEO is a hot topic for online businesses. You may have heard the term before, but most people don’t know what it entails.

exploit these rules to your advantage, you should see your site climbing up in searchengine ranking.

Rest assured that SEO, though complicated to learn, is actually quite simple. There are essential rules that determine a webpage’s ranking on a search engine, and if you can

In the first part of this series, we’ll go over some of the basics for understanding SEO. Future parts of this series will detail how to employ SEO strategies specific to the Cannabis industry.

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DECEMBER 2013

Word-of-mouth, link-building and social media marketing are just a few ways to promote a website. What is SEO? Whenever someone uses a search engine to find a website, they typically type in a series of words related to the topic of interest. For instance, if I want to find a cooking recipe for sautéed veggies, I may search for sites on Google using the query “recipe sautéed vegetables.” Google would respond to my search query by presenting a list of websites it believes are most relevant to my search.

How do powerful search engines like Google determine which sites to give me first? Well, in short, we really don’t know. Heavyhitters such as Google and Bing keep their SEO algorithms secret, so the intricate mathematics behind a page’s ranking remain veiled. However, based on experiments and a lot of trial and error, the SEO community has unraveled some of the criteria a search engine uses to rank pages.

How SEO works The first part of SEO involves the use of keywords and key phrases. These are words or terms specific to the page’s topic. Web content that exploits SEO artfully weaves keywords throughout the page or article. Search engines scan — or “crawl” — the text of each page to determine what the page is about. This reliance

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on keywords ensures that search engines provide links related to the search query. The second part of SEO employs keywords within the page’s HTML code. META and TITLE tags reinforce the page’s keyword relevancy toward particular search queries, but the website’s URL title, as well as image titles like “sautéed-vegetables.jpg” can also contribute to the rank. The third and most important aspect of SEO is traffic. Of the three characteristics of SEO discussed here, traffic trumps the other two by a longshot. You can come up with the best key phrases and place them perfectly within an article; you can jam-pack your META tags with precise keywords — but if the page never gets any visits, search engines won’t consider your content “relevant.”

Traffic is key The number of visitors to your website — as well as their online behavior — largely dictates whether or not your website will show up on the front page of a search engine. By “online behavior” I don’t mean trolling or flaming. Behavior, in this case, refers to how long visitors remain on the site, whether they visit other pages on your site and if they return for more.

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So how does a ganjapreneur observe her or his website’s traffic?

consider the site “relevant” to its keywords and phrases, and its ranking will slowly climb.

Most web hosts include some interface or software for tracking the site’s analytics. Google provides its own brand of free analytics to nearly any website. Other services, such as Alexa, record and broadcast a website’s ranking within region, country or state, along with visitor statistics.

SEO for the cannabusiness

Google Analytics, which this author is most familiar with, is an incredibly powerful tool for SEO. Although many of its features are somewhat unrelated to SEO — such as what countries your visitors are from — other features are invaluable, such as what specific pages on your site are getting the most traffic. Although these numbers are raw data, even a beginner can connect the dots between what’s working and what isn’t. To most novices, the traffic requirement for SEO seems like a Catch-22. “How can I get traffic to my site if no one can find it through a search engine?” they may ask. Although at first this Catch-22 holds true for newer websites, with time traffic should arrive. Word-of-mouth, link-building and social media marketing are just a few ways to promote a website. If visits remain consistent over time, search engines

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As Cannabis legalization spreads across the nation like a hardy weed, competition within the Cannabis industry has gotten stiff. Online marketing, as a consequence, has also gotten much tougher. According to USA Today, there are roughly 2,000 dispensaries in the United States. As a comparison, there are fewer Safeway supermarkets (less than 1700) in the country than there are dispensaries. This year, the legal Cannabis industry will rake in approximately $1.5 billion. By 2018, this number is expected to reach $6 billion. The explosion of the industry means more websites devoted to Cannabis products and services. Cannabis consumers are already saturated in an ever-growing market of new brands and novel innovations, but proper SEO can help customers sift through the noise of too many choices. Or, put another way, SEO can guide consumers to your cannabusiness rather than to someone else’s. Stay tuned for Part Two of this series, where I’ll discuss what keeps traffic flowing to a successful website. S

DECEMBER 2013

Business Plans Are Important

By Hippy KK Illustration by Emily Cain 46

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A business plan is a crucial step to the success of a business and should never be eliminated from the process of planning its future. It is a road map showing the direction intended for the business. And here’s a little fun fact all ganjapreneurs should know — if you’re planning on approaching outside sources such as banks or private investors for financial assistance, without a well thought-out, solid business plan, they won’t even consider helping. Without setting goals, there will be no green. A business plan always starts with the business name, address and contact number. Consider this the introduction to your cannabusiness. Next, all non-disclosure statements need to be included. If your cannabusiness doesn’t have non-disclosure statements, then simply eliminate this step. Don’t make them up, that would be a big no-no. Non-disclosure statements are agreements of confidentiality between the business and any individual or outside party such as another business. And finally, before getting into all the nitty-gritty planning, the business plan needs a table of contents. A sample outline and everything that should be included in a completed business plan will be provided at the end of this article. A business plan has three main parts. The first is the business concept. In this section, describe the industry, the cannabusiness structure and the particular service or product that’s being offered. The second is the marketplace. Here you will describe potential customers and what’s going to draw them to your cannabusiness. Also acknowledge the competition and plan strategy moves. The third part is the financial projections. Everything to do with money goes into this section. Be as accurate with these projections as possible. Do not falsify financial projections to make the

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business look good. This isn’t their first rodeo — potential investors will see right through that and decline the request. These three main parts of a business plan are broken down into nine categories that need to be included in a business plan. These include Executive Summary; Business Description; Management and Personnel; Products and/ or Services Provided; Sales and Marketing; Operational Information; Risk Analysis; Financial Information and Projections; and Appendices. Each of these nine categories has sub-categories. I know, right? That sure sounds like a lot of information to provide, but remember what’s being sought. Approaching someone to ask for help with financing that will ultimately pave the way to the business’s success is asking lot as well. One would think it should be time well spent. So think about that again. It really isn’t asking too much after all, is it? The following is a brief description of the nine categories: The Executive Summary should not be any longer than two pages. Some people find it easier to prepare this after all other information is gathered since it’s a summary of the business plan itself. Make it exciting to grab and hold the potential investors attention. The Business Description needs to be very detailed, outlining the type of business; location; if it’s a new or existing business being acquired; and the reason the business is structured the way it is. Be sure to include the company’s mission and vision statement here. Management and Personnel should be brief. List all business partners and employees, as well as their job description, responsibilities, experience and qualifications. Resumes should be included in the Appendices.

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Products and Services is all about describing the product or services being offered. You must show that they are both marketable and profitable. Describe the benefits and profit margins. Sales and Marketing should include intended market, geographical targeted area, competitors, marketing strategy and sales method. Include market research results in the Appendices. Operational Information should show how you plan to operate the business and the associated costs of doing so. Explain the estimated overhead cost; supplier’s terms and products offered; distribution, if any; and employee salaries and/or wages. Also, any equipment and cost should be listed — whether it’s currently on hand or needs to be purchased — as well as its life expectancy. Include all types of insurance coverage and costs that are currently in place or that will be, and include all required business licenses and/or permits and fees associated with obtaining them. Include everything a business needs to operate functionally. Risk Analysis should be short, sweet and to the point. Too much detail could potentially scare away an investor. All businesses have risks, as we all know. Clearly explain how you would overcome challenges that might be thrown your way. Financial Information and Projections are the most important part of a great business plan. Cash flow shows money coming in and going out. If this is a new business, potential investors want to see where the money is coming from. Whether it’s the business owner’s personal money or outside investments, they need to see this as well as to whom the funds are going. Financial statements, if an existing

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business is being acquired, should include a minimum of the most recent consecutive three-year bank statements. These will show potential investors the acquired business’s profits and losses. Include these statements in the Appendices. Most likely, if this is a new business, these statements won’t be available. But if they are, be sure to include them as well. Be sure to include the business owner’s personal financial information. Investors will want to know this in case the business is unable to make good on their loan. Provide a year-long, month-by-month detailed financial projection. This must include all income and expenses and the bottom line should reflect the business’s profits or losses. Use the final projection from the first year to figure final projections for the next four years, all in all providing five years of financial projections. To get these estimations, increase monthly sales by 25 percent. The Appendices section is where all documents that support the information in the business plan go. Be sure to include the business owner’s résumé here as well. This is the section that can never include too much documentation. Think “a picture is worth a thousand words.” A well thought-out business plan should average somewhere between 20 to 50 pages depending on the business and size. However, don’t fret if the one prepared isn’t within this range, as long as it contains all the necessary information listed herein. It’s beneficial to any cannabusiness to have a business consultant and accountant on retainer and it looks good too. When the business plan is reviewed by a potential lender or investor, seeing that an outside professional is involved

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Business plan sample outline Business name Address City, State, Zip code Contact numbers Non-disclosure statement (if any) Table of Contents Executive Summary Business summary – full date the business was established and the products or services provided. This is where you explain what your cannabusiness does. Business plan objectives Business personnel Market, include geographical area Expansion plans Financial summary – first year sales, gross profit margin, fixed cost, profit & loss. Funding – how much is needed. Also include any financing that has already been secured. Business Description – Do not leave any of this out.

The business idea History of the business Company structure Location Mission and vision statement Management and Personnel Describe yourself and the position of all personnel Chain of command Business consultant Business accountant Business attorney Products and/or services offered Description Price Sales and Marketing Market Target Competitors Marketing strategy Sales method Operational Information Overhead cost

validates all the information contained in the business plan. Creating a well-prepared business plan isn’t going to happen overnight. It could take weeks — even months. But in the end, every minute of time invested will have been well spent. If you find you’re having a difficult time putting the plan together, consult either the business consultant or accountant. Either one can and will be happy to prepare this for a client. Owning your own business can be very rewarding, yet if not properly planned out, has the potential to be short lived. Cannabusinesses

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Suppliers Distribution Payroll Assets and equipment Licenses and permits Risk Analysis Explain what risks your business might face and what you would do to overcome such obstacles Financial Information and Projections Cash flow Financial statements Net worth Provide detailed financial projections for one year According to the one year financial projection, estimate financial projections for the next four years, providing a total of five year financial projections. Appendices – All supporting documentation that needs to be attached

are no exception. Know the necessary steps in planning your cannabusiness and keep in mind that following them will provide the best opportunity for success. S Small Business Association: http://www.sba. gov/content/what-business-plan-and-whydo-i-need-one

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Center for Business Planning: http://www. businessplans.org/ Planware: http://www.planware.org/ Bplans.com: http://www.bplans.com/

DECEMBER 2013

UNTAPPED

By Adam Kain

DECEMBER 2013

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POTENTIAL Cannabis’ Schedule I classification has made it off-limits for research in the United States. Have we missed an important opportunity for future revenue? The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 made Cannabis research in the United States nearly impossible. Lumping all forms of the plant and its derivatives into a category alongside heroin and LSD, the CSA called for stringent rules and regulations that would allow the government to control the motive and methodology of any future Cannabis research. Listed as a Schedule I substance, defined as having no accepted medicinal use and a high potential for abuse, Cannabis research was placed under the protection of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federal organization committed to the research of drug abuse and addiction. Though state and federal laws have begun to change who can conduct Cannabis research, large-scale research lies in the hands of NIDA.

National Institute on Drug Abuse Created in 1974 as part of what would become the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program, NIDA holds a monopoly on Cannabis research as the only federally sanctioned supplier. Marijuana Policy Project explains that, in addition to FDA and DEA approvals needed for research using Schedule

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I substances, all Cannabis research must be approved through a National Institute on Drug Abuse/Public Health Service (NIDA/PHS) protocol review process that doesn’t exist for other Schedule 1 drugs. Given NIDA’s role in researching drug abuse and addiction, few NIDA-supported projects focused on medical or industrial utilizations. Currently, more than 100 studies are being conducted with NIDA on Cannabis, but others still are being denied. Though Cannabis research has increased with state laws allowing cultivation, large-scale research remains hindered without the NIDA hookup.

The problem A statement of NIDA’s commitment to Cannabis research, released Aug. 12, 2013, suggests that the organization is equally committed to researching both the benefits and detriments of Cannabis. However, NIDA Director Steven Gust, head of the organization charged with drug abuse and addiction research, testified in 2007 to the DEA “that it is not NIDA’s mission to study medicinal uses of marijuana.”

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Mind Your Cannabusiness • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Though states like California have been researching the medicinal efficacy of Cannabis for years, quantitative large-scale testing is impossible without NIDA approval and their “research-grade” Cannabis. Many such largescale research projects get so far as to obtain FDA and DEA approval before falling victim to the NIDA/PHS evaluation system. No NIDA guidelines exist to help researchers navigate the system, and as such, project approval often seems to rely on nothing more than the organization’s whim. The vast majority of NIDA-affiliated studies being conducted are concerned with the negative mental and behavioral effects of Cannabis use or methods to reduce and prevent use. An FDA-approved study by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies into the effect of Cannabis on chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD symptoms in U.S. veterans has been held up by NIDA for more than two years. A similar study sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Health found medical Cannabis significantly reduced the severity of PTSD symptoms.

Israel’s example By 2009, the United States’ ideological and strategic partner in the Middle East, Israel, had begun growing medicinal Cannabis and researching the many aspects of the plant and its derivatives. Beginning with a 1995 government committee recommending the state provide Cannabis to the sick, Israel now grows commercial crops for medicinal use at statesponsored homes and by prescription. Supported by eight large Cannabis farms, medical research in Israel is thriving, with large-scale studies of the herb’s effects on cancer, trauma, pain and addiction reduction. Contrary to what we see in the United States,

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gaining approval for research is much easier than acquiring a prescription for medical Cannabis in Israel. The tiny country of less than 8 million is determined to get this right and be the first nation to regulate medicinal Cannabis use in a responsible manner. Cannabis research must pass several levels of clinical trials before being accepted as pharmaceutical in nature and Cannabis is only prescribed as a last resort and under much tougher conditions than seen in U.S. states with medicinal Cannabis laws.

The Solution With more than a third of the states legalizing medical Cannabis, coordination of major research projects is more of an option now than ever before, especially with the advent of modern technology allowing real-time discussion of methodology and results. But this would all be unnecessary if our government would only take a cue from its ideological partner in the east. The good news is, we’re heading in the right direction. With medicinal Cannabis legal in over 20 states, hemp fields being legally grown in nine, two states High above the crowd and the federal government saying it won’t sue to block responsible Cannabis laws, more and more research is being coordinated amongst states. Cannabis legalization isn’t the only way through this problem. Removal of Cannabis from Schedule I would significantly free up research and perhaps take the decision out of NIDA’s hands. Doing so would give the Food and Drug Administration reign over federal Cannabis research. The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians have spoken out in support of such a measure since 2008 and 2009, respectively. S

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T E H N I G LI AZ T G O A P NG S I M R I S SP VA INES I N T I • SA BUS G A DIN E N E N C C CA U S • G IN

Compiled by the Sativa staff SATIVAMAGAZINE.COM

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CANNABIS CAREER INSTITUTE “Cannabis Career Institute is an innovator in the field of marijuana schools. We originated in March of 2009, following on the heels of and continuing the tradition of Oaksterdam University, the most successful marijuana school in the world. With more of a focus on business technique, Cannabis Career Institute has set the trend by creating a step-by-step method of doing business and providing it on a silver platter for students!” — http://www.cannabiscareerinstitute.com Catching rave reviews from every city they pass through with their seminars focused on the business side of medical Cannabis, Cannabis Career Institute offers certificates in Cannabis business management, bud tending, edibles operation, dispensary management, and master growing. Cannabis Career Institute holds seminars all over the country with specific course books for each state, personalizing each classroom experience to the laws and guidelines specific to your business. Informational videos for sale, including “Instructional Cooking” are available on their website, as well as their course books. A list of upcoming seminars, dates and locations

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are posted in the Events section, and you can reserve your seat and book online. According to their website: “The goal of this marijuana school is empower the students by giving them the information they need to succeed in the world of cannabis. Whether they want to start their own medical marijuana delivery service, their own medical marijuana dispensary, their own medical marijuana edibles operation, their own medical marijuana grow-room or even their own medical marijuana school.” I encourage you to peruse their website and the interesting information they have available, including the links and media. You can contact them to ask questions, and, if you are wondering what you might expect from these classes, the website states: “When a student leaves CCI they will have a list of things to do and the confidence to accomplish those tasks. Cannabis Career Institute believes that knowledge is empowerment. Unlike most ‘marijuana schools’ CCI encourages their students to succeed by showing them the full picture and letting them decide how to create their business.”

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CANNASSURE INSURANCE SERVICES “Since 2010 we have been one of the leading providers of insurance in the marijuana industry. Our managing director is a regular expert speaker at all of The National Cannabis Industry events and has spoken on insurance and risk management in Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, Boston, Albuquerque, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. We started Cannassure with the singular purpose of helping the Medical Marijuana Industry secure insurance products at a reasonable cost. Cannassure saw firsthand a glaring need and a complete lack of understanding from the insurance industry as a whole.” — http://www.cannassure.com Every business type needs insurance and there is no exception to the rule when it comes to cannabusinesses. Even though it can become quite frustrating trying to find adequate insurance coverage, as it seems more often than not doors close when the word Cannabis is mentioned, Cannassure will welcome your business and gladly give you an insurance quote. Cannassure Insurance Services has coverage available for medical dispensaries, growers and believe it or not, manufacturers of Cannabisinfused products as well. Ask yourself this simple question: Could your cannabusiness recover from a tragedy such a break-in or fire? If you answered no, then you should contact Cannassure. They offer general liability

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Cannasure owner/founder Patrick McManamon

protection plans with up to 5 million dollars in coverage as well as property protection coverage and much, much more for the dispensary owner. For cultivators of medical Cannabis, Cannassure offers coverage for living plant material, harvested crops, and the finished, processed product that is ready to be donated to dispensaries or that has been grown for patients. But wait, that’s not all, the cultivator is also able to get property damage coverage as well. Cannassure also offers insurance coverage for manufacturers of Cannabis-infused products such as medibles, wax, oils and tinctures. This policy will cover not only the manufacturer but also the Cannabis-infused product. “We provide true product liability insurance with the express goal of ensuring that your marijuana infused products are sufficiently covered in the event of something untoward happening. There are a number of things that you will need to ensure are in good working order and meet the required standards for the insurance policy. All of this will be discussed with you and a full breakdown of the terms and conditions will be provided for your reference. Please bear in mind that these prerequisites need to be maintained to a certain standard to ensure that the policy remains in force and that you are adequately covered.”

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CANNLABS “Our mission is to provide Cannabis science and analytical testing to the cannabis industry to ensure the health and safety of consumers and to maximize the quality of our client’s products” — http://www.cannlabs.com The scientists at Cannlabs test samples and provide very accurate potency values for the following cannabinoids for their customers, CBC, CBD, CBDA, CBDV, CBG, CBN, THC, THCA , and THCV. They also can test for residual solvents used during extraction processes in products that are being sold to patients, and in Colorado after Jan. 1, 2013, to all adults over the age of 21. The new regulations require that Cannabis flowers, concentrates and extracts be tested for potency of the cannabinoids THC, THCA, CBD, and CBN; the level of residual solvents, and the presence and amount of pesticides and microbial residues, depending upon the particular product being tested. One aspect of the services that Cannlabs offers that distinguishes their company from others in Colorado is that they consistently employ third-party standards to calibrate their testing equipment such as UPLC (UltraHigh Performance Liquid Chromatography) instruments. This ensures that they can reliably provide accurate results day after day. In addition to testing products such as Cannabis

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flowers and concentrates such as hash, budder, wax and oil, they test the potency of edibles and formulation base oils. Cannlabs also has the knowledge and equipment to formulate new medicinal Cannabis-derived products for their clients. “Responsibility through testing” is the tagline of the Cannlab logo. That sentence conveys quite a lot in three words. The services Cannlabs offer their clients, and their medical Cannabis patients in turn, are very important. Trusting that they are receiving the medicine in the purity and cannabinoid ratios they expect is essential. The concept of responsibility also carries over to the industry as a whole, and Cannlabs is a great example of the level of professionalism that ensures the public’s perception of Cannabis continues to become more favorable over time. Providers of medicinal and adult-use Cannabis and associated products must be held to responsible standards, and testing is an excellent instrument for ensuring that expectation. “Would you consume a medication of which you didn’t know the dosage or how it would affect you?” Cannlabs asks that question in their website homepage, and the services they offer make it possible that you don’t have to be at all uncertain about what you are consuming.

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DENVER RELIEF CONSULTING “Denver Relief Consulting believes that marijuana business is still business and by bringing a professional edge to cannabis we can help create a well-functioning and legal enterprise for our clients.” —http://ww.denverreliefconsulting.com Denver Relief Consulting is one more shining example of how evolved the Cannabis industry has become professionally. This continuing evolution has brought about big changes in both the public’s and local government’s expectations for this professionalism, and therefore the need for consulting services such as those offered by Denver Relief Consulting is very real. The ‘wild west’ aspect of the industry is moderating rapidly, and it is now a complex process to get started in this industry, especially if you are planning on cultivating or selling Cannabis in the legal medicinal or adult-use markets. Denver Relief Consulting specializes in assisting their clients in this segment of the business to navigate this complexity, and they have the experience and knowledge to do that very well.

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The services offered by Denver Relief Consulting help prospective ganjapreneurs build the three legs of a stable Cannabis business; a solid business plan and structure, an efficient and wellrun cultivation facility, and a smartly-designed, welcoming, and comfortable retail facility. The team at DRC has the resources and expertise to help shape and transform an excellent idea into a brick-and-mortar reality. Their website can give far more information about themselves than there is room to cover here. One aspect of DRC that is commendable and worth mentioning is their Green Team community outreach program, originally started by the Denver Relief medical Cannabis dispensary, the goal of which “was to show that business owners in our industry were the same as any others, giving back to the communities that support them.” Green Team volunteers help the community at large in many meaningful ways, and that work helps to showcase the reality of responsible Cannabis consumers and businesses, and helps to dispel the stereotypes.

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EDEN LABS — EXTRACTION EQUIPMENT “Our mission is to collaborate with and support our clients in developing new products or improving the quality of existing products. Eden Labs offers the best extraction equipment available. While we have many existing designs to choose from, our specialty is building custom equipment to suit your individual needs and specifications.” — http://www.edenlabs.com Whether your preferred method of extraction is CO2, distillation, cold percolation, compressed gas or cold finger, Eden Labs offers a system to meet your extraction needs of any size and preference. Or, if you prefer to leave the work to someone else, Eden Labs will make the extraction for you. If you happen to have designed your own system but don’t have the means to build it, Eden Labs has a glassblowing lab and full machine shop, simply set up a consultation with Eden Labs, hand the plans over to them and let them build it for you. Eden Labs is there for you; there isn’t an extraction system they can’t handle. Research and development: “Research is an ongoing process. Eden Labs is well known for its expansive knowledge in extractions. Our work is your work. We are available to brainstorm with you as your product and

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business mature to fine tune and expand its full potential.” Due diligence: “Whether Eden Labs has assisted with the due diligence and/or development of your end product, the next logical step is how best to produce your product specifically for the current size of your business with growth in mind. We will work with you to continue to develop your product line in conjunction with your growth.” “Eden Labs is the only company to capitalize on the pioneering work with pressurized ethanol and water at the USDA food sciences research facility in Peoria, Illinois. There USDA scientists found that pressurized ethanol and/or water was often superior to other methods including supercritical CO2, in extracting natural products. Eden Labs is the only company offering high-pressure solvent extractors based on this research. This method, coupled with a vacuum distiller for concentrating the extract, is almost always the best method to produce the highest quality commercial extracts.” Eden Labs’ main office and showroom is located in Seattle. All systems are manufactured in Washington State and the USA.

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HARBORSIDE HEALTH CENTER “Help every individual person who comes through our doors feel truly cared for, valued and respected. Protect medical cannabis patients by providing a safe and affordable alternative to the dangerous circumstances of the illegal drug market. Honor the trust provided by our fellow citizens by faithfully and rigorously observing and enforcing the laws of the progressive, visionary city of Oakland, and the great state of California. Protect the safety, tranquility and cleanliness of our immediate neighborhood. Create an extraordinary environment of medical care, honesty and friendliness. Encourage engagement of the mindbody-soul nexus in the healing process.” — http://www.harborsidehealthcenter.com With two locations and a delivery service that spans the vast Bay Area, Harborside Health Center is so much more than just a medical dispensary. Yes, they have a wide variety of high-quality medicine, but they also offer many additional services to help their patients. Their Oakland location has a complete holistic healing center that offers classes including yoga and reiki, and traditional Chinese medicines, just to name a few. All of the classes are free to patients, as HHC understands that many patients suffering from severe pain, sleep issues,

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and stress often go without treatment when they cannot afford it. The health center provides a “care package” program for patients that can prove financial need, where medicine is delivered to them once a week. They also offer senior and veteran discounts as well as a substance misuse program. Their staff is very active in the Cannabis movement as they strive to provide even safer access to the medicine their patients need. In addition to a wide variety of Cannabis strains HHC offers concentrates, seeds for growing, edibles, and topical salves to give patients choices in their treatment and has a bevy of accessories to make consumption easy and effective. Their website is very informative and includes links to reliable information and growing advice. Their main focus is to provide a combination of high-quality medicine and holistic practices with the goal of total health and well being for their patients. Their attention to individual patients’ needs is exceptional, and their friendly atmosphere is warm and inviting, making Harborside Health Center a leader in their field.

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HEMP-EAZE “We came to realize, while searching for a massage cream to ease our daily aches and pains, that all healing creams are not the same. A cream that heals has to do more than smell good, it has to heal.” — http://www.hemp-eaze.com Producing a wonderful array of health products including lip balm, lotion, massage oil, tattoo ointment and even pet-aid spray, Hemp-Eaze gives a lasting alternative for aches and pains. Their website explains that “the chief element in restorative creams of early pharmacopoeia was hemp. Not the hemp we associate with the stereotypical 60s, but Hemp Root, containing no THC, yet was valued as the active ingredient essential to oils prescribed in both the Aramaic and Hebrew versions of the Old Testament. Hemp root, myrrh, and olive oil preparations were applied topically to alleviate swelling and joint pain, or as salves for burns.” The most common healing herbs and ingredients found in their creams and salves include hemp, comfrey and burdock roots, hyssop, sacred sage, lavender flowers, lobelia leaves, California bay laurel, myrrh gum, olive oil and soy oil. Many of these herbs date back to

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ancient healing mixtures and have been revived today in the products that Hemp-Eaze offers. Their website is easy to use and informative, offering in-depth ingredient descriptions for each of the herbs they use including details on exactly what ailments they help. They will even send you samples of whatever product you wish to try for the price of the shipping. Hemp-Eaze is distinguishes itself from other hemp creams, claiming “hemp creams in today’s market contain only hemp seed oil or leaf compounds. Some include alcohol, petroleum, or animal byproducts. But only Hemp-Eaze Therapy Cream contains the organic, healing of Hemp Root, with a complex formula of medicinal herbs in triple strength. Its rich green color distinguishes it from a cosmetic lotion to a true healing treatment.” Hemp-Eaze is rooted in ancient healing techniques. “Our specialized formula, ten years in the making, has brought Old World healing to the present. We handcraft HempEaze Therapy Cream when the new moon waxes, bottling before the full moon wanes to stimulate the healing properties according to ancient teachings.”

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HIPPIE BUTTER “To procure, provide, and test the best hemp seed products available with great customer service. We take great pride in our company, our commitment to customer service and in the hemp seed products we sell.” — http://www.hippiebutter.com Offering a wide variety of hemp seed products including healthy snacks and bath and body products, Hippie Butter makes doing something nice for yourself, healthy for you too. Tasty snacks like hemp seed bars come in a large variety of flavors including chai, dark chocolate and macadamia. Each bar contains at least 3 grams of protein per serving, although some have 6 grams! They also offer a hemp seed coffee that has a rich nutty flavor that they describe as a “premium, delicious, full-flavored Hemp Seed coffee that doesn’t leave a bitter aftertaste.” They also offer hemp seed protein powder, flour, and whole or hulled hemp seeds SATIVAMAGAZINE.COM

in a variety of flavors. They focus on quality, non-gmo, organic and natural products to bring the very best to their customers. “All our products are GMO-Free, GlutenFree, Herbicide & Pesticide Free, Peanut Free, Vegetarian-Approved, Kosher Certified, No THC and Tryspin Inhibitor Free” according to their website. Hemp seeds contain essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain a healthy life and have a flavor similar to sunflower seeds or walnuts. Many other seeds in the plant kingdom including flax seed contain all the essential amino acids, but what makes hemp-seed protein unique is that 65 percent — the highest percentage in the plant world — of it is globulin edistin, a simple protein and the third most abundant protein in the human body. There is no THC or anything else that could give you a “high” feeling so it is safe for the entire family. DECEMBER 2013

LEAFLY – STRAIN REVIEWS “At Leafly, we wanted to create a fast and friendly environment that provides the everyday user with a helpful service to make those tough medical marijuana purchasing decisions easy. Not sure which cannabis strain will help you in the way you need it to? Our explore system is designed to help you discover the best strains possible. Already using something you like, create journal entries to help you remember them for future recollection. Something sound interesting, but you haven’t had the chance to find it yet? Add it to your favorites to remember for later. All this and more come standard with the Leafly experience.” — http://www.leaﬂy.com

their favorite strains and effects or even those that they might not have particularly cared for. “Use a private journal to keep a record of favorite marijuana strains, the effects and any notes you might wish to include. The journal makes it easy to remember your favorites for future reference.” Rate it with complete anonymity. “Like or dislike a strain? Disagree with the effects? With our easy-to-use Cannabis ratings and review system add your opinion to the mix. The best part: it’s all completely anonymous and private.”

With information on over 500 strains readily available at your fingertips, searching for the strain you’ve been looking for has become that easy. And, there’s an app for that! “Browse and explore our library of Cannabis varieties. Search based on type, effects, ratings and more. Find something you like and add it to your shopping list for later.”

With their Cannabis strain and infused product explorer, searching has never been easier. Narrow the search by using the available filters such as attributes and effects. But wait, there’s more. Maybe it isn’t a strain you’re looking for, but medibles, concentrates or topical products. Leafly makes all of these products available as well as their top indicas, sativas and hybrids.

With a couple of keystrokes and clicks of the mouse, the consumer can maintain a journal of

Leafly also offers legal, state-by state dispensary locator and delivery services.

DECEMBER 2013

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OAKSTERDAM UNIVERSITY “Oaksterdam University was founded in November 2007. Richard Lee, the founder of Oaksterdam University, placed a provocative advertisement in the East Bay Express proclaiming ‘Cannabis Industry Now Hiring.’ Lee had wanted to open a trade school for the cannabis industry ever since visiting the cannabis college in Amsterdam. Rather than emulate the college in Amsterdam where curriculum mainly surrounds horticulture, Lee decided to expand upon the idea and create a curriculum that focuses on the entire cannabis trade.” — http://www.oaksterdamuniversity.com After being bombarded with hundreds of phone calls, 20 lucky students gathered in a small classroom for the first classes offered by Oaksterdam University. The original location was on 15th Street in Oakland, Calif., an area lovingly referred to as ‘Oaksterdam’ by locals due to the high number of Cannabisrelated businesses in the area — doctors and dispensaries, and now, a university. The popularity of their informative classes that went beyond teaching students to grow the plant has turned this great idea into a full-blown educational institution. The necessity to offer classes more frequently in order to accommodate the growing demand made it possible for Oaksterdam University

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to start offering semester-long classes in the evenings. This allowed them to begin a satellite school in Los Angeles, which led to even more success. After Michigan legalized medical marijuana they expanded and opened another university there, opening doors for classes in May of 2009. Since their inception Oaksterdam University has been a booming enterprise, offering courses in politics, law and civil rights. In addition, they offer interesting classes like Methods of Ingestion, Economics for Cannabis, Dispensary Operations and Legal Business Structures for the Cannabis Industry. They have regular semester classes, as well as seminars and a 10week horticulture program. While they can’t offer financial assistance yet, they are working on a system to make online classes available to everyone. With more and more states legalizing Cannabis — even if only for medical reasons — it is necessary to have educational programs to ensure that Cannabis is grown safely and to provide access to this knowledge for the masses. With trained, experienced instructors behind every class, Oaksterdam University is doing their part for the Cannabis industry.

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RADIANT LED GROWTH SYSTEMS, INC. “Intelligent light for efficient growth” — http://www.radiantledgrowthsystems.com Radiant LED Growth Systems is a company that develops highly-engineered Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamp systems designed for researchers and growers desiring strict control over the light spectrum and intensity that plants receive while growing in controlled indoor and greenhouse environments. As Cannabis cultivation continues to move rapidly into the mainstream of horticultural science, products such as those produced by Radiant LED Growth Systems will be more commonly seen in research and commercial growing facilities. Using patented technology the two products offered — the L4A Series 1 and L4A Series 10 lamps — are 500 and 600 watt LED lamps, respectively, that utilize software applications to allow completely flexible control over the quality and quantity of light emitted from them. With a web user interface and virtual private network capability, researchers and growers can monitor and modify the lighting regime of their facilities remotely. The ability to control one, several, or all of the lamps in a cultivation facility is easily realized with their firmware and software capabilities. Radiant LED systems can be tailored for any plant genus, whereas light from HPS lamps is agnostic toward the plants beneath them. Adjustable LED light spectrums can give the

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plants exactly what is needed to produce what the grower intends as a final product. Commercial Cannabis growers and researchers can use these systems to tailor growing environments to their specific needs. Researchers can determine what lighting regime works best for what they are striving to produce or learn about. Radiant LED systems can help growers produce quality crops efficiently by offering lamps engineered with static custom spectrums and intensities that are optimal for the plant genus they are working with, even tailored to specific cultivars or strains. Growers can also opt for the version that allows completely programmable lighting regimes, even allowing intensities and spectrums to vary throughout the day or even the growing cycle. Not everyone is sold on LED technology for growing but the advantage of utilizing customized spectral environments for a particular plant genus, whether static or programmable, cannot be denied. LED lighting for horticultural applications has come a long way in general, and Radiant LED has taken that advancement to a completely new and unprecedented level. The researchers at Radiant LED are continually refining and adjusting their technology and software, assisted by real world beta testing feedback from facilities in Colorado and Washington where Cannabis is legal to grow on a large scale.

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THE WERC SHOP – LABORATORY SERVICES “As a socially conscious science and research based organization we are dedicated to providing the best products, services and information to various sustainable industries. Our team of Ph.D. scientists, seasoned business executives and recognized industry experts enable us to deliver excellent services and unique products in a socially responsible fashion. The Certified Cannabaceuticals™ program is designed to ensure quality and safety of medical cannabis products through the use of sophisticated analytical techniques and validated methods. We are intent on building a sustainable future and committed to conducting research on a wide variety of plant based medicines and sustainable products.” — http://thewercshop.com/ By using state-of-the-art equipment, The Werc Shop is able to offer Cannabis testing services, “We provide analytical testing and quality control testing on a large variety of cannabis based products screening for cannabinoids, terpenes, microbiological contaminants, pesticides and residual solvents.” Botanical testing: “We provide consultation services, staff training, method development and independent testing for microbiological contaminants at FDA approved USP levels, and can work with you and your team in a variety of ways to ensure cGMP compliance. We also specialize in phytochemical projects where new molecular entity identification, novel product knowledge, processing or delivery methods are sought. SATIVAMAGAZINE.COM

We’re very interested in all plants.” Research and Development, “We have worked on a number of unique product types and new market ideas, where we help refine your concept and offer effective means for traversing difficult regulatory regimes while introducing your product to market. With a wide range of experience encompassing analytical chemistry, synthetic chemistry, process chemistry, phytochemistry, metabolomics, regulatory science and intellectual property development and licensing, we offer the scientific backbone and entrepreneurial expertise you need to be sure our partnership will help make your product a winning solution in your target market. We offer creative means of partnering with you to economically launch your new ideas.” New product formulations: “A number of our clients have asked us to provide unique solutions for novel product ideas encompassing creating new chemical mixtures to provide a product that is delivered in a specific form, products that deliver certain efficacy in a cost effective production manner, and improvements to all natural ingredients. Our suite of analytical tools and unique skilled backgrounds allows us to offer a novel and insightful perspective on the creation of your product. We’ve built unique solutions for new industries and are always happy to receive a new challenge!” DECEMBER 2013

Mind Your Cannabusiness

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VICENTE SEDERBERG – THE MARIJUANA LAW FIRM “Advising Visionaries. Our clients are trailblazers, building a new and vibrant industry from scratch. Each and every one of them has made a conscious decision to assume a certain level of risk in order to change the course of history. As trailblazers ourselves, we take pride in being with them every step along the way, helping them navigate and overcome unique legal and regulatory challenges. We understand every aspect of the marijuana industry — even aspects that are not yet fully developed. Whether you are looking to enter the industry or invest in it, we can assist and guide you.” — http://www.vicentesederberg.com “The marijuana law firm” is what Vicente Sederberg calls their firm, and for good reason. Brian Vicente and Christian Sederberg played very prominent roles in the processes leading up to the creation and passage of Colorado’s Amendment 64, the historic measure that made Colorado the first state in the union to legalize Cannabis possession and sales for adults. Most of the team at Vicente Sederberg has been involved in Cannabis law reform and other advocacy causes. They help their clients navigate the labyrinthine laws surrounding the Cannabis industry. They are working to shape the emerging legal Cannabis industry

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into a responsible and respectable business as it evolves. The existence of law firms that specialize in Cannabis business law and help shape policy is a testament to how very real the Cannabis industry is today. The opportunities for businesses to move into this market are not limited to growers and sellers of Cannabis, but all of the associated ancillary aspects have opportunities opening up. The services Vicente Sederberg offers their clients are extensive and too many to list here, but this introduction to the services page on their website says it all: “Whether you are a current marijuana business owner, an individual looking to enter the industry, or someone looking to affect changes in marijuana laws and regulations, Vicente Sederberg can provide you the legal assistance you need to succeed. The services listed below do not simply convey what we can do; they represent what we have done for scores of clients. Our attorneys have helped start-up businesses become industry leaders and have been leaders in the fight to enact more sensible and effective marijuana laws and regulations. Whatever you hope to accomplish, we can help.”

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MJ FREEWAY “The MJ Freeway business model is driven by the idea that regulation is the only way forward to bring cannabis to the masses both safely and responsibly. MJ Freeway’s mission makes it easy for cannabis business owners to comply with their legislative regulations and to prevent diversion, creating a legitimate, sustainable, professional industry where they can serve patients and customers as responsible business owners in their communities.” — http://www.mjfreeway.com MJ Freeway was founded in 2010 by software and IT professionals Amy Poinsett and Jessica Billingsley to create a comprehensive point-ofsale software system for the medical Cannabis industry and is now expanding its product line for recreational Cannabis use. MJ Freeway’s software product suite includes point-of-sale, inventory tracking, cultivation management and patient or customer record management. The software tracks every gram of Cannabis from seed to sale, following each gram from the day it was planted to the day it is sold. The software also captures the activity around every gram — whether in the cultivation facility, in the dispensary or both. MJ Freeway has built-in compliance tools so business owners can be assured their activities comply with their state and local regulations. MJ Freeway guarantees its software will meet or exceed compliance requirements.

THE HENRY LEVY GROUP “The Henry Levy Group is a regional CPA and financial advisory firm that delivers relevant, understandable solutions and responsive service to small businesses, political campaigns, nonprofit organizations and individuals through its Tax, Accounting, Compliance, Consulting and Litigation services.” — http://www.hlgcpa.com

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Hank Levy founded The Henry Levy Group in 1991 in the Rockridge district of Oakland, California, where it still operates today. The Henry Levy Group’s team of professionals works with clients throughout the Bay Area and beyond to help them achieve their financial goals. The firm obtained its first medical Cannabis client in 1998 and now has more than 150 clients in the field. Levy speaks frequently at Cannabis tax code seminars aimed at promoting responsible Cannabusiness.

DIXIE ELIXIRS Dixie Elixirs & Edibles™ provide a unique relief experience for patients. Our beverage and food products are carefully prepared by culinary professionals in our state of the art kitchen facility, Dixie Elixirs & Edibles™ produces a wide variety of great tasting alternative medicine with consistent quality, and the Dixie Elixirs & Edibles™ brand has quickly gained a loyal following. Our all new flavors and packaging provide patients with the nutritional facts and ingredients, including medicinal reporting that highlights an effective and consistent medicinal and a grown-up taste experience. — http://www.dixieelixirs.com Dixie Elixir offers a literal smorgasbord of fine, tasty treats, sodas and line of Dixie Topicals crafted in a 27,000 square-foot laboratory. Dixie supplies edible Cannabis products to more than 500 dispensaries in Colorado since opening in 2009. The taxpaying entrepreneurial enterprise is the brainchild of Tripp Keber. Tripp is also founder and current Board Director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. Dixie offers patients and stores alike with beverages and a wide variety of tasty sounding 12 oz. beverages like Sparkling Peach, Sparkling Pomegranate and Sparkling Red Currant. According to Dixie each of these bubbly fruit drink contains “22 mg of medicine (THC –

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Mind Your Cannabusiness • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 86%, CBN – 8%, CBD – 6%) extracted from Sativa-dominant cannabis.” Some newer flavors, some sugar-free, have 40 mg. Dixie Elixir specializes in fine edibles, like the Colorado Bar a mix of peanut butter ganache covered in white and dark chocolates and loaded with 300 mg of lab tested THC. The limited edition 4/20 inspired limited edition edible, a chocolate truffle coming in potencies of 50 and 300mg. Dixie uses a carbon dioxide extraction method to ensure consistent dosages in its products. For some comparison, the best guestimate from sources ranging from Cannabis websites to governmental reports, there is approximately 30–40 mgs of THC is a joint. A 300 mg dose is enough for even the saltiest of salty dogs. Another potent and smokeless alternative are Dixie’s like of tinctures the line of topical treatments, include massage oil, a pain relief salve, and the popular Dixie Topicals Snake Oil Spray. Dixie also offers “Scripts” or THC is pill form, from general pain relief to “A.M. Focus” a combination of THC and the herbs eleuthero and ashwagandha, a natural stimulant to a nighttime aid. A Newsweek cover story from last year, “The New Pot Barons” featured Dixie along with other successful Cannabuisnesses. Dixie has also been featured on CBS’s 60 Minutes. Dixie is owned by Medical Marijuana, Inc. portfolio and Red Dice Holdings. Dixie is headquartered in Colorado.

DNA LIGHTING SOLUTIONS “We are a dedicated group of individuals who refuse to accept that the only choices in lighting were Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium or really expensive Plasma and LED systems. Our guarantee to you, the grower, is to provide you with an excellent state-of-the-art technologically advanced indoor horticulture lighting system. Far

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superior than any other system in the world today.” — http://www.dnalightingsolutions.com/ index.html “DNA Lighting Solutions started as a few growers playing poker in a garage discussing our indoor crops. A common question that kept coming up was: How do we get our crops to yield more like that of outdoor growing?” All Cannabis cultivators have heard of Metal Halide or MH and High Pressure Sodium or HPS light bulbs that are available in a wide array of wattages. DNA Lighting Solutions has created a “Ceramic Metal Halide technology [that] is the most advanced innovation in cutting edge lighting technology, surpassing anything on the market today. This indoor grow lighting technology will revolutionize the way you think about synthetic grow-light capacity. This CMH lamp technology produces/emits the same natural light spectrum as the sun, and cannot be compared to any other grow lamp in the world.” DNA Lighting Solutions offers their Ceramic Metal Halide or CMA bulbs in the following watts: Tru Sun 900, Tru Sun 330 and coming soon, Tru Sun 330 double bulbs and Tru Sun 330 triple bulbs. All Tru Sun bulbs come with an ultra-high frequency smart ballast and provide comparison data of the Tru Sun bulb to the appropriate MH and HPS light bulbs. It is important to know that the Tru Sun 900 is for a vertical-position use only and the Tru sun 330 is universal. Both bulbs provide complete PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) spectrums and according to the website provide: “significant heat reduction compared to competing systems.” Both of their “comingsoon” bulbs require the Tru Sun dual lamp custom OG hood by Growlite. “We pride ourselves in providing the best and being the best with world class customer service.” S

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By Randy Robinson Illustration by Josh Clappe In Part II of this series, I went over the problems of campaign finance reform laws and how they related to uncovering documentation to a du Pont/Hearst/Mellon manufactured hemp conspiracy. We’ll go into a little more detail with the money this time, what happened when hemp was officially banned in 1970, and, finally, I’ll give theorists some investigative advice if they want to dig deeper into this topic.

The tangled money web Since campaign financing seems to go

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nowhere, we’ll look at the suspects’ earnings next. E.I. du Pont de Nemours saw its profits skyrocket in the 1930s all the way up through the late 1960s. But these gains were partially due to the popularity of rayon and nylon, which were far more popular at the time than hemp. Du Pont was also one of the government’s biggest defense contractors, having staked its claim in explosives chemistry during WWI. After 1937, du Pont secured another set of defense contracts for WWII, so it’s unclear just how much money

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eventually the federal government took over his newspapers. Ironically, had Hearst invested into research for developing hemp into paper for newsprint, his empire may not have crumbled. He lost so much money because tree-based paper manufacturing became more expensive. As for Andrew Mellon, the guy was stacked. He had his fingers dipped into nearly every profitable industry and not just in the United States, but the world.

No, the Tax Act never banned hemp Don’t believe me? Look it up. The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is a public document anyone can access at any time. It never banned hemp. It imposed a $1 annual tax for small farmers growing and selling hemp ($24 for large-scale operations). Just how much was $1 back then, though?

they made from the decline of hemp. As for William Randolph Hearst, well, financially, he went in the other direction. Through the 1930s, his newspaper empire began crumbling. These losses were attributed to the Great Depression, as most people couldn’t afford luxuries like a newspaper. In fact, things got so bad for Hearst that he began shifting his publications’ biases to the left of the political spectrum so he could reach a wider audience. It didn’t work, and

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I checked this out by going to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website and put that $1 value into their inflation calculator. One dollar back then translates into about $16 today. True, that was a significant amount for the average farmer during the Great Depression, but was it enough to destroy the industry? Maybe. Believe it or not, the Tax Act didn’t ban Cannabis sativa, either. Harry Anslinger, the first US commissioner for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics thought an outright ban would be unconstitutional, so he decided to levy a $1 excise tax per ounce of Cannabis sold. Now that is definitely a hefty fee for trading a harmless flower, but if someone had the money and the gumption, it wasn’t out of reach. Hemp was still grown and processed in the United States all the way up until the 1960s.

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Nixon and the Great Prohibition Oh man, where to even start with this guy. Well, for starters, he was one of the few cases where the feds prosecuted for a violation of the Tillman Act. But that has nothing to do with hemp. Nixon is perhaps the one man most responsible for the current legal quagmire we’re in with Cannabis. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which officially outlawed Cannabis and hemp, was his baby. He pushed this act through Congress even after the Shafer Commission, which Nixon personally appointed himself, advised him to decriminalize Cannabis altogether. After Nixon disbanded the Shafer Commission, he created an agency called The National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA). NIDA was responsible for crafting all of the “scientific evidence” that claimed Cannabis caused brain damage and sterility and whatever other nonsense the prohibitionists could think up. And here’s a doozy: the first head of NIDA, hand-selected by Nixon, was a man named Dr. Robert DuPont.

Is that name the smoking gun? Nope. I got ahold of Dr. DuPont through email. He assured me he isn’t part of the du Pont chemical dynasty. You see, “DuPont,” “du Pont,” “Du Ponte,” et al. are common surnames from France. As Dr. DuPont explained to me, it’s the equivalent of the name “Smith” in the United States. “My family is from Toledo, Ohio. Nowhere near Wilmington, Delaware,” Dr. DuPont wrote. “Every city in this country has lots of DuPonts virtually none of whom — like my family — have any relationship to the family which started the big chemical company.”

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But what if Dr. DuPont really is part of the du Pont chemical dynasty? It would be easy to just say he wasn’t part of their vast familial network. There’s one tiny problem with that thought. Dr. DuPont and Nixon had a falling out. After Nixon’s resignation, Dr. DuPont publicly argued for the decriminalization of Cannabis. In his interview with PBS’s Frontline, DuPont said, “The first thing I did as White House drug czar was come out for the decriminalization of marijuana. I spoke out at the NORML conference, and even went so far as to say it’s not just possession, but also growing small amounts for personal use that ought to be decriminalized.” That seems to throw the wrench into the whole “du Pont put their guy in charge of NIDA” bit.

What actually happened after hemp was banned Perhaps the strangest outcome of the hemp ban in 1970 is that du Pont lost vast amounts of market value. During the 1930s–1960s, du Pont’s share price went as high as $250 a pop. But in the late 1960s it fell to around $100 a share, and in 1970 it slipped into the double digits and even further to about $50 a share where it stands today. To reiterate: when hemp was truly outlawed in the United States, EI du Pont de Nemours lost a ton of money, and to this day it’s never returned to its market levels during the Golden Age. Why’d this happen? Around 1970, du Pont overproduced its synthetic textiles. The demand didn’t match the supply, and du Pont suffered massive losses. Was this hubris on du Pont’s part? Did they just decide, “Screw it! Hemp’s done! Let’s crank out more nylon!”? It’s possible, but this negative financial trend

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is exactly the opposite of what we’d expect if hemp threatened du Pont’s profits. To be fair, hemp was practically non-existent as an industry by this point, so it didn’t really matter to most American companies if hemp was banned or not. The nation, and the world, had already accepted du Pont’s products into their homes. So, in short, the Controlled Substances Act likely had nothing to do with du Pont’s loss of market share.

Where to go from here I’ve exhausted my available resources which included books, local public libraries, academic databases, government archives, and, of course, the Internet at large. But I will provide some direction for theorists who could expose the hard, documented proof that this conspiracy happened. 1. Search archives in Wilmington, Delaware. This is the home town of the du Pont dynasty. If there are any memos, records, or letters that could provide evidence for this conspiracy, it’ll likely be found here. 2. Search archives in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, or San Francisco. California was the home of William Randolph Hearst. California was also the first state to go insane with anti-narcotics laws. 3. Find internal memos at du Pont. This will be difficult because du Pont is notoriously secretive about its records, and they certainly wouldn’t release anything about financing politicians during the 1930s. They’ve also sued authors for libel, so be sure if you do find any internal documents that they’re real.

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4. Interview survivors. Because the key players behind the conspiracy have passed away, this means you’ll be stuck interviewing direct descendants. Identifying descendants who are friendly to the Cannabis movement — or who have a bone to pick with their ancestors — may just work. If they’re feeling generous, they may even provide you with the documents. Before you even begin this journey, the one thing you should absolutely read before doing anything else are the Congressional hearings for the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. You can find the full transcripts of the hearings online at the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. Happy hunting. S

Further reading: James F. Hopkins, “A History of the Hemp Industry in Kentucky.” Full text available at Google Books.

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Hayward’s report: http://www.law.gmu. edu/assets/files/publications/working_ papers/1021MichiganAutoDealers.pdf Jack Herer. “The Emperor Wears No Clothes.” Full text available at http://www.jackherer.com/ thebook/ Full text of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937: http:// www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/ mjtaxact.htm Dr. Robert DuPont’s interview with Frontline. http:// www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ drugs/interviews/dupont.html HempHoax.org: http://www.hemphoax.org AlterNet’s “Debunking the Hemp Conspiracy”: http://www.alternet.org/story/77339/ debunking_the_hemp_conspiracy_theory

DECEMBER 2013

By Paul Josephs 74

DECEMBER 2013

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VERTICAL COLORADO’S MEDICAL CANNABIS MODEL

ertical and Colorado are two words that, associated together, might evoke a vertiginous image of rock climbers clinging tenaciously to a steep cliff face. For the medical Cannabis community in Colorado, they are associated with a much different, but equally challenging concept, that of complying with the vertical integration model imposed upon the industry allowing medical marijuana centers (MMC) to operate as storefront businesses.

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HISTORY Voters in Colorado approved the citizen initiative known as Amendment 20 in 2000. This new measure legalized the cultivation, possession, and consumption of Cannabis for medicinal use, and allowed caregivers to supply up to five patients with doctor recommendations. By the middle of the decade, this was not workable and some caregivers were taking on more than five patients. It became clear that to allow the will of the people to be upheld, yet still provide

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medicine to patients, that the five-patient limit needed to be scrapped in favor of an unlimited number. A suit challenging the five-patient limit occurred in 2007, and the limit was lifted. In 2009 the unlimited patient policy was challenged and upheld.

his posed a problem for the state, because there was no way to effectively regulate and enforce this unlimited patient model. It had been demonstrated that dispensaries or MMCs in states without codified detailed and enforceable medical Cannabis regulations were subject to raids, seizures, and arrests by law enforcement entities, especially federal agencies. In 2010, Colorado lawmakers codified these regulations in the form of HB 10–1284 and SB 10–109. These regulations left very little, if anything, that could be characterized as a grey area. In an effort to keep Cannabis grown for medicinal use by registered patients from reaching the black market, the burgeoning industry was suddenly tightly regulated, overly so in the opinion of many business owners and representatives for the industry. The model adopted depended on the concept of vertical integration in its structuring.

SEED TO SALE The vertical integration model concept was simple — in concept. There would be a system put in place that tracked Cannabis from seedlings or clones, to the finished product at the point of sale. A barcode system would be used for tracking this progression. To keep this manageable, the caregiver would be responsible for growing at least 70 percent of their own Cannabis to be sold to their patients. This forced the businesses of growing and selling of Cannabis to merge into one entity.

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CLOSE SCRUTINY In addition to keeping the growing and selling under one roof — literally, in many cases — a multitude of other rules were adopted. You name it, there’s probably a rule for it. Workers are registered as support or key personnel, and subject to residency and criminal background checks. They must wear badges in certain areas of the facilities and are under constant video surveillance, especially in the cultivation and processing areas. The disposal of waste plant material is regulated. Transporting Cannabis between facilities is subject to rules. Nothing is left to chance. An entire division of the Colorado Department of Revenue was created to enforce these rules, the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division, or MMED. It would be difficult to name many industries that are more regulated outside of the realm of nuclear materials, infectious agents, or the production of currency that is as tightly controlled. The comparison to the liquor industry comes up often, but there is no “potato to vodka” vertical integration model. To be fair, there is a valid distinction in the fact that, unlike a potato, Cannabis flowers need not be subjected to any additional process like fermentation to be psychoactive, but the regulations are more cumbersome and expensive to comply with and enforce than the distilling of alcohol or brewing beer.

THE PROPONENT’S VIEW Law enforcement is probably the biggest fan of this model. The industry is highly regulated, and the location of the cultivation and retail facilities are known and registered. It is no secret what is taking place in these warehouses and MMCs, and anyone with a keen sense of smell will likely detect a whiff of dankness when walking by one, though there can be

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There is a segment of the investor crowd who won’t invest in any enterprise directly involved in the cultivation or sale of Cannabis... regulations at the local government level about escaping odors, too. Citizens who opposed the passage of Amendment 20 are placated somewhat by the fact that, in theory at least, all of the Cannabis is going to legitimate registered medical Cannabis patients. The strict rules about recent felony convictions are meant to keep persons associated with criminal enterprises from entering into or laundering money through these businesses. These companies also pay licensing fees at the state and local level, and taxes from the local to the federal level, which helps make the bitter pill of legal medical Cannabis easier to swallow for opponents to Amendment 20. Another group of people who are not opposed to the tightly monitored vertical integration model are investors. There is a segment of the investor crowd who won’t invest in any enterprise directly involved in the cultivation or sale of Cannabis, because of the continuing reality of federal prohibition; for those less risk-averse, the strict regulations mean that federal intervention is much less likely. The Aug. 29, 2013 memo from U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole does offer some reassurance to potential investors that the Department of Justice is serious about the new “trust but verify” policy toward Washington and Colorado.

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ocal governments like the strict rules too. Though a city or town may or may not allow MMCs to operate in their jurisdiction, if they do choose to, they don’t have to worry about the nuts and bolts aspect, and can draw up further regulations concerning zoning, environmental enforcement, and the size and types of facilities allowed. They can rely on MMED to cover the basic enforcement issues to keep Cannabis from being diverted to the black market.

THE OPPOSITION’S VIEW Opponents to the vertical integration model have several complaints. One of the biggest is that it forces people who may be very good at either growing or selling to suddenly merge businesses. Successfully operating a great growing facility and managing a well-run MMC are two very different undertakings, and the people who excel in one field may not be well suited for the other. It’s expensive to run both as one entity also. The early days of starting with $4,000 and a half pound of Cannabis are long gone, but that is how Ean Seeb and two partners started Denver Relief, an MMC that was featured recently in a CBS 60 Minutes segment about Colorado’s so-called Green Rush.

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COLORADO DEPT. OF REVENUE LICENSE APPLICATION FEES Type 1 Center

1–300 patients

$7,500

Type 2 Center

301–500 patients $12,500

Type 3 Center

501+ patients

$18,000

The latest rules adopted by the Colorado Department of Revenue on September 9, 2013 lists the license application fees for the three tiers of MMCs: a Type 1 Center (1–300 patients) costs $7,500 to apply for a license; Type 2 (301–500 patients) is $12,500; and if you want to really ‘grow big’, a Type 3 (501 and up) is $18,000. If you get approval, it gets a bit easier to continue, but the annual fees are still steep: $3,750 for a type 1 Center, $8,750 for Type 2, and $14,000 for Type 3. Why so high? The rules are expensive to enforce, that’s why. A cynic could easily invoke the idea of a serpent consuming it’s own tail. MMC owners need to have their ducks very much in a row to comply completely with rules many say are onerous, and pay a princely sum to fund the enforcement of those same rules.

THE PRICE OF LEGALIZATION It can be easy to overlook the elephant in the room here — that Cannabis is legal for all adults to possess and consume in two states now. For a young person that might seem natural and fair, not that big of a deal.

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For Cannabis consumers of an older generation, it is the stunning culmination of decades of hard work by activists and advocacy groups like NORML being redeemed at long last. As burdensome as the vertical integration model is in its implementation; it was, in the opinion of this writer, necessary to demonstrate to the citizens of Colorado — and by extension, the world — that Cannabis could be responsibly produced and distributed in a highly regulated manner for medicinal use before it could be legal to do so for general adult use.

The vertical integration was intended to be the model for legal ‘recreational’ Cannabis in Colorado as well, but that has changed. Only from Jan. 1, 2014 to Sept. 30, 2014 will it be necessary for the non-medical segment of the industry to adhere to this model. After that date, growers can be separate entities from the retail sellers, allowing both groups to specialize in their own area of expertise. Cultivators can grow the varieties that they wish to, and the sellers can buy what they like from different growers at the wholesale level. The vertical integration model will continue for the medical side of the Cannabis industry in Colorado, however. Time will tell if the Colorado model of vertical integration will be embraced by states considering legalizing medical Cannabis, or if it is just a part of the evolution of the spreading legalization movement. If the model being implemented in Washington that eschews vertical integration is any indication, vertical integration might just have been a one-time strenuous route to the summit of legalization. S

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DECEMBER 2013

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Did you hear? //FROM PAGE 31

Source: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Doctor+college +sets+rules+marijuana+prescrib ing/9171410/story.html DENVER METRO AREA (Nov. 18–21) The world’s first licenses to sell adult-use Cannabis were granted and delivered to several Metro Denver area dispensaries and, in the same week, federal and local agents raided more than a dozen Denver Metro and Boulder dispensaries and two licensed home-growing operations. Colorado’s Strainwise, which owns eight dispensaries in the Metro area, was granted the first three licenses to sell adult-use Cannabis when the law takes effect Jan. 1. At least one of those licenses, for Annie’s in Central City, was hand-delivered by the Chief of Police there, which

shares a wall with Annie’s. Days later, in the largest federal raid on Colorado Cannabusinesses since medical Cannabis was legalized, DEA and local agencies executed search and seizure warrants on numerous dispensaries in Colorado. Reports indicate busted windows and confiscated crops scooped out of the snow by frontend loaders and agents seizing records. Agents also raided two private residences. No arrests were made and no businesses shut down, but the raids were focused on ten target suspects. Federal officials wouldn’t give specific reasons for the raids, other than to say one of eight federal concerns around marijuana have potentially been violated. Those concerns include trafficking marijuana outside of states where it

has been legalized and money laundering. The raids were conducted by Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service criminal investigations unit, the Denver Police Department and state and local law enforcement. It was reported the following day that the businesses were being investigated for a possible connection to Colombian drug cartels. Sources: http://rt.com/usa/firstmarijuana-store-opens-us-122/ http://www.denverpost.com/ breakingnews/ci_24570937/ feds-involved-raid-at-denver-areamarijuana#ixzz2lL9rBiTN http://www.denverpost.com/ breakingnews/ci_24580571/ fed-raids-colorado-marijuana-businesses-seek-ties-colombian S

Need for seeds //FROM PAGE 24

and some are regularly cautioned against. There are, unfortunately, a few that exploit the draconian laws surrounding Cannabis and will take your cash and either send you nothing or random seeds in return. If you ordered them in defiance of your local laws you won’t have a lot of recourse if it goes poorly, and some miscreants exploit that circumstance.

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Exciting times The chances of growing out a few seeds and getting an amazing keeper or two are much better today than they were 25 years ago. Breeding of Cannabis has progressed at a rapid rate and the overall quality one can expect now is quite impressive. Many lineages have stabilized as the continued emergence of many high-quality

phenotypes of Kush variants proves. With some really good beans and grower talent you could be cultivating the best Cannabis you’ve experienced to date. And, with many breeders coming out of the shadows into a more accepting legal and social environment, the quality and variety is going to continue to improve and expand. S

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Craft beer model //FROM PAGE 38

market of Washington.

For the love of Bacchus, leave room for the little guy Sure, this stance doesn’t share the moral and practical necessity voiced by the patients of medical Cannabis that are about to lose their specialized strains. That doesn’t mean that those of us fortunate enough to be born with healthier constitutions can’t voice our own concerns, as well. So stand up, my fellow connoisseurs and lovers of merry-making. Those of us that value the artisan, the craft beer, and the kind bud. The Washington State Liquor Control Board

knows how to regulate the craft brewers. In 1982, the Yakima Brewing and Malting Company opened the doors to its brewpub to a grateful public in Yakima, Washington. It is regarded as the first craft-brewery in the United States. The Liquor Control Board has managed them and the hundreds that have followed just fine. Is it so wrong to allow the same for the artisans of the Cannabis industry? Regulations are fine and necessary for the new Cannabis market, just don’t push the specialty artisan out of a field that requires them and a consumerbase that deserves the variety provided by a craft beer model. S

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