Sensi Magazine - Boston (November 2018)

BOSTON

THE NEW NORMAL

11.2018

A STAR IS (RE)BORN

LEGENDARY LAUGH INSTITUTION THE COMEDY STUDIO MOVES INTO SOMERVILLE'S BOW MARKET

{plus}

BODYPAINT ARTIST PAUL ROUSTAN

sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 3

4 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

ISSUE 9 // VOLUME 1 // 11.2018

18

STUDIO CITY The Comedy Studio moves into Bow

FEATURES 26 Boston Freedom Rally Recap A quick photo spread and pass at the weekend that was.

SP EC IAL R EP OR T

34 The Abnormal History

of the New Normal

Why we’re glad Dave’s still here.

40 Beauty in Imperfection Pay no attention to what’s under the stairs.

8 CELEBRATE YOUR FREEDOM The 2018 Boston Freedom Rally is in the books

CANNON FODDER Meet your new pocket dab bubbler

every issue 07 Editor’s Note 08 The Buzz 14 AskAngie

ROCK ‘N ROLL, CBD, AND MORE

18 LifeStyle

LAUGH MARKET

22 HighProfile

NAKED BUNCH

48 The Scene

SENSI NIGHT BOSTON

50 HereWeGo

RITE OF PASSAGE

Sensi magazine is published monthly by Sensi Media Group LLC. © 2018 SENSI MEDIA GROUP LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 5

sensi magazine ISSUE 9 / VOLUME 1 / 11.2018

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sensimediagroup

EDITORIAL Stephanie Wilson stephanie@sensimag.com EDITOR IN CHIEF

Dan McCarthy daniel.mccarthy@sensimag.com MANAGING EDITOR, SENSI BOSTON

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M E D I A PA RT N E R S Marijuana Business Daily Minority Cannabis Business Association National Cannabis Industry Association Students for Sensible Drug Policy 6 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A MONTH MAKES

editor’s

NOTE

Back in late September, it was announced the Trump administration has greenlit a deal allowing commercialized marijuana to be imported from Canada on a large scale, thus further exasperating the conflict between the two neighboring nations in terms of cannabis legality and accessibility. So far, the G7 country is putting its freedom-touting neighbor to the south to shame on that front. Since then, there have been rumblings from the GOP that the Trump administration will address federal cannabis reforms after the midterm elections, without any concrete details as to what that may entail (as if that’s a shock to anyone at this point).

Add on to that the leading anti-cannabis group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), are raising unprecedented money in advance of the midterms while their main man Kevin Sabet was even on NECN in early October espousing his stance of flatly opposing commercial and recreational cannabis, while stopping just short of endorsing decriminalization or medical cannabis programs. If you want a good refresher on his efforts, simply google his name and cannabis and see cheery features what surface. While you’re at it look up Kennedy legacy Patrick Kennedy’s public opinion on the matter and how he works in tandem with SAM. A Camelot of prohibitionist attitudes if there ever was one.

On the Hub front, things are chugging along at various rates of success. On one hand, the industry is creeping along at an infuriatingly slow speed. On the other hand, in its current state, we’re closer now to a functioning recreational industry than we ever have before. But murky waters the state’s municipalities still be in, when you’ve got towns continually working to figure out what they want, be it a fresh ban on rec pot shops (Bourne), or lifting a former moratorium to allow the rec industry and all its tax dollar windfalls into their town (Framingham).

And yet, the matter of safe and public social consumption means - cafes, social clubs, etc - is still a pressing concern. To date Greater Boston is woefully lacking in that department, which for those unaware why it’s important it’s always worth reminding about the adverse rate of incarceration and harassment minorities and communities of color have experienced, and continue to, as it relates to cannabis use and possession. Add on to that Boston has legalized recreational use while it publicly doesn’t allow consumption anywhere, yet the city continues to roll out legions of new bars and clubs making sure the booze swilling classes are catered to. It’s a hypocritical contrast to the facts about the dangers and well-known stats of the effects of drinking and alcohol related deaths and traffic accidents versus cannabis, among a litany of other comparative facts currently available and regularly coming into public view. In the end, booze and bars still carry favor in the hearts and minds of the public, for now. But the tide continues to turn, with more and more people being re-educated about the realities of cannabis versus alcohol and the comparative societal dangers they can carry with it, both in the court of public opinion, as well as the Supreme Court.

Or to put it as Tom Junod, famed award-winning journalist for Esquire, wrote on Facebook after the circus that was the public job interview for the Supreme Court nominee Brett “Boofing” Kavanaugh came to a close the way it did in the cultural zeitgeist back in October: “Putting aside all the cultural and political ramifications of the Kavanaugh hearing, I will submit that it functioned as one huge advertisement for the advantages of weed over beer.”

Happy November.

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Dan McCarthy

M ANAG I NG E D I TO R SENSI BOSTON

sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 7

Gone are the days when discussions about branding were wholly resigned to the Mad Men. Ever since Super Bowl commercials turned the

JOINT EFFORT Five questions with author and local branding expert Brady Sadler on the power of collaboration.

sports-breathing world into annual armchair advertising experts, our obsession over who’s doing what and the demented post-capitalism watercooler interest in ad spending has turned some brands into sentient, living things in the eyes of the masses.

They are ones often judged, for good or ill, by and against the company they keep. Consider: Local credit unions beginning to work with cannabis brands. Musicians throwing their weight behind corporate liquor. Colin Kaepernick and Nike. Kanye West and Donald Trump (sorta). Or at its most metaphysical, the “this Is fine” epoch we’re currently living through in the United States.

Collaboration and alignment are inescapable aspects of branding on any level and carry various weight in both cultural and business repercussions, as well as potential future partnerships across the spectrum. And no matter the outfit, it’s ever more important for the brains behind brands to understand how those partnerships can work in both the short and long game (this is especially prescient in the current rise of the independent cannabis brand). So Sensi sat down with Boston-based Brady Sadler.

A seasoned branding and strategic partnership executive with years of hands-on work in this space, Sadler recently synthesized his experiences and universal themes into a self-published sort of Sterling’s Gold for pop-culture-savvy and progressive branders.

The book, Collaboration Is King: How Game Changers Create Marketing Partnerships That Build Brands and Grow Businesses distills modern strategic brand collaborations culled from pop and business culture and nods to the leaders innovating and changing this space.

We asked Sadler five questions that get to the heart of the matter, including why someone with zero stake in the marketing game would even give a damn.

How does control factor into collaboration?

Brady Sadler (BS): As a brand, you have opportunity to proactively control that narrative of collaboration, from who you’re collaborating with as well as why, what values and worldviews your brands share collectively, ultimately as this impactful way to inform consumers who you are, or even want to be. You are the average of the people and brands you are most associated with, and proactively setting that up is a good path to have your perception be what you want it to be.

8 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

That assumes consumers are actively engaged or even care about those partnerships.

BS: Sure, but you have

consumers at all different levels of engagement or passion for a brand or even a movement. And as the world gets more transparent and easier to connect dots between businesses and brands, those collaborations and partnerships

move

to

the forefront for many consumers and businesses.

Can you give us a hard example of that?

BS: I love music and hip hop, so let’s think about Run DMC.

When they wrote “My Adidas,” their people contacted the company and tried to explain what was happening in American culture with the rise of hip hop, as a movement more than a music style. The executives agreed and flew to a show to see first-hand, and Run DMC prompted the crowd to hold up their shoes they had on in advance of the song. Twenty thousand kids and adults hold up their shoes over their head, screaming about Adidas. They wound up signing the first $1 million deal in collaborative branding in hip hop. That’s one example, and there are loads, but it’s undeniable how powerful that collaboration became for both brands and continues in various forms with acts today.

It seems almost too obvious to state that it’s beneficial to collaborate in business and branding. Why even devote a book to it?

BS: Well, this book is really about today’s landscape and

looking at what a brand is and can be today, be it products, movements, people, or geography. When you take all those things into consideration when putting any two

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or three factors together and layer those different brands together, something different emerges.

Then is this really just about the concept of collaboration?

BS: Yes, but moreover this is about why, when that’s done

proactively, and how it’s been done successfully, it can really be a powerful tool.

–Dan McCarthy

Check out WWW.BRADYSADLER.COM for more book and author info.

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Quincy Center will have the nation’s first all plant-based beer hall.

Most people who venture south of Boston seeking creative culinary flare are wont to stick to tried-and-true classics of the shore and its surrounding municipalities. But there exists a brazen flock of people who eschew tradition at every turn, instead seeking out playgrounds and the kind of barroom

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mis-en-scene reflecting the loftier and more niche eatery ambitions of a melting pot culture like Los Angeles or New York City.

This makes it all the more unusual (and awesome) that in late October, Rewild—the nation’s first all plant-based vegan beer hall and dining emporium—opened in Quincy.

Smack dab in the middle of Quincy Center’s rebirth and renaissance, Rewild is the brainchild of owner Pat McAuley, who says people who aren’t cer-

tain about this inversion of the traditional beer hall concept—in Quincy, for that matter—can look forward to being surprised by how familiar the food is.

“It’s not going to be weird,” McAuley says with a laugh a couple days before Rewild’s official opening party in early October. “We’re doing food you’re used to, but with our natural, healthy, plant-based take on it. You can come in and have burgers and tacos and pizza.”

Or rather, Impossible Burgers, “scallop” tacos with trumpet mushrooms instead of shellfish, and vegan pizzas with thin-sliced beet “pepperoni” slices. Sure, it sounds like something you’d find in Hipster Central, but that’s just it. You can’t. This is the first.

“It’s something you can’t even get in Brooklyn and other trendier cities, so it’s big for the city and Quincy Center,” McAuley said.

McAuley is no newbie to plant-based culinary fare. He also founded the site Eat Green Make Green (EATGREENMAKEGREEN.COM) , so even the snobbiest vegans won’t guffaw at the food. More to the point, neither will Joe Sixpack.

“Take our fish and chips, which has a secret veggie the chef uses that, when fried in batter, has the texture of whitefish and tastes amazing,”

McAuley says. “We are focusing on dishes that you’re used to having in a beer hall. Ours are just better for you, better for the planet, and you still get to have a great social scene.”

Rewild is also a beer house, and through a special collaboration with Bar-

PHOTOS BY REWILD

rel House Z, it offers American amber ale aged in tequila barrels (McAuley calls them “nice fall drinking beers”), and specialties from local stars Widowmaker and Night Shift Brewing as well.

Looks like Quincy Center is about to be your new beer destination off the Red Line.

–DM

Rewild. 1546 Hancock St., Quincy. Visit EATRWILD.COM for more information.

sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 11

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{askangie }

by A N G I E Mc C A R T N E Y

MEET DR. ANGIE The only living Beatles’ stepmom, Dr. Angie McCartney, is ready to regale Sensi readers with anecdotes of inspiration, humor, survival instincts, small business tips and tricks, backstage tidbits, and more.

I’m Dr. Angie McCartney. I’m almost 89 years old, still

football match in Manchester. Times were tough. We lost

working full time on various ventures, including McCartney

our home, which belonged to Eddie’s employer, and after

Multimedia, McCartney Studios, Mrs. McCartney’s Teas, and

being turned down by 46 landlords who said, “We don’t

Mrs. McCartney’s Wines. As a newly converted advocate for

take kids,” I got a one-bedroom flat on the Kirby Trading

CBD, I’m excited Sensi magazine invited me to write a column.

Estates on the outskirts of Liverpool.

I grew up in Liverpool during World War II. The severe

In the summer of 1964, I met Paul McCartney’s dad, Jim.

bombing of our city in 1941, when I was 11, meant school

We married in November 1964, and shortly after, Jim ad-

was not a viable option. We kids were scattered and went

opted my four-year-old daughter Ruth.

one day a week to a local home to assemble with our teacher and try to learn something.

As you can imagine, precious little school work got done.

It was just us kids yakking on about the war, about whose brother had been injured (or worse) in Europe.

Life took a huge turn, and I’d find myself doing laundry for John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and others who came to “crash” at our house in Merseyside, near Liverpool.

Paul would sometimes drive up from London to visit us, often bringing along his hippie chums. That’s when

My dad was a compound pharmacist, creating medi-

Jim and I became aware of the various substances these

cines, ointments, and tinctures to relieve pain, calm tooth-

young folks were mad for, and being the mother of four-

aches, etc., and he always said, “If it didn’t grow out of

year-old Ruth, I’d clean up, sweep away, flush away all

God’s green earth, then you shouldn’t put it in your body.”

kinds of powders, pills, and potions around the house. My

He died a long time ago, but I still remember his words.

janitorial efforts must have cost the guys fortunes.

How right he was. Now, in these days of opioids, we all know too well what can happen.

I was widowed for the first time in 1962, when my husband Eddie died in a car crash on the way back from a 14 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

Fast forward to today. After I had two knee replacements and got a new hip, a friend suggested I try CBD topicals for the pain. I needed some convincing, because of the stigma of the old days.

But once I tried CBD, I knew it was right for me. So now, as I am pushing 90, I find myself being an advocate for the soothing properties of cannabinoids. And I want to share my journey, experiences, and opinions with you.

Each month, I’ll reply to readers’ submissions in this new Ask Angie column. What kind of questions? I’m glad you asked. All types: queries about what kind of topicals I use and how often are as welcome as questions about the rock and roll years. If any of you folks need any reassur-

Got a burning question?

Ask away! email: ASKANGIE@SENSIMAG.COM Instagram: @SENSIMAGAZINE #ASKANGIE web: SENSIMAG.COM/ASKANGIE

Want more Dr. Angie?

Catch her weekly show Teaflix Tuesdays on Facebook.

FB.COM/DRANGIEMCCARTNEY

ing about using anything derived from the cannabis plant,

Listen to her live radio broadcast on the Pete Price Show

please get in touch.

out of Liverpool on Saturday nights

(RADIOCITY.CO.UK)

and on Richard Oliff’s HFM Drive Show on Wednesday afternoons (HARBOROUGHFM.CO.UK) .

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{lifestyle }

PHOTOS COMPLIMENTS OF THE COMEDY STUDIOS AND COMICS

by J A M E S O N V I E N S

18 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

After 20 years and icon status in Harvard Square, The Comedy Studio is bringing the hilarity to Somerville’s Bow Market.

Rick Jenkins has the twinkle of a man who knows he’s got a good thing going.

As owner of the famed Comedy Studio, the longtime Cambridge comedy institution that moved earlier this year from the third floor of Harvard Square’s Hong Kong restaurant—where it was located for over two decades—to Somerville’s new Bow Market, Jenkins is looking ahead to an exciting future of killer comedy in the Hub. “I went from the third floor of a Chinese restaurant in Harvard Square to the back room of an abandoned ware-

house in Somerville alley,” Jenkins says with a laugh about the former life of the complex of small shops, food vendors, and nightlife options making up Bow. “We’re moving up!”

The Comedy Studio’s resurrection comes, in part, on the back of the never-ending construction boom happening all around Greater Boston. Jenkins says he moved The Comedy sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 19

Studio and its accompanying cocktail lounge, Variety, to get away from the skyrocketing rent and ceaseless construction in Harvard Square and seize the opportunity to do things his way, from comedy workshops to open mic nights to podcasts.

“You spend your whole life thinking, if I could just get this or I could just get that,” Jenkins says. “Well now I’ve got it. This is me planting my flag and doing my thing.”

Corey Rodrigues, who’s known around town for his social media series, “Ask Denzel,” looks forward to

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performing at Bow Market but will always hold a special space in his heart for the Hong Kong attic across from Harvard University.

“It’s bittersweet, of course,” says Rodrigues, who has been touring nationally for 12 years.

Comedy Studio veteran Will Noonan used to watch post-show recordings of his gigs in the Hong Kong attic like an athlete watching game reel footage, and he says that refined his act and fostered strong community ties at the original spot. “It’s bittersweet because the Harvard Square location held a lot of history and many memories, and the studio was very connected to the city of Cambridge. It had its own philosophy and an almost cult-like following, so I think they will continue to make new memories and inspire new connections at the new spot.” Plus, he adds, wwho Tricia Auld remembers being carried down the Hong Kong’s three narrow flights of stairs by a fellow comedian after her first-ever performance following post-reconstructive knee surgery. Auld says the strength of the community orbiting the Studio will be a key driver in its future.

“That comic who barely knew me that night but carried my broken ass down the stairs because he knew that I was a comic really epitomizes The Comedy Studio.”

Lamont Price, Boston Magazine’s “Boston’s Best Comic” winner, was concerned when Comedy Studio closed.

“The worry when it closed was, where would it resurface and would it have the same impact?” he says. “You think of the names that came out of there, the rabid comedy crowds, and the fact the old club was packed to the gills every night. The hope is it picks up where it left off in that sense.”

Jenkins plans to. Comedians and audience members are still encouraged to hang out with cocktails, but also take advantage of the new photo booth, and

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bring in food from the market’s vendors on the first floor. Additionally, The Studio will be equipped to produce quality recordings of each performance that comics can use for workshopping material and auditioning.

20 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

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{highprofile}

by DA N M C C A R T H Y

NAKED

BUNCH

Famed body paint artist Paul Roustan brings his celebrated style and women-empowerment art to North Attleboro in November

LA-based Paul Roustan is one of the world’s leading body

ly based body painting work around the world and has been

painters, brandishing a style that’s a mishmash of pop-cul-

seen everywhere from GQ and Playboy, to the Chicago Sun-

ture reference, traditional fine art technique, and contempo-

Times, as well as galleries and private collections across the

rary commentary that winds up on the naked forms of male

country.

and female models the world over.

On November 3, Roustan returns to the East Coast for the

As winner of the North American Body Painting Champion-

10th anniversary of The Preservation Framer, a North Attle-

ship, Roustan, an alum of the Rhode Island School of Design

boro gallery where he says he had his most successful art

and the Art Institute of Chicago, has brought his conceptual-

shows, clients, and print sales during his New England days.

22 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

PHOTOS BY PAUL ROUSTAN

“They were group shows, but I would have the most work up,

the artist says, “I’m trying to focus on good energy, positive

and those showings were always pitched as ‘adult-only,’ given

nostalgia, and interesting personalities and ideas and expe-

the nature of the work,” says Roustan. “The people who would

riences of the models, and my work is my way of doing that.

come in would be blown away from the full nude body painting

My class of work isn’t vulgar or pornographic…and I look for

happening at the shows, as well as the art on display that was

things that are fun, relevant to my opinions, and celebrate

something different for such a conservative town.”

the narratives of the people I’m painting.”

Roustan has chosen to display one of his more pop-

He cites a series he did featuring variations of broken and

ular recent series, Sharks are People Too, combining hu-

shattered glass on a model who had a broken childhood and

mor and metaphor, involving women intricately painted

has since grown into a strong, defiant woman. His casting of

and staged in different settings of water wearing cus-

the model as a large piece of splintering glass struck a chord

tom-fabricated shark heads.

with him he carries to this day, especially in this post-Kava-

“These gorgeous, powerful, and intimidating creatures

naugh climate. “Here was this strong woman, survivor from

have to deal with a lot of daily struggle throughout their lives.

a tough upbringing, wise and old beyond her years at the

When you think about it, the

time when I met her, who stands

same is true for sharks too,”

so strong when you meet her in

Roustan wrote in a statement

real life,” he says.

in advance of the show. Hu-

Ultimately, this return to his

mor aside, Roustan says the

former showcase home is a re-

current prescience of women empowerment and producing

turn to glory for the artist. For those interested in his work,

pieces that mirror his perspective on the #MeToo movement

he says, the show is a callback to “my most successful New

is what this show and much of his work are about.

England art shows, where people can unwind and see the

Roustan says he feels like there’s a lot of antiestablish-

art come to life in person.”

ment art with the sole purpose of challenging and calling out

Check out the show at The Preservation Framer, 31 North

what’s happening in society, and that’s great. But it’s not all

Washington St., North Attleboro, MA, November 3, 7–10 p.m.

politics for Roustan, who steers clear of the tit-for-tat public

Free. For more artwork and future shows, visit @ROUSTAN on

acrimony that marks our combative political times. Instead,

IG or BODYPAINTER.COM. sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 23

24 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 25

PHOTOS BY DAN MCCARTHY

26 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

WHEN THE 2018 BOSTON FREEDOM RALLY WEEKEND CAME TO A CLOSE IN SEPTEMBER, IT

marked

nearly three decades OF CANNABIS ACTIVISM, PEACEFUL CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, AND OVERALL CANNABIS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON A REGIONAL SCALE. Depending on who you talk to, estimates of the three-

general NIMBY tenor, calling for comparisons to the state

day turnout are anywhere from tens of thousands per

of the park after things like holiday celebrations, any giv-

day to over 100,000 in total (organizers don’t keep official

en Duck Boat parade for whichever sports team just won

track as there’s no gated entrance area to monitor foot

what, and pointing out that most park officials will tell you

traffic). Given that kind of open-air-festival body count,

dog urine and unchecked fecal droppings from Boston’s

that there was nary an issue is a testament to the event

furry friends contributes to far more consistent and long-

itself. There was even an on-stage marriage proposal be-

term damage to the park than a bunch of people gathering

tween speeches and music. Nice.

to celebrate a plant. After the rally, it was even suggested

But before the rally took place this year, preemptive cries from the posh surrounding residential homeowners

that the gathering was the source of used hypodermic needles discovered in the park. Sure. For weed.

via the Friends of the Public Garden—one of the oldest

“This event is tantamount to an occupation of the Com-

public-private partnerships in the nation—and various

mon, which feels under siege by the huge number of tents,

other neighborhood groups emerged as they have every

vendors, people smoking marijuana, and loud and profane

year to various degrees.

music and speeches from the stage,” crowed the Friends of

In a public letter in July titled, “Speaking Out About

the Boston Common in the letter. A representative also told

Hempfest,” the Friends of the Public Garden issued a mis-

Boston.com the rally “has been a frustration to local resi-

sive targeting issues like trash and vendors and attendees

dents, who’ve allegedly complained about everything from

disrespecting the park, leaving refuse in their wake. As al-

public urination to slashed tires.” Vizza was quoted as say-

ways, many in the community lambasted the letter and the

ing, “The park, when they leave, is a complete trash heap.”

28 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

Martyn Roetter, chairman of the Neighborhood Asso-

knowledged that several vendors had failed to clean up, as

ciation of Back Bay, was also quoted, saying, “It’s pretty

required, and said they were prepared to meet with neigh-

unpleasant for tourists…who find themselves in the midst

bors and offer concessions, including having beefed-up

of this event.”

cleaning crews, tougher sanctions against vendors that

MassCann press secretary Maggie Kinsella responded, “At

leave trash, fencing to segregate the event from the rest of

the end of the day, their bias is against cannabis and nothing

the Common, and a reduction in the length of the event to

else.” And in any other year that would be on the

one or two days.”

nose. But unfortunately this year, the accusation,

Mayor Walsh, long an opponent of legal

as it related to the trash aspect, held weight.

weed along with Gov. Charlie Baker and var-

But by the time most people were finishing their

ious pols leading up to the 2016 election and

final dabs in the Summit Lounge sponsored 21+

ballot vote that legalized recreational adult

VIP lounge perched atop the Parkman Bandstand

use cannabis, offered his two cents to the

before heading off to the various after parties pep-

paper, calling the aftermath “appalling and

pering the Hub or the official after party at Down

unacceptable”.

Kinsella also told the Globe: “It belongs on

The Road Brewing in Everett, social media began

the Boston Common...it’s the symbolic home

chronicling the sad scene on the Common lawn.

of freedom and free speech. And it’s a matter

Particular vendors who Kinsella has said will not be invited back next year were highlighted for the mountains

of principle—we have a right to be there. We get our permits

of garbage and refuse left behind in their areas, and Mass-

and go through the same process everybody else does.”

Cann sent out a viral post putting those vendors on indirect

But some of the dicier elements of this year’s rally were

blast and calling for volunteers still on site as well as others

on full blast as well. While the speeches and music blared,

available the next morning to step in and help pick up.

this year was marked with arguably the most brazen can-

The Boston Globe later reported that representatives from the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform coalition “ac-

nabis-related lawbreaking at the annual event, noted by many at and after the event.

More

HUMBLE HEALINGS 90 Washington St. Haverhill, MA

Owner Sandy Kattar & Son, Calvin Kattar sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 29

National cannabis news and information resource Leafly, which had a booth and presence in the 21+ educational village, sent some of its Pacific Northwest staff to get a sense of the Northeast scene. Editor Ben Adlin told me, after I gave him a whiff of ground Moose N Lobster + Blue Crack procured from a craft grower in northern New England, “I have been consistently amazed at the quality of flower out here.”

In their scrolling day-by-day dispatch of the event, Leafly made note of the reality on the ground regarding sales and consumption as they witnessed it.

“On sales: outside the 21+ area, vendors are dishing out free dabs, passing out pre-rolls, and offering baggies of bud for (fairly reasonable) cash ‘donations’,”

Leafly reported.

“What we did this year was we put the vending out to various concession groups, and we put on all the music and education village,” said MassCann president Bill Flynn. “We pass on to vendors that it’s not legal to sell cannabis at the rally, and people do get caught doing it, but they’re going to push the limit. We don’t condone it though.”

While it’s never been hard to procure medicine while at the event, that’s never been what the day was meant for. “The rally is ultimately about educating the public on cannabis and prohibition, and what prohibition has done through bad laws that need to be spoken out against,” says Flynn. “It’s always been an event based on education, community, and civil disobedience.”

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Nevertheless, the yearly harassment MassCann and the rally sees from the city and community groups was “the worst yet” according to Flynn, who has been MassCann’s president for four years and involved with the group for over two decades. In spite of that and the vendor trash issues that stained the weekend slightly, most agree it was a resounding success overall.

“I think it went well for an event the city decided to screw with and cut two

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hours off of our permit for music, causing us to push things back and rearrange schedules for everyone,” says Phil Hardy of the Hardy Consultants, chairman of

sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 31

“I THINK IT WENT WELL FOR AN EVENT THE CITY DECIDED TO SCREW WITH.” —Phil Hardy

the music committee for the 2018 party. “The people from the neighborhood— whatever—they make complaints every year and they don’t want us in their backyard. They just don’t want to point out there were hundreds of thousands of people that came to the park and had no problem. That’s cannabis. Add one alcohol vendor, and the place is out of control—I guarantee that.”

Ultimately, the rally is what you make of it. Zairilla Bacon, one of the marquee cannabis industry public figures in attendance and a main stage speaker, said this year felt like the biggest and most inclusive yet. The Vegas superstar (if you haven’t seen her video segment on VICE cooking insanely luxe dosed foods for 2 Chainz, Hannibal Buress, and Tommy Chong, look it up at your leisure) is no slouch when it comes to traversing the country in the name of cannabis and succinctly summed up the prevailing philosophy of the weekend.

“This plant is all about love and healing, and this event has shown me nothing but love,” she said. “That’s what I take away from this weekend. Love” Here here.

32 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

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The mission of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (MassCann), the state affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of the Marijuana Laws (NORML) is to educate the Public in the Commonwealth about Cannabis Sativa's potential as an ecologically sound resource, medicine, and recreational substance, and build a consensus for a more moral and rational public policy regarding all uses of the cannabis plant. sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 33

SPEC

EPO IAL R

RT

t you, bu t u o b . know a ill here t I don’t s s ’ e d Dav I’m gla R UCKE LAN

by L E

34 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

D R

PHOTOS BY ANDRE VELEZ

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN CHEECH & CHONG KEPT ME SANE.

IT WAS WINTER 1971–72, AND THE WORLD WAS WARNING ME THAT SMOKING POT WAS GOING TO

DESTROY MY AMBITION, ROB ME OF MY MOTIVATION AND, FOR ALL I KNEW, SEND ME STRAIGHT TO HELL. EVERYTHING I READ SAID THAT MARIJUANA

WOULD TURN ME INTO A LOW-IQ COUCH POTATO, YET HERE I WAS SMOKING A JOINT THEN CLEANING THE HOUSE AND WEEDING THE YARD. IT JUST MADE NO SENSE. And in the midst of the madness, along came Cheech &

Chong and Big Bambú, two records that amplified and cru-

most famous routine, “Dave’s Not Here,” became part of stoner mythology. Everybody knew “Dave’s Not Here.”

cified the stoner clichés of the era. Those albums kept me,

Cheech & Chong’s comedy, far ahead of its time and

and as it turns out, millions of other tokers, laughing our

with a minority focus—Richard “Cheech” Marin is Mexi-

asses off, whether at Bob Bitchen enthusiastically going for

can-American, and Tommy Chong is of Scottish-Irish/Chi-

the hash on the C&C’s 1980 Let’s Make a Dope Deal album,

nese descent—provided a secret language for our then-ille-

the hapless “Pedro and the Man at the Drive-Inn” down-

gal, secret society. C&C made it so much less clandestine.

ing their stash to keep from getting busted by the police on

They poked holes in marijuana myths—wink, wink—which

1973’s Los Cochinos, or Sister Mary Elephant scream-

made us giggle, and at the same time convinced the an-

ing at her class to “SHUUUUUDD-UP!” in the

ti-pot crowd that that’s how people act when they’re high.

skit bearing her name. Nobody said

We knew better. But the stoner stereotype was born.

“far out, man” better than

Fast forward about 46 years to September 2018, and I’m

Tommy Chong.

eating catered Cracker Barrel pancakes, bacon, and scram-

Their

bled eggs on paper plates chatting with Tommy Chong in sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 35

Lucy Sky, a Denver dispensary that carries Chong’s Choice,

hippies, and drug use among them. His aide John Ehrli-

his brand of cannabis products. What once was an under-

chman later admitted the administration put cannabis

ground cult with its own code and buzzwords is now a

in the same classification as heroin to give Nixon extra

worldwide, multibillion-dollar industry that even Coca-Co-

legal leverage over hippies and minorities—that period’s

la is interested in investing in.

“enemies of the state.” This was after the administration’s

Darkness and Lies

Shafer Commission concluded the only problem with marijuana was its illegality. For a short period, the US

Thinking back, it’s pretty amazing the lengths that the

government helped Mexico spray its fields with the her-

federal government went to—and still does, the budget

bicide paraquat to kill pot plants in the early 1970s in an

for the Drug War this year is about 36 billion dollars—to

effort to curtail use. In March 1978, 33 percent of marijua-

try to keep Americans from “getting high.” Despite that

na samples found in the US were found to be contaminat-

pharmaceutical drugs and alcohol get you “high,” too,

ed with the chemical, a known pulmonary toxin.

American leaders on both sides of the political aisle

But even then, the hypocrisy was already beginning to

have tried their damnedest to stop millions of Ameri-

unravel. I remember reading about a 20-something-year-old

cans who use cannabis as a part of their lives.

man named Robert Randall, who, after years of court battles,

International cannabis policy is still governed by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, convened in 1961

won the right to have the US government supply him with marijuana to keep him from going blind back in the 1970s.

IN 2017, 659,700 AMERICANS WERE ARRESTED FOR MARIJUANA OFFENSES. and updated in 1971 and 1988 by the United Nations. The

Randall’s eye doctor had given him the unfortunate

Single Convention was based on the idea that addiction

news that severe glaucoma would render him unable to

“constitutes a serious evil for the individual” and is a so-

see by age 30. After smoking a joint, he noted that the

cial and economic obstruction to mankind’s progress.

halos he usually saw around streetlights, a symptom of

The “solution” was an approach that included incarcer-

his disease, had disappeared. He started self-medicating

ation for users and dealers and, except for medical and

and working with his ophthalmologist, who noted that

scientific purposes, total elimination of all illegal drugs. To

cannabis was lessening the glaucoma symptoms. He

be honest, it hasn’t worked out very well after a half-cen-

began growing his own plants, and in 1975 was arrested

tury and who knows how many dollars spent, and it’s not

after a search warrant was executed on his property.

surprising that some signatories are beginning to question

Instead of pleading guilty to a misdemeanor posses-

this wisdom, especially in light of legalization efforts in

sion charge, Randall challenged the government, argu-

the US. At this point, American states that allow legal mar-

ing that he was forced to break the law to keep from go-

ijuana are technically breaking international law.

ing blind. And he won. When he found that the feds were

The Convention was used by President Richard Nix-

growing marijuana on a farm in Mississippi, he demand-

on and Congress to help pass the Controlled Substances

ed that the government supply him with marijuana to

Act in 1970, and since then, the federal government has

keep his disease in check, and Randall became the first

desperately tried to stop you and me and lots of other

recipient of the short-lived Compassionate Investiga-

people from doing something they find enjoyable and

tional New Drug program, which supplied him with a tin

that, given the alternatives, seems fairly benign. So plea-

filled with 300 hand-rolled joints every month for many

surable, in fact, that millions of Americans are willing to

years. The label on the bottle: “Smoke as directed.”

continue to break federal and international law to do it.

When Randall died in 2001 at age 53 of AIDS-related

Nixon, who wandered the White House corridors drunk

complications, he still had his sight. So marijuana was

and babbling to paintings in the dark days before his res-

as bad as heroin, the government was telling us, unless

ignation, was phobic about a lot of things—Jews, gays,

you had glaucoma. Did they think we weren’t paying at-

36 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

tention because we were all as stupid as Cheech & Chong were pretending to be when in character?

Clinton claiming that he never inhaled?

Still, attitudes toward legalization began to change in the

Ah, and then there were the Reagan years. Ronald Rea-

1990s, as the numbers of people incarcerated for cannabis

gan, the handsome former actor and corporate spokes-

continued to rise, and states, beginning with California in

person, became president in 1980 and reinstated the goal

1996, petitioned to allow cannabis for medical purposes.

of zero tolerance for all drug users and sellers. Richard

Undaunted, the DEA, unable to stop the flow of canna-

Nixon reborn, Reagan demonized marijuana much as he

bis into the country from our borders, targeted American

did communism, calling for a nationwide crusade “to rid

growers, unwittingly leading to cannabis becoming the

America of this scourge.”

largest cash crop in America. On several occasions, the

The dope jokes were running thin, but Cheech & Chong’s

government went after paraphernalia shops. During one

string of hit films after 1978’s Up in Smoke coincided with

of those, 2003’s Operation Pipe Dreams, Tommy Chong

the Reagan years and found another eager generation,

was arrested and served nine months in prison.

this one the recipients of Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) absti-

The New Normal

nence campaigns. I’m always reminded of those two fail-

The fact is, as Cheech & Chong continue to remind us,

ures every time I attend a cannabis function, since many

that humans are always going to find ways to change

of the brightest people in the modern cannabis industry

their consciousness. Always have, always will. The

grew up in the clutches of those programs.

War on Drugs has been extremely effective at putting

If anything, President George H. Bush was even worse,

Americans, especially minorities, behind bars. (In 2017,

hiring William Bennett, a compulsive gambler and

659,700 Americans were arrested for marijuana offens-

nicotine addict, as his first Drug Czar. “The white mid-

es.) But despite endless cash, “Just Say No” and D.A.R.E.

dle-class user needs to be coerced, needs to be told that

campaigns, zealous border patrols, sophisticated gad-

his behavior won’t be tolerated,” Bennett once said. He

getry, mandatory sentencing, and harsher punishments,

still believes that. And who could forget President Bill

the government hasn’t been able to stop anybody who

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really wants to from using cannabis.

More than 30 states allow some kind of medical marijuana, and nine states and the District of Columbia allow adults over 21 to purchase cannabis. More than 200 million Americans have access to legal marijuana. Celebrity brands are growing, with Tommy’s Choice among them.

Chong, who turned 80 in May, has never been the character he plays on stage and screen, and he says he’s pretty much a one-toker these days. Almost as many people recognize him from his appearances on television’s

Dancing with the Stars as from his routines with Marin.

“It’s pretty funny having young fans come over and grab the old stoner for a selfie,” he says, grinning.

He and Marin do about two months worth of live gigs every year, many of them in casinos, he says. The Cheech & Chong act has transformed from a series of skits about stoners into a kind of a play. A quick look at a recent show on YouTube indicates that “Dave’s Not Here” is now part of a set piece on vigilante justice. #TheNewNormal as theater.

I just read about a campaign in California that is trying to defame words like “stoner” that contribute to the continuing stigma around cannabis use. I’m all for that, but only up to a point. It’s somehow still comforting to know that Dave’s still here.

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sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 39

Confessions of a Wabi-Fraudie, or Pay No Attention to What’s Under The Stairs.

by R O BY N G R I G G S L AW R E N C E

I had so much shit I got rid of most of it Wabi-sabi me?

When I started writing about wabi-sabi, right around

say vinyl planks); rice paper, not glass. Wabi-sabi cele-

9/11, the Japanese philosophy of finding beauty in im-

brates cracks and crevices and rot, reminding us that we

perfection had a serious underground following, but

are all transient beings—that our bodies, as well as the

most people still thought wabi-sabi was that spicy green

material world around us, are in the process of returning

stuff you eat with sushi. Marie Kondo was, like, 10.

to the dust from which we came. “

Wabi-sabi was a great umbrella for a lot of conversa-

Well, you can see. This didn’t land all that well in the forev-

tions I was enmeshed in as the editor of a green lifestyle

er-rich, forever-young early aughts, which launched the Kar-

magazine: simplicity, the Slow movement (starting with

dashians and eventually crashed into the Great Recession.

Slow Food and evolving into Slow Everything), reduction, recycling, reuse. It was still pretty early for a lot of those conversations in 2001, though, and it was early for wabi-sabi in America, too.

In those first few months after the planes hit the towers,

A Simple, Unpretentious Oasis in an Extravagance- and War-Weary World In 2011, while Americans were still smarting from the financial meltdown four years earlier, I wrote a follow-up

my agent and I and a handful of people in publishing were

book, Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House,

pretty certain Americans would retreat and nest, plant

for a small, progressive Canadian publisher. I didn’t get a fat

Victory gardens, and live more thriftily, as they always had

advance. But it seemed like the time might finally be right

during times of war. I got a fat advance to write The Wa-

for wabi-sabi, and I wanted to see it have its day. If everyone

bi-Sabi House just as Americans—at the directive of Pres-

embraced it, we would have a completely different world.

ident George W. Bush, who told them it was the patriotic

Wabi-sabi was born from the Japanese Tea Ceremony,

thing to do—embraced easy credit and went shopping. My

a simple Zen ritual for making and sharing a cup of tea

book wasn’t the runaway bestseller we thought it would be.

that warlords in 15th-century Japan turned into a means

Wabi-sabi—if you’re being real about it—is a tough sell for

of showing off their immense wealth through gaudy Tea

Americans. An ancient philosophy with roots in Zen, it’s

houses full of gilded imported goods. The wabi way of Tea

about revering austerity, nature, and the everyday and ac-

(wabichado) grew out of a backlash to that, championed by

cepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. A re-

a master so powerful his style is practiced to this day. Sen

action to the prevailing aesthetic of lavishness, ornamen-

no Rikyu’s quiet, simple Tea ceremony, with tea served in

tation, and rich materials in 15th-century Japan, wabi-sabi

locally fired bowls and flowers in fishermen’s baskets, was

is the art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity

what everyone wanted. Wood, bamboo, and hospitality

in earthiness, and revering authenticity above all.

were in; porcelain, lacquer, and pretension were out.

“It’s everything our sleek, mass-produced, technol-

Japan had just gone through several centuries of war and

ogy-saturated culture isn’t,” I wrote in The Wabi-Sabi

extravagant consumerism, and Rikyu’s Tea ceremony pro-

House. “It’s flea markets, not warehouse stores (today I

vided the simple, unpretentious oasis that society craved.

would say Amazon); aged wood, not Pergo (today I would

For wealthy merchants and shoguns, it felt like the ultimate sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 41

Great Uncluttering Advice (If You Follow It)

Here’s what I had to say about uncluttering in Simply Imperfect: Uncluttering is common sense; there’s no magic to it. All the experts offer the same basic advice, in one form or another. It goes like this:

luxury, the epitome of high art. For peasants and commoners, it made the art of Tea accessible. Preparing and serving the bitter green tea became a means for everyday samurai, who had few material comforts, to escape for a moment and share a ritual. Ichigo, ichie, or “once in a lifetime,” is perhaps the most important tenet when learning the art of Tea. We never know what might happen tomorrow, or even later today, but right now we can stop for a cup of tea.

Wabi, the name for Rikyu’s style of Tea, was often used by poets to evoke melancholy. One of my favorite

• Don’t try to unclutter your entire house at once. Start with a drawer or a shelf and move to problem areas (such as the garage or basement) once you’ve had some smaller success.

descriptions of it is “the feeling you have when you’re

• Maintenance is key. Spend 15 minutes per day cleaning up daily detritus before it becomes overwhelming.

up with wabi, but conjoined it takes on an entourage ef-

• Take everything out of a drawer or closet and spread it out in front of you. You’ll eliminate more and organize what’s left more efficiently if you can see it all at once.

(This also gives you a chance to clear out the dust and run a damp rag over the surface.)

and rust; the enchantment of old things; appreciation for

• Mark four boxes or bags “Keep,” “Give Away,” “Throw Away,” and “Hold for One Year.” (The last one’s for items you don’t need or use but just can’t bear to part with yet. If you haven’t touched these things in a year, their time has come.)

• If in doubt, throw it out. Give it to Goodwill or any of the charitable organizations who send trucks around to collect it. Or give it away on Craigslist. Nothing moves faster than the stuff in the “Free” listings.

• If you can’t find a good home for something, it’s time to say farewell.

• Get rid of two items every time you buy a new one.

waiting for your lover.” It evokes a little monk in his torn robe, enjoying a night by the fire, content in poverty. No one’s quite sure how or when the word sabi got hooked fect. Meaning “the bloom of time,” sabi connotes tarnish dignified, graceful aging. Wabi-sabi, then, is a philosophy that reveres age, imperfection, and natural order.

We don’t practice Tea in this culture, though, and it can be hard to see how it translates for 21st-century Westerners who drink lots of coffee. Like all good philosophies, wabi-sabi gives us a launching point toward thinking about what matters. To practice it, or to become what is called a wabibito, means living modestly, satisfied with things as they are, owning only what’s necessary for its utility or beauty (ideally, both).

But What’s Under Those Stairs?

Both of my books have entire chapters on the importance of uncluttering and how to do it. I’m something of an expert. Unfortunately, they both have chapters on

• Keep like items with like: cups, baking goods, candles, etc.

decorating with salvage and flea market finds and how

• Allow only three items on each surface.

to find them, so I’m something of an expert on that as

• Cover only one-tenth of a table; use objects of differing sizes.

well. These areas of expertise don’t play nice together,

• Just say no to refrigerator magnets. They encourage clutter.

• Keep windowsills clear of knickknacks and potted plants.

• Use baskets and bowls to collect mail, pens and pencils, loose change, and all the other odds and ends that collect on counters and tabletops.

as you can imagine.

I wrote Simply Imperfect post-divorce, after I’d moved into a townhouse and left most everything behind. Looking back, I’m hilarious. “Living in a small space keeps me from acquiring things,” I wrote. “Except for storage, my

• Storage is key to containing clutter. Storage areas should make up at least ten percent of your home’s total square footage and be placed so that you can store items where they’re used. (If you can’t get rid of the stuff, hide it well.)

little house has just enough of everything.”

• Furnishings that do double duty as storage help minimize clutter. A wicker chest holding blankets can serve as a coffee table in the TV room; a small chest of drawers makes a great end table.

of crap to build up. When the space became impene-

I was so smug and such a wabi-fraudie, hiding everything under the stairs in the basement.

My townhome had a terrible little crawl space, far too deep and narrow, that encouraged layers upon layers trable, I would stand in the doorway and throw stuff in.

The woman I bought the house from warned me about it during the closing. She’d thought she could show the house furnished until she looked in there. When it came time for me to sell the place 10 years later, I felt her pain.

42 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

(Continued on p.44)

Live Wabi-Sabi

Without Buying Anything Wabi-sabi is the design trend of the year. Everyone from NBC News to Rachael Ray is talking about it (and if it’s on Rachael Ray’s site, can it still be cool?). It doesn’t seem like most of the media get the philosophy at its core, though, because a lot of them use it as a basis for featuring new products that consumers should buy to get the wabi-sabi “look.” Here are a few tips on getting to wabi-sabi without buying a bunch of shit, lifted from Simply Imperfect.

• Next time you sweep the floor, CONSIDER IT A MEDITATION. Opt for the broom over the Dirt Devil when possible.

• OFFER EVERYONE WHO COMES TO VISIT A CUP OF TEA. Serve it in pretty cups with something sweet. If no one comes by, enjoy a cup of tea by yourself in the late afternoon.

• KEEP ONE VASE IN YOUR HOME FILLED with seasonal flowers, branches, or grasses, ideally picked within a mile of your home.

• TAKE A WALK EVERY DAY. • LEARN TO KNIT OR CROCHET.

• PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR DAILY BREAD. Is the food you’re eating in season, and is it available locally? The meals you choose and prepare connect you with the earth’s cycles and where you live, and you’ll live a healthier life. Buy food from your local farmers’ markets and ask the produce manager at your grocery store where different items came from.

• When you’re invited to someone’s house or even to a meeting, BRING A SMALL GIFT—nothing extravagant, just a small gesture (homemade jam, apples from your tree, or a luxurious bar of soap) that lets them know they’re appreciated.

sensimag.com NOVEMBER 2018 43

“Where the hell has all this stuff been?” everybody asked

hit the road in her van 10 years earlier and was starting

as I unearthed bins and boxes of my memorabilia, my

over again. I gave her all the bedding, too. When it was all

kids’ art projects, photo albums, toys, sports equipment,

over, I felt like I’d had an ayahuasca-strength purging.

appliances, file cabinets, record albums, CDs, books, dish-

“Clutter smudges clarity, both physically and meta-

es, phones (four of them!), textiles, dog beds, jars, tools, old

phorically,” I wrote in Simply Imperfect. “Things you’re

paint, door, light fixtures, screws, nails (so many screws

holding onto because they were expensive, because

and nails), and assorted other crap I had tucked in there

they were gifts from your mother-in-law, or because you

and forgotten about over a decade. “In hell,” I would say.

might need them some day are all just getting in your way. In a wabi-sabi home, space and light are the most

Clutter Smudges Clarity

desirable ornaments.”

I spent a solid three months clearing out that town-

I bought an Airstream with brilliant space and light,

house, most of them under the stairs. I dumped a camper

limited but efficient storage; no room for furniture; and

truck and several carloads of stuff at Goodwill and left

no basement. After all these years and all these words, I

weekly loads for the Vietnam Veterans Association. I

might finally be a wabibito.

had a garage sale and got depressed watching no one want my gorgeous coffee table books and pink midcentury nesting ashtrays, even for a dollar. I got tired of being rejected by my son when I texted, “Sure you don’t want those red dishes from your childhood?”

Some people wanted my shit. It felt good to give away an Eastlake chair I tripped over in my bedroom for nine years to a furniture refinisher who understood its value and could give it the love and attention it deserved. I sold my daughter’s bed to a woman who had gotten rid of everything to

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SENSI NIGHT BOSTON

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{HereWeGo }

by DA N M C C A R T H Y

SHOP THERAPY. 286 Commercial St. // Provincetown // SHOPTHERAPY.COM

RITE OF PASSAGE

For years, Provincetown’s Shop Therapy has been home to controversial art, cannabis culture, and a few close calls with the fuzz.

As the central nerve of East Coast LGBTQ havens, as well

nal poster artwork for a series of 1991 rock concerts in Boston

as its long history of literary, political and art activism, not

led by then-unknown band Pearl Jam and other acts are cur-

to mention killer food and music scene, Provincetown is

rently on display at the Verb Hotel in Fenway) supplied the de-

home to many treasures. And its especially enjoyable in the

sign and mural work on the front of the current Shop Therapy.

off-season (less tourists, traffic, stress, etc).

And as the Cape’s chairman emeritus of the green scene

But for anyone who grew up on Cape Cod and sought

of the last few decades, Hazel is equipped with more than

out some paraphernalia regarding cannabis from pipes

his fair share of anecdotes. Here’s a choice one, offered in

and bowls to bongs and bonkers tapestries, Ronny Hazel’s

Hazel’s trademark high pitched New Yawk drawl:

infamous storefront—Shop Therapy along Commercial Street—has been a rite of passage of sorts.

“In 1975 I was busted for distribution of weed. I was handcuffed for a long time in my apartment above the old shop, and the cops

“Growing up here, everyone around knew when it was

were in the living room when I remembered I had this duffel bag

time to grab your first bowl or pipe, you had to head here,”

with about 10lbs of pot in it in the bathroom. I still can’t remember

says Chris Gagne of C3RN Research Network, who is a

exactly how I did this, but while handcuffed I wound up grabbing

born-and-raised Cape Cod denizen. “And everyone had

the strap and having the bag fall down from the top of the bath-

the same advice for first timers: ‘Just make your way up-

room and on the floor, where I pushed it out the back door while the

stairs and through the ocean of dildos and sex gear, and

police were still in my living room. The Front Street restaurant was

you’ll get what you need.”

below me and they keep the back door open for air while working,

These days, Shop Therapy exists a few doors down from

and this big duffel bag I had falls from the sky and in front of their

the original location, connected through time thanks to some

door. The cook pulled it into the kitchen and after the cops were

glorious artwork from Bob Gasoi, a painter whose original con-

gone they said, ‘we got this duffel bag…’ and I laughed and told

troversial murals in front of the original shop now blesses the

them to just keep it and do whatever they want with it.”

alleyway next to Shop Therapy in a sort of homage to Gasoi’s efforts. Additionally, local visual artist Joey Mars (whose origi50 NOVEMBER 2018 Boston

Related: Everyone should have 10lbs of solid flower drop from the heavens into their lap at one point in their life.