Sensi Magazine - Boston (August 2019)

BOSTON

Lyme disease turned Kate Phillips’s body against her.

She found a way to

FIGHT BACK HEALTH + WELLNESS

A Woman’s Guide

TO CBD OR NOT TO CBD

You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.

{plus}

THE COOLEST GRAMMAS ON INSTAGRAM

THE NEW NORMAL

8.2019

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4 AUGUST 2019 Boston

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6 AUGUST 2019 Boston

ISSUE 8 //VOLUME 2 //8.2019

FEATURES 24 CBD or CBDon’t?

When it comes to cannabidiol, confusion reigns supreme. We’re going back to the basics to clear it up for you.

SP EC IAL R EP OR T

32 Holding on to Hope

Cannabis offers a fresh alternative to those seeking treatment for autoimmune diseases.

40 Insta-Grams

10 HEAD’S UP! The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks Aug. 12.

Elders (and relative elders) wanting to stay relevant had better get Insta-worthy.

GET COOKING DIY cannabis cuisine

16

every issue 9 Editor’s Note 10 The Buzz 18 CrossRoads

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BUTTER

50 HereWeGo

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN

Sensi magazine is published monthly by Sensi Media Group LLC. © 2019 SENSI MEDIA GROUP LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 7

sensi magazine ISSUE 8 / VOLUME 2 / 8.2019

EXECUTIVE FOLLOW US

Ron Kolb ron@sensimag.com CEO, SENSI MEDIA GROUP

Tae Darnell tae@sensimag.com PRESIDENT, SENSI MEDIA GROUP

Alex Martinez alex@sensimag.com CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

EDITORIAL sensimediagroup

Stephanie Wilson stephanie@sensimag.com EDITOR IN CHIEF

Leland Rucker leland.rucker@sensimag.com SENIOR EDITOR

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Ricardo Baca COLUMNIST Jameson Viens CONTRIBUTING WRITER sensimagazine

A RT & D E S I G N Jamie Ezra Mark jamie@emagency.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Rheya Tanner, Wendy Mak, Josh Clark em@sensimag.com DESIGN & LAYOUT

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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 8 AUGUST 2019 Boston

ADVISORY BOARD Beantown Greentown // CULTIVATION Boston Gardener // GARDENING SUPPLY Boston Green Health //

CONSUMER AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

The Botanist // CANNABIS EDUCATION Down The Road Brewery //

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Green Goddess Supply //

PERSONAL HOMEGROWN BIOCHAMBER

Green Matters, LLC // SUPPLY CHAIN Greenhouse Payment Solutions // PAYMENT PROCESSING

Greenline Party Bus // TRANSPORTATION The Holistic Center //

MEDICAL MARIJUANA EVALUATIONS

The Leaf Collaborative // EDUCATION Lev8 Labs, Ltd // TERPENES Mayflower Medicinals, Inc. // ONLINE RESERVATIONS

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WELL , HELLO

editor’s

NOTE

Boston, it’s great to be with you,

and I have a confession to make: of all the editor’s notes I’ve written, this one has given me the most pause. Boston, I’m nervous. Anxious is perhaps a better term—the kind of anxious that you get before you walk through the doors of your high school reunion, to give you some comparison. It’s sort of like that. I’m based out of Sensi’s headquarters in Colorado now, but I grew up in New Hampshire. My dad was a pilot for Eastern Airlines back in the day, flying the shuttle from Logan to Laguardia to D.C. and back on the daily. I got my journalism degree from UMass out in Amherst, and I’ve been making magazines ever since. A lot of them, especially in the last three years. I moved to Colorado in 2015 and met Ron Kolb, who had a vision for a series of city lifestyle magazines that didn’t shy away from cannabis in the editorial, that embraced it as part of “the new normal,” a part of a city’s lifestyle the same way the craft beer industry is. I was so on board. We published the first issue of Sensi Denver/Boulder in May 2016. And we grew from there, taking Sensi coast to coast in two years flat. Today, we’ve got magazines publishing monthly in eight markets, with three more launching in October.

I’m a magazine junkie, I’ll admit it. And it was while reading an issue of Health magazine that inspiration for this month’s cover story struck. The article focused on how women are disproportionately affected by “invisible illnesses”—Lyme, fibromyalgia, lupus, and other autoimmune disorders. What it didn’t mention is that cannabis has shown to be an effective treatment for each of those. Robyn Griggs Lawrence explains why in this month’s cover story, which highlights the story of one Boston local whose Lyme disease went undiagnosed for years.

Health and Wellness is the theme of this issue, which is the first edition without Dan McCarthy as the editorial lead. He launched one hell of a magazine for Boston, and I’m grateful for it. I’m on the hunt for the perfect person to lead the magazine into its next chapter, building on the legacy Dan established. If that’s you, find me, tell me, show me. I won’t hand over this magazine to just anyone. Of all the Sensi editions, it’s my favorite. It’s my home.

And it’s so good to be home.

Tess Woods Public Relations // PUBLIC RELATIONS Valiant Group, LLC //

COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Vicente Sederberg, LLC // LEGAL SERVICES Stephanie Wilson E D I TO R I N C H I E F SENSI MAGAZINE

sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 9

As your summer wraps, if you find yourself newly

ing big things from the teams behind Irie Wedding &

betrothed to a heady partner (or if you’re the heady

Events and Cultivated Spirits. (If you’ve perused Higher

partner yourself), it’s high time to start planning an

Etiquette, the proper guide to cannabis consumption

elevated wedding of your dreams. Not sure where to

by Emily Post’s great-great-grandaughter, you’ll rec-

start? The experts at the Cannabis Wedding Expo have

ognize Philip Wolf of Cultivated Spirits as one of Lizzie

you covered.

Post’s trusted expert sources for her must-read book,

Whether you’ve got pending nuptials or if you’re just curious about how to incorporate cannabis into any

high-end

event

covered in May 2019 edition. Read it online if you haven’t already, SENSIMAG.COM.) The Cannabis Wedding Expo brings together more

occasion, you’ll want

than

to

thinking vendors and the companies willing to serve

check

out

this

50

cannabis-curious

Think:

couples

photographers,

and

forward-

event, coming to Bos-

them.

ton this fall.

venues, flower-forward florists, professional budtender

consumption-friendly

The Cannabis Wed-

staffing companies, caterers with infused menu

ding Expo started in

options, and other event pros ready to get you fired

Denver four years ago

up to blaze a trail down the aisle. Puns intended; don’t

and has since expand-

hold it against the expo. You’ll want to check it out.

ed to open-minded

Tickets are $14 in advance; $18 at the door. Keep an

cities like Vegas, San

eye on CANNABISWEDDINGEXPO.COM for the full details

Fran, and LA. This is its

as the October 5 date nears. Or if you’re heading to our

first foray on this coast,

neighbors to the north, there’s also a version taking

and

place in Toronto later in the month. –Stephanie Wilson

we’re

10 AUGUST 2019 Boston

expect-

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE HIP PHOTOGRAPHY, @KAYAEVENTDESIGN

Weeded Wedding Bliss in Boston

sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 11

Getting to know A woman’s guide to cannabis.

American families are finally talking about marijuana at the dinner table, but it’s hardly what Richard Nixon had in mind. As a country with the worst health care among high-income nations and an opioid crisis breaking hearts in every state, the potential for improvement is vast. Doubling down on systemic woes, even the average “healthy” American is increasingly overworked and exhausted, turning to screens and pills for a moment’s relief.

This is the melancholic landscape painted by lawyer, former bookstore owner, and cannabis advocate Nikki Furrer in her 2018 release from Workman Publishing, A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis. Amid this grim snapshot, Furrer, a Midwesterner who now calls Colorado home, writes that cannabis offers untapped potential for the radical act of feeling well and good. Not discriminating between pain from chronic diseases and everyday stress, Furrer wants to help everyone feel good with the support of cannabis (formerly known as “medical marijuana”).

A bookworm turned independent book store owner, Furrer’s mental and physical health was suffering as she struggled to make ends meet. After sadly closing shop, Furrer found herself drawn west by big mountains and open minds, starting over behind the counter at a dispensary in Denver. Daily, she meets with a colorful cast of characters—including the oft-played tropes of soccer moms and grandmas— 12 AUGUST 2019 Boston

asking the how and what of weed. Furrer quickly realizes she was missing her go-to move, a solid recommendation for the right book.

So, voila, Furrer wrote her own comprehensive cannabis guide, customized for the everyday Jane. A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis covers everything a woman—or man or non-binary individual—might wonder about weed. “Men are more than welcome to read this book, too,” she writes. “Cannabis is for everyone.”

As a NorCal native living in Humboldt County who has written about cannabis from every angle, I was skeptical about what Furrer’s guide could offer me; the endocannabinoid system, entourage effect, and terpenes are rooted in my daily lexicon. But beginning with the pained portrait of a typical American, Furrer stresses that whatever your troubles, cannabis will probably help. “A plant that makes us happier and healthier isn’t wrong,” she writes.

Admittedly, this is her target audience: Women living in red states whose value systems dictate that cannabis is still cause for shame and skepticism. Reading through heartfelt and info-packed chapters on edibles, inhalants, shopping, and health—and more importantly, why these topics matter—I quickly started thinking of friends to whom I should gift A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis. Deep diving into anxiety, menstruation, and weight loss, Furrer innately understands that the path of womanhood is paved with rocks and hard places. From start to finish, women’s bodies mold, bleed, birth, and hurt, leaving our minds to make sense of all. It’s no walk in the park.

“Now that I’m in my 40s, cannabis makes me feel prettier and more relaxed than I ever was in my 20s or 30s,” writes Furrer. While many women are curious about how cannabis might help them “feel better, look better, and sleep better,” the barriers to safe and clean cannabis products are many. In her guidebook, Furrer breaks down the loopholes to obtaining doctors recommendations, going out of state (don’t come back with your weed, please!), and talking to your therapist/children/ partner about cannabis. As she explains, you’re not the only one who might be feeling unsure and overwhelmed. “Medical schools do not teach cannabis medicine, so this is a new subject for doctors, too,” writes Furrer.

Though giving serious attention to legality, adolescent brain development, and dependence, Furrer is conscientious rather than conservative in her approach. “And dose just for fun? Well, that works too!” she writes. The cannabis plant is anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and promotes healthy cell regeneration.

If we consider mental, physical, and emotional health as one, it makes sense that treating arthritis or menstrual cramps comes with the fringe benefits of feeling better in every sense of the word.

Though A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis is meticulously detailed, Furrer encourages women to do their own research, using her book as point of departure. TCH or CBD? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, she writes, dedicating an entire chapter to synergistic effects of the two cannabinoids. She calls THC the Queen Bee and CBD the Valedictorian, “But when they work together, they bring out the best in each other.” Illustrated charts on cannabis strains, terpenes, and minor cannabinoids you’ve never heard of (THCV?) are helpful, even whimsical, guides to keep you motivated during your cannabis education.

Whether a gift for Gram, that certain friend, or yourself, A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis provides insight and a pragmatism from a woman who knows. If you’re considering adding cannabis to your life or changing up your relationship to the plant, Furrer is the unabashed friend you want to bring along on your journey.

–Nora Mounce sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 13

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Great Balls of Fire The Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12.

Every August, the Perseid Meteor Shower puts on quite a celestial show, a seemingly choreographed dance of giant fireballs moving across the sky.

This year, the super bright, sparkly Perseids peak on the night between August 12 and 13, when a close-to-full moon will wash out a good por-

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tion of the show. But if you keep an eye on the sky any time from late July

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through August 24, you'll have a chance of seeing some of the "shooting stars"—actually just particles of debris left behind by comets and asteroids.

Flaming space trash, if you will.

At the peak, there should be a few dozen meteors visible each hour.

That's not nearly as many as there were in 2016—that "outburst" year topped out at around 200 an hour. But this year, you should also be able

14 AUGUST 2019 Boston

to see Mars and Saturn on the night of the apex. The best viewing happens after 10 p.m. until about 4 a.m., and obviously the farther away you can get from city lights, the better. A solid excuse for a weekend in Wolfeboro.

Head's up: the night of Aug. 12 isn’t the only time to see the giant balls of space trash on fire in the sky. That’s just when they are most prolific, but any night that the earth is passing through the path of the Comet Swift-Tuttle (July 24 through August 24) is a good chance to see some meteors.

And consider heading up—a mountain, that is, where's less light pollution and (depending on how high an elevation you reach) less atmosphere. That means a better view. Wherever you decide to catch the celestial show, bring a blanket and some patience. Stare at the sky for enough time and you'll be making wishes like Jiminy Cricket soon enough.

–SW sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 15

16 AUGUST 2019 Boston

sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 17

{crossroads }

by R I C A R D O B A C A

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BUTTER How cooking with cannabis changed my life for the butter.

18 AUGUST 2019 Boston

years later, same thing. At one point along the line, I recognized that we needed to capitalize on all that traffic by embedding a smart how-to video into the popular post to increase our value to readers and their time spent with us. Since we were a small team, I knew we’d likely end up shooting that video in my kitchen.

And again: little did I know. It turns out making cannabutter for the first time ended up changing my consumpIn a previous life, I founded a cannabis-centric news and culture site called The Cannabist at the Denver Post. Yeah, I

tion patterns entirely, and it also changed my relationship with the plant.

was the “first marijuana editor at a major newspaper” you might have seen on Colbert Report or The View or CNN or

FROM STORE-BOUGHT TO HOMEMADE

MSNBC, and my goal with The Cannabist was to create a

I’m lucky because, in my house, my wife does most of the

site that would cover the news and features of legal mar-

grocery shopping while I do most of the cannabis shopping.

ijuana with the same fervor and standards my colleagues

I enjoy checking in with my favorite medical dispensary or

employed to cover other industries, be it oil and gas or ed-

ducking into a new recreational shop. It’s research, and I

ucation.

pride myself on being familiar with new brands, products,

And so in addition to our breaking news reporting and

and retail environments.

coverage of the ever-evolving government regulations in

Since I primarily consume edibles, I spend most of my

those early days, we also dove deep into dissecting the

time on that side of the display, asking budtenders ques-

culture of cannabis on the precipice of legalization.

tions about specific ingredients, extraction methodologies,

How had the act of consumption changed in the modern era? What strain was best for introspection and creativity? And how was marijuana being used in the kitchen, both as inspiration and ingredient?

and customer reviews. Sometimes they have answers; sometimes they don’t.

But on that particular cannabutter-making day, I was on the hunt for an ounce of cannabis flower—an affordable

Once I connected with a talented Oregon chef who

sativa, since we were shooting the video in my kitchen

would pen the site’s cannabis-infused recipes, I knew we

and I was serving as the video’s star (read: glorified hand

had to start her culinary column with a rock-solid recipe

model). Once I secured a $99 recreational ounce at a local

for cannabutter, a.k.a. the building block of most infused

shop I’d never frequented before, I met my producer at the

cooking. Once we had cannabutter and canna-oil recipes

house for the video shoot.

up, we could expand into the fun stuff—from brownies to smoothies, lasagnas to tacos.

A few weeks later, the video was edited and embedded on the site—all was great on the work front. Yet at home,

Little did I know. A few months later, our cannabutter

my cannabutter remained untouched in a Tupperware on

post was the top-ranked article page on the site. A few

the top shelf of my refrigerator. I wasn’t used to having cansensimag.com AUGUST 2019 19

HOMEMADE

Wellness Made Simple Hemp-Derived CBD for pain, inflammation and stress

cannabutter PAIRS WELL WITH

creativity.

nabutter at the ready, and it was actually my wife who first dipped into it. I was flying to San Diego to interview Willie Nelson on his tour bus when she texted: “Decided to have a low-key night in. Making some cookies. How much of this cannabutter should I use? :)” I directed her to another story we’d written to help home chefs properly dose their homemade edibles, but she’d already moved on with her makeshift recipe.

“I eyeballed it, and used half cannabutter and half regular butter.” I laughed and

It's easier than ever to feel better

shared the text with my producer, who was standing next to me at the airport.

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while walking the dogs around the park and getting existential with podcasts.

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“Looks like she’s in for a fun night,” he correctly predicted.

We landed in California to hilarious texts from my lady, who was intensely high

TAKING OWNERSHIP OF THE INFUSED EDIBLE Her chocolate oatmeal cookie experiment was only the beginning. We evolved from baking to tossing the cannabutter into hot pasta with some garlic and oil, and the experimentation only got more rigorous from there. After a few successful dishes, we realized we could try just about anything with the butter.

In fact, it became a regular question when the fridge door swung open for dinner: “Infused or not tonight?”

Having homemade cannabutter in the fridge is more rewarding than I ever thought it would be. While we’re not hurting for consumption options in many legal markets, the butter opens up our possibilities even more—and many of those options are much healthier and simpler than what you can buy in the stores.

When a friend told me she keeps a cannabis-infused olive oil handy at home because she prefers it to the sugars and fats present in most storebought edibles, it opened my mind to the idea of DIY cannabis foodstuffs.

Now I see where she’s coming from, and then some.

Not only can I more carefully formulate and shape my desired edible experience with my cannabutter stash, but I can also answer many of the questions that often perplexed budtenders. I know the specific ingredients, and I know how it was extracted—because I made it from scratch.

When you can use cannabis flower you yourself grew from seed or clone, even better. In the same way that growing marijuana completely transforms your relationship with the plant, the same is true when you begin cooking with cannabis.

RICARDO BACA is a veteran journalist, thought leader, and founder of The Cannabist. His content agency Grasslands works primarily with businesses and individuals in the cannabis and hemp industries on thought leadership, publicity, and marketing projects via thoughtful, personalized marketing campaigns.

sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 21

When you look great you feel great.

KRISTEN SALON Come visit us at 21 Vinal Square North Chelmsford, MA. Call or book appointments on line.

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sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 23

CBDo or When it comes to cannabidiol, confusion reigns supreme.

We’re going back to the basics to clear it up for you.

by S T E P H A N I E W I L S O N

Disclaimer: The following conversation didn’t happen —NOT EXACTLY, NOT WORD FOR WORD AS IT APPEARS HERE. BUT IT’S ROOTED IN REALITY. CBD IS ON EVERYONE’S MINDS, BUT INFO ABOUT IT IS ON NO ONE’S RADAR. In the last few months alone, we’ve fielded calls and

Yes, it’s confusing. Here’s a handy cheat sheet:

queries from across the country, as friends, family, and

Cannabis sativa: plant species.

family and friends of our friends and family reach out

cannabis: a subspecies of Cannabis sativa containing

for advice. The questions below are on the lips of curious

more than trace amounts of THC. It remains federal-

consumers who have heard they need to be taking CBDs

ly illegal, classified by the DEA as a Schedule I drug,

but they don’t quite know what this means. We’re here to

in the same category as LSD and heroin. The govern-

help. First thing’s first: it’s CBD, not CBDs.

ment claims cannabis has no medicinal purposes and

JANE DOE: What is CBD?

CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive chemical compound found in the cannabis plant.

a high potential of abuse. hemp: a subspecies of Cannabis sativa with no more than 0.3 percent THC by weight. When the federal government outlawed “marihuana” in the 1930s, it did so using broad

JD: So it’ll get me high?

language that banned all Cannabis sativa—including

No, that’s what non-psychoactive means. You’re think-

hemp. The prohibition of hemp just came to an end last

ing of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol. That’s the com-

December, with the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill.

pound associated with feelings of euphoria.

JD: But you said CBD comes from cannabis. Isn’t that

JD: What does this have to do with CBD?

CBD is found in Cannabis sativa varieties, so it can be

what weed is called nowadays?

derived from both cannabis and hemp. But not all types

You are correct. Cannabis is how people refer to what

(or strains) of either necessarily have any CBD content at

used to be called “marijuana,” a word with racist under-

all. Some have a high percentage of CBD. Growers breed

tones best removed from the modern lexicon. Cannabis

plants to maximize or minimize the cannabinoid content.

is short for Cannabis sativa, the scientific name of the

Because cannabis remains federally illegal, CBD de-

plant species that includes both cannabis—the kind that

rived from a plant with more than trace amounts of THC

gets you high—and hemp, the kind that doesn’t.

is illegal as well. This doesn’t apply in the 11 states where

24 AUGUST 2019 Boston

CBDon’t?

sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 25

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recreational cannabis is legal. However, it is illegal to take it across state lines—but don’t let that stop you.

As hemp broke free from prohibition late last year, the DEA reclassified hemp-derived CBD with less than 0.1 percent THC from a Schedule I to a Schedule V drug—one with a low potential of abuse, similar to low doses of codeine.

JD: Are you saying the effects of a CBD cookie or two are

the same as a dose of prescription cough syrup?

No. Keep in mind, this classification is from the same agency that still claims cannabis is as dangerous as heroin—that highly addictive drug responsible for a growing number of overdose deaths each year as its popularity grows in the wake of the opioid epidemic. The DEA

known as cannabinoids—CBD and THC among them— that interact and bind to receptors within our body’s endocannabinoid system, which regulates basic functions like sleep, cognition, and stress. Cannabinoids such as CBC, CBG, CBN, THCa, THCv, and so on are said to provide relief to an array of symptoms and ailments—migraines, insomnia, stress, Crohn’s, PTSD, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, cramps, cancer, and more.

Like magic. Until science tells us otherwise.

JD: What does taking CBD do?

Again, studies are limited, but the ones out there show that CBD is anti-inflammatory. It also can provide relief from anxiety and stress, induce calmness, and may even

claims cannabis is just as bad. As heroin. This despite the fact that you are as likely to die from a cannabis overdose as you are from a unicorn attack.

But I digress. No, eating CBD cookies won’t have the same effect as taking a codeine-laced prescription med, despite what the DEA would have you believe.

(The DEA rescheduling allowed for the first cannabis-derived medicine approved by the FDA for the treatment of a rare seizure disorder to enter the marketplace through typical pharmaceutical channels last fall. There are now two cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals on the market.)

JD: So what are the effects of CBD?

There are all sorts of claims out there. But are any of those claims backed by science or data? Not really. A highly informative deep-dive into CBD published by Vox sums it up per-

CBD is a miracle compound, said to fix whatever ails you. Or not.

Depends on which you trust—science or marketing.

fectly: “Anyone who tells you anything definitive about what CBD—or THC for that matter—does to your body is lying.”

Cannabis prohibition, ongoing since 1937, outlawed more than personal use; it blocked scientific studies of the plant’s medicinal properties and potential. Today, there’s a huge void where research should be. That void has to be filled with the very basics that can be built upon. There’s not even an official cannabis seed bank or strain database in existence from which scientists can pull reliable information needed to conduct the studies from which we are so desperate to learn the results. The process is basically just getting started, and it’s going to take awhile. Decades even.

That said, there is strong anecdotal evidence as well as some small studies that point to medicinal properties and health

benefits.

Secretions

from the flower of the cannabis plant contain more than 100

chemical

compounds sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 27

Come find your in Massachusettes Brought to you in part by

28 AUGUST 2019 Boston

JD: Me too! I think I read the same article. So, what’s the

best kind of CBD?

There’s only one kind of CBD. But there are all sorts of factors that affect its quality and your experience. Some factors to keep in mind: 1) Is it derived from hemp or cannabis?

2) If it’s derived from hemp, where is the hemp from?

The US imports a lot of hemp from China, where the list of approved pesticides is far from safe. You don’t want to be ingesting that.

3) Is it a CBD isolate? Was the CBD isolated from the other plant compounds during the extraction process?

This is an important factor for anyone who’s sensitive to THC or who may be subject to drug testing 4) Or is it full spectrum? The opposite of an isolate, full counterbalance anxiety brought on by THC in some can-

spectrum refers to an extraction method that’s some-

nabis users. That’s part of something known as the en-

times called “whole plant extract.” These include all of

tourage effect, but we’ll save that for another day.

the cannabinoids found in the plant.

JD: That’s it? All this hype for something that may re-

duce anxiety and inflammation?

Yep. There’s a whole lot of anecdotal evidence about it being an effective treatment for other ailments, but there’s not a whole lot of science. Yet.

5) How will you ingest it? Are you smoking it, putting some drops of a tincture under your tongue, drinking a beverage infused with it?

6) How much are you supposed to take?

There are millions and millions of CBD products being sold

We can thank the prohibition for getting us here—to

today, with more coming out every day. The market is large-

a place where a plant byproduct, federally illegal for all

ly unregulated, although the FDA does prohibit marketing

but the final 10 days of 2018, was a $350 million industry

CBD as a dietary supplement. New York State officials re-

in 2018. And that’s by conservative estimates. The Hemp

cently imposed rules blocking restaurants from serving

Business Journal puts that number closer to $1 billion.

CBD-laced menu items and drinks. Other than that, CBD is

I blame savvy marketing and risk-taking entrepreneurs eager to capitalize on the post-prohibition “green rush.”

regulated a lot like the vitamin and supplement industries, which is to say not at all. Companies can’t make claims

CBD is everywhere right now—even in the gift bags at

about health benefits, but can make claims about what’s in

the Oscars in the form of infused chocolate and luxe lo-

the product without any data to back it up. Last month, NBC

tions. You can smoke it, you can ingest it, you can drink

Miami collected an array of CBD products and sent them

it, you can vape it. You can spray it on your face, rub it on

to a third-party lab for testing. The majority had much less

your body, or pay a massage therapist to do that for you.

CBD than the labels claimed. Some had none at all.

You can drop a bomb and soak in a bath of it, you can chew gum made with it, you can give it to Fido as a treat.

What you can’t do is ignore it. CBD dominates headlines, piques interest, generates anecdotal testimonies to its healing powers, and is marketed to you by a growing range of companies introducing new infused products and new brands in hopes of capitalizing on the buzz. They don’t all have your best interest at heart. Be skeptical.

JD: But…I should be taking it, right? I’ve heard I should be

JD: How much CBD should I be taking?

No one knows. This whole CBD thing is an experiment, and we are all the subjects. If you use or are just curious about CBD today, you are at the consumer end of a great trial that includes users, growers, producers, sellers, and now government. Until more extensive research is done— which will take awhile—you’re pretty much on your own to find the right products and dosages that work for you.

You’ve got to separate the hype from the reality. You’ve

taking it.

got to be willing to experiment, which can get pricey. If you

According to articles on the internet, you definitely should.

spend $50 on a bottle of CBD pain cream and it provides no

It’s a miracle compound, said to fix whatever ails you. Or

relief, will you be eager to try a different brand? It’s up to

not. Depends on which you trust more: science or market-

you. And your wallet. If the whole thing stresses you out,

ing. Personally, I’m a sucker for marketing.

try taking some CBD. It’s supposed to be good for stress. sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 29

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HOLDING ON TO HOPE Autoimmune diseases are hard to diagnose—and even harder to manage. But cannabis offers a fresh alternative to those seeking treatment for the untreatable. by R O BY N G R I G G S L AW R E N C E

Kate Phillips’ stomach hurt for years. IT GREW SO BLOATED SHE LOOKED

PREGNANT. AND NO ONE—NOT THE GASTROINTESTINAL SPECIALIST, THE NEUROLOGIST, THE FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE DOCTOR, THE NURSE PRACTITIONER SHE DROVE THREE HOURS EACH WAY TO SEE—COULD TELL HER WHY. Doctors prescribed her 41 different medications. One

that is more prevalent in New England than anywhere else

doctor said her illness was stress-induced, another told

in the world. Trouble is, she never got the flu-like symp-

her she had multiple sclerosis, and yet another said

toms or bullseye rash she’d been warned about. In her case,

she had cancer (which was terrifying). Phillips gave up

the spirochete bacteria from the tick that bit her attacked

dairy, gluten, and sugar and spent more than $100,000 on

the weakest part of her body—her stomach, which Phillips

medical specialists and snake oil doctors like the nurse

jokes was ruined by a classic Irish Catholic diet of boiled

practitioner, who put a coil on Phillips’ stomach to test

meat and starch while she was growing up in Boston.

for something that baffles her to this day.

“You’re just so desperate, so sick,” Phillips says. “You don’t care what you have to do.”

Suffering heart palpitations and seizures and no longer able to walk upstairs by herself, Phillips was forced to move in with her grandparents. When she was 21, a heart

“All those medical practitioners looked at my stomach as one little box. I became a symptom, not a person,” Phillips says. “That’s why, anyone with an autoimmune disease will tell you, it can take years to get a proper diagnosis.”

Cannabinoids and Inflammation

attack led her to the first of what she calls “Lyme-liter-

As many as 23.5 million Americans suffer from chronic

ate doctors” (LLMDs), who diagnosed her with postural

autoimmune disease, costing the nation about $100 billion

orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a circulation

every year, according to the National Institutes of Health.

condition, and Lyme carditis, a rare infection caused by

Often described as an attack on the self, autoimmune dis-

Lyme bacteria in the heart tissue. All those years, Phil-

ease is triggered when the body’s immune system mis-

lips had been suffering from undiagnosed Lyme disease.

takes healthy tissues for invaders, goes into overdrive, and

Growing up in the woods of Massachusetts, Phillips had

becomes inflamed. This can manifest as anything from

been constantly drilled to look out for the classic symp-

Lyme disease to lupus, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis,

toms of Lyme disease (named after Old Lyme, Connecticut,

rheumatoid arthritis, or Crohn’s disease—among some 80

where it was discovered), a tick-borne autoimmune illness

to 100 diseases that Health magazine describes as “invissensimag.com AUGUST 2019 33

34 AUGUST 2019 Boston

ible illnesses” because they’re difficult to diagnose. More

mental and emotional state. How can cannabis help them

prevalent among women, autoimmune disease is one of

transition to a space where they feel more compassion for

the top 10 causes of death for females up to 64 years old.

themselves and at peace with how their bodies are?”

Traditional medical treatment for autoimmune diseases is generally heavy on long-term antibiotics, pain-

Opening the Book on the Crazy Stuff

killers, anti-inflammatories, anti-depressants, anti-sei-

Phillips, a Chinese herbal medicine practitioner and

zure drugs, and steroids, which suppress the immune

former wilderness medic, says her Lyme disease diagno-

system and slow down inflammation but are so hard on

sis prompted her to “open the book on all the crazy stuff.”

the body that they can only be taken for a short time.

Cannabis, with its ability to modulate immune and ner-

Functional medicine doctors take a more long-term, ho-

vous system function and decrease inflammation, was

listic approach, addressing diet, lifestyle, and emotional

a natural choice. She began juicing cannabis fan leaves

health in addition to physical symptoms—and more and

after reading about Dr. William Courtney, a California

more often, cannabis is part of the program.

physician who recommends daily consumption of raw cannabis flowers or juiced raw cannabis based on scientific evidence showing raw cannabis could have a reme-

Within weeks of beginning her cannabis treatment, Phillips felt clear-headed for the first time in years.

diating effect on autoimmune disorder.

Within weeks, she felt clear-headed for the first time in years. She moved on to more potent edibles and then concentrates, and with help from cannabis-friendly (or at least tolerant) doctors, she weaned herself off all her medications. In the process, she discovered her life’s mission. “I became a total nerd—I just wanted to know why cannabis was working,” says Phillips. “I have this lifelong, black-hole obsession with learning about cannabis.”

After a stint working with a medical marijuana dis-

Dr. Joseph Cohen, DO, medical director of Journey 2 Life

pensary in Steamboat, Colorado, Phillips returned to

and Holos Health in Boulder, Colorado, says autoimmune

Brookline, Massachusetts, to be with her family and got

diseases are tricky to diagnose because they’re difficult to

involved with the state’s cannabis industry while help-

differentiate and can be triggered by many things, includ-

ing launch a boutique dispensary. She now runs Silk

ing dietary factors (gluten is a massive trigger), environ-

Consulting, which assists Massachusetts cannabis re-

mental toxins, and stress. The key to treating them is to

tail operations with management staffing and employee

remove those triggers and heal the gut, because about 70

training, educational content, creation, and events.

percent of the immune system lies in the gastrointestinal

As part of her work, Phillips speaks to doctor groups at

tract, he says. Cohen is among a growing number of doctors

prestigious hospitals around the state about the benefits

who are finding the immunosuppressive, anti-inflamma-

of cannabis for autoimmune diseases—often because so

tory properties of cannabinoids helpful in treating autoim-

many patients are asking about it. “They’re very accepting,”

mune disease, and often prescribes treatments high in CBD.

she says of the physicians. “But they’re a small number of

“Autoimmune diseases are such a huge collection,”

people, and medication is all they understand. It’s hard for

says Selma Holden, MD, a family physician in southern Maine who integrates mindfulness, yoga, herbs, and other complementary techniques into her clinical rep-

them to quantify something that’s not synthesized.”

Big Pharma Steps In

ertoire. “But one common originator pathway is this pro-

That’s about to change. A handful of reputable, even pres-

cess of inflammation, and the speckled evidence we have

tigious, studies have found cannabinoids helpful in the

in limited clinical trials or pre-clinical animal studies is

treatment of autoimmune diseases, and the medical world

showing that administration of exogenous cannabinoids

is taking note. Cannabinoids have been found to slow de-

does seem to reduce the impacts of inflammation. “

generative effects in multiple sclerosis patients and reduce

Holden is intrigued by the generally accepted description

destructive immune response and inflammation in lupus

of autoimmune disease as the body attacking itself. “The

patients. In 2014, University of South Carolina researchers

question is,” Holden says, “why did the body start attacking

found that THC can affect DNA expression through epigen-

itself in the first place? There’s a piece to explore about their

etic pathways to suppress inflammation. This year, a team sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 35

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Cannabis can help some people transition to a space where they feel more compassionate for themselves—at peace with how their bodies are.

of Israeli researchers found medical cannabis to be “a safe

cannabinoid research and the man who discovered THC

and effective alternative for the treatment of fibromyalgia

and CBD. Feldmann says the company is following “tried-

symptoms” but cautioned, “Standardization of treatment

and-true pathways of developing medications that are

compounds and regimens are required.”

known to work”—namely, FDA approval, which entails ex-

Biopharma companies like Katexco Therapeutics and

tensive research and clinical trials—because that’s what

CannBioRex, which have spent years developing synthetic

the pharmaceutical industry has successfully done for

cannabidiol (CBD) therapeutics to treat inflammation and

six decades to ensure that compounds are safe and effec-

autoimmune disease, have been waiting for this moment.

tive before they’re released to the public.

As the political climate around cannabis relaxes and legal-

“The problem with medical marijuana as it is used

ization leads to greater acceptance, they’re preparing to put

today is that you’re guessing when you buy a product.

their synthetic CBD drugs through clinical trials—which

Many of the products you buy do not have the amount

Katexco CEO Jonathan Rothbard, a former Stanford Univer-

of cannabidiol they say they have,” Feldmann says.

sity professor, says “are the only way to prove the scientific

“That can be solved, but we are also prepared to tackle

viability of cannabinoid treatments to the FDA and the only

the elephant in the room, which is how much cannabi-

path by which medical cannabis will truly evolve.”

diol or other cannabinoid you actually need to get the

Every large pharmaceutical company is taking a good

maximum benefits for what condition. We are going to

look at cannabis, Rothbard told Forbes, and he expects

do proper, lengthy, and expensive clinical trials to make

many of them to launch their own clinical trials involv-

sure we know exactly what is the right amount to give

ing synthetic cannabinoids alongside Katexco, which is

for maximum benefit with minimum side effects for a

developing CBD-based therapies for autoimmune condi-

specific medical problem.”

tions including arthritis, Crohn’s disease, multiple scle-

Holden, for her part, is grateful for the costly and tedious

rosis, and irritable bowel syndrome. “While beverage

work these companies and others—including GW Phar-

and alcohol companies are joining the CBD bandwagon,

maceuticals, which recently released Epidiolex, a syn-

it makes sense that big pharma steps in, too,” he said.

thetic CBD-based seizure medication—are doing to satisfy

CannBioRex Pharma, which is exploring cannabinoid

the medical community’s skepticism about cannabis as

treatments for pain, arthritis, diabetes, and obesity, was

legitimate medicine, but she does not want to see canna-

co-founded by a powerhouse duo in the biopharma world:

bis regulated as a pharmaceutical rather than an herbal

Sir Marc Feldmann, an Oxford University professor who

medicine, because that would restrict people’s access to it.

won a prestigious Lasker Award for developing what is

“What I get worried about,” Holden says, “is when the

currently the best-selling class of drugs, the TNF inhibitors, including the anti-inflammatory drug Remicade; and Raphael Mechoulam, widely regarded as the godfather of

profit interests step in.”

ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE is the author of the bestselling Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook and the newly released Pot in Pans: A History of Eating Weed.

sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 37

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INSTA-G

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GRAMS Elders (and relative elders) wanting to stay relevant had better get Insta-worthy.

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

Facebook turned 15 THIS YEAR AND HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN TAKEN OVER BY

BABY BOOMERS, SINCE GEN YS AND GEN ZS DITCH THEIR PARENTS’ PLATFORM FOR FRESHER, BRIGHTER REALMS LIKE INSTAGRAM AND SNAPCHAT. THE OVER-55 USERS POSTING GRANDKID PICS AND RANTING ABOUT POLITICS ARE FACEBOOK’S SECOND-LARGEST, FASTEST-GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC. Facebook stopped being cool as soon as Mom and Grand-

“When you talk about millennials, you are talking about

ma could—and did—comment on your posts and friend re-

Instagram by default. If you want to reach a young audi-

quest your friends. Worse, they turned it political, which

ence, you have to be on Instagram,” says 54-year-old Zoe He-

means sour, and those negative vibes aren’t what millennials

lene, founder of educational advocacy group Cosmic Sister

like 29-year-old Caitlin Moakley want to see on their phones.

(COSMICSISTER.COM ). Helene contracted Moakley’s compa-

“I don’t find hope on Facebook,” Moakley says. “I find

ny Soil and Spirit (SOILANDSPIRIT.NET ), which helps small

that’s where thoughts go to die. Facebook is kind of like the

businesses in the natural products, cannabis, and psyche-

retirement home for social media.”

delic communities create digital content, to help build an

Instagram, on the other hand—the no-longer-an-upstart platform which Facebook bought when it was a year old in

Instagram presence for Cosmic Sister and one of its major campaigns, #psychedelicfeminism.

2012, let’s not forget—grew from 500 million to 1 billion active

Helene is at the bottom of the wide boomer arc that tops

monthly users last year (one user for every dollar Mark Zuck-

out at 67- and 68-year-olds, and she’s among a first wave

erberg spent to acquire it). That’s still less than half the num-

to see Instagram’s potential for connection, promotion, and

ber of Facebook users, but here’s the big difference: 90 percent

community building. The last couple years have seen the

of Instagram users are younger than 35, according to Brand-

debut of what the New York Times calls the “glamorous

watch. Half of these young consumers follow brands on Ins-

grandmas of Instagram,” stylish elders who are asserting

tagram, where engagement, as measured by likes, shares, and

their presence in part to subvert “shopworn notions of what

comments, is 10 times higher than Facebook, according to

‘old’ looks and feels like.”

Forrester. More than 25 million companies are already building (or attempting to build) loyal followings on the platform.

These women are hip, irreverent, and not afraid to say what’s on their minds. They’re strutting it, winning big, and sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 41

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Learn How to Play

Here are a few things no one tells you about Instagram.

Aside from the technicalities of posting, hashtagging, building audience, knowing who to follow, and creating stories and videos, there’s etiquette to Instagram that boom-

You better be present. One in three Instagram users will go to a competitor if they’re ignored, Sprout Social found.

ers who cut their teeth in the militant, factional Facebook

Quality matters. Your followers expect thoughtful posts. It’s easy to stop following if you waste their time.

ing or commenting on their posts makes you a “ghost fol-

Pace yourself. Don’t post more than every six hours. Experts agree the sweet spot is about one or two posts per day.

comments within the hour—and Instagram will show it to

Tone down the hard sell. Sprout Social found that 57 percent of users unfollow overly promotional brands.

Refresh your bio. It’s the only place you can post a live link; don’t let it get stale. Change it to reflect your current status.

Get good at video. Video generates 1,200 percent more shares than text and images combined.

There are apps for that.

Hootsuite and Buffer let you schedule and distribute content, Pic Stitch edits photos, and Captiona makes great captions. And of course, there are plenty of programs that promise to grow your following.

trenches might not get. Following someone but never liklower.” After you post, you’re expected to reply to people’s more followers if you do (creepy).

Apparently, Big Sista Insta (the no-less-powerful younger sibling of Big Brother Facebook) is always watching. You can make her happy by making use of all she has to offer, creating content for IGTV (an app for watching long-form, vertical video), carefully curating your favorite stories, and engaging your followers via story polls. She doesn’t like it when you edit your post’s caption or location tag in the first 24 hours (no one can say why).

In return, she’ll give you data like you’ve never had it before. For Helene, who sold digital insight tools like the ones available for free with an Instagram business account to Fortune 100 companies for hundreds of thousands of dollars back in the early 1990s, this is nothing short of miraculous. “Instantaneously, I know I have by far the most followers in New York and LA and that 46 percent of them are aged 25 to 34,” she says. “I have a pie chart here that’s

projecting confidence in aging well. Their attitude could per-

changing in real time. When I post a ton of goddess-y stuff,

haps be best summed up by 71-year-old Australian knitwear

my male percentage goes down—and I’m fine with that.

designer Jenny Kee, @JennyKeeoz, who told the Times, “If

Our #MaleAllies are welcome, but I suspect some of those

we are going to be in a nursing home, we’ll be there with our

followers were probably there to pick up chicks anyway.”

marijuana, our health foods, and our great sense of style.”

Big Sista Insta’s Always Watching You

Embrace and Heal Your Inner Dork Instagram is about images and image, curated and fil-

Helene hired Soil and Spirit because she believes that

tered, elegantly presented. It’s one reason we take more

“for older women to work properly on Instagram, they need

pictures every two minutes than we took during the entire

to work with younger women.” She continues to set overall

nineteenth century (according to Fstoppers, a photography

strategy and vision for her feed, but needed someone with

news site) and why we’re willing to fork over four figures for

innate Instagram sensibility and experienced thumbs. “My

a superior camera in our phones. Creating an Insta avatar

millennial thumbs haven’t downloaded yet,” she says.

who stays on brand, only wins, and spreads love to her band

Helene often gets into conversations with fellow boom-

of followers is tempting #goals.

ers about their fear of this youth-oriented platform. “You

Image through collaboration and community—very precise-

can’t ignore it,” she tells them. “That’s a surefire way of be-

ly chosen and developed community—is everything here. It’s

ing perceived as irrelevant.” If they’re feeling intimidated,

not about mutual “friendships” like Facebook. You can follow

she advises, “hire a wicked smart millennial, pay them, re-

and unfollow anyone you like (as long as they have a public ac-

spect them, and respect their knowledge.”

count), and no one has to follow anyone back. You will be judged

Moakley, who has been using social media since she was

by how many followers you have and how many you follow—

in high school and Instagram since college, knows the plat-

and who they are. They’re as much a part of the image you’re

form like her thumbs know the phone in her hand. She finds

building as the content you post. If it sounds a lot like a junior

it intuitive and user-friendly, but she empathizes with old-

high popularity contest, well…you might have to embrace and

er people who haven’t grown up as digital natives. “I mean,

heal your inner dork if you want to play big on Instagram.

cutting and pasting, spacing out your lines,” she says. “Who would have known this stuff? It’s not just laid out for you.”

You build community with hashtags, which were introduced by Twitter but came into their own on Instagram. sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 43

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You can figure out what matters to your audience by checking out what hashtags they use and follow, then you can start interacting with the top tags in your niche to get noticed. Instagram lets you have 30 hashtags on a post and 10 on a story, so you can experiment. As Helene is quick to point out, “It’s all a game.”

“You’re putting forth the highlight reel of your life, and when you tap through your Instagram story or scroll through your Facebook profile at the end of the day, you’re reliving the best moments of it,” Keith Campbell, PhD, author of The Nar-

cissism Epidemic, told Marie Claire. “The stress is stripped down, you’re looking at yourself in the way you want other people to see you, and your brain says, ‘Hey, I had a good day, and I’m a decent person.’”

This isn’t narcissism, says the author of the book on narcissism, but a basic need to find validation to feel good about ourselves. “We’re all existing in a culture that has turned self-worth into a competitive, measurable unit that gets displayed to the world,” Campbell said. “To be successful today, you often have to have your own brand and a network of connections and followers, so of course you’re going to be invested in yourself; of course, you’re going to do what you can for the likes and comments and followers, even if that means having a persona.”

And yet. Campbell and fellow academic Jean Twenge found that narcissistic personality traits have risen as fast as obesity since the 1980s, with a particularly marked spike in women since the turn of the century, according to the Guardian.

In 2017, a LendEDU study crunched the data and declared Instagram users narcissistic attention-seekers in need of constant validation and ego boosts.

Just as you can’t blame the substance for substance abuse, Instagram is not the culprit in our increasingly self-absorbed culture. It is simply a reflection.

We’ve been given this mirror to tweak our images and put our best faces forward, but we’ll inevitably fail if we try to be something we’re not.

“If you’re going to be on Instagram, the most important thing is that you be authentic,” Moakley says. “So much out there is not very authentic right now.”

Authentic, but preferably with sunsets, surfboards, and silhouettes of lithe bodies in bikinis, if you follow the stats on what gets the most likes. If that doesn’t make a lot of sense to you, you’re probably over 50.

ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE is a “relative elder” on Instagram @cannabis_kitchen.

sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 45

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FLOURISH SOFTWARE

Diving into Data AS THE INDUSTRY MATURES, OPERATORS ARE FINDING THAT IT’S TIME TO DITCH THOSE SIMPLE SPREADSHEETS FOR MORE TARGETED DATASETS.

“It’s been a really exciting journey.”

few months, they had their software solution opera-

That’s Colton Griffin talking, the CEO of Flourish Soft-

tional with clients.

ware and a serial entrepreneur developing cannabis

Flourish has grown from that original staff of four to

supply chain and business management enterprise

30 people, staffing up beginning in November 2017,

software for a fast-moving, still-maturing industry.

hiring 10–15 people over the next 6–12 months.

What’s been missing amid the excitement is better

Griffin says that 30 percent of his workforce is distrib-

data analytics, including better access to and better use

uted, working off a networking infrastructure in any of

of the data that most cannabis businesses have in some

a number of cities involved in the cannabis businesses.

form. And that’s where Flourish comes in. “Our back-

Inventory management using simple spreadsheets,

ground is really heavy into business intelligence and big

which is how many early-stage cannabis businesses

data focused on supply chain operations,” Griffin says.

do it, makes it difficult for those companies to instant-

Griffin says that Flourish started out covering the fun-

ly provide any potential investor with information they

damentals of running the business and managing in-

need to do their due diligence on a company’s opera-

ventory. “But we have really captured some rich sets of

tions—or for a company that wants to scale their opera-

data where we can provide actionable insights to help

tions and track the factors that can help them do that.

understand operations,” he says. “We have datasets to

But that’s a problem later down the road.

use from cultivation all the way through retail built into

“Spreadsheets are not built to be the system of re-

our platform, with other capabilities being codified now

cord,” Griffin says. “So that is why you need a compre-

to gather more insight into what the industry needs.

hensive software platform with better structured data,

“Flourish was really borne from interactions with op-

for things like inventory control and production costs

erators in the industry,” Griffin says. “I realized that soft-

that are a lot more straightforward,” he says. “We create

ware and analytics was one of the pain points for these

the path for that.”

operators, and the idea of providing better analytics for them really just clicked.”

Next year, Flourish will be working on retail-driven issues, such as demand planning and forecasting—for

His decision to enter the market was reinforced af-

instance, helping dispensaries inform cultivators about

ter a competitor’s debacle in 2017, where a seed-to-

what strain they should plant based on what their cus-

sale software was repeatedly hacked, causing a panic

tomers want. “You have to have a good dataset to work

through the industry because, at the time, that com-

off of for that sort of forecasting,” Griffin says. “And it

pany was one of the main providers of that service. “We

could be 180 days from planting a plant to having it on

have built our software from the ground up, paying

the shelf, and it has to be orchestrated correctly.”

close attention to best practices for securing our platform,” Griffin says.

He and his core group of four others at Atlanta-based Flourish decided to dive in around May 2017. Within a

For more information, visit:

FLOURISHSOFTWARE.COM

sensimag.com AUGUST 2019 49

{HereWeGo }

by S T E P H A N I E W I L S O N

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN To get to the new Encore Boston Harbor, take the Harbor Shuttle.

With all the fanfare surrounding the opening of Encore Bos-

When you add it all up, it’s clear no expense was spared. And

ton Harbor last month, you no doubt heard about the high-roll-

the price tags of services, meals, and experiences throughout

er price tag associated with the development—part of the oh-

reflect that at almost every turn. But even if you’re not par-

so-haute Wynn Resorts family. Let’s run some numbers, shall

ticularly flushed with cash to lose this summer, you should

we? It’s a $2.6 billion development on 33 acres packed with a

still take some time to check it out. And you should take the

whole lot of wow, starting with the 210,000-square-foot ca-

Harbor Shuttle to get there. With an introductory price of just

sino. That’s more gaming space than the Wynn Las Vegas and

$7, the ride won’t break any bank. The shuttles stop at docks

Encore Las Vegas combined. For local comparison, Mohegan

at World Trade Center in the Seaport, Long Wharf North in

Sun is 364,000 square feet; Foxwoods—once the largest in

downtown, and Encore Boston Harbor, with service running

the world—comes in at 900,000.

every 20 to 30 minutes.

There are 15 dining and lounge venues, a 26,000-square-

First come, first serve,

foot spa and fitness facility—one of the largest in New En-

and a great way to ex-

gland—and stunning artwork at every turn. Modern, contem-

perience the Everett

porary, and pop-culture art, in fact, including the whimsical

shoreline, cleaned up

six-foot-five, 2,000 lb Popeye sculpture by Jeff Koons, which

for the first time in more

Steve Wynn reportedly purchased for a whopping $28 million.

than a century.

50 AUGUST 2019 Boston