Sensi Magazine—Denver/Boulder (Summer 2020) by Sensi Magazine

INNER ARTIST Classes to expand your imagination at home

MADE FOR BLISS

I DENVER/BOULDER S U M M E R 2020

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DENVER / BOULDER SENSI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2020

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F E AT U R E S

Body Made for Bliss

Did you know you have an endocannabinoid system? You do. So why haven’t you heard about it?

64 Holy Smokes

For many, elevation leads to enlightenment.

Remedy for a Dream Is THC inhibiting our ability to dream at night?

80 Not on the Calendar Free ways to exercise your imagination during the dog days of summer

ON THE COVER

Just because we’re stuck in the house doesn’t mean we have to be stuck in our minds. PHOTO BY ZINKEVYCH, ADOBE STOCK

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PUBLISHING

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C O R P O R AT E A DV I S O RY B OA R D Dave Tran Business Development Douglas McKinnon Finance Charles Gillespie Technology Chuck Arnold Investor Relations 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

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C ont inued D E PA R T M E N T S

13 EDITOR’S NOTE 16 THE BUZZ

News, tips, and tidbits to keep you in the loop CENTENNIEL CELEBRATION An ode to 100 years of

women’s suffrage

GROWING POPULARITY Why houseplant sales have spiked across the US FARMERS MARKETS Your summer shopping list STORY xxxx

28 THE LIFE

Contributing to your health and happiness LET’S NOT MEAT Confessions of a carnivore STATE OF THE BEES How to keep local hives thriving THE COLOR OF THE LAW What does cannabis legislation

have to do with racism? HOROSCOPE What the stars hold for you PERSPECTIVE Things could literally always be worse. DIGITAL DETOX Unplugging in the name of self-care

88 THE SCENE

Hot happenings and hip hangouts around town MIXED DIETS A gluten-free recipe everyone will like TASTE BUDS A local food critic faces his fears and

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tries the most popular meatless burgers UPCYCLED CUISINE Coloradan restaurants that are transforming food waste in good taste DIY (WITH HELP) Take classes that teach you to make all kinds of cool stuff just because you can. RECIPE A fresh take on fish comes from Fruition.

136 THE END A poet and climate change activist reflects on the power of making a difference.

S U M M E R 2020

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A DV I S O RY B OA R D

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1906 New Highs Chocolate Agricor Laboratories Testing Lab Aspen Cannabis Insurance Insurance Services Buscher Law, LLC Cannabis Law Canyon Cultivation Microdosing Cartology Corporation Cartridge Filling Equipment & Hardware Colorado Cannabis Company THC Coffee Concentrate Supply Co. Recreational Concentrates CRATIV Engineered Packaging Packaging Emerald Construction Construction Evolve Formulas Transdermal General Cannabis Consulting Genesee Sports Nutrition GoFire Dose Control Green Edge Trimmers Trimming Greenhouse Payment Solutions Payment Processing Higher Grade Boutique Cannabis Hybrid Payroll Staffing and HR Benefits Incredibles Wellness Jupiter Research Inhalation Hardware Lab Society Extraction Expert and Lab Supplies Llamaste Yoga

Lucid Mood Designer Highs LUXX Retreat Lodging marQaha Sublinguals and Beverages Monte Fiore Farms Recreational Cultivation Mountain High Suckers CBD Edibles Mustache Dabs Rosin Press Next Frontier Biosciences Biosciences Northern Standard History of Cannabis ONIT Sciences Cannabis Investments PotGuide Travel/Tourism RiNo Supply Company Cannabis Culture Sharp Solutions Transportation Smokineer Outdoor Smoking Gear Source Colorado Wholesale Consulting Steve’s Goods CBG Products Terrapin Care Station Recreational Dispensary Toast Mindful Consumption TruSolis Technologies Commercial Lighting ULEVA Hemp Products Wana Brands Edibles Witlon Inc. Payroll Processing You Deserve a Massage Vibroacoustic Sound Lounge

Stephanie Wilson Co-Founder + Editor in Chief stephanie.wilson@sensimag.com Doug Schnitzspahn Executive Editor doug.schnitzspahn@sensimag.com Robyn Griggs Lawrence Editor at Large Leland Rucker Senior Editor John Lehndorff Dining Editor Helen Olsson Copy Chief Melissa Howsam Senior Copy Editor Meryl Howsam, Bevin Wallace Copy Editors Names Contributing Writers MANAGING EDITORS

Sat Panesar Coachella Valley, California Dawn Garcia Los Angeles, California Dawn Garcia Orange County, California Dawn Garcia San Diego, California Nora Mounce Emerald Triangle, California Nora Mounce North Bay, California Debbie Hall Las Vegas, Nevada Aaron Bible Detroit, Michigan Rodney Burell Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Jenny Wilden Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Eric Hoppes Tampa, Florida DESIGN Jamie Ezra Mark Creative Director jamie@emagency.com Rheya Tanner Art Director Wendy Mak Designer Josh Clark Designer Kiara Lopez Designer Jason Jones Designer V I D E O Jeremy Pape Head of Production John Gray Production Videographer PRODUCTION Amber Orvik Administrative Director amber.orvik@sensimag.com Neil Willis Production Manager Hector Irizarry Head of Distribution

EDITOR’S NOTE

“The new normal” is the tagline we at Sensi

have been using since our inception; it appeared on every cover prior to our redesign in December 2019—roughly 200 magazines emblazoned with the phrase. We used it to highlight cannabis’s transition into the mainstream, and during the early days of COVID-19, we watched it become the official catchphrase of the pandemic. “The New Normal.” How else could you describe it? With that, I welcome you to Sensi’s new new normal, which looks a great deal different than some five months and a lifetime ago. Way back then, we were printing local magazines in 14 markets across the country, with a 15th (Metro Maryland) slated to launch April. Our creative team was in the midst of sending those editions to print when COVID-19 started to pick up steam. After some hard conversations with our leadership team, we made the call to hit pause for a variety of reasons, namely that our points of distribution were not going to be distributing during a global pandemic. We were optimistic that we’d be back by June. Then we thought we’d return in July. I’m writing this on August 7 as those refreshed April editions work their way to being published in the next few days, if all goes as planned. Little these days is going as planned, for better and for worse. But if there’s a silver lining to this chaos, it may be that it’s forced us to slow down and examine our lives— to really consider the why and how behind it. It provided a chance to stop the constant doing and start thinking about whether those are the right goals to be aiming for at all. It allowed us to examine our business piece by piece, strip down to the basics and rebuild using the lessons we stumbled our way through. We’re guided by one mission: to serve our readers and communities by focusing on connection—to information, to each other, to businesses and brands that meet your needs. That’s why, for the first time in Sensi’s history, we won’t be printing magazines. Going all-digital this month helps us increase our reach without compromising the quality our readers expect. We hope to return to print in the not-too-distant future—perhaps no one more than me. I believe in the power of print. But I also believe in evolution, and the way people consume information is changing. By limiting ourselves to print, we were limiting our impact. But now, with a fresh digital strategy that entails both dynamic local content as well as fully designed digital magazines created by the award-winning team at Em Agency, we’ve got the best of both worlds, and I’m excited to introduce you to the first phase of Sensi’s new digital universe. We’re almost ready to take the scaffolding off Phase 2, so be sure to check back and see what we’ve got planned in order to continue to bring our new normal into the new-new normal of the world. Thank you for being here with us as we rebuild—better than we were before.

Stephanie Wilson @stephwilll S U M M E R 2020

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Want a sample of our work? You’re reading it. Em Agency is proud to be the creative force behind Sensi’s award-winning visual style. We build brands we believe in—the brand you believe in can be next. emagency.com

—Nineteenth Amendment of the US Constitution

DENVER/BOULDER

all yet had been omitted from the political process. Also obvious: the best way to celebrate this centennial, regardless of gender, is to exercise your right to influence politics by casting a ballot in November in what will be This month marks the 100th anniversary one of the most important elections of women gaining the right to vote. of our lifetimes. Check your voter registration status now—right now. On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amend- ultimately effective, and—imporGo on, we’ll wait, it takes a minute tantly—nonviolent Civil Rights and ment was ratified into law after a on usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration. anti-war movements. long, arduous battle led by some Then text that web address to your To this day, the only right women incredibly badass women who came friends, post it on your socials, to embrace the denigrating “suffrag- are guaranteed equally under the US ette” nickname bestowed upon them Constitution is the right to vote. In fact, share it so much it gets redundant. Volunteer for voter registration by men aghast at the idea of women women were not even included in the participating in the political process. Constitution until the 19th Amendment. drives. Help get people to the polls. Be vocal and denounce any false The ratification of that equalThe suffragettes and their male rights amendment led to the largest statements about voter fraud assocounterparts, collectively known as suffragists (aka people who advocate single one-day increase of potential ciated with mail-in ballots. And then vote like your life depends upon it. for the extension of the right to vote, voters in the history of the United States. Which, duh, obviously: wom- Because this time, more so than ever especially to women), crafted a poen make up half the population and before, lives do depend on it. litical movement that was powerful, SUMMER 2020

ILLUSTRATION BY MARY LONG, ADOBE STOCK / CONSTITUTION IMAGE BY ANDREA IZZOTTI, ADOBE STOCK

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Celebrating a Big Win

C O N T R I B U TO R S

Sensi Editors

Olympic City Crown Jewel

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum in downtown Colorado Springs wins on every level. Condé Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, and the New York Times have all heralded the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum (usopm.org)—which opened in Olympic City USA (southwest downtown Colorado Springs) July 31—as a destination worth planning a trip around. No matter what happens to tourism in Colorado and the world moving forward, that’s something of which to be proud. The 60,000-square-foot museum clad with custom diamond-shaped aluminum panels is one of the most accessible and interactive museums in the nation with its inclusive design and assistive technologies. Interactive exhibits include a simulator room where you can try sports like alpine skiing, hockey, and archery; and exhibits include an extensive medal and torch collection, and the final scoreboard from the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.” More than anything, the museum is dedicated to telling Olympic and Paralympic athletes’ stories through artifacts, media, and technology by focusing on core values of friendship, respect, excellence, determination, equality, inspiration, and courage. We could all use that at this time.

BY THE NUMBERS

39K JOBS

Estimated number of jobs created in Colorado by the cannabis industry in 2019. SOURCE: New Frontier Data

1.54

Rate at which blacks are more likely to be arrested for cannabis than whites in Colorado, the lowest rate of any state SOURCE: New Frontier Data

500K HOURS

Amount of time Colorado search and rescue volunteers spend responding to about 3,600 calls annually SOURCE: Colorado Sun

125 MILES Stretch of bike lanes Denver will build by 2023

SOURCE: Department of Transportation & Infrastructure

Only Plants Understand

Houseplant sales are on the rise, and researchers believe millennials are to thank for the recent boom in the bloom economy. It’s 18- to 34-year-olds who now occupy 29 percent of all gardening households, according to the annual National Gardening Survey. One theory about all of the houseplant hype is that it’s a new form of self-care. Tending to plants helps those who live in urban jungles or those who are overwhelmed with technology to feel more connected to nature. In the age of social media, millennials are said to have surpassed Generation X and baby boomers as the loneliest generation, according to a poll by YouGov. Owning a plant gives people an opportunity to nurture, providing a sense of fulfillment and purpose without the extra costs of caring for a pet. There could also be new additions to the plant culture craze with cannabis plants. According to the National Gardening Survey, 33 million households (27 percent) say it should be legal to grow for personal use, and 19 million households (15 percent) say they would grow cannabis if it were legal to do so. As the trend continues to grow, perhaps the use of having indoor plants to help boost wellness won’t just be a short-lived fad, but, rather, a new lifestyle for those dealing with stress and anxiety. S U M M E R 2020

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THE BUZZ

BILITIES BY STEPHANIE WILSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF

1 IN CASE YOU MISSED THE IRONY of all the Great Gatsbythemed New Year’s Eve parties thrown to welcome in the second coming of the Roaring 20s, let me remind you how that decade ended: not much worse than this one is starting.

2 IN CASE YOU NEED A REMINDER: whatever you’re feeling is valid. There is no right or wrong way to process what we’re going through right now. There is a right way to interact with others right now, though: with care, through a mask, and from a distance.

3 IN CASE YOU’RE FEELING LIKE GOING OUT in public without a mask: stop watching Fox News, you’re being brainwashed. Be a good human, you’re better than that.

4 IN CASE YOU NEED A PICK-ME-UP: pick up a bouquet of blooms the next time you’re at the grocery store. Yes, funds are tight and flowers may seem like a frivolous purchase, but a $6 bouquet can brighten up rooms and moods alike. A 2018 study from the University of North Florida’s Department of Public Health finds that living with flowers “significantly alleviates daily stresses.” And we’re all a little bit stressed right now. Or we’re in denial, which is a stressful state to be in. Flowers will help. Pro tip: for the best flowers at the lowest prices, look for wholesale florists open to the public in your area.

Up for the Count

US Census Bureau questionnaires are online for the first time, making it easier than ever to respond. Here’s something to do while you’re still social distancing: Fill out your US Census Bureau questionnaire. It matters. By now, you should have received instructions for how to respond to the Census online (for the first time ever) or over the phone. This will be followed up by an oldschool paper questionnaire if you haven’t responded. Why does it matter? Some $675 billion in federal funds and grants for schools, hospitals, roads, and other public works, as well as congressional and state legislative district boundaries are up for grabs. Following a US Constitution mandate, the United States has been counting its citizens every 10 years since 1790. 2020census.gov

VECTOR BY NAKIGITSUNE SAMA, ADOBE STOCK

5 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Denver’s mayor reversed his decision to leave recreational cannabis dispensaries and liquor stores off the list of essential businesses just three hours after the city’s stay-athome order was issued in March. Denverites were clear: flowers— the kind ones with THC—are definitely essential.

BASED ON THE REACTION TO THE MASK MANDATE, IF GOVERNOR POLIS ISSUES A STATEWIDE FIRE BAN, SOME PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SET THEMSELVES ABLAZE.” —@kyleclark, Aug. 13

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THE BUZZ

Great Sand Dunes National Park

PHOTO BY PATRICK MYERS

The Stars Are Still On Everything else may be off, but the heavens are still delivering—and Colorado, with its high elevation and low humidity, is home to several of the best stargazing spots on this planet. Running out of ways to amuse yourself? This is tough. But this is Colorado, where Mother Nature offers plenty of entertainment that doesn’t require congregation. We have unparalleled views of night skies, for one thing. Experience the Night (colorado.com/ coloradostargazing) connects several locations across the state known for their incredible stargazing opportunities. The end of summer just may be the perfect time to go camping and check them out.

Lake City The only town in the most remote county in the lower 48 Creede Historic mining town surrounded by sheer cliffs Great Sand Dunes National Park Dry air, little light pollution, and high elevation Crestone Spectacular views from Valley View and Joyful Journey hot springs La Veta Rural town at the base of the Spanish Peaks Westcliffe and Silver Cliff Colorado’s first designated International Dark Sky Community Cuchara Charming mountain village on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristos

“KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE STARS AND YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND.” —Theodore Roosevelt, former president

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SUMMER 2020

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THE BUZZ

SOCIAL STUDIES

The more you know, the more you grow. HASHTAG HAPPY

Natural Connection

PHOTOS (FROM LEFT): BY VINE RAMAZANI, UNSPLASH / MANA5280, UNSPLASH

For a study published in Scientific Reports on 5 March 2020, a research team at the National University of Singapore analyzed over 31,500 photographs across 185 countries uploaded on social media with the help of automated image recognition technology. The analysis revealed that shots tagged #fun, #vacation, and #honeymoon are more likely to contain elements of nature such as plants, water, and natural landscape compared to #daily #routines. Consistent across countries, the finding provides global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis—human’s innate tendency to seek connection with nature.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Junk Your Junk Food Researchers from the American College of Cardiology tracking 2,000 Greek adults over a 10-year period suggests that people following a plant-based diet who frequently consumed sweets, refined grains, and juice showed no heart health benefit compared to those who did not eat a plantbased diet. S U M M E R 2020

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THE BUZZ

DO IT ANYWAY

Be Grateful for Science Go ahead and be grateful for the good things in your life. Just don't think that a gratitude journal will help you feel less depressed or anxious. In a new study, researchers at The Ohio State University analyzed results from 27 separate studies that examined the effectiveness of gratitude interventions (i.e. listing three things, you’re grateful for every morning, or writing a letter to someone who made a difference in your life) on reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. The results showed that such interventions had limited benefits at best. "For years now, we have heard in the media and elsewhere about how finding ways to increase gratitude can help make us happier and healthier in so many ways," said David Cregg, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in psychology at Ohio State. “But when it comes to one supposed benefit of these interventions—helping with symptoms of anxiety and depression—they really seem to have limited value.”

PHOTOS (FROM TOP): BY MANA5280, UNSPLASH / LEIO MCLAREN, UNSPLASH

CLOSE CALL

Better Together Loneliness is bad for your health, that’s not new news. But psychologists at the University of Edinburgh found that emotionally resilient people— those more able to adapt in stressful situations— are 60 percent less likely to be lonely, regardless of age. Social isolation was not significantly associated with loneliness for people under 70. The caveat: the study was conducted before “social distancing” entered the lexicon. That said, the researchers examined data from more than 4,000 people and found that extroverted middle-age folks are on average 55 percent less likely to be lonely than introverted types, and people in their 70s who live alone are over four times more likely to feel lonely than those who don’t.

“Let us not let the world be defined by the destruction wrought by one virus, but illuminated by billions of hearts and minds working in unity.” —Pardis Sabeti, Iranian scientist

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CONTAINS MARIJUANA KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN

Confessions of a Carnivore A former meat eater goes lean and green.

PHOTO CREDIT

TEXT DAWN GARCIA

DENVER/BOULDER

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PHOTO BY JOEL CLAYTON

I’ve been eating meat since I was a toddler. Burgers, steaks, Chef Boyardee, Hamburger Helper, tuna melts, meatloaf, pork loin, bacon, ham, turkey, chicken, spaghetti bolognese, carne asada, shrimp, chorizo, and hot dogs. It’s safe to say I consumed full farms over the span of my youth. We didn’t have a lot of money, and there were a lot of mouths to feed. Growing up in the ’80s, we ate Wonder Bread, canned and frozen goods, and processed foods because they were cheaper. Middle-class families like us did the best we could to keep us all fed and not go broke. Eating fresh foods or vegetarian fare never occurred to my parents—or me—until much later. I went to Saugus High, where my preference of school cafeteria food consisted of nachos, fries, or grilled cheese sandwiches. But that’s also when I began taking an environmental studies class with Mr. Olsen. The course was experimental for the state and would focus on environmental issues, including how meat and dairy are produced. A video that showed how cows are butchered did it for me, and a vegetarian I gladly became. For about three

years. Until the smell of a steak and A1 sauce wafted through the air at a boyfriend’s house. His dad was barbecuing filet mignon and New York strip, and I caved—hook, line, and sinker. One bite into that succulent red meat and I was officially off the vegetarian bandwagon. Fast forward a decade. As an independent young woman living on my own in Los Angeles, I went grocery shopping at health food stores and went to the gym faithfully four days a week. My lifestyle habits started to change considerably. Something about the produce section was endearing to me; all the colors and variety of fruits and vegetables lured me like a chef to a global spice market. I started experimenting with healthier meats like poultry and seafood until eventually, I was gorging on salads, freshcut carrots, and jicama. I really loved eating smart. It left me feeling abundant in energy. Five years later and officially entering into my 30s, pregnant and thinking very differently about food and how it’s produced, I cut out poultry. The thought of handling raw meat while a baby grew inside my belly was massive-

You don’t have to cut out all meats and fish to do something good for our earth. Choosing to cut back on your weekly consumption can make an enormous difference.

ly unappealing. When my daughter was born, eating clean and healthy was the only option. I had to be in perfect health to be the best mother to her. I am fortunate to have eaten some of the most exquisite food in the world prepared by some of the greatest chefs alive, but I also love to cook at home and prepare food for my daughter and myself. That’s part of single parenting: making smart eating choices and adopting a healthy lifestyle indefinitely. In doing so, I’ve researched so many things about food, including how eating certain foods impacts the environment. That has led me to the past five months of transitioning to eating a plant-based diet. I live in Southern California, and while being vegan is what the cool kids do, I’ve made the choice to eat that way because it’s one meaningful thing I can do to positively affect the environment. According to an article in National Geographic, “producing beef uses 20 times the land and emits 20 times the emissions as growing beans, per gram of protein, and requires more than 10 times more resources than producing chicken.” And the blog Green S U M M E R 2020

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Taste the Difference STOP BY LIGHTSHADE AND CHECK OUT OUR EXTENSIVE SELECTION OF FLOWER, EDIBLES, TOPICALS, TINCTURES AND VAPES TO ELEVATE YOUR SPRING ADVENTURES.

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PHOTO BY TYLER KAHILL

THE LIFE

Eatz reports that livestock farming produces from 20 to 50 percent of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions. With brands like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat making waves in the mainstream burger marketplace, there are smart alternatives that use less water and gas emissions than traditional meat production, lending to a happier planet and a healthier you. Getting down to the nitty-gritty of it, I simply love this planet. I love that we live in a world where oceans and forests, deserts and lakes all coexist in harmony. Yet we humans tend to overuse far too much of our natural resources. All of this is to say, you don’t have to cut

out all meats and fish to do something good for our earth. Choosing to cut back on your weekly consumption can make an enormous difference (see Footprints by Diet Type chart below). Eating meats that are grass-fed or seafood that is sustainably sourced ensures your personal choices make an impact. Making small changes in your everyday life isn’t as difficult as it sounds, and in today’s foodie-centric world, the plant-based choices of truly good tasting alternatives are plentiful. Thanks to companies using nuts instead of dairy (Violife, Lisanatti Foods, Miyoko’s), or jackfruit instead of meat (The Jackfruit Company, No Evil Foods), or grocers

such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Bristol Farms, and even Vons and Ralphs, there’s no shortage of places to buy smarter meat alternatives. While I do crave a grass-fed cut of filet mignon grilled perfectly medium rare or my utter indulgence, foie gras, making the transition

to a plant-based diet has changed how I feel mentally and physically. My once frequent headaches are nonexistent (unless I don’t sleep, but that’s an article in and of itself), my joints and bones hurt much less, I no longer have swelling or stomachaches, and I have more clarity and energy than ever before. Going vegan isn’t for everyone, and that’s totally okay. Making subtle changes in how you eat and what you eat, however, can mean a world of difference—including improving the health of the current planet we reside on. This month, take the challenge to eat more greens and beans and less processed foods, meats, and dairy-based cheeses. See how you feel, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll not only lower your carbon footprint, you may actually enjoy eating a little smarter.

FOOD FOOTPRINT A meat lover has the highest carbon footprint at 3.3 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. SOURCE: Shrink That Footprint

Note: All estimates based on average food production emissions for the US. Footprints include emissions from supply chain losses, consumer waste and consumption. Each of the four example diets is based on 2,600 kcal of food consumed per day, which in the US equates to around 3,900 kcal of supplied food.

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THE LIFE

State of the Bees How to help our honeybees survive. TEXT ELIZABETH ARCHER

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“How are the bees?” It’s a common refrain we hear as beekeepers. People are genuinely concerned, not just because they love honey, but because they understand the local and global impact of a decimated pollinator population. The answer is ... not great. Average honeybee

colony losses now range from 40 to 60 percent each year, which means that for every 100 hives, 40 to 60 are expected to die. This is a far cry from the 10–20 percent hive loss beekeepers used to expect. Many people don’t realize that honeybees are livestock: Commercial beekeepers breed new

PHOTO BY SUSHAAA / ADOBE STOCK

N AT U R E

THE LIFE

PHOTO BY BIGBLUESTUDIO / ADOBE STOCK

N AT U R E

bees every year to replace bee, tiny sweat bee, and the lost populations. It’s all the bees in between, expensive, so beekeepplus moths, butterflies ers have to find ways to and bats. These pollinafinance replacing half our tors aren’t commercially hives annually. But for valuable, so they don’t non-beekeepers, the good get the same attention news is that the honeyin the media. But rebee will never go extinct. search shows that all The same can’t be said pollinators are sufferfor other pollinators ing the same population like the mighty bumble- losses as honeybees.

HOW TO HELP Buy local honey. The absolute best way to support your local beekeeper is to buy their honey. Will it be more expensive than what you’d find at Safeway or Costco? Undoubtedly. But the extra expense is worth it, not only to support a local business, but for your own health. Local honey is typically raw and unfiltered, which means you’ll get all the antibacterial, antimicrobial, and allergy-fighting benefits honey has to offer. Grocery store honey is almost never raw and is often adulterated with cheap syrup—it’s cheap for a reason. Plant seeds and flowers not treated with pesticides. Many seeds and flowers are treated with neonicotinoid pesticides, which you’d never know because it’s not disclosed on the label. This class of pesticide is incredibly harmful to pollinators. A foolproof way to ensure your flowers are helping the pollinator population is to buy organic seeds and starts. It’s also ideal to go to a local nursery where they are likely to know if and how suppliers use pesticides and can help you pick plants that pollinators will love. Let part of your yard grow wild. Most

The good news is that the honeybee will never go extinct. The same can’t be said for other pollinators like the mighty bumblebee, tiny sweat bee, and all the bees in between.

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THE LIFE

PHOTO BY RAMUND88 / ADOBE STOCK

N AT U R E

non-honeybee pollinators know this—bees love star they often drown). Help are solitary, and lots of thistle. It offers critical them out by providing them make their homes late-season forage and clean water with safe in or near the ground. By makes delicious honey. places to land. Bird founleaving part of your yard Other bee-friendly flowtains with rocks protruduntended, you’re creating ers that grow in untended ing above the surface habitat. Another option places include blackberry, work well, but anything is to mow less frequently, mustard, and vetch. that holds water will do! giving bees time to enjoy Create a bee-friendly Many ways exist to all the clover that pops watering hole. Pollinaimprove the plight of polup. If you have a larger, tors need water and will linators. Organizations unirrigated area like a drink it wherever they like Pollinator Pathway, field, you are probably fa- can find it, including Pollinator Partnership, miliar with the much-ma- from sources that arand others are working to ligned star thistle. But for en’t good for them, like create habitat and reduce all the haters out there, chlorinated pools (where the threats pollinators

face. In California’s Central Valley, almond growers are partnering with government and private agencies to plant hedgerows with early-blooming varietals to give the bees a boost before the almond bloom every February. The impact of climate change on bees is dire, but you can do your part by being a little lazy with the lawn mower and eating as much local honey as your heart desires.

Be Safe Neighborhood: Lakewood Living Systems Institute and the Peoples Bees are sponsoring the “Bee Safe Neighborhoods” campaign to create living spaces where honey bees and other pollinators can propagate without the effects of toxic chemicals. The program aims to eliminate the use of neonic and systemic pesticides. Neighbors sign a pledge to create environments that are safe for bees and other pollinators. The pledge is, first, not to use insecticide products that contain neonicotinoids or systemics, and then optionally, to also plant bee-friendly plants. Bee Safe neighborhoods provide: • A safety zone for pollinators to collect pollen without being poisoned. • A cleaner, healthier and more biologically diverse environment without toxins. • A community of neighbors who are working together to improve the places where they live. • The personal satisfaction of knowing that we are helping to preserve the pollinators. If your neighborhood isn’t participating in the program, head to the Living Systems Institute website and inquire. S U M M E R 2020

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THE LIFE JUSTICE

What Does Cannabis Law Have to Do with Racism? The story of cannabis law in America is one of injustice, with people of color bearing the brunt of a system weighted against them. TEXT ANDREW DEANGELO OPENING IMAGE RAWPIXEL.COM, ADOBE STOCK

As with many things in America, the cannabis experience for white people has been different from the cannabis experience for people of color. White citizens have used and traded cannabis at nearly the same rates as Black and Brown people, but Black and Brown people have been arrested nearly four times as often. In most cases, people of color have done jail time while people like me were able to grow wealth in the cannabis industry—both underground and, more recently, legally. There is no doubt that the color 40

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of my skin has given me untold advantages others do not enjoy. The racist history of federal cannabis prohibition in the United States is the subject of Fab 5 Freddy’s Netflix documentary masterpiece Grass Is Greener. With his cast of musical icons, the filmmaker exposes the story of how mid-level bureaucrat Harry J. Anslinger ascended to be the nation’s first drug czar on the backs of Black jazz musicians and Brown citizens, a tale both shocking and unsurprising for 1930s America.

For 30 years Anslinger promoted racist propaganda and policy that resulted in much higher rates of drug-related arrests and imprisonment for people of color. Then in 1970 President Richard Nixon, another racist in a position of great power, launched the Controlled Substances Act, famously classifying cannabis as a Schedule I drug so he could go after his two biggest enemies, Blacks and hippies, and the DEA was born. Old Anslinger even came out of retirement for the ceremony. “It was never about the cannabis,” Freddy

THE LIFE JUSTICE

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THE LIFE

M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N

PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE WILSON

Read the full article on Playboy www.playboy.com/read/the-dopetutor-answers-what-does-weedlaw-have-to-do-with-racism

tells me, “but about the people who were using it, plain and simple.” Cannabis prohibition was really just a war on people of color, another way to rob them of opportunity and justice. Ronald Reagan rode a wave of conservative promises to the White House in 1980. With the launch of the “Just Say No” campaign promoted by First Lady Nancy Reagan, mandatory minimums and racial sentencing disparities proliferated. Widespread workplace urinalysis testing arose in the 1980s, further putting pressure on communities of color as jobs were lost, income obliterated and children removed from families due to a failed drug test or a weed possession charge. As funding for the drug war skyrocketed, even public schools began to embed police

JUSTICE

“The fight is trying to clean the American house of this evil infection called racism that is the root cause of everything from drug wars to lack of ownership in the legal cannabis industry, or any other industry.” —Fab 5 Freddy, director of Grass is Greener

and practice urinalysis screening. The so-called school-to-prison pipeline that haunts some Black and Brown communities to this day is due in large part to the unjust cannabis policies and over-policing that targeted those communities. So how do we right these wrongs now? “The fight is trying to clean the American house of this evil infection called racism that is the root cause of everything from drug wars to a lack of ownership in the legal cannabis industry, or any other industry,” says Freddy. Today, Black Americans own just 4 percent of the legal cannabis industry, while whites own 81 percent. Those in the cannabis business have a moral obligation to commit to social equity (not least because that aligns with the values the plant

teaches us). Given the gross injustices of the past, Black and Brown people must be empowered in the legal cannabis industry to have ownership, equity and wealth created for and by themselves. This is the true promise of cannabis law reform. Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, put it simply in Grass Is Greener: “The solution has to be more comprehensive than the damage that has been done.” Most importantly, social equity represents a sacred promise that our industry must keep to right the wrongs of the past and begin to heal the inequities that permeate our society. That promise cannot be kept until more people of color attain positions of power and ownership in the legal cannabis industry.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew DeAngelo is the cofounder of the Last Prisoner Project. This article is the first installment of DeAngelo’s new Dope Tutor column for playboy.com, an early advocate for cannabis rights

BELOW: Protestors march in downtown Denver on June 4, 2020, in response to the killing of George Floyd.

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THE LIFE

A B O U T T H E AU T H O R

Mona Van Joseph has been an intuitive since 2002. She is an author, columnist, and host of Psychic View Radio. She created dicewisdom.com, which also has a smartphone app. mona.vegas

HOROSCOPE

AUGUST HOROSCOPE What do the stars hold for you? TEXT MONA VAN JOSEPH

laxing into the feminine viLEO bration) will benefit you in Stress is caused by your ex- many ways. Allow yourself pectations of other people to be recognized for your this month. If you just accept uniqueness. the fact that you’ll have to do all the work without resent- OCT. 23–NOV. 21 ing or expecting anything, SCORPIO everything will be fine. No other sign has the ability to get as deep into a soul AUG. 23–SEPT. 22 like you. You will experience VIRGO some epiphany-like insights No coasting, you will miss this month. The most draout on a major opportunity. matic of which will be your Follow up with anything that intimate connection to the secures your future comknowledge of the Universe. fort. Awareness to detail will avoid any misunderstandNOV. 22–DEC. 21 ings with those who will con- SAGITTARIUS tribute to your success. You’ve been working hard and feeling unappreciated. The isSEPT. 23–OCT. 22 sue is not the work you’re proLIBRA ducing; it’s that your heart is Be prepared to get attention not in it. That’s why you’re not from people you don’t know getting the acclaim and recnow. The vibration of conognition you want. It’s not the necting with women (and replace; it’s you. JULY 23–AUG. 22

DEC. 22–JAN. 19

CAPRICORN

August calls for joyful seriousness of the things important to you. It doesn’t matter if you’re building tables for squirrels or changing the world. A casual awareness for your love of life draws more loving. JAN. 20–FEB. 18

AQUARIUS

A happy did-the-work breakthrough month for you! That project or idea is ready to go full fledge out there right now. What’s so cool is that you get to do this in a relaxed, “I know it’ll be fabulous” vibration…and it will! FEB. 19–MARCH 20

PISCES

So last month was sort of sucky because you had to resolve to honor your worth

LEO, IF YOU JUST ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU’LL HAVE TO DO ALL THE WORK WITHOUT RESENTING OR EXPECTING ANYTHING, EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE.

and dump what wasn’t working. A sign from the Universe this month validates why you had to set this new standard.

thing. The Universe is speaking to you. MAY 21–JUNE 20

GEMINI

Do not allow yourself to MARCH 21–APRIL 19 be short-changed, comproARIES mised, or cheapened. Stay Be aware that you are always strong in your worth and connected to spiritual purauthenticity. The right oppose and guidance. Take noth- portunity is about to presing for granted and be delight- ent itself. fully ready when coincidence JUNE 21–JULY 22 prompts you to action.

CANCER

APRIL 20–MAY 20

TAURUS

As soon as you relax into your direct connection with Spirit, everything shifts for you. You do not need (or want) to do things the way anyone else does some-

This is not an action month. What is meant for you will just come to you. No chasing after what you want. It’s a time of concentrating on what brings you a sense of peace, harmony, and contentment.

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THE LIFE PERSPECTIVE

The Seduction of Whine We actually dodged a bullet in August 2019. TEXT MONA VAN JOSEPH

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An asteroid named Asteroid 2019 OK, the size of a football field, whizzed past earth on Aug. 25, 2019. Traveling at about 54,000 miles per hour, it came into the astronomersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; radar just in time to witness its trajectory. If it had hit land, it would have destroyed the point

where it hit [any cities and towns in its path for miles] and killed millions of people. If it had landed in an ocean, it would have caused devastating tsunamis. It missed the planet earth by 45,000 miles. This was an event that was totally out of our control. However, com-

THE LIFE

A B O U T T H E AU T H O R

Mona Van Joseph has been an intuitive since 2002. She is an author, columnist, and host of Psychic View Radio. Radio. She created dicewisdom.com,, which also has a smartdicewisdom.com phone app. mona.vegas

plaining is in our control and is really a bad habit that needs to be broken. It is so easy to place yourself in the victim’s spotlight and command attention. We might not have control over events outside of us, but we certainly do have control over the management of the issues inside of us.

When you continue to (verbally) repeatedly ask, “Why aren’t things working?” without searching for the solution, you are whining. Even more important, you are telling the universe that this situation is “normal.” The universe will bring you more of what you keep repeating.

PERSPECTIVE

Have you ever gone through a difficult time and noticed that your friends gradually (or suddenly) begin to avoid you? Do you find that the phone call or text isn’t returned as quickly as you would like? No one wants the daunting task of continually trying to cheer you up. You are

now making it too hard to be your friend. How do you turn this around? Shut up and stop complaining about anything—right now, this very second. Look at the situation you’re in and decide that you don’t want to be uncomfortable anymore. You need to truthfully ask yourself, “How might I have created this situation, and how is this time in my life going to benefit me down the road?” It starts with the discipline of what you let your mind process. You can’t change the past, but you can learn from it. You can’t change other people’s behavior, but you can make sure you don’t take it personally. We have all been invited to this life party, so act like it. Learn to explain, not complain. We create our reality. What we think about creates our vibration. Instead of retelling the same uncomfortable chain of events (to others and in your head) that lead you to here, recognize that you are simply being shown what you don’t want. Remember, the more details of the discomfort that you speak, the firmer that reality forms. Think of how to solve, not wallow. Asteroid 2019 OK (luckily) passed us by in space. Each day we have another chance to create our best life. Now is the time.

NINE-DAY NEW YOU Sometimes a new ritual helps us change our point of view. Devote yourself to your best self with The 9 Day Energy Reset (9dayer.com). This guide allows people to relax into their potential, and it’s a marvelous way to break that bad habit of complaining

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THE LIFE WELLNESS

Digital Declutter Rekindle a relationship with yourself by checking out digitally.

PHOTO BY JACOB LUND, ADOBE STOCK

TEXT LIZ WILSON

“I feel like my brain is waking up,” I wrote in my journal on day six. Less than a week into what I’ll call my 31-day “digital declutter,” I simultaneously felt like I was losing my mind and finding a better one. I was trading up. In searching for strategies to go minimal with technology, I found an abundance of everything else I had been missing: a rediscovery of how to

listen to the inner voice instead of sacrificing solitude to become a sponge for everything else. In our current instant-gratification economy, how do we use technology to our advantage without losing ourselves in the process? As a small-business owner with hobbies and a social life, I often found myself challenged by the time-management dilemma. We all seem

to be rushing yet perpetually unsatisfied. We have more technology now than ever, and we’re promised endless value from tools like social media. Technology is meant to provide simplicity, community, efficiency, and, ultimately, happiness in our overstimulated lives. Yet, so often, we find ourselves feeling short on time and increasingly anxious about it.

Today in the United States, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses, affecting around one in five people, with millennials being the most anxious generation ever. A study of almost seven million people in the US found that depressive symptoms have only risen since the 1980s. Some argue that the increase is simply because everyone S U M M E R 2020

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THE LIFE WELLNESS

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is more aware of anxiety and depression, so more likely to diagnose it. Others claim that the culprit is our societal shift from intrinsic goals that reflect core values to a priority on materialism and individual gain. Personally, I suspected that the pressure to be constantly available and social was a major factor in my looming anxiety. Over the course of six months, I tracked every minute of my technology use in order to prepare myself for the big declutter. My data showed that for roughly 40 hours a month, I was engaged with what I now consider to be unnecessary distractions: social media,

texting, email, and internet surfing, among other time-sucking apps. Upon self-reflection, I discovered that none of this screen time helped me feel relaxed, happier, or able to spend more time on meaningful activities within my community. With the help of computer science professor Cal Newport’s book Digital Minimalism, I adopted “a philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and happily miss out on everything else.” Think of it as the Whole30 diet for your mind.

We get tricked into shorting ourselves by the constant feed of digital consumption... We all seem to be rushing yet perpetually unsatisfied.

After 31 days alone in my head, one thing became clear to me: Spending time with technology isn’t inherently bad, but spending zero time without it prevents us from formulating original thoughts, ideas, and innovations. We get tricked into shorting ourselves by the constant feed of digital consumption. According to RescueTime, an app that monitors iPhone and Android use, Americans with smartphone devices spend about 3.5 hours per day actively using them. I’ll do the math for you— that’s over 24 hours per week. Clearly, the problem isn’t that we’re short on time, but we’ve figured out a way to fill every second, therefore eliminating solitude and precious time for reflection and restoration. As the shock, boredom, and panic of my digital detox wore off, I adjusted to a new concept of time that was seemingly half its previous pace. I settled in to just being me. I left work at work and social time to actually being around other people. Using technology minimally, in a way that supports my values, has proven to be a priceless lesson in this overstimulated world. It’s also opened up much more time for me to go live. S U M M E R 2020

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lis s b BODY MADE FOR

Do you know you have an endocannabinoid system? You do. Your self is full of cellular receptors that bind with the active ingredients in cannabis known as cannabinoids. So why have we just now started to hear about it? TEXT LELAND RUCKER PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS JOSH CLARK

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ne thing I’ve noticed over the years, when talking with my cannabis-using friends, is that they are more likely to say it makes them feel “normal” rather than “stoned.” I generally answer that “it keeps me balanced” or something

ORIGINAL PHOTO BY CHARLIE, ADOBE STOCK

s along those lines. I would never say that about other mind-altering substances (alcohol, for instance), and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at least one reason millions of us keep coming back for more. But why do so many people who use cannabis feel that way? A couple of years ago, I began reading about

something called the endocannabinoid system, a regulating procedure within the body that works in much the same way cannabis does. My bs detector turned bright red. Yeah, right. Even for an advocate, that seemed a little too much to swallow, a little too good to be true.

There is much evidence that cannabis, or whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in cannabis, has been used to treat symptoms of human illnesses, disorders, and diseases in many cultures for centuries and that it was a standard pharmaceutical product in the United States. Today, after decades of lies

This article was originally published in Sensi Denver/Boulder August 2017 edition

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from the government and popular culture’s continuing depiction of marijuana users as inept “stoners,” we’re finding that ordinary people are using cannabis for pain, arthritis, and muscle relief and—surprise—just to relax. But why? Cannabinoids are chemical compounds found in cannabis plants, more than a hundred different ones so far. For the most part, no other plant accumulates them quite like cannabis, and these cannabinoids provide the plant with everything from pest resistance to relief from the sun’s UV rays. The most recognized are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), known for its psychoactive properties, and cannabidiol (CBD), recognized for its medical applications. “Many people have tried THC and CBD. Those are called phytocannabinoids,” says biochemist Samantha Miller, founder of Pure Analytics, a cannabis testing facility in California. Scientists have also discovered cannabinoids that are produced naturally in the body. Called endocannabinoids, they have structures similar to phytocannabinoids. Raphael Mechoulam, William Devane, and Dr. Lumir Hanus found the first endocannabinoid and called it anandamide after the Sanskrit word for bliss, in 1992, and later found another, called 2-arachidonoylglycero, or 2-AG. So far, so good. In 1988, scientists found receptors in all mammals that respond to cannabinoids, CB-1 receptors found in the brain and CB-2 receptors found throughout the body. These endocannabinoids hook up with these receptors. In biochemistry, it’s called the “lock-and-key” model, where the cannabinoid molecules act like

this natural architecture to interact with cannabinoids,” Miller says. “You find these all over the body, in the nervous system, the immune system, everywhere. The endocannabinoids control and influence a lot of different things, like sleep, appetite, anxiety, addiction, the cardiovascular system, immune system—everything to do with quality of life.” Perry Solomon is the former chief medical officer at HelloMD, a popular wellness website with a growing number of patients using cannabis. He describes the endocannabinoid system as a feedback mechanism that helps keep the body in equilibrium. “When you get excessive stimulation, pain, emotions, or bad experiences, chemicals are released that can overwhelm the body,” he says. “Endocannabinoids are a way to keep the body in balance.” There are literally thousands of —Perry Solomon, HelloMD research papers and studies around the world on cannabinoids. But cannabis research remains a somewhat arcane branch of science in the United States, which, under the “keys” that fit into the CB receptor auspices of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, until recently would “locks.” When the CB receptor is fund only projects that were aimed “unlocked” by a particular cannaat the abuse side of the equation. binoid, it changes its shape, and US researchers still encounter how it changes shape determines how it regulates cell signaling (how bureaucratic hassles, lack of adequate study product, and the fact cells communicate within themthat cannabis remains a Schedule selves and how they communicate I drug, which by definition means with other cells). From a chemical standpoint, THC is structurally it has no medical purpose. “Consimilar to anandamide, and CBD is ventional medicine traditionally has concentrated on opioids,” says comparable to 2-AG. THC “unDr. Selma Holden, a physician and locks” the CB-1 receptor in almost assistant clinical professor at the the same way anandamide does, and CBD “unlocks” the CB-2 recep- University of New England. But even US scientists and doctors are tor much like 2-AG. beginning to recognize that some“The reason we interact with cannabis so strongly is that we have thing’s going on.

“WHEN YOU GET EXCESSIVE STIMULATION, PAIN, EMOTIONS, OR BAD EXPERIENCES, CHEMICALS ARE RELEASED THAT CAN OVERWHELM THE BODY. ENDOCANNABINOIDS ARE A WAY TO KEEP THE BODY IN BALANCE."

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“Historically, people just thought cannabis was something that got you high and concentrated on the THC. Because of medical-marijuana efforts and a little increase in evidence, they’re starting to come around,” she explains. “And more patients are turning to their medical doctors and saying, ‘this stuff works for me.’” As recently as 2017, the University of Vermont was the only medical school in the country with an accredited course on the endocannabinoid system in its curriculum. “The people who should know about it aren’t taught it in medical school,” says Solomon, and he understands some doctors’ initial reluctance to deal with the endocannabinoid system. “Until doctors come out and become familiar with what’s involved in the system, there’s a hesitancy.” Oncologists, who already know it helps relieve the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy, are among the leading edge of physicians beginning to take cannabis seriously, and other specialists are looking into cannabinoid alternatives, Solomon says. “A recent National Academies of Science study found that cannabinoids are being used to treat chronic pain in adults, and it does work,” he says. “So anesthesiologists are saying, ‘Maybe this is something we should look at.’” Holden says that some of the most exciting research today concerns cannabinoids’ anti-inflammatory qualities. “When you think of it, a lot of diseases, not all of them, have an inflammation component,” she says. “In dementia, in asthma, it’s all inflammation. That’s what’s interesting about the endocannabinoid system. It’s influencing these inflammation markers.”

“WE CAN'T FALL TOO MUCH INTO THE BELIEF SYSTEM THAT HAVING AN ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS BAD." —Dr. Selma Holden, University of New England

Much of the research is being done at the behest of drug companies eager to create new products from cannabinoids and able to afford the expensive re-search needed for approval. GW Pharmaceuticals has developed a couple of cannabidiol products to combat epilepsy, and its Epidiolex was approved by the FDA in 2018 for the treatment of seizures—the first cannabis plant-derived medicine ever approved by the FDA. Arizona company Insys Therapeutics recently received preliminary DEA approval for a synthetic cannabis drug called Syndros. (The company also contributed to the successful effort to stop a marijuana legalization initiative in that state last year.) Much of the emphasis on cannabis healing these days is concentrated around CBD and marketed for its non-psychoactive effects. Hold-

en cautions that if someone is using cannabis for a chronic condition like back pain or Crohn’s disease, the feeling of elevation can be an important part of the therapy, too. “We can’t fall too much into the belief system that having an altered state of consciousness is bad.” And that gets us back to where we began. That altered state of consciousness that has offered me and so many people a feeling of relaxation, of being in a place where they can be creative and focused or as a way to deal with common maladies. “Our brains are ideally suited for cannabis,” Chris Kilham, an author and ethnobiologist who studies plant-based remedies as the Medicine Hunter on Fox News, told me. “There’s no substance other than water that has the health benefits and continued significance of those benefits.” S U M M E R 2020

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H ly Smokes For many, elevation leads to enlightenment.

TEXT LELAND RUCKER

A This article was originally published in the December 2017 edition of Sensi Denver/Boulder.

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nybody who decides to use cannabis eventually realizes that there’s more going on than just “getting high.” It’s more mind-opening than that. More and more books and essays outline human’s long history with the plant, and modern yoga teachers and herbalists are incorporating it into their classes. There’s even an international church of cannabis that operates out of a former church in Denver. After decades of repression, cannabis is in a period of renaissance, and it’s not that surprising that many are looking into its introspective qualities. Stephen Gray, editor of a published book of essays, Cannabis and Spirituality: An Explorer’s SUMMER 2020

Guide to An Ancient Plant Spirit Ally, and author of The Pot Book, sees two elements pushing the enthusiasm around the plant these days. The first is the psychological and emotional tendency people have to get excited about new things. “It could be called projection or transference, where you look outside yourself for salvation and get all excited when you think you’ve found some-thing,” he explains. But the other factor he mentions is that the cannabis plant has been badly underappreciated and misunderstood in recent history. “For me personally,” Gray says, “rather than coming first from that gung ho place, I have become increas-

ingly impressed with the multiple benefits of the plant.” I have talked with people over the years who get very enthusiastic, excited, and emotional about any one of those multiple benefits. But the passion for this plant is hardly new. There is mounting evidence that humans have been experimenting with cannabis for at least a few thousand years— and perhaps much longer. “What cannabis does is to open the doorway be-tween the conscious and the unconscious,” says Chris Bennett, who’s published several books on the historical use of cannabis in religion, ritual, and magic. When most people think of cannabis and religion, they prob-

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ably think of Rastafarianism, Bennett says, which uses cannabis as a sacrament today. But research indicates that the cannabis plant dates back to ancient history and that humans have been interacting with it for thousands of years in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Bennett has found evidence of religious ceremonies that used cannabis dating back at least 5,500 years. At one point or another, he says, cannabis has been used as part of major religious traditions like Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and even Judaism. Bennett’s research leads him to believe that the origin of all religions was more based on the individual using entheogens (psychedelic, mind-altering substances like peyote, mushrooms, LSD, ayahuasca, and psilocybin) to enhance the religious experience. Gradually, over time, that began to change. “It became a threat to fundamental religion, just as Darwin was to Adam and Eve,” he says. “Magicians and shamans even today use the plant as something bigger than yourself. That is something that Abrahamic religions have eliminated. Today, the church needs to be the source of the divine.” The divine, like most of the terms we’re using here, can be interpreted in many ways. The International Church of Cannabis opened its doors in a vacant Protestant church building in Denver on April 20, 2016. Outside, it looks like any other church until you notice the windows. Elevation Ministries commissioned colorful psychedelic paintings by graphic

artist Kenny Scharf, who also created a marvelous colorful ceiling in the nave. There is also a video arcade downstairs. In no sense does this church consider itself the source of the divine. “We wanted to create a safe and diverse interfaith church for anybody that uses cannabis as part of their personal spiritual journey, regardless of the culture, religious tradition, or body they were born into,” Molloy says. “When a person ritually uses cannabis with the intention of exploring their spirituality, it is virtually impossible for them not to become elevated, which means to

rise above the petty and destructive distinctions manufactured by most organized religion.” In the foreword to the 2016 book Cannabis and Spirituality, Dr. Julie Holland writes: “There are many among us who are addicted to greed, to power, to newer, to more. ... And this is where pot comes in—it’s a way to opt out, temporarily, from the rat race. Cannabis can unlock us from our habitual way of doing things, and more importantly, of thinking about things. ... It enables contemplation and reflection.” Gray says the focus of the essays in the book is aimed more at this S U M M E R 2020

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kind of spiritual awakening that cannabis can help provide. “I think of it as advanced spiritual meditation. One of the reasons for the book is to put perspective on what it can do if you use it skillfully.” Perhaps the most important part of using cannabis skillfully is putting yourself in the right state of mind and in a comfortable place. I remember reading The Natural Mind, a book by An-drew Weil, when I first started using cannabis and entheogens in the 1970s. Weil wasn’t advocating for drug use—he was partial to meditation—but he acknowledged mankind’s universal quest to alter consciousness, whether spinning about until you fall down as a child or drinking alcohol or using drugs as adults. Weil used the terms set and setting, which Gray incorporates in his book, too. “Set refers to everything you bring to the encounter: your history, your personality, your psycho-spiritual makeup, your intention, and the preparedness you undertake related to the taking of the medicine. Setting is the actual environment and conditions in which you meet the plant,” Gray writes. Clearly, we’re not talking about hitting the bong and falling back on the couch with a bag of chips. Gray says that used correctly, what cannabis can do is to help put you in the right mood for spiritual amplification. “Kathleen Harrison talks about an attitude of respect and reverence,” he explains. “When you do that— use respect and reverence—then you’re more likely to have deeper, richer experiences with it.” Becca Williams holds monthly cannabis elevation ceremonies

from the website cannanaut.com, and she says that creating a comfortable environment for participants is an essential component. We all experience trauma in our lives, she says, and the ceremonies are intended to help people explore the inner reaches of their consciousness with the help of cannabis. “It’s not spirituality as

we know it,” she says. “You see people who are triggered, constantly in a state of hyperarousal. We are creating a framework using ancient Indian traditions and the group dynamic for individual work.” Ultimately, she says, we need to create our own ceremonies. “We’re all looking for meaning in life, and it can be pretty empty out there.” Brigitte Mars, an herbalist, teacher at Boulder’s Naropa University, author, and a longtime cannabis advocate, says she encourages people to experience cannabis as a sacrament, whether by themselves or with others. “It’s a really special plant. I don’t know another herb that has as many possibilities of use,” she says. “Using it with good intentions in a safe setting with people you know and trust can be a powerful thing.” The more people I talked with, the more I realized that just like we’re just starting to learn about how cannabis can impact everything from creativity to the body’s endocannabinoid systems, we are learning more about the plant’s spiritual side, too. The plant isn’t the end itself, but rather a means to an end. “It opens me up to a different perspective,” Bennett says. “It just increases my power of intuition and totally helps me grab ideas and expand realms of association.” Other, stronger psychedelic entheogens like LSD and psilocybin tend to grab you by the throat and won’t let loose, Gray says, but cannabis is different, with an effect that can almost be described as gentle. “When you’re there, you want to get out of your own way and be present. I consider it a flexible, gracious kind of ally.” S U M M E R 2020

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REMEDY FOR A DREAM Is THC inhibiting our dreams? TEXT LELAND RUCKER

ORIGINAL PHOTO BY PIXEL-SHOT / ADOBE STOCK

was at home in bed, surrounded by friends, when I began singing “The Tattooed Lady,” an old novelty song from my childhood. I wouldn’t stop, even when begged, and finally they all started trying to strangle me. That’s when I awoke, sweating and uneasy, kicking my legs and sending my covers in all directions. It wasn’t until I settled down that I realized it had just been a dream. It wasn’t the first time. Over many years, whenever I stop using cannabis for more than a week, the crazy dreams return. I’ve partied

with famous people, traveled to distant landscapes, been suffocated by my friends, and transcended time and place, all within my own head and bed. It’s almost as much fun as, well, getting elevated. But I’ve always wondered why this happens. Why are dreams more intense when I stop using cannabis, or do they just seem to be that way? Does cannabis inhibit dreaming, or do you just remember your dreams better when you’re unelevated? And is any of this necessarily good or bad for you? I’m hardly the only one. Type “marijuana and dreams” into any

search engine, and you’ll find many examples of cannabis users who have experienced the same kinds of vivid dreams when they stop. I decided to try and find out more about it. That’s not as easy as it may seem. All cannabis research is limited because of the usual reasons: The process to get the permits required by the federal government to study cannabis is challenging to say the least, and scientists whose studies are approved have to use only government-produced marijuana grown at the University of Mississippi. That marijuana has

This article was originally published in the July 2018 edition of Sensi Denver/Boulder.

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Taking the guesswork out of cannabis.

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been shown to be little more than old ditch weed, nothing like the legal cannabis people are growing and using across the US. Beyond that, it’s also challenging to know what affect cannabis use has on dreams because we don’t know very much about sleep cycles and what part dreams play in our lives and well-being. THE IMPORTANCE OF (TANGERINE) DREAMS Sleep scientists generally characterize slumber as occurring in three basic phases, or stages: light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. We spend our snoozing hours moving through these phases, with an average cycle lasting about 90 to 110 minutes, although it’s different for everybody. Each cycle apparently fulfills some kind of physiological or neurological function, although beyond their restorative roles, we don’t really know what those functions are. Some believe that dreams have meaning for our waking lives; others try to learn to explore and control them. We can dream during any of the sleep stages, but we dream more and are most likely to remember dreams we have while in the REM stage, the one characterized by rapid eye movement, a slight rise in respiration rate, and increased brain activity. We are less likely to remember dreams we have in the deep-sleep stage, when we’re gen-

erally harder to wake, than we are ones we have while in REM. Early studies on the effect of cannabis on dreams measured brain waves and eye movement and suggested that cannabis use somehow inhibits the REM portion of sleep, which in turn suppresses dreams. Discontinuing cannabis use lets your body catch up,

so to speak, with what many call an “REM rebound.” While your body catches up on REM sleep, the reasoning goes, it’s also catching up on dreams, which makes them more vivid and memorable. As I began to look deeper, I noticed that most of this preliminary research is from 40 to 50 years ago. Often cited is a 1975 study that, for

EARLY STUDIES SUGGEST THAT CANNABIS USE SOMEHOW INHIBITS THE REM STAGE OF SLEEP, WHICH IN TURN SUPRESSES DREAMS.

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instance, noted changes in rapid eye movements and shorter REM periods of sleep in longtime cannabis users. But that study tested only seven people, hardly enough to produce enough data to draw any serious conclusions. And there’s another thing. Many people, including some scientists, suggest that cannabis users don’t dream, and—at least in my case—I know that isn’t true. Just last week, I wound up in a room with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but just before I could start peppering him with questions about his quaint stance on cannabis, I woke up. SWEET (BLUE) DREAMS Dr. Timothy Roehrs is director of research at the Henry Ford Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit and a professor at the Wayne State School of Medicine. He spoke about the frustration of trying to mount sleep studies using cannabis and corroborated that most studies on cannabis and sleep date back to the 1970s and 1980s. Only limited research has been done in the 21st century. “We’ve been wanting to administer THC in the sleep lab and haven’t been able to do that,” he says. “To properly study it, you need to give a measured dose of

THC to a participant over a prospective number of days. Right now, it’s terribly difficult to get measured doses of THC. We’re left with anecdotal information, and you never know for sure what dose was being used and being taken on a given set of nights.” While he hasn’t been able to properly study the effects of cannabis on sleep, Roehrs has conducted many studies on the effects of alcohol on sleep, which confirm the REM rebound effect that causes people to “catch up” on dreams. During REM sleep, he says, one is more likely to wake and report having dreams. In those early sleep studies on cannabis and dreams, the marijuana seemed to suppress REM sleep much like alcohol does. Roehrs isn’t so sure it’s that easy. “What that means is that you have increased amounts of REM sleep also fragmented with brief and rapid awakenings. If I take you and put you in the sleep lab, and I awaken you out of REM sleep by shaking you vigorously, that rapid arousal from sleep gives you a sense of being present in the dream,” he says. “Those are the vivid images that are likely what is happening with discontinuing marijuana.” Roehrs cautions that he isn’t suggesting that this is anything

more than speculation on his or anyone else’s part. We really don’t know what significance REM dreaming or suppression might have on our well-being. Still, this makes more sense to me than the theory that cannabis use stops people from dreaming. For instance, he says, common antidepressant drugs used by many Americans suppress REM sleep while they normalize mood. “And, unlike marijuana, these antidepressants continue to suppress REM sleep, and you get this REM insomnia-like experience,” he explains. “When people who were taking antidepressants stop, they can have REM rebound. Not only do we not know if it might be bad for you, if you have mild depression, dreaming might improve your mood. But we don’t know these things.” If you’re one who doesn’t like the crazy dreams, this isn’t much solace. But since I kind of enjoy them, until we find out more about the subject, I’m satisfied. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to get back into that dream with Jeff Sessions. S U M M E R 2020

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Not on the Calendar What to do when there’s nothing to do.

he dog days of summer are upon us. In our modern lexicon, that popular term has dual meanings: 1) the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer occurs in the norther hemisphere; 2) a period of stagnation or inactivity. In 2020, the dog days of summer were mauled by the pan-

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demic, which continues to force people around the globe to endure lengthy periods of inactivity. But just because travel dreams were dashed this year doesn’t mean you can’t take your mind to new places. Here are some quick suggestions about ways to fill the long, sultry days ahead. Make (Bad?) Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City may

be temporarily closed (as of press time), but its website (moma.org) invites you to experience the world through its artistic lens. Take in the Virtual Views by exploring NYC architecture online. Listen to hours of art-inspired music on summer playlists curated by MoMa staffers. From artists’ musical inspirations to cinema soundtracks to the “alien” sounds of the avant-garde, the museum’s Spotify playlists include one

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dedicated to the music of Miró; The “Rosanne Cash, the River, and the Thread” includes some thoughts the singer-songwriter shared about weaving, making art, and writing music—and the playlist made to accompany the exhibition. The set featuring songs about and inspired by works of art is the perfect soundtrack to an afternoon spent engrossed in

Study Break

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These are just three of the free online courses offered by MoMA. See the full curriculum and enroll at coursera.org/moma. In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting: Want to know how some of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists made abstract paintings? This course offers an in-depth, hands-on look at the materials, techniques, and thinking of seven New York School artists, including Willem de Kooning, Yayoi Kusama, Agnes Martin, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, and Mark Rothko. Through studio demonstrations and gallery walkthroughs, in this course you’ll form a deeper understanding of what a studio practice means and how ideas develop from close looking, and you’ll gain a sensitivity to the physical qualities of paint. Readings and other resources will round out your understanding, providing broader cultural, intellectual, and historical context about the decades after World War II, when these artists were active. Modern Art & Ideas: This course is designed for anyone interested in learning more about modern and contemporary art. Over the five-week course, you

will look at art through a variety of themes: Places & Spaces, Art & Identity, Transforming Everyday Objects; and Art & Society. Each week kicks off with a video that connects works of art from MoMA’s collection to the theme. You’ll hear audio interviews with artists, designers, and curators, and learn more about selected works in the additional readings and resources. Fashion as Design: Fashion as Design focuses on a selection of more than 70 garments and accessories from around the world, ranging from kente cloth to jeans to 3D-printed dresses. Through these garments, you’re going to look closely at what we wear, why we wear it, how it’s made, and what it means. You’ll hear directly from a range of designers, makers, historians, and others working with clothing every day—and, in some cases, reinventing it for the future. Studio visits, interviews, and other resources introduce the history and development of each garment and their changing uses, meanings, and impact over time.

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QUARANTINE LISTENING PARTY Our editor in chief Stephanie Wilson ranks the seven novels she “read” during shutdown.

7. Trust Exercise by Susan Choi 6. Men Without Women by Huraki Murakami 5. Writers & Lovers by Lily King 4. Normal People by Sally Rooney 3. Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld 2. All Adults Here by Emma Straub 1. Weather by Jenny Offill

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any of the museum’s free online courses, taught through online portal Coursera. Get lost in a good book. Because your brain can’t take any. more. Netflix. And you can’t take any more…well, anything. As the Book of Disquiet author Fernando Pessoa wrote, “Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.” Not much of a reader? No problem. Trevor Noah, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mariah Carey, Kevin Bacon, Alicia Silverstone, James McAvoy, and so many other leading performers can do the reading. All you’ve got to do is listen, which you can do while going about your day. Or while not going anywhere: your call. A 2018 University College London study showed that listening

“From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends.” —Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

to audiobooks is more emotionally engaging than watching TV and movies—findings consistent across all demographics regardless of the genre. Audible is your go-to source for premium offerings available on demand. If you haven’t already done the Audible free trial, what better time than now to take advantage of the deal: 60-day free trial plus two free audiobooks, then $14.95 for one credit per month, good for any book regardless of price, and you can cancel anytime. Got a library card? Download the Libby app, which allows you to borrow and read ebooks and audiobooks from your local public library for free. Don’t have a library card? Well now you have something else to do right now when there’s not a whole lot to do. S U M M E R 2020

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Hold the Gluten Whether you’re gluten-intolerant or allergic to conversations about gluten, socca is a quick and delicious dish for everyone to enjoy. My friend Marla Brown has never been diagnosed with celiac disease. Until she hit about 28 years old, she could eat all the bread and pasta she wanted. After cutting out gluten in an effort to lose a little weight, Brown was 88

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astonished at the change in how she felt. Not only did she find losing weight easier, but her sinuses cleared up and her complexion improved. “I hated the idea of cutting out such a huge food group,” says Brown. “But I couldn’t

get over how much better I felt. No more stuff y nose; my energy level improved. It just wasn’t worth it to go back to eating wheat.” Why has the United States seen the huge uptick in gluten-free diets? Is it gluten itself

or the pesticides in Big Ag conventional wheat? Is it all psychosomatic? Whatever the scientific truth of the matter, it seems undeniable that a lot of people (primarily women who have enough money to make such conscious eating

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TEXT JADA CALYPSO BROTMAN

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choices) report that they feel better when they avoid gluten. Personally, I’m not gluten-intolerant, but with so many people avoiding it these days, it’s a great idea for the home cook to have a few solid gluten-free recipes in their repertoire. As someone who often cooks for others, I was overjoyed to realize that gluten-free chickpea flour, which is always in my pantry, is available in bulk and organic at our local natural foods stores. A number of fabulous gluten-free dishes can be made with chickpea flour, but socca is my favorite. I absolutely love-love socca, or farinata, as it’s known in Italy—or faina in Uruguay. My pop calls it socca, which is the French word. The fried flatbread hails from Nice, but the concept is found in various Southern climes. Whatever you call it, it’s a simple delight. Socca is especially helpful in the contemporary cook’s repertoire because it has nothing to which your allergic-to-everything friends can object. Hard to mess up and cheap to make, socca is a tasty weapon in your supper arsenal, whether you are pro- or anti-gluten.

Socca

Makes two 12-inch soccas / Servings: 4–6

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

• Move whole pan to broiler. 1 cup garbanzo flour • Mix the flour, water, salt, and oil well. Let the batter Keeping a close eye, broil 1 cup + 3 tbsp water rest for at least an hour, up it until the top is golden1⁄2 tsp kosher salt to overnight. brown and the edges are crisp. The underside will 3 tbsp olive oil • Turn on broiler, and be well browned by then. remix batter. Heat a Freshly ground 12-inch cast-iron pan on a • Remove the pan from the black pepper medium flame, and add a oven. Sprinkle the top Additional olive oil tablespoon of olive oil. with lots of freshly ground pepper and a generous • Pour in batter to cover the sprinkle of olive oil. pan, no more than 1/8-inch deep (roughly half the batter • Remove the socca to a if using a 12-inch pan). cutting board and slice it like a pizza. Serve and eat • Leave to cook until socca is immediately. dry and set, about 2 mins.

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BURGER PHOTO BY VAASEENAA, ADOBE STOCK / MAN PHOTO BY ALPHASPIRIT, ADOBE STOCK

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at Burger King My beef with plant-based fast food burgers

WHOPPER PHOTO COUTESY OF IMPOSSIBLE

TEXT JOHN LEHNDORFF

I was just outside Boulder when I spotted a Burger King and decided the time had finally come for my great meatand-greet initiation. As a dining critic, I’ve sampled some great cheeseburgers over the years, and, living in the Boulder area, I’ve had my share of bean and grain burgers too. But, in the past year, plant-based burgers have burst on the scene, claiming to taste identical to ground beef. I had my doubts, but I set out to taste-test all the widely available plant-based burgers on

local menus. In the process, I made some surprising discoveries about our taste buds and what “meat” really means.

moister chew and tasted beefier. Both patties crumbled the same and were obscured flavorwise with onions, lettuce, tomato, sauce, pickle, and bun. Burger King Impossible Burgers are Impossible Burger composed of water, soy I found myself seated at a protein concentrate, coBurger King in Louisville conut oil, sunflower oil, with two identically pre- spices, and “natural flapared sandwiches in front vors” like leghemoglobin of me: the Whopper and the Impossible Whopper. People were staring. I took a bite of the Whopper first, and it tasted like my memory of the classic grilled burger. The Impossible Whopper was similar, but the beef had a

(which lends the “meat” a vaguely bloody taste). The Impossible variety features 630 calories, 34 grams of fat, 1,080 milligrams of sodium, and 58 grams of carbs. Advertised as “100% Whopper, 0% beef,” the patty has that signature flame-grilled flavor in part because it is cooked over the same fat-fed flames. The Impossible Burger is meatless but not necessarily vegetarian unless you ask for the burger heated but not grilled. At one point, distracted by the shiny, noisy fast food ambiance, I S U M M E R 2020

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forgot which burger I was tasting. I guess that makes the Impossible Burger a success.

The messy sandwich components—American cheese, lettuce, tomato, sliced onions, dill pickles, special sauce and Carl’s Jr. Beyond mayo—are similar, but Famous Star Burger on a better bun. Beyond At Carl’s Jr. in Thornton, Burger has a better Beyond Burger is the texture than Impossible, featured faux meat and with a more beef-like made from similar ingre- chew and vaguely beefy, dients, with pea protein grilled flavor. Both burgreplacing the soy and ers were cooked on the beets making it “bloody.” same grill, so they aren’t As I sat with a Famous meatless. Star and a Beyond FaI’m no fast food mous Star burger before gourmet, but, to my me, I was struck by how taste buds, both Carl Jr.’s much more appetizing Famous Star and the Bethese burgers looked yond Burger version are than their Whopper superior to Burger King. counterparts. Is that saying a lot?

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews Red Robin is a Colorado-based sit-down restaurant chain, so it’s a pricier experience. The menu is built on customization, and the patty possibilities alone include beef and turkey burgers, an Impossible Burger, plus grilled chicken and a veggie ancient grain patty. When I stopped by a Denver Red Robin franchise, the Gourmet Cheeseburger and the Impossible Cheeseburger looked even better than those at Carl’s Jr., but my judgment may

have been influenced by the many buns, sauces, and cheeses—and especially the bottomless fries. (I don’t understand bottomless steamed broccoli.) Both Red Robin sandwiches were on toasted brioche buns with pickle relish, red onions, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, and cheddar. This Impossible patty, tastier than Burger King’s, was half-flame-grilled. It sits on foil, so it doesn’t marinate in grilled beef juices below. All plant-based burgers are always cooked well-done, but at Red

DENVER’S CHEESEBURGER PARADISE There’s an obscure granite monument in a bank parking lot at 2776 N. Speer Blvd. with this inscription: “The cheeseburger trademark was registered by Mr. Ballast on March 5, 1935.” Louis Ballast operated the state’s first drive-in eatery on the site and may have been the first to compress cheese and hamburger into one word, but burgers with cheese had been served long before that date.

At one point, distracted by the fast food ambiance, I forgot which burger I was tasting. I guess that makes the Impossible Burger a success.

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have more than doubled the price of the burger. It seems ironic because just steps away, Whole Foods offers stainless steel tables full of well-prepared vegan and meaty fare.

PHOTO COUTESY OF BEYOND

Robin, I finally had the opportunity to have a beef burger that wasn’t cooked to grayness. I ordered it with a little pink instead of no pink.

griddle instead of a grill. I asked the cook to leave it on for an extra minute to develop some flavor. No open fire was involved, but the Beyond Burger had that same Beyond Burger Bar smoky flavor—it just Naturally, the ultimate seemed blander, less faux burger experience juicy, and less appealing is at Whole Foods Maroverall than the option ket on Pearl Street in at Carl’s Jr. I skipped the Boulder. It has the only plant-based “cheese.” known Beyond Burger Even still, the burger, Bar, a separate kiosk served on a small natuspace in the food court ral bun with leaf lettuce, that serves only vegred onions, sriracha an fast food including ranch, and pickles, was a Beyond Burger, Bepricey proposition—and yond Sausage, Chick’n, even without fries—and and Filet o’ Fishless it was not particularly sandwiches. satisfying. Granted, I Whole Foods’s Beyond could have topped it Burger Bar doesn’t sell a with organic avocado, beef burger, but I ordered portobello “bacon,” and a straightforward Beyond a fried egg and had a fine Burger cooked on a flat sandwich, but it would

The truth is that these products taste like cooked hamburgers, not beef. It doesn’t matter that they are not purely vegan because they are targeted at flexitarians.

Which Faux Beef Is Best? In the aftermath of my burger immersion, I rank the plant-based burgers thusly: 1) Carl’s Jr. 2) Red Robin 3) Beyond Burger Bar 4) Burger King The truth is that these products taste like cooked hamburgers, not beef. It doesn’t matter that they are not purely vegan because they are targeted at flexitarians, meat eaters who wants to eat a little more healthfully and sustainably by consuming less flesh. While plant-based meats are no dietary gems, they are still better for health and the environment than a beef burger. I’m happy the choice exists, but you can’t discount the other environmental and dietary impacts of fast food. Of all the burgers I sampled, the Red Robin cheeseburger is the one I would eagerly order again. The patty is just a little more mouth filling and has more juice (versus water) and that great beefy chew. S U M M E R 2020

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Upcycled Cuisine Coloradans are transforming food waste in good taste. TEXT JOHN LEHNDORFF

DENVER/BOULDER

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy to find information about the state of our environment that is so alarming and depressing, you wonder if anything you do will make a difference. (It also tends to lower your general opinion of human beings as a species.) Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m especially alarmed about food waste. Ac-

cording to the Department of Agriculture, at least 40 percent of the US food supply is wasted every year, costing an estimated $2 billion in addition to the land, water, labor, and energy it took to produce, move, and store it. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates

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PHOTOS COURTESY THE REAL DILL

GOING GREEN

farmers, manufacturers, grocers, and home cooks threw out $165 billion worth of food, much of it still edible, last year. Given how many Americans are living with food insecurity, it seems stupid. But beyond the doom and gloom, there are people and companies in Colorado engaged creatively in fighting food waste. I don’t mean greenwashing, token efforts, and good intentions. I’m talking about the simple, concrete steps folks are taking now to cut water use and emissions, feed people, aid local farmers, and save money for businesses. Some focus on upcycling—wringing maximum use and value out of everything edible and keeping it out of the landfill. The following list is inspired by David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame), who started Reasons to Be Cheerful (reasonstobecheerful.world). Byrne shares news about people doing good things for the planet because, he says, “It reminded me, ‘Hey, there’s actually some positive stuff going on!’ Almost all of these initiatives are local.... Hope is often local. Change begins in communities.” These ideas can be emulated by other cities

and companies, and may spark new ways to keep more food from becoming waste. Toast to a Bready Brew If your first sip of Penny Loafer pale ale makes you crave a sandwich, there’s a good reason. The Post Brewing Co. in Lafayette brews this ale using upcycled ciabatta and sourdough bread from Louisville’s Izzio Artisan Bakery. The bread replaces one third of the water-intensive grain in the brew. The ongoing effort donates $1 from every pint to Metro Caring and Denver Food Rescue.

stellar Bloody Mary mix that is now the company’s bestselling product. The Real Dill gives its organic food scraps to a nonprofit that turns them into compost for urban farming programs.

Leftovers Uplift a Community We Don’t Waste is a Denver nonprofit that focuses on recovering food from a less obvious source of food waste

From top: The Real Dill's pickling process results in a delicious cucumber-infused water, and instead of dumping it down the drain, they built a Bloody Mary mix highlighting it as the main ingredient.

Farm Upcycling Gets Spicy At McCauley Family Farm near Longmont, Marcus McCauley grows chilies that he uses to make his Picaflor brand fermented hot sauce. He dries the strained hot sauce leftovers and packages artisan chile flakes for pizza. An evangelist for regenerative agriculture, McCauley feeds the pepper waste to his CSA chickens, who fertilize Pickling Problem, the fields where saved Bloody Mary Success seeds are planted for Denver-based pickle-packer The Real Dill is the next generation devoted to creating zero of peppers. waste. It uses gallons of cuke-infused water, a byproduct, to bottle a

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PHOTOS COURTESY ROMERO’S K9 CLUB

The outdoor biergarten area at Romero's K9 Club & Tap House in Lafayette welcomes well-behaved off-leash pups as long as their humans register with the establishment and purchase a daily, monthly, or yearly pup pass.

than restaurants and homes. Caterers and events always produce extra food so they don’t run out. With refrigerated trucks and an 11,000-square-foot distribution center, the organization collects food from some of the largest venues, including the Colorado Convention Center, Denver International Airport, Pepsi Center, and Coors Field, and distributes it to dozens of metro Denver organizations fighting food insecurity.

Beer Waste Goes to the Dogs More than 1.5 million barrels of craft beer are produced annually in Colorado, according to the Brewers Association. Every gallon produces about 1.7 pounds of wet spent grain that’s low in sugar but high in fiber, protein, biotin, folic acid, riboflavin, and minerals. Much spent grain is fed to farm animals, but Romero’s K9 Club, a dog-friendly bar in Lafayette, has teamed up with nearby Cellar West

Much spent grain is fed to farm animals, but Romero’s K9 Club, a dogfriendly bar in Lafayette, has teamed up with nearby Cellar West Artisan Ales to create its Pawsmic Cookies spent grain dog treats.

Artisan Ales to create its Pawsmic Cookies spent grain dog treats. Say Cheese and Save Water Greeley’s Leprino Foods, the world’s largest producer of mozzarella, had a water problem because cow’s milk is nearly 90 percent water. What do you do with all that liquid after you extract the curds? Leprino filters and treats the water, reuses it for cleaning the plant, then retreats it and puts it into the Cache La Poudre River. The facility now generates 300,000 more gallons of water than it uses every day. Meanwhile, Noosa, a Colorado company making super-smooth yogurt in Bellvue, treats and uses its excess water for cleaning cow barns and irrigating crops. Connecting the Dots Creates Value, Flavor Colorado Springs-based Food Maven helps connect loads of surplus, relabeled and postdated food, and imperfect vegetables and fruits with food producers and food service. For example, Food Maven helped a Western Slope orchard connect with a brewery, which used a large load of ripe Colorado peaches to flavor an artisanal seasonal ale. S U M M E R 2020

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Clear Intentions is a millennial woman-owned-and-operated glass recycling processor.

PHOTO CREDITS (FROM TOP): COURTESY CLEAR INTENTIONS / COURTESY NIMAN RANCH

Pretty Way to Cut Glass Waste Food service and taverns create tons of glass waste every day. Denver’s Clear Intentions collects glass from restaurants, bars, caterers, apartments, and

hotels, and processes it into a specialty crushed, polished, and colored glass product used as fish tank gravel and in mosaics, gardens, and fountains. In Hotchkiss, Jack Rab-

bit Hill Farm distills fine spirits from local fruit, including MEll vodka, which is sold only at Colorado bars and restaurants. Like an old-fashioned milkman, the distiller picks up the bottles, then sterilizes and refills them for delivery.

resulting rich compost is available to gardeners along the Front Range.

Going Whole Hog (and Cow) It takes 441 gallons of water to produce one pound of boneless beef— and a whole lot of methane. Westminster-based Making Artisan Niman Ranch buys only Composting Easy whole animals from Rocky Mountain farmers, not just popular Composting is a service parts like tenderloin. created by former chef The company encouragEric Kenna, who was ap- es nose-to-tail cookery palled by the food waste and offers sausages, created by homes and tripe, oxtail, cheek meat, restaurants. The compa- pigs’ feet, lamb necks, ny recycles plastic food and marrow and bones buckets from foodservice for bone broth. Ethnic companies to use as com- communities across the post containers, leaving US who appreciate the clean ones when it picks other cuts are a rapidly up the full buckets. The expanding market. S U M M E R 2020

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the world, billed as “part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new,” draw more Who needs Amazon when you can learn how to produce than a million attendees. (This year’s fairs have everything from shoes and jewelry to cheese and charcuterie been put on hold with boards in classes along the Front Range? everything else.) TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE In a tactile and productive rejection of information overload Maker culture, launched tinkerers, hobbyists, and they need. More than 135 and overconsumption, with Maker magazine in inventors have easier million Americans—46 makers seek the satisfac2005, has risen naturally access to information percent—identify as mak- tion of producing things in urban areas across the online and shared makers, and Maker-sponsored themselves, preferably country, as craftspeople, erspaces full of the tools Maker-Faires around in a social environment.

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They enjoy sharing, giving, learning, and playing as much as they love making things. “This is a humancentric ethos that embraces technology,” Mark Hatch writes in The Maker Manifesto, “but only to augment and supercharge a person’s own creative talent rather than be superseded by a machine.” Who wouldn’t want to be part of that tribe? I aspire. But I’m not mechanical, and I don’t have the confidence to watch a couple of YouTube videos and start making furniture. Soap, maybe. I’m the type who thrives with a little personal instruction (someone to stop me before I knit an entire scarf with backward stitches), and I’m in luck in Colorado. This place is a gold mine for classes and workshops where I can learn how to make everything from shoes to cheese. Here are a few I can’t wait to try.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CRAFTSMAN AND APPRENTICE

Craftsman and Apprentice

Denver craftsmanandapprentice.com

At this workshop and retail store on a sleepy City Park West street, master stonemason Jonathan Fessler and artist, maker, and former elementary school art teacher Delanie Holton-Fessler offer classes in fiber hand-

crafts like weaving, sewing, felting, and textile dyeing. “We believe in making things with our hands and spending time with good people,” the company’s website states. “Go slow, have fun, it’s all about the process.”

events—or one-on-one if you need a little help with a project—using local, sustainably harvested wood. Learn how to make a charcuterie board in ongoing classes, or have experts walk you through making a table.

Twigs and Twine

Upstairs Circus

Learn how to refinish, distress, glaze, crackle, and stencil walls and furniture from Lori Mastroni, who has been doing faux finishes for more than a decade.

This chain, which has locations on Wynkoop Street and Greenwood Plaza Boulevard, offers all the tools, materials, and handholding you need to make any one of a smorgasbord of more than 25 projects, from leather pet collars to distressed wood art.

Denver / twigsandtwineco.com

I Made It

Denver imadeitworkshops.com

This place offers woodworking classes for date night, corporate team-building, bridal showers, and other

Denver / upstairscircus.com

Woodworks Studio

Denver / woodworksstudio.com

Even if you’ve never picked up a hammer, you

can learn the basics of picking out lumber and milling it to size, as well as strong joinery techniques. Beginning woodworking classes teach you how to safely use a table saw, jointer, planer, miter

The Craftsman and Apprentice workroom and workshops—taken before COVID-19 mandated masks and social distancing

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PHOTOS COURTESY COLORADO SHOE SCHOOL

saw, and router to build a small table or bookcase. Colorado Shoe School Bellevue coloradoshoeschool.com

In one-, two-, and fiveday workshops, former circus performers Dan Huling and Annabel Reader walk you through designing and

making a pair of shoes on speed-adjustable sewing machines (super-slow for beginners) using repurposed leather (that hideous ’80s jacket that will never come back in style is fair game) and recycled materials such as bike tires and old rubber flooring for soles.

The Art of Cheese Longmont theartofcheese.com

You’ll get the raw materials and instruction you need to make cheese that’s ready in 36 hours and learn about the different kinds of milk and other ingredients that go into making great cheese. You also

get a recipe packet and samples that aren’t likely to make it home. Crackpots

Longmont ecrackpots.com

Learn how to paint pottery, fuse glass, create mosaics, and more at this studio in downtown Longmont S U M M E R 2020

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that focus on both technique and artistry. All tools are provided, and experimentation is encouraged. The Living Farm Paonia thelivingfarm.org

through scheduled classes and walk-ins.

Rosy Rings

AR Workshop

This Cherry Creek boutique offers weekly workshops.

Lafayette / arworkshop.com

PHOTO CREDITS (FROM TOP): GVS, ADOBE STOCK / MELINDA NAGY, ADOBE STOCK

With 145 locations in 31 states, this franchise offers open workshops and instruction in everything from wood signs and blanket ladders to canvas pillows and chunky knit blankets.

Denver rosyrings.com

This isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exactly making something, but can you imagine anything more empowering than knowing how to birth a lamb? The Living Farm will introduce you to the art and technique in a one-day experiBoulder School of Metals ence, or you can take Boulder a deep dive into the boulderschoolofmetals.com miracle of life (and Learn how to make possibly death) in a jewelry from master six-day full-immersion jewelers in small classes workshop.

Buckleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Homestead Supply

Colorado Springs buckleyshomesteadsupply.com

Learn how to make bath bombs, cold-process soap, lotions, scrubs, lip balm, and cheese; keep bees; grow gourmet mushrooms; can fruits and vegetables; and raise rabbits and chickens at this shop that sells everything from chicken feed to cheese presses. S U M M E R 2020

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Sea Bass & Spring Vegetable Dashi Recipe Jon Lavelle / Servings: 2

INGREDIENTS

Fresh Take on Fish Fruition chef de Cuisine Jon Lavelle lets spring shine in this bright sea bass dish. TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE

Chef Jon Lavelle fell in love with farm-to-table fare when he was a Johnson & Wales student working as an extern at Duo and Olivea. After graduation, Lavelle landed at Maialino in New York City, where he rose the ranks to become chef de cuisine. He took full advantage of the Union Square farmers’

market just a quick walk from the restaurant and deepened Maialino’s relationship with local farms. Lavelle is back home now, stoking his passion for fresh, local food as chef de cuisine at Fruition, a beloved Denver restaurant focused on letting the highest quality seasonal ingredients shine.

2 branzino (sea bass) fillets, scaled and pin bones removed ½ lb English peas, shucked (reserve shells) 6 baby turnips with tops 2 spring onions 1 stalk green garlic 1 fennel bulb with top 1 piece kombu (4"x4" will be plenty) 1 cup bonito flakes 1 onion 2 qts water 2 tbsp tamari Sea salt Sunflower oil Meyer lemon to garnish Baby kale or young mustard greens to garnish Extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup scallions, sliced INSTRUCTIONS

• Remove tops from fennel and turnips and reserve. • Remove green part of spring onions and reserve.

• Cut green garlic in half to keep them pressed from top to bottom. against the pan. • Cut onion and fennel bulb in • While fish is cooking, toss half from top to bottom. vegetables into simmering • Place unpeeled garlic, broth, and cook until onion, and fennel cut-sideturnips are fork-tender. up underneath a broiler. • When fish skins are nicely The goal is to get them browned, flip for a few nice and charred. seconds to cook just • Move garlic, onion, and through. Remove the fish fennel to a pot and cover from the pan to rest. with water. Add reserved • Ladle broth and vegetables vegetables, pea shells, into two bowls (you’ll have kombu, and bonito flakes. extra). Place fish on top, • Bring contents of pot propped up out of broth gently up to just under with vegetables, and garnish a simmer and turn heat each with a squeeze of off. Let stand for about 15 lemon, some scallions, baby minutes before straining. greens, and the best olive oil • Strain broth. Season you can get your hands on. aggressively with tamari ABOUT THE CHEF and sea salt to taste. • Pour broth into a clean pot. Jon Lavelle, a Johnson & Wales University graduate, Bring up to a simmer. • Cut spring onions and baby was chef de cuisine for Maialino in New York City turnips in quarters. for seven years before • Heat large cast iron skillet returning to Denver to be over medium heat. Add oil. the executive chef for The • Season fish fillets with salt Way Back 2.0. He’s now the and pepper, and lay them chef de cuisine for Fruition, skin-side-down into pan. a Denver favorite offering comfort food and seasonalGive them a gentle press ly inspired dishes. with the back of a spatula S U M M E R 2020

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A DV I S O RY B OA R D WA N A B R A N D S

and other animal-based products. Vegan and plant-based lifestyles are appealing from a health perspective as well. Health is at the forefront of all our minds these days, and plant-based diets have myriad benefits. If given the option, many people— even non-vegans—choose plant-based products for the benefits to both health and the environment. Most of us in the cannabis community are committed to finding better ways to live, and that includes embracing sustainable, eco-friendly products whenever possible. When deciding between products, it’s worth asking whether the brand reflects your priorities. Is the brand genuinely committed to sustainable, humane, environmentally-friendly practices? Do the products contain only natural ingredients? As a vegan or plant-based consumer, you shouldn’t feel like you have to make a trade-off between health and taste. With the burgeoning interest in vegan products, businesses are dedicating more time and attention to creating products that are both healthy and delicious. Wana’s industry-leading food scientists have spent years refining and perfecting the flavor and texture id you know that both even in cannabis edibles. Gelatin is made of its vegan-friendly Wana Gummies. The Economist and from animal skin, bones and connective Wana Brands uses fruit pectin and other Forbes Magazine detissue of various farm animals.. gluten-free natural ingredients, offering clared 2019 as the Year Many people don’t realize that gelatin a high-quality enjoyable product for of Vegan? They were on to something. In is a common ingredient in fruit-flavored everyone, vegans and non-vegans alike. 2019, sales of plant-based food products gummies. Most cannabis gummies on the Cannabis and plant-based lifestyles go grew much faster than their conventional market today include gelatin in their reci- hand-in-hand when it comes to bringanimal-based counterparts according to pes, but Wana Gummies are gelatin-free, ing balance and wellness to your life. Plant-Based Food Association data. utilizing instead vegan natural fruit pectin. Fortunately, there are a growing number Vegan diets consist of only plant-based Why do plant-based ingredients matter? of options on the market, whether your foods. Vegans do not eat meat, eggs, For vegans, their decision is about more purchase decisions are motivated by cheese, honey or other products contain- than a diet. It’s a conscious, deliberate health, climate change or animal welfare. ing animal-based products. For example, lifestyle choice. Veganism is a way to mayonnaise and a lot of baked goods minimize our impact on the climate by The Sensi Advisory Board comprises select contain eggs, making them non-vegan. eschewing resource-intensive meat and industry leaders in a variety of fields, from Gelatin is another sneaky animal-based animal products. Vegans also share a con- education to cultivation. They are invited to ingredient that can show up in unexpect- cern for animal welfare and the intensive share specialized insight in this dedicated section. For a full list of board members, see page 12. ed places like candy, marshmallows and farming practices used to produce meat

Category: Edibles Author: Nancy Whiteman, CEO of Wana Brands

Embracing Veganism and Plant-Based Diets

The environmental, ethical and health benefits of plant-based products.

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A DV I S O RY B OA R D M E D I C A L LY C O R R E C T

Hemp: An AllPurpose Healer This versatile plant could help bring the world back in balance.

n 2018, large-scale agricultural legislation triggered a movement. Economically, socially, and environmentally, the booming hemp industry is proving itself to be remarkably beneficial. A half million acres of land in the United States are now dedicated to hemp farming, and a comprehensive health-forward revolution is underway. Hemp and the Planet Climate concerns are magnifying, and while no single crop is a panacea for this problem, hemp may contribute valuable support. Naturally pest-resistant, hemp is known as an excellent ground cover crop, planted between other crops to prevent spacing for weeds and thereby diminishing the need for chemical herbicides and insec-

ticides. Hemp also grows healthily in contaminated soil, and it improves land and groundwater quality by absorbing pollutants such as nitrates and phosphates derived from industrial farming. Why is conventional farming and pesticide use such a concern? When erosion occurs, nutrient-excessive farm runoff can cause disproportionate algae growth, which creates low levels of dissolved oxygen in waterways. This affects local ecological communities as well as oceans, creating dead zones and impairing marine life, which diminishes food availability and threatens regional economies. Pesticide use also greatly contributes to the rate of colony loss among honeybees, a genus that is vital to resource security. Bees pollinate one-third of the global food supply, providing roughly

$500 billion a year to food production. Category: Wellness Hemp fully reinforces the agroecosystem Author: Abigail Nueve, by supplying sustenance and habitats to Social Coordinator pollinators, promoting the continuation of the bees’ necessary function. In addition, the burning of fossil fuels exceedingly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, warming the planet and causing sea levels to rise. The threat to our planet’s biological diversity could be mitigated with hemp, the ideal carbon sink. Hemp grows within just four months of being planted and purifies the air more effectively than trees. Not to mention that hemp leaves and stalks can even be converted to a fossil fuel alternative. Hemp and You Be a conservationist and health-conscious individual, all in one. By supporting hemp companies, you promote agricultural expansion and its positive impact on the environment, in addition to your own everyday wellness Multiple studies have shown that CBD, a constituent of hemp, is an effective remedy for pain, sleep, and anxiety— issues that most adults experience periodically, if not chronically. “Hemp, implemented at a large scale, could be a huge contributor to the planet’s endurance, and influence the way people prevent and treat health issues,” says Bob Eschino, president and co-founder of TruPura CBD. “With legitimate manufacturing processes, hemp-infused products provide a safer, more natural alternative to many other medications.” For your health and your earth, join the movement.

The Sensi Advisory Board comprises select industry leaders in a variety of fields, from education to cultivation. They are invited to share specialized insight in this dedicated section. For a full list of board members, see page 12.

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Thank You! TO OUR INCREDIBLE FAMILY & COMMUNITY

FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO! TO OUR CUSTOMERS

I want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU. I appreciate your support during these uncertain times while we work to keep our stores safe, clean, shelves stocked, and open. The Maggie’s Family has been humbled by the kindness you continue to show us, and more importantly, to each other.

TO OUR ASSOCIATES

I am astonished with your operational excellence and grateful for you, you are the real heroes in this story! Your commitment to Maggie’s Farm and our communities is absolutely inspiring. From our Support Staff to our Farmers and all of our Retail Associates working on the front lines, we couldn’t do what we do without you, THANK YOU. After 10 great years in business, we know we can get through any challenge together. Bill Conkling & Your Maggie’s Farm Family

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P R O M O T I O N A L F E AT U R E HIGHER GRADE

The Highest Grade

cuses mostly on exceptional in-house flower—hand-staked, hand-watered, and hand-trimmed—and boutique concentrate brands. There are no plans to expand beyond the two locations right now, she says. “We will continue to provide an exceptional experience for our current medical patients and recreational shoppers. Our budtenders are highly educated on all of our products, and we provide constant training to keep them knowledgeable so they can be truly helpful when making product recommendations.” Molly Matelski. “Owner Mike Leibowitz One of Higher Grade’s current has always had a passion for high-qual- projects is terpene testing all strains to ity cannabis, and he wanted to deliver better understand their physiological that to consumers through his own store. effects. “We want to deliver a clear picTop-shelf cannabis with top-shelf service ture of what the consumer can expect, has been our mission since day one.” not just based on the indica, sativa or Matelski says that the beautifully hybrid labels, but based on the terpene designed stores see a whole range of content combined with the cannabinoid customers, from the millennials to the content. It’s about providing as much inbaby boomer crowd. “People do appreci- formation as possible so our customers ate walking into a clean facility, but the can be informed consumers.” number-one thing is price and availability,” she says. “Right now in Denver, stores are low on product. High-quality flower is far less available than it has Higher Grade been in previous years.” Boutique recreational cannabis Matelski says that Higher Grade dispensary. carries a selection of edibles but fohighergradeco.com

This boutique dispensary in Denver offers only topshelf product.

any dispensaries across Colorado have settled into a rhythm of relatively steady customer flow, managing the influx of established and new products and making shelf space available for products customers are demanding. It’s becoming more difficult for cannabis brands to stand out even if they have quality products. This evolution is the driving force behind Higher Grade, a Denver-based dispensary with two stores in metro area. “Our goal has always been to deliver a unique shopping experience by providing cannabis in a boutique setting,” says Higher Grade manager

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Finding a Balance Kaviar crafts a happy medium between flower and concentrate.

n one corner you have traditional smokers, who prefer to enjoy cannabis the way they always have, in a bowl or a joint. Sometimes they also appreciate the intensity of vaping. On the other side are folks who love concentrates, dabbing, and all the equipment that comes with it. Sometimes they miss the simple pleasure of a good smoke. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, according to Denver-based brand Kaviar. “We fill the void between smoking traditional flower and smoking concentrates,” says Kali Mutty, marketing director of Kaviar. To reach what Mutty calls “a happy medium,” Kaviar infuses top-quality cannabis flowers with highgrade hash

Both Moon Rocks and Cones are available in distinct sativa, hybrid, and indica varieties. “For example, the sativa includes sativa flowers, sativa-derived hash oil, and kief collected from dried sativa flowers,” Mutty says. In most cases, the three components come from the same sativa strain. Each package of Moon Rocks or Cones is marked with the specific strains used to create them. Kaviar’s lab tests every batch of oil that is made to ensure consistency. The recipe is adjusted based on potency so that users enjoy a consistent experience from purchase to purchase. Kaviar products are available at more than 100 recreational and medical dispensaries in Colorado, from Denver to Parachute and Gunnison to Colorado Springs, including Ascend Cannabis, Doobie Sisters, High Country Healing, The Kind Room, and Trenchtown Cannabis. Kaviar’s general manager, Moe Atieh, points out that the company focuses on hand-crafting two premium products. “At Kaviar, we only produce Moon Rocks and infused Cones,” he says, “allowing us to keep an extremely close eye on quality and consistency.”

oil and then coats them twice in kief, the finely sifted cannabis trichomes loaded with THC. The result is Kaviar Moon Rocks, a gourmet experience that produces smooth, potent smoke. With a potency ranging from 50 to 60 percent THC, the Moon Rocks effect is felt almost immediately with a cerebral rush that gives way to long-lasting mind and body relaxation. Kaviar Cones take the messy, sticky work out of rolling a potent joint. Each cone contains 1.5 grams of Kaviar Moon Rocks with potency from 30 to 40 percent THC. “We grind our Moon Rocks and pre- Kaviar roll cones that are fitted with a reusable Artisan, made-from-scratch concenglass tip. It’s a more sanitary way to hit trates and infused cones on a passed joint,” Mutty says. kaviar.co S U M M E R 2020

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P R O M O T I O N A L F E AT U R E MEDPHARM

Aliviar, a medically focused brand for pain management; Become oil concentrate for a mellow, balanced, or elevated feeling; and Batch, an oil concentrate with higher percentages of THC, for the cannabis connoisseur. The tincture has 1,400 milligram of CBD and 70 milligram of THC combined in a 15-milliliter container. “It’s a small bottle, but it packs a punch,” Gutierrez says. The tincture doesn’t have a taste or smell, he says, and contains no alcohol. It won’t trigger a response in anyone suffering from opioid addiction or alcoholism dependency. MedPharm is getting “awesome yields” on its oils, Gutierrez says, averaging 94 percent cannabinoid content and even hitting 99.8 percent in some. He says that MedPharm is all about consistency and reliability in its pharmaceutical-grade facility and dosage forms. “On top of that, we are getting our Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification in the next couple of months,” Gutierrez says, adding that the company is going through a GMP audit this past spring. “We have always been GMP compliant, but now we are hen CEO Albert chemists, a PhD in medicinal and natural solidifying that process,” he says. Gutierrez first products chemistry, a compound pharGutierrez also does work with the began assembling macist, grow and extraction technicians, American Trade Association of Cannabis the MedPharm and a solid sales force. and Hemp, an organizer that recently medical cannabis grow, research and The MedPharm director of research added Adolphus Busch IV as chair of development laboratory and compound- is Sue Sisley, a prominent scientist and its Industry Influencers Committee. “It’s a small ing facility in 2016 in Denver, to call it sought-after speaker about medical canna- “We want to really lead the way on the bottle, but ambitious was to not do it justice. bis who is developing treatments for PTSD. dosage formulation side of things and be it packs a There was a vision that this analytical The place is hitting its stride. “The facility known as a world player,” he says. “We thinker was after, which involved huge is fully running,” Gutierrez says, “from want to be a high-quality global compa- punch.” risk-taking in a nascent industry where cultivation through extraction to compound- ny that is putting out the best product —Albert Gutierrez, CEO he wanted to carve out a larger niche in ing. And we are beginning research and of MedPharm that people are going to need.” the medical cannabis space. Today, with development in our lab as well. We have his company’s operating a 15,000-square- spread it out a little bit more, but everything foot facility managed by 22 employees, is working quite well.” Gutierrez is now vying for global expanMedPharm offers extractions from its MedPharm sion, and, maybe, global dominance. lab that can be formulated into creams, Colorado’s first licensed cannabis MedPharm has the goods to make tinctures, suppositories, or vaporizers. research facility that go. On its team are analytical The company makes three brands: medpharmholdings.com

A Total Research Approach

MedPharm seeks to be the first and best in the global cannabis arena.

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Enjoy the TASTE of SUMMER!

Experience the refreshing flavors of Pat’s Tincture! This isn’t your typical tincture. Made with our highquality CO2 extracted cannabis oil, these tinctures have no harsh aftertaste, and are available in a variety of delicious flavors! Pat’s Tincture is an easy way to get more CBD in your daily routine.

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P R O M O T I O N A L F E AT U R E T H E H E A LT H C E N T E R

Bringing Production and Quality Control In-House

The Health Center hosted its first event in September 2018, and plans on bringing more to Denver in the coming years. The event was targeted to health professionals and focused around education about medical marijuana. “It has helped the brand by reaching out to a professional, historically more conservative, group that realizes that cannabis is not so taboo anymore,” Goldman says. The company won three awards in 2018, including first place in Rooster’s THC Classic (for its CBD concentrate), second place in the Sauce Classic, and third place in the THC Classic (for its wax). The Health Center has 135 employees, with the majority located in the wo female business investment opportunities presented 60,000-square-foot cultivation area. “We operators have successthemselves. In 2012, Tiffany Goldman have an amazing dedicated team of emfully owned, operated, became a partner in the company. ployees, many of whom have been with and expanded The Health The current cultivation center us throughout our growth and expansion Center, a medical and recreational provides wholesale flower and conprocess,” Yeomans says. cannabis company that is composed centrates under the Nuhl Distribution The Health Center is considering of three cultivation facilities and three brand. “With the new extraction facility, stores: two retail medical dispensaries in we can keep all production and quality expanding into other states. “As a Denver and a retail dispensary in Boulder control in-house to create our own line company, we have been focusing on achieving our goals of complete vertical that opened in 2018. of concentrates like waxes, resins, integration in Colorado, then branching This year, it’s opening a state-ofshatters, cartridges, and edibles,” out into other states.” the-art medical and retail marijuana Yeomans says. The Health Center also products manufacturing and extraction has a large variety of flower strains that facility. are all hand-trimmed. Reagan Yeomans, The Health The Health Center has contributed to Center’s founder and CEO, first became numerous community outreach programs The Health Center part of the industry in 2010 as Colorado throughout the city. According to an article Cannabis Dispensary made cannabis legal medically and in Digiday, a business intelligence site, thchealth.com

An award-winning local dispensary adds a cutting-edge manufacturing and extraction facility.

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THE END

New Volunteers TEXT KATY GURIN

PHOTO BY TRADOL, ADOBE STOCK

In the sun, we circled after speaking to our senator’s staff. We’d given them a list—four steps to transition from fossil fuels— and received no promises for action. Why then, I wondered, were we so giddy? As we spoke of the hard work ahead, why did we feel relief? Before that day, alone in an office, I’d plotted the rise of the future sea, thinking this is the arc of my story: since my birth we’d burned more fossil fuels than all years prior, the decades left to stop this burning were the span of my career, and all I could do on my own was switch out my lightbulbs and mourn. But on that day, each of us felt—I’m sure of it— that as we composed our letter we’d summoned a new sense of possibility, and in delivering it together: power.

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SUMMER 2020