Sensi Magazine New England - January 2021

DREAM ON

The power of positive planning

HEALING TRAUMA

Reclaiming psychedelic medicine

NEW ENGLAND JANUARY 2021

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FEATURES

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Safe Space

Activist Jess Jackson cultivates a cannabis community at Copper House bud and breakfast.

Reclaiming Recovery Psychedelic therapy could help ease the constant wounds of racial trauma.

DEPARTMENTS

11 EDITOR’S NOTE 18 THE LIFE Contributing to your health and happiness 12 THE BUZZ TRAVEL Planning your News, tips, and tidbits to keep you in the loop LAND OF THE CZARS

Experience a taste of imperial Russia at this Massachusetts museum.

VERMONT HEMP FEST

Help foster economic growth in northern New England’s cannabis industry.

GOING TO THE DOGS Race across a frozen pond on a dogsled.

LESS IS MORE Ethically made, simple lingerie from Maine SET IN STONE Visit an ancient human-made structure in New Hampshire.

next vacation now is good for you—whether you take it or not.

2021 VIBES What the new year holds

42 THE SCENE Hot happenings and hip hangouts around town MOUNTAIN UPDATES

What to expect at New England’s ski resorts this season CALENDAR Virtual and safe live events to keep you busy this January

ON THE COVER

How to prepare and stay safe on the slopes during this unique winter season PHOTO BY CASCADECREATIVES, ADOBE STOCK

52 THE END A really big tribute to Paul Bunyan in Bangor, Maine

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e r a u q S l a tr n e C IT’S GREAT TO BE PART OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Revolutionary Clinics is thrilled to be serving patients at 541 Massachusetts Avenue. Situated in the heart of the Central Square cultural district, this spacious shop features the highest quality cannabis along with a team of people who are passionate about connecting you with the products and delivery methods best suited for your needs.

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MURAL BY FELIPE ORTIZ Please Consume Responsibly. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Marijuana should not be used by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

This product has not been analyzed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There is limited information on the side effects of using this product, and there may be associated health risks. Marijuana use during pregnancy and breast-feeding may pose potential harms. It is against the law to drive or operate machinery when under the influence of this product. KEEP THIS PRODUCT AWAY FROM CHILDREN. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. The impairment effects of edible marijuana may be delayed by two hours or more. In case of accidental ingestion, contact poison control hotline 1-800-222-1222 or 9-1-1. This product may be illegal outside of MA.

ADVISORY BOARD

The Botanist Cannabis Education Corners Packaging Packaging Curaleaf Veterans Cannabis Project Flourish Software Seed to Sale Green Goddess Supply Personal Homegrown Biochamber Green Matters LLC/MariMed Inc. Supply Chain GreenHouse Payment Solutions Payment Processing The Holistic Center Medical Marijuana Evaluations The Leaf Collaborative Education Mayflower Medicinals Online Reservations PotGuide Travel & Tourism Revolutionary Clinics Medical Dispensary Royal Gold Soil Tess Woods Public Relations Public Relations MEDIA PARTNERS

Marijuana Business Daily Minority Cannabis Business Association National Cannabis Industry Association Students for Sensible Drug Policy

EXECUTIVE

Ron Kolb Founder, CEO ron@sensimag.com Stephanie Wilson Co-Founder, Editor in Chief stephanie@sensimag.com Mike Mansbridge President mike@sensimag.com Fran Heitkamp Chief Operating Officer fran@sensimag.com Lou Ferris VP of Global Revenue lou@sensimag.com Chris Foltz Director of Global Reach chris@sensimag.com Jade Kolb Director of Project Management jade.kolb@sensimag.com Kristan Toth Head of People kristan.toth@sensimag.com EDITORIAL

Doug Schnitzspahn Executive Editor doug.schnitzspahn@sensimag.com Emilie-Noelle Provost Managing Editor emilie.provost@sensimag.com Leland Rucker Senior Editor leland.rucker@sensimag.com Robyn Griggs Lawrence Editor at Large robyn.lawrence@sensimag.com Helen Olsson Copy Chief Mona Van Joseph, Tracy Ross Contributing Writers DESIGN/PRODUCTION

Jamie Ezra Mark Creative Director jamie@emagency.com Rheya Tanner Art Director Wendy Mak, Josh Clark Designers Neil Willis Production Director neil.willis@sensimag.com PUBLISHING

Richard Guerra Market Director richard.guerra@sensimag.com Jenna Scandone Media Sales Executive jenna.scandone@sensimag.com

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PUBLIC

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Magazine published monthly

by Sensi Media Group LLC.

© 2021 Sensi Media Group. All rights reserved.

January has always been one of my favorite months.

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

FAC E B O O K Like Sensi Media Group for the parties, topics, and happenings we’re obsessed with right now.

TWITTER Follow @sensimag to stay up-to-date on the latest news from Sensi cities.

I N S TAG R A M @sensimagazine is home to exclusive photos and content.

I love how neat and tidy our house looks after all the holiday decorations have been put away and how quiet stores and public places suddenly become as soon as the new year arrives. One of the things I look forward to most in January is finally having some time to myself. As much as I enjoy the holidays and all the cooking, shopping, and reconnecting with friends that come with them, I don’t always like the sense of obligation so often associated with the season’s festivities.

This year I, like many other people, am especially happy to toss my 2020 calendar into the recycling bin. I’m optimistic that 2021 will bring better, happier, healthier days. As challenging as 2020 was for my family and me, over the past year I’ve come to appreciate the people I love and the time I get to spend with them more. I know things won’t be back to normal for a while, but looking forward to having our friends over for dinner and hosting family gatherings again is something that keeps me going.

While a lot of local events have been canceled and many indoor activities are still out, there are plenty of safe things you can do outdoors as well as virtual events you can check out this month that will help you make good use of your quiet post-holiday time. Our feature on New England ski areas acts as a guide to some of the changes you can expect at your favorite resorts this winter. In The Buzz, you’ll find information about the first virtual Vermont Hemp Fest, an event that aims to advance economic opportunities in northern New England’s cannabis and hemp industries. Also in The Buzz, you’ll learn about 4,000-year-old ruins you can snowshoe to in New Hampshire, and in The End, discover a monument to America’s most famous mythical lumberjack in downtown Bangor, Maine.

I know things won’t be back to normal for a while, but looking forward to having our friends over for dinner and hosting family gatherings again is something that keeps me going.

Happy New Year,

Emilie-Noelle Provost @Emilie_Noelle

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No Passport? No Problem Founded in the 1990s by local plastics engineer Gordon B. Lankton, the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Massachusetts, is home to the largest collection of religious icons outside of Russia. Lankton, who began collecting icons while on a business trip in the late 1980s, opened the museum in a 150-year-old factory near the in12

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jection molding company where he worked. Additions to the building were completed in 2008 and 2010, and today the museum has three floors of gallery space housing its permanent collection, a research center, a tea room, a gift shop, and galleries for special exhibitions.

Current exhibitions include Playground of the Autocrats, a collection

of colorful triptychs telling stories from Russia’s history by contemporary artist Anne Bobroff-Hajal, running through January 24. Miniature Masterpieces: Russian Lacquer Boxes, featuring more than 100 intricately decorated paper-mache boxes from villages across Russia, runs through March 28. museumofrussianicons.org

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MRI

A one-of-a-kind museum tucked away in a small New England mill town transports visitors to the land of the czars.

CONTRIBUTORS

Emilie-Noelle Provost, Stephanie Wilson

BY THE NUMBERS

34.5 INCHES

HEMP FEST GOES VIRTUAL

Learn about hemp with interactive online booths and livestreamed speakers.

Record-setting amount of snowfall in Worcester, Massachusetts, during Winter Storm Juno, which struck New England on January 26, 2015 SOURCE: newengland.com

Snowshoe to Ancient Ruins PHOTOS (FROM LEFT) COURTESY OF AMERICA’S STONEHENGE / HEMP FEST

Spend an afternoon checking out one of the oldest human-made constructions in the US. Estimated to be 4,000 years old, America’s Stonehenge, located on 105 acres in Salem, New Hampshire, is a collection of stone chambers, altars, and monoliths that operates as an accurate astronomical calendar.

Called “Mystery Hill” by colonial settlers, the site contains inscriptions including Ogham, Phoenician, and Iberian Punic script. Details of the site’s origins are unclear, though it’s been attributed to both Native American and migrant European cultures at various times.

After a visit to the stones, you can spend a few hours hiking or snowshoeing on the property’s large trail network (snowshoe rentals are available). Be sure to say hello to the resident alpacas while you’re there. stonehengeusa.com

21ºF Average January temperature in Concord, New Hampshire

SOURCE: Discover New England

76 MILES PER HOUR

Highest speed of sustained wind gusts on Nantucket during the historic “bomb cyclone” January 2018 North American Blizzard SOURCE: Washington Post

The Vermont Hemp Fest Virtual Edition kicks off on January 29. The online event will feature interactive booths and a diverse programming lineup, which will include speakers from across the country who will discuss issues related to adult-use cannabis and social justice. Networking sessions for farmers, landowners, entrepreneurs, artisans who make and sell hemp products, and anyone else who wants to learn about the economic potential of hemp and cannabis are also in the works. Visit the website to register as an exhibitor, sponsor, attendee, speaker, or volunteer. hempfest.headyvermont.com

JANUARY IS THE MONTH FOR DREAMING.” —Jean Hersey, 20th-century American author

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THE BUZZ

BILITIES

BY STEPHANIE WILSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF

1 NEW YEAR, SAME YOU, FRESH PURPOSE: The arrival of 2021 is a chance to make a change. The year in our rearview torpedoed everything we thought of as “normal,” and there’s no going back. Not that we want to—the old normal and even the new normal isn’t good enough. We all were grinding away, but we weren’t making progress. And we’re all about progression.

2 MOVING ONWARD: It’s the only direction into the auspicious year of 2021, known as the Year 5 in numerology. According to Astrofame’s summary of Year 5, “We often feel freer and more able to make changes that we have been thinking about for a long time. We will pursue new initiatives and could even feel like we are growing wings. Curiosity and desire for freedom will be present, as will the desire to go beyond our limits.”

3 BORN AGAIN: According to Pinterest Predicts, an annual notyet-trending report, in 2021, we can expect “routines to be remixed.

Expect regular to be reinvented.” Pinterest says 2021 will be a rebirth, not a reset. “After the plague came the Renaissance.”

4 PLANT POWER TO THE PEOPLE: We’re at the beginning of a new Renaissance—a modern period of cultural, artistic, political, and scientific rebirth. At Sensi, we spent the past year undergoing a transformation to better serve our founding purpose: to break cannabis out of the chains of stigma, to be the bridge that connects cannabis with the mainstream, to tell the stories of the plant and of the people impacted by the plant, to stir people’s curiosity and their desire for freedom to use the plant—and inspire demands for the freedom of people suffering in prison because of cannabis prohibition.

Going to the Dogs

Race across a snow-covered frozen lake on a dogsledding adventure in Maine.

Before there were snowmobiles and all-wheel-drive SUVs, winter travel in the northern part of the world often required a dogsled. Canine-powered travel is not as common as it once was, but if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to fly across a frosty meadow behind a team of enthusiastic huskies, several outfitters in Maine offer overnight, daylong, and half-day trips. In addition to beautiful views of snowy forests and white-capped mountains, dogsledding excursions often include hot meals. Some outfitters even provide winter gear and offer guests the opportunity to drive the team themselves. visitmaine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF VISIT MAINE

5 MUSIC MAKERS: This modern Renaissance will provide relief … releaf … ReLeaf. As in, Sensi Presents ReLeaf, the Compilation Album Volume 1, a Benefit for Last Prisoner Project is the next bold step in Sensi’s journey, part of our rebirth. It’s the first release from Sensi’s new record label, and we are so excited and honored to introduce it to you. In the coming months, we’ll have ongoing coverage of the album and the artists who lent their talents to the project, and we’ll also shine a light on the important accomplishments of the Last Prisoner Project—both in the magazine and on the newly rebirthed sensimag.com.

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THE BUZZ

VOX POPULI

Question: What is your greatest wish for 2021?

MARIANNE GHIZZONI FELICIA WHITING

KAREN STAIRS

TOM PERRY

CHUCK RAFFONI

Services Administrator Norwood, MA

Marketing Professional Amherst, MA

Daycare Provider Lowell, MA

Project Manager Londonderry, NH

Yoga Instructor Chelmsford, MA

___________________

___________________

___________________

___________________

___________________

It would be great if people could be kinder to one another.

I’m hoping for opportunities for positive change this year, both in my own life and in the world as a whole.

My greatest wish is that For all Americans no one goes hungry. to realize that our differences are vastly outnumbered by our similarities, and that this point can become the primary focus of our discourse.

My greatest wish for 2021 is that society will have learned from the pandemic about the importance of our interconnectedness, to not take things for granted, and to live each day and our lives more fully.

Less is More

A Maine-based brand makes ethically sourced, minimalist lingerie. all the pieces in the line. Today, Brook There makes bras, underwear, loungewear, camis, and slips from sustainably sourced silk and organic cotton grown in California. The pieces, which come in a variety of pretty, unfussy styles and colors, are sewn in a boutique Massachusetts factory.

EN·THE·O·GEN (n) A psychoactive substance, typically derived from plants, that is ingested to produce a non-ordinary state of consciousness for religious purposes or spiritual enlightenment. (See “The Road to Reclaiming Recovery,” p. 34.)

brookthere.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BROOKE THERE

When Maine College of Art alumna Brook DeLorme couldn’t find the understated ethically made lingerie she was looking for, she decided to make her own. “I realized I wasn’t the only woman looking for lingerie that would make her feel like herself, rather than someone else’s fantasy,” DeLorme says. She founded her company, Brook There, in 2007, and still designs

WORD OF THE MONTH

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PHOTO BY KRISTOPHER ROLLER, UNSPLASH

Happy Plan Americans finally have reason to (cautiously) dream about travel again.

TEXT STEPHANIE WILSON

If you’re wondering how has stirred up some wanderlust in you, you are to be a good traveler in not alone. And stoking the time of COVID-19, look to the words of an- the fire of your passion for travel is so much cient Chinese philosmore than just a guilty opher and author Lao pleasure—it’s an exerTzu. Among his many cise shown by science to notable wise quotes is boost your mental health this one: “A good travand emotional well-beeler has no fi xed plans ing. To which we sing, and is not intent on “Dream on, dream until arriving.”

Fact is, we don’t know your dreams come true.”

There’s some good when we’ll be able to news for globe-trotters: travel freely again, but Although most people there’s reason to be have back-burnered their optimistic we could be leisure travel for now, catching flights (not trip planning doesn’t feelings) sometime need to be canceled too. in 2021. In November, “According to researchwe learned that one ers, looking ahead to of the candidates for your next adventure a COVID-19 vaccine, could benefit your menmade by Pfizer and BioNTech, was more than tal health,” writes Erica Jackson Curran in Na90 percent effective in tional Geographic. “Even preventing volunteers from contracting the vi- if you’re not sure when rus—news that sparked that adventure will be.”

To back that idea up, a dim light at what we Curran points to a 2007 hope is the end of the study published in the very long tunnel we’ve Journal of Experimental been wandering in our Psychology. Researchers masks since March. at University of ColoraIf all the wandering

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SHOP NOW

939 Boston Turnpike | Shrewsbury Open 7 days a week | 9am–9pm Order online Pick up in store shop.verilife.com

Please Consume Responsibly. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment.

Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults 21 years of age or older or persons holding a patient registration card. Keep out of the reach of children. This product has not been analyzed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There is limited information on the side effects of using this product, and there may be associated health risks. Marijuana use during pregnancy and breast-feeding may pose potential harms. It is against the law to drive or operate machinery when under the influence of this product. KEEP THIS PRODUCT AWAY FROM CHILDREN. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. The impairment effects of edible marijuana may be delayed by two hours or more.

In case of accidental ingestion, contact the poison control hotline 1-800-222-1222 or 9-1-1. This product may be illegal outside of MA. ©2020 PharmaCann Inc. All rights reserved.

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PHOTO BY ROBERTO NICKSON, UNSPLASH

THE LIFE

do Boulder found that people were happier during the planning stages of a vacation than they were after taking one. Put another way, we’re likely to enjoy the anticipation of a trip more than we enjoy reminiscing about it afterward, a theory that was seconded and thirded by later studies. According to findings by researcher Jeroen Nawijn published in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life, travelers planning a vacation reported being happier than people who aren’t dreaming of their next escape. That 2010 study found that all vacationers experienced a significant boost in happiness during the planning stages of a trip.

“For most,” the researchers concluded, “the enjoyment starts weeks, even months before the holiday actually begins.”

We all could benefit from some more enjoyment right now. The global pandemic has taken a toll on American’s well-being, as multiple global surveys and reports have shown.

One study revealed that Americans are experiencing the lowest levels of happiness in 50 years.

And according to results of the latest Ipsos survey on global happiness released in October, the J A N UA RY 2021

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PHOTO BY ATLAS GREEN, UNSPLASH

THE LIFE

prevalence of happiness is down more than nine points in the United States compared with last year. Of those surveyed, 25 percent reported being “not very happy” and six percent saying they are “not happy at all.”

If you can relate, now’s the time to start planning your next escape. A new poll conducted by the Institute for Applied Positive Research backed up earlier studies, fi nding that simply planning a trip can help boost happiness and alleviate stress. According to the institute’s founder

Michelle Gielan, “Booking a trip—even just getting it on the calendar—might be the very thing we need to restore our emotional immune system after months of mounting uncertainty and stress.”

If your bank account is laughing at the thought of booking a vacation, first applaud its sense of humor. Then reassure it that dreaming of getting away at any point in the future is not an exercise in futility: planning for life returning to normal can be a comforting activity amid all the uncertainty. Just because

Just because you couldn’t swing a trip in the immediate future doesn’t negate the positive impact that anticipating a vacation can have on your mental health.

you couldn’t swing a trip in the immediate future doesn’t negate the positive impact that anticipating a vacation can have on your mental health.

This is a long way of suggesting you go start a Pinterest board or two to populate with photos of whatever exotic paradise catches your wandering, lusting eye.

Because one day—perhaps one day soon-ish— you can be on your way to finding it. There’s no time like the present to plan your future escape.

It’s all but guaranteed to bring joy to your world this holiday season.

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CONNECT WITH YOURSELF AND OTHERS IN CITIES AROUND THE GLOBE

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THE LIFE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mona Van Joseph is a professionally licensed intuitive reader in Las Vegas since 2002.

Author, radio host, and columnist, she has created the Dice Wisdom app and is available for phone and in-person sessions. mona.vegas

PHOTO BY JOZEFMICIC, ADOBE STOCK

2021 Vibe

the government), which will make it attractive to wait until that month.

The numerals in 2021 This is the year that you get what you want. add up to a 5 in numeroloTEXT MONA VAN JOSEPH gy, resonating to fast-moving communication, the The year 2020 was a vised unless it’s presented planet Mercury, and the Foundation Year designed (in writing or contract) to Norse God, Loki. It is the to show us what’s most benefit you authentically.

Year of Media—the truth important. It was spiritual Patience with yourself and and the trickster. Both awareness to our growth, others right now will do the truth and the manipand in many ways, we you a world of good when ulation of the truth in any were forced to recognize the energy shifts. issue will be present. Make and honor our priorities.

Make your plan for your own conclusions Isolation, loss, and money forward movement when and decisions on what you worries were (and still are this energy shift begins in know to be your truth. for many) center stage.

May. This will allow you Make the first quarter There will (still) be to attend a baseball game personally productive. Reholding back energy on or concert in July, the member, this year is about gatherings until the end of power month this year. connections and commuMarch and awareness of It will enable you to get nication. Do your best to money issues until April. that promotion or launch connect with people who People will be deciding a new beginning. The best you’ll want in your wheelwhat they want to do with month to retire would also house moving forward. their careers or finding be in July. There will be Connect with everyone ways to fill up their days in offers made to those close you’ve met on LinkedIn, the first quarter. Action in to retirement age in July especially if one of your the first quarter is not ad- (either by an employer or goals has to do with a new

HOROSCOPE

career opportunity.

Remember that nature abhors a vacuum, and the practical cleaning out of things in your living space will allow new things to present themselves. Make it a goal to have one drawer, one shelf, and one cabinet in each room empty so you are setting up the energy to receive. Hang all of the hanger hooks in your closet backward to see what you’re actually wearing (and decide in six months what you’ll keep or donate).

Spending time with ourselves in 2020 was to show us what truly makes us happy and purposeful.

This will be an action year as soon as you decide what that looks like for you. It’s truly that simple. Speak aloud what you want, and do not speak aloud what you don’t want.

MULLIGAN For the coming year, Mona is offering a 9 Day Energy Reset.

To learn more or participate, visit 9dayer.com.

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SAFE SPACE

Activist and entrepreneur Jess Jackson is destigmatizing cannabis and building a community where everyone is welcome at her Copper House Bud and Breakfast.

TEXT TRACY ROSS PHOTOS OLIVE J. MEDIA

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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

Jess Jackson, posing here for #CurvyCannabis, has learned to lead from her core values, creating a space that empowers others to find inner contentment.

Jess Jackson wants the world to know her as a “community architect.” “That means I build, develop, sustain, and enhance communities,” says the 33-year-old entrepreneur. “It’s not a known career, but the name conveys that there’s a science behind building meaningful community. It takes intention and ties to the core of who I am.” Take Jackson’s ownership of Copper House Detroit, a “bud and breakfast” that caters to cannabis fans who love a good brunch in the morning. But Jack-

son does so much more to make Detroit a more inclusive place.

Read on to see how she juggles advocacy work, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training, education around fat bias in cannabis-focused marketing—all while following her purpose and dreams.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND. I grew up on Detroit’s southwest side, commonly known as Mexican Town. It was mostly Latinx and full of multilingual families that valued each other and com-

munity. I also experienced poverty around me and all the things that go along with it. I grew up in a single-parent household; my father battled addiction for most of his life. I did my undergrad at University of Michigan and eventually finished my MBA at the University of Delaware. My wife and I came back just before the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (MRTMA) was passed, legalizing adultuse marijuana. I’ve co-founded two businesses since then—CopJ A N UA RY 2021

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Copper House hosts Curvy Cannabis, which, according to Jess, “challenges antifat bias in cannabisfocused aesthetics and marketing.”

per House Detroit and LOUD. Social, a content marketing agency specializing in community engagement, social media strategy, and visual design.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU USED CANNABIS? First time I tried it, I was 18. But ironically, the first time I bought 30

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a joint, I was 16 and I didn’t even smoke it. I hadn’t come out yet and was looking for a way to connect with a friend who was bisexual. I ended up giving the joint away and never had the desire to try again until I was in college. Then a combination of a taxing campus climate and privileged normalization

made me think it could be a viable way for me to treat my anxiety.

YOU’VE CALLED CANNABIS AN EQUITY ISSUE. WHY? On the legal side, it’s because of injustices that communities have faced due to criminalization. The other problem is that cannabis is

there are so many other expenses to get up and running. My aim is to navigate this process in a way that’s equitable. First, I’m going to go through the process of starting a small business and then I’m going to create a pathway for others to do it. It’s about honoring communities that are often overlooked.

TELL US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT COPPER HOUSE. It’s an intimate and cozy community-activated space. We host overnight bookings, lifestyle photography shoots, intimate dinners, and parties with the cannabis community at heart.

HOW SUCCESSFUL IS IT AND HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO GET GOING?

a plant that’s been used by communities of color for thousands of years, yet these same communities are disproportionately affected by criminalization and prohibition. I am a proponent of automatic expungement—the erasure of crime records. Let’s clear these Black and brown communities who’ve been

disproportionately targeted and criminalized, and have lost access to jobs, education, housing—a full life. Then, as we think about the industry, there’s so much regulation that businesses have to follow in order to be viable and legal. Just to apply for a micro-business license in Michigan costs $6,000. Then

We’ve been listed on Bud and Breakfast (budandbreakfast.com) since December of 2018, and we had our first guests on January 11, 2019. How did it go? At first, we were only doing a few things here and there but weren’t putting a lot of energy behind it. But in October, we started hosting CuriosiTea parties with Anqunette Sarfoh. She helped us build our market, and we were booked and sold out for months. I’d call us successful, because so far, we’ve been able to meet all our revenue goals, build community, and are currently working on a basement studio expansion. But this is just a prototype. One day, I want a larger bud and breakfast, in a historic building that represents Detroit culture. COVID-19 hit us like everyone else, but we’ve learned [things]—like how to run a hospitality business in a pandemic.

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Jess (at left) and Cara Jackson have created a welcoming vibe for all at Copper House.

we were empty, we built up our backyard, upscaling it into a garden oasis. Our goal has been to break even and reinvest all profit into the house. We’re not super lucrative yet, but I’ve been able to meet the people I need to meet in my dining room, and that is powerful.

HAVE YOU HAD SIGNIFICANT PUSHBACK FROM ANYONE? The most significant moment for me was when I faced professional loss because of my involvement with cannabis. I come from an educational background, and I’ve done a lot of work with nonprofits.

I’ve also been affected by addiction, so I understand the concern with making a product that you’ve learned to be a drug more accessible. There’s some hurt to restore, and I feel educated enough to challenge people’s beliefs. There’s so much good cannabis can do. For someone addicted to opioids, it can help them heal. Our communities have been using it to heal for

centuries. So, I think resistance can be alleviated by having very real conversations and developing collaborative solutions.

YOU DO A MILLION DIFFERENT THINGS—HOW DO YOU JUGGLE THEM ALL? DOES IT INVOLVE CANNABIS? I started this journey as a means of community care—I said, ‘Our community needs a space that’s safe and welcoming, so let’s open our home.’ But what I’m learning is that I also need my own self-care and time. It’s a balancing act. I make sure I incur something for me every day, because when I don’t, I notice my reactions are very high. I pay attention to my moods, and then I do what I need to do to balance myself. I love sleep; it’s the best gift for me. So, it might mean that on a Saturday, I sleep all day. And I don’t shame myself for being unproductive. I also like a smaller amount of self-care practice daily. I try to do moments of breath work. I like to dance in front of my mirror. I’m

a dreamer, so ideating is a form of self-care for me. And I journal. My @jesshuman [Instagram] platform is a lot of my own venting—I publish publicly because I’m community-centered, and I want to model that we are all human—our emotions exist. I’m vulnerable publicly to help others not feel alone.

HOW CAN WE ALL TAP INTO THE MEANINGFUL THING THAT FUELS US? The best way is to know yourself. I think that a lot of times people take external influences on who they are and don’t really know who they are. I use a lot of astrology, but I’m also in talent development. I understand how I work, what my assets are, and what I’m not great at. I also know my values and where I will draw the line. So, know yourself, be honest about what you value, and then look for opportunities to feed those values in your work. When you lead from your core values, you’ll feel purpose in everything you do.

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

Tracy Ross is the managing editor of Sensi Michigan

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Psychedelic therapy could help ease the deep, constant wounds of racial trauma, but stigma and the movement’s unbearable whiteness keep people away.

TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE

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THE ROAD

ORIGINAL PHOTO BY BEN SCOTT, UNSPLASH

TO RECLAIMING RECOVERY

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Fighting for freedom is Join the revolution at norml.org

n her vision, NiCole Buchanan is lying on a mat on a dirt floor, watching the woman sitting across from her morph into her ancestors through multiple generations, women she recognizes as legacies of her own history. They tell her they have survived brutal lifetimes as Black women so that she could be. They tell her she’s doing everything they’d hoped and dreamed.

In Jamilah George’s vision, she’s riding a lapa (an African skirt) like a magic carpet, looking down at her ancestors working the plantation fields. A face that looks like hers turns toward her and reaches out a hand, and George pulls her up to the lapa. As generations of her ancestors pass by below, she continues to reach down and pull them up until her lapa is full of beautiful Black women from her lineage, all holding hands. “I’ve never felt so much warmth and support in my life, ever,” she says.

Buchanan, an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University and founder of Alliance Psychological Associates in East Lansing, Michigan, and George, a Detroit native who is studying the potential of psychedelic medicine to heal the psychological effects of racial trauma while pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Connecticut, shared their psychedelic experiences during an emotional segment of “Black Lives Matter & Psychedelic Integration: Pathways to Radical Healing Amidst Ongoing Oppression.” The webinar, sponsored by the Chacruna Institute (a nonprofit that provides education about psychedelic plant medicines) in

November, is one of many such events that have come online recently to explore how entheogens (plants that inspire non-ordinary states of consciousness and spiritual enlightenment) may be able to uproot and heal deep, embedded scars from generations of systemic racial oppression.

Oyi Sun, an Atlanta-based martial arts master and coach who produced the 2020 Detroit Psychedelic Conference, explains it this way: “The white man has been selling trauma for generations, and here’s the terrible part—we’ve been programmed to receive it. And when you’re dealing with earthly trauma, entheogens are the best therapists in the world. There’s been a spiritual suppression going on for over 2,000 years, and now with the help of entheogens, there’s about to be a renewal of spiritual power.”

Sun stepped in to run the conference, with the theme “Entheogenics in Urban Environments: A Journey into the Mysteries,” after its founder, Baba Kilindi Iyi, died in April. Kilindi, one of the world’s foremost experts on psychedelic science and healing and the master of mushroom megadosing, was often the only Black presenter—if not the only Black person—at conferences and events on the psychedelic circuit, and he created the Detroit conference to bring the conversation home. “The faces that look like Kilindi—the brown faces—have not been represented in the entheogenic community,” Sun says.

The conference took place at the Bushnell Congregational Church, a prewar Colonial Revival building on four acres in Rosedale Park, over a long weekend in August. Diverse speakers from around the world J A N UA RY 2021

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shared their expertise on everything from subatomic particle research and hyperdimensional realms to psychedelic justice, culminating in a memorial for Kilindi that Sun describes as “four hours of emotions, laughter, speakers, heart pouring, drumming—and more drumming and more drumming and more dancing and martial arts exhibitions.” It was a template for future events, Sun says, and they’re already brewing in Oakland, Denver, and Portland, Oregon (where voters recently legalized psilocybin for therapeutic use and decriminalized possession of all drugs).

a scab keeps getting ripped off a wound, the wound can never heal.

“If someone is assaulted, for most of us, that happens once, then you have some time to heal,” says Undrea Wright, who co-founded The Sabina Project last year to provide Black-led psychedelic education, training, and harm reduction. “For people of color, we don’t have any time to heal because when we come out of ceremony, reality is still there.”

Psychedelic therapy, one of the hottest healing modalities to emerge in decades, shows a lot of promise in treating PTSD, and many see its potential for treating racial trauma

Ottawa, has found psychedelics to be highly effective at treating racial trauma. She is the clinical director of the Behavioral Wellness Clinic in Tolland, Connecticut, where she and her colleagues offer culturally informed ketamine-assisted psychotherapy as a means of treating racial trauma. They find that many Black people refuse to even consider it, because they can be “fearful of a psychedelic medicine and the vulnerability that comes with it,” Williams explained during a Chacruna Institute forum on diversity in psychedelic medicine in February 2020.

In 2018, Williams and three

The Pygmy tribes of Central Africa discovered the psychedelic properties of ibogaine, an indole alkaloid extracted from a rainforest shrub called Tabernanthe iboga, thousands of years ago and shared it with people who practice the Bwiti religion in West Africa. Still used as sacred medicine in Cameroon and Gabon, ibogaine opens doors to mystical experiences and communion with ancestors and spirits, often taking people on dreamlike journeys through their lives and offering transformative perspectives.

Ibogaine is being studied as a treatment for drug addiction (opioids in particular), and clinics offer ibogaine-assisted detoxification in Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Africa, and New Zealand. In the United States, ibogaine is a Schedule 1 narcotic.

PSYCHEDELICS AND RACIAL TRAUMA Racial trauma is a lot like PTSD— with symptoms like nightmares and hypervigilance—and it develops over a lifetime of injustices and abuses. But racial trauma is more insidious than PTSD because people of color continue to experience the same threats and humiliation that triggered them in the first place on an ongoing basis. When 38

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as well. “Right now, what’s taking up all the space for Indigenous and Black people is trauma, and the opposite of trauma is creative,” Sun says. “When entheogens come in and start clearing up that trauma, there’s going to be a void, and that void will be filled with creativity.”

Monnica T. Williams, PhD, an associate professor in the School of Psychology at the University of

colleagues published their findings from a methodological search of psychedelic studies from 1993 to 2017. In those studies, 82.3 percent of the participants were non-Hispanic white, 4.6 percent were Indigenous, 2.5 percent were African American, 2.1 percent were Latino, and 1.8 percent were Asian.

Selection bias is a factor in this, certainly, but just as importantly,

many people of color have little trust for medical trials (one word: Tuskegee) and illicit substances (two words: Drug War). They’ve been exploited and abused within the medical system and targeted in an immoral war that has decimated communities. Many don’t have the expendable time and money it takes to participate in clinical trials.

George was one of few Black participants in clinical trials for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to treat PTSD that were sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and it was anything but a healing experience for her. (MDMA is an acronym for the synthetic drug 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, more commonly known as Ecstasy and Molly.) After her session with two white therapists, she was sent home with a white night attendant, but she continued to feel alone and terrified. “I remember feeling so lost, so out of touch with my body, and psychologically, I didn’t have control of my thoughts,” she said during the webinar. “I was scared to call anyone. How do I tell any of my Black friends I just did an MDMA study?”

“THESE MEDICINES ARE PART OF OUR CULTURAL BIRTHRIGHT, AND I BELIEVE WE LOSE MORE WHEN WE STEP BACK AND CHOOSE NOT TO ENGAGE.” —Monnica T. Williams, PhD, University of Ottowa’s School of Psychology

RECLAIMING PSYCHEDELIC HEALING Beyond the clinic, underground psychedelic experiences like ayahuasca circles have become a thing in communities across North America—and every one of those circles is overwhelmingly white, says Wright. The few people of color who do participate, he says, find it uncomfortable because white people often (wittingly or unwittingly) gaslight them. “If I’m in a space that’s supposed to be safe and available to my story, and people are telling me my story is not real J A N UA RY 2021

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or valuable, that I just need to move past it, now I have an additional layer of trauma,” he says. “This is the story we kept hearing over and over.

People of color had the wherewithal and learned about the medicines, finally found the circle—which is cost-prohibitive for most of us— then they had to do this dance in the circle. It can be retraumatizing.”

Wright and Charlotte James co-founded The Sabina Project because they recognized “how healing it would be to be able to share our experiences and extend access to these medicines with our own communities, especially during these incredibly challenging and isolating times,” James says.

People have been flocking to their workshops, trainings, and virtual ceremonies throughout the lockdown, seeking both community and information as they confront the demons of isolation.

“WE JUST WANT TO GUARANTEE THERE IS SOME SAFE, JUDGMENTFREE SPACE TO PROCESS JOURNEYS.” —Undrea Wright, Co-founder of The Sabina Project

The Sabina Project’s ceremonies are open to everyone, but integration circles are only for people of color. “We just want to guarantee there is some safe, judgment-free space, free of the white gaze, to process journeys,” she says. Fearing a judicial system that’s stacked against them, Wright and James facilitate only ceremonies with substances that are legal in the United States. Citing an ACLU study in Maryland that found African American men 900 percent more likely to be arrested for simple possession than white men, Wright says, “The consequences for us to do anything illegal are severe.”

Those consequences are why many Black parents warn their children away from all drugs, psychedelics included. Buchanan said during the webinar that when she was growing up, everyone knew the story of her father’s best friend Lonnie, who tried acid after he returned from Vietnam and went crazy. “Every Black community has one of these stories,” she says.

“What’s crazy,” Wright says, “is that most of these [sacred earth medicine] practices come from people of color. They convinced us to denounce these very powerful tools and replace them with pharmaceutical drugs that are killing us.”

“These medicines are part of our cultural birthright,” Williams said in her lecture last February. “And I believe we lose more when we step back and choose not to engage.

It is true that it has not always been safe for us, but I hope we can come together as a people, create our own safe spaces, and become empowered to reclaim psychedelic healing for ourselves, our loved ones, and our community.”

DOING THE MOST GOOD Support The Sabina Project by checking out its new merch collection.

They’ll pay that support forward by giving 5 percent of all proceeds to the Mutual Ceremony Fund, which provides monetary assistance for BIPOC looking to explore psychedelic healing work through The Sabina Project’s workshops.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF STOWE RESORT

Slippery Slopes

ing from the state where you live. Travel rules for residents of each state generally depend on the New England’s ski areas will look a bit different this winter, positive COVID-19 test rate in that state. In the but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have a blast skiing and case of Vermont, rules riding your favorite downhill runs and backcountry trails. and restrictions for outTEXT EMILIE-NOELLE PROVOST of-state visitors depend on the positive test rate Many of New England’s are a few things to keep and quarantine require- in the county, rather ski areas closed abruptly in mind before you buy ments will continue to than the state, where last March at the onset your next lift ticket, as be updated on a regular they live. of the COVID-19 panwell as some changes to basis by local and state Travel restrictions demic, leaving disaplook for at the resorts. governments. Before may also vary depending pointed skiers and snowyou make plans for a ski on the amount of time boarders to wonder if Check Local Travel weekend or vacation, you plan to spend in the they would ever be able Restrictions check the official tourism state you’re visiting. If to hit the slopes again Until there is a website for the New you’re planning to stay safely. With most area COVID-19 vaccine wide- England state you’ll be overnight, for example, ski resorts open again ly available, it’s likely visiting for information you might need to follow for the 2021 season, here that travel restrictions regarding travelers arriv- different rules than you

would if you were return- some resorts, the same ing home the same day. rule generally applies to booking ski and snowBook Online Before You board lessons.

Leave Home Make sure to take To avoid having custom- a look at the resort’s ers stand in long lines refund policy before and to restrict contact you pay for anything. In between customers and the event that they are employees, many New forced to close again this England resorts now re- season, some resorts are quire guests to purchase offering credit toward lift tickets, rentals, and future purchases rather lessons online prior to than cash refunds. In their arrival. If you need some cases, this applies to rent equipment, you to both season pass and will probably have to day pass holders. book an appointment at the resort’s rental shop Make Reservations before you arrive as well. Early Because class sizes have If you already know been greatly reduced at when you want to go

skiing, get online and reserve your lift passes now. Nearly all New England ski resorts have lowered their overall capacities, making it less likely that you’ll be able to buy a pass if you wait too long.

Follow New Safety Protocols Before you arrive at the resort, make sure you know what to expect around social distancing and face coverings—and plan accordingly. Masks are now mandatory at many resorts both indoors and outdoors unless guests are eating

or drinking. Most chair- Stowe Mountain Resort, Vermont lifts and gondolas are operating at a restricted capacity to enable social distancing, meaning more space between riders, which means possibly longer wait times.

Avoid Indoor Facilities Because skiing and snowboarding are outdoor sports with individual participants usually staying a good distance apart from one another, they are fairly safe activities from a COVID-19 perspective.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT MAINE

ties or crowded outdoor areas, like snack bars. In order to reduce the risk of catching the virus, some public health experts are recommending that guests avoid using indoor facilities completely and instead opt to bring their own food and change in their cars, using their vehicles as portable ski lodges.

If you still want to use a resort’s ski lodge, note that although most ski area restaurants and bars will be open, their capacities will be limited. The same goes for restrooms and lodge facilities like locker rooms. Some amenities, like hot tubs, pools, and saunas, may be closed altogether or require advance reservations.

Try a Backcountry Trail Over the past several years, backcountry skiing has become increasingly popular. It can be exhilarating to climb a mountain under your own power and ski down in solitude, but these areas are also ungroomed and unpatrolled. Backcountry skiing presents a different set of dangers than the virus. While backcountry skiing is definitely not recommended for inexperienced skiers, it can be a good option

for experts who want to try something new while avoiding contact with large groups of people.

If you decide to try a backcountry route, choose a mountain you’re familiar with and adopt the same sort of precautions that a hiker would, including checking weather reports, letting someone know where you’ll be, and carrying a map, compass, and portable GPS unit. If the route you’ll be skiing poses an avalanche risk, be sure to also bring avalanche safety gear (beacon, probe, and shovel) and make sure you know how to use them.

Guidebooks such as Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski Tours in New England and New York by David Goodman (Appalachian Mountain Club Books, 2020) and the Appalachian Mountain Club’s website (outdoors.org) are also good sources of information.

Use Your Best Judgment When it comes to keeping yourself safe from exposure to COVID-19, your own judgment is perhaps your best tool.

If a situation or specific area seems unsafe to you or makes you uncomfortable, you’re better off avoiding it, even if it might mean changing

your plans altogether.

New England’s ski resorts will be around long after COVID-19 is finally brought under control.

You want to make sure that you’ll be around to enjoy them.

Mountain Updates at New England Ski Areas BERKSHIRE EAST MOUNTAIN RESORT berkshireeast.com

Located in the heart of the Berkshires in Charlemont, Massachusetts,

Berkshire East is locally owned and bills itself as being a less-crowded alternative to larger resorts in northern New England. In response to COVID-19, the resort has moved much of its operation outdoors, including its dining facilities. To make the outdoor experience more enjoyable, Berkshire East has installed outdoor heaters and fire pits and has built 50 heated cabanas that can each accommodate up to

Sunday River, Maine

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Waterville Valley Resort, New Hampshire

six people from the same household. Lift tickets, lessons, and rentals must be booked online.

The resort is urging people to arrive “prepared to ski,” as indoor space will be at a premium.

the age of three, strict capacity limits in dining areas, and a policy that requires all on-site transactions to be cashless.

Stowe is also encouraging skiers to bring their own snacks and water.

STOWE MOUNTAIN RESORT

SUNDAY RIVER

PHOTO COURTESY OF TYLER WALKER

stowe.com

One of Vermont’s largest and most popular ski areas, Stowe Mountain Resort has made a number of changes to help keep skiers and riders safer. Among them are an online reservation system that limits the number of people at the resort at any one time, social-distancing requirements on chairlifts and gondolas, face-covering requirements for anyone over

sundayriver.com

Located in the western Maine town of Newry, Sunday River is one of the largest ski resorts in the northeast. An entire page on the resort’s website is dedicated to informing skiers about COVID-19 restrictions and changes. In addition to a mask requirement and a ban on storing bags and personal belongings on-site, Sunday River has implemented safety regulations at its

spa and shops and will not be hosting any large events this season. Dining areas will only seat parties of eight or fewer, will use disposable dishes and silverware, and will offer contactless transactions via a QR code payment system.

All lift tickets, lessons, and rentals must be booked online.

selling lift tickets on-site, Waterville is encouraging people to book online in advance, both to enhance safety and, due to capacity restrictions, to ensure that anyone who wants to ski will be able to do so. Due to the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic, lift tickets will only be available three to four weeks in advance and WATERVILLE VALLEY are nonrefundable. Face RESORT coverings are required waterville.com in all indoor locations.

This midsize familyStrict capacity limits will friendly New Hampshire be in place at all on-site ski resort, located in restaurants, but to make the town of Waterville things easier for guests, Valley, is just a 90-minute Waterville has installed drive from the Greater a capacity monitoring Boston area, making it feature on its website popular on weekends that diners can use to and holidays. While check availability before the resort will still be they arrive.

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LEFT: EVENT NAME BELOW: EVENT NAME RIGHT: EVENT NAME

Snowy January is a great time to relax and recharge after the busy holiday season with hilarious comedy shows, choral concerts, and virtual lectures you can watch in your pajamas.

TEXT EMILIE-NOELLE PROVOST

Whether you’re looking forward to browsing a museum gallery or strapping on your snowshoes for a moonlight hike, you can make the most of this quiet month with virtual and socially distanced live events happening across New England.

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Now–Jan.31 Museum of American Bird Art, Canton, MA massaudubon.org

This exhibition displays delightful original art from David Sibley’s book What It’s Like to Be a Bird, accompanied by captions that include fascinating new scientific information. Visitors will see more than 40 of Sibley’s paintings, including 29 bird

portraits painted double life-size.

Newport Polar Bear Plunge Jan. 1 Easton’s Beach, Newport, RI discovernewport.org

Every New Year’s Day, the Newport Polar Bears Club invites anyone crazy enough to join them for a swim in the frosty Atlantic Ocean. All proceeds benefit A Wish Come True, an organization that grants wishes to children with life-

PHOTO COURTESY DISCOVER NEWPORT

Cultural Calendar

What It’s Like to Be a Bird, Paintings by David Sibley

THE SCENE CALENDAR

LEFT: NEWPORT POLAR BEAR PLUNGE BELOW: WHERE DO I BEGIN? RIGHT: FREEDOM V FEAR: A HISTORY OF ANTI-FASCIST ART

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Jan. 8 Stockbridge, MasVirtual sachusetts, presbostonartsongsociety.org ents this virtual Boston Art Song talk by art historian Society presents Steven Heller, who Schubert’s timeless will explore how masterpiece, Wingraphic symbols terreise, delving into have influenced shared experience of people for gener2020 in the context ations. The talk of this profound includes a nuanced meditation on social examination of alienation. The work the most powerful will be performed by symbols as distenor Ethan DePuy cussed in his recent and pianist and book, The Swastika artistic director Ann and Symbols of Hate.

Schaefer.

of her memoir to the stage. This new comedy shares stories from Lazenby’s life under a new light as she explores memory, motherhood, and the passage of time.

Piff The Magic Second Saturday Dragon Jan. 15 Hike

Cannabis Meets Healthcare Virtual Expo

Jan. 9 Merck Forest & Farmland Center, Rupert, VT merckforest.org

Jan. 26–27 Virtual cannaone.com

PHOTOS (FROM TOP) COURTESY OF SIMON AND SCHUSTER / NH THEATRE PROJECT

Winterreise: A Year in Review

threatening illnesses in Rhode Island.

Safe Haven Ballet’s The Nutcracker

Comedian Orlando Baxter Live

Jan. 2–3 The Historic Theater, Portsmouth, NH themusichall.org

Jan. 1–2 Comix Comedy Club, Uncasville, CT mohegansun.com

Boston Vinyl Record Show Jan. 2 Hilton Garden Inn, Burlington, MA bostonvinylrecordshows.com

Jaffrey Winter Psychic Fair Jan. 2 Life Path Fellowship, Jaffrey, NH jaffreychamber.com

New England Reptile Expo Jan. 3 Doubletree Hotel Manchester Downtown, Manchester, NH reptileexpo.com

Dover Antiques Flea Market Jan. 6 Dover Elks Lodge, Dover, NH gurleyantiquesgallery.com

New England Grand Wedding Expo Jan. 9–10 Virtual grand-wedding.com

Access Broadway 2021 Jan. 13–17 Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa, Groton, CT accessbroadway.com

Freedom v Fear: A History of Anti-Fascist Art Jan. 15 Virtual nrm.org

Chubb Theatre, Concord, NH ccanh.com

Triple Decker: A New England Love Story Jan. 21 Virtual historicnewengland.org

Where Do I Begin?

Jan. 22–24 New Hampshire Theatre Project, Portsmouth, NH nhtheatreproject.org

Writer and comedian Stephanie Lazenby will be bringing elements

9th Annual Spectacular Cookie Smackdown Jan. 24 Waterfire Arts Center, Providence, RI rifoodfights.com Tickets on Eventbrite

Vermont Hemp Fest Jan. 29 Virtual hempfest.headyvermont. com

Fungus Walk at Allandale Woods Jan. 30 Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, Mattapan, MA massaudubon.org

Vermont Pond Hockey Championship Jan. 30–31 Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT lakemoreyresort.com

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P R O M OT I O N A L F E AT U R E M AY F L O W E R M E D I C I N A L S

Hometown Favorite Purveyor of high-quality cannabis, Mayflower Medicinals supports local artists with fellowship opportunities.

O

ver the last two and half years, the team at Mayflower Medicinals has worked tirelessly to create one of the premier cannabis brands in the Massachusetts market.

From its 40,000-square-foot stateof-the-art cultivation and processing facility to its flagship medical store located in the neighborhood of Allston, Mayflower has become a trusted, recognizable brand with consumers.

Its adult-use facility in Worcester,

tently high-quality cannabis due to our experienced and knowledgeable staff, our up-to-date strain selection, robust facility infrastructure, and teamwork throughout all departments,” says Trent Lynch, Mayflower’s cultivation manager.

Mayflower branded products are sold throughout the state at numerous dispensaries. Patients can even get home delivery in certain areas of Boston from the Mayflower Allston location. Plus, its infamous Mayflower Littles “mini nugs” are consistently available in top strains and are sold for $199 per ounce. These popcorn nugs are an undeniably great deal, and they’ll go fast. (Sign up for text message alerts about product availability at enrollnow.vip/join/2968.)

As a good steward of the community, Mayflower is dedicated to seeking out and creating programs to help where needed. The Mayflower Artist Spotlight Series allows artists from disproportionately affected areas the chance to get real-world experience working with the Mayflower marketing and production teams in designing limited-edition packaging. The brand also has a paid fellowship program that provides motivated individuals the opportunity to fast-track their career in the cannabis industry with hands-on training and the possibility for full-time employment.

As Massachusetts moves onward in the cannabis movement, Mayflower is positioned to stay a hometown favorite and become a brand that consumers statewide will identify as a product they know and love.

which opened in mid-December, will offer a lineup from Mayflower’s carefully crafted premium flower strains to fulfill all consumers’ needs.

From full-flavored sativas that provide an energetic clean high to complex indicas that bring relaxation and restfulness, Mayflower routinely offers a dozen variants plus CBD strains. The consistent nature of its house strains Mayflower Medicinals means that you can depend on a Medical & Adult Use Cannabis similar experience each time.

Dispensaries “We are able to produce consismayflowermedicinals.com

“We are able to produce consistently high-quality cannabis due to our experienced and knowledgeable staff, our up-to-date strain selection, robust facility infrastructure, and teamwork throughout all departments.”

—Trent Lynch, Mayflower cultivation manager

J A N UA RY 2021

S E N S I M AG .C O M

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THE END

Where’s the Blue Ox? A giant statue of mythical lumberjack Paul Bunyan greets visitors in Bangor, Maine.

The legend of North American folk hero Paul Bunyan began in the mid19th century as a series of stories told by woodsmen in logging camp bunkhouses, from the thick forests of Maine and Quebec to the wilds of northern Minnesota. For generations, tales have been passed down about Bunyan, a superhuman lumberjack who was seven feet tall and capable of amazing feats, all accomplished while roaming the continent with his 5,000-pound blue ox, Babe. Bunyan is credited 52

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with digging Lake Michigan so that Babe could get a drink and creating the Grand Canyon with a single blow of his axe. His voice was said to be so loud that it occasionally felled trees.

While several cities have claimed to be Bunyan’s birthplace, Bangor, Maine, once the logging capital of the world, was the first.

The 31-foot-tall fiberglass statue of Bunyan on Bangor’s Main Street was built in 1959 to celebrate the city’s 125th anniversary.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREATER BANGOR CVB

TEXT EMILIE-NOELLE PROVOST

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