Sensi Colorado November 2021

PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS Ram Dass and ambient vibes

C O LO R A D O NOVEMBER 2021

THE 2021 CANNABIS LIFESTYLE GIFT GUIDE Aesthetic accessories they’ll want to show off

CANNAGASMIC

oOYes shakes up the sex space

SHINE A LIGHT

Pharmacist fights for plant medicine

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

MANITOU & PUEBLO EAST

ARE NOW SERVING

MEDICAL PATIENTS

North Colorado Springs (Med.) | Manitou Springs (Rec. & Med.) | S. Colorado Springs (Med.) Cañon City (Med.) | Pueblo East (Rec. & Med.) | Pueblo North (Rec.) | Pueblo West (Rec. & Med.)

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COLORADO SENSI MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2021

sensimediagroup @sensimagazine @sensimag

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FEATURES

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The 2021 Sensi Holiday Gift Guide

From classy, odor-blocking stash boxes to single malt scotch to lowdose edibles, our annual gift guide rounds up the best stuff to make the holidays a little happier.

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Hacking The Feast

Here’s how the hippies hijacked Thanksgiving.

DEPARTMENTS

15 EDITOR’S NOTE Check 50 THEoutSCENE what’s hot in the world of cannabis 16 THE BUZZ and beyond.

News, tips, and tidbits to keep you in the loop TUNE IN Jon Hopkins’ new album puts the spiritual teachings of the late legend Ram Dass to music.

COLOR ME IMPRESSED

The Creative Thinking Journal will help you tap into new ideas.

SENSIBILITIES There’s a need for cannabis conviction expungement.

THE MINCING MOCKINGBIRD We love this

postcard art.

37 LOCAL Regional editor Will Brendza outlines the whos, wheres, and whens of Colorado.

HONEY, HONEY Get to

know Tanya Griffin, the groovy, sex-positive woman behind oOYes, a new line of “cannagasmic” products created by women who enjoy sex.

WISH LIST Stone Slade, the host of the upcoming docuseries Hittin’ the High Road, highlights some of the uplifting items he’s currently coveting.

58 THE END Dr. Lola Ohonba understands the challenges that people with disabilities face and the relief cannabis can provide.

ON THE COVER

‘Tis the season to think about the perfect gifts for the cannabis fans and cannicurious in your life.

Our annual guide will help you shop.

Product: GRAV Labs Wedge Bubbler in Amber PHOTO BY LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS, ADOBE STOCK PRODUCT PHOTO COURTESY GRAV LABS

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ADVISORY BOARD

NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD NCRMA Risk Management COLORADO Agricor Laboratories Testing Lab Aspen Cannabis Insurance Insurance Services Canyon Cultivation Microdosing Cartology Corporation Cartridge Filling Equipment + Hardware Colorado Cannabis Company THC Coffee Concentrate Supply Co. Recreational Concentrates Emerald Construction Construction Green Edge Trimmers Trimmers Higher Grade Boutique Cannabis Hybrid Payroll Staffing & HR Benefits Jupiter Research Inhalation Hardware Lab Society Extraction Expert + Lab Supplies marQaha Sublinguals + Beverages Monte Fiore Farms Recreational Cultivation Northern Standard History of Cannabis PotGuide Cannabis Culture Source CO Wholesale Consulting Terrapin Care Station Recreational Dispensary Toast Mindful Consumption Uleva Hemp Products Wana Brands Edibles Witlon Inc. Payroll Processing

MICHIGAN Aronoff Law (Craig Aronoff) Licensing Law Firm Cannabis Counsel Cannabis Law Firm Etz Chaim Attestations Grapp Lerash Accounting/CPA Services Great Lakes Natural Remedies Lakeshore: Provisioning Center Kush Design Studio Cannabis Facility Design & Build MRB Solutions Human Resources Northern Specialty Health Upper Peninsula: Provisioning Center Oh, Hello Branding Promotional Marketing Perry & Drummy Inc. Commercial Insurance Pure West Compassion Club Caregiver Connection & Network Rair Medical Flower Solutions by Dr. Dave West Michigan: Hemp CBD Helping Friendly Hemp Company Hemp Topicals NEVADA Eden Water Technologies Water System Technologies Green Leaf Money Canna Business Finanacing GreenHouse Payment Solutions Payment Processing Ideal Business Partners Corporate Law & Finance Jupiter Research Inhalatation Hardware Matrix NV Premium Live Resin Red Rock Fertility Fertility Doctor Rokin Vapes Vape Technology This Stuff Is Good For You CBD Bath and Body

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA 365 Recreational Cannabis Dispensary: Recreational, Santa Rosa Green Unicorn Farms CBD Hemp Flower Humboldt Grow Tech Smart Ag Tech Red Door Remedies Dispensary: Cloverdale Southern Humboldt Royal Cannabis Company Mixed Light Farming Sonoma Patient Group Dispensary: Santa Rosa Strictly Topical Inc./Sweet ReLeaf Pain Relief Topicals Uleva Hemp Products Vaper Tip Vape Supply & Consulting Wana Brands Edible Gummies SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Accucanna LLC Desert Hot Springs: Dispensary EventHI Events Flourish Software Distribution Management Helmand Valley Growers Company Medical Infrastructure Specialist HUB International Insurance Hybrid Payroll / Ms. Mary Staffing Staffing & HR Benefits Ikänik Farms Cannabis Distribution Red Rock Fertility Fertility Doctor Wana Brands Edible Gummies Witlon Payroll

NEW ENGLAND Corners Packaging Packaging Green Goddess Supply Personal Homegrown Biochamber The Holistic Center Medical Marijuana Evaluations Revolutionary Clinics Medical Dispensary Royal Gold Soil Tess Woods Public Relations Public Relations Vantage Builders Construction

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EDITORIAL

Stephanie Wilson Co-Founder + Editor in Chief stephanie.wilson@sensimag.com Doug Schnitzspahn Executive Editor Tracy Ross Managing Editor, Michigan Emilie-Noelle Provost Managing Editor, New England Debbie Hall Managing Editor, Nevada Jenny Willden Managing Editor, California Will Brendza Managing Editor, Colorado Robyn Griggs Lawrence Editor at Large Radha Marcum Copy Editor Bevin Wallace Copy Editor

EXECUTIVE

Ron Kolb Founder ron@sensimag.com Stephanie Graziano CEO stephanie.graziano@sensimag.com ADVERTISING

Toni Tardif National Sales Director Jade Kolb Director Sales Operations and Global Recruiting PUBLISHING

Jamie Cooper Market Director, Michigan Richard Guerra Market Director, New England

DESIGN

Nancy Birnbaum Market Director, NorCal

Jamie Ezra Mark Creative Director jamie@emagency.com Rheya Tanner Art Director Wendy Mak Designer Josh Clark Designer

Diana Ramos Market Director, Oklahoma

BRAND DEVELOPMENT

Richard Guerra Director of Global Reach Amanda Patrizi Director of Marketing Neil Willis Production Director MEDIA PARTNERS

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

Nancy Reid Market Director, Florida MEDIA SALES

COLORADO Liana Cameris Media Sales Executive Amanda Patrizi Media Sales Executive Tyler Tarr Media Sales Executive FLORIDA Anthony Mckenzie Media Sales Executive NEVADA Pam Hewitt Media Sales Executive NEW ENGLAND Jake Boynton Media Sales Executive MICHIGAN Eric Lutey Media Sales Executive Kyle Miller Media Sales Executive Leah Stephens Media Sales Executive

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S

EDITOR’S NOTE

Magazine published monthly

by Sensi Media Group LLC.

© 2021 Sensi Media Group. All rights reserved.

Sensi held its first

event since before the pandemic

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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in September, and I’m still basking in the afterglow. It wasn’t a monumental celebration or even a big party; it was just an appreciation event for our Colorado advertisers held on a Thursday night at an art-gallery-meets-dive-bar in RiNo. I had no idea what to wear, and it took me forever to get ready to get out the door.

I’m out of practice going places, forget about going places in high heels. But, from the moment I walked in, the shoes on my feet became inconsequential. I floated through the party, buoyed by the rush of warm endorphins every time I saw and hugged (or elbow-bumped) the people who make up this part of my llfe.

Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience. Maybe, like me, you’ve gained new perspective on what these people in our peripheral circles contribute to our happiness.

Unexpected consequence of the pandemic: the extended pause we’ve all endured has given us a deeper understanding of just how vital friendships of all types are to our wellbeing. COVID-19 caused us to shrink our social circles to the closest friends and family for more than a year, evaporating entire categories of friendships and, by doing so, depleting the joys that contribute to human health. Regular interaction with people outside our inner circle makes us feel like we are part of something bigger, a community.

What is so clear to me now is that living well isn’t a cloistered retreat with just a few people. We don’t thrive on close relationships alone, and research has shown that casual friendships and acquaintances can be as important to wellbeing as family, romantic partners, and your closest friends.

Research also shows that the act of gift giving is a universal way to show interest, appreciation, and gratitude for the people in your life, as well as a way to strengthen your bonds with others. It’s also a great way for you to get an emotional lift: gift giving feels good, activating regions of the brain associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust, and creating a “warm glow” effect. Many studies attest to the benefits of giving—not just for the giver’s health and happiness but for the strength of the entire community.

So consider this 2021 holiday gift guide our gift to you. We’ve put it out early this year to help you combat the effects of the global supply chain delays and the USPS slowdown, and we hope it helps spark an idea that strengthens your connection to your community.

Remember to shop local.

Unexpected consequence of the pandemic: the extended pause we’ve all endured has given us a deeper understanding of just how vital friendships of all types are to our wellbeing.

Love,

Steph Wilson @stephwilll

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Jon Hopkins’ new album is a meditative experience that puts the spiritual teachings of the late legend Ram Dass to music.

In light of the recent psychedelic resurgence (a COVID-19 silver lining: free time many among us used to expand our minds), techno auteur Jon Hopkins hopes his new album Music for Psychedelic Therapy, set to release on November 12, will take listeners on a new kind of meditative musical journey. It’s the English artist and producer’s first full-length release since 2018’s Singularity, an album Pitchfork.com said was “pitched between heat-seeking acid 16

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house and ambient bliss” and a “beat-music odyssey that thrums with spiritual resonance.”

More ambient bliss thrumming with spiritual resonance than heat-seaking acid house, Hopkins’s new album grew from the artist’s expedition to Tayos Caves in Ecuador. “Music for Psychdelic Therapy is not ambient, classical, or drone but has elements of all three,” he says. “For me, it’s a place as much as it is a sound. It works for the sober mind but takes on a new

dimension entirely when brought into a psychedelic therapy.”

To make the album, Hopkins began working with researchers in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London who were exploring experiential therapy using psychedelic drugs. The department was investigating the importance of music in positive therapeutic outcomes, and Hopkins began suggesting tracks for the accompanying playlists.

But Hopkins soon noticed an

NEBULA PHOTO BY AGSANDREW, ADOBE STOCK; ALBUM PHOTO COURTESY OF DOMINO RECORDING COMPANY

Sounds Like Psychedelic Meditation

PHOTOS (FROM TOP) COURTESY OF PILGRIM SOUL; BY STEVE GULLICK

incongruity: The playlists used in the Imperial research were made up of pieces of music written by many different musicians—“disparate pieces of music for what really are quite long, coherent experiences,” he explains. “And that will take the patient somewhere very different, suddenly. There aren’t cohesive single bodies of work.” And with that, Music for Psychedelic Therapy was born.

“Sit Around The Fire,” the album’s closing track, is one that will make spiritual seekers “om” so hard, a collab between Hopkins, producer and ceremony guide East Forest, and legendary spiritual teacher the late Ram Dass, whose iconic book Be Here Now celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. “‘Sit Around The Fire’ exists from one of the deep synchronicities that ushered this thing—Music For Psychedelic Therapy—into being. I was contacted by East Forest, who had spent some time in Hawaii with Ram Dass. He was given access to several [of Dass’s] lesser-heard talks from the ’70s and asked to set them to music.”

Hopkins took East Forest’s vocals, added his own, and began to play Ram Dass’s talk in the studio. Its place at the end of the album, Hopkins believes, brings a sense of release. “If you’ve had a very intense experience listening to this album, when Ram Dass’s voice comes in, it’s such a relief because his voice is embedded with all that knowledge, and all that spiritual experience, and where he’s been, and what he’s been through. It’s all in the peace in his voice.”

BY THE NUMBERS

62 TONS Weight of weed the DEA seized from an illegal 22-acre grow with 160 greenhouses in Nevada in September*

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PERCENT Of Americans working from home during the pandemic were consuming cannabis.

SOURCE: Poll conducted by AmericanMarijuana.org

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NOV.

Happy Legalization Day! In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first two states in the US to legalize cannabis for adult use. *Somewhere on federal land in Douglas County, NV, state and local authorities buried those 123,900 pounds of seized marijauna, unwittingly creating the perfect treasure-hunt setup for the next great stoner comedy plot. Writers, start your screenplays now.

Highly Creative

You like art, you like thoughts, you like pot: buy this book.

Creative thinking is a competitive edge that separates the good from the great in all aspects of life, so light up a joint and think about thinking.

This guided journal is designed to engage your imagination to help uncover new ideas, build more productive habits, and inspire creative thoughts.

Bonus: you’re supposed to use it while you’re high.

It’s not your basic coloring book, although there are pages for coloring plus a set of colored pencils for you to use on them. Nor is it a puzzle book for stereotypical “stoners” too blazed to think thoughts at all. Refreshingly free of clichés, the Original Creative Thinking Journal by Pilgrim Soul is packed with more than 50 engaging prompts that are neither incredibly boring or stupidly zany.

The book asks you to make up and define new words and to complete abstract analogies (“Being in a relationship is like cleaning the bathroom. How So?”), write a Tinder bio for Oprah, and fill out the famed Proust Questionnaire. (What is your most marked characteristic? What do you regard as the lowest depth of mystery? Which words or phrases do you overuse most?) One exercise instructs you to go to a public place and invent a narrative for two strangers you encounter.

The people at Pilgrim Soul say the goal of the journal is to “get people to look at problems in entirely new ways, get out of their comfort zones, and tap into what makes them uniquely creative.”

Get the book, get high, and spend a few hours losing yourself in the mental playground. You’ve already seen everything on Netflix anyway. $30 / pilgrimsoul.com

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NOW AVAILABLE

STINGER ELECTRONIC DAB STRAW

WATER FILTRATION CERAMIC NAIL 4 TEMPERATURE SETTINGS USB CHARGING

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THE BUZZ

BILITIES THE MINCING MOCKINGBIRD

BY STEPHANIE WILSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF

What’s on our editor in chief Steph’s mind this month: the importance of cannabis conviction expungement. Things you can’t do* if you’ve got a felony conviction on your record—even if that felony is for the possession of a plant that’s now legal in all sorts of states:

1 VOTE. 2 HOLD PUBLIC OFFICE or be a candidate for office.

3 SECURE HOUSING. 4 BECOME AN ELECTOR (someone who votes in the Electoral College—which you probably weren’t going to ever do anyway but now that you can’t, don’t you want to just a bit?)

5 OWN A FIREARM. 6 SERVE ON A JURY. 7 TRAVEL INTERNATIONALLY, depending on where you’re go-

The Mincing Mockingbird is artist/writer/designer duo Kim Bagwill and Matt Adrian, the married couple responsible for the products on themincingmockingbird.com. Among them is the amazing postcard featured here.

If you read it and find yourself wondering, Who is “she?”, she is you and you totally need this postcard. Possibly the magnet version, too.

Bagwill and Adrian are “she” too. “Since 2008 we’ve been having an almost criminal amount of fun creating things that delight us,” Bagwill writes on the company’s site, “and the recent relocation of our studio to the wilds of Joshua Tree has upped the inspiration level by an order of magnitude.”

Want to see even more of their criminally delightful creations? Check out their respective websites: mattadrian.com and kimbagwill.com.

Saint “Troubled Birds” Card, $4

ing. (Canada makes it difficult for anyone with even a DUI conviction on their record to cross their border.)

8 GET CERTAIN JOBS with a felony conviction on your record.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MINCING MOCKINGBIRD

Just ask anyone who’s been subject to a background check by a potential employer.

9 GET A PROFESSIONAL LICENSE or permit from state boards that require applicants be of “sound moral character,” never convicted of a “crime of moral turpitude.” Those licenses and permits apply to doctors, lawyers, architects, private detectives, guards, acupuncturists, massage therapists, barbers and hairdressers, midwives, major contractors, public accountants, pawnbrokers, interior designers, real estate agents, and so many more professions.

10 RECEIVE SNAP (food stamps) and TANF (cash) assistance.

11 GET FEDERAL ASSISTANCE for higher education. *Laws vary by state.

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Elevated Payroll

E DO THE WORK

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2021 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

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1, 8, 9 COURTESY NORDSTROM

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1. Spice Beauty’s Peppermint Heel Stick with CBD ($49, nordstrom.com)

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2. Bearaby Cotton Napper knitted weighted blanket ($199, bearaby.com) 3. Otto Gold electric smart grinder ($199, bananabros.com) 4. Candescent 5 Pre-Roll Variety Pack. Available in CA only. ($45, weedmaps.com) 5. MXXN Kentucky Oak, with 100 mg THC Notes of charred oak, vanilla, and demerara sweetness are reminiscent of Kentucky’s famous barrel aging—perfect for a new kind of old fashioned. CA only right now, like so much of the good stuff. ($80, enjoymxxn.com)

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6. Mandem Pro Se Bluntflip ($300, wolfandbadger.com) 7. Mavrans Heightened Senses Swim Short ($99, mavrans.com) 8. Les Derrières

by Caiyu Candle ($40, nordstrom.com) 9. Good Thoughts Candle

by Drake’s Better World Fragrance House ($48, nordstrom.com) 10. Pacific Cannabis Eau de Parfum by Baxter of California ($98, baxterofcalifornia.com) 11. Cannabinoid-rich BeeFused Honey by Uh Huh Honey ($49, uhhuhhoney.com) 12. Fjällräven Kånken waterresistant backpack ($80, fjallraven.com) 13. Volcano Hybrid Onyx Edition

by Storz & Bickel ($699, storz-bickel.com) 14. High on Design: The New Cannabis Culture

by Gestalten ($60, gestalten.com) 15. Puffco Budsy ($50, puffco.com)

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8 6 1. Mae & Joe Doucet – The Ashtray ($95, mae.la) 2. Shinola The Middle Child Detrola watch 43mm ($395, shinola.com) 3. The Bouqs flower subscription (from $36, bouqs.com) 4. Artet cannabis apertif ($47, artet.com for stores) 5. GRAV Small Wide Base Water Pipe in Smoke ($135 grav.com) 6. Fat Buddha Glass Giraffe bong, ($64, fatbuddahglass.com)

7. Stashlogix Silverton odor-blocking lock boxes ($64, stashlogix.co) 8. Olympia Le-Tan Marihuana strapped mini book clutch ($1075, olympialetan.com)

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9. Sitka Hash House Sikarillos ($36, sitkagold.com) 10. Seed & Smith 1 Gram Dart in collaboration with Big Gigantic CO only. ($55, seedandsmith.com) 11. The Armoire, a complete easy-to-use grow system from Green Goddess Supply ($1,595, greengoddesssupply.com)

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2021 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

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9 6. DO Drops low-dose edible Available in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Michigan. (price varies by state, dodropsedibles.com) 7. Macallan Edition No. 6 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky ($160, argonautliquor.com) 1. Element Apothec Calm Cool Collected 8. Prismatic Plants Mini Set Starter tincture, Rest Relax Recover tincture, Kit for Day & Night Nourish lotion with 1000 mg CBD + ($35, prismaticplants.com) 1000 mg CBG, Relief Balm with 9. MoMA Design ceramic Raawii 500 mg Broad Spectrum CBD + 50 mg Strøm Jug CBG + 50mg CBN + Botanicals ($116, store.moma.org) (from $50, elementapothec.com) 10. Sanctuary Medicinals Spellbound 2. Cookies CBD Gio Cartridge with a edibles. FL (med) and MA (rec) only. terpene profile inspired by London ($29, sanctuarymed.com) Pound Cake 75, to be paired with 11. Zeno tablets, each with 0.4 mg G Pen’s ceramic wickless Gio THC microdose balanced with batteries ($43, gpen.com) L-Theanine. CA only. (60 tablets for 3. Vibes collage long-sleeve tee $60, grassdoor.com/brands/zeno) ($45, vibespapers.com) 12. The Sean Dietrich Art Box grinders of 4. “Wind, Blue Color Study” a collection that includes a Mushroom Handcrafted, papier-mache mirror Lounge tapestry, rolling tray + lid, a

by Tuesday Winslow Mushroom Lounge silicone mat, die(Around $400, mirrorsdecorated.com) cut stickers, Orchid Hat pin, 3D lug5. Higher Standards large match bottle gage tag, Cheshire patch, and a Toker ($30, higherstandards.com) Poker. ($225, seandietrichart.com)

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HACKING THE FEAST How the hippies hijacked Thanksgiving and hosted a celebration that can’t be beat. TEXT JOHN LEHNDORFF

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B

ack before football and the Black Friday frenzy came to dominate the day, Thanksgiving was the stodgiest of the big American holidays. The national feast day was mostly a quiet family home meal with the same turkey, boxed stuffing, and green bean casserole. It was traditional, but not necessarily that much fun.

I come from Massachusetts where Thanksgiving was always a big deal. The Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians got together for a three-day harvest feast in 1621 about 50 miles from where I grew up. More importantly, I was just down the turnpike from Stockbridge, the town where folk singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie and a friend dumped trash over a cliff in 1965. That seminal moment sparked a folk song that would change Thanksgiving history.

Polish relatives who contributed ethnic side dishes. The bird was always filled with mashed potato and Italian sausage stuffing.

However, the title track of Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant album describes a holiday with friends that sounded much more like a party than the sometimes nerve-racking family feasts we knew at home. Because of the epic, 16-minute talking blues track by the son of folk icon Woody Guthrie—the singer-songwriter behind classics such as “This Land Is Your Land”—nondenominational Thanksgiving Day soon became the hippies’ unofficial national holiday.

“Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago.”

I was an American student at McGill University in Montreal in the early 1970s when our household decided to host the hippest “This song is called ‘Alice’s Thanksgiving ever. We recorded a Restaurant’ and it’s about Alice and soundtrack on a reel-to-reel tape the restaurant, but Alice’s Restaurant deck of our favorite songs—some is not the name of the restaurant.” early Springsteen like “RosaliWhen Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restauta,” lots of country rock includrant Massacree” debuted in 1967, ing Emmylou Harris’s “Bluebird the song immediately became Wine,” and, of course, “Alice’s an underground hit. For young Restaurant.” The tunes were supmales like me approaching the posed to fit the various stages of age when we could be drafted the festivities, including digestive into the military to fight in Viettunes for the aftermath. Some of nam, the song about questioning the memories are a tad foggy, but authority was a call to action as it was a great time. well as a cautionary tale. It was also about the communal nature “Had a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat.” of Thanksgiving.

We were antiestablishment, so we “My friend and I went up to visit kept the parts of Thanksgiving we Alice at the restaurant.” liked—the wine and the pies—and I grew up loving Thanksgiving got rid of the parts we couldn’t with our large, overextended stand, such as the need to dress family of Austrian, Sicilian, and up. Long before it caught on with N OV E M B E R 2021

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Long before it caught up with the mainstream, the counterculture hosted vegetarian Thanksgivings that welcomed dishes of all denominations. What mattered was gathering like-minded members of your tribe. mainstream, the counterculture hosted vegetarian Thanksgivings with a big-tent approach that welcomed side dishes of all denominations. What mattered was gathering like-minded members of your tribe.

Besides, Thanksgiving with friends was also the one holiday bash other than New Year’s Eve when we could enjoy highly illegal cannabis along with beer and wine.

“You may know somebody in a similar situation, or you may be in a similar situation.”

It is a fairy-tale feast complete with unreasonable expectations, because stuff always happens. No wonder folks end up making reservations at a restaurant instead of hosting an elaborate meal. I feel their pain.

“I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all kinds o’ mean nasty ugly things.”

“And everything was fine, we were smoking cigarettes and all kinds of Turkeys have been overcooked things, until the sergeant came over.” and undercooked when I’ve hostOver the years, I’ve hosted Thanksgiving or helped stage the feast dozens of times, but not without combating the prevailing paradigm. Magazine covers and TV shows show perfect birds, oh-so-easy side dishes, and 126 things you can do to decorate your home for the happy feast day. You must remain the relaxed and gracious hostess or host.

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ed. I’ve burned dishes that only needed to be warmed. Once the fridge was packed, and I was tired on Thanksgiving night so I left the turkey carcass on the back porch on a near-freezing night. I awoke to a brutally attacked turkey scattered across the porch and back yard after an alley gang of obnoxious raccoons broke in. I mourned the lost meat and soup.

Another year, I knew that slicing the turkey in the aluminum pan was a really bad idea, but I went ahead anyway. I sliced through the pan, and the hot, fatty, delicious collected juices started pouring out on the cutting board, counter, and floor.

The thing is: we all get anxiety over hosting Thanksgiving. I’m getting nervous even as I write this, because this year everybody’s coming to eat at my house. I figure it’ll be worth it for the leftovers.

“Kid, have you rehabilitated yourself?”

In a 2017 feature on feast dishes for 50 states in the New York Times, cannabis got special attention. “It’s difficult to assess exactly how much legalization… may have changed the Thanksgiving menu. But it has indubitably increased the snacking that goes on afterward,” the esteemed publication noted.

PHOTO BY NATALIE PEREA, UNSPLASH

We would remind the Times that cannabis and Turkey Day have been intersecting for many decades in many places. And If I’m going to bust my buns pulling off Thanksgiving, then I want enough goodies so I can relax and enjoy the meal in the days that follow.

cubes that I bag for later use in sauces, soups, and such. A month (or three) from now, I’ll dig into the freezer and smile when I find carefully packaged gravy, cranberry sauce, turkey, and side dishes for a comforting, easy dinner.

in the song, that they lived through in the late 1960s to the early ’70s.

It wasn’t all peace and love, either.

“If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.”

Is hosting a Thanksgiving feast really worth the hours of prep, the “You can get anything you want at cleaning, the shopping, the cookAlice’s Restaurant, excepting Alice.” ing, and commotion of inviting “Had another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat.”

Ironically, our antiestablishment others into your home for a dining I look forward to turkey breast counterculture ended up creating experience fraught with so many BLT’s, dark-meat turkey in French rituals that are followed annually. possible disasters? dip sandwiches with gravy replac- Many radio stations have made it My answer is still yes. What I reing the au jus, and turkey tacos traditional to play the 16-minute member best about Thanksgiving in chocolate-chile mole sauce. I protest song on Thanksgiving Day, dinners is not food or faux pas, polove making waffles out of leftover sometimes several times. litical tiffs or football games. I am bread stuffing, and serving latkes If Grandpa and Grandma get a thankful for the funny, argumentamade from Italian sausage and po- silly gleam in their eye when they tive, and heartwarming moments tato stuffing topped with eggs. hear “Alice’s Restaurant” playing, shared among the folks who filled I turn that precious turkey into a they may have been hippies. There the circle around the table on evehearty broth that becomes frozen were challenging times, chronicled nings in November.

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YourSourceCO.com

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AN ALL-IN-ONE FOR THOSE ON THE GO

A Division of T I L T H O L D I N G S

J U PI T E RR E S E A R C H . C O M

explore

experience

meet

shop

taste

Get out there this fall—or stay in—you can’t go wrong.

Four wildly different ways to be thankful

Four frontrunners in our creative community

Dispensaries, drip, concentrates, and namaste

Delicacies with THC, brews, and bounties

I COLORADO

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local

explore

GET OUT …

THERE EXPLORE THE TERRAIN

CHECK OUT THE WILDLIFE

Rocky Mountain National Park is the crown jewel of the National Park Service in Colorado. It’s huge, it’s majestic; and it’s bustling with wildlife—from elk to moose to deer, pika, marmots, raptors, bears, and coyotes. And most of the year, it’s also bursting at its seams with tourists and local visitors. Not during the fall, though. Autumn is one of the park’s low seasons, and the parking lots, roads, and trails are much less busy— which means animals are a lot less timid and usually far more visible. So if you really want to see some Colorado wildlife, this is the time. nps.gov/romo 38

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PLAY SOME DISC GOLF

Nestled in a narrow valley between Hardscrabble Peak and Red Table Mountain, just along Gypsum Creek, is one of the highest-rated, most well-reviewed disc golf courses in the entire country: Cross Creek Disc Golf Course. Whether you fanatically love the game of disc golf or just casually toss with friends, you’ll fall in love with Blake Scott’s private disc golf course. Not only is it situated on one of the most beautiful properties in Eagle County, but it’s also an exceptionally fun (and, at times, challenging) course. facebook.com/ CrossCreekDGC

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALBERT WIRTZ VIA FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

A hidden gem on the western border of the state, Colorado National Monument is like a piece of Moab, Utah, right here in Colorado. There are towering red canyon walls and rock spires and winding trails through sagebrush-covered dunes. There is rock climbing, hiking, and mountain biking nearby and a campground within the monument. nps.gov/colm

local

explore

(It’s getting kinda cold, anyway. ) TAKE A NUMBER

Imagine a business run like a music festival, where you swipe your card at entry and get a wristband with which you can pay for drink and food.

Inside, there’s live music on a professional stage, different food options, and bar after bar featuring the libations of local breweries and distilleries.

That’s exactly what you’ll find at Number 38. The music is always free, the musicians are all local, and you can choose between local food and drink vendors—no card or cash required. nmbr38.com

MEET A NEW BONITA

It’s been all over the local news lately: South Park creators and professional misfits Trey Parker and Matt Stone are saving Colorado’s iconic Casa Bonita. And, with better food, cleaner facilities, and cooler rides, it’s sure to be a vast and welcome improvement. casabonitadenver.com

GET CANNA-CERTIFIED WOW AT MEOW Do you want to work in the legal cannabis industry?

Are you ready to put your learning cap on, crack some books, and hit the joint—I mean library?

We’ve got good news for you: Colorado’s Cannabis Training University offers certifications and training courses in everything from cultivation to cooking, law, business, budtending, and more. Industry leaders talk students through specific topics and industry practices and walk them through the steps it takes to make it professionally in recreational or medical cannabis. cannabistraininguniversity.com

The brand new, recently opened Meow Wolf Convergence Station is Denver’s largest and trippiest new attraction and Meow Wolf’s third official location. The art collective, live music, interactive-exploration experience is similar to the original location in Santa Fe, but with a fresh spin, featuring new artists, new art exhibits, and a much, much larger space. This ain’t your grandma’s gallery tour—this art collective is a psychedelic journey through a creatively crafted world. General admission is just $45, but you should plan out a day well in advance. It’s a popular spot that’s drawing crowds and selling out. tickets.meowwolf.com/denver

TURK’ FROM HOME

We can debate what the best part of Thanksgiving is all day, but when it comes down to it, we all want to eat a fantastic meal. The cooking, prep work, planning, and cleaning are just necessary evils to achieving that feast. So why not circumvent the chores and go straight to the main event this year? Denver is full of fantastic restaurants offering Thanksgiving take-home meal deals—and they’re all dying for your business (almost literally). Rioja, American Elm, Brightmarten, Bistro Vendôme, The Bindery, Arcana, and many others have multicourse meals waiting for you to take home and enjoy—no prep work necessary.

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local

experience

Breckenridge Ullr Fest

Dec. 8–17 / Breckenridge Ullr is the Nordic protector of skiers and hunters, and according to legend, he’s the one responsible for tucking the world into its snowy blanket every winter. Each year, locals and visitors in Breckenridge pay homage to Ullr with a festival featuring snow dances, pagan bonfires, polar plunges, gigantic shot-skis, and winter prayers. Every year, that is, except 2020 (of course). But this year Ullr Fest is back, and it’s bound to be coming in noholds-barred in 2021. Watch artists sculpt snow, compete in the Ullympics, and, if you’re single and hoping to mingle, enter into the Ullr dating game.

This isn’t technically a November event, but it’s close enough that we thought we’d give everyone a heads up. gobreck.com/event/ullr-fest

SUNDAYS

PHOTO COURTESY OF GOBRECK.COM

Cooking With Cannabis Introductory Class Sure, you can buy edibles at the dispensary. Or, you can make them yourself right at home, just the way you like them.

Learn how at City Sessions Cooking With Cannabis introductory class in Denver.

An expert chef will teach you how to infuse cannabis into just about any dish you like. citysessionsdenver.com

NOV. 20

Durango Thanksgiving Farmers Market

The landscape surrounding Durango is spectacular year round, but during the fall it’s particularly stunning. And, in the calm before the ski-season storm, the town itself is usually less crowded. Its annual Thanksgiving farmers market is a great place to get a taste of the town and stock up on some hyperlocal produce to share on Turkey Day. durango.com

NOV. 24

Trancegiving with Paul Van Dyke

Ahhh, Thanksgiving: the holiday of gratitude, great food, family, friends, and, of course, trippy trance house music. Join Paul Van Dyke at Denver’s renowned The Church Nightclub for an evening featuring hypnotic beats and all the peaks, drops, and filthy techno grooves you can stomach. coclubs.com/church N OV E M B E R 2021

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dispensary grade Beyond Full S pectrum

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local

meet

C

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NEW ENERGY DRINK

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local

shop

DISPENSING Delights

an enlightened yoga store

The geniuses behind the Yogi Exchange on Tennyson Street have changed the game for yoga-inclined Denver locals. It’s like an outdoor gear-exchange business, but instead of hiking boots and ski jackets, they exchange yoga clothes, mats, blocks, straps, crystals, books, and malas—all for cheap. theyogiexchange.com

in the green tree

Ally Feiler’s business, Green Tree Medicinals, started in her basement back in the days before recreational cannabis was a (legal) thing in Colorado. Now she’s the proud owner and CEO of a multidispensary empire of cannabis businesses in Berthoud and Longmont, serving both medical and recreational patients. Based on the ethos that cannabis is a medicine that can change lives, Green Tree sells products that are some of the highest quality you’ll find anywhere. greentreemedicinals.com

season of

jiberish concentrate,

crystallized

higher than an eagle

It’s the best cannabis dispensary in Eagle, and not just because it’s the only one. At Sweet Leaf Pioneer, the people are friendly, the budtenders are knowledgeable, and when you walk inside, you can see the grow room through the glass wall behind the budtenders.

It’s a grow and a dispensary rolled into one— the perfect place to hit up after a long day on the Eagle River or the area’s extensive mountain bike trails. sweetleafpioneer.com

Do you ever smoke a dab and think to yourself, “I wish there was something stronger?” Well, now, thanks to the fine folks at StickyFingerz, there is. Introducing 99% Alchemy Crystals, which are a concentrate of THC like you’ve never experienced it, in the form of crystal blue persuasion.

Buckle up. Things are about to get weird. stickyfingerzdispensary. com

Founded in 2006, this Colorado-born lifestyle apparel company has become one of the hottest clothing brands for skiers, skaters, and the comfortably voguish. And we aren’t talking about ski jackets and snow pants—Jiberish is cranking out flashy hoodies, slick windbreakers, hip tall-tees, and radical pullovers. The Jiberish shop in downtown Denver might be your best bet at buying anything. The brand’s online store only offers seasonal releases, and they sell out as soon as they’re in stock. jiberish.com N OV E M B E R 2021

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Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll: oOYes

Get to know the groovy, sex-positive woman behind this new line of “cannagasmic” products created by women—for anyone who enjoys a good f*cking.

Founded in 2018, oOYes isn’t just another lube company—it’s a whole sex-positive lifestyle.

“The focus is on creating sex-forward experiences that open communication and remind people that sex is fun and good for 50

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you,” says Tanya Griffin, whose love affair with sex runs deep.

A badass businesswoman based in Denver, Griffin spent the last 30 years opening retail stores, restaurants, and dispensaries, creating products

focused on women’s and family health while she hopped continents and industries, working in everything from cannabis to financial services to software development— all while raising four kids.

With the launch of her

latest venture, oOYes, she can add an “ecstatic sex, experience-driven lifestyle brand” to her list of entrepreneurial ventures.

“I like to say that I’ve gone from colostrum to cannabis to cum,” Griffin says with an easy laugh.

PHOTO BY BINGHAM X

TEXT STEPHANIE WILSON

PHOTO BY BINGHAM X

Colostrum is a type of breastmilk, and Griffin was a lactation specialist early in her career. She transitioned into cannabis in 2014, joining The Green Solution to help build the first vertically integrated cultivation, manufacturing, and retail national franchise opportunity in the industry—a highly successful effort. The multistate dispensary chain was bought by Columbia Care in 2019 for $140 million.

Which brings us to the third C in that triple alliteration: cum.

The oOYes line of sex products is created to help you do just that; and they’re formulated with cannabis-derived terpenes and cannabinoids, so oOYes combines two of the Cs into a brand that exudes a 1960s mod-hippie sex-drugsand-rock-n-roll vibe. It’s a whole mood—and it’s a good one, if not a little bit forward. There’s a sex quiz featured frontand-center on the oOYes homepage that calculates your kink score by asking whether you’d be down to try sex acts that range from the basic (oral sex, sensual massage) to the extreme (foot jobs, swinging, anal fisting, so much more). Have your partner take the quiz as well, and find out where your kinks align, perhaps

opening both your eyes (and other orifices) to experiences you hadn’t realized were on the proverbial table.

The whole thing is very sex positive, as are the products, all of which feature a rock-nroll theme and a groovy 1970s-inspired branding.

Created and formulated by women, oOYes sex lubricants and wellness products have a subtle orange blossom flavor and feature plant-based botanicals, active terpenes, and minor and major cannabinoids including cannabigerol (CBG), cannabidiol (CBD), as well as patented BeeFused Superhoney.

While cannabis sexual product lines grow in popularity, the brands behind them tend to play it safe, with vibes that are clinical, possibly sensual.

But fun? Heavens, no!

That’s not how they roll baby roll at oOYes, as evidenced by the products themselves: Roll Baby Roll is a sex oil with BeeFused Honey and CBD. It’s oral friendly, vegan, gluten free, and safe to ingest.

“The bottle has a roller ball that you roll right onto your clitoris—and it feels so good,” Griffin says (she’s not lying).

Going Down is an oral sex elixer that combines sunflower oil, BeeFused honey, and orange blossom with CBD that tastes

delightful. Love Me Too, a sensual moisturizer “for your other lips,” features CBG and cannabinoid-rich honey. Start Me Up is a lickable glide that, according to the product description, is “crafted to rock your world while your partner gets to taste a subtle yet sweet orange blossom flavor. Made to encourage licking, sucking, and f*cking.”

Many of the products feature the brand’s Bee Wild tantric honey, which uses BeeFused patented technology where freerange bees organically feed on nectar made from hemp-derived cannabinoids, cannabis strains, and superfoods to create highly bioavailable, cannabinoid-rich raw honey.

“Bees do all the work!”

Griffin says. “Nothing is added, nothing is made in a lab. This is nature doing what it does best.”

Griffin says, “oOYes is sex forward and by no means shy.” And if it’s not clear yet, neither is she. The Denver-based entrepreneur loves sex, and she loves talking about sex—not in a sterile, clinical way, but not in an omg-TMI-please-stop way either. She just enjoys it, and she’s passionate about helping others enjoy it too. For her, it’s about creating experiences for people. “That’s why all the products are travel sized,

that’s why everything is tied to rock-n-roll. It’s all designed around how you feel, it’s about getting your mind in the right place, and—yes—using drugs to do it. Having fun with it in a nice way.”

And it all comes down to basic biology: sex is fun, and having more of it is good for you. Science backs this up: There are a ton of emotional and psychological benefits of getting busy, and sex is strongly linked to a better quality of life, offering both mental and physical benefits ranging from better self-image and higher rates of happiness to enhanced brain function.

“I freaking love sex,” Griffin continues. “I think it’s like eating and sleeping and everything else. oOYes founder Tanya I think everybody should Griffin is having fun in be having lots of it.” the sex space.

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THE SCENE WISH LIST

Most Wanted

Lift Off A custom modular bong with out-of-this-world form and function?

That’s a piece dreams are made of. And Stone’s dreams are built on a classic beaker base, a large honeycomb percolator for increased filtration and diffusion, and a UFO mouthpiece—a distinguished percolator topped by an hourglass ice catcher for the coolest of hits. Vitae Glass Voyager Bong, $330, vitaeglass.com

Stone Slade, the host of the upcoming docuseries Hittin’ the High Road, highlights some of the uplifting items he’s currently coveting.

TEXT STEPHANIE WILSON

’Tis almost the season for cheer—and finding the perfect gifts to give and to get.

So we asked TV personality Stone Slade—you may know him from the A&E series Modern Dads; you will know him from the upcoming Hittin’ the High Road series Sensi is producing (don’t mind our shameless self-promotion)—to help us set the tone for the upcoming holiday season. Here are his top choices for products that can transform your smoking ritual into a private retreat.

Hold Tight and Statement Piece Never lose another lighter with Chen and Kai’s Serpent holder, designed to wrap snugly around a Mini Bic, keeping it tethered to your keychain. Serpent Lighter Keychain, $38, shop-tetra.com Designed in 1924 by the late Bauhaus design icon Marianne Brandt, the classic ashtray was recently reissued by Alessi to mark the famed design school’s 100th anniversary. It stands on small feet, has a removable lid for cleaning, and has a small stand on top to hold rolled smokes. Marianne Brandt Ashtray by Alessi, $215, shop-tetra.com

Box, Set Strong, durable, odor resistant, and beautiful, this sophisticated stash box holds a full herb organizational system complete with glass jars and humidity-control lids for your flower, dab containers for your concentrates, a removable rolling tray, a topnotch grinder, a padded interior to keep your glassware safe, and other high-end accoutrements a modern smoker demands. Original Apothecarry Case, $275, theapothecarrycase.com

Give It a Spin With compartments for all smoking accessories, plus rolling areas and a silicone slap for concentrates, this highly functional centerpiece is something all smokers should give a spin. Blazy Susan Rolling Tray, from $90, blazysusan.com Flower Power Leave it to Jonathan Adler to bring on a surge of color when we need it most. His new Sinsemilla line includes includes this stash box with real gold accents, a hand-beaded pillow (price: $248!), and a rolling tray— all perfect presents for any rich hippie host. Sinsemilla Stash Box, $68, jonathanadler.com To Have and To Hold Crafted in silvertone brass and covered in croc-embossed Delaunay Lapis leather, this luxe pocket ashtray doubles as an on-the-go stashtray.

House of Puff Poche Pocket Ashtray, $79, houseofpuff.com

Freakin’ Laser Bong Part smoking device, part magic trick, and a total crowd pleaser, this first-of-its-kind laser-powered luxe bong is sleek, opulent, and guaranteed to spark some conversations.

The Trident by Hitoki, $500, hitoki.com

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P R O M OT I O N A L F E AT U R E COOKIES

Take a Delish Bite Cookies expands the love in two new Colorado retail spaces with local favorites.

C

ookies top-shelf cannabis products began with two visionary founders: grow expert Jai and entrepreneur, Cookies CEO, and CoFounder Berner.

Berner began his cannabis career as a budtender in the Bay Area in the early days of California’s medical cannabis market. Soon after, he realized there were no traditional brands and that most cannabis was sold in unappealing packaging and without any identity.

Berner started Cookies SF, a non-cannabis line of streetwear and lifestyle products, so that the Cookies cannabis

brand could transcend traditional industry. From there on, Berner has been involved in every step of the product-development process and remains highly dedicated to ensuring Cookies’ products are consistent in offering the highest quality on the market.

Cookies also aims to enter new markets that will have a meaningful connection with its consumers. So when the company launched the Cookies Broadway location and the Cookies Commerce City location, it knew that the brand could resonate with Colorado’s varied demographics.

“We are lucky to have locations in a market with so much deep history and

respect for cannabis,” says Berner.

In each new market, Cookies is committed to upholding what makes the community special. Whether that’s through sourcing local vendors for store launches, utilizing art to pay homage to local heroes, or ensuring Cookies’ shelves are stocked with local favorites—Cookies continues to pay deep respect to the players of that market.

In addition to iconic Cookies strains like Gary Payton, Apples & Bananas, Fly, and Ocean Beach, locations dedicate premium shelf space to local brands. In the Colorado locations, those strains include Certified Magic, Veritas, Malek’s, Kanha, Wyld, Billo, Antero, Magic City, Outlaw Cannabis.

Girl Scout Cookies (GSC) remains one of the most sought-after cannabis strains globally. Innovative strains include Cereal Milk, Berry Pie, Pancakes, Gelati, Sweet Tea, and Sticky Buns.

All products are seed-to-sale with inhouse cultivation and global varieties, and the stores offer a full lineup of strain-specific products.

Colorado is a trailblazer in cannabis, and Cookies is grateful to have such strong cultivation partners in the state that upholds its quality standards.

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P R O M OT I O N A L F E AT U R E M E D I C A L LY C O R R E C T

Indulge in Deluxe Decadence

third-party-lab tested to ensure quality and consistent dosages. Best of all, its price point is truly one that allows for everyday indulgence.

Another noteworthy item is that the packaging was selected with eco-consciousness in mind. It contains no plastics, is produced with 33 percent postconsumer materials, and is both recyclable and biodegradable.

Since 2010, Medically Correct has been driven by its mission to make edically Correct, Caramel and Cafe Cappuccino wrapped cannabis safe and accessible, offering creator of the in single-sourced South American choco- a wide variety of products to suit conaward-winning late. Four flavors of unique sugar-dusted sumers’ individual needs and preferIncredibles line, has gummies, including Sunrise Lemon Rose ences. Incredibles, the sensational line now launched its newest brand, Nové and Blueberry Basil Garden, are now known for novelty chocolate bars, is Luxury Edibles. More than a decade available to Colorado consumers. now accompanied by other innovative ago, co-founders Bob Eschino and Nové creates a sense of everyday brands, including Nové Luxury Edibles: Rick Scarpello partnered with Derek luxury as well as encourages a ritual Feel effects faster with Quiq, its new Cumings, an innovative extraction around the consumption of edibles, line of consumables and topicals that expert, and Josh Fink, a classically just as one might have for flower. take effect in just 5 to 15 minutes; and trained pastry chef, to create one of Have a piece of Nové with morning when potency is a must, Clear Creek the cannabis industry’s most success- coffee, savor a Glacier Mint flavor Extracts features high-quality, low-cost ful companies. as an after-dinner dessert, and share concentrates and vape pens.

Nové offers decadent, cannabis-inwith friends while hanging out. Nové fused chocolates filled with the finest chocolate packages contain two ingredients. These luxury edibles don’t individually wrapped bars to ensure require a special occasion since they are optimal freshness; each package con- Nové Luxury Edibles priced at an exceptional value. It’s luxury tains 10 pieces that contain 10mg THC Decadent Cannabis-infused without the luxury price tag. Elevate apiece, for a total of 100mg THC per Chocolates every day and savor options like Sea Salt pack. Of course, all products are triple noveisluxury.com

Savor every day with Nové Luxury Edibles, new from the makers of Incredibles.

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Shining a Light A trained pharmacist and chemist, Dr. Lola Ohonba understands the challenges that people with disabilities face and the relief cannabis can provide.

Growing up in the crowded, vibrant metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria, Dr. Lola Ohonba suffered from a disability that limited the movement in her leg. She found relief in traditional plant medicine, and even though she headed to the U.S. to study Western medicine and chemistry—and then launch an über-successful career in pharmacy—she never forgot what she had learned at home. Her knowledge of both traditional healing and science spurred her to forge off on her own and found WCI Health with the mission of teaching dispensaries, practitioners, and other interested parties how to safely and effectively use canSHARE YOUR STORY nabis, psychedelics, and other plants as medicine. “I Has cannabis helped you am very passionate about decriminalizing this plant, heal? Show us, tell us, and tag us on Instagram. and I use my platform to talk about that,” she says.

“I am a practicing clinical pharmacist. A lot of my @sensimagazine colleagues think I’m crazy, risking my license, talking publicly about cannabis. Well, I’m proud of what I’m doing. This is necessary. When clinicians like me come out and put a face to this plant, it helps move the work a little bit forward.”

To that end, Dr. O, as she is known, has become a prominent voice in the effort to de-stigmatize plant medicine as a public speaker as well as the author of the bestselling book A Pharmacist’s Guide to Cannabis: Perspectives of a Non-conformist Clinician and the host of the podcast Let’s Talk Plant Medicine: Cannabis, Psychedelics, and Pharmaceutics. Through it all she draws on her experience living with a disability to find compassion and solutions for others who face physical challenges and seek relief.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DR. LOLA OHONBA

TEXT DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

“I have a physical disability,” she says. “I know what we go through, the stress that we go through to get medicine, to get things done. So I want to shine a light on that aspect of what I do and we we can get done.” wci-health.com

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