Sensi New England November 2021 by Sensi Magazine

PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS Ram Dass and ambient vibes

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NEW ENGLAND SENSI MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2021

sensimediagroup @sensimagazine @sensimag

FEATURES

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.

Hacking The Feast

Here’s how the hippies hijacked Thanksgiving.

DEPARTMENTS

11 EDITOR’S NOTE Check 42 THEoutSCENE what’s hot in the world of cannabis 12 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.

29 LOCAL Regional editor EmilieNoelle Provost outlines the whos, wheres, and whens of New England.

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.

50 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 GROMOVATAYA, 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

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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

EDITOR’S NOTE

Magazine published monthly by Sensi Media Group LLC.

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

FAC E B O O K Like Sensi Media Group to infuse your newsfeed with more of our great cannabis lifestyle content.

This issue of Sensi is

full of things to do and

places to explore in New England. I’ve heard people say that November, with its gray skies and cool temperatures, isn’t an ideal time to get out and do things locally, especially outdoors, but I disagree. For much of my career, I have worked as a writer and editor in the travel and hospitality space and I have loved writing about popular attractions and destinations in the off-seasons. Exploring new places when few people are around and accommodation rates are lower is often much more rewarding than visiting the same locations when they’re packed with tourists. So, get out there and try something new! In this issue, you’ll find ideas for your holiday shopping list on our Local Shop section (page 37). There you can read about a unique handmade cannabis tray from Maine, a bacon-flavored CBD tincture for dogs, and a woman- and minority-owned dispensary on Nantucket. Need some holiday inspiration? Our Meet section (page 35) introduces to a few New England cannabis influencers, including a best-selling author and hemp farmer from Vermont, the founder of a Boston-based business development firm for cannabis companies, and a local glass artist who specializes in making unique cannabis accessories. Best wishes for a relaxing and joyful Thanksgiving holiday. Peace,

Exploring new places when few people are around and accommodation rates are lower is often much more rewarding than visiting the same locations when they’re packed with tourists.

TWITTER Follow @sensimag for need-to-know news and views from Sensi headquarters.

Emilie-Noelle Provost @Emilie_Noelle I N S TAG R A M Pretty things, pretty places, pretty awesome people: find it all on @sensimagazine

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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 12

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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*

PERCENT Of Americans working from home during the pandemic were consuming cannabis. SOURCE: Poll conducted by AmericanMarijuana.org

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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Recreational Delivery Now Available

sanctuarymed.com

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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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2021 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

1 2

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1, 8, 9 COURTESY NORDSTROM

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

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)

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)

14 12

2021 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

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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)

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

5 20

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8 11

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)

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

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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. 26

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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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explore

experience

meet

shop

taste

Relax, learn, and reconnect with nature

Hit the road for these expos, parties, and shows

Innovators igniting the Northeast

Accessories and dispensaries by the sea

Historical feast, relaxing bubbles, and tasty treats

local I NEW ENGLAND

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local

explore

GET OUT THERE ON THE rocks TO THE woods

You don’t have to travel to distant lands to unearth precious gems. Anyone can grab a hammer and head to the White Mountain National Forest’s Moat Mountain Smoky Quartz Collecting Area in Conway, New Hampshire. Veins of smoky quartz (New Hampshire’s state gem), green feldspar, and blue-green amazonite lace the site’s granite cliffs. Don’t forget to dress in layers and bring a container to hold your ﬁnds. fs.usda.gov

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The inspiration for Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Walden Pond State Reservation in Concord and Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a great place to escape from the everyday hustle and just breathe. Hike around the pond, check out the replica of Thoreau’s famous cabin, or bring your own kayak or canoe to enjoy a serene paddle. mass.gov

IN THE wild

Moose are New England’s largest land mammal, but few people are lucky enough to see one. Pemi Valley Moose Tours in Lincoln, New Hampshire operates small group tours to known moose hangouts, to get that sighting off your bucket list. Though they can’t guarantee a sighting, the company claims to have a 97 percent success rate. moosetoursnh.com

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Artsy, stylish, and 420- and dog-friendly, Made Inn Vermont upscale bed and breakfast near downtown Burlington has four elegant guestrooms that include plush bathrobes and mini refrigerators stocked with munchies and drinks. Daily gourmet breakfast, cocktails, and snacks are included in the room rate. The property is within walking distance of several restaurants, shops, and attractions. madeinnvermont.com

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When Andrew Borden and his wife Abigail were brutally murdered in their Fall River mansion, Maplecroft, in August 1892, Andrew’s youngest daughter, Lizzie, was the primary suspect. Although many believed she was guilty, Lizzie Borden was acquitted and lived the rest of her life in the house. Today, the Historic Lizzie Borden House is a museum and bed and breakfast, welcoming brave travelers to stay in one of six guestrooms. The property also offers a popular series of ghost tours and a gift shop. The entire house is available to rent for weddings and events. If you can’t make it to Fall River, you can take a virtual ghost tour on the inn’s website. lizzie-borden.com

Herbal Healing 101

The nonproﬁt Vermont Center for Integrated Herbalism in Montpelier offers classes, workshops, extensive in-person and virtual hands-on training programs, and apprenticeships for budding herbalists. Home to several gardens, the school also runs professional herbal medicine clinics in Montpelier and Burlington. Both offer treatment for a variety of ailments on a sliding payment scale. An on-site apothecary in Montpelier provides clients with custom herbal remedies. vtherbcenter.org N OV E M B E R 2021

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The Trifecta Relax is the first product in Massachusetts to utilize rare and minor cannabinoids sourced from MA Certified Industrial Hemp. This unique broad spectrum formulation boasts a healthy CBN dosage to ease you into a relaxing evening. Full panel tested and ready for both retail and wholesale. Processed and manufactured in accordance with all MA state laws and ready for your dispensary or retail shelves. www.baystatehemp.com License - 25200133P

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Soul Fresh Cooking Classes

Saturdays through November / Stoughton, MA Learn to cook with cannabis in live online classes taught by experts from Soul Fresh Wellness at 3:30 p.m. Participants will receive a digital guide containing ingredient lists and recipes. Email soulfreshedibles@gmail.com to register.

Wakeﬁeld, RI / thefarmacist.com Start your weekends off right. Every Friday night from 6 to 11 p.m., theFarmacist, a medical-use dispensary, sponsors a 420-friendly get together at its private TetraHydro Club in South Kingstown. Enjoy live music and meet like-minded people while you relax, peruse products from local artisans and producers, or try video gaming on their big screen. Club membership required. NOVEMBER 7

Boston Cannabis Wedding Expo

Cambridge, MA cannabisweddingexpo.com Getting married—and love cannabis? Don’t miss this expo at the Sheraton Commander hotel. Meet more than 50 cannabis specialty wedding vendors including caterers, budtenders, ﬂorists, photographers, and more. Enjoy live music, non-infused appetizers, and a cannabis-themed bridal fashion show. 21+. NOVEMBER 19

9th Annual Maine Harvest Festival

November 20-21 / Bangor, ME / maineharvestfestival.com Discover just-picked produce and locally made products— including maple syrup, meats, cheeses, seafood, and baked goods—from more than 200 producers from Maine, northern New Hampshire, Vermont, and southern Canada at the Cross Insurance Center. The event will also feature wines, craft beers, and spirits from Maine wineries, breweries, and distillers. Check out the work of local artists, woodworkers, and ceramicists, and watch cooking demos by area chefs.

Chelsea Handler Live

Hampton Beach, NH casinoballroom.com Comedian, author, human rights activist, and television host Chelsea Handler will light up Hampton Beach this month. Handler’s wit, intelligence, and tell-it-like-it-is attitude have made her one of the most fêted personalities in American pop culture. N OV E M B E R 2021

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FINE’S lines

Vermont author, journalist, goat herder, cannabis advocate, and hemp farmer, Doug Fine, is the author of six books. Fine’s latest, American Hemp Farmer: Adventures and Misadventures in the Cannabis Trade (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2020), details his experience growing hemp and gives insight into how hemp could provide a much-needed boost to independent farmers. Fine frequently appears on television and radio talk shows, has presented a popular Ted Talk, and offers an intensive hemp farming course online. dougﬁne.com

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Ann Brum founded Boston business development ﬁrm Joint Venture & Co., in 2018. Joint Venture works with companies in the cannabis, hemp, and wellness spaces, helping them to expand their reach, develop new products, plan events, and market their brands. Inﬂuenced by her Azorean family’s use of traditional homeopathic remedies and her experience working in healthcare, Brum has long been a believer in cannabis’ potential for promoting wellness.

THE smoking GLASS

Chris Vela, known as Vela G, is a professional glass blower and the resident artist at Calyx Containers, a Boston company that designs cannabis packaging. Originally from California, Vela G has brought West Coast heady glass culture to the Northeast. His expertise in lampworking, network of acclaimed artists in the glass space, and his passion for photography have shaped Calyx’s Art of Glass line of handmade cannabis accessories. For many years, Vela G’s work has inspired other artists creating functional, beautiful glass accessories for the cannabis community. N OV E M B E R 2021

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The Green Lady Dispensary located on the island of Nantucket was the ﬁrst women- and minority-owned cannabis company to open in Massachusetts. Inspired by their Jamaican heritage, The Green Lady’s owners have created a space that combines Nantucket’s rustic charm with a warm island aesthetic. The business supports several Nantucket charities and contributes to the island’s college scholarship fund. thegreenladydispensary.com

MADE OF maine

Handcrafted by Maine artisans, this cannabis tray is approximately 12 inches long and comes with its own glass storage jars designed to hold one gram of cannabis. Wooden lids have rubber gaskets that create a tight seal when clamped closed. $18, mecannabisgifts.com

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Hand printed in Connecticut with reclaimed ink, each of these 100-percent cotton tees makes a great gift for the locavores in your life. $28, cinderandsalt.com

KEEP THOSE TAILS a-waggin’

Just like people, dogs can benefit from CBD’s healing effects. This bacon-flavored CBD pet tincture from East Coast Herbalist in North Smithfield, Rhode Island, can help manage nervous behavior and improve mobility while decreasing inflammatory issues in older pets. The drops, made from New England–grown hemp, come in 250 mg or 500 mg bottles and can be added directly to your dog’s food. $35 – $50, eastcoastherbalist.com N OV E M B E R 2021

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This product has not been analyzed or approved by the 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 intoxicating effects of edible products may be delayed by 2 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.

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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 42

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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 B AY S T A T E H E M P C O M P A N Y

pure and full-panel tested CBD, CBN, and CBG isolate to be sold to hemp and cannabis processors and dispensaries. It provides extraction, post-processing, isolation, white-label product manufacturing, and manufacture finished products ready for consumption. Small-farm sustainability is also essential to Bay State Hemp Company. The business advocates for laws and initiatives that directly benefit the small farmer, while providing a niche service that no other company offers. It believes small farms and businesses deserve a position in this space, and it helps them secure success now and for the future. “We engage through trade shows and networking events as well as donating financially to worthy causes. We have a firm stance that our position in this industry is one of privilege and we have committed to always working in the interest of social equity and economic empowerment,” says Nathan. “I also am a member of the leadership council of the Mass Hemp Coalition, and we regularly work to advocate and support bills and regulations that benefit farmers and small businesses.” “The company began after I went Bay State Hemp Company’s philosophy is that the future of the cannabis through a personal experience as a market doesn’t lie in a single cannabipatient struggling to find access to noid, but in therapeutic blends of canminor and rare cannabinoids like CBN and CBG in the Massachusetts cannabis nabinoids. Over 115 cannabinoids have market,” says John Nathan, president of been identified to date. The industry Bay State Hemp Company. “After hitting has lot to explore, and Bay State Hemp Company is in an excellent position to walls trying to source what I needed, I started Bay State Hemp in 2019 to fill help companies achieve success with the gaps in the market, focusing entirely new cannabinoid blends. on extracts and finished products with lesser-known cannabinoids and blends.” Bay State Hemp Company takes crops through its proprietary ethanol Bay State Hemp Company extraction process. It extracts cannaCannabis Processing and binoids from dried hemp biomass and Manufacturing refined, remediated, and isolated to baystatehemp.com

Helping Small Farmers Succeed

Bay State Hemp provides equitable and fairly priced hemp processing and manufacturing—and helps growers prepare for the future.

“W

e are nothing without the small farmer—and the magic all starts with a seed planted.” Based in Massachusetts, Bay State Hemp Company is an established processing and manufacturing facility offering fairly priced hemp services for local, small farmers in the state. It provides farm-source quality genetics (with no minimum order, quantities at cost) and offers fair trade tolling and purchasing contracts to ensure that the local agricultural community is sustainable.

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P R O M OT I O N A L F E AT U R E SOLAR CANNABIS CO.

of the partners is a rheumatologist and biking enthusiast. As he rode by the facility on his bike, he saw it was a big warehouse with solar panels on the roof and surrounding the property, covering about four acres. Currently, 67,000 square feet of solar panels on the roof and acres of supplementary solar fields adjacent to the site are now in use. The company generates its own power at 5.4 megawatts which is enough to run 5,000 small homes. Along with the electricity generated to power the operations, it also sells energy back to the grid. In fact, Solar outlet all in Somerset, Massachusetts. has secured a total of $1.1 million in Two more retail outlets are planned, with rebates from utility companies, such one in Seekonk opening in November and as Liberty Utilities and National Grid. ground broken on a Dartmouth location. In addition to solar technology, “We are always implementing innothe company implements additional vative engineering processes to cultivate sustainable design principles, including and manufacture cannabis sustainably,” high-efficiency natural gas cogenerasays Derek Gould, director of marketing tion units and other sustainable power and communications at Solar. “To scale, assets. Solar also uses eco-friendly we are the only facility in America to be packaging to help reduce negative 100-percent off the electrical grid while environmental impacts. generating clean power on-site.” The partners believe it was synergy that landed them at their present location. “Massachusetts offers different Solar Cannabis Co. host community agreements, and we Sustainable Cannabis Cultivation wanted to align with the one that was Solutions right for both parties,” says Gould. One solarthera.com

Solar Cannabis Co.’s sustainable, innovative practices cultivate a better future in the cannabis industry—and beyond.

he management team, dedicated board, and passionate investors of the privately-owned Solar Cannabis Co. (Solar) are driven by a high goal: to innovative sustainable solutions that reduce the carbon footprint of cannabis cultivation and the manufacturing process. Indoor cannabis cultivation has come a long way, but remains energy intensive, so Solar designed a facility for energy independence. Currently, it’s the first in the US to generate its own power at scale, on-site and off the grid. Solar is vertically integrated with a state-of-the-art cultivation facility, corporate headquarters, and flagship retail

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THE END

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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Please consume responsibly. For use only by adults 21 years of age or older. Keep out of the reach of children. 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 Edibles 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.