Southern Oregon Good Herb Summer 2019

INSIDE: GROWN ROGUE GOES ‘ELECTRIC’

SUMMER 2019

SOUTHERN OREGON

GOOD HERB

ASHLANDERS UNVEIL HEMP CIGARETTES PAGE 24

SOUTHERN OREGON GROWERS DOMINATE CANNABIS HUB: MARKET STREET WELLNESS CANNABIS CLOSEUPS COOKING WITH CANNABIS

CBD IS BEAUTIFUL Skin and body care products made with hemp are all the rage

Cultivation Classic

Best Buds

Amy Parscal of Ebb & Flow Farm in Talent flashes the first-place hardware at the Cultivation Classic in Portland.

The fourth annual Cultivation Classic, a two-day event that celebrates Oregon’s craft cannabis you’re looking for the best producers, was held May 18-19 at sungrown cannabis in Revolution Hall, with activities all Oregon, you’ll find it right here in over Portland.

Southern Oregon.

The event culminates That fact became with an awards cerSouthern Oregon obvious after Southemony, and this year farmers rock ern Oregon cannabis Southern Oregon growfarmers swept the sungrown awards ers made their presence sungrown categories known. at the annual Cultivation Classic in There were 150 entries of organic Portland and also took home all of cannabis, with 150 judges spending the hemp awards, a terpene award, 30 days evaluating the submissions. the Regenerative Cannabis Farm Award and the Credible Cultivar Award.

By Liz Gold

If

SEE BUDS, 4

2 | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | Southern Oregon Good Herb

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Cultivation Classic

It’s not all about the THC

PHOTO BY SAM GEHRKE/WILLAMETTE WEEK

Daniel Richardson from Lane Creek Hemp Company in Central Point accepts the 2019 Regenerative Cannabis Farm Award at the Cultivation Classic in Portland.

BUDS From Page 2

How the judging works The judging process for the competition uses what organizers call a double-blind system.

“When a judge opens their kit, they receive little glass jars with flower and an entry ID number,” said Steph Barnhart, program director of the Cultivation Classic. “You know nothing; you don’t know the potency, the terpene profile, the strain name, who grew it. We do that to remove bias.”

It also allows judges to tune into their physical experience without preconceived bias.

The second blind is for data collection. The people who do the data analysis don’t have access to any information that would reveal the cultivar. It’s only when Barnhart received the numbers from the data team that she got to look and see what name to put on a trophy.

“The winners of Cultivation Classic’s Light Type/Plant Type categories are mathematically determined by a weighted

combination of subjective likability scores from judges, aroma score, quality-control review and farm/ facility energy efficiency,” according to Adie Rae of Smart Cannabis, head of the event’s data analysis along with Niels Sveum from Habu Health.

“Did people enjoy it? Does it smell good? And was it produced sustainably? In other words: our equation for quality, craft cannabis,” she wrote on the Cultivation Classic’s Instagram page, where you can see a breakdown of each cultivar’s data set.

Light and plant type were broken down into three categories — 1, 2 and 3 — based on plant chemistry.

Type 1 are high-THC plants, Type 2 are mixed ratio THC/CBD cultivars, and Type 3 are CBD-forward cultivars.

“It’s so that essentially a judge doesn’t have a mixed-bag experience,” Barnhart said. “Instead we have a CBD-only group. Type 1 and Type 2 appear mixed in random order in judges’ kits. Of 150 judges, we had 13 CBD-only judges.”

This was the first year hemp was included in the competition, and

4 | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | Southern Oregon Good Herb

it was judged like CBD — mixed in with Type 3 judge kits and tested with the same criteria, said Barnhart.

Using a scale of 1-7, with 1 being an awful experience and 7 being incredible, judges rated how much they enjoyed the aroma, the cultivar’s overall desirability and how much they liked the way the strain made them feel.

Aside from the complex science and judges’ preferences, the Cultivation Classic is an opportunity for growers throughout the state to acknowledge and celebrate the work they do and the flower they grow.

Southern Oregon dominance East Fork Cultivars in the Illinois Valley brought back the Gold award in the Sungrown Type 3 category for a strain called Blue Orchid. It was the second consecutive win for the company in that category. It also won the silver award in the same category this year with a strain called ACDC. Siskiyou Sungrown in Grants Pass took the bronze in that category with Sour Tsunami.

There’s more to great bud than the amount of THC hiding in its sticky little trichomes.

At the 2019 Cultivation Classic, held May 18-19 in Portland, seven of the top 10 flowers in the competition measured less than 20% THC. When that fact was announced by Adie Rae, head of the event’s data analysis, the audience cheered.

“Enjoyment and THC by this data set are not correlated,” she said, adding that many of the cultivars in the contest contained THC in the 14- to 18-percent range, which can be hard to get to market because many retailers are looking for high levels of THC to meet consumer demand.

Jason Rambo, co-founder of Alter Farms in Grants Pass, said it was very rewarding that his company’s Purple Wildfire, a cultivar that tested at 15.7% THC, took first place in the Sungrown Type 1 category.

“It acknowledges that percentage doesn’t truly matter,” he said. “In a retail market, it’s very difficult to sell anything under 16%. Dispensaries don’t want to buy it because the consumer is still shopping by a percentage number. Just goes to show good cannabis doesn’t have to be 30 percent.”

“We are trying to have a conversation about where the market is and what the market currently rewards,” said Steph Barnhart, the Cultivation Classic’s program director. “And what the market rewards is high-THC, myrcene-dominant flower that works for 25-year-old males. This is the largest chunk of current product on the market shelves, and it’s what people are breeding because it’s what people are buying. They don’t know anything different.”

Cultivation Classic

Alter Farms in Grants Pass took home a lot of hardware. The company won first place in the Sungrown Type 1 category for a strain called Purple Wildfire.

It won the award for Outstanding Terpenes: Diversity with a strain called Fire Runner, as well as the bronze in Sun Type 2 for Pineapple Thai CBD.

“Our team was certainly excited, we defended our gold with another gold,” said Mason Walker, CEO of East Fork Cultivars, adding that the company brings its entire team to the Cultivation Classic.

“It’s a pretty exciting culmination of our breeding work and the cultivation work we do. Blue Orchid is an East Fork original.

I have been extremely excited about that cultivar. It’s really different, and it’s nice to get that validation that other people enjoyed it.”

Ebb & Flow Farm near Ashland earned the Gold in the Sungrown Type 2 category for Goji DC #1.

Phantom Farms, which is based in Bend but grows its outdoor bud in Southern Oregon, took the silver in the Sun Type 2 category with a strain called Mighty Quinn.

Alter Farms in Grants Pass took the bronze in Sun Type 2 for Pineapple Thai CBD. “In our opinion, (the Cultivation Classic) is one of the only true competitions that’s out there,” said Amy Parscal, co-founder of Ebb & Flow Farm.

“It’s very data-driven. It feels more authentic. It’s really education-focused. They bring in amazing people inside and outside the industry to add to the conversation.”

While on stage accepting the award, the farm’s other co-founder, Lisa Denney, said, “This event really does bring out the best. I’m super honored.

There’s so much blood, sweat and tears, literally. This is the one event we will leave the farm for.”

Alter Farms in Grants Pass took home a lot of hardware. The company won first place in the Sungrown Type 1 category for a strain called Purple Wildfire. It won the award for Outstanding Terpenes: Diversity with a strain called Fire Runner, as well as the bronze in Sun Type 2 for Pineapple Thai CBD. SEE BUDS, 6

Southern Oregon Good Herb | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | 5

Cultivation Classic

“This strain has had very little recognition in the marketplace.

Thank you for loving our flower.”

Jodi Haines, founder, Alter Farms

BUDS

From Page ??

“This female was hunted rigorously,” Alter Farms founder Jodi Haines said of Purple Wildfire, while on stage collecting her award. “This strain has had very little recognition in the marketplace. Thank you for loving our flower.”

The terpene diversity award is based solely on laboratory chemistry and the judges weren’t involved, said Barnhart, describing it as “a laboratory highlight.” The award is for a cultivar that is not myrcene-dominant — myrcene is the most abundant terpene in commercial cannabis. In this category, the organizers “try not to celebrate myrcene-dominants,” she said.

“We tested at the lab for 21 terpenes, and Fire Runner tested at least in trace amount for all the terpenes we tested for this run,” she said. “It had an interesting and large quantity of terpenes that appeared in the plant.”

Ebb & Flow Farm won the Credible Cultivar Award for Goji DC #1, the strain that took the gold in the Sungrown Type 2 category. The award goes to the bud that provides the most consistent experience among all the judges.

“The Credible Cultivar (award) is the one with the most consistent effects, or lowest standard of deviation,” said Rae. “Judges agreed that Goji DC #1 was very enjoyable, and it was uniformly relaxing.”

OM Shanti Farms in the

Alter Farms co-owner Jodi Haines, at the podium, accepts an award at the Cultivation Classic in Portland, as her husband, Jason Rambo and ??? look on at left. Sam Gehrke/Willamette Week

Illinois Valley brought back the Hemp Winner of the night with its cultivar Suver Haze, and the company also took the silver for a strain called Elektra.

East Fork Cultivars took the hemp bronze with a strain called Oregon Guava.

Lane Creek Hemp Company in Central Point won the 2019 Regenerative Cannabis Farm Award.

“It’s an incredible

acknowledgment and such a great movement that we are four years into the making and trying to do our best to create awareness around regenerative farming in general, with an emphasis on cannabis,” said Daniel Richardson, lead farmer at Lane Creek Hemp Company.

“It’s about the practices. The Cultivation Classic and Regenerative Award have aligned a community of growers and

community farms that are unified in their practices, and those practices are doing great things for the local community. Each farm that is a part of this award is a little nucleus of health, knowledge and intention, and everything spreads from that.”

You can follow Liz Gold on Twitter/ Instagram @lizstacygold or read her blog at www.14karatliving. com.

Background on the Cultivation Classic Presented by Willamette Week and a host of other sponsors that include Shadowbox Farms in Applegate Valley and Smart Cannabis, the Cultivation Classic had a plethora of informative sessions highlighting regenerative agriculture practices and energy innovation.

There were discussions on economic justice, polyculture, autoflowering, innovation in production and technology and nurturing your endocannabinoid system.

Speakers at the event included Dr. Ethan Russo (International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute),

Jeff Lowenfels (Teaming with Microbes), Jeremy Plumb (Prof Cultivar), Seth Crawford (Oregon CBD), Shanel Lindsay (Ardent Cannabis) and Katie Stem (Peak Extracts).

“It’s a candle burning at both ends kind of event as I imagine growing cannabis is for you,” Steph Barnhart, program director of the Cultivation Classic, said to the awards show audience. “We really deeply value your presence here, especially as it feels as trust in science has been shaken.”

The full list of winners can be found at bit.ly/2Ib8vEu. 6 | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | Southern Oregon Good Herb

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Market Street Wellness

A former meat-packing plant in Medford is a multi-purpose hemp and cannabis hotspot

CANNABIS HUB

By Liz Gold

A

former meat-packing plant in Medford has been transformed into a cannabis hub bustling with activity.

The building that houses Market Street Wellness in Medford covers approximately 9,000 square feet, and Stacy Page has owned it for more than two years.

In that time, he’s transformed the building, which was “sitting on the market for seven years,” into a mixeduse space for a multitude of cannabis ventures.

Page wears many hats. The most obvious is owning and managing Market Street Wellness, which is really two stores in one — a recreational dispensary with a wide range of cannabis products, and Market Street CBD, a retail shop that focuses on medicinal, hemp-based products.

Page, who lives in Ashland, bought the building for its potential.

The building included a commercial freezer for storage, floor drains and three-phase power. Today, the building, at 633 Market St., has two commercial kitchens.

The larger kitchen is rented out by the hour to companies that are making hemp products, such as Seventh Hill CBD, a local company that makes a variety of hemp edibles.

The smaller kitchen is being leased by Rogue Raw, an Ashland company that makes THC edibles.

8 | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | Southern Oregon Good Herb

PHOTOS BY JAMIE LUSCH

Stacy Page, owner of Market Street Wellness in Medford.

Market Street Wellness

Ryan Dunn, owner of Seventh Hill CBD, makes CBD-infused products at the hemp kitchen inside the building it shares with Market Street Wellness in Medford.

Stacy Page, owner of Market Street Wellness in Medford, is shown at work inside the CBD portion of the operation.

The building, has two commercial kitchens. The larger kitchen is rented out by the hour to companies that are making hemp products, such as Seventh Hill CBD, a local company that makes a variety of hemp edibles. The smaller kitchen is being leased by Rogue Raw, an Ashland company that makes THC edibles.

A warehouse space inside the building is occupied by a company called EEK. According to EEK CEO Mike Kirkwood, the company has two divisions — ABC Coop, a distribution company for OLCC and ODA products, with wholesale facilities in Medford and Clackamas; and Angel Industries, an industrial hemp-focused processing company that makes Angel drops and what Kirkwood calls, “WINGS,” otherwise known as THCfree cartridges and dabbables.

New to the building’s offering are cannabis-infused cooking classes, offered twice a month, in the larger kitchen when it’s not being rented out by the hour. The first class in February demonstrated how to make infused truffles for Valentine’s Day. A March 16 class focused on making canna-butter.

Also in the building is another company Page owns, Enovators, which manufactures extractor machines.

The machine, called a Grasshopper Extractor, turns a pounds of trim into kief in 5 minutes.

“It rains kief,” says Page, adding the machine runs through 400 pounds of trim a day.

“Kief is becoming a big thing, with hemp especially,” Page says.

SEE HUB, ??

Southern Oregon Good Herb | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | 9

Black Bird

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Market Street Wellness

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an opportunity. In addition, he’s coming up with From Page 9 his own brand of products that will include tinctures, Companies can buy a tote smokables, capsules, topiof dried cannabis material, cals, edibles and drinks. or biomass, at 12 percent “Now everything is CBD, but if they want to centralized under one get it up to 16 percent, roof,” he says, adding that basically they buy a lowpeople have been contacter-grade material, then ing him from all over the they can make kief and put country for hemp prodthe kief inside the bag with ucts and to help them set flower and increase the up stores in other states. percentage to 16 or whatPage said he has plans to ever they want to hit and create a “Market Street not add more space in the Hemporium” that will truck. They are increasing include products and a CBD content in the same turn-key business model square footage, so they are that new business owners saving money. ... Almost can follow. all CBD plant material is “We grow the best hemp being turned into oil or isoin the country in Southern late, and if they start with Oregon,” he says. “It’s kief, they will get higher just like cannabis. We yields.” have the climate for it.

When he’s not manuAlmost all of it is organic, facturing the machines or because they know it’s making kief, Page is likely going to be medicine. A lot in one of his stores that he of the cannabis farmers owns with his wife, Merewho are growing didn’t do dith. He said his dispensary so well, so now they are all currently has higher sales, switching to hemp. It’s an but he believes it’s a matter exploding industry right of time until the CBD store now. Which is good for overtakes THC sales. He’s the customer, because the able to have a wider selecprices will come down.” tion of CBD products in the Aside from the business CBD store, because OLCC ventures, Page spends rules allow fewer CBD time giving talks about products in dispensaries. cannabis. He hosts free OLCC recently changed lectures every month in its rules to allow hemp Medford and Ashland growers to sell directly to about CBD and is planning a processor, wholesaler or a one-day conference at retailer, Page says, but they Medford’s Inn at the Comhave to get their products mons in June. into OLCC’s seed-to-sale “A majority of people program. “They have to have no idea what CBD jump through the same is. They may have heard hoops required by cannaabout it on the news and bis companies, Page says.

“Hemp growers and prothey don’t know how it Dan Bell, owner of Rogue Raw, works a concentrate used to make edibles cessors can have a larger affects the body,” he says. in the OLCC kitchen inside the building that contains Market Street Wellness in Medford. footprint in the market, “I educate them on the but it’s a big hurdle to get importance of quality and percent THC, Page says, and 95 percent of there. It does open up more source of the product best products that can come into the dispensaries the products are hemp-derived. He also sells for their health, not always purchasing the CBG, another cannabinoid, that he says help now. cheapest product.”

“Thirty percent of CBD products are in the support glaucoma and digestive issues.

For information, see marketstreetwellOLCC,” he says. “So that’s why I opened Page has long been an entrepreneur — he ness.com or call 541-622-8340. up the other store, to provide more CBD was in landscaping for years and owned You can follow Liz Gold on Twitter/Instagram options.”

Paradise Supply in Ashland and Grants Pass.

The CBD portion of the business doesn’t He also grew CBD for 10 years, and when the @lizstacygold or read her blog at www.14karatsell any products that contain more than 0.3 living.com.

Medford building became available, he saw

Southern Oregon Good Herb | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | 11

Cannabis Commerce

Special Sauce W

By Damian Mann

ould you like a little CBD with your coffee?

“Yes,” say many Medford-area residents who stop

by CBD Joe’s Coffee and Que, a food truck Food truck unique parked behind offers diners Weedbucks at 437 S. Ave. French toast, Central Along with your sandwiches Stuffed French or Moms Egg ... and CBDs Toast Sandwich, you can get a shot of CBD, or cannabidiol, the nonintoxicating extract from hemp.

“It’s the first food establishment in Jackson County licensed to serve CBD in its food,” said Jason Osborne, who owns the food truck with his business partner, Matthew DeFusco.

They started operations in April, attracting clients who work at neighboring businesses.

Kaylie Loptien, who works at Weedbucks, ordered her breakfast with CBD. “I’ve never heard of a CBD food truck before,” she said.

CBD Joe’s offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. Prices for a meal range from $7 to $9, while a cup of coffee with a shot of CBD costs $5.

Side orders include Bourbon Baked Beans, Superfood Coleslaw and Smoky Mac and Cheese.

PHOTOS BY ANDY ATKINSON

Jason Osborne smokes meat for an upcoming event for CBD Joe’s food truck in downtown Medford.

12 | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | Southern Oregon Good Herb

Cannabis Commerce

PHOTO BY JAMIE LUSCH

Jason Osborne adds CBD to an order at his food truck, CBD Joe’s Coffee on Central Avenue in Medford.

“This is all new to us, as well,” Osborne gained some notoriety Loptien said the food exceeded in 2016, when code enforcement her expectations, and the CBD he said. “It’s going to be somedose will help her keep calm. thing that’s going to become more officers issued him citations for “It helps with my anxiety,” she popular.” exceeding the four-plant limit in said.

The idea for CBD Joe’s was the city. Medford no longer allows CBD Joe’s will add 10 millihatched last year, but the menu has plants to be grown outdoors. grams of CBD for 50 cents to food been fine-tuned.

On the day he was interviewed, offerings — at the request of the Originally from Texas, Osborne Osborne had a steady stream of customers only. Many credit CBD went for barbecue favorites and customers, all of whom wanted as helping with everything from comfort foods such as biscuits that extra dollop of CBD. inflammation to He’s also got sleeplessness or even The CBD sold with the food products can interest from other epileptic seizures. businesses that want contain only a maximum 0.3% THC, a Chad Peterson, to hold events with environmental public requirement for hemp products in Oregon. his green food truck. health manager for “I got a real estate Also, the CBD product must be pesticide free. agent who wants Jackson County, said he’s received me to do an open requests from other businesses and gravy, particularly because house,” he said. who want to offer CBD, but none he spent 23 years in the restaurant CBD Joe’s offers breakfast, lunch have received a license so far, business (the “que” in the name and dinner. Prices for a meal range except CBD Joe’s. stands for “barbecue”). from $7 to $9, while a cup of coffee “I would guess he’s one of the Biscuits and Gravy wasn’t a with a shot of CBD costs $5. Side first, if not the first,” Peterson big seller, so it was replaced with orders include Bourbon Baked said. “We’ve had a couple of bars Stuffed French Toast, which has Beans, Superfood Coleslaw and ask about CBD in mixed drinks.” turned into a top seller, Osborne Smoky Mac and Cheese.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., but The CBD sold with the food said. that can vary, especially because products can contain only a maxIn June the menu also included imum 0.3% THC, a requirement the truck has been popular at Joes Brisket Roll, Smoked Meatfor hemp products in Oregon. Also, loaf Melt, Pugnacious Pork Slider, regional festivals, Osborne said, the CBD product must be pesticide Mountain Nachos, The Big Greek so check the truck’s Facebook free. salad, and The Full Port, a smoked, page (facebook.com/CBDPeterson said CBD is regulated marinated portobello mushroom Joes). Orders can be called in at by the state. cap on naan.

541-237-7151.

Southern Oregon Good Herb | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | 13

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Cannabis Closeup

‘Looking up at the THC waterfall’

By David Smigelski

“Y

Medford man is proud of his first homegrown marijuana effort

ou’re never too old to try something new,” says Ron Bloom, a Medford resident who took up cannabis growing at the age of 72.

Flash forward a few months, and Bloom is like a kid in a candy store, showing off photos of his buds.

He’s especially taken with one shot, a macro image of a super sticky flower that seems to show a little face looking up at a THC waterfall.

OK, maybe you have to have smoked some really good weed to see it, but you can’t blame him for being proud. The bud — and the photo — were created with his very own hands, and any gardener knows how good that feels.

“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Bloom says. “I never tried growing. But with the internet there was a lot of information, and everybody I asked about growing was so helpful.”

He grew his plant indoors, FILE PHOTO and he says he used his own Ron Bloom of Medford built a replica of a Hawk secret recipe in an attempt missile and pulled it behind his motorcycle in the to produce buds that would 2015 Pear Blossom parade. Two years ago, he taste like a Swisher Sweet turned his attention to growing cannabis. cigar. He won’t divulge the exact formula, but he says it involved using molasses in his watering routine, a bold move for a rookie grower. But nobody who knows Bloom would be surprised to see him do it his own way.

Bloom has long been a tinkerer. In 2015, the military veteran built a replica of a Vietnam-era MIM-23 Hawk missile, which he pulled in the Medford Pear Blossom Parade behind his replica German military motorcycle and sidecar.

The missile replica was built to scale — 16 feet, 8 inches long. And even though it was made of wood, fabric and other lightweight materials, it was so realistic that he had to alert local, state and national authorities, including Medford police and the director of the Medford airport.

COURTESY PHOTO

Ron Bloom of Medford used a microscope to capture this closeup of a marijuana bud from a plant in his indoor garden.

“Homeland Security knows about it,” Bloom told the Mail Tribune, which featured Bloom’s handiwork prior to the 2015 parade.

“I’m somewhat of a MacGyver type,” he says, referring to the TV character who has a knack for unconventional problem-solving and an extensive bank of scientific knowledge that comes in handy when he tackles high-risk missions around the world.

“I was thinking about the Swisher Sweets cigars, thinking that if you want your coffee sweeter, you would put sugar in it,” he says of his first attempt. “But I didn’t use sugar, I used molasses. Molasses has been around for a long time, and it’s been used in many grow operations. So this is by far nothing new. It’s just a new recipe, and I don’t know for sure if I could produce it again.”

He started taking pictures of his plant when it was about 3 weeks old, and by the time she was producing buds, he had cobbled together a macro-lens setup that would have made MacGuyver proud.

Using an Android phone duct-taped to a microscope, he started snapping super-magnified images of his reefer buds.

“When I sat down and started looking at the pictures, I could not believe my eyes,” he says. “I can look at the picture and see a man sitting down, looking up at the THC waterfall.

“I called it my Sweets Scotch. Only a handful of friends were lucky enough to try my scotch, and they all loved it — the smoothness, sweet taste and no cough. ... I was looking for top quality, not quantity, and I am real pleased with my first grow indoors. This just might be a new sweet pot brand,” he says with a laugh. “Sweets Scotch. It has a good sound to it.”

Reach Mail Tribune features editor David Smigelski at dsmigelski@rosebudmedia.com or 541-776-8784.

Southern Oregon Good Herb | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | 15

The Green Ru$h Get Rich Quick vs. Get Rich Sustainably

When the 2018 Farm Bill opened the ßoodgates for Industrial Hemp, the Green Rush was ofÞcially on!

Prospectors are streaming to the industry in record numbers, driven by the promise of proÞts and high on the general euphoria surrounding hemp. Just in 2018-2019, hemp licenses have more than tripled here.

A landscape once characterized by vineyards, orchards and hayÞelds now increasingly displays the distinctive stripes of industrial hemp farms.

This time of great transformation has released a lot of potential and seeded great expectations. How we navigate the Green Rush will determine our individual and collective success with a crop whose economic potential experts project well into the billions. In the race to catch up to countries like Canada and China in productivity and Israel in research and development, Oregon is uniquely positioned to become an international industry leader. A favorable climate with a high concentration of growers focused on quality CBD strains make OregonÕs prospects shiny indeed.

But what do we really know about Industrial Hemp?

Information abounds about everything Hemp - from seeds to growing methods to proÞt channels and beyond. But information is not always useful knowledge, and we need to sift through a lot to determine whatÕs worthy. Those who would mine the Þeld of Industrial Hemp would do well to educate themselves about this rapidly-evolving phenomenon as much as possible before entering the fray.

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ÒThe Þeld is chaotic with 'expert' claims nowadays. Everyone has the 'best' seeds, the 'best' grower, the 'best' nutrients, the best everything. But how do we really know whatÕs best? Trial and error will always play a part, but itÕs vital that we support hemp education for the industry and general public. Many consumers know about CBD, for example, but have no idea it comes from hemp!"

- Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp Inc. In the rush to capitalize on Industrial Hemp, misinformation and unsubstantiated claims can lead directly to unintended consequences.

The budding Þeld is already littered with horror stories of million-dollar learning curves as earnest new prospectors contend with slow-moving legislature, unreliable knowledge or ubiquitous "slippery characters" when staking their claims in the Green Rush.

The chief difÞculty for any newcomer is in Þnding trustworthy sources of orientation, and this is why the

Hemp University

symposiums have created a community space for farmers, entrepreneurs and investors to gather and learn about Industrial Hemp.

The education project by Hemp Inc began in North Carolina in 2017 and helped hundreds of former tobacco farmers through the process of transitioning to Industrial Hemp. Its mission continues in Southern Oregon in 2019 with two sold-out symposiums at Southern Oregon University (SOU) on March 23 and May 4.

Sunday, September 8 will be the "Pre-Harvest Symposium".

Hemp U’s curriculum accompanies the seed-to-sale cycle and its presenters speak to issues such as cooperative farming, growing practices, genetics, harvesting, processing and proÞt channels.

A vendor market networks products and services for the stages of the cycle.

All vendors get a chance to make their elevator pitch to the whole conference.

Building Community with Facilitated Networking Each edition of Hemp University features facilitated networking sessions that give attendees an easy structure through which to articulate their needs and offers and make vital business connections in real time.

Sunday

September 8

We invite the Hemp Community to reconvene in the spirit of Knowledge and Cooperation.

2019’s harvest can be more powerful by working together, aggregating experience and resources!

We will welcome presenters on topics such as “The Cooperative Harvest”, “Alternative Drying Methods”, & ÒSustainable ProÞt ChannelsÓ along with discussion panels, facilitated networking and marketplace.

It is Hemp Inc's mission to make every Hemp University experience a positive contribution to the health and sustainable growth of our industry. Because we're not only cultivating a crop, we're cultivating a community whose prosperity depends on the well-being of the entire Þeld. So let's learn together and grow together!

Visit www.thehempuniversity.com for details on September 8! See you there!

Cooking with Cannabis

Ganja Gummies How to make medible cannabis candies at home

Cannabis-Infused Cooking Oil

PHOTO COURTESY LAURIE + MARYJANE

By Laurie Wolf of Laurie + MaryJane

A

side from being cute and convenient, gummies are a flavorful, fun and effective way to medicate.

If possible, make these candies in a silicon mold and they’ll pop right out after being chilled.

It’s also helpful to taste the mixture before pouring it into the mold. If the weed taste is too strong, try adding some additional honey.

Ganja Gummies Makes 24 servings THC per serving: 5 mg Ingredients 1 large package orange Jell-O 1-1/2 cups orange juice, divided 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup Cannabis Infused Cooking Oil, preferably coconut 4 packets gelatin Dash cornstarch Instructions Combine the Jell-O and 1 cup of orange juice in a medium saucepan. Add the honey and canna-oil and heat slowly, stirring frequently.

In a small bowl, mix the gelatin with the remaining orange juice and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Add the gelatin to the Jell-O and cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes. Whisk almost constantly and get the sides of the pan.

Pour the ganja gummies mixture into silicon molds or coated mini paper cups. Allow to cool at room temperature and then chill in the fridge.

Remove the ganja gummies from the molds. Toss each candy with a bit of cornstarch to prevent sticking.

18 | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | Southern Oregon Good Herb

The steps to infusing oil are the same regardless of the type of oil used. You can even make a blend of oils if you like. My favorite is coconut oil. It infuses beautifully and can even be used as a topical remedy.

Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 3 hours Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes Much like Canna-Butter, Cannabis-Infused Cooking Oil is an easy, versatile staple for at-home edibles.

Ingredients 7 grams cannabis, decarbed (see directions below) 1 pint (16 ounces) cooking oil such as coconut, olive, avocado, canola Instructions In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over low heat until thoroughly warmed.

Add the decarbed cannabis to the oil. Stir to mix.

Continue to cook over low heat for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The oil should not boil or simmer, although it may bubble occasionally.

Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth and place it over a large, heat-safe bowl. Carefully pour the oil through the cheesecloth, allowing any excess oil to strain through.

Remove the cheesecloth from the strainer, using gloves if the oil is still very hot, and squeeze any remaining oil into the bowl.

Allow the oil to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.

How to decarb cannabis Preheat your oven to 240 degrees.

Grind up your cannabis. While a blender, food processor or coffee grinder will work best here, you can do this manually with a knife and cutting board.

Distribute your ground marijuana on an parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

If not using immediately, store your cannabis in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. Do not cover until your marijuana is completely cooled.

Murphy Hemp and Wellness

Is a local Health and Wellness shop with a focus on hemp derived, High CBD health supplements with low-to-no THC. We are frequently complimented on our knowledgeable staff and have become the local resource for those wanting to learn more about the use of hemp as a natural alternative to traditional medicine which can often have unpleasant side effects. We carry such a diverse selection of products that you’re bound to find just the right thing for you. So come on by any one of our 3 locations and give us a chance to be your new favorite CBD Shop!

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Straight Dope

By Rick Cipes

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

A

man takes 183 pills a day to cope with pain.

These pills are legal and sanctioned by the man’s employer. If that same man is caught taking one hit of cannabis, he is apt to be suspended from his job.

That man was Keith McCants, and his employer was the NFL. I don’t need to rant about how wrong that is. You know what’s going on. And, so does the NFL. And, halle-f*cking-lujah, the league has finally agreed to study cannabis as a method of pain management, while simultaneously studying prescription drug use amongst players.

In the meantime, if a player decides to grow a marijuana plant for his own medicinal purposes (even in a legal state), and the league finds out, he’s still looking at a suspension. Juxtapose the cost of that player growing his own plants with the cost of 183 pills, and just: YUCK! Big Pharma is Big Business. My brother is probably reading this, going, “No shit!”

Sherlock.

I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix lately. (Holy shit, did he just go from the NFL’s drug policy to Netflix?) I noticed two Sherlock Holmes projects. I didn’t watch either of those.

What I did watch is the stuff of stoner dreams, the stuff that is going to make you giggle, and forget how wrong things often seem.

Exhibit 1: “The Characters.” Episodes 1 and 3, winners. If you like SNL, you’ll love this.

“F is For Family.” Both seasons. An animated, coked-up spoof of “Wait Till Your Father Gets Home” from back in the ‘70s.

“Lunatics.” Meh. Quite honestly, it’s funny, but if you’re a Chris Lilley fan, and you’ve seen his shtick, it wears thin on the third similar project. Recommendation: Seek out Lilley’s “Summer Heights High” if you even remotely like “Lunatics.”

“Paradise PD,” another animated show. So politically incorrect, and so funny.

“Pacific Heat,” more animation, from Australia (or at least they speak in Aussie accents!), very rapid-fire funny.

For more high-brow comedy, check out “Huge in France.” He’s the “Seinfeld” of France, and sometimes the Ray Romano of France, depending on the mood of Seinfeld, himself, who appears in an episode.

When the NFL returns, I’ll probably watch less Netflix, and more men getting their bones crushed in every manner possible. I love this game! I wish I could be that guy on the sideline.

You know, the Water Boy. But they wouldn’t call me that any longer. They’d call me Vape Boy. And I’d get to run on the field (backoff Sandler!) and administer the vape pipe whenever a player called for it. I can see the Hollywood moguls lining up to get the rights to that story! Talk about a hero!

Every Democratic presidential candidate wants to be that hero and legalize weed federally — obviously in the hopes it’ll give the young peeps a reason to Rock The Vote. Thusly, the medicinal becomes political — like pretty much everything else these days.

To the politicians, the NFL, the people of this country, all we are saying is: Give Weed a Chance. Allow people to control their own bodies, man. Can we stay in the 21st century, and not slip back to Reefer Madness days?

Rick Cipes has been published a lot and encourages you to check out his 420 T-Shirt Collection on Amazon at www.bit. ly/420tsc

I love this game! I wish I could be that guy on the sideline.

You know, the Water Boy. But they wouldn’t call me that any longer.

They’d call me Vape Boy. And I’d get to run on the field (back-off Sandler!) and administer the vape pipe whenever a player called for it.

20

| Sunday, July 14, 2019 |

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Cannabis Commerce

CBD is

Beautiful

By Jefferson Reeder

C

annabis body care products have made the leap from dispensaries to beauty salons, massage studios, high-end salons — even Costco, Food 4 Less and other neighborhood grocery stores — and the market shows no signs of slowing down.

Hemp oil has long been used in skin creams, massage oils, lip balms, shampoos and other body care products, but with the explosive growth of hemp, CBD is increasingly finding a place in the beauty realm.

PHOTO BY DAVID SMIGELSKI

CBD skincare products can be purchased at several local stores, such as these items at Food 4 Less in Medford.

PHOTO BY JAMIE LUSCH

Body butter from Ma’at Botanicals in Ashland.

White Lotus Day Spa in the Medford Center offers CBD facials that cost $90 for 60 minutes.

Siskiyou Sungrown in Grants Pass is introducing bath bombs to its CBD beauty line.

Zagorska Hemp Body & Beauty in Ashland produces a line of cannabis and beauty products that includes skin toner, skin cream, eye lotion, skin cleanser, soothing serum and more.

Skin and body care products made with hemp have become all the rage 22 | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | Southern Oregon Good Herb

Cannabis Commerce Ma’at Botanicals in Ashland produces a product line that includes body butter, healing salve, skin ointment and bath salts.

Its creams are made with full-spectrum hemp extract, while soaking salts blend hemp-infused coconut oil, Epsom and Himalayan salts, and lavender.

With so many local companies making and using CBD products, there are numerous ways for people to incorporate cannabis into their beauty routine.

“It’s the same process, the same modality, of our other massages, but we add CBD oil to the massage oil and make it part of the process,” says Charmaine Carnes, an esthetician at White Lotus, which offers services ranging from facials and make-up artistry to deep tissue massage.

In Ashland, Michele Zagorska says she began her journey into body care by making organic soap and other products for her family.

“I started giving them as gifts, and people were telling me I should sell my products, so I eventually did start my own skin- and body-care line. CBD really was a natural progression.

I began taking CBD internally a few years ago and really noticed how beneficial it was for my body and nervous system. The results are real. I’ve had clients tell me they had resigned themselves to going to a dermatologist until they began using my products with CBD.” Inesscents Aromatic Botanicals, an organic skincare company based in Ashland, produces a line of CBD products under its Salvation line, including beauty balm, beauty serum, roll-on skin elixir, skin salve and other products through its website (inesscentscbd.com). A CBD beauty gift bag that contains Fresh Flower Hemp Hydrosol, Balance Beauty Balm and Balance Beauty Serum retails for $19.99.

“Since 2000, we have been handcrafting high-quality, nutrient-dense skincare products,” says Lindsey Holy, who is in charge of getting the word out about the properties of CBDs that Inesscents brings to the table. “It was a natural

k

as face m a CBD s t . u a p p arnes Day S aine C Lotus Charm ia Silcott at ar onto M

progression for us to use our passion, experience and expertise of healing botanicals for creating cannabis products.”

“It’s about educating the customer,” says Cassie Rasmussen-Warrender of Medford’s A Swedish Tradition, which provides CBD massage. “Once they try it, our customers love it.

They’re coming back for more,” she says. Prices for a CBD oil massage at A Swedish Tradition range from $75 for 30 minutes to $125 for 90 minutes.

“People are just starting to understand the difference between hemp and marijuana, CBD and THC,” says Zagorska.

“It’s not in the vocabulary of the average person yet, but I believe that is changing quickly. CBD is the future and holds so much incredible potential. ... As more studies are done, we will learn even more applications that we aren’t even considering yet.

O BY PHOT

There’s still a stigma and some fear, but that will eventually fade as people are educated.”

According to a study published in 2017 by the National Institutes of Health (ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC5569602), CBD has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. The report said CBD is more effective than vitamins C and E as a neuroprotective antioxidant and can ameliorate skin conditions such as acne.

Zagorska says Ashland is a great place to get her message out. She regularly displays at the Lithia Artisans Market,

ANDY

ON

S ATKIN

where she gives away samples to sometimes-skeptical people.

“My cellphone number is on my website (zagorska.com). I meet with customers to help them understand what and how my products work, and what they can do for them.”

Users of cannabis beauty products range across demographic categories, says Zagorska.

“Gen Zers purchase cannabis-related beauty products most often, but I think they are the tip of the iceberg. Once CBD is better understood, the market is wide open. ... I believe CBD products will eventually be the norm, an industry standard.”

Southern Oregon Good Herb

|

Sunday, July 14, 2019 |

23

Smokes

‘RELAXTION INTOXICATION’ without

Ashland firm unveils hemp cigarettes

By John Darling

In

the rolling hills north of Ashland, three young farmers with alpacas and llamas (for soil building) are biodynamically growing 6 acres of hemp and manufacturing highgrade CBD cigarettes, which they market themselves online, at trade shows and by “pounding the pavement” to dispensaries up-and-down the West Coast.

It’s hard-scrabble farming and face-to-face marketing of something they believe in, PHOTO BY LIZ GOLD first off for its anti-anxiety Sean Roberts and Thomas Letchworth of Rasti Hemp in Ashland market their effects (they don’t talk about CBD cigarettes at the Cannabis Collaborative Conference in Portland in January. healing or curing anything; the market is doing that by itself) and for its almost magical ability, they say, to help break the nicotine habit.

The company, Rasti Hemp, uses the tagline, “Relaxation Without Intoxication.”

And, says President Sean Roberts, they are doing everything they can to be planet friendly: organic, permaculture, biointensive, fighting pests with living organisms, biodegradable papers, filters PHOTOS BY ANDY ATKINSON and packaging made from sustainSean Roberts smells one of the hemp flowers ably harvested forests, fertilizing with produced at Galaxy Farms in Ashland, that llama-alpaca manure tea, eschewing are used in making Rasti hemp cigarettes. plastic and fossil-fuel products, living wages to employees and selling it as “an alternative to smoking.”

“It loosens the muscles and is great for anxiety, which is an epidemic these days.”

April Roberts, Rasti Hemp’s creative director and website manager

24 | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | Southern Oregon Good Herb

Smokes

PHOTOS BY ANDY ATKINSON PHOTOS

Hemp plants being grown at Galaxy Farms in Ashland.

“What it has is a relaxing effect. It loosens the musHere’s how they describe it on rastihemp.com: cles and is great for anxiety, which is an epidemic these “We begin with the finest hemp flower under the days,” says April Roberts, the firm’s creative director sun! Hand-harvested, slow-cured and trimmed to and website manager. “And, of course, it’s non-psyperfection. chotropic, has to be under .3% THC by law.”

Then, we mix our trimmed and processed CBD-rich Sean Roberts notes that the product helps meet the hemp flower with our carefully selected blends of habituated needs of cigarette organic herbs, formulated for smokers — the oral fixation, your smoking enjoyment. the muscle memory of the With less than 0.3% THC hand-to-mouth movement, content, our hemp smokes the similarity in how it draws will never get you high, howlike a cigarette. It also brings ever the approximate 90 mg. that anti-anxiety effect. of CBD in each of our Origi“It should also be paired nal Blend RASTi CBD Flower with the usual smoking-cessmokes will leave you feeling sation tools,” says company relaxed and refreshed.”

Vice President Tommy Online testimonials say Letchworth. it helps people sleep, and The three say that rules because it “relaxes your (especially federal) around all muscles, not your mind,” it’s Sean Roberts and Thomas Letchworth have a puff cannabis products are being good for studying. from their CBD cigarettes at Galaxy Farms in Ashland. ironed out, and it’s not clear Another, from restaurateur whether it’s legal to smoke hemp in public, where THC Bekka Rice, says, “I usually smoke one after a stresscigs and vapes are banned. ful day at work and get an instant feeling of relief.

They are very soothing and good for anxiety. I am a Hemp is now legal under state and federal law, but health-conscious person who does not smoke tobacco working with banks and insurers is still “a nightmare,” cigarettes. I do, however, enjoy taking a break, sitting says Sean. They couldn’t get any bank in the valley to outside and relaxing with friends. I love that I can still open a simple checking account, but finally found a enjoy the social aspect of smoking, without the harmbank online and had to sign a promise not to disclose who it is. However, state regulations around hemp, they ful effects of tobacco. I also love that these smokes are packed with CBD, which is an anti-inflammatory and say, are far simpler than with recreational cannabis — and were part of the inducement to go in that direction. helps with stress and anxiety. Since I’ve started smoking these, I have also been sleeping better.”

Showing off a big lump of bud, Letchworth says it has no trim or shake and is as pure and high-quality as John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him CBD gets. Each cig has 90 mg of CBD, and a 10-pack at jdarling@jeffnet.org. retails for $25.

Southern Oregon Good Herb | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | 25

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Rogue Valley Cannabis

PHOTOS BY ANDY ATKINSON

The staff at RV Cannabis in Ashland are CBD-certified

by Anna Symonds of East Fork Cultivars in the Illinois Valley.

‘BOUTIQUE VIBE’ grows in ashland

By John Darling

Y

ou would be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful and comfy dispensary than Rogue Valley Cannabis, situated just off downtown Ashland in the Italianate jewel of a house built by E.V. Carter in 1886.

The 3-year-old shop, one of three locations the store owns in the valley, carries a wide range of cannabis products, but specializes a bit more in CBD and offers guidance on pain relief, inflammation, anxiety and depression and can walk you through the “entourage effect,” that is, the amount of THC, from 0.3 to 33 percent that can best activate the CBD, says manager Sage Piersel.

The staff, says assistant manager Ashley Long, are all CBD-certified by Anna Symonds of East Fork Cultivars in the Illinois Valley, whose workshops present “the latest research and development on the interactions of CBD and THC. … There’s not a lot of science out there yet, and it keeps coming in.”

Piersel notes the shop gets a lot of comments that it’s “very cozy and

Dispensary stresses product knowledge

homey, with a boutique vibe ... and when people come in who’ve never been to a dispensary, they feel comfortable — and that’s what we love helping them feel, comfortable and at ease.”

Piersel says the shop, being on Siskiyou Boulevard, the first exit off the freeway in Oregon, gets a lot of traffic from California and other places, and they appreciate that Oregon “has more Rogue Valley Cannabis has three stores in the Rogue Valley, testing and labeling requireincluding this one on Siskiyou Boulevard in Ashland. ments than California — and also lower taxes.”

Knowledge and personal connection Customer Morgan Smullen says, with customers is always vital to a suc“They have the highest-quality bud cessful shop, and Long says, “We’ve got and concentrates in Ashland and a very a killer team who all vibe together well friendly staff. I come for flower, and and work off each other’s knowledge.” they always recommend the best. I like The shop is located at 505 Siskiyou anything crossed with Space Queen or Blvd., Ashland, just up from the downpure/hybrid sativa-dominant for bong town fire station. or joint.”

For more information, call Customer Ria Knight says, “It’s local 541-631-0240 or see roguevalleycannaand everyone’s friendly, and if I have bisdispensary.com. questions, they totally walk me through The store’s other locations are 6388 it. My fave is pre-rolls, but I just got a Crater Lake Ave., Central Point (541vape, so if I want to go outside after a 879-0681) and 2060 W. Main St., concert or something, I can walk home Medford (541-200-0580). and no one can see it or smell it. It smells John Darling is an Ashland freelance like pine, and I get a body high before I notice the brain high. It’s different (than writer. Reach him at jdarling@jeffnet. org. flower).”

Southern Oregon Good Herb | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | 27

Cannabis Cultivation

Grown Rogue S T GE ‘ELECTRIC’ Its Monkey Train strain had the highest level of THC ever recorded in the state — 35.13 percent

By Damian Mann

O

ver the years, endless debates have erupted among cannabis connoisseurs over which is better: outdoor or indoor.

Grown Rogue has found a way to offer the best of both worlds.

A recent batch of outdoor-grown Monkey Train, a cross between Monkey Balls and Train Wreck, had what the company says is the highest level of THC ever recorded in the state at 35.13%, and the highest level of terpenes at 4.39%, according to Green Leaf Lab in Portland.

Noah Cochren-Hawkes, a grower at Grown Rogue, stands in an indoor grow in Medford. Grown Rogue took top honors for its indoor-grown Electric Dogshit (top photo) at the 2018 Grow Classic in Eugene, hitting the highest level of THC and terpenes among the 31 top growers who cultivated the same strain of flower.

PHOTOS BY JAMIE LUSCH

28

| Sunday, July 14, 2019 |

Southern Oregon Good Herb

Cannabis Cultivation

“In my personal opinion, they’re doing something right there” Dave Sagafi, managing editor of Eugene-based Grow Magazine, on the success of Grown Rogue In addition, the Medford company took top honors for its indoor-grown Electric Dogshit at the 2018 Grow Classic in Eugene, hitting the highest level of THC and terpenes among the 31 top growers who cultivated the same strain of flower.

“In my personal opinion, they’re doing something right there,” said Dave Sagafi, managing editor of Eugene-based Grow Magazine, which hosted the competition.

All the growers in the Grow Classic received clones of Electric Dogshit, and the point of the contest was to see who could coax the highest THC and terpene levels out of the clones.

Grown Rogue managed to tease higher THC and terpene levels than the other growers — 25.68% THC, and 2.59% terpenes, the natural chemicals that imbue the plant with its scent and flavor. The strain is a cross between Pineapple Punch and Chemdawg 4.

“My own personal preference is the Monkey Train for flavor and effect,” said Noah Cochren-Hawkes, the 29-year-old grower of Electric

Dogshit. “I love the flavor of outdoor grown.”

Cochren-Hawkes formerly worked at Grown Rogue’s outdoor farm in Trail and transitioned to indoor growing at the company’s Medford facility over the past year.

Surprisingly the Monkey Train grew in a somewhat shady spot on the farm, which gave some insight into the growing conditions preferred by this strain.

“The Monkey Train doesn’t like intense heat,” Cochren-Hawkes said.

The grower of the ultra-high THC Monkey Train was Seann Igoe.

Grown Rogue takes a number of different steps from growing to curing that the company believes helps produce more THC and higher terpenes.

Each plant is individually watered, and each grow room is monitored by the same grower to have better control over production.

“I can give individual care to each one,” Cochren-Hawkes said. “It helps with overwatering issues that many growers face.”

PHOTO BY JAMIE LUSCH

Electric Dogshit is trimmed at Grown Rogue in Medford.

Every plant consumes a different amount of water, which is better controlled by hand watering, he said.

In the grow rooms, different lights hanging from the ceiling have different spectrums that can be dialed in to mimic the kind of light plants would receive under the sun, with a more intense light in summer and more subdued light going into fall.

Plants are harvested when THC levels have peaked, or when the trichomes, little hairs that grow on the flowers, turn from clear to 90% milky colored. Growers examine the trichomes under a microscope usually starting about six weeks after flowering begins.

“We’re trying to get the optimum THC for the way the market is,” Cochren-Hawkes said.

He said some of the same techniques are used in the outdoor grows.

Many cannabis connoisseurs don’t put that much stock in THC percentages, preferring to sample a flower to find out if it tickles their fancy.

Cochren-Hawkes said he would prefer to let the flowers mature a little longer. Before microscopes were used, growers would often wait until the trichomes were an amber color, though many growers claim that plants harvested earlier produce a more psychedelic high versus later-harvested plants that produce more of a sedative high.

After harvest, the next step is curing the plants, which takes about two weeks at Grown Rogue.

“It’s hard to properly cure at scale,” Cochren-Hawkes said.

The first week or so the plant is air dried in a room that has cedar-lined walls. While the room also has a humidifier, Cochren-Hawkes said, the wood walls help pull moisture out of the plants.

Air drying typically takes a week or more, followed by more curing in bags while constantly checking moisture levels.

He said curing properly preserves the terpenes and may also help retain the high THC levels.

“The cure is just as important as the grow,” Cochren-Hawkes said.

Southern Oregon Good Herb | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | 29

Cannabis Legislation

Managing the Surplus Oregon has too much cannabis; two new laws may help the state manage it

By Suhauna Hussain Los Angeles Times

M

att Miller’s family has farmed pot in Oregon since well before it became legal.

But since the market flooded after recreational use was approved by state voters in 2014, prices have plummeted, putting strain on the operation he runs in Takilma with his wife, Rhea.

Oregon’s lush climate and weed-tolerant culture have long resulted in large and potent harvests. Seeking to fold black market growers into its budding legal industry, the state has distributed licenses liberally, leaving Oregon saddled with an enormous surplus of legal cannabis — more than its

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

In an attempt to reduce the marijuana inventory, the the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has been given more control over issuance of licenses.

population of 4 million would ever be able to smoke.

Oregon lawmakers are hoping to tackle the problem with two bills signed into law in June — one aimed at curbing excess production and

the other seeking to establish new markets for Oregon weed.

Senate Bill 218 gives the Oregon Liquor Control Commission more power over issuing new licenses based on an assessment of supply and demand conditions. SB 582 aims to lay the groundwork to eventually divert the state’s over-saturated marijuana market by giving the governor the green light to enter into agreements with other states for cannabis imports and exports.

It is illegal to transport cannabis to other states, and so the export legislation hinges on action in Washington, D.C., in the form of a change in federal law or guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Justice allowing or tolerating interstate transfers.

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Southern Oregon Good Herb

Cannabis Legislation The Trump administration has been unfriendly to legal weed. Last year, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded an Obama-era federal policy called the Cole memorandum, which allowed states to legalize pot without the threat of a federal crackdown.

Sessions’ replacement, William Barr, told U.S. senators in January he would not push for this crackdown (which never materialized under Sessions). But his hands-off approach to legal weed does not by any means signal that the administration would allow trade between states.

Adam J. Smith, founder and director of the Craft Cannabis Alliance based in Oregon — which helped push for the export bill — is optimistic that a change at the federal level is around the corner, particularly if a Democrat defeated Trump in 2020.

It just doesn’t make sense, he said, that states legalizing weed are forced to create their own self-contained industry.

“You have people using water in the desert in Nevada to grow mediocre cannabis, or in Florida, where they have to dehumidify giant spaces, consuming twice the energy,” Smith said. “Oregon wouldn’t have an oversupply problem if we could access legal markets like these.”

Recreational marijuana is legal in 11 states; medical marijuana is legal in 33.

Smith and other advocates are exploring the idea of pushing a similar bill — giving officials authority to enter into marijuana trade agreements with other states — through the legislature in California. The end goal is to move cannabis between states by 2021.

Unlike other states that have legalized recreational marijuana, including California, Washington and Colorado, Oregon did not implement tight restrictions on the number of cannabis licenses. (Some of these states also have gluts of marijuana. However, a smaller proportion of the supply is legal and on the books, and their populations are larger, so the supply-to-demand dynamic isn’t as stark as Oregon’s.)

Oregon recognized that for generations cannabis culture has been part of its fabric, and decided to allow the black market growers into the legal market, according to Andrew Livingston, director of economics and research at Vicente Sederberg, a Denver-based law firm that provides legal and policy services to cannabis businesses.

“They put out advertisements, they did a whole ‘go legal’ campaign to attract Oregon cannabis growers to the legal market, and it worked. People jumped on board,” Livingston said. “They wanted to make it as easy as possible to make those businesses become legal and licensed.”

The result was about 2,100 licensed growers as of January, and enough weed that it would take an estimated 6.5 years to sell it all within Oregon without any more production,

THE DAILY ASTORIAN

Dallas Matuszek fills an order for a customer at Sweet Relief in Astoria, Ore. Astoria has a growing number of marijuana stores, but they’re also part of a trend toward consolidation, as many shops try to weather a weak market, sometimes taking on outside investment capital.

Oregon recognized that for generations cannabis culture has been part of its fabric, and decided to allow the black market growers into the legal market. according to a 2019 OLCC report.

The median price of weed in Oregon fell steadily over two years, from over $10 per gram in October of 2016 to less than $5 in December 2018.

Because the market was flooded, the Millers grew in only half of their 40,000 square feet of permitted space last year, and at the same time, the price of the flower has dipped.

“Those two things really hit us fast and hard. It was pretty scary and intimidating,” Matt Miller said.

Giving the commission more leeway to stanch the flow of new licenses is a practical move on the state’s part, Livingston said.

But the law is likely to have limited impact since the state already placed a moratorium on processing new licenses a year ago.

A January audit by the Oregon Secretary of State’s office found Oregon’s regulatory systems were weak, and lacking in adequate inspections.

Oregon and California historically have been the two leading producers of marijuana in the nation — and growers in both states illegally export large quantities

(though it’s difficult to quantify exactly how much), said Hezekiah Allen, a cannabis lobbyist and former head of the California Growers Association.

California, like Oregon, struggles with an oversupply of cannabis. Though Oregon became the first state to decriminalize marijuana possession in 1973, the state did not create a medical marijuana program until 1998, two years after California.

Vessel Logistics, a San Francisco-based cannabis distribution company, said in a report that the cannabis industry in California has over-relied on the black market and out-of-state sales, causing producers to over-estimate the state’s actual demand, according to the Sacramento Bee. In California, a patchwork of rules governs individual jurisdictions. About 75% of municipalities don’t allow retail sales — and many of those likely have illegal operators.

California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control has sent some 3,500 cease-and-desist orders to illegal retailers since January of 2018.

California’s surplus is worsened by the fact that the state has limited licensed retail stores, Allen said.

“We don’t have enough places to sell the stuff, so that’s a big problem,” Allen said. “Folks everywhere in the country are consuming cannabis, and very few states produce significant amounts.”

He pointed out Oregon’s legislation would not be helpful for trade with nearby states that also have an oversupply. California has too much; so does Washington, another early legalizer.

“It’s awesome Oregon is trying to do something, but the real solution really will come at the federal level,” Allen said.

Southern Oregon Good Herb | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | 31

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