AUGUST 2021
EVERCANNABIS.COM
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 8
GETTY IMAGES
THE STATE
OF WEED
Cross-country journey shows range of marijuana markets By Kate A. Miner
EVERCANNABIS CORRESPONDENT
I have been a resident of the Evergreen State for decades, but recently had the pleasure of visiting New England where I grew up, and then driving back home. While visiting 14 states and stopping at a few cannabis dispensaries along the way, I started thinking about the state of cannabis and how legal supply and demand is growing across the nation. Currently 18 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for adult use, and 36 states have approved medical marijuana programs. This means about 44% of the U.S. population live in states where recreational marijuana is legal. Previously, states such as California, Washington and Oregon ranked at the top as far as growers, but other states have surpassed them with huge indoor production in locations like New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. States such as Massachusetts and Maine are taking the lead in the East, while other states are poised to flourish as legalization makes way for opportunity, including Illinois and New Jersey. Kentucky and Tennessee are believed to have the most marijuana grown outdoors (albeit illegally) and Colorado ranks No. 1 in hemp production. According to recent Gallup statistics:
KATE MINER/FOR EVERCANNABIS
The Wellness Connection in Gardiner, Maine, is a cannabis dispensary in a former train station. • Two percent of Americans consider themselves active marijuana users. • Nationwide cannabis sales increased 67% in 2020. • Support for legal marijuana is at an all-time high of 68%. • The U.S. cannabis industry is now worth over $61 billion. In other words, cannabis is growing exponentially, and at this point the question of nationwide marijuana
legalization is not a matter of if, but when.
Hit the road
Our first stop on our reefer road trip west was Maine, where cannabis has been legal since 2016. Sales are limited to certain counties, recreational and medical sales are separate, and it’s legal to grow at home for personal consumption. Dispensaries
are often in picturesque apothecary-like shops or historical buildings, and on a small scale. It’s also incredibly expensive. For example, we saw daily specials such as “five for $5 pre-rolls” and “two ounces for $420,” and a halfounce cartridge (typically $20-$40 in Washington) starts at $50. However, we weren’t disappointed at the quality. We ended up at the Wellness Connection in Gardiner, in a historical train station next to the Kennebunk River, and received top-notch service and exceptional flower. Next, we drove to Massachusetts and found things more challenging. We were not near Boston and all we could find were medical shops. It was the same situation in New York, with even fewer options, and then into Pennsylvania where recreational is not legal, but medical is big. We couldn’t shop without a card, but there was no limit to options. Billboards dotted the highway. Every city we drove through seemed to have a dispensary, and many of them looked like medical professional buildings with names like The Healing Center. Our next successful shopping experience was in Illinois, where we visited nuEra in Urbana. In 2019, Illinois became the 11th state to legalize recreational cannabis, and the first to create a system allowing sales and taxation See JOURNEY, 4
T2 • Friday • August 6, 2021
Special Section
EVERCANNABIS
PAIN AND GAIN
NFL, player’s union to fund alternative pain management research
COURTESY PHOTO
Golden Leaf Farm created a limited-edition pre-roll for Steve Lee, a City Council candidate in Kennewick.
Council candidate creates official ‘campaign joint’ Retail store owner teams up with local grower By Linda Ball
EVERCANNABIS CORRESPONDENT
Kennewick City Council member and Mayor Pro-Tem Steve Lee is proud to be the first legal cannabis business owner to be elected to public office “in the history of the world,” he said. He won his first four-year term with a 14-point lead, and now he is running for re-election in the town he grew up in and still loves. Lee and his wife Jessy Lee started offering medical cannabis in 2012 to area seniors, veterans and the terminally ill. After recreational legalization was approved they began selling adult-use and medical cannabis in the Tri-Cities. His stores, called Green2Go, have created over 50 full-time jobs with full benefits. He has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the community, including paying delinquent food bills for families in a local school district or helping a community Renaissance Fair that ran short on funding. For this re-election campaign, Lee and his team were mulling unique strategies. Two things came to mind: NFTs, which are unique digital items that can be pur-
chased with cryptocurrency, and an official cannabis strain. The campaign team decided to start with the strain and then tackle the NFT later. They selected Golden Leaf Farm, a Benton City producer/processor which said “heck yes” when asked, Lee said. Then, they had to pitch the idea to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board and the Washington State Political and Disclosure Commission. Lee said no one had ever asked about campaign cannabis, so both entities had to figure out the rules. He said the LCB doesn’t allow retailers to “white label” a product with another business name on it. For example, Green2Go wouldn’t be allowed to be on the pre-roll, since it’s not a processor and can’t own a processing facility. But there’s no rules about a political campaign putting words on a cannabis product such as “Steve for Kennewick.” He said the PDC was fine as long as the joints were only available at licensed cannabis retailers and sold for the wholesale cost for the purpose of campaign finance law, and not a significantly high mark-up for purely fund-raising purposes. Each joint wholesaled at $1.66 and was given an in-kind advertising value of the same. Since state rules require no single person or company to donate more than $1,000 to a given candidate in an election cycle, Golden Leaf Farm was allowed to
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make 625 Steve Lee joints for the August primary and another 625 for the general election in November. Money made off the joints can’t directly go to Lee’s campaign, but he is legally allowed to fund his campaign with his own money. Lee said the first batch had mostly sold out as of early July. He said it’s really good weed, a hybrid strain crossing Bruce Banner and No. 3 Viper Cookies strains. Priced at $5 each, Lee said people have come from beyond Kennewick to get one for a souvenir or just to smoke. So why would a successful entrepreneur want to go into politics? Lee said it has been a lifetime dream to help his hometown. At age 9 he started by lobbying Congress to create peer mediation training, which he hoped would help kids to learn not to fight with each other. In the 8th or 9th grade he worked as a Senate page. He said he is supported as someone who wants to “do good for the community.” Rather than be labeled as conservative or liberal, he prefers calling himself a progressive capitalist. Lee said the Tri-Cities is a very conservative area and he knows there are people who don’t like him or what he sells. But he said this campaign is really more about roads, schools, and good community rather than cannabis.
By Theresa Tanner
EVERCANNABIS WRITER
Last year, the National Football League and the NFL Players Association ratified a 10-year labor agreement that relaxed the league’s previous policies regarding cannabis use by players. Suspension for positive tests was eliminated, the potential testing window was shortened and the threshold for failing a test was raised. Part of the policy change stemmed from an increased interest in pain treatment through alternative methods, like non-psychoactive cannabinoids (CBD), not just by players but by society at large. In a June 8 NFL.com article, the league and the player’s union announced that they will provide $1 million in funding for research into pain management and cannabinoids through their Joint Pain Management Committee. The research is motivated by a desire to know more about how safe cannabis and CBD are and if they work, particularly as a potential alternative to opioids. Dr. Kevin Hill is the cochair of the pain management committee, director See PAIN, 4
PROUD MEMBER OF:
Evercannabis, The Spokesman-Review and the Cowles Company don’t promote or endorse the use of cannabis products. We acknowledge that marijuana products remain illegal under federal laws. If adults age 21 or older choose to purchase or use them, we encourage them to consume sensibly and at their own risk in legal jurisdictions, in accordance with state and local laws. Some cannabis products have intoxicating effects and may be habit-forming. Consumption of marijuana also may be associated with health risks and impaired concentration, coordination, and judgment. Keep away from children. To learn more, visit the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board at www.liq.wa.gov. Evercannabis magazine is a monthly supplement of The Spokesman-Review. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent of the publisher.
Special Section
August 6, 2021 • Friday • T3
EVERCANNABIS
Joints for Jabs
Cannabis shops, LCB encourage COVID vaccinations By Tracy Damon
EVERCANNABIS CORRESPONDENT
Free sporting tickets, gaming systems, scholarships, airline tickets, cash, alcohol and marijuana are just a few of the incentives offered to encourage people to get a COVID-19 vaccination in Washington. That’s right, free pot for a shot. A free toke in exchange for a poke, or at least one pre-roll joint and a discount on other purchases, which was what several cannabis retailers made available this summer as part of a statewide push to reduce COVID and increase vaccination numbers. “In May I had conversations with local health providers about offering a vaccine clinic in our shop,” wrote Apex Cannabis owner Stacey Peterson in an email. “Shortly thereafter, I testified before “This is about the LCB (Liquor and Cangetting people nabis Board) requesting that they expedite rolling out a vaccinated, program that the Governor had approved and sent for it’s not about rule-making called Joints for consumption.” Jabs.” Joints for Jabs became a Brian Smith reality in early June, when Director the LCB opted to forego some of Communications of its own rules for a limited for the Washington state amount of time, with the apLiquor and Cannabis Board proval of Gov. Jay Inslee. “The Governor’s office was encouraging all the agencies, including us, to do whatever they can to get people vaccinated,” said Brian Smith, director of communications for the LCB. “Rulemaking would have taken far too long for the time frame so we said what we’re going to do is not enforce provisions for a limited amount of time. This is about getting people vaccinated, it’s not about consumption.” A lot of the credit for this program goes to Apex’s Peterson, according to Smith. “She had really done her field work in advance. She did it all right: She talked to public health folks, allayed concerns, showed them what she wanted to do. So we adopted what she was asking for; a lifting or easing of the rules to allow one free joint to customers who got vaccinated on site.” Peterson said the response to its clinics was huge: 149 total. Apex held two more vaccination clinics in June and another in July. Smith says cannabis businesses weren’t required to report to the LCB if they hosted a vaccination clinic, so he’s not sure how many took place statewide before rules returned to normal after July 12. Spokane-area residents were able to visit CanSee JABS, 4
COURTESY APEX CANNABIS
Robin, a representative from health care provider Consistent Care, provided COVID-19 vaccinations at Apex Cannabis as part of the Joints for Jabs program.
COOKING WITH CANNABIS
Burnt Stone(d) fruit with cheese
Enjoy this summertime sweet treat By Mary J White
EVERCANNABIS CORRESPONDENT
Happy, happy summer to you all my darlings! I hope this finds you happy and enjoying everything good about this time of year. Especially now that things are really opening up and we’re able to see more people, life just feels so much better. To celebrate summer and all things cannabis, I’d love for you to give this recipe a try. It works great out camping, on a grill at home, or even on the stovetop, and is a celebration of sweet butter-infused fruity goodness. Try it with any firm fruit, though I especially love it with white nectarines and honey goat cheese. Play around, have fun, and happy summer! I first saw this in Bon Appetit
magazine, played with it a bit, and now I love it! It’s downright lovely as an appetizer or even a dessert – you decide. To serve four, you’ll need: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 tablespoons canna butter, divided (1 tablespoon for the pan, 2 tablespoons to mix with the cheese) 6 plums, peaches, nectarines, etc., halved and pitted 8 ounces goat cheese mixed with 2 tablespoons canna butter (you can reform this into a log and slice it, or leave it crumbly and scatter over the fruit) Sea salt Pepper Chopped basil or mint Infused olive oil Melt the plain butter in a cast iron or regular skillet till foam subsides. Then add the
fruit, cut-side down. Let the fruit cook for at least 5 minutes, making sure the cut sides get charred. When the fruit is almost to your liking, add 1 tablespoon of canna butter to the pan and let it blend with the butter and juices. Place the hot fruit on a big plate or serving platter and let cool a little, then pour any butter over and crumble the cheese/cannabis mixture over, or place slices on each plate. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, some green stuff and a little infused olive oil, and get ready to be amazed at how good burnt fruit can be. Remember if you use all of the infused butter and oil your total cannabinoids will be around 125-150 mg, so this can make a lovely and bold (35-50 mg each) dessert for four but pretty potent for less than that.
COURTESY MARY WHITE
Adding infused butter to a favorite stone fruit like peaches or plums can create a wonderful summer treat.
T4 • Friday • August 6, 2021
Special Section
EVERCANNABIS
JOURNEY Continued from 1
through legislation. Like Pennsylvania, there were many medical dispensaries, and nuEra had the look and feel of a medical supply store. Product was displayed in cases for viewing only, but budtenders are pretty much the same cool and highly informed individuals you’ll encounter no matter where you go, and they took good care of us. One of my favorite purchases was made here: Dogwalker prerolls. “Dogwalkers are cannabis prerolls inspired by the simple pleasure of leisurely strolls with our special pup, Bailey,” the package reads. “We believe the best prerolls offer a moment of unconditional enjoyment, just like a walk around the block with your loyal four-legged friends.” Packaged in an old-fashion tin are five perfect puffs. Entirely worth the trip! Other than a few tumbleweeds, Iowa and Nebraska were
JABS
Continued from 3 nabis & Glass locations, which also offered a variety of clinics in June, and provided about 24 vaccinations. Green2Go in the Tri-Cities offered a discount for adults that showed their vaccination card for a first and a second shot. Uncle Ike’s locations in the Seattle area also held immunization clinics that included a visit by an ice cream truck. Smith says that initially some cannabis businesses told him they were having a hard time finding a health care provider willing to partner with an industry that still isn’t federally recognized. Spokane Regional Health District reported concerns about possibly running afoul of federal regulations if it was involved. “A lot of local health providers were nervous about doing this … we had been working with the Department of Health to try to find a way to help line up a provider with a retailer,” Smith said. “They (Department of Health) agreed and put out a message to all providers and said if you want to help with a clinic, let us know and we will put you on a list we can provide to cannabis companies,” said Smith. Peterson said she extremely happy with Consistent Care, their vaccination partner. “It’s an incredible organization with a very compelling mission,” she said. “They serve people who are frequent users of emergency departments who need assistance
KATE MINER/FOR EVERCANNABIS
NuEra in Urbana, Ill., offers products for recreational and medical shoppers. basically absent of anything green, and then into South Dakota where we saw signs
everywhere for medical, which just became legal on July 1 after a ballot initiative in November
navigating the health care and social service systems.” At the Apex clinic, participants first could choose between the Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines, then pick what “prize” they wanted. “They were allowed to pick any single joint of their choice,” Peterson wrote. “Those who pre-registered and were vaccinated received a 25% discount on Apex merchandise, and those who walked in and were vaccinated received a 15% discount.” A second set of clinics in late June upped the discount to 30% for those who pre-registered and 20% for walk-ins. In addition, Consistent Care gave $50 Visa debit cards to each person who was vaccinated, sponsored by the Association of Washington Business and the Washington State Chamber of Commerce. Smith says rules were changed at the start of the pandemic, also to help cannabis businesses and workers challenged by the pandemic. This included allowing customers to pick up cannabis orders curbside and allowing children of a certain age to be present at grow sites when childcare centers were closed. Washington wasn’t alone in allowing cannabis as an incentive to get vaccinated. States such as New York, Michigan, Arizona and Washington, D.C., had similar programs. Washington also allowed breweries, wineries and restaurants to give a free alcoholic drink in exchange for proof of vaccination.
2020. Recreational use was approved by voters in the same election, but a judge upheld a constitutional challenge to the initiative; the case is now in appeal to the state Supreme Court. When we hit Wyoming, we decided to hang out and enjoy the sights, and spent time talking to locals about their thoughts on the state of legalization. It’s a bit of a betting war these days on which state will be the last to legalize pot, much like the discussions around raising the drinking age to 21 back in the 1980s. Which state won that bet? You guessed it, Wyoming. We stayed at one of the oldest hotels in the West – The Occidental Hotel in Buffalo – where just about anyone we chatted with about weed said the same thing, “Here in Wyoming, we feel what you do is up to you.” In other words, no one seemed to care either way. Montana, our next stop, was much like medical-friendly South Dakota, but considering its location between Wyoming and Idaho, things might move
slower here. The list of qualifying medical conditions is limited compared to states like Pennsylvania, and purchasing limits are not yet established. Big Sky won the award for majestic beauty however, next to my beloved Washington, of course. After waving at Idaho on our way through at night, we were back home.
Green on the horizon
The last time I made this cross-country trip was in 1990, only two years after Wyoming raised the drinking age, before CD players went extinct and any millennials were born. And hidden beneath my floor mat may or may not have been a few circumspect joints carefully rolled before I left New England to explore the great West. Much has changed since then, entire cities exist where I remember miles of nothing but rolling hills, but it is still magnificent and full of possibility. After a year of doubt and concern I feel confident that a new era is about to emerge: it’s paved in green and smells wonderful.
PAIN
Continued from 2
COURTESY CANNABIS & GLASS
Cannabis & Glass locations invited customers to visit to receive their COVID vaccination.
of addiction psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the author of “Marijuana: The Unbiased Truth about the World’s Most Popular Weed.” He said that the committee has heard mixed results from players about using marijuana to treat pain. Hill said that there is some indication that using medical marijuana and CBD to treat pain may be riskier than most people realize and that the doses necessary to address pain may create risk for liver toxicity and interactions with other medications. “When we talk about having elite athletes use CBD to treat pain, we want to make sure it’s, No. 1 safe, and No. 2 efficacious. I don’t think we’re at that point yet,” said Dr. Hill. Up to five grants are expected to be awarded around Thanksgiving.