The Hemp Connoisseur, December 2013 - Issue #12

DECEMBER2013 C O U P O N S I N S I D E

C O L O R A D O ’ SP R E MI E RG U I D ET OC A N N A B I S

A LETTER TO OUR READERS As 2013 comes to a close, I am happy to reflect on all of the amazing things that have happened in the last year. In last month’s issue we chose to list all of the things that we are thankful for in the cannabis industry. This month we would like to focus on how we can choose to respond to our great fortune. We are at the birth of a new age of cannabis freedom. How we carry ourselves in 2014 can help define what type of industry we are creating here in Colorado.

Let us set an example for all other states that follow in our footsteps.

This is our chance to show how grateful we are to the people of Colorado for supporting cannabis freedom. At THC we have chosen to host a New Year’s Eve fundraising celebration. The goal of our NYE Black & White Gala is to raise money for a new and worthy cause, Healing Homes. Healing Homes’ goal is to rebuild disaster victims’ homes in Colorado with hemp building materials. Hemp is not only a superior insulator compared to traditional materials, but it is also fire and mold resistant. All of these factors make it a perfect replacement for properties devastated by wildfires and floods.

We feel this is an ideal opportunity for all of us in the industry to work together for a common goal. For so long, ganjapreneurs have had their heads down just trying to keep their businesses afloat with all of the challenges they face everyday. New Year’s is a time to look back and reflect on all that has been accomplished, and to look to the future and the positive changes you would like to make.

The Black & White Gala is a chance to celebrate the end of prohibition in Colorado with class. Let’s show our appreciation to the citizens of Colorado by giving back while helping the fledgling hemp industry get some muchneeded momentum. If you are interested in being a part of this soon-to-be legendary celebration, please contact us.

If the Black & White Gala doesn’t speak to your philanthropic goals, then ask yourself, “How would I like to give back to the community?” The ways to give are as infinite as your imagination. It doesn’t matter how you choose to give back, it just matters that you do.

Please join THC in the commitment that we will give back more to the community this year than we did last year. After all, if it weren’t for the voice of the people, we wouldn’t even be around.

Wishing you peace, love and hempiness for the holidays from the THC team to all of you.

David Maddalena Editor-in-Chief David@thcmag.com 4 December 2013

“Let our New Year’s resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.” ~Goran Persson

Call Today To Reserve Your Rental 303-635-6281 Ext. 3

The Hemp Connoisseur, LLC Editor-in-Chief David Maddalena david@thcmag.com

Art Director Christianna Lewis christianna@thcmag.com

Managing Editor Rick Macey rick@thcmag.com

CONTRIBUTORS Melvin Bey is a Colorado man who has spent most of his adult life behind bars. He is active in organizations which seek to help youthful offenders rejoin society. He is co-founder of the non-profit Maximal Development.

Josh Davis is a professional actor, singer and voice-over artist.

He has appeared in: Law and Order, One Life to Live, As the World Turns, Les Miserables and produced and acted in the feature film The Graduates. He first learned about hemp when he was given the book The Emperor Wears No Clothes and became a hemp enthusiast ever since. He lives in New York City.

Layout Designers

Caroline Hayes graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a focus in Magazine Design and Writing. She moved to Colorado after college to pursue a career and enjoy the scenery. Caroline started as a freelance writer for The Hemp Connoisseur and has furthered her position there as Director of Editorial and as a page layout designer.

Caroline Hayes Christianna Lewis

Erin Hiatt is an instructor of musical theatre, dance, and voice.

Editor Caroline Hayes caroline@thcmag.com

Director of Sales and Marketing Christianna Lewis christianna@thcmag.com

Contributing Writers Melvin Bey Hazy Cakes Joshua Davis Caroline Hayes Erin Hiatt Rick Macey Monocle Man Regina Nelson DJ Reetz John Schroyer Susan Squibb Christopher Tucker

Contributing Photographers Christianna Lewis

Cover Art Christianna Lewis

Printer American Web 4040 Dahlia Street Denver, CO 80216 ph 303.321.2422 fax 303.321.6636 The Hemp Connoisseur magazines are presented by The Hemp Connoisseur, LLC. All contents are copyrighted 2013 by The Hemp Connoisseur, LLC. For advertising or subscription info, please email sales@thcmag.com.

She also works in the financial industry in New York City. She has a BA in Musical Theatre Performance from Weber State University in Ogden, UT. Erin is an actress who has appeared in film, television, commercials, plays, and print, most recently for Oprah magazine.

She is an avid hiker.

Rick Macey is an award-winning newspaper, magazine writer and television producer. He is the founder of CannabisTube.net.

Monocle Man is a responsible, educated MMJ patient who enjoys the thrills of the cannabis industry. He takes all factors into thorough consideration and approaches each review with an open and objective mind. His knack for the trade assists him in creating valid reviews.

Regina Nelson is a Ph.D. student at Union Institute and University concentrating on Leadership studies and interdisciplinary research within the medical cannabis movement. Ms. Nelson is a founding officer of Cannabis Patient Network Institute (CPN Institute), a patient-led and driven organization desiring to unify patients and encourage community action.

DJ Reetz is a writer, cynic and marijuana enthusiast born and raised in Denver. As a native of the city he lives, breathes, and – on occasion – eats and drinks all that is Denver and the state of Colorado. Driven by a questioning mind, he seeks to inform readers and expose truth; and possibly have a good-ass time in the process.

John Schroyer covered politics and policy in Colorado for more than seven years, including the Democratic National Convention in Denver in 2008. Since January 2013, he has been the video editor at The Colorado Springs Gazette and made himself famous by posting footage online of his car getting swamped by a flash flood in Manitou Springs. He moved to Colorado from Chicago in 2002 after finishing college and has vowed to never again live anywhere that doesn’t have mountains.

Susan Squibb writes the marijuana manners column, Ask Lady

Cannabis. An innovative cannabis business and market developer, Ms. Squibb produces cannabis events including the annual Mother’s High Tea. Ms. Squibb is an Anthropology graduate of University of Colorado-Boulder. Unlike the proper Lady Cannabis persona, Ms. Squibb enjoys cavorting.

Chris Tucker is a contributor for the LocalMC as a member of their review board. He does content writing/copywriting for various websites and his first novel, an action/adventure novel, is due out within the next few months.

6 December 2013

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Contents 4 12 14 18 20 22 23 26 28

A Letter to Our Readers The Green Scene

Events, a hemp cookbook and earth friendly cleaning supplies

In The Spotlight

Last minute holiday gift ideas

Featured Artist

37

Tasty Meds

38

Fracking Pt. 2

40

From Seed to Sale

42

Don’t Cell Yourself

46

CBD Heals Breast Cancer

48

Marijuana Industry Projections

49

Cannabis for Kids?

50

CO Dispensary Raids

53

Visions Through the Hayes

54

Why You Should Renew Your Redcard

Kevin Eslinger

Reviews of some of Colorado’s best edibles and smokeables

Lady Cannabis

Patients have questions, she has answers

Hemp Eats

Hempify your holiday recipes

Cannabis News Around the Globe

Nationwide headlines

Local Cannabis Headlines Colorado’s latest news in the marijuana community

29

Hemp Farming Regulations

30

20ish Questions

37

East Coast Legalizes

What does Colorado have in store for future hemp farmers?

Interview with Miami’s entertaining, Steve Berke

Which city is the first to openly welcome legal cannabis into their community?

14 8 December 2013

56 63 65

18

How fracking can destroy Colorado if citizens don’t stand up to it.

What is the cost of the MMJ buisness?

Lessons from a prisoner of prohibition Regina Nelson tells her story Growing, growing, gone

Desperate Mormon moms are doing anything for their children’s health needs The Feds came to town. What exactly went down?

Denver Dispensary Guide Coupons Index

Dispensary Guide

DENVER 60 The Clinic 57 The Hemp Center 57 Mind, Body, Spirit Wellness Clinic 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock 62 Southwest Alternative Care

COLORADO SPRINGS 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles

3937 W. COLFAX AVE.

1075 S. FOX ST.

720-287-3934

303-593-2931

DENVER, CO 80204

DENVER, CO 80223

thcmag.com 9

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The GREEN Scene

E V E N T S

December 5th & 20th Movie & Martini National Lampoon’s Christams Vacation, 5:30p.m.

The Wildlife Experience 10035 South Peoria Street Parker, CO 80134 thewildlifeexperience.org/movie-and-a-martini

December 6-February 28th (Grand Opening Dec. 6th) “Fear and Lothing Across America” Sean Dietrich and Vincent Gordon Art Showcase Hoodlab 3354 Larimer St. Denver, CO 80205 https://www.facebook.com/events/172411846298718

December 7th 3rd Annual Hope for the Holidays Toy Drive 11a.m.-6p.m.

The Streets at SouthGlenn 6991 South Vine Street Centennial, CO 80122 http://kwgn.com/hope-for-the-holidays-toy-drive-2013/ December 14th and 15th The Secret Cup Finals The Warehouse across from Grow Big Supply Denver, CO https://scfinals.eventbrite.com/ https://scvip.eventbrite.com/ December 18th Cannabis Business Awards Cassleman’s Bar and Venue 2620 Walnut Street Denver, CO 80216 www.cannabisbusinessawards.com www.casslemans.com December 20th Bands That Feed: Rock N Roll Holiday Party 8:00 p.m.

Cassleman’s Bar and Venue 2620 Walnut Street Denver, CO 80216 www.casslemans.com December 31st THC’s Black and White New Years Eve Gala 9:00p.m.

Cassleman’s Bar and Venue 2620 Walnut Street Denver, CO www.casslemans.com

12 December 2013

Every Friday - 10:00a.m.

River Rock South Sessions 990 W. 6th Ave. Denver, CO www.riverrockcolorado.com

Looking for healthier recipes to incorporate into your eating repertoire? Look no further. The “Galaxy Global Eatery” contains more than 200 recipes using hemp seeds, hemp nuts, hemp flour and hempseed oil. From Apricot-Glazed Hemp Pork Loin to Udon Hempesto, this book is full of carnivore, vegan, vegetarian, dairy free and gluten free friendly recipes. There are standard feel good recipes, such as Ginger Buttermilk Hemp Pancakes, to exotic innovations such as Hempnut Bison Tamale.

In addition to the mouthwatering recipes, this cookbook has beautiful images, thorough cooking instructions and tips, and the occasional nutritional fact.

There’s also an entire explanation on why cook with hemp, and a guide as to what staple items to always have in the kitchen. Chapters on dressings, baked goods, desserts, appetizers, noodles and more allow the cook to create entire three or four course meals that revolve around hemp. Simply amazing!

Wonderfully put together, the “Galaxy Global Eatery” is presented by author Denis Cicero in a way that makes eating and cooking healthy not intimidating. Cicero has been a part of the food industry for more than 23 years, including the physical Global Galaxy Eatery, which was located in New York City for 15 years.

This cookbook is a great addition for any cook’s collection. Be be sure to pick up a copy for that cook on your holiday shopping list this season. www.northatlanticbooks.com

Clean Up After Your Holiday Guests With These ‘Green’ Products

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day The Meyer’s line has a wide variety of products ranging from household cleaners, laundry detergent, air fresheners, hand and body and more. All products come in innovative and amazing scents like basil and rhubarb and classics like lavender and lemon verbena. These delicious cleaners are made from plants and essential oils from flowers and herbs- so no harmful chemicals, bleach, ammonia, petroleum, etc.

They are also cruelty free and free of animal testing.

Available in most grocery stores or online. www. mrsmeyers.com

Ravioli Scrubby from Twist This neat little creation is a biodegradable sponge wrapped in hemp burlap. It is absolutely scrubby enough to remove the food but gentle enough not to scratch your nonstick pans.

The entire thing is free of dyes or other harsh chemicals that you don’t exactly want to be cleaning your dishes with! Can be cleaned in the dishwasher (top shelf only).

Acquired through buygreen. com, The Ravioli Scrubby was designed in Boulder by Twist LLC. Check out their site for other great products www.twistclean.com

Wipe It Away Products from Full Circle Ever find yourself going through tons of paper products? Wouldn’t you like to save a little money, especially around the holidays? Full Circle makes a resuable cloth for every type of cleaning situation. The Wood Fiber Cleaning Cloths (pictured above) are great for all spills and cleaning delicate surfaces. The Neat Nut, made from walnuts, is perfect for scouring.

The Terra Towels are hand towels made from organic cotton and The Stick ‘Em has a built in magnet--never lose your towel again. www. fullcirclehome.com

Recycled Kitchen Bags from Seventh Generation This conscious company makes trash bags, Ziplocs and other paper products all made from recycled plastic and post consumer products. From baby care to kitchen cleaners, Seventh Generation (an American company from Vermont) offers a variety of eco friendly and gentle products.

Available at most grocery stores, these environmentally friendly goods are affordable and conveinet, so do you and your loved ones a favor by stocking up this holiday season. www. seventhgeneration.com

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In The Spotlight

Procrastination Corner

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Need a last minute gift? Look no further, we have you covered!

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Cibaderm by Hemp Meds Px Cibaderm offers a wide variety of Hemp CBD beauty and skincare products. Each and every product is infused with 100 percent natural CBD from non-GMO industrial hemp oil. Cibaderm is free from artificial dyes or perfumes, in addition to being sulfate free, paraben free and phthalate free. All of that great news and cruelty free to boot. I had the privilege of trying the entire Cibaderm line of products. The shampoo left my hair squeaky clean and had a nice lather to it. The conditioner is lightweight and highly moisturizing. I love the body wash!! It made my skin feel fresh and baby soft. I followed up my shower with the body lotion, which is non-greasy and really absorbed deeply into my skin for long lasting hydration. I now carry the hand

14 December 2013

cream around with me in my handbag, it is wonderful! You won’t find me without it during this dry Colorado winter. Lastly, I tried the salve. I used it on a few different problem areas and it was soothing for every purpose, lower back pain, knee pain, sore feet, dry elbows, etc. Every product has a lovely naturally fresh scent. Try these products for yourself or a loved one, you won’t be disappointed. hempmedspx.com/cibaderm/

smoCAN by Lifestyle Technovations LLC The smoCAN is so cool! All your smoking accessories in one compact place. The smoCAN has everything. It has a “mini-Bic” storage compartment, a poker/poker holder, a slot for a small glass pipe, a grinder, storage compartment and a screen/debris catcher. It is also waterproof, dishwasher safe, portable, modular/expandable, comes in five different colors, and is entirely self contained. SmoCAN looks great and is every bit as functional as it claims. Great product! $69.99 www.smocan.com

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Hempy’s Hemp Beanies What’s better than something made in the U.S.A.? Something made of hemp, made in the U.S.A. Hempy’s beanies are not only quality but cute!

There’s a different style for everyone on your list and at about $25 per beanie, they are quite affordable. Don’t forget to browse other goods on Hempy’s website for tons of great gifts. www.hempys.com

Debowler Not only is the spike there to help you kick out the bowl, but also it will fit a 14mm bowl, allowing it to stand upright while you pack its contents. The glass Debowler comes with two removable glass spikes. This makes for a great and affordable gift for that person who is always using every tool possible to cash out a bowl. Plastic $5, glass $20. www.debolwer.com

Randy’s Roots - Organic Hemp Rolling Papers Looking for a last minute stocking stuffer? Randy’s Roots rolling papers are the perfect gift to give to your doobie brother. Randy’s Roots papers are 100 percent organic, hemp (unbleached), vegan, natural Arabic gum and American stainless steel. Wait, what?

That’s right these papers have a stainless steel wire runs through the seem. You might be a little weirded out by this at first but once you try it, you will see the genius behind it. The wire gives you support and makes rolling a joint easy even for the novice. It also gives you a built in roach clip, just bend it back and no more burnt fingertips. www.randys.com

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The Solar Hit This is the perfect toy to take on a hike, a camping trip, or store in your emergency kit in the trunk of your car. With 300-plus days of sunshine in Colorado, you are likely to be able to spark up a bowl at any given moment - even in the winter! Simply load the bowl, adjust the magnifying glass to the proper distance from the bowl and allow the sun to work its magic. Be advised that you WILL want to wear some sort of UV eye protection, as I almost blinded myself without it. My only minor complaint is the use of a metal bowl.

I think glass is the only way to go but then again, the metal/plastic combo wont break if you drop it on a rock. This might be my new favorite hiking accessory! /www.solarhitpipe.com Stealth Double Agent by Glow Industries Glow Industries offers a wide selection of vaporizer products to choose from. The Stealth Double Agent is disposable and a perfect stocking stuffer for your loved ones. This sleek designed vape can handle dry herbs, wax and oils. I found the Double Agent was best suited for wax and budder. Since it is a disposable pen, it makes for a great option to take traveling, camping or a night on the town. www.glowindustries.com

16 December 2013

Honey Jar Cycler & Dabber from Bear Mountain Studios I was ecstatic when I heard Bear Mountain Studios would be sending one of their pieces for us to review. I met them at the Champs show in Denver and was really impressed with their work. I could hardley wait for the package to come in the mail. The amazing folks at Bear Mountain Studios made Christmas come early with a Honey Jar Cycler and Dabber. This piece is a true work of art and I didn’t even want to smoke out of it. It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it, right? The Honey Jar Cycler has a reinforced 12-hole gridded showerhead peculator. They made a polished ground joint to help reduce dome lock, and a flat mouthpiece for comfort. The detail and craftsmanship on this piece really sets Bear Mountain Studios apart from the rest.

The Honey Jar hits like a dream, one of the smoothest rigs I have ever smoked out of. The dabber is machine cut and then polished for reinforced strength with a flat head tip to scoop up some sweet honey oil or budder. It has a flat bottom to stand on its own and has a cut on the bottom to act as a carb cap. Like the Honey Jar, the dabber has Bear Mountain Studios markings throughout. This will be the only piece you use until your honey cabinets run dry and hibernate after a long session. Since I’ve had this piece, it is the only one my friends want to smoke out of when they are over. The look and feel of the Honey Jar Cycler is truly unique and a perfect addition to the glass connoisseurs collection. Thanks to Bear Mountain Studios, a question for the ages may finally be answered, does a bear dab in the woods?

Make sure to check them out on Instagram. @bearmountainstudios

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Featured Artist

Kevin Eslinger

by Caroline Hayes

Pop Surrealism became a hit among artists in the ‘70s and was still a major hit when Kevin Eslinger was in college in the late ‘90s. “I was going to Art Center College of Design and I went to see Mark Ryden’s Meat Show. That was the show that put Pop Surrealism on the map for me,” he said. Other influences are Tim Burton, Ralph Steadman, Thomas Woodruff, Picasso, Dali, Warhol and Damien Hirst.

Heavily influenced by that movement, he saw a form of it return in his life when he worked in the commercial industry after college. Being employed with Gentle Giant studios, McFarlane Toys and Master Replicas, he learned quite a bit about the objectives of bigger corporations. “The motivation behind consumer products is a nightmare, or at the very least a distortion,” he explained. “Mostly, I use pop culture to communicate to others the darkness I find in the icons and the corporations behind the icons.”

Eslinger’s artwork has a unique yet familiar look about it.

There’s something about his technique and use of color that just makes each piece pop. He doesn’t just use one material to create this look. He uses as many different kids of mediums as he can. “Oil paints on Masonite are my tried and true form, but I will use acrylics, watercolors, colored pencils, ink. Really anything. I dislike the idea of being a painter who paints using the same style over and over again,” Eslinger said.

Eslinger says that his best seller is the Cheshire Cat, although the Ronald McDonald is his favorite. What started off as a painting of Jesus, was then turned into an image of Kurt Cobain and then finally the McDonald icon himself.

From childhood icons to real human idols such as Jenny Kush, Eslinger has many motives behind his work. He says of his tribute to the late MMJ activist, “Jenny Kush’s boy friend came up to me at my kiosk at the Flatirons Mall. He told me how they, as a couple, collected my work and would come to the mall on the weekend every so often to pick out a new piece. Jenny was killed by a drunk driver in September 2013. His story touched me.” And thus the Jenny Kush piece was born (pictured on opposite page). He made a 24x25 giclee for her mother.

“More than anything else, Americans understand pop culture.

Our perspectives on it allow for an instant communication and understanding. I use icons as a vehicle of my perspective on culture. I will continue to try and expand my style with pop culture as the foundation of my transformation.”

Eslinger’s gallery resides on South Broadway in Denver. He features other artists as well as his own works.

Eslinger Art Gallery 118 South Broadway Denver, CO https//kevineslinger.com

18 December 2013

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Tasty Meds

reviewed by Monocle Man and Hazy Cakes

Mary’s Medicinals Transdermal Patch 10mg Activated by River Rock These groundbreaking patches come in four different varieties, CBD/THC - 1:1, THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), CBN (Cannabinol), and THCa (Tetrahydrocannabinol acid.)

They each contain three patches per pack. Each patch can be worn for up to 8 hours and can be cut into smaller patches if you are more sensitive to the effects of cannabis. We were lucky enough to try all four. These patches are perfect for someone that needs a steady lower dose of medicine to help ease their symptoms. I have chronic lower back pain and had a lot of relief from applying the patches. I first used the CBD/THC - 1:1, this provided pain relief with no head high whatsoever. The THC patch induced similar pain relief and a mild head high followed by a visit to the kitchen and strengthened the bond between me and my fridge. The CBN patch definitely gave me a feeling of deep relaxation and helped me sleep, pain free. Lastly the THCa patch made me feel a very mild head high but still coherent and not drowsy at all, my pain was diminished as well.

This is such a great product line, the patch provides long lasting symptom relief without serious impairment. www.marysmedicinals.com, www.riverrockcolorado.com Colorado Gemstones 50mg by Sweet Stone Candy You should be familiar with Sweet Stone Candy and their giant Claudie Bear gummy. I did a review on that tasty treat a few months back. Now it’s time to share their hard candy with our readers. The Colorado Gemstones are another quality product from the Sweet Stone team. You get five 10mg hard candies per pack, great for low dose servings throughout the day. There are nine delicious flavors to choose from that will assist that sweet tooth. I tried the Cotton Candy, Fruit Loop and Straw-nana for this review. The flavors really stuck out and I didn’t get the hashy taste you get with a lot of other hard candies. Like most edibles these are great for people who are looking for a discreet method of getting their meds.

I took a pack with me to a wedding and it was the perfect amount of meds. www.sweetstonecandy.com Sweet Mary Janes - Indiva Tincture - CBD:THC 150mg - Hybrid 600mg I have been starting to see Sweet Mary Jane products around town but haven’t had the chance to try them until now. As you know they won 1st place at The Hemp Connoisseur Championship in the edible category for their Key Lime Kickers. I was hoping I would get to review their award-winning product but they threw me a curve ball and gave me their Indiva Tinctures. The Indiva’s are available in CBD:THC 150mg, sativa, hybrid, & Indica, and 600mg, 1200mg, 3000mg, and 6000mg for the patient with serve symptom management. We tried their 1:1 ratio CBD/THC 150mg and a 600mg hybrid; both were their Key Lime flavor. Full disclosure I haven’t been too big on tinctures because most of them taste terrible. That was not the case with the Indiva Tinctures. I was able to keep the Indiva under my tongue for a solid minute.

With most the tinctures I have tried in the past I could barely keep it in my mouth. The Indiva’s were fast acting with the first effects starting within 20 minutes. I really liked the 1:1 CBD/THC, it relaxed me and took away my chronic knee pain I suffer from.

Sweet Mary Janes has opened my mind with tinctures and I will be trying their other flavors and dosage levels. www.sweetmaryjanesedibles.com 20 December 2013

IVXX by The Green Solution Sour Blue Cheese Ice Wax and Shatter

IVXX powered by The Green Solution has come out of nowhere and has taken the concentrate world by storm. The dedicated team at The Green Solution have brought a wide variety of selections to the table. For this review, I sampled both H2O Ice Wax and Shatter. Both had amazing terpene profiles that tickled the nose. I was excited to try the H2O because the rage surrounding bho has detracted from the allure from good ol’ bubble, and I’m curious as to why. The H2O bubbled and melted like any quality wax should. The cheese smell came out from the H20 once you broke up the hash on top of the bowl. It bubbled and melted away into the green flowers. The Shatter had an abundant trepene profile that stunk up the room. The dabs were smooth and tasty. Both samples were quality extracts, with care and love showing through. Check out IVXX at The Green Solution for some of the best concentrates in town. www.ivxxcolorado.com, www.tgscolorado.com Sensi Death Star Wax by Venom Wax Venom is one of the newer concentrate companies to hit the market. We picked up some of their Sensi Death Star wax at Mind Body Spirits in Lakewood. I haven’t really seen these guys before so I was excited to try out a new company. The wax had a light brown color. It didn’t have a pronounced smell but did have a mild terpene presence. I tried the Sensi Death Star in one of my portable vapes and did some dabs from a rig. The consistency of the wax made this perfect for my vape. I got a lot more bang for my buck using the vape and a small chunk of wax lasted me awhile. It was a smooth smoke and I loved the effects I got from it. It wasn’t over powering and put me just where I needed to be. Overall, I was impressed with Venom and hope to see more of their product hit the shelves around the state. www.venomwax.com Mahatma Extreme Concentrates MK Ultra Powered by Patients Choice I’d like to start this review by congratulating Mahatma Extreme Concentrates for cleaning up in The Hemp Connoisseur Championship. It has been a breakout year for their team taking home several awards throughout the year. The sample that won everyone over at THCC was the MK Ultra powered

by Patients Choice. It had a beautiful light tan color and the smell was insane, the terpene profiles were through the roof.

Just leaving it out will stink up your room before you even have the chance to heat up your nail. The MK Ultra was one of the best tasting dabs I have ever had. Every time I try one of Mahatma’s runs, it seems to outdo the previous ones. I can see why this won Best Tested because this sample was a potent smoke. After one dab I was couch locked, fixed on the TV and zoned out to football. Mahatma has cemented themselves as one of the industries best processing companies. We also got to sample some of the shatter they will be coming out with soon. Keep an eye out for it and pick it up, you will not be disappointed. www.mahatmaconcentrates.com thcmag.com 21

Ask Lady Cannabis

As you know, Gentle Reader, consuming marijuana is a safe and enjoyable way to relax and spend time with others. There is a proper way to do this and several improper ways. Lady Cannabis addresses questions regarding the etiquette of responsible adult consumption of marijuana in various social settings. What is your question for Lady Cannabis? Email ladycannabis@thcmag.com with your questions.

Dear Lady Cannabis, My question is inspired by a recent Denver Drug Policy Alliance conference panel, is the joint obsolete? Policy Geek Dear Policy Geek, No, the joint is not obsolete. In the cannabis culture, several practical aspects of the joint make it enduring. For one, older cannabis consumers smoke joints because joints were the most common way of consumption. There were few ways to consume cannabis for some period of time.

Second, joints are very portable. Roll a few joints and take them along with you. Third, joints can mimic cigarette smoking. In places with unnecessary prohibition, joints have been smoked in a similar fashion as cigarettes in public places.

Lastly, joints are very disposable, when burned down to a small roach. Unlike pipes or other smoking accessories, joints are lightweight and easy to conceal. Joints are great on the go for recreational fun.

Smoking a joint is one of the harshest ways to ingest cannabis.

With the growing awareness and acceptance of medical use cannabis, the cannabis market has adjusted. Patients want the health benefits and the best way to get them is to reduce the harm associated with smoking. Smokeless alternatives are available at cannabis centers and use has increased drastically.

Four years ago in Colorado, a majority of dispensary sales were buds or flowers. Today, nearly half of all purchases are edibles and portable smokeless vaporizers.

Nevertheless, the joint is a classic. Even immaculate hostess Martha Stewart has professed that she is a good joint roller.

Continuously giggling in response to the question, Martha Stewart stated in an interview, “Of course, I know how to roll 22 December 2013

a joint, not that I ever do. We used to roll cigarettes, it’s the same thing.”

Dear Lady Cannabis, How do you make sense of the President of A Basin taking ski passes away from boarders smoking? It’s part of ski culture, WTF! Boarding Brad Dear Boarding Brad, Al Henchworth, COO of Arapahoe Basin ski resort, laid down the law on his October 19 blog - Al’s Blog - and sparked a huge controversy among skiers.

Al pulled a few patrons’ passes because they were publicly smoking cannabis. They are being used as an example to remind patrons it is illegal to smoke in public. The fury of response has helped shape the public conversation of what is reasonable and appropriate for cannabis use on the slopes.

Many people voiced outrage over the harsh penalty.

Many people noted the hypocrisy of alcohol being so accepted with open consumption, not only in the lodges but in the lift lines at A Basin. Many people were happy with the crackdown because not everyone wants to be around the smoke.

Cannabis smoking is part of ski culture. Instead of laying down the law and threatening to call the cops on this issue, as Al originally stated, A Basin needs to take a cue from Seattle Police earlier this year and put together a funny public gimmick to educate patrons to the law. Some clever giveaway with the PR message, “Have fun. We want you to enjoy the A Basin vibe. This is a reminder that public cannabis smoking is not legal. We ask for your cooperation and definitely do not smoke around children, in the lift lines, at the top of the lift or the sides of runs.” A public message will go farther.

HEMP EATS

Indulge in tasty hemp-infused recipes that offer some nutrition without sacrificing flavor

Hemp Rubbed Cornish Game Hens

Preheat oven to 450˚ Serves 2 Ingredients: 2 Cornish Game Hens 1/2 Tablespoon lemon pepper Salt to taste 1/2 lemon, cut into fourths 4 sprigs fresh rosemary 1 and 1 1/2 Tablespoons hemp oil 12 garlic cloves 2 Tablespoons and 2 teaspoons white wine 2 Tablespoons and 2 teaspoons chicken or vegetable broth Directions: Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the hemp oil. Season hens with salt and lemon pepper. Place ¼ of lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in each cavity. Place in a large, heavy roasting pan. Place the garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Reduce temperature to 350˚F. In a mixing bowl, whisk wine, broth and remaining tablespoons of hemp oil together. Pour this mixture over hens. Baste hens with pan juices every 10 minutes. Continue roasting until hens are golden brown, for about 25 minutes, until the temperature of the thigh is 165˚ and the juices run clear.

Transfer hens to a platter. Make sure cavity juices run off into the roasting pan. Cover hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes.

You can cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates or serve whole. Drizzle sauce and spoon the garlic on the plates, place hens on top. Garnish with rosemary sprigs.

Serve and enjoy!

Hemp Seed Monkey Bread

Preheat oven to 350˚ Ingredients: 24 frozen dinner rolls, thawed but still cold ½ box butterscotch or vanilla pudding mix, non-instant ½ cup shelled hemp seeds ½ cup pecans, chopped ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup butter or margarine Directions: Cut dinner rolls in half and dip in dry pudding mix. Arrange rolls in sprayed Bundt pan, alternately with pecans and hemp seeds. Sprinkle any remaining pudding mix over the top. Combine brown sugar and butter. Heat together until butter is melted and a syrup is formed (microwave about 1 1/2 minutes). Pour syrup over rolls. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap. Let rise until double in size or even with top of Bundt pan. Carefully remove wrap. Bake at 350°F for 3035 minutes. Cover with foil the last 15 minutes of baking.

Immediately after baking, loosen from sides of the pan with a knife and invert onto a serving plate.

Non Dairy HempNogg Smoothie Ingredients: Non-Dairy Hempy Eggnog 3 cups hemp milk 1 frozen banana 1 avocado 4 teaspoon maple syrup 1 tsp pumpkin spice 1.5 teaspoon nutmeg ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 Tablespoon hemp seeds 2 ounces bourbon

Place all ingredients in Vitamix or blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Top with sprinkle of nutmeg and hemp seeds.

thcmag.com 23

High Society with Cheryl Shuman

If you had told me five years ago that in 2013 I would be honored with Seattle Hempfest’s most outstanding activist of the year award - and have my face plastered all over TV - I would have laughed and told you that is just crazy!

I am the mother of two beautiful daughters, a businesswoman, and an activist. I became a medical cannabis patient when it became legal in California. My doctor first recommended that I try cannabis as an alternative to pharmaceuticals.

I felt it was my duty and obligation to redefine what a modern cannabis consumer looks like, to overturn the negative images and stereotypes most commonly shown in the media. I wanted to present an image that my children could be proud of, so that when I die, I can leave behind a legacy as a recognizable force for positive social change, providing jobs and helping to heal the world.

We are witnessing the “Pot Com Boom” as it happens daily through traditional and social media. I’m honored to write this column as a regular contributor for THC Magazine to share our photos and video diary as we witness history.

I am proud to follow in the footsteps of Pauline Sabin, a wealthy socialite in the 1930s who led the political and social movement to end the prohibition of alcohol. It’s time for America to historically end the prohibition of cannabis.

With the recent media blitz, it’s safe to say that my daughter Aimee and I are the brand new faces of marijuana. We have broken television ratings records by reaching more than 100 million viewers around the world. We’ve told out story on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “20/20 Magazine,” “Dr. Phil Show,” and “The Doctors.” We’ve sat down and chatted with Katie Couric and Ricki Lake on their shows, as well as CNN’s Piers Morgan LIVE with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the “Gone to Pot” special, ABC’s “The View” with Barbara Walters, Fox Business News and more than two dozen others. We have generated over $37 million of earned media in less than 90 days with no end in sight.

A new report predicts the U.S. legal retail marijuana market will grow 64 percent next year to hit $2.34 billion and surge to $10 billion by 2018.

Arcview Market Research also predicts that 14 more states will legalize recreational marijuana in the next five years. I encourage you to read more about this report in this issue of THC Magazine.

As the only mother-daughter duo, Aimee and I are currently consulting on campaigns for legalization throughout the USA, as well as Israel, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe. We start our fourth year as the marijuana experts on FX TV’s “Wilfred” starring Elijah Wood and Jason Gann.

There are other television and film projects that we are working on as the product placement experts. It’s exciting to see that we already have 10 more in the pipeline.

24 December 2013

Stars like Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Melissa Etheridge, Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, and many others have spoken out about their cannabis use. Even business tycoons like Richard Branson and Olympic superstars like Michael Phelps have spoken about their cannabis use. That easily proves that there are many successful, professional, and affluent people who use cannabis.

I am a proud member of Beverly Hills Cannabis Club, an international destination for high society. It’s the only club of it’s kind. We are expanding internationally and I will take you along as we film our documentary series.

Los Angeles County consumes more cannabis legally than all the other 20 legal cannabis states combined. Since the legalization of responsible adult use of cannabis in both Washington and Colorado, California is seen as the most important state to follow this path.

As a woman with many female friends, I know that many of them prefer cannabis instead of the calories and hangover of alcohol. We often say “Cannabis Makes Us Better Moms and Better Human Beings.”

The Beverly Hills Cannabis Club has signed with the prestigious William Morris Endeavor Agency in Beverly Hills. We are developing a reality TV series, and a book and feature film are in the works.

Over the next few months, Aimee and I will take you on an inside look at high society, from Los Angeles to Denver to Israel. You’ll meet Dr. Raphael Mechoulam and Marlon Wayans and see the projects we are working on with them.

We are also working with clients focused on CBD and will be sharing the stories of patients, from toddlers to seniors.

In December, check us out in Vanity Fair (Spain Edition), Marie Clare (Australia Edition), and “America News Now” in 120 TV markets throughout the country. If you’d like to meet up with us somewhere along the way, please join our private social network to stay in touch. If you want to get your business or company involved with some of our media projects, we would love to hear your stories and include you in our journey.

Aimee and I would like to thank THC Magazine for the opportunity to share our inside look at history. We look forward to visiting all of you here every month.

Blazing a trail isn’t easy.

But you don’t have to go at it alone.

The National Cannabis Industry Association is the only national trade association dedicated to representing legitimate cannabis businesses, from medical marijuana providers to ancillary products and services. Our mission is simple: Change federal law so that cannabis businesses can be treated like any other industry in the U.S. Is your business part of the solution yet?

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• Unified and coordinated industry advocacy • Educational events and B2B networking • Industry legitimization • Exposure to a national market If you share our vision for a responsible, legitimate, and prosperous industry, get involved today at TheCannabisIndustry.org or by calling (888) 683-5650.

Cannabis News

by John Schroyer

Epileptic New Jersey Toddler Becomes State’s First Child Medical Marijuana Patient On Halloween, 2 1/2 year old Vivian Wilson got something a lot more precious than candy. She got her first batch of medicinal marijuana. The New Jersey toddler suffers from the same rare form of epilepsy - Dravet syndrome - as Charlotte Figi, the now-famous Colorado girl whose seizures dropped from 300 a week to just a few after she began taking a special strain of marijuana.

That has also sent prices soaring, with one producer charging $800 for an ounce of marijuana. Many patients unable to obtain or afford legal marijuana have to buy medicine from the black market to curb their various ailments.

An all-pro NFL running back with more than 10,000 career rushing yards is not the type of person many would expect to come out strongly in favor of marijuana use, but that’s exactly what happened last month.

Medical Marijuana Factory Proposed in Connecticut

Ricky Williams, who played for four different NFL teams between 1999 and 2011, was suspended for marijuana use during his professional career. But when asked whether he thought cannabis was his “Achilles’ heel,” Williams went the opposite direction.

A first-of-its-kind medical marijuana factory is being considered by the state of Connecticut, after it was proposed by a medical supply company owner.

But Wilson won’t have it as relatively easy as Figi. Medical marijuana regulations in New Jersey are much stricter than in Colorado. Figi’s parents were able to obtain an oil that they give to their daughter directly, but the Wilsons will have to cook up their own butter or oil from the ounce of marijuana they obtained.

If the state assents, then Thomas Macre, executive director of the Connecticut Cannabis Consortium (also known as C-Three), plans on sinking up to $2 million into a 3.5-acre lot in Waterbury, Connecticut. C-Three will then build a pair of high-volume facilities, one for growing and one for selling medical marijuana.

The Wilsons were able to buy marijuana for Vivian for the first time after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, signed a bill to permit edible marijuana products to be sold to kids. The catch is that no medical marijuana dispensaries in the state yet carry such products. So the Wilsons have to make their daughter’s medicine themselves. For now.

Macre has the backing of Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary, a former police chief.

Shortage of Medical Marijuana in New Mexico Thousands of New Mexico medical marijuana patients have seen their prescriptions go unfilled in recent months.

The supply of cannabis has failed to keep up with the pace of demand in the state.

There are only 23 licensed growers in the state, while the number of legal patients has skyrocketed to more than 10,000.

A state-commissioned survey concluded that roughly 10,000 patients would go through 11,000 pounds of marijuana in a year, but New Mexico cultivators are reportedly only harvesting about 2,200 pounds annually.

26 December 2013

Australian State Bans Medical Marijuana for Terminally Ill Patients The southeastern Australian state of New South Wales has decided not to allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana to help ease their pain.

New South Wales, which includes Sydney, the country’s most populous city, cited “limited evidence about the efficiency of cannabis for medical purposes,” according to one report. Government officials added that they did not support “the use of unregulated cannabis products.”

The decision contradicts an earlier bipartisan government panel recommendation, which found that terminally ill patients should be permitted up to 15 grams of cannabis.

Former NFL Star Compares Marijuana to “Spinach for Popeye”

“I kind of think it was more like spinach for Popeye,” Williams told an interviewer from Campus Insiders.

Florida Republicans Battling Medical Marijuana Legalization There’s a problem with a proposed Florida ballot measure for next year, say that state’s GOP leaders: the initiative to legalize medicinal cannabis is unconstitutional.

Florida’s speaker of the House of Representatives and president of the state Senate have both submitted an argument to the state Supreme Court arguing that the ballot measure’s wording is unclear, misleading and presents plenty of legal problems.

The state attorney general has also filed a brief with the court and said the measure has constitutional issues.

The ballot measure has not yet been certified for next year’s election. Backers have collected more than 125,000 signatures in their petition drive to get medical marijuana before voters. They need 683,149 signatures by Feb. 1 to make the ballot.

Seattle’s Sold-Out Expo An Indication of Burgeoning Industry Tickets to a November business expo for

Across the Globe marijuana entrepreneurs in Seattle were $600 apiece, and there were 700 seats available. It sold out easily.

That’s a sign that not only is the cannabis industry alive and well, but it’s thriving.

The expo was put on by CannaBusiness, which is behind the Medical Marijuana Business Daily, and is the second annual conference. More than 30 exhibitors shelled out more than $16,000 for space at the expo.

Tennessee Looks at Legal Hemp Production Hemp has become much more of a bipartisan and mainstream issue than marijuana, which is still politically divisive in many areas of the country.

Industrial hemp has garnered high-profile Republican backers as well as Democrats in deep red states such as Kentucky. And Tennessee might be the next red state to allow industrial hemp cultivation, if a bill by a Republican state legislator succeeds.

Industrial hemp could be a boon to Tennessee farmers. One estimate from Tennessee State University found that growers could expect a return of $250$300 per acre.

Ten states now permit industrial hemp to be sown. Hemp is still technically illegal under federal law, but that could be changing. The U.S. Senate is looking at possibly removing industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, and a separate bill has been introduced in Congress to legalize industrial hemp.

Tennessee’s bill is still in the drafting process, and its sponsor has plenty of work to do to shore up political support for the measure.

Washington, D.C. May Decriminalize Marijuana Possession

take it a little easier on those caught with marijuana. A majority of D.C.’s city council members and the city’s mayor have indicated support for a proposal to decriminalize small amounts of cannabis.

Currently, anyone caught with less than an ounce of marijuana can receive up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. If the council and the mayor approve the current proposal, that would drop the fine to no more than $100, with no jail time and no criminal record.

It’s not entirely up to the council and the mayor, though. Congress has the power to challenge such new ordinances, and may do so if the decriminalization measure passes.

British Study Finds Cannabis Without THC Kills Cancer Cells Marijuana could hold the key to salvation for cancer-stricken patients, according to a new study published by British researchers.

Scientists at St. George’s, University of London, found six different nonhallucinogenic cannabis-derived compounds were all effective as an anticancer treatment, and that they were even more effective when combined.

The research team considers their finding to be a breakthrough, since their tests focused on compounds that did not include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that gets users high. While there has been evidence in the past that THC can be used to fight cancer, this is the first time a scientific study has focused on other compounds derived from cannabis.

The team also said that the treatments they were able to come up with were relatively inexpensive, and could eventually become an affordable alternative treatment for cancer patients.

Marijuana Legalization Health Benefits

and

Public

According to findings by a Montana State University economist and a University of Colorado economist, the legalization of marijuana could create a domino effect that leads to decreased alcohol consumption and a boost in resulting health benefits.

That’s because according to their studies, many people use alcohol and marijuana as substitutes. So in Washington and Colorado, economists D. Mark Anderson and Daniel Rees are predicting that “as marijuana becomes more available, young adults… will respond by drinking less, not more.”

“Based on existing empirical evidence, we expect that the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington will lead to increased marijuana consumption coupled with decreased alcohol consumption,” they told Forbes. “As a consequence, these states will experience a reduction in the social harms resulting from alcohol use … On net, we predict the public-health benefits of legalization to be positive.”

Czech Patients Still Waiting for Medical Marijuana Though medical marijuana has technically been legal in the Czech Republic since April 1, the vast majority of the estimated 20,000 eligible patients who are looking to start using cannabis have been stymied by a bureaucratic agency that has been issuing what many see as unreasonable regulations.

The country’s Health Ministry, which fought against legalizing medical marijuana, has prohibited insurance carriers from covering the cost of medical marijuana and has limited legal access to just over an ounce of marijuana a month per patient.

The United States Capital may soon

thcmag.com 27

Cannabis News Across Colorado

by John Schroyer

Colorado To Allow At Least 100 Adult Use Marijuana Sales Licenses

Denver Holds First Hearing for Adult Use Sales

More than 100 adult use marijuana stores could open to the public on New Year’s Day in Colorado, according to numbers released by the state in early November.

A “short and sweet” hearing for a marijuana dispensary looking to obtain a license to sell adult use marijuana proceeded smoothly on Nov. 12 in Denver. Even though it was the very first, the hearing went quickly as not a single person spoke in opposition to the license being granted.

The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division took in 136 business applications in October, along with 174 applications for growing facilities and 28 applications for adult use marijuana-infused-products companies. Each of those applications will be approved or denied by the end of the year.

So far, only existing medical marijuana dispensaries are allowed to apply for adult use sales licenses. There are 517 dispensaries throughout Colorado.

There are 736 grow facilities and 138 medical marijuana-infused-products companies, according to the state.

28 December 2013

Such hearings are required by new rules passed by the Denver City Council, to allow locals to voice any opposition to retail marijuana licenses.

The hearing, granted for the owner of the west-side medical marijuana dispensary The Grove, lasted less than an hour. At the time, the city had 16 more hearings slated through the end of November.

Colorado Ski Marijuana Use

Resorts

Differ

on

It’s no secret that plenty of skiers and snowboarders toke up on the slopes.

Now that marijuana use is legal for adults, many smokers have been pushing the boundaries, and different resorts are dealing with the issue in different ways.

At least two people have lost their season passes after being caught smoking up on the hills at Arapahoe Basin, since it’s still illegal to smoke in public.

But at Wolf Creek, officials decided not to punish marijuana enthusiasts “if users do not pose a safety risk and are discreet,” according to The Denver Post.

One issue is that many of Colorado’s ski resorts lease federal land for their slopes, and smoking marijuana is still prohibited under federal law, and therefore on federal lands. Getting caught could get a violator up to a $5,000 fine and six months in jail.

Colorado Rules!!

Hemp Farms Can Now Spring to Life

by Rick Macey

Hemp farmers in Colorado can plant crops this coming spring with the assurance that it is now legal - at least in the state.

Colorado is the first state to put into place an agricultural regulatory framework for 2014. Between March 1 and May 1, hemp farmers must register with Colorado’s Department of Agriculture.

Guidelines for growing the crop were finalized in November.

THC content for industrial hemp plants can not exceed 0.3 percent.

CDA will inspect one-third of registered farms. Hemp will be tested in the fields and in labs, and the costs incurred will be passed on to the farmers.

According to Springfield farmer Ryan Loflin, who harvested 60 acres of hemp this year without waiting for CDA’s guidelines, tens of thousands of acres will be planted in Baca County alone, on his farm and those of friends and relatives.

Farmers must provide maps that include GPS locations of all growing locations. The varieties planted must have lab tests or affidavits showing that the crop will produce a THC

content of 0.3 percent or less.

Hemp’s fiber and and its oil-rich seeds have hundreds of proven uses, including as carbon-friendly construction materials and as a nutritious food source.

Research and development grows are limited to 10 acres.

Fees of $100 for registration and $5 per acre will be charged.

Commercial hemp production is not limited in acreage.

Farmers will be charged $200 to register plus $1 per acre.

Potential profits for hemp farmers could far exceed the state’s marijuana industry. Canadian hemp seeds earned returns of $1,000 per acre for many producers.

The retail value of hemp products in the U.S. was a halfbillion dollars in a relatively untapped market.

Colorado is one step ahead of the nation in hemp farming due to last year’s Amendment 64’s ballot victory, which provided for the state licensing of hemp along with marijuana.

Hemp remains illegal under the U.S. federal government’s Controlled Substances Act. thcmag.com 29

20ish Questions With Steve Berke

A Man With A Plan

by Josh Davis

If Steve Berke ever gets his way, Miami Beach will be more than just sun, fun and more g-strings than you can shake a stick at. It will be an East Coast example of marijuana policy reform as well as a leader in modern public transportation.

This past November, Steve ran for mayor of Miami Beach on a platform encompassing both of those ideas as well as several others. Those concepts could have propelled Miami Beach back into the spotlight of progressive U.S. cities. Unfortunately, Steve’s bid was thwarted by “A man with no plan who simply spent millions of dollars to procure votes.”

But all was not lost! Steve’s message of marijuana reform did indeed strike a chord with the good citizens of this sunrise city. On November 6, 2013 voters took to the polls and made Miami Beach the first city in Florida to vote in favor of the decriminalization of marijuana for medical use.

Steve is anything but your typical politician. He connects to younger voters through YouTube parodies of himself rapping about smoking blunts while vocally supporting the legalization of medicinal marijuana. He dreamed up an answer to the horrendous beach traffic with an enormous sky gondola, the likes of which the U.S. has never seen.

Steve’s campaign, though meekly funded when compared to the eventual victor’s, gained national media attention - and notoriety - as it landed him on the pages of Maxim, The New York Times, and The Huffington Post.

He made a lot of waves as a political candidate and it’s likely that the waves will keep coming on strong, even if he’s not asking for votes. Here is Steve Berke.

THC: How do you earn a living?

Steve Berke (SB): I’m a professional YouTuber and video producer. Along with the revenue from my YouTube channel, I earn a living producing viral videos, commercials and music videos.

THC: How did you get into politics?

SB: My first public display of activism was when I

released the YouTube video “Should be Legalized,” which was an Eminem parody advocating the legalization of marijuana. The video led me to become more involved in politics, especially after receiving supportive messages from fans in more than 80 countries. I hadn’t previously thought of diving into politics, but after NORML posted my video on their website the week before the highly publicized California Proposition 19 vote, I got support from the entire pro-marijuana community and gained a massive internet following. The rest is history.

THC: Do you think there is a disconnect between politicians today and the general public, or at least the younger voters?

SB: Yes, and because the system is clearly broken, the general public is completely distrustful of politicians. Similarly, because of this general distrust, young people just don’t turn out to vote.

Money has completely corrupted our political process, and it has become increasingly difficult for a regular citizen (who isn’t independently wealthy or willing to sell out to special interest groups) to run for office and make a difference in his or her community.

THC: When was the first time you ran for office?

SB: I lost my political cherry when I ran for mayor of Miami Beach in 2011.

THC: When you ran the first time it seemed a bit of a joke (to some), or less serious than 2013. What was your platform then and how did the public react to it?

SB: My 2011 campaign did start out a bit silly, but it eventually evolved into a serious campaign. At the time, I was a comedian, so I decided to use my talents and run a very ‘different’ kind of political campaign - I used comedy and social media to appeal to young and disenfranchised voters.

However, on the day prior to the election, the New York Times did a feature on my campaign, and called it a “serious bid, with serious money and a serious political consultant.” So, while it didn’t start out as traditionally as most campaigns, I did end up finishing a very respectable second (out of thcmag.com 31

four candidates) and garnered nearly 30 percent of the vote on Election Day. THC: One of the key components of your 2013 platform was SkyLink, a transportation system similar to a ski gondola, connecting Miami Beach to the rest of the city. How did this idea come about?

composed and produced my first original rap video, entitled “Miami Beach SkyLink,” and we shot most of the video with an aerial helicopter drone to showcase how beautiful this city is.

“I was searching for a “big” idea for Miami Beach, and when I thought about how to solve one of our biggest problems... the lightbulb just went off and I came up with SkyLink.”

SB: I was searching for a “big” idea for Miami Beach, and when I thought about how to solve one of our biggest problems, traffic, I started looking into European mass-transit systems. On a hot, smoky night in July, the light bulb just went off and I came up with SkyLink. I quickly rushed to Google maps to see where we could put the terminals, and it was at that moment that I not only realized it was possible, I realized it was the only logical way to connect the cities of Miami and Miami Beach.

Skylink is Burke’s brainstorm for easing traffic congestion between Miami and Miami Beach

SkyLink is not by using a high-tech gondola to connect the only a spectacular cities. form of public transportation, capable of transporting 3000 people per hour, it’s an iconic, tourist bucket-list item up there with the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye. Furthermore, it could be built without taxpayer money and it could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

THC: The winner of the 2013 Mayoral race is a multimillionaire named Philip Levine. What’s your opinion of him?

SB: I think Philip Levine is the epitome of why so many Americans are pissed off with the political process. Levine is a man who ran with no platform and no ideas, but that didn’t matter because he was able to spend millions of dollars and buy the election anyway. More than half the members of Congress are millionaires, and perhaps that’s the reason why we have such a growing income inequality problem in this country. Did you know that when it comes to income inequality, we are currently ranked 44th in the world?

That’s one below Nigeria. So, the wealthy continue to control our political system – mainly because, as we discussed earlier, voters feel too disenfranchised and apathetic to vote.

In my last race, we had a countywide voter turnout rate of just nine percent: And we wonder why the wealthy keep getting away with controlling our political system? The top 400 people in our country have more wealth than the bottom 150 million combined, so, unless we start taking an active interest in the issues and showing up to the polls, this is going to continue happening.

THC: Bill Clinton gave Levine his endorsement.

Did you have the chance to meet Clinton and share your platform with him?

But just having the idea wasn’t good enough.

I needed to visually bring it to life. My friend Adam Mutchler, the director of “Should Be SB: Oh Legalized,” happens to be a VFX producer please. Levine in Los Angeles, so he connected me with bought that an Emmy Award-winning compositor who endorsement helped me bring SkyLink to life in a video. with around a SkyLink South Pointe The video doesn’t seem like a rendering--it million dollars looks and feels like SkyLink actually exists. in donations Since I didn’t have a budget to promote SkyLink on television, to the Clintons and their organizations. Clinton didn’t speak to I used YouTube and social media to get it to the public. I even any of the other candidates. In fact, President Clinton didn’t 32 December 2013

that the Miami Beach mayoral race was a non-partisan election – that endorsement was an embarrassment to the presidency.

THC: Talk to me about cannabis.

What would you like to see happen in Miami Beach?

SB: Since 2010, I have actively lobbied the Miami Beach Commission to decriminalize marijuana. I was part of the signature drive that gathered over 5,000 signatures to put it on the ballot, and on November 5th, 64 percent of our voters said they want the city to draft a resolution urging the state of Florida and federal officials to legalize medicinal marijuana. I’m happy to see that our residents have finally changed their opinion on marijuana, and I’m proud to have played a significant role in that.

THC: How did you become a proponent of legalization, or rather decide that this was an important issue?

SB: My transition from voter to political activist came right after I graduated from Yale and was embarking upon my career as a professional tennis player. I herniated two discs in my lower back, which not only ended my athletic career, but had me living in excruciating pain for several years. I went to multiple doctors and sought any and all treatments that were available to me.

However, after exhausting all these ineffective traditional treatments, I sought alternative options.

Eventually, a doctor in California prescribed medical marijuana. It was the only treatment that alleviated my pain and chronic sciatica, and I soon realized that marijuana was a far better and less dangerous Steve Burke gained a worldwide following with two parody music videos that went solution than potentially addictive viral on YouTube. In this poster, he poses with friends who appear in his videos. prescription painkillers. That is when I became interested in the movement to decriminalize marijuana, THC: Is there any hope for a candidate if they don’t have millions which is something that I have been very openly supportive of, of dollars behind them? and campaigned for, previous to joining the 2011 mayoral race.

THC: How was the reaction of your opponents over the years?

SB: Our commission has always been opposed to decriminalizing marijuana, but Miami Beach residents have now given them a mandate stating otherwise.

SB: There is always hope. While raising money for a campaign is one of those necessary evils, there are other ways to spread a message. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and knocking on doors don’t cost any money. If someone has fresh ideas and the work ethic to get them into the public consciousness, then anything is possible.

thcmag.com 33

THC: In your opinion, why did you not win the 2013 Miami Beach Mayoral race?

SB: Ha. It’s going to seem like I’m contradicting my previous answer, but I was outspent 35-1. That’s a pretty tough handicap to overcome.

going to do it unless I find the perfect song to parody. Maybe it will be another Macklemore song. Or maybe I’ll set it to original music. Who knows. I’m just glad it’s not an election year! So, naturally, I’m just happy to be releasing more high quality parodies and original music videos on my YouTube channel, which you can subscribe to (for free) by going to www.YouTube.com/SteveBerke

THC: What’s next for Steve Berke?

THC: Any interest in getting back into politics?

SB: Well, the documentary that followed my 2013 mayoral campaign is scheduled to air on MTV2. It’s going to be an entertaining, behind the scenes drama about how I ran my campaign against a ruthless political machine. I also have a few viral videos that I’m also excited to release. I just finished one for Dream Water - which, I think is hilarious. I’m thinking about doing a sequel to “Pot Shop,” the marijuana parody and viral video that I’m probably most known for. But, I’m not

28 December 2013

SB: I’ll stay involved with my community’s issues here in Miami Beach, as well as get involved with the 2014 United for Care campaign to legalize medical marijuana in Florida. While I am looking forward to taking a little time to decompress after the election, 2014 may be my busiest year yet! Puff puff pass, and cheers!

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Maine’s Largest City Legalizes Marijuana

By Erin Hiatt

Older folks have a tendency to see the Millennial Generation as lazy, narcissistic, a n d politically disengaged.

been looking the other way when it comes to marijuana use and possession of small amounts.

But Marshall believes that the passage has national significance. “The more communities that stand up and vote in favor of marijuana legalization, the more pressure there is on higher levels of government to make reforms,” he says.

That’s definitely not true when young adults see issues they care about on Election Day ballots.

He sees this result as a stepping-stone to statewide legalization despite the defeat of LD 1229, a marijuana legalization bill introduced earlier this year by Rep. Diane Russell. Marshall believes that if the legislature doesn’t take it up again, Maine’s citizens will put forth an initiative much like Portland’s Question 1.

When it came to “Question 1” to legalize marijuana in Maine’s largest city, those maligned young people, including students and others who had never before voted, “turned out in droves,” says Portland City Councilman David Marshall.

Colorado’s influence will surely be seen as more cities and states put in place the legal framework and regulatory environment for legalization. A recent Gallup poll showed that 58 percent of Americans favor marijuana legalization.

Question 1 killed at the polls. Two out of every three voters 67 percent - said “yes” to the measure, as Portland became the first East Coast city to legalize marijuana.

Voters in California, the first state to approve cannabis for medicinal use, narrowly defeated a 2010 referendum to legalize marijuana. When a similar ballot initiative is put in front of California’s voters, don’t be surprised if Millennials make the difference.

Marshall, a member of the Green Independent Party, not only sees this as an opportunity to keep those possessing and using small amounts of marijuana out of jail, but to correct “the negative effects of the current policy on individual lives and the failure of prohibition as a policy just in general.”

Portland was not alone in legalization victories last month.

Three cities in Michigan, including its capital, Lansing, voted to allow the use, possession, and transfer of less than one ounce of marijuana. Along with Lansing, where 62 percent of voters embraced legalization, Ferndale (69%) and Jackson (61%) joined Flint and Detroit, which passed similar laws last year.

Voter turnout was so big, especially in an off-year election, because “this is such a compelling issue to so many people,” Marshall says. “I think this says a lot about this issue and why it’s resonating with the public. People are willing to change their habits and do something that they’ve never done before.”

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thcmag.com 37

Just Say Know

Image from EcoWatch

Colorado Communities Ban Fracking to Avoid Risks

by Chris Tucker

In the October issue of THC Magazine, I discussed hydraulic fracturing - commonly known as “fracking” - and the devastating effects the process has on our environment, including the poisonous chemicals left behind as a result. Fracking is creating an appalling crisis when it comes to our water supply and the air we breathe.

Colorado’s recent elections showed just how strongly voters feel about this topic. Residents of Boulder, Fort Collins, Broomfield and Lafayette have successfully banned fracking in those areas, despite oil and gas companies pouring in almost $1 million into the campaign. Russell Mendell, director of Frack Free Colorado, recently said in a statement, “These election results show us that Coloradoans can see beyond the lies and misinformation of the oil and gas industry.”

So the message is pretty loud and clear – but are these cries falling on deaf ears?

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper still maintains his pro-fracking stance. His administration claims that state government has chief authority over oil and gas exploration. The Colorado Oil and Gas Association already challenged these local bans in court. Hickenlooper has a separate lawsuit filed against the city

38 December 2013

of Longmont in an effort to reverse the fracking ban there.

The vote against fracking is obviously triggering more opposition, but why must this opposition come from so close to home, where we see first-hand the effects are having on the environment? Gov. Hickenlooper is a former geologist and has worked with these same oil and gas companies that are now threatening our land.

While drilling opponents cite the potential negative effects on the environment and human health, Hickenlooper and representatives of the oil and gas industry counter this by saying that fracking has never proven to be harmful.

However, there is an extremely harmful and deadly aspect to all of this, which was not touched on in the last issue, and that is the amount of methane being leaked into wells. This has had catastrophic effects on businesses and, more importantly, families.

You only need to look at the events in Pennsylvania where John Hanger, one-time gubernatorial candidate and former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, has brought this fight to the foreground.

Hanger won a $4.1 million total payment from Cabot Oil & Gas that was put in individual accounts averaging $201,000 for 18 families affected by methane leaks. He also ordered Cabot to plug three gas wells in Dimock, Pennsylvania and repair others that cost Cabot more than $10 million in lost investment and lost revenues from gas production. This is more of what we need on a national scale – someone with the intestinal fortitude to take a stand, and not retract.

During a recent conversation, Hanger pointed out that the pollution was methane, and not chemicals or fracking fluids, as has been the case in certain instances here in Colorado. “Denying mistakes that were made in gas drilling [which] caused the methane to contaminate 18 water wells in Dimock, Pennsylvania, and this is fundamentally dishonest.”

So what about the honesty of Colorado public officials? Hickenlooper recently stated, “We are very close to hammering out a specific methane regulatory framework that will ensure people’s air is much cleaner than what some of their fears would lead them to believe.”

regulations. The U.S. House of Representatives is set to ban the Obama administration from regulating fracking. This is a national issue that demands the attention it deserves, and Colorado voters are once again leading the way in that fight.

Gov. Hickenlooper is a former geologist and has worked with these same oil and gas companies that are now threatening our land.

Hanger proved that those fears are legitimate and any attempt to disprove this can only hurt in the effort to diminish the devastating results from methane contamination.

Colorado is proving to be the hotspot for fracking reform. How Hickenlooper moves forward with fracking issues will go a long way in determining how other states move forward with their

This is such a hot topic of debate that an outside organization like Colorado Move To Amend has come out in support of the antifracking movement. Steve Justino, co-chair of the organization, has said “they will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the voters in this fight.” After all, this is a public health issue that affects all of us.

The Denver Post Editorial Board (which operates independently of the paper’s news coverage) recently stated how “disappointed” it was that those Colorado communities approved anti-fracking measures, claiming that these communities are assisting in an “irresponsible agenda.” One of these editorial board members spearheads the newspaper’s “Colorado Voices” feature. The recent election results should be pretty obvious as to what those voices are saying.

A statewide ballot measure is in the works for Colorado in 2014.

Voters are eyeballing a bigger goal, and more restrictive landuse regulations could be in order for the oil and gas industry.

Hickenlooper is undoubtedly gearing up for the lawsuits he will likely file to prevent individual jurisdictions from enacting fracking bans, but the voters have spoken once, and they shall speak again.

thcmag.com 39

You Want In? The Give and Toke of Marijuana Business Costs

by DJ Reetz

It takes money - and more money - to own a Colorado marijuana business.

Running any business can be costly. Material costs, licensing, leasing locations, employees, and advertising can make the price of entering any business prohibitively exorbitant. But for marijuana sellers, the costs can tilt even more toward the outrageous, placing a financial bar so high that some can never hope to break into the industry.

It begins with the initial cost of creating a grow.

For this, growers need space, lights, growing medium, nutrients, and the actual plants.

“The cost of doing business on the grow side is pretty enormous,” says Mitch Woolhiser, owner of Northern Lights Dispensary in Edgewater.

“You can locate the space, you can rent the space, but you always have to finish it,” says Woolhiser.

“You can’t just walk into a grow that’s already functioning, you almost always have to provide all the power and do all the upgrades to the building itself.”

Woolhiser estimates the total based on $20 per square foot, accounting for inspection fees. For a 5,000-square-foot grow, that comes to $100,000 in set-up costs, before any product can be produced or income can be generated.

Acquiring plants adds another layer of expense to the process. Growers either need to acquire clones of existing plants or sprout their own from seeds.

Seeds can run upwards of $100 for a pack of 10, and there is no guarantee they’ll yield female plants capable of producing smokable flowers. Roughly 50 to 60 percent of seeds that germinate are likely to yield females, and male plants must be culled before they can pollinate females, thereby preventing seeds from appearing in the flowers.

in from outside the country.

After set up costs, growers pay for rent and power. Onethousand-watt lights are required to flower the high-quality marijuana consumers are accustomed to, and a grow as large as Northern Lights’ needs 64. At current electric rates these lights can cost around $1.50 a day per light for the 12hour cycle needed to flower the plants. That’s around $3,000 a month just in electric bills.

Water costs also factor in. Some grows utilize a reverse osmosis filter, a process that removes not just contaminates but also ions from water and is commonly used in desalination.

This process requires not only additional energy but roughly two-thirds of the intake water is released as waste. To avoid this, some grows have switched to simpler filtration methods such as carbon filters that produce less waste and require less or no electricity.

Once the grow is established and plants are sprouting, a producer is unlikely to see marketable product for 60 days. This means that a grower must figure out a way to eat this cost until product is ready for distribution. All accounted for, Woolhiser estimates the cost of entry into the industry at upwards of $250,000 to get a functional, legal dispensary into operation.

Capital investments aside, Woolhiser still says his largest expense is labor. A team of competent growers, trimmers, and budtenders needs to be paid a fair wage. The industry demands a certain level of competence, and employees have to be certified with the state. Key employee certification costs $250, while support certification runs $75. Many dispensaries will place the cost of this on the employees.

The quasi-legal seed market is another problem, says Woolhiser. “Just acquiring the genetics is a mystery to me, at least legally,” he says. “There’s nowhere I can buy seeds, that I’m aware of at least, that I can go down and say, ‘Give me a 10 pack of these.’ Most of them have to come from your friend or whatever.”

There are also expenses in licensing a medical marijuana dispensary. The Colorado Department of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division lists the cost of a license at $7,500 for a type 1 center with up to 300 patients, $12,500 for a type 2 center with up to 500 patients, and $18,000 for a type 3 center with more than 500 registered patients. The size of the allowable grow depends on the number of patients registered to each dispensary.

Most seeds come from foreign countries such as Holland or Canada. Even when seeds are produced by and for the local legal market, growers occasionally find themselves exposed to the extra cost and potential prosecution of shipping seeds

Centers converting from medical to recreational facilities will spend an additional $3,750 for a type 1 center, $8,750 for a type 2, and $14,000 for a type 3. In addition to this there are municipal fees that vary by location. The city of Denver

40 December 2013

charges a $2,000 fee for applications and a $3,000 licensing fee for medical centers. Recreational centers (which must have medical certification) can expect to add $250 and $5,000 for these fees respectively.

For concentrate manufacturers, the costs can get more outrageous. “We’re pretty lucky to have gotten in when we did,” says Brett Mouser, owner of Mahatma Extreme Concentrates.

As compliance minimums increase, so too has entry costs into the concentrate business, says Mouser. No longer can concentrate manufacturers use crude systems in their garage, he says, they now have to use lab-grade equipment and follow strict environmental regulations regarding the use of solvents such as butane.

“Trying to get compliant has driven the cost up to a crazy, crazy amount,” says Mouser.

While state licensing fees for a concentrate manufacturer is different from a retail grow - $2,750 for a non-retail grow and another $2,750 for infused products - the cost of machinery can be much higher.

Concentrate manufacturers can expect to pay in the tens of thousands of dollars for an extraction system. In order to stay compliant, hash makers need to have a “closed loop” system that recycles solvents rather than the “open blasting” of days past.

“The cost is pretty astronomical, it doesn’t go away,” says Mouser. “I think the doors have closed to get into that type of venture at so little cost like we did back in the day.”

machines. Scarpello estimates the cost of his set-up at $85,000.

When it is all added up, Scarpello estimates his buy-in to the industry at $250,000, a cost that is especially chilling in the current banking climate. Most banks still refuse to do business with marijuana businesses, whether in the form of a start-up loan or a loan to increase business equity.

“My [profit-to-loss ratio] here is a good [ratio]” says Scarpello.

“I should be able to take it to a bank and get a loan, but nooo, they won’t let you.”

Exactly how do high costs for marijuana businesses manifest for consumers?

Are prices too high? Are they too low? What are typical costs, seed-to-sale, for concentrates, flower, and edibles?

THC Magazine will address those questions in the future.

For now, state and local governments are showing enthusiasm for the revenue from high taxes on recreational marijuana. This culminates in higher prices for consumers and perhaps a prohibitive cost for entrepreneurs starting in the industry.

For those trying to make their way in the ever-changing marijuana industry, the motive of profit may need to take a back burner to social aspects.

“Is it expensive to operate in this industry? Sure,” says Mouser. “But you gotta have the love and the passion.”

Edible manufacturers face further costs. Rick Scarpello, the owner of Medically Correct, knows this all too well.

After a lengthy career in the food manufacturing game and founding Udi’s, a high-end bakery catering to the gluten-free crowd, Scarpello is no stranger to the slim profits associated with food service, an industry in which typical profit margins run five to 15 percent. “Our profit margin is pretty slim,” he says.

State licenses for an edible business cost about the same as for a concentrate manufacturer, requiring the non-retail grow and an infused products manufacturer license. But staying compliant can cost quite a bit.

Edible manufacturers are held to the same health regulations as all other food producers, but with the added scrutiny of marijuana regulations.

A company like Medically Correct requires a team of legal consultants, accountants, and a compliance director to make sure it operates within current regulations. “All together I’m probably spending 30 to 40 grand a year on staying compliant,” Scarpello says.

Equipment costs are higher in edibles as well. In addition to the cost of a kitchen, manufacturers need to have their own grows or purchase trim from others, a cost which Scarpello says may be too high.

Many edible manufacturers buy their own extraction

thcmag.com 41

Don’t Cell Yourself Lessons from a Prisoner of Prohibition

by Melvin Bey

War on Drugs. Mandatory minimum sentences. Profit motives of private prisons. These are things I know about.

poems, and articles of revolutionary minds from all across the globe.

I was a Prisoner of Prohibition.

I prefer my future more than my past.

I’m 31, a father, and a struggling family man in Denver. I was locked up for eight years in two Colorado prisons, one private, the other public, and for another eight months in county jail.

My cellmate is sound asleep, snoring. I wonder how he can rest knowing that all he has to look forward to is lukewarm eggs and maybe stale toast for breakfast.

I was incarcerated for dealing drugs, including marijuana.

Before I tell you how great it is to see marijuana rights - and the potential this movement has to improve our society - let me tell you about something else.

For the rest of his life.

Let’s start with a typical morning in prison. I usually woke up early. Sleep is elusive behind bars.

On this day, I think it’s five in the morning, that witching hour between not enough sleep and breakfast. My thoughts wander, my muscles and bones ache from the hard bunk.

Pain is constant. It’s cold.

I glance around at four white cement walls from the top bunk.

I like it up here; it separates me from my environment. To my right on the wall is a slab of cork-board where we are allowed to hang pictures.

Most people have photos of family and friends. Images that remind us of all that we have lost. Mine is covered in pictures,

42 December 2013

But what if this is all you have for the rest of your days? I would grab onto whatever I could. But his wall is blank, even though he receives mail and pictures daily.

In this way, my cellmate is already dead. Sometimes surrender brings more peace and satisfaction than struggle. Surrender is not for me.

Everything in this prison is fake - fake smiles, fake respect, fake rehabilitation. You live in fear because you quickly learn that anyone here can kill you.

The guards herd us around like cattle. Most of them treat us like sub-human scum. We have no rights here. Nothing in this day-to-day existence helps a prisoner to aspire to a better life.

You’d be surprised how debilitating this experience is, to be locked up for selling drugs that other people want to buy.

For a lot of young minorities from tough neighborhoods, petty crime seems like our only way to a better life. We are brought up to want all those things that money can buy, and then harshly punished when we take shortcuts to acquire them.

prisons and detention centers. Keeping the system full of offenders helps to maximize profits.

Yes, I dealt illegal drugs. For that, I lived years in fear for my life, in and out of prison. I have fought hard with my will and my hands to preserve my physical, mental and spiritual well being.

These tyrants rely on the ignorance of the American people.

Ignorance allows police officers, district attorneys, judges, public defenders, and correctional barons to stomp on our rights.

What hurts the most is that when you’re locked up, your family suffers with you. Mothers and wives weep for their sons and husbands. Fathers and uncles are ashamed. You are always reminded how you hurt the ones you love.

This process is called railroading. It does exist.

It was no different for my family. My upbringing wasn’t all that different from other men I’ve been locked up with. I never knew my natural father. His place was taken by an abusive stepfather, who beat me since the age of six.

My uncles and cousins tried to teach me how to be a man, but those positive influences ended when, at 15, I left my mom’s home and lived on the streets. And I got in trouble.

I gained my freedom one year ago, but I know that my struggle has just begun. I am the Key Chief for Maximal Development, a Colorado non-profit organization that works to fight recidivism. I stood alongside Padres Unidos in advocating for student rights in our public schools. I work with an organization called VORP. The Victim Offender Reconciliation Program assists juvenile offenders in making amends for themselves, their families, and our society.

I am a first-year marketing major and I am expecting my first child in April. I’m doing my best, but prison life doesn’t prepare you to be a better citizen. It does the opposite.

If you have not experienced the criminal justice system, you cannot know how dehumanizing it is. Prison life creates not only a psychology of fear, but submission and dependence.

And before you think that only serious offenders of the law go to prison, I’d recommend you think twice. It could be you.

That’s because the strategy of the prison-industrial complex is threefold.

First, to create opportunities for citizens to offend. Prisons need prisoners or they would go out of business.

Second, to convict those offenders, even if they pose no threat to the public, and sentence them to as many years as possible.

Third, ensure that as many prisoners as possible are not helped, not rehabilitated, so they continue as lawbreakers.

This may come as a surprise, but the criminal justice system is not interested in justice. It’s big business.

Local, state and federal law enforcement officials have financial incentives to further their careers at the expense of our freedom, and by seizing property and other assets.

Along with judges and district attorneys, they have an unspoken obligation to incarcerate as many people as possible. That’s good for those who hold stock in private

They won’t admit it, but it’s true.

It all begins with the police, who will trump up charges, or at the very least, exaggerate them. Even a misdemeanor offense can be escalated to a felony under the slightest of circumstances.

After detention by the police, your next stop is your local county jail. The people who run these jails knowingly make

If you have not experienced the criminal justice system, you cannot know how dehumanizing it is. Prison life creates not only a psychology of fear, but submission and dependence. conditions so unbearable that you will take a plea just to get out of there.

It’s always cold. They will house you with people they know won’t like you. They keep you locked down in a cell for 18 hours a day, and limit your access to legal resources and the outside world.

You will be given a starvation diet, fed the minimum number of calories, just enough to keep a man alive.

All of these things limit your ability to think and to function on basic human levels. They limit your ability to mount a proper defense, if like so many of us, you are also poor.

After your arrest, the police pass your charges on to the district attorney. The DA will then tack on a few more charges to be in the best position to bargain for your life.

Here’s an example: You get caught with more than an ounce of marijuana. A single felony offense. The DA will charge you with felony possession, distribution, trafficking, and please don’t have a pipe or that’s another crime. Only one of these charges is truly legitimate.

However, the DA will offer you a “deal” to dismiss one or two of the charges if you agree to the one that carries the most time. In exchange you will forfeit your right to trial.

I hope you get the idea. The DA, the public defender’s office, and the police department work together to support the prison-industrial complex. The DA is paid to get convictions, whether through trials or by making plea deals. DAs are not

thcmag.com 43

paid to pursue justice. If you can’t afford an attorney, you’re screwed.

A public defender is paid to make deals, not to provide a defense. So he or she will advise you to do whatever the DA says. This is termed adequate defense.

And so you lose.

Most of us are brought up to believe that the department of corrections in any state is not only about punishment, but also rehabilitation. That means helping us to understand and correct our behavior so we become productive citizens.

But that doesn’t serve the interests of the prison-industrial complex. Remember, it needs prisoners. To teach individuals inside the system how to become a functioning part of society

With the incredible healing properties of marijuana, this new civil rights movement can improve the lives of countless people. would be counterproductive.

So everything about your life in prison is calculated to remind you what a lowlife, worthless person you are.

even in your own home!

Hey Mr. Hancock, the voters have spoken. In 2012, Amendment 64 was passed in Colorado with 55 percent of the vote.

Colorado stands to benefit from legalization with more freedom, more tax revenue for schools, and less burden on the public prison system. And here you go, Mr. Mayor, trying to create offenders.

Some honorable public servant you are, trying to pass an ordinance that would prohibit the use of marijuana in proximity to anyone who can smell it.

Hancock’s proposed ordinance would fine violators up to $999 and result in up to a year of jail time. This is vastly disproportionate for a largely imaginary petty offense.

I give thanks that it failed, but I know Hancock will be back with more insane proposals like it. And I know that if he has his way, many more young men and women will have their lives ruined as a result.

Mark Silverstein of the ACLU states that such an ordinance would be, “tremendous overreach, ill advised, unnecessary and unconstitutional …”

It makes me wonder if Hancock owns shares in private prisons.

I have winced at watching young small-time criminals learn to chase the fantasy of becoming kingpins, only because they do not understand that there is an alternative.

In the October issue of The Hemp Connoisseur, I read that great article by DJ Reetz. He quoted a private prison’s stockholder filing, which lamented that more liberal drug laws would reduce demand for correctional facilities and hurt the company’s bottom line.

Prisoners are programmed to believe that we are not a part of society. This detachment is magnified when we reach the so-called free world.

DJ reported on Judge Mark Ciavarella, who was taking bribes for delivering “absurd” sentences of juveniles in order to fill cells with long-term residents.

Felons are second-class citizens. We are the disenfranchised minority. We cannot own firearms. We cannot vote. In most cases we cannot join the military.

It is statistically sound to presume that juvenile offenders will offend again as young adults, if incarcerated early on. It’s an effective way to breed a cash crop of career criminals.

Getting a job is a challenge, not to mention starting a career.

Good luck finding a decent place to live or receiving any sort of loan. Even some schools will not accept you despite your talent.

We are talking about freedom, the ongoing struggle of millions of Americans throughout our history. Private prisons trade in human bodies. Slavery.

It is no wonder to me that so many felons relapse. Hey, it’s just prison business baby! And business is booming.

I hope that I have conveyed to you that this problem reaches far beyond whether or not we have the right to possess and smoke marijuana.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that law enforcement in this country is not geared toward suppressing minorities, whether racial, political, or economic minorities.

It has to do with our future as Americans. We risk sacrificing more of our basic human rights if we don’t stand up to those who would criminalize non-violent behavior.

But I also have hope.

I believe that today’s marijuana movement is a historic chance to improve our lives and engage a new generation that is disillusioned with what our society has become.

I think most good people want to repeal drug laws and mandatory minimum sentences. Some officials in Colorado are attempting to reform the department of corrections, including policy on early parole.

That’s why I was enraged to learn that Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver is trying to re-criminalize marijuana use -

44 December 2013

We will no longer believe, as Mayor Hancock would like us to believe, that our votes do not count. We will no longer believe, as the private prison system would like us to believe, that our lives do not count - except on the revenue side of balance sheets.

With the incredible healing properties of marijuana, this new civil rights movement can improve the lives of countless people. As Dr. Robert Melamede told The Hemp Connoisseur earlier this year, that’s a fight for our very souls.

Individuals who stand for what they believe in will win elections and more freedom. People will see that marijuana improves people’s lives.

It’s time to stop using this wonderful plant to prop up a disastrous War on Drugs. It’s time for sanity and true justice.

I see an opportunity to involve and unite many disenfranchised people, here in Denver, across Colorado, and throughout America.

Marijuana legalization can do that.

When that day comes, I hope to forget the despair, the anger, the injustice of living for years behind bars.

Does The Punishment Fit The Crime?

By Rick Macey

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Rape a child or kill someone, and odds are you’ll do less time in prison than Weldon Angelos for selling marijuana.

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A father and aspiring music producer, he’s serving 55 years without parole for providing small amounts of marijuana to a police informant on three occasions. He got $350 from the drug buys.

His story is probably the most egregious example of Drug War injustice so far this century.

Utah, where the offenses occurred, would have seen Angelos serve five to seven years. But he was tried in federal court, where mandatory minimums come into play. Because the feds found a gun in a briefcase and two guns in a locked safe during a search of his home, a first-time offender was sentenced to a life behind bars.

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His sister, Lisa, recently started a petition drive on change. org, asking President Barack Obama to commute Weldon’s sentence.

She almost rescheduled her wedding when her brother was sentenced in 2004, on the premise that he could make it next time.

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Not unless she was going to marry as a senior citizen.

As he imposed the sentence, conservative federal judge Paul Cassel called it “unjust, cruel, even irrational.” In what could be a first for a federal judge, he called for clemency during sentencing, asking the man who appointed him to the bench, President George W. Bush, to commute the harsh penalty.

2013 THC CHAMPIONSHIP 2013 THC CHAMPIONSHIP

Bush remained mute.

Now Obama has the opportunity to see that injustice is undone.

Among those who have weighed in on Angelos’ behalf: Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash, former FBI director William Sessions, and more than 30 others, including former judges, governors, and members of Congress.

Let common sense prevail, Mr. President. Free this nonviolent, first-time marijuana offender.

thcmag.com 45

Cannabis Miracle?

Cancer is Breast Not Left Alone

by Regina Nelson

two weeks after I had started a cannabis oil treatment high in cannabidiol (CBD) - RSO or Rick Simpson Oil. I thought perhaps as my body’s endocannabinoid system was improving, my body was fighting off “bad things.” I can’t quite explain it but it felt that way.

I did not follow the RSO protocol of 60 grams over 90 days that seems to be fairly common knowledge in the cannabis community and recommended by the Rick Simpson folks.

Several years ago, I had breast reconstruction surgery for a number of health reasons and it included silicone implants.

It has kept me abreast of my breast health (sorry, I had to insert that one) because it drove home the importance of good breast health, leading me to annual mammograms and regular self-checks.

In the past three years much in my life has changed. One of the most important things is that I’ve gotten involved in the cannabis community as a patient, an advocate, and a researcher. However, I am in the position of starving college student (just hours from PhD candidacy) and non-profit leadership (still struggling to pay the bills). So I find myself without health insurance. I’ve been without it for some time.

“Obamacare” would be welcome. I wait on a lottery type list for Medicaid in Colorado. As a single adult without dependents (my children are all adults and I’m a grandma now) my health needs, like those of many others, are not important to my nation.

About seven months ago I found a small lump in my left breast. At first I wasn’t sure if the implant had ruptured. The lump was soft, but it began to harden as time went on.

I had no options for a mammogram. The only “free” ones offered in Southern California, where I was temporarily living with my youngest daughter, required that I be at least 50 years old to qualify for the health assistance. I am 49.

Then about four months ago, I noticed a small hard lump in my right breast, almost under my arm. I was concerned. I spent a lot of time convincing myself all was well, that there was nothing to worry about.

The truth is I had a theory.

I noticed the soft lump in my left breast in January about

46 December 2013

Why? Well, at first, I had no access to it. When I found it in a California dispensary at $60 for 3.5 grams, I was elated.

That was far less expensive than I expected. I’ve seen $80 per gram at a New Mexico dispensary. So I spent what I could and left with 7 grams. That’s the last RSO I saw in a dispensary for more than nine months. I had no access through friends or contacts I have within the cannabis industry. It’s difficult to get, but critical for patients.

Using a dose of this high CBD oil the size of a grain of rice every evening for 90 days did a number of good things for me.

First, it stopped the painful bladder spasms I suffered with for more than two years. Medical tests that were excruciatingly painful had revealed no abnormalities in my bladder.

Several physicians assured me this was common among women my age and suggested I take one of three prescriptions to control the pain and spasms. Each of these prescriptions would exacerbate my digestive issues and anemia. Doctors assured me that I’d need to take the recommended pharmaceuticals for up to six months before I’d know if they worked. And, by the way, I would probably lose a big patch of my hair. No thanks!

I saw no need to take pharmaceuticals that have adverse effects if I could continue managing my symptoms with cannabis. Vaporizing, dabbing, and edibles all helped control the bladder spasms, but the RSO stopped the spasms after only three weeks. I haven’t had a cramp or spasm in months.

Second, I began to sleep again. Chronic illness often leads to insomnia, or perhaps insomnia leads to chronic illness. I don’t know, but they go hand in hand. It felt so good to sleep again. A four-hour night, then a six-hour night, and within three months I was regularly sleeping seven to eight hours a night. A miracle!

Though I was still struggling with nausea, vomiting (again unexplained by doctors except it “might” be related to past prescription use), and weight loss, I began to feel better. I gained energy, and I was moving toward improved health.

However, the lumps in my breasts grew and hardened, constantly reminding me of my healthcare crisis. In fact, over the months my left breast became a bit misshapen and seemed to bulge.

the one on the left felt like jelly under the skin. The one on the right, well, the weird thing was I couldn’t find it! I identified the area I knew it to be in and the nurse placed a sticker in the approximate area. Then we began.

I asked a friend, a nurse, to check the lump. She seemed fairly confident the implant had not ruptured, but was concerned about the lump. I mentioned I also had one in my right breast. She checked it. She was freaked out. Without health insurance, there wasn’t much to be done about it.

Good news, the implants look great, no ruptures. The better news - neither the technician nor the doctor could find any sign of a lump or mass in either breast! The small soft bulge that remains on the left breast is caused by weight loss - the doctor suggested I eat a box of Krispy Kremes - and a small wrinkle in the implant.

In a couple of ways I am blessed by genetics. First, breast cancer does not run in my family. Given that I also breastfed my children, my statistical chances of breast cancer are

Using a dose of this high CBD oil the size of a grain of rice every evening for 90 days did a number of good things for me. reasonably low. Second, I am fortunate that in my lineage runs Cherokee blood because Indian Health Services has become my only option for healthcare.

Truly, it still seems unbelievable. I think I am still in shock.

When I walked out of the office, Mark joined me in the waiting room. As we exited together, he looked at me expectantly. I explained what the doctor didn’t find. He was also shocked.

He had felt those lumps many times and had been tracking them pretty closely. He is certain that just a week ago the one in the right breast was there, small but hard, about the size of a garbanzo bean.

He asked several times, “Are you sure?” I saw the ultrasounds myself. In fact, I have a followup in three months, just in case, because the doctor was a bit surprised as well.

CBD is not toxic, it’s only mildly psychoactive, and well, it gets results. And those who know they have cancer or a family history of cancer, why not give it a try?

Given my circumstances, I just relocated to Denver into the heart of Colorado. Luckily, Denver has an IHS office! Not only that, but I scheduled an intake appointment within a week.

The nurse practitioner was thorough and went out of her way to schedule a mammogram, getting the Imaging Center to waive the age 50 rule, since I am only three months from that magic date anyway. May she be blessed.

She was concerned about the right lump, much more so than the lump in my left breast that had begun to soften again. Noting the right lump was about 2 centimeters, she scheduled a mammogram.

Two days before this first visit to IHS, I began a high CBD treatment program offered by River Rock Wellness in Denver.

River Rock offers a number of dosing options from its Sour Tsunami and other high CBD strains. My sleep improved and my energy increased. My mammogram was scheduled for day 16 of the treatment program, exactly 13 days after I saw the nurse practitioner.

My hope as I walked into the Imaging Center was that the tumor on my left breast really was just a shrinking fatty tumor that would continue to fade away. But I was so worried about the lump on the right side, I hadn’t checked it since my first exam. I just tried to shove it out of my mind until I could know something, and today I’d know.

When the nurse asked me to identify where the lumps were,

thcmag.com 47

The Higher You Fly

Is Marijuana the Fastest Growing Industry in America?

by Rick Macey The cannabis market is growing so fast, it will outpace the expansion of worldwide smartphone sales in 2014.

That’s the eye-catching premise of the “State of Legal Marijuana Markets,” a second-edition report recently released by ArcView Market Research. It estimates wholesale and retail marijuana sales at $1.4 billion for 2013.

The report projects sales in 2014 to grow to $2.34 billion, an increase of 64 percent. At this rate, U.S. cannabis sales will eclipse the worldwide growth of smartphone sales in 2013, which expanded at 46 percent.

The report predicts that 14 more states will legalize adult use and two more states will legalize medical marijuana over the next five years. Combined with the 19 states and Washington, D.C., where medicinal cannabis is already legal, these new markets will create a $10.2 billion annual market potential by 2018.

ArcView Market Research conducted over 400 surveys and interviews of cannabis retailers, cultivators, processors, and industry leaders.

Adult-use marijuana sales in Colorado will add $359 million to the existing medical marijuana market of $260 million. The resulting $619 million market in 2014 puts Colorado second only to California in total cannabis sales.

Other findings of the report include:  California is still the largest legal cannabis market in the country at $980 million.

48 December October 2013 2013

 More than 590,000 consumers will purchase cannabis legally from a retail storefront in 2013.  Arizona is poised to be the fastest growing market. It will expand from $22 million in 2013 to $134 million in 2014.  Massachusetts will be the largest new market opening in 2014 with $55 million in projected sales.  The transition from the medical market to an adult-use market in Washington will result in a combined $271 million market in 2014  New Jersey, Maine, Delaware and the District of Columbia markets struggle under restrictive patient access and slow regulatory processes.  There is increasing investment activities in retail dispensaries, cultivation businesses and ancillary businesses such as security services, point of sale software, and grow lights.

“The Legal Marijuana Markets report shows cannabis is one of the fastest growing industries,” said Steve Berg, former Managing Director of Wells Fargo Bank and Editor of the report. “Entrepreneurs and private investors are flocking to these markets.”

Another insider report released earlier this year by Medical Marijuana Business Daily estimates sales will grow even faster, and that the market is already a bit larger than ArcView Market Research’s projections.

“The Marijuana Business Factbook” estimates that medicinal and adult-use retail sales in 2014 will be $2.5 billion to $3 billion. This projection does not account for wholesale.

A Saving Grace

Mormom Moms Fight for Cannabis for Their Kids

by Erin Hiatt

Jennifer May is a Mormon mom, a conservative Republican living in Utah. Giving marijuana to her child is the last thing in the world she ever thought she’d want to do.

So he was initially wary when approached by May and her group, Hope 4 Children With Epilepsy, which is led by May and three other Mormon moms.

After all, Mormons shun coffee, alcohol, cigarettes - in fact, all drugs if possible, but especially illicit ones.

But after reading the research on the “Charlotte’s Web” strain, he became convinced its young users could benefit and would not get high. He saw an opportunity to bring medicinal cannabis oil to Utah, but through the back door.

But May is determined to find relief for her son, who suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of severe epilepsy characterized by seizures that can’t be controlled with pharmaceutical drugs.

She tried conventional medicine. She tried special diets.

She’s finished with trying. She wants to change the game.

“If anyone can do it, it’s a conservative Mormon mom from Utah,” she said.

May was not impressed when she first heard about Charlotte Figi, a 6-year-old Colorado girl who, like her son, also suffers from Dravet’s. She thought that giving medical marijuana to a child was “crazy.”

But she saw how her son was withering, not least because pharmaceuticals given to children with Dravet’s Syndrome have horrible side effects. The drugs stymie and often reverse a child’s development, interfering with walking, talking, and even eating.

Charlotte responded almost miraculously when she was treated with low THC/high CBD cannabis oil developed by the Stanley brothers at the Realm of Caring in Colorado Springs. Her story was featured on CNN’s documentary “Weed,” in which Sanjay Gupta changed his mind about medicinal cannabis.

Charlotte’s seizures, which had numbered up to 300 per week, were reduced to one or two after treatment with the oil. She started to eat, then walk, then dance and sing. The Stanley brothers decided to name the strain after her and called it “Charlotte’s Web.” Inspired by the story of Charlotte, May briefly considered moving to Colorado so she could get her son a medical marijuana red card. She decided to stay in Utah, saying that it “wouldn’t do anyone else any good if we just left and didn’t fight to get this here.”

An unlikely political ally of May’s is Gage Froerer, a Utah representative and staunch Republican opposed to legalization. He says without hesitation that even medical marijuana will never be legal in Utah.

“What makes the most sense is to change the statute in conformity, which is basically allow the import of cannabisbased products that are three percent or less in THC, like hemp hand lotion in your friendly Wal-Mart,” Froerer says.

Introducing any legislation in Utah with the word “marijuana” attached to it is a sure failure, so Froerer and May’s group of Mormon moms changed the name of the oil to Alepsia, meaning “with seizure.”

They want to be clear: Alepsia may be cannabis, but it “carries virtually no psychoactive properties.” Ingested orally, it simply cannot get anyone stoned - not even a child.

May has also kept her distance from medical marijuana. She said that she doesn’t believe “any [marijuana] legalization program in any state has been successful at this point.”

However, she credits medical marijuana in Colorado and “is grateful to the Realm of Caring” for the research and development of the oil.

Embracing the healing properties of cannabis while disdaining marijuana use is proving to be an effective tactic.

Utah’s largest daily newspapers have come out in favor of legalizing Alepsia oil. Doctors at the University of Utah have written letters for Hope 4 Children, recommending its use to the state’s Controlled Substances Advisory Board.

And Froerer thinks that getting Alepsia in Utah could be the “first bite of the elephant,” as it could put on the shelves other low THC/high CBD oils that could help those with MS, cancer, and other diseases - even though in Utah it will not be called medical marijuana.

Shakespeare said that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Utah’s conservative Mormon moms and their political and academic allies are advocating for the healing properties of cannabis without calling it medical marijuana.

Sweet!

thcmag.com 49

d Fed Raidsd

by Rick Macey

The most important story about the raids led by the Drug Enforcement Agency in Colorado is not about who could have done what to break the law.

MarQaha’s products were confiscated, but not the company’s equipment. McDowell declined to comment on the commercial value of the seized product.

After all, there are more than 600 marijuana-related businesses in the state and fewer than 3 percent were targets of the feds in late November.

“We don’t have answers, but we are picking up the pieces and we’re going to move forward,” he said.

Department of Justice spokesman Jeff Dorschner said that targeted businesses may be in violation of federal prosecution priorities outlined in a DOJ memo two months ago.

That may be true, although no arrests were initially made.

The big story is two-fold.

First, the fear factor for Colorado’s legal marijuana business community is almost off the scale. That’s almost certainly one of the intended consequences of the raids.

Second, Colorado has seen an immense outpouring of support for business people unjustly caught up in the raids.

That’s almost certainly an unintended consequence.

McDowell was driving the marQaha delivery van on the day of the raids. People came out of their doors and stopped their cars to express support.

“We have not broken any state laws,” McDowell said.

He had no idea that anything illegal was potentially happening at the VIP facility.

“We’re a small team at MarQaha, the same people pretty much for more than three years. We keep to ourselves about how we do business. Did I know anything about these raids? No inkling,” he said.

McDowell said it’s now a waiting game to see what else it could mean to his business. “I don’t know that answer. No one’s been charged with anything yet.”

Will his business and the marQaha brand suffer from this?

Tim McDowell is owner of marQaha, one of the state’s premier edibles companies. He is known as a play-by-therules executive whose input on a number of issues, including adult use, has helped shape state regulations.

Karin Lazarus is owner of sweet mary jane, another elite edibles business. Her Boulder operation is widely regarded as one of the up-and-coming marijuana companies.

Both of these business leaders have impeccable reputations, and both had the misfortune of sharing space in facilities targeted by the feds.

McDowell had a kitchen and product inventory at VIP’s warehouse at 48th and Brighton in Denver. He lost all of his products to seizure, although his equipment was unharmed.

Lazarus had space in the same building as Laszlo Bagi in Boulder. The door to her kitchen was broken down. Her security video shows agents looking around, including one who investigated the contents of her refrigerator.

While VIP and Bagi were targets, McDowell and Lazarus were not. They agreed to discuss what they experienced, what they knew, and what they didn’t know, about the federal raids.

McDowell has nearly four years in Colorado’s marijuana industry. A chef by trade, he turned his love of cannabis into his livelihood.

He learned of the raid Thursday morning when an employee phoned him. She arrived for work at the 48th and Brighton facility while it was being raided.

“I know that the marQaha brand, none of its founders, nor any of its employees - none of us - were named in any of the search warrants. Whether we’re guilty by association for being on that property, that is one of the answers we don’t have yet,” McDowell said.

50 December 2013

“You know, time will tell. People know us, they know our small crew. We’ve always operated with integrity and I think the industry recognizes that. There are lots of unanswered questions … I would just reiterate that none of us at marQaha are named in any of the search warrants,” said McDowell.

Barbra Roach, special agent in charge of DEA’s Denver office, could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division declined to comment.

In Boulder, none of Lazarus’ products were seized. And besides the busted door, no damage was done to her kitchen.

“There was no warrant for raiding our kitchen,” she said.

“We’ve done nothing wrong here. This was all a huge surprise to us. Our video shows [agents] carrying machine guns going through our kitchen.”

Lazarus said that she was floored at the number of people who contacted her and her employees with messages of support.

“I couldn’t believe that so many people reached out to us,” she said. “People called from everywhere. It was so amazing.”

It was enough, she said, that the agents “smashed things to bits” as they gained access to her facility. And that’s why she voiced a longer term concern - that the raids could significantly raise the cost of doing business.

“I’d like to know - Who will rent facilities to those of us in the marijuana industry?” she asked. And how much more will they have to pay?

Just a couple of many unanswered questions left in the wake of the federal raids in Colorado.

thcmag.com 51

A Taxing Situation

by Rick Macey

Colorado’s Proposition AA, a 25 percent tax on adult use marijuana, was approved by a wide margin on Nov. 5. Two out of every three voters supported the measure, which includes a 15 percent excise tax and a 10 percent sales tax.

Instead of adopting a tax rate, the town of Eagle opted for a $5 surcharge on every adult use sales transaction. How does this compare to a percentage-based rate? Only time - and the volume of transactions - will tell.

Prop AA will provide at least $40 million for the state’s public schools from the excise tax. The sales tax will help fund Colorado’s new Marijuana Enforcement Division, which regulates production and sales of adult use cannabis. The combined tax is expected to generate approximately $70 million in revenue.

Colorado’s local adult use taxes are as follows:

Voters in 12 Colorado municipalities also approved local taxes for adult use marijuana. These levies range from 3 to 5 percent.

Not one marijuana tax measure was rejected across the state.

Some of the local measures included provisions for raising taxes in the future.

For instance, Boulder voters approved a 3.5 percent levy, but the ballot measure stipulated that a tax of up to 10 percent can be enacted at the city’s discretion. Boulder has delayed implementation of adult use sales, so it begs the question whether a higher tax will be put into place before the city approves retail marijuana.

Denver voters also approved a future tax limit of 15 percent, which if enacted, would make the city’s purchasers of legal cannabis among the highest taxed consumers in Colorado.

52 December 2013

Initial Tax Rate Top Tax Rate City/County Boulder 3.5% 10% Breckenridge 5% N/A Carbondale 5% N/A Denver 3.5% 15% Eagle $5 for each sale N/A Fraser 5% N/A Frisco 5% N/A Littleton 3% N/A Manitou Springs 5% 10% Pueblo County 3.5% N/A Red Cliff 5% 15% Silverthorne 5% N/A If it’s any consolation to Colorado purchasers of adult use marijuana products, Washington’s legal taxes are much higher.

An excise tax of 25 percent for each transaction - from cultivation to sales - is written into I-502, the state’s legalization initiative.

Cannabis users in Washington will probably pay twice as much for legal marijuana than Colorado consumers.

Visions Through the Hayes

Ahhh the holidays. This time of year shouldn’t only be about the shopping and the gifts, it should be a time to look inward and reflect on life. So go ahead, light a fire, grab a mug of something delicious and sit down and reflect on life. As you sit there, think to yourself, have I been living life to its fullest?

Have I been treating my body in a way that it thanks me? Have I been true to my friends, family and most importantly, myself?

Grab a notebook and start plotting on how to spring into 2014 as a mentally and physically healthier person.

Now, I hesitate to call this plotting “making resolutions” because let’s face it, New Year’s resolutions seem to be a joke to many, however, this year I say we should make a New Year’s resolution to keep these promises to ourselves. Whether it is food or mindset, eating well and thinking positive are two of the best tools you can use to help navigate this crazy life.

Think about it, when you eat better, don’t you feel better?

When you start your day with a homemade juice instead of a cinnamon roll, chances are you are better equipped for the

rest of the day. Start your day with a nutritious breakfast and a smile and you will crush it all day long! Let’s take this one step further. When you reach out to a family member or a friend whom you haven’t spoken to in awhile, say your 85-year-old grandmother, don’t you feel good afterwards? Finally, when you say you are going to do something and you actually do it, don’t you feel good about yourself?

Let’s make 2014 the ‘feel good’ year. Start by incorporating more hemp into your diet, being more connected to loved ones and anything else that you think will make you inwardly happy because let’s face it, that’s what it’s all about.

Really try to enjoy yourself this holiday season. Sit down and have a conversation with your family. (Spark a doob if possible!) Have one of those peaceful, relaxing kind of holidays that makes you appreciate life all over again.

Wishing you a very Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year,Caroline M. Hayes

thcmag.com 53

Redcard Expired? Why You Should Renew

We have heard some rumors going around that some existing medical marijuana patients are not renewing their red cards. Here are just a few reasons why qualifying patients should continue to have a medical marijuana card.

1. Medical marijuana patients are subject to a much lower tax rate for cannabis products. a. Denver sales tax rate-7.62% b. Boulder sales tax rate - 8.21% c. Colorado Springs sales tax rate- 7.63% d.

2. As a MMJ patient you can still possess 2 ounces of marijuana, adult use only allows for posses sion of one ounce.

3. With a red card you will have continued access to higher milligram edibles, adult use limits edibles to 100mg per serving.

4. Continue to support an industry that has fought for the right to use cannabis as a medicine and as a safer alternative to alcohol.

54 December 2013

Vaporization, meet sophistication.

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DISPENSARY GUIDE

by DJ Reetz

DENVER

60 The Clinic 57 The Hemp Center 57 Mind, Body, Spirit Wellness Clinic 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock 62 Southwest Alternative Care

Colorado Springs 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles

56 December 2013

*

SCAN THE QR CODES AT THE TOP OF THE PAGES FOR MORE INFO AND SPECIAL OFFERS!

www.the-hemp-center.com The Hemp Center Is The Heart Of Littleton!

Located in beautiful old town Littleton, The Hemp Center is a spacious boutique shop nestled inside a charming historic building and boasts not only the finest medical cannabis around but also a large selection of all natural hemp based health and wellness products. Our educated, friendly and professional staff is eager to educate and assist every patient by offering a relaxed and personalized experienced tailored to your individual needs. We carry fine organic flower as well as a vast array of edibles, concentrates, tinctures, salves, and more.

We offer amazing member benefits as well as daily specials all day every day for everyone! We offer a rotating stock of our top shelf house strains to entice every palate and heal whatever ails. The front of our store offers whole body holistic health solutions, specialty apparel, custom made artisan hemp accessories and original artwork available to all.

The Hemp Center is handicap accessible with two convenient locations; Main Street in Historic Downtown Littleton and Colorado Springs at 25th &CO Ave.

2430 West Main Street Littleton, CO 80120 303-993-7824 Monday-Friday 10:00am-7:00pm Saturday 11:00am-6:00pm Sunday 12:00pm-5:00pm

www.mbswellnessclinic.com Great selection of strains, edibles & concentrates in Lakewood.

MBS has knowledgeable friendly Budtenders that will help you find just what you’re looking for.

Awesome specials every week! Check out 2 OZ Tuesday: Buy two ounces of any strain for only $275 (Mix and match half ounces), or Wax Wednesday: Buy two grams of any concentrate, and receive a third gram free!

Stop in and check out our awesome selection. We have experienced professional growers that produce superior quality bud that we sell for a competitive price. A little off the beaten path located on Mississippi Ave between Sheridan & Wadsworth but we have free parking and are handicap accessible. Great weekly specials make it even better.

L I T T L E T O N

6745 West Mississippi Avenue Lakewood, CO 80226 303-934-9750 Monday-Friday 9:00am-7:00pm Saturday 9:00am-7:00pm Sunday thcmag.com 55 10:00am-6:00pm

L A K E W O O D

E D G E W A T E R

www.nlnaturalrx.com

Professional care and personal attention are in full bloom at Northern Lights Natural Rx.

2045 Sheridan Blvd.

Suite B Edgewater, CO 80214 303-274-6495 9:00am-7:00pm Daily

C O L O R A D O S P R I N G S

2nd Place CBD FLOWER

Husband-and-wife team Mitch and Eva Woolhiser use their healthcare and business acumen to provide patients a unique and comfortable experience. A true mom-and-pop dispensary with a knowledgeable and engaging staff, Northern Lights works intimately with patients to help them decide which strains and products suit their specific needs. The Woolhisers are passionate about the plant and their raw product is patiently soil-grown from hand-picked plants offering the best genetic profiles, then cured slowly to ensure that quality shines through.

Along with a robust selection of strains, Northern Lights features 10 different lines of edible products that are tested in-house to ensure potency and effectiveness. A flexible exchange policy ensures that patients are fully satisfied, making it easy to see why Northern Lights is also a favorite with people in the industry. Their convenient Edgewater location makes Northern Lights a favorite citywide.

www.rockymountainmiracles.com In the heart of Colorado Springs, Rocky Mountain Miracles prides itself on delivering all-natural MMJ products for patients all over Colorado.

2316 East Bijou Street Colorado Springs, CO 80909 719-473-9333 Monday-Saturday 11:00am-6:45pm Sunday-Monday Closed

Family is very important to owner Ali, who operates Rocky Mountain Miracles with daughters Jessica, Mandy, Shelly, and son Mike. The growers and trimmers are all family as well. You are welcomed and cared for like family too. Part of what makes RMM stand out is its quality selection of medication.

RMM offers over 80 top-shelf quality, hand trimmed strains, with new strains introduced regularly, as well as hash and caviar. It’s all about providing the right medication for your medical needs, from severe physical pain to PTSD. Also, RMM boasts a wealth of medicated edibles - from cooking ingredients to snacks, teas, coffees, and drinks, plus items for diabetics. Medicated tablets, chew-ables, tinctures, and more provide great alternatives to smoking.

But there’s more to this dispensary than the products they sell. Trained staff members happily provide consultation on marijuana questions, pain management, and offer evaluations for patients to determine how MMJ could help alleviate pain and improve quality of life. At Rocky Mountain Miracles, MMJ is provided with expert counseling while friendly service offers unparalleled relief.

Check out our coupon in the back of this issue.

thcmag.com 59

D E N V E R

www.thecliniccolorado.com The Clinic Colorado 3888 East Mexico Ave., Ste. 110 Denver, CO 80210 303-758-9114 The Clinic Highlands 3460 West 32nd Avenue Denver, CO 80211 303-997-7130 The Clinic Capitol Hill 745 East 6th Avenue Denver, CO 80203 720-536-5229 The Clinic on Wadsworth 3600 South Wadsworth Blvd.

Lakewood, CO 80235 303-484-8853 The Clinic on Colfax 4625 East Colfax Avenue Denver, CO 80220 303-333-3644 The Clinic On Jewell 12018 W Jewell Ave Lakewood, CO 80228 303-997-9171

The Clinic is an award winning medical marijuana center with six Denver metro locations!

The Clinic is Denver’s premier medical marijuana center having won over 20 awards for both it’s high quality cannabis, concentrates and charitable contributions! The Clinic’s staff is extremely knowledgeable and friendly while the atmosphere at their locations reflect the immense amount of care that they provide to their patients as well as their medicine.

The Clinic is also a long time supporter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, as it’s a cause that directly affects their patients, friends and family. As such, The Clinic has raised more than $100,000 for the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter of the National MS Society since they first opened their doors in 2009.

The Clinic has remained at the forefront of the medical marijuana movement by raising the standard for medical marijuana centers everywhere, not only through their patient driven mission but through their dedication to the community! Make sure to stop by The Clinic and see why their mantra holds true: Our Patients Live Better.

9:00am - 7:00pm Daily

Concentrates

Budder & Shatter The Clinic offers both budder and shatter, which are butane extracted concentrates, from our award winning marijuana infused products division, The Lab.

Awards

2013 High Times Cannabis Cup 1st Place Sativa - Tangie 3rd Place Sativa - Stardawg Guava 3rd Place Hybrid - Ghost OG

2012 High Times Medical Cannabis Cup

1st Place Best Sativa - Stardawg Guava 1st Place Patient’s Choice - Kosher Kush 2nd Place Best Concentrate - Strawberry Cough Nectar 3rd Place Best Hybrid - Raskal OG

Pre ‘98 Bubba Kush

High Times Cannabis Cup: Highest CBD Strain

Grape God Bud

Spring 2010 Colorado Caregiver’s Cup Winner: Patient’s Choice, Best Aroma, Most Photogenic 2011 Aspen Cannabis Crown, 2nd Place Overall

2013 The 710 Cup

2nd Place Best Sativa Shatter - Tangie 1st Place Best Sativa Shatter Terps Tangie

The Hemp Connoisseur Championship 2012

Strains Kosher Kush

2012 High Times Cannabis Cup (Denver) Patient’s Choice Winner

Stardawg Guava

2012 High Times Medical Cannabis Cup (Denver) 1st Place Best Sativa

Grape God Bud

2010 CO Caregiver’s Cup Triple Crown-win2nd Place Indica and Connoisseur’s ner and 2nd place 2011 Choice - Kosher Kush 1st Place Sativa and Patient’s Choice - Aspen Cannabis Crown, this is the hottest indica Stardawg Guava 3rd Place Hybrid and Patient’s Choice - in town.

Ghost OG 1st Place Concentrate and Connoisseur’s Choice - Earth OG Nectar

Raskal OG

One of the most visually appealing and potent OG kushes around with The Hemp Connoisseur Championship 2013 a distinct diesel fuel aro1st Place Indica, Connoisseur’s Choice ma. 2012 High Times and Best Tested - Kosher Kush Medical Cannabis Cup Patient’s Choice Hybrid - Grunk (Denver) 3rd Place Best 2nd Place Shatter and Patient’s Choice- Hybrid Tangie

LA Confidential

Winner of the 2008 Indica High Times Cannabis Cup, this DNA Genetics strain has opened new doors in the world of MMJ.

Ghost OG

THC Champions Cup 3rd Place Overall Hybrid & Patients’ Choice Hybrid. 2013 High Times US Cannabis Cup 3rd place best hybrid winner

Fall ‘97

This indica-dominant strain is a sweet tasting cross between OG Kush and Purple Urkle.

Skywalker

Edibles Beverages

CannaPunch, Dixie Elixirs, Keef Cola, Green Dragon, and MarQaha

Seeds 60 December 2013

OG

This clone only pheno of OG Kush has quickly become a patient and staff favorite.

Super Lemon Haze

Winner of the 2008 and 2009 Sativa High Times Cannabis Cup

Tangie

2013 High Times US Cannabis Cup 1st place best sativa winner

Pre ‘98 Bubba Kush

2011 High Times Denver Medical Cannabis Cup highest CBD strain winner

Platinum OG

Purp x Master Kush x OG Kush - Strong kush aroma with sweet and smooth taste.

Durban Poison

A classic landrace sativa from Africa that is mouth watering and known for it’s soaring cerebral effects.

Baked Goods/Candies

Sweet Grass Kitchen, Julie & Kate Baked Goods, Mountain High Suckers, The Growing Kitchen, Mile Hi, Incredibles, and Cheeba Chews.

Reserva Privada Colorado: The Clinic carries the full line of Reserva Privada Colorado’s Confidential Collection and Sour Series.

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www.riverrockcolorado.com Twitter: RR_Wellness, Facebook: RiveRockColorado, YouTube: RiverRockTV

RiverRock’s proprietary organic growing techniques deliver award winning medical cannabis - free of harsh chemicals - that is safer for our patients and the environment.

Artisan growing methods combined with cutting edge technology ensure the consistency, value, and potency of all RiverRock products. We oversee the production of our cannabis, edibles, concentrates, extracts, and supplements allowing us to offer more affordable prices to our patients across-the-board.

RiverRock’s professional staff is dedicated to developing effective cannabis treatments that address the particular needs of our patients. We offer daily incentives to our patients with discounts of 15%-25%, loyalty points, complimentary wellness services, weekly patient appreciation parties with monthly giveaways including glass, concert venues, restaurant deals, and merchandise. We sponsor a range of patients including; SSDI, SSI, Veterans, and patients with terminal illnesses to ensure the most affordable access to all of our medical cannabis products.

Strains

We offer our patients over 100 organically grown strains in rotation between both our centers. We provide one of the largest selections of the highest tested THC & CBD based genetics found world wide. We provide patients with only the highest quality lab tested edibles, extracts, topicals, supplements, and concentrates.

Awards Include: Jack Frost, OGiesel, OG18, Cataract Kush, Moonshine Haze, Ghost Train Haze

501 OG (RD) 707 Headband x Blueberry Abusive OG (RD) AK x NL Alaskan Ice Atomic Northern LIghts Blackberry Kush Blackwater Blue Dream Blueberry Bruce Banner #3 Bubba Kush Bulldog Haze Cataract Kush Chem Dawg #4 Cinderella Cindy Dom Death Star Facewreck (RD) Fire OG Flo Ghost Train Haze #1 (RD) Grape Stomper Grape Trainwreck Harlequin CBD

Inferno OG Jack 47 Jack Frost Jacky White Juicy Fruit Juliet #2 Larry OG Lee Roy (RD) Martian Mean Green Mob Boss Moby Dick Moonshine Haze (RD) NYC Diesel Pepe la Dank PMP Haze (RD) Purple Buddha Purple Indica Scott’s Blue (RD) Sensi Star Sour Diesel Sour Tsunami #2 CBD Tahoe OG Tangerine Haze (RD) Trinity

4935 York St. Denver, CO 80216 303-474-4136 Monday-Friday 9:00am-7:00pm Saturday-Sunday 10:00am-7:00pm

990 W. 6th Ave. Denver, CO 80204 303-825-3314

Monday-Friday 8:00am-7:00pm Saturday-Sunday 10:00am-7:00pm

Edibles, Extracts & Concentrates

Health Creations 100mg (S/H/I/OG)

Healthy Creations 200mg (S/H/I/OG) RockBudder (Compound/Shatter) Award Wining Activated CBD Oil Activated Sativa, Hybrid, Indica, and OG Oil CBD & THC Tinctures (Glycerin/MCT) CBD & THC Tea’s CBD & THC Salves Fresh Cannabis Juice

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D E N V E R

D E N V E R

www.southwestalternativecare.com Southwest Alternative Care, your neighborhood medical marijuana center.

Their mission is to provide Colorado patients with the best alternative medicine and services at the lowest possible prices. At Southwest you’ll find a large selection of top shelf medicines and edibles, all at affordable prices.

Southwest Alternative Care provides the most potent Earwax and Shatter BHO in Colorado. We work with 2012 Cannabis Cup winners Top Shelf Extracts, to stock our shelves with the best of the best. We also provide high quality cold water, full melt, extracted bubble hash. We offer a variety of strains from 25 micron to 190 micron.

1075 South Fox Street Denver, CO 80223 303-593-2931

We haven’t met a center yet who didn’t claim to grow “fire” but unlike many, Southwest can back it up. With an award-winning grow team, legendary genetics, and perhaps the cleanest facility in the state, Southwest Alternative Care has redefined what it means to produce top shelf medicine.

3937 West Colfax Avenue Denver, CO 80204 720-287-3934

Southwest Alternative Care has over 25 top shelf strains, all hand trimmed, including Glass Slipper, Kool Aid Kush, OGre 99, Bubba Kush, Golden Goat, Moonshine Haze, Tangerine Haze, Dairy Queen and many more. The extracts they cull from these high-grade selections set a new standard in terms of quality. Find ‘em on Facebook for a current menu. Check out our coupons in the back of the magazine.

Monday-Sunday 10:00am-6:50pm

Edibles

Canna Punch Incredibles Sweet Stone

Canna Cappuccino At Home Baked Edi Pure

Concentrates Earwax and Shatter BHO 2012 Cannabis Cup winners Top Shelf Extracts Full Melt, Bubble Hash Vape Pens

Staff Favorites Glowing Goat Bubba Kush Dope Diagonal

Tango Chem 4 Purple Trainwreck

Testimonials

Best Meds in Colorado Southwest Alternative has the best meds in Colorado hands down. Pricing is spot on with the meds. All the employees are amazing. Makes you feel like you are a regular your first time in.

AWESOME!!!!! - seige55, weedmaps.com This place is the best kept secret in Denver I have been a member with Southwest for about a year now, and have nothing but raving reviews. But the original shop wasn’t very close for me as I do not drive. With this new location in the heart of Denver has made buying my meds even easier. Best benefits in town, they give out the most free stuff for members by far.

- FACEwreck5360 weedmaps.com

62 December 2013

66 September 2013

ATM On Site 57 MBS Wellness Center 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles Award Winning 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 60 The Clinic 07 Greenwerkz 57 The Hemp Center 45 Mahatma 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock Body Care Products 57 The Hemp Center 10 Hemp Meds Px Books & Education 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 57 The Hemp Center 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx Cash Only 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles Charity/Community Outreach 60 The Clinic 61 River Rock Clone Bar 57 MBS Wellness Center 28 MMD of Colorado

Daily Specials 03 Frosted Leaf 57 The Hemp Center 57 MBS Wellness Center 28 MMD of Colorado 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock

Local Artist Program 61 River Rock

Educational Classes 57 MBS Wellness Center 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx

Member Discounts 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 60 The Clinic 03 Frosted Leaf 07 Greenwerkz 57 The Hemp Center 35 Marisol Gardens 57 MBS Wellness Center 28 MMD of Colorado 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock 9, 62 Southwest Alternative Care 51 Walking Raven

Evaluation Clinic/MMJ Doctor 28 Amarimed 63 Colorado Medical Marijuana 51 Healthy Choices Unlimited 63 Relaxed Clarity Free Parking 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 03 Frosted Leaf 07 Greenwerkz 57 The Hemp Center 35 Marisol Gardens 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles 9, 62 Southwest Alternative Care 51 Walking Raven Growing Nutrients 36 Dr. Willard’s PlantCatalyst Hemp Products 57 The Hemp Center 10 Hemp Meds Px 61 River Rock

Clothing Items 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 60 The Clinic 07 Greenwerkz 57 The Hemp Center 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles

Holistic Health 57 The Hemp Center 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles

Credit Cards 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 57 The Hemp Center 57 MBS Wellness Center 28 MMD of Colorado

Internet Wi-Fi 57 The Hemp Center 61 River Rock

Infused Products 52 At Home Baked 37 Incredibles 45 Mahatma 37 Medically Correct

Live Music 61 River Rock

Massage Therapy 57 The Hemp Center 57 MBS Wellness Center 61 River Rock

Member Loyalty Program 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 03 Frosted Leaf 57 MBS Wellness Center 61 River Rock MMJ Doctor/Evaluation Clinic 28 Amarimed 63 Colorado Medical Marijuana 51 Healthy Choices Unlimited 63 Relaxed Clarity Multiple Locations 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 60 The Clinic 03 Frosted Leaf 07 Greenwerkz 57 The Hemp Center 57 MBS Wellness Center 61 River Rock 9, 62 Southwest Alternative Care Nutritional Consulting 57 The Hemp Center Pain Management Consulting 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 60 The Clinic 07 Greenwerkz 57 The Hemp Center

61 River Rock Patient Appreciation Events 61 River Rock 51 Walking Raven Private Dispensing Rooms 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 57 The Hemp Center 57 MBS Wellness Center 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock 9, 62 Southwest Alternative Care 51 Walking Raven Pre-Order Medication 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 07 Greenwerkz 57 The Hemp Center 57 MBS Wellness Center 61 River Rock 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles 9, 62 Southwest Alternative Care Seeds 60 The Clinic 61 River Rock Senior Discounts 57 The Hemp Center 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx Signature Concentrates 60 The Clinic 07 Greenwerkz 45 Mahatma 57 MBS Wellness Center 61 River Rock Signature Edibles 57 The Hemp Center 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock Signature Strains 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 60 The Clinic 03 Frosted Leaf 07 Greenwerkz 57 The Hemp Center 57 MBS Wellness Center 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock

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THANK YOU TO OUR ADVERTISERS 28 Amarimed 52 At Home Baked 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 53 Cannabis Business Awards 47 Cannabis Patient Network 39 Cannabistube.net 10,11 Cibaderm 60 The Clinic 68 Cloud Penz 63 Colorado Medical Marijuana 36 Dr. Willard’s Plant Catalyst 05 EZ Trim 03 Frosted Leaf 07 Greenwerkz 51 Healthy Choices Unlimited 57 The Hemp Center 10,11 Hemp Meds Px 41 iCannabisradio.com 37 Incredibles 55 Indica Vape 63 Infinite Wellness 45 Mahatma Extreme Concentrates 35 Marisol Gardens 57 MBS Wellness Center 10,11 Medical Marijuana Inc. 46 Medically Correct 28 MMD of Colorado 52 MMJ Meet and Greet 25 NCIA 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 63 Preferred Organic Therapy 63 Relaxed Clarity 61 River Rock/Priva 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles 16 Silver Surfer Vaporizers 9, 62 Southwest Alternative Care 09 Stink Sack 02 The Trimmer Store 51 Walking Raven 66 December 2013

58 Rocky Mountain Miracles 9, 62 Southwest Alternative Care 51 Walking Raven Smoking Accessories 68 Cloud Penz 10 Hemp Meds Px 55 Indica Vape 16 Silver Surfer Vaporizers 17 Bear Mountain Studios Specialty Glass 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 57 MBS Wellness Center 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles Specialized Treatment Programs 60 The Clinic 61 River Rock Topicals 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 60 The Clinic 57 The Hemp Center 10 Hemp Meds Px 57 MBS Wellness Center 28 MMD of Colorado 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock Trimming Accessories 05 EZ Trim 02 The Trimmer Store Vegetarian 52 At Home Baked 10 Hemp Meds Px 37 Incredibles 37 Medically Correct Veteran Discounts 57 The Hemp Center 57 MBS Wellness Center 28 MMD of Colorado 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx 61 River Rock 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles

Colorado Springs 48 Canna Caregivers 48 The Canna Center 58 Rocky Mountain Miracles 57 The Hemp Center Denver Central 60 The Clinic 03 Frosted Leaf 07 Greenwerkz 61 River Rock 9, 62 Southwest Alternative Care Denver Downtown 28 MMD of Colorado Denver East 60 The Clinic 03 Frosted Leaf Denver Highlands 60 The Clinic Denver North 61 River Rock 02 The Trimmer Store Denver South 60 The Clinic 03 Frosted Leaf 61 River Rock 51 Walking Raven Denver Southwest 9, 62 Southwest Alternative Care Edgewater 07 Greenwerkz 58 Northern Lights Natural Rx Glenwood Springs 07 Greenwerkz Pueblo West 35 Marisol Gardens

THC Magazine along with leaders in the cannabis industry are coming together to celebrate the end of prohibition by giving back. Healing Homes is a non-profit with the mission to replace disaster victims' homes in Colorado with hemp materials.

Come celebrate with a who's who in the cannabis movement at our roaring 20's themed party. Visit us on Facebook for more info.

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