The Pitch: Cannabis Issue April 2024

CHECK iT OUT ONliNE thepitchkc.com

The People’s Joker is a heartfelt transition story in a transgressive Gotham City parody

In the absurdist autobiographical dark comedy that boldly reimagines the Joker’s origin, a painfully unfunny aspiring clown grapples with her gender identity in a world where comedy has been outlawed. We sat down with creator/writer/star Vera Drew to discuss this dismantling of Batman’s world ahead of KC showings at Screenland Armour in April.

6

lETTEr

letter from the Editor

Reach out and touch grass

BY BROCK WILBUR

10

CUlTUrE

The Mile High Club

A Denver comedian speedruns the pros and cons of pot legalization’s cultural adjustments

BY ADAM CAYTON-HOLLAND

12

it Ain’t Easy Being Green

Mac Mo Green’s trek to rule over KC’s cannabis biz

BY JOE ELLETT

15

Delta Hate

Unregulated products and trick advertising forge a harmful shadow industry

BY JOE ELLETT

We tried to rank 20 locally available edibles, but in the process we forgot how numbers work

Our psychonaut-in-residence Patrick Moore assembled a formidable collection of the finest (and least finest) in food-based THC delivery options. Was attempting to do them all at once a bad idea? Well, nothing is a bad idea for capital-j Journalism. Let his adventures into the other planes of existence be your guide—but as per usual with Pat’s stories, please do not attempt this at home as these stunts were performed by a trained professional.

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FOOD AND DriNK

Book it! European-inspired Bisou is Westside’s newest source of warmth and welcome

BY SARAH SIPPLE

18

Sicily, Differently Salute! Osteria Bianchi opens its doors in Liberty

BY JORDAN BARANOWSKI

19

Eat This Now

Panda Chocolates from Fresh Karma Dispensaries

BY SARAH SIPPLE

Drink This Now

CBD Kombucha from Tea-Biotics

BY SARAH SIPPLE

20

Mise en place

Spicy Moon Food’s Anu Moon uses their artistic background to craft piquant plates

BY SARAH SIPPLE

22 MUSiC

Your second favorite boy band

From Como to Orlando, Post Sex Nachos dance-rock across the map

BY NICK SPACEK

24

FilM

Girls State of the Union Filmmakers from Boys State couldn’t have known what their sister doc would capture in Missouri

BY ABBY OLCESE

26 EVENTS

April Events Calendar

BY THE PITCH STAFF

28 ADViCE

Keep Them Coming

Terpenes for your Pene

BY KRISTEN THOMAS

Fickle financial funnels of MO cannabis

While it may seem like those working in the cannabis industry are happy-go-lucky pot-burners, when it comes to banking, they don’t have it so easy. Simply put, since cannabis is only legalized at the state level—remaining illegal federally— licensed cannabis companies cannot deposit finances within federal banks. Their revenue still remains illegally acquired at the national level. Next time you find the process annoying in person, here’s a breakdown of what your local budtenders are having to work through.

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KC CArES

Mending Battle Scars One laugh at a Time

How Comedy Vets is helping uplift veterans within the community BY

BETH LIPOFF

Adobe

Exile PR

Cassondra Jones

Editor-in-Chief

Brock Wilbur

President & Chief Operating Officer

Andrew Miller

Director of Marketing & Promotions

Jason Dockery

Community Manager & Food Editor

Sarah Sipple Music Editor

Nick Spacek

Film Editor

Abby Olcese

Little Village Creative Services

Jordan Sellergren

Art Director

Cassondra Jones

Contributing Editor

Joe Ellett

Editorial Interns

Maddie McBratney, Gabriel Flynn

Contributing Writers

Michael Mackie, Barb Shelly, Beth Lipoff, Kristen Thomas, Jordan Baranowski, Lauren Textor, Adrian

Torres, Scott Poore, Hana Kim, Nina Cherry, Jollene

Hastings

Contributing Photographers

Zach Bauman, Maura Dayton, Isabella Galvan, Allison Scavo, Tarik Sykes

VOICE MEDIA GROUP

National Advertising

1-888-278-9866 vmgadvertising.com

DISTRIBUTION

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COPYRIGHT

The contents of The Pitch are Copyright 2024 by The Pitch LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means without the express written permission of the publisher.

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Letter from the Editor

REACH OUT AND TOUCH GRASS

By Brock Wilbur

Dearest reader,

Welcome to the Annual 4/20 Issue here at The Pitch. We’ve taken a much different approach to the usual green-tinged compendium this time around, and we’re pretty stoked about the possibilities around this new editorial direction.

Since I started here in 2019, I’ve got to play tagalong to Missouri and Kansas, as they navigate the complicated landmine fields of the marijuana landscape. The incremental start-stop herky-jerky forward momentum here has been the cause for a lot of (unnecessary) uncertainty—for law enforcement, for banks, for businesses, and across the board for consumers.

2024 feels like the year that we finally have some footing under us. With that regional acceptance of “Pot is here and it is here to stay,” we have an opportunity to lead the charge in pivoting the discourse to better reflect how we should all start thinking about the unending, great green fields rolling ahead of us.

This 4/20 Issue is where we, and we hope the community around us, start to pivot toward normalizing this part of our culture. The first big step is to start being adults about this whole thing.

When our designer Cassondra Jones looks to 4/20 publications in coastal cities and abroad, she’s seen their fundamental shift away from big cartoon leaves and stoner jokes, instead leaning in on a more grown-up, lifestyle-centric approach to this scene. The days of portraying/celebrating/ embracing the traditional stoner archetypes seem lazy and borderline offensive. Why? Because in large chunks of our country, legal pot is just a part of day-to-day life for so many people. “Pot” is no longer an identity. Pot is just a thing that some people enjoy. The idea of separating the “kinds of people” who use, versus the folks who do not, is a level of “othering” that we simply can… stop doing.

So for this year’s issue, that’s been our guiding star. Normalization. We aren’t dealing with dirty words or dirty images or tarnished reputations. Marijuana isn’t some criminal enterprise, to be engaged with only in the shadows. It’s a pretty fucking cool thing that, frankly, has always been here. But for so long, that presence has also come with a social stigma. Pot users were criminal-adjacent, lesser, unmotivated, unemployable, uncaring, irresponsible, or whatever other derogatory brush chunks

This 4/20 issue is where we, and we hope the community around us, start to pivot toward normalizing this part of our culture. The first big step? let’s be adults about what is here to stay.

of society wanted to paint them as. With our new chill-out lifestyle becoming more mainstream, even those who toke up still carry residual concerns about this whole debacle, because we’ve made no meaningful, collective push to embrace this part of the human experience and strip away the gunk we buried it beneath.

This is us asking you to reach out with open arms. This is us asking you to consider stripping back the judgment, the othering, the general “weird vibes” we’ve cast in a general way towards a practice that was once (at best) viewed as a “pastime”—now generally accepted to be more of a supplement to more positive, stress-free living.

The New Normal. The Reefer Formal.

So you’ll notice this 4/20 Issue is less like our previous releases and structurally is much closer to our March BBQ Issue. That had delicious dripping food on the cover, a bunch of information and reviews inside, and it was a guilt-free celebration. This issue has gorgeous pot porn, a bunch of information and reviews inside, also serving as a guilt-free celebration.

We’ve got some guidance on the future we should expect from Denver comedian Adam Cayton-Holland, we have locally produced infused food and drink items, we profile a stellar businessman who serves as one of the corporate faces of the rise of these products in our community, and we’ve got

some harder hitting stories about where legislation, advertising, and regulation are not holding up their end of the bargain.

Finally, we have a huge report running online, that you can use the following QR code to pull up. We surveyed hundreds of KC natives on how pot and pot-adjacent products have become part of their lives, what they use it for, how it has helped them, and more importantly (for those of you on the fence still) a breakdown of ages and occupations from all involved. From just legal enough to make these purchases, all the way up into their 80’s, here’s our huge deep dive into what your friends and neighbors had to say about what green living has meant to them—all while raising families, working full-time jobs, and being helpful, happier citizens.

So disconnect. Or re-connect with a part of life that you’ve kept at arm’s reach. Or don’t if it isn’t for you. But also don’t lump those who like it (or need it) into a bucket together. The bucket is gone, baby. We’re all just shiny happy people as far as the eye can see.

Pitch in, and we’ll make it through,

Art by Cassondra Jones

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A little bird tells me that KC is starting to embrace full-on legalized pot. Good for you! Now I know this transition can seem scary at first, and in certain circles, hysteria may reign.

“Will my city become a drug city?! Like Amsterdam?! With its gorgeous architecture and world-class art museums?! The horror!”

But I’m writing to you today to let you know that everything is going to be fine. I should know. Denver born and raised, I witnessed firsthand my city’s launch into legalized weed.

It was 2014, the Broncos were regularly beating the Chiefs, and we were the first American city to open up shop. Like you, we had gone through the baby step of medical marijuana, but now the door was wide open, and it seemed like the entire world was waltzing through it. Every pot shop had lines around the block those first few weeks, accompanied by nearly equally long lines of media. Denver was suddenly everywhere. There we were on the BBC! There was Denver in The Japan Time! Check it out! Al Roker’s ripping a bong with some crust punk kids for GMA!

The circus had come to Denver, and many feared that the circus was here to stay.

I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So I traipsed down to a dilapidated warehouse district that is now full of condos I can’t afford, stood in line for an hour, and entered Wonka’s factory.

It was stuffed to the brim with products I had never seen before, indeed, never even dared to imagine. Pre-rolls of every strain, a Vegas buffet of edibles—Olive oils?! Honey?! CBD! THC! OMG!—there were creams, balms, tinctures, ointments, all of it so slickly packaged. And the store was so clean! And well-lit! I was used to Grateful Dead flags and incense; a shitty bass player in tie-

dye asleep at the register. This was so professional—like a corporate coffee shop staffed entirely by kids who know how to fix your phone.

I bought a pre-roll, then walked back out into the Mile High City and went about my life. Here’s the kicker: so did everyone else. After the initial blast of hysteria, Denver just settled in. Legal pot became normal, the status quo.

I do recognize that this laissez-faire mindset comes from the benefit of time, and experience. So allow me to walk you through some of the benefits and pitfalls you can expect in the coming years.

Pot shop names. They’re going to be so dumb. Just the worst puns imaginable, with terrible fonts and lazy graphics. Kansas Sticky. KC Keefs. If you can think of it, someone else will brand it with a pot leaf. Try to patronize ones that have the word “relief” in the title. Reward the ones that are at least trying to be professional. Hopefully, in turn, they’ll reward you by not blasting EDM.

Every dipshit who sold drugs in high school is going to get into the pot game. They’re going to call themselves ganja-preneurs and they’re going to refer to marijuana as flower and you’re going to want to roll your eyes so hard they fall out of your head. I remember when you poisoned all those people with shitty ecstasy in 2011, Ethan! Now I’m supposed to accept you as some legitimate businessman?! Just grin and bear it.

If you’ve been squirreling money away for your kid’s college funds, stop. Right now. Take it out and buy a warehouse. That warehouse will eventually be more valuable than any education. You’re reading this like, Pshaw! I wish! The secret is out on Kansas

Edible consistency is Chaos Theory. Just because things look slick and professional, doesn’t mean every bake is a swish. Sometimes half of the candy has, oh I don’t know, hardly any pot at all, while the second half has, oh, let’s just say all the pot ever. So you have a little nibble, feel nothing, and decide to eat the whole bar. Then you talk to God for thirteen hours. Fine if that’s what you’re going far. Not so fine if you and God aren’t on the best of terms.

City; no one can afford a warehouse, even in the worst neighborhoods! You’re wrong. You think it’s expensive now? Check back in ten years. Grow-space is everything; every part of Denver that was once stabby is now full of grow-houses and utterly frivolous commerce and e-scooters and beautiful idiots, vaping. Had my dad foregone my college fund to buy me a warehouse, I wouldn’t have to write ridiculous 101 drug screeds in The Pitch. I would just sit atop my warehouse, mopping sweat from my brow with crisp hundos.

From now on, and forever more, if you walk into a room and there are cookies and brownies, ask, “Do these have pot in them?” Because there is always a chance now. Always. To be on the wrong side of that equation, even once, is to stare into the Gaping Maw of Hell Itself.

You’re going to have to talk to your parents about pot. All their friends on the city’s various slow walking routes are going to be buzzing about it, so best to head that one off at the pass. In a lot of ways, this is the most beautiful part. Easy pot jokes aside, we all know the benefits marijuana can have for people suffering from pain, from mild, to chronic, to end-of-life. Rather than blasting our loved ones with pills and chemicals, there is real, natural relief to be had here. I remember my mother curiously asking me about my experience buying pot back in those early days. She wondered if it could help her with her chronic back pain. I told her it couldn’t hurt. So, she tried it. And tried it again. Now she uses it when the pain becomes too much. It’s there when she needs it, as normal as Ibuprofen in a bathroom drawer. It’s effective, it’s here to stay, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

It may seem like a lot now, but I can’t stress enough how background this will all become. Here in Denver, ten years post-legalization, no one really talks about legal pot anymore. Frankly, we’ve grown bored with it. Sure, it’s kind of annoying talking with your neighbor Jason about his journey at an outdoor botanic gardens concert before his eyes glaze over and he just stares into his YETI full of IPA for a good hour and a half; but Jason used to punch walls in the garage, man. Isn’t this better?

Art by Cassondra Jones

Courtesy of Adam Cayton-Holland

IT AIN’T E ASY BE ING GREEN

MAC MO GREEN’S TREK TO RULE OVER KC’S CANNABIS BIZ

By Joe Ellett

During an average business day back in 2009, Mac Mo Green was working at Shawnee Mission Hyundai when he made a decision to redefine his lifestyle.

Involved in the music industry at the time as a member of 3Kings Royal Empire, Green and his fellow rappers got the opportunity to open at a couple of Young Jeezy’s upcoming concerts.

With the chance of a lifetime at his feet, he had to take the leap of faith, asking his boss if he could have some time off to travel to San Francisco, California.

“I’ll never ever forget this. This is literally what started me. I asked for the time off and he said, ‘I don’t care if you think you’re Randy Jackson, Michael Jackson, I need you here this weekend and you’re gonna be washing cars this weekend.’ I’ll never forget looking that man in the eye and I was like ‘What’d you say to me,’” Green says.

In utter shock that his boss not only declined his time-off request, but also committed racial discrimination in the process, Green told him ‘eff that’ and headed off for the Bay area.

In that moment back in a 2009 Hyundai dealership parking lot, Green said, “I’m never working for nobody else ever again.” And he stuck true to his statement, now paving the way for cannabis culture in the heartland.

Bay Beginnings

Touching ground in California, Green and his comrades set off on their music ventures. However, music and entertainment quickly transitioned into an entire new side of business that Green has always had a passion for: Cannabis.

With his newfound lifestyle of traveling between California and Kansas City, Green discovered himself surrounded by many tight circles, those of which were some of the earliest cannabis advocates on the front lines of California’s road to full legalization.

He quickly became involved with the cannabis industry and culture in The Bay,

guided and mentored by some of the nation’s most recent pioneers. With much of the heavy-lifting already drudged by the legacy growers, Green spent much of his time soaking up as much knowledge about the political and cultural side of the plant.

“I could work and learn out there. I could fuck up. I had guys who had money and been doing it for 20 years. OGs that would show me things,” he says.

Here, he was able to see production from start to finish, how business transactions between overseas manufacturers were processed, and gained many key relationships that were pivotal to his growth.

He credits much of his success to some of his early cannabis connections such as Jungle Boys, Alien Labs, and now Bodega Boyz, as well as many more OGs in the field.

While Green enjoyed his time spent in California, there was always one thing that kept him coming back to his hometown: His daughter Mili, who was born in 2013.

But this was no worry for him, aware that legalization would eventually snake its way to the show me state, where he would come back for good. Consistently building business relationships and learning the ins and outs of the cannabis industry during his time in The Bay only made his transition to the Missouri market more straightforward.

In 2018, Green heard the shofar, as medical marijuana became legal in Missouri.

Cultivating Culture

Today, Green is the CEO of Kansas City’s first cannabis culture company, Major Pac. Founded during the process of legalizing cannabis on a medical level in the state, he and his team are some of the contributors of spreading knowledge and awareness about the plant, in as fun a way as possible.

Together, they have helped heighten the level of awareness, education, and overall growth of cannabis culture throughout the city, largely attributable to the many cannabis-centered events that they have configured within the metro.

One of their staple events, the Major Cannabis Expo, is an annual event that Major Pac has produced in the city over the last two years. Last year was Green and Major Pac’s first go at a cannabis expo since recreational use of marijuana was legalized.

While the event consisted of a great group of vendors and figures within the Kansas City cannabis scene, Juicy J—the event’s headlining performer—did not appear, and the number of attendees was lower than Green and his team would have hoped for.

“We sat back and we grew. We said ‘okay what happened guys? What can we control?’ Because there’s things you can control and there’s things you can’t,” Green says. “We can’t control Juicy. We paid, we did what we were supposed to do. But what’s good now? He owes us a show.”

Green is far from halting the traction that his company and team have gained as the year gets underway. He is hopeful that evolving the cannabis expo will only make it bigger and better than before, and it all starts with timing.

The first annual Major Cannabis Expo was held in March of 2022. The second in September of last year. This year’s expo will be held in mid July. Green believes that he has an untapped market in the age range of 18 to 24 because many have been away at college during the times that the previous two expos took place.

This year’s third annual Major Cannabis Expo will be held at the College Basketball Experience, zoning closer in on the aspect of sports and cannabis, rather than the entertainment route that they took last year.

“That’s our focus for the expo this year is bringing a lot of big name athletes, focusing on the athletic aspect of destigmatizing cannabis.”

Appearances from different athletes, such as former 18-year NBA player Al Harrington, are aimed to bring more people to the event. He is hopeful that the change of scenery and evolution of the expo as a whole will bring back previous vendors, while also

reeling in new ones.

“What if I can turn your booth fully interactive? Now there’s a pop-a-shot game attached to your booth. So you’ve got people standing in line wanting to play this game, but while they’re standing in line, you can educate them on your brand,” he says.

Looking even further down the line to future cannabis expos in the city, Green says that each year, there will be a different focal point that he will drive at the event.

“The expo and the brand is built on sports, health, business, and entertainment. For the next couple years, our plan is to highlight each one of those aspects. Last year, we did entertainment. This year we’re gonna go super big on sports. Next year we’re gonna go big on health. Keep evolving and that keeps bringing different people into our group,” Green says.

Weighing in

Business does not stop when Green puts down the phone for a pipe or turns the screen off for a spliff. It’s just a quick break before he finds himself amongst one of his other life-engulfing passions: Mixed martial arts.

Back in 2013—when Green was still

Photos by Emahni Carr and Jeff Vee

heavily in the music scene—he had just finished performing a show at The Riot Room when a friend of his congratulated him on the presentation, followed by ‘you need to get back in the gym.’

He then started hitting the gym, but this time, not to merely build his physique. Rather to compete in mixed martial arts competitions. A few years later, in 2016, Green had his first amateur fight at VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Kansas City.

A posse of Green’s closest companions ready to cheer him on to victory as he stepped into the octagon showed up to the venue, only to witness Green take a heartbreaking defeat in his first bout.

Nonetheless, it was going to take much more than one loss to send him home packing. He continued down the path of being an MMA fighter for, now, a decade, as he has gone 9-1 in all of his amateur bouts, and 2-1 in his professional MMA matches.

He went undefeated up until last June, when he took a critical loss that made one of his biggest critics question his future. That, of course, is his daughter Mili.

“My daughter Mili says daddy’s retired, but I don’t know if I’m hanging them completely up. But right now, being a professional athlete is not the focus. The amount of time and energy one must dedicate in that lane to be great, I just don’t have right now,” Green says.

The balancing act between being an MMA fighter and the day to day can be incredibly stressful, especially being the CEO of a recently founded business.

“I don’t know if people understand what it takes to be a professional athlete of any stand. What that fighter’s going through, the mental fight is everything,” he says. “That guy just cut 20 pounds, his girlfriend might have left him, this fight could be for his rent.”

During his rise in the MMA scene, Green said that his days consisted of strenuous amounts of training and working out.

“I’d be in the gym six, seven, eight, even ten hours a day. When you go to work, what’s a full-time job? Eight hours. So I can’t spend less than eight hours of time in the gym a day

if I’m calling myself professional.”

A Flower Family

It’s easy to raise the question of how he gets work done when he is training for fights, raising his daughter, and if he has any leisure time at all. Well his answer to that would be his team.

Whenever Green is out maneuvering a different avenue of life, outside of Major Pac, his tight-knit group of individuals that he holds near his heart handle the day-to-day. Keeping it short, sweet, and hard to beat, he says, “How do I do it? Those guys.”

2024 will be yet another test of Green’s perseverance and determination, as he has since founded Major Media Marketing— separate from Major Pac, while keeping the same team—in order to branch out to other forms of marketing outside of just cannabis.

“We’ve taken all of our knowledge from our years of doing this expo, all our years of throwing shows and everything we’ve been a part of, and turned it into a real marketing firm for the city,” Green says.

This is yet another beginning for Green, as he takes himself out of the cannabis culture box and places himself in the realm of all that multi-media marketing has to offer.

“I can work with anybody. I can go work with Verts, I can go work with Illicit, I can go work with Vertical,” he says. “That’s why I have the relationship I do with the community. I’m not trying to fight, I want to put all y’all on. When I leave Kansas City, I rep all of y’all. I am KC. I’m the king of cannabis in KC.”

But don’t think that this is the end of his reign as “cannabis king” because Major Pac has plenty of events and shows that they are involved in as this year continues to unfold. On top of the third annual expo, he and his team will also be involved in/putting on 311’s concert at Grinder’s KC on 4/20, cannabis events at the Lake of the Ozarks, as well as conferences amongst political figures and cannabis figures in the near future.

“Growth is real, and I’m not afraid to grow. Anybody that knows me, knows that I will put it on the line and my team will put it on the line.”

Photo by Chuck Williams

Delta Hate

UNREGULATED PRODUCTS AND TRICK ADVERTISING FORGE

A HARMFUL SHADOW INDUSTRY

Walking into a local convenience shop, there are all of the obvious products: Chips, candy, chocolate, soda, and so much more that every child longs for. But behind the counter, lies a product that raises concerns from many: unregulated delta products.

Delta eight, nine, and ten are the three most commonly found intoxicating cannabinoids derived from hemp, also known as hemp-synthesizing intoxicants. The 2018 Farm Bill provided the FDA with authority over the production of these delta products, yet they have issued no regulations, but rather simply stated warnings, and those within the hemp industry have found loopholes to continue distributing these products.

Those who may not think the production and distribution of these products within the state is an issue are utterly wrong. For those who know the dangers that come with consuming these products, the value of the information lies in their hands. However, uneducated consumers and teens are at the most risk.

Manipulative Marketing

Driving down any main road through the city, one is bound to see convenience stores. There are QuikTrips, BPs, Shells, Conocos, and more. But that’s not what we’re zoning in on.

How about those big neon signs that read ‘THC Here’ or ‘Legal Weed’? That probably rings a bell. These are the types of convenience stores and smoke shops that are distributing delta products throughout the community.

“I would call it the unsuspecting consumer. It’s not necessarily a lack of education, or a lack of knowledge, but it’s very confusing,” CEO of Franklin’s—a local licensed cannabis manufacturing company—Michael Wilson says. “If you’ve never bought from a Missouri dispensary, your first reac-

By Joe Ellett

tion is not to go online, find weed maps or something else. It’s kind of a journey. You drive by a sign that says ‘legal THC’ and you are kind of unsuspecting.”

Once they’ve reeled customers in through their misleading signage, these convenience stores have ‘em right where they want ‘em. Now all that is left is to present their product, only giving them enough information that will seal the deal.

This can be extremely easy when dealing with consumers who lack knowledge on the fresh Missouri cannabis industry, just a year underway. Not to mention the lack of effort it would take to sell a teenager or child one of these products through the tactical branding that these manufacturers use.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services recently released a white paper regarding hemp-derived cannabinoids, outlining that there have been 904 cases of those under 18 having to be treated for the intoxicating substances in Missouri since 2018. On top of that, there have been 1,209 total adult cases during the same time range, according to the DHSS’s data. Their report also highlights many other issues within the realm, such as the marketing tactics, Missouri’s regulations on other consumable substances, states that have regulations or laws in place, and more.

With the extensive regulation and legal process of growing weed all the way to when a consumer lights the joint, many in the industry are frustrated and feel a lack of accountability being held toward the product.

“When someone goes to a dispensary, they know what’s in the product, they know where the product came from. It all came from inside the state of Missouri. It’s all been lab tested, it’s all in child proof packaging, you can’t market it to kids, and they know

While some delta products can be beneficial for certain users, they should never be in the reach of children. “They’re designed to look exactly like candy and they’re being marketed directly to children.”

“Some of what these gas stations are selling are 400 and 500 mg packages. They’re designed to look exactly like candy and they’re being marketed directly to children,” Missouri Cannabis Trade Association Spokesperson Jack Cardetti says. “That’s one of the reasons that the majority of states now have either banned these products or regulated them. In Missouri, it’s the wild west, we’ve done neither.”

Just this year, in February, ten students from Sumner High School between the ages of 16-18 purchased delta products from a nearby gas station, only to result in four of them being hospitalized due to the intoxicants. All have since recovered.

“These people aren’t doing this to deliver healthy products to people, they’re doing it to make money for themselves. It’s egregious in my opinion,” Wilson says.

exactly what is in that product,” Cardetti says. “You don’t know any of those things when you walk in a gas station and buy a delta eight product.”

“My license would be revoked and I would be banned from this state, if I did even 50% of what these companies do, but we’ve all accepted it because nobody can understand the scheme and the resistance that they’re providing,” Wilson says.

Stopping the Sale

Yet another reason why this drives those in the licensed cannabis industry irate is because there is no set tax on delta products, while there is on all other intoxicating substances distributed in the state, such as tobacco, alcohol, and of course, cannabis.

“To allow this hemp industry to be completely unregulated, undermines the tax

paying system. That, to me, at the end of the day should be the decision for why legislators and regulators should relook at a means to ban the sale of intoxicating cannabinoids,” Wilson says.

One of the taxes that current cannabis consumers pay when purchasing from licensed dispensaries is the 6% state tax. This tax has gone toward expunging non-violent marijuana offenses for over 210,000 Missourians since recreational sales began last year.

“That’s a really good program that’s happening here in Missouri. That’s giving people a clean slate and a second chance, but we’re able to do that because of the tax Missourians are paying when they go into a dispensary. That’s another thing that is missing from the delta eight conversations,” Cardetti says.

Similar to all legal processes, this is a slow and steady race for the cannabis industry to win. The consensus between regulating, non-regulating, and outright-banning the intoxicating substances varies between states.

“Consensus amongst states is going to be different. People don’t want to ban it for all sorts of reasons, but it usually boils down to the lobby and effort,” Wilson says. “Convenient stores will lose out on, what, 2.5% of their revenue? I’m sure they can make it up in some other way.”

The good news for those Missourians against the product is that The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the “Intoxicating Cannabinoid Control Act” stating: “Intoxicating cannabinoid products shall be considered as marijuana and regulated as marijuana is regulated by the Department of Health and Senior Services under the Missouri Constitution. The Department shall collaborate with the Department of Public Safety to enforce the provisions of this act.” This will go into effect in August of this year.

On top of that, House Bill 1781 is currently being heard, dealing with the same issue of regulating intoxicating substances.

While convenience stores and smoke shops will continue to sell their delta products, there is a spark at the end of the joint that shows voices are being heard.

Book It!

EUROPEAN-INSPIRED BISOU IS WESTSIDE’S NEWEST SOURCE OF WARMTH AND WELCOME

By SARAH SIPPLE

“Wow, it’s so pretty here!”

As I sat near the counter at Kansas City’s newest coffee shop, I heard every single customer say this as they placed their order. Truly.

Bisou opened last month, bringing a new European-inspired cafe to the Westside. From the front patio with umbrellas and flowers to the warm, neutral inside, it is so pretty.

Owner Cait Marie chose Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood for her salon (Second Story) and Bisou cafe below in part because of the charm and accessibility. Marie says, “I love the Westside. I think it’s the second most walkable neighborhood in the city. The first being City Market, but of course, it’s bought up and really developed. I feel like West Side still has the ability to grow. Plus we have almost endless parking under the bridge.”

Though the exterior looks like it was plucked off a cobblestone street in a faraway country, the offerings inside represent a variety of good ol’ Kansas City talent. Marie sources her coffee from Maps Coffee & Chocolate in Lenexa, tortillas for breakfast burritos from Carniceria y Tortilleria San Antonio in KCK, and pastries from Blackhole Bakery in KCMO. Resident barista Jacob Kingsley makes specialty syrups for lattes in-house.

As the cafe finds its groove in the coming months and Marie can redirect her creativity, the hot food and baked goods menu will expand.

“Everybody keeps asking, who’s your chef? Well, here’s your chef,” says Marie. “I want to cook. I’ve had a cake company in the past, and I’ve always loved baking. You know the movie, Matilda? At age nine I probably baked that iconic style of chocolate cake for my brothers at least once a week.”

Baking is one of the many art forms that fulfill Marie. “I am an artist at heart,” she says. Becoming an aesthetic tattooist and eventually opening Second Story Salon was Marie’s way of making money while practicing art. Now, the salon can help support the cafe below–a new way of turning her creativity into business. “The way that I designed it, my upstairs will pay for my downstairs so my overhead will be protected, which means I’ve been able to take it slow and do things the right way here.”

Doing things the right way, to Marie, means putting kindness and acceptance first. As I observed her interact with new and familiar customers, receive latte-art training from Kingsley, and give instructions to another employee, I witnessed an

infectious warmth that left nearly everyone with a smile.

“I want people to walk out the door and think, I want to go back. A feeling of magnetism. I want people to remember the good food, but also more than that: that there are good people out there who care about you, no matter who you are.”

So, what can customers expect, beyond the idea of warmth and welcome?

A sunlit and clean interior with tables, booths, and bar-style seating. Espresso-based drinks like lattes ($6), Americano ($5), and tea ($3). Sweet and savory pastries range from $4-5 and multiple housemade vegetarian burritos ($10-11). Wifi and quiet but upbeat music. And, perhaps unexpectedly, shelves brimming with books for purchase, from classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, to visually appealing coffee table ones from Gucci and Chanel.

The books are not a random inclusion. They reinforce Marie’s European inspiration as they help create an environment

that normalizes people dining alone and device-free. “The slow pace of many European cafes brings a more intimate experience. But I hate that people feel like we have to be, you know, in pairs. Dining alone can be empowering. There’s no company like your own company.”

Over two and a half hours, I did enjoy my own company, but also spent time chatting with Marie and Jacob and even had a friend come surprise me after seeing where I was from social media. (She was one of many who responded, “Wow, it’s so pretty!” both online and IRL).

I luxuriated in a sweet and savory combination of the Bourbon Vanilla Bean latte with a Goat Cheese and Onion pastry. Since the first visit and interview, I have returned a few times to try out each fresh-made breakfast burrito on the menu and soak up some sun on the patio. Pretty, yes, and so much more.

Bisou is at 2122 Jefferson St Suite A, Kansas City, MO 64108.

Photos by Sarah Sipple

Sicily, Differently

By Jordan Baranowski

in many ways, opening Osteria Bianchi was all about a homecoming for Josh and Kelly Bianchi. For one, Kelly is a Kansas City native, so the return here seemed like the right fit for their family after the glitz of Las Vegas. The American Italian restaurant is also a return to some family roots: Josh’s grandmother is from Sicily, and the restaurant’s tightly-composed menu of Italian dishes draws a lot of inspiration from traditional recipes. On top of that, the Liberty-based restaurant is all about continuing to establish a chef-driven community in North Kansas City.

Josh, who serves as Osteria Bianchi’s chef, and Kelly, his wife and manager of the front-of-house, have spent many combined years in the kitchens of KC, Las Vegas, and New York. However, they say that coming back to the Kansas City area felt serendipitous. “When we decided to open and operate our own restaurant, we were originally planning a spot on the Strip in Vegas,” Kelly says. “After a lot of negotiations, we discovered we just weren’t going to be able to realize our vision. That’s when we started discussing a move back to Kansas City.”

The Bianchis moved their family to North Kansas City, near Liberty, and with-

in a few months, realized that the area was in need of high-quality, chef-driven restaurants. “The service community in Vegas is tightly-knit, but most of your guests aren’t living in the community,” Kelly says. “It’s extremely rewarding to hear feedback and make connections through your food with your friends and neighbors.”

That sense of reinforcing community extends to many aspects of Osteria Bianchi. Josh’s recipes are based on simple, traditional Italian favorites that lean heavily into authentic flavors and sauces. They try to source as many local and organic, smallbatch ingredients as they can—they use Campo Lindo eggs and chicken, and Kelly’s mom owns a nearby apiary, as just a few examples—and make as much in-house as they can, such as the pastas and breads.

They also aren’t limiting themselves to the “box” of Italian cuisine. “One of the reasons we were so drawn to a community-driven restaurant like ours is that it gives us the chance to find out what people really want,” Kelly says. “The menu we’re starting with for our grand opening is hyper-focused, but we’ve both worked in so many different kitchens that we won’t be afraid to branch out.”

The commitment to high-quality, traditional recipes shines through in the Bianchis’ menu. Spaghetti cacio e pepe is about as simple as it comes, but the combination of housemade pasta, cracked black pepper, and shaved parmesan is a flavor-filled nostalgia bomb for anyone who loves noodles and cheese—and who doesn’t? Another early favorite is the chef’s focaccia bread, baked fresh each day and served with a parmesan salsa of oil, herbs, and calabrian chilis.

If you’re on the hunt for a meal that will leave you some leftovers, Kelly recommends the Cannelloni. It’s made with a braised lamb shoulder, wild mushrooms, and a walnut pesto to give everything just a little extra bite.

On top of the tasty food on offer, Osteria Bianchi also features a small, curated wine list, and they are currently working on expanding their cocktail menu. Kelly and Josh are also excited to extend their hours

into lunch and weekend brunch.

As they continue to build on their successes, they’re also excited to start collaborating with other area chefs and businesses. “Collaborations were always favorites of ours,” Kelly says. “Whether it’s something small like a cocktail or single dish, or something bigger like a full menu takeover, we love working with people in the community to make special, memorable experiences.”

Osteria Bianchi is open now for dinner five nights a week. With around 70 seats, reservations are recommended but not required. If you’re craving a different take on the tastes of Italy, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Osteria Bianchi is located at 9261 NE 83rd Terrace, Kansas City, Missouri 64158. It is open Tuesday through Thursday from 4:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m., and Friday through Saturday from 4:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m.

SALUTE! OSTERIA BIANCHI OPENS ITS DOORS IN LIBERTY

Photo by Katie Currid

Panda Chocolates

By Sarah Sipple

Available at Fresh Karma dispensaries

Edibles–or cannabis-infused foods, candy, or beverages–have come a long way. And while there is still a tremendous amount of inequality in the cannabis industry to be rectified, we recognize the areas where regulation has had a positive impact.

One such benefit is consumers knowing the exact and consistent dosages in products. Each batch of commercial cannabis products is lab-tested and requires highly specific labeling and tracking.

But you’re here for the taste, the texture, the aesthetics. These locally-made Panda Chocolate bars are impressive. However, there’s a catch: Depending on your tolerance, you may not be able to enjoy as much of the bar as you’d like. The chocolate bars come in 100mg and 300mg packages, meaning that each chocolate square has approximately 10mg or 30mg of THC.

First up is the Campfire S’mores flavor. This brown and white layered bar has a smooth chocolate flavor, reminiscent of a Hershey’s bar, but with slightly more snap. I could not detect much of the other s’mores elements besides a hint of graham cracker.

The newest flavor from Panda Chocolates is Orange Cream Soda. This instantly became a favorite of mine.

The white chocolate base is luxuriously smooth and rich, without being overly sweet. The soft orange cream flavoring reminded me of Froot Loops cereal. Embedded in each small bite of the bar are pockets of carbonated sugar. They give the airiest, most satisfying crunch, “Like eating a bubble,” one Fresh Karma employee says. Then, as the bite makes its way to the back of the mouth, residual pops burst like gentle Pop-Rocks.

Alex Paulakovich, Vice President at Nuthera, says that while gummies rule the edibles market, chocolates are a playful and familiar comfort food option. “It holds more complex flavor than gummies, and similar to why we reach for ice cream, you get that little bit of chocolate dopamine release,” she says.

Beyond having a comfort-food option for edibles, Paulakovich also knows that supporting local is important to consumers. “This is all grown, created, and manufactured in Missouri. We specifically did it that way, rather than bringing in outside brands or elements, because Missourians have a lot of pride and they want to support local things, especially Kansas City.”

CBD Kombucha from Tea-Biotics

www.tea-biotics.com

640 E 18th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108

feel-good. That is kombucha in a nutshell–specifically Olathe’s Tea-Biotics kombucha.

Some drink the fermented tea for gut microbiome benefits, and others enjoy it as a lower-sugar alternative to soda and juice. Then there are the CBD-enhanced kombucha options, of which Tea-Biotics has five.

This month’s magazine may be all about THC, but we know it is not an option, nor desire, for everyone. CBD, or cannabidiol, contains no THC and is federally legal. Evidence suggests that it may help ease pain and improve sleep, in part due to anti-inflammatory properties.

CBD-enhanced kombucha could be an easily accessible tool in your relaxing, chillout toolkit. My top recommendation is the Tea-Biotics blueberry flavor with 25mg of broad-spectrum CBD, due to its true-to-nature flavor. It lands near the edge of bright and tart without crossing it, unless you expect it to have the soft syrupiness of soda. The blueberry flavor is simply pleasant.

The Hibiscus Watermelon CBD variety introduces a hint of the vinegary bite that most kombuchas have, but the watermelon comes through nicely. The effervescence lasts about half an hour when served from a glass, but lasts longer when kept in the

Tea-Biotics kombucha can be found on tap at the main facility in Olathe (the world’s largest kombucha taproom, btw!) and at ten other locations across the metro. Bottled kombucha can be found in many area grocers. I picked up mine from the Kombucha Lounge in East Crossroads. The lounge is a great space to meet or work, as well as enjoy discounts on refilling returned Tea-Biotics bottles.

Sarah Sipple

Mise En Place is a series of questions, answers, recommendations, and culinary wisdom from the food and drink masters that push KC flavor further. The following answers have been edited for length and clarity.

in all aspects of the business, what do you do to address burnHonestly, I’m there now. But it’s more that I got a teenager and a toddler, and I need to be more present at home. That’s getting harder as I take on more. I’m figuring it out.

like to see more of in the

home. I had to quit my job at Cafè Gratitude, and that’s the time I totally changed my diet, cutting out gluten and switching to being vegan.

I was doing mindful eating and figuring out what vibed with my body and what didn’t. There was a lack of options so I started cooking a lot at home, and my partner at the time was super encouraging. They were like, “You should just do it.” But at the time I was like, “What am I gonna do, pay my bills with brownies?” And now here I am, paying my bills with baked goods.

What foods can people expect here? I had to accept the fact that this is a bar first and foremost. But I’ve put some twist on things. My PB&J is grilled and I make homemade jams, use sunflower butter and pickled jalapeno jam—it’s spicy and sweet and all that. The barbecue rib sandwiches and the Bahn Mi’s sell really well here. I’m never gonna have a brick-and-mortar because I hate making the same thing over and over again. I want to be passionate every time.

How else are you blending artistry into your food? There’s always gonna be something fermented or pickled on the dish, adding little pops of color. You see tons of red cabbage—I fucking love that color, the fuchsia just pops. But also, all the flyers and social media designs are by me. If I get tired of cooking, I just switch over and do a little graphic design.

More rooftop patios, more sober spaces. More diverse representation and recognition. More inclusivity on menus, like food allergy info and options.

Would you say that those are current challenges in the food scene? Specifically in the vegan community, all the focus is on, “Where can I eat with my omnivore husband”, and so all these non-vegan places are hyped up. I feel like vegan places die because vegan people are eating at and recommending all these other places that are celebrated for having just one vegan option.

Any restaurants or pop-ups you want to shout out? My homies at High Hopes. I personally eat at Billie’s Grocery near my place. They’ve got tons of gluten-free options. At BIBIBOP in Waldo, I can get a huge cup of food for five bucks. GiGi’s Vegan Cafè. Cafè Gratitude.

if you could tell yourself something four years ago, knowing what you know now, what would you say? Do not have any expectations. Because here’s the thing: Here I am now still running a business and feeling successful. And I’ve had multiple really slow, no-show days. Now I know that even when it was slow, it’s still a network, meeting somebody—nothing was ever just like a complete wash. Second, getting your name out and getting the food in front of people is the hardest part. The feedback is always great once people try it. I don’t need to be nationally famous, but I would love to be KC famous.

Photo by Gabe Otterlope

Yr 2nd Fav Boy Band

FROM COMO TO ORLANDO, POST SEX NACHOS DANCEROCK ACROSS THE MAP

By Nick Spacek

Formerly of Columbia, and now based out of Nashville, post Sex Nachos are, per the title of their 2022 album of the same name, your second favorite boy band. Based on the fun and joie de vivre one hears in the music made by this danceable alt-rock five-piece, one can only assume that your number one is probably Brockhampton. Since 2018, Post Sex Nachos have been cranking out song after song designed to get you singing along, and having as much fun on the dance floor as they do at each of their gigs.

Prima/Vera, released in February, sees Post Sex Nachos moving from groovy indie pop, into synth-heavy dance rock. It’s as if they heard the way acts like Phoenix, Daft Punk, and Justice, took ‘70s and ‘80s American funk, and repurposed it for European ears, taking those acts’ reinterpretations and reclaiming them.

That’s probably too complicated a way to listen to tracks like the Greeting Committee collaboration “Talk About It” or how the bassline in “Four Leaf Clover” hits harder than a six-foot-five, 220-pounder’s sucker-punch. That’s why we hopped on the phone with the band’s guitarist Mitch Broddon, lead vocalist/guitarist Sammy Elfy, keyboardist Kevin Jerez, bassist Chase Mueller, and drummer Hunter Pendleton— along with engineer Drew Brodsky—while the band’s van trucked through the desert Southwest, making their way to play the Paramount in Los Angeles. We started by asking how every album ends up being a jump from the next one in terms of genre.

“We definitely try to grow as much as possible, both in production quality and then also just in songwriting,” Broddon says. “I think it’s that we like each other and like the music we make.”

Prima/Vera was recorded at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville and produced by Hembree’s Isaac Flynn.

“He was in town with us and living at our place when we were doing that,” Elfy says. “ It was just great.”

“Just a bunch of dudes surviving off of Trader Joe’s,” Mueller jokes.

“We recorded all the drums, bass, and a lot of the synthesizers that they had out there was one of the reasons we went there,” Elfy says. “That was two full days and then we took everything home, basically, and then did guitars and vocals and other synth stuff, and a lot of pre-mixing at home.”

Jerez went ham on a slew of vintage equipment, making those synths the hallmark of this new project. One of the key highlights is the clavinet breakdown on “Talk About It.” The clavinet that was in the studio was Stevie Wonder’s touring keyboardist’s clavinet, and one of the prophets was also used by Michael Jackson’s touring keyboardist.

“It was sick,” Jerez says. “If one of them is Greg Phillinganes, I’m gonna shit a brick. But yeah, I mean, they were amazing. I feel like they were the exact sounds that I wanted to put down on the album. They were like a wonderland, for sure.”

A big part of why Post Sex Nachos took the approach of making a synth-heavy record is simply due to the fact that the band had access to hard synths this go-around. Previously, everything had been done via MIDI emulation, Elfy says, continuing on to say, “Also, just as a group, we’ve grown a lot together since Kevin joined, and I think we’ve been able to identify a lot of the strengths in songwriting, and a lot of that does come from a synth-forward track.”

In dissecting just what influenced Prima/Vera, Post Sex Nachos nod to Strfkr, Starwolf, a decent amount of MGMT, and Passion Pit for “Talk About It,” along with admitting that there are a few cuts influenced by their producer’s band, Hembree, as well as, yes, Phoenix.

“For ‘Mushroom Cloud,’ it was a direct result of me listening to Phoenix’s 2009 album front-to-back,” Elfy says. “That’s where that guitar part came from.”

One of the big singles off the new album is the aforementioned “Talk About It,” featuring the Greeting Committee and it came about through a festival appearance. When the Greeting Committee played the Innovation Festival at Crown Center in 2022, Broddon met Addie Sartino, the band’s frontperson, and the two became quick friends.

“When Addie moved to Nashville, she didn’t know a lot of people there,” Broddon says. “So, she reached out, we started hanging out, and then when it came time when we were making our record, I asked if she wanted to come hang out while we were recording.”

Post Sex Nachos was working on what became “Talk About It,” and then Sartino asked to do a feature.

“She offered,” Broddon continues. “She really liked the song. We cut her vocals the next day. She wrote a verse and Pierce Turcotte added some tasteful saxophone to the track, and the rest is history.”

As the band says, the work of Sartino and Turcotte really brought the song to life. Not bad for the band’s first time collaborating with another band like that.

“To be able to do it with people as talented as them is really an honor,” Broddon says.

The tour that the band is on is going great guns, with Post Sex Nachos having played Houston for the first time a week prior to the interview, which they describe as “a pleasant surprise,” if not an outright ripper.

“Part of the cool thing about this tour, I think, is that we get to obviously play a bunch of markets that we’ve already played before, we know we have solid fan bases in,

but part of the fun, too, is showing up to cities we’ve never played before, and just being like, ‘Well, alright, we’ll see who shows up in Orlando, or New Orleans, or Houston,’ for example,” Broddon says. “Thus far in this tour, and I’m not sure what it is, but we’ve had just, you know, a load of success in new markets and meeting new people.”

With a new album that offers Post Sex Nachos collaborating with friends and colleagues, such as the Greeting Committee and Hembree, and a tour of new cities for the band to gain recognition supporting it, one wonders just what the band can do to top it. But playing the main stage at this year’s Boulevardia Festival seems like a pretty solid accomplishment. After Post Sex Nachos’ barn-burning closing set at the Park Stage in 2023, it only seems natural for the band to move on over to the big time for 2024.

“We had so much more support in Kansas City than I think any of us could have imagined,” Mueller says. “It was crazy the amount of people that were enveloping that little, tiny stage. Made us feel really connected to the city and I think the Boulevardia people felt that, and so they want us to play on the big stage, and we humbly accept.”

Photo Courtesy of Post Sex Nachos

Girls State of the Union

FILMMAKERS FROM BOYS STATE COULDN’T HAVE KNOWN WHAT THEIR SISTER DOC WOULD CAPTURE IN MISSOURI

By ABBY OLCESE

Even before the release of their hit documentary Boys State in 2020, about the American legion-sponsored high school mock-government program, directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss say they knew they wanted to make a companion piece covering its Girls State counterpart.

“We always thought of the project as a sibling, not a sequel, because that released us from the challenges of making a direct sequel to Boys State,” Moss says, citing the inconsistent success of documentary sequels. “There are only a few of those, and they don’t always work well.”

Two years later, production began in earnest on the pair’s follow-up—Girls State—releasing this month on AppleTV+. After considering several girls state programs across the country to follow, the husband-and-wife collaborators selected the Missouri Girls State Program, held at Lindenwood University in St. Charles.

Armed with an outline and preliminary interviews, McBaine, Moss and a film crew that included their own 16-year-old daughter Zoe, went in to document their teenage subjects’ one-week experience at Lindenwood, creating a mock government, running for office, and passing laws.

“When we film, we come in with ideas we want to investigate, and then that changes with the people we follow,” McBaine says. “You hope to be surprised with nonfiction.”

Expecting the unexpected is part of a documentarian’s job, but as they started filming in the summer of 2022, the filmmakers couldn’t predict where that year’s Girls State program would take them or their subjects.

All about Girls State

Missouri Girls State was started in 1940 as one of 11 Girls State programs created by

the female-led American Legion Auxiliary. It’s the counterpart of Boys State, created by the American Legion in 1935. The goal of both programs is to educate its teenage participants in the process of government, in the hope of developing civic involvement and leadership skills that will follow attendees long after they’ve left.

Acceptance into the program is a competitive process—prospective participants submit an application and attend a series of interviews, discussing everything from academics to political interest and involvement to their future goals.

In Girls State, one future participant tells her selection committee, point-blank, that she intends to run for president in 2040, and that her road to the top begins by running for Girls State Governor—the program’s highest elected office. Others, like Lee’s Summit native Faith Glasgow, are more general in their ambitions, though no less driven.

“I’m really passionate about politics specifically, and it’s what I want to do in my eventual career,” Glasgow says.

Now studying political science and psychology at The University of Missouri, Glasgow is also an intern for Missouri State Representative Emily Weber. She says her experience at Girls State further affirmed her interest in politics.

“It reinforced the plans I already had for college,” Glasgow said, “But I think it also influenced me to add a psychology major, because social psychology, in relation to politics, stuff like echo chambers, groupthink, all of that connects. I became highly interested in social psychology while I was at Girls State.”

Once they’re selected for the program and arrive on campus, participants are assigned to mock cities, as well as to one of two parties—federalist or nationalist. They

can run for leadership positions, including executive office and Senate and House of Representatives seats. Missouri Girls State also features a Supreme Court and circuit courts, where participants help determine the single legal case their Girls State Supreme Court will hear.

At the session documented in Girls State, Raytown native Tochi Ihekona was elected Attorney General. She says the experience sparked a passion for campaign management, which she’s currently studying as a political science major at Howard University in Washington, DC.

“I had always wanted to be a lawyer so I could go into real estate law and work with the government on issues related to redlining,” Ihekona says. “I went into Girls State to learn how to talk about politics with city officials, and I left wanting to be a campaign manager. I think it was learning that social aspect, and that grassroots work I had to do. I want to have conversations like that for the rest of my life, and the only way to do that is through campaign work.”

“The patriarchy still impacts the present day.”

As it turns out in Girls State, the program’s Supreme Court—and Ihekona as Attorney General—have significant roles to play. Going into that year’s program, the participants are understandably concerned about the, then-recently-leaked, announcement that the U.S. Supreme Court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade in the coming months via the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. Unsurprisingly, abortion is also at the center of the case the Girls State participants decide to hear.

The girls’ concern over the forthcoming Dobbs decision and how it will impact their futures, alongside how they see the neighboring Boys State program progressing, leads to a discussion about the differences between the two programs, and how that difference reflects the lack of parity between men and women in real life.

At first those differences seem subtle; The girls have a dress code, the boys do not, the girls are required to have a buddy with them at all times when walking by themselves on campus, the boys don’t. However, those requirements represent unspoken expectations of the young women there—ones that don’t apply to their male counterparts.

“I think the film proves that assertive and passionate young women aren’t that way without reason,” Glasgow says. “Coming of age as a young woman is difficult already with all the criticism around appearance and the way we behave. You see that with the dress code and the buddy system. The patriarchy still impacts the present day.”

Democracy isn’t a spectator sport

McBaine notes that the differences between the participants in Boys State and Girls State, and the programs they depict, aren’t all structural, and they aren’t bad either.

“In Boys State, there’s a real ‘Lord of the Flies’ dynamic, which we kind of expected going in, but what happened after that surprised us. Within 15 minutes of learning the rules at Boys State, they start facing off,” she says. “With Girls State, before we started filming, people started talking about the tropes of ambitious girls, and I knew that was maybe not what we were going to see, but I was surprised by how the program was very slow to allow these girls to get into politics.”

In some ways, McBaine says, that’s frustrating for eager young participants ready to start talking about big issues, but it also led to stronger relationships and better conversations across the political spectrum.

“The competition wasn’t the main focus, and I ended up creating a lot of good relationships because of it,” Ihekona says. “I ended up learning a lot about local governments, and they don’t teach you that stuff in schools as much as they should. It made me focus more on local government, local representatives, and their motivations way more. I learned about civil discourse and talking to people who are different from me.”

McBaine and Moss both say their experience making the film left them hopeful about the rising generation.

“Even though some of the girls were coming from small towns, they often had politics that differed from their parents,” Moss says. “They’re looking for common ground, not staking out and polarizing.”

“They’re young, but they’re very realistic,” McBaine says. “At Girls State, they say that democracy isn’t a spectator sport, and I think those kids are living that.”

Photo Courtesy of Apple TV Original Films

April 6 10th Annual KEGS ‘n’ EGGS

Kansas City renaissance Festival

KEGS ‘n’ EGGS is making its tenth annual go-round at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival this year. Tailored for those 21 and over, KEGS ‘n’ EGGS will be offering a variety of craft beer, wine, spirit, and mocktail tastings as attendees stumble, searching for prizes in their egg hunt. The hidden eggs each contain candy, prizes, or prize tickets that are redeemable for over $20,000 worth of cash and rewards. While running a muck, probing for anything that may resemble an egg may not be your thing, there will also be food trucks, shopping opportunities, and other activities and games. With tickets starting at $30 for designated drivers and $55 for general admission, the trip out to Bonner Springs this early April should make for a tipsy turnout that Saturday. Tickets are available through the Kansas City Renaissance Festival’s website.

THE PITCH Events April 2024 Calendar

April 5

Neko Case, Liberty Hall

Tommy Prine, Knuckleheads

Queensryche, Star Pavilion at Ameristar Casino

Peter Frampton, The Midland

April 6

Randy Rainbow, Uptown Theater

Jason Boland & The Stragglers, Knuckleheads

Set It Off, The Truman Jazz in the Garden, Global

One Urban Farming

Eslabon Armado, The Midland

April 7

Dan + Shay: Heartbreak on the Map Tour, T-Mobile Center

Kublai Khan, The Granada

April 8

Chappell Roan, The Midland

Hannah Wicklund, Uptown Theater

April 10

Geoff Tate, Knuckleheads

Beach Fossils, Liberty Hall

Jimbo’s Drag Circus, Folly Theater

April 11

Alice: Dreaming of Wonderland, Yardley Hall

The Wood Brothers, Madrid Theatre

James McMurtry w/ Bettysoo, Knuckleheads

Kane Brown, T-Mobile Center

April 10

KC Mavericks

last Home Game of regular Season, Cable Dahmer Arena

On Wednesday, April 10, join the Kansas City Mavericks at Cable Dahmer Arena for their last regular season home game against the Cincinnati Cyclones. It has been smooth sailing for the team this season as they head into the final month of regular season hockey play before heading into the 2024 ECHL playoffs. Nevertheless, the team can still use all the help they can get from their fans as they try to conclude the year on a high note. A midweek venture out to Independence makes for a well-priced family outing that will offer thrills to all ages. The game begins at 7:05 p.m., with tickets starting at $12 and can be found through the Mavericks’ website.

April 12

49 Winchester w/ Reid Haughton, Knuckleheads

The Urge w/ Six Percent, Madrid Theatre Walker Montgomery, PBR Big Sky

The Bygones, recordBar

April 13

A.J. Croce, Kauffman Center for Performing Arts

Thomas Rhett, OP Convention Center

Team MO-KAN’s Third Annual Pickleball

Tournament and Silent Auction, Chicken N PickleOverland Park

April 16

Dethklok, Uptown Theater

April 17

Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band w/ Nat Myers, Knuckleheads

Godsmack, The Midland Sierra Ferrell, The Truman Wheel of Fortune LIVE!

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

April 18

Waxahatchee w/ Good Morning, Uptown Theater

Blue October, Harrah’s Kansas City

Jimmy Carr, The Midland

April 19

Uncle Lucius, Knuckleheads Starset, Liberty Hall

AJR, T-Mobile Center

April 20

311, Grinders

Brian Regan, Uptown Theater

Kottonmouth Kings, Undefined KC

The Garcia Project: Tribute to Jerry Garcia, Knuckleheads

The Floozies w/ Recycled Funk, KC Live!

April 21

The Peking Acrobats, Yardley Hall

Overland Park Orchestra Concert, Roe Park

April 23

GK Chesterton, Chesterton Academy of St. Philip Neri

April 19-21

Brett Goldstein

Kauffman Center for the performing Arts

He’s here, he’s there, he’s every fuckin’ where. On April 19-21, Brett Goldstein is prepared to give you “The Second Best Night of Your Life” at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. His performance as Roy Kent in Ted Lasso earned him two back-to-back Primetime Emmy Awards as the ‘Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy’ and he’s done numerous performances such as Soulmates which he helped to create and write, to the comedy series Hoff the Record. Ticket prices vary between days, with the lowest price currently starting around $110, and are available through Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts website. Recommended for ages 15 and older.

April 24

Caroline Rose w/ Ian Sweet, recordBar

Brittany Howard w/ June McDoom, The Truman Silversun Pickups, The Midland

Jeff Dunham, Cable Dahmer Arena

April 25

Graham Parker, Knuckleheads

Taylor Acorn, recordBar

Alvvays, The Truman Canceled Podcast, The Midland

Simply the Best: The Music of Tina Turner, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

April 26

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Knuckleheads

Gregorian, Madrid Theatre

Cypress Hill, The Pharcyde, & Souls of Mischief, Uptown Theater

Brett Young, KC Live!

April 27

Alex Cube, Folly Theater Batman in Concert, Music Hall KC Pickleball Series Tournament, Epic Center KC Chris Tomlin, Cable Dahmer Arena

Jessie Murph, The Granada Liquid Stranger, The Midland

April 28

Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Truman

The Simon and Garfunkel Story, Yardley Hall

Bianca Del Rio, The Midland

April 30

Primus, Azura Hot Mulligan, Uptown Theater

Black Veil Brides, The Truman Wage War, The Midland

Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors, Knuckleheads

Terpenes for your Peen

“Just drink a glass of wine or two. it’ll help you relax,” says the OB/GYN.

“I can write you a script for the little blue pill if you want,” goes the urologist.

Far too many patients are pushed toward solutions to their intimacy woes that are socially acceptable or pharmacologically aligned. But drinking wine doesn’t make mommy more in the mood or less tense “down there.” Viagra and Cialis have their uses, yet many erectile function issues have more to do with stress or performance anxiety than blood flow issues.

Cannabis, both in the forms of THC and CBD, offers ways to treat a plethora of intimacy concerns. We are beyond the days of being able to say we need an Indica or a Sativa to achieve the anxiety-lowering, pain-reducing, body high we need. It’s all about the terpenes, baby.

Figuring out what your body needs will require both becoming educated and taking products for test runs.

“This is an incredibly individual experience,” Cannabis Educator and Coach Rose Hinsz says. Sometimes it’s not just how your body reacts, it’s about your mood and lifestyle.

“If you’re high stress, then an elevating experience can be challenging, or if you’re

feeling sluggish then a chill terpene can be real hard to manage.”

“I wish people were open to learning more. A lot of the problems surrounding cannabis are that people aren’t knowledgeable. Having accessible information for people is what will turn the tide. Google is your friend.” says CannaDani, a budtender at Fresh Karma. But getting to know a dispensary and its staff can mean the difference between guessing and learning what will relieve pain, increase, or get you out of your head.

Budtenders are like bartenders. Some are there to make some bank, and some are there because they are invested in the industry and a career educating and helping.

Products like flower can vary from grower to grower, year to year. Formulated products like tinctures, salves, or lubes can be more consistent. The market for intimacy-specific items is limited, but there are a few products to consider. A quick search of Missouri’s available products on WeedMaps.com under “lubrication” yields one brand: High LOVR. Listed as an intimacy oil, sometimes budtenders and consumers get confused. Does it go inside or outside?

“I think what I’ve learned over the last

7 months with launching an intimacy oil, is that there is more education to be had. Don’t overthink it, it is lube,” says Jill College, founder of High LOVR. Her two products are in a fractionated coconut oil base, which stays clear and has no odor. There are two formulas: 100% THC and a 1:1 THC/CBD blend. Hinsz reminds users that you “always give the lube time to set/soak in.” High LOVR’s bottle recommends 10-60 minutes.

Search WeedMaps for “arousal” and you’ll find 1906 LOVE Drops. “They are pills that have cannabinoids (CBD & THC) as well as ashwagandha, theobromine, damiana, muira puama, catauba, which gives you a tingly body high,” said Jo’Z from Greenlight Dispensary. 1906’s website lists catauba as “the Viagra of the Amazon”.

What terpenes should people look for? Or avoid?

Everyone’s endocannabinoid system is different. So no one terpene is going to be good or bad. It’s just unique to individuals in some ways that their body reacts. College said the terpene blend was the most challenging part to get right for her products.

“For bodies who need more stimulation to engage in sex, Limonene is lovely. For those who need to chill to get into the vibe, linalool is nice,” Hinsz says.

CannaDani echoes Hinsz. “D-Limonene is one of my favorites. It gives all those bright smells of citrus and creates a euphoric feeling. That smell is also kinda calming, but for some, it can also be energizing in the right circumstances.”

Pinene is for reducing anxiety and increasing focus. “People can get in their heads during sex, so I think pinene would be a beneficial terpene for getting out of their head,” CannaDani says. Other terpenes for anxiety reduction include bisabolol, farnesene, and caryophyllene.

Pain during sex is a primary reason someone may choose THC or CBD lube versus over-the-counter products or a glass of wine. Terpenes like humulene, terpineol, ocimene, pinene, and caryophyllene are pain and inflammation reducers. Conditions such as vaginismus, vulvodynia, endometriosis, and orchialgia may find enough relief to be able to enjoy sex again.

Myrcene is one of the most common terpenes found in cannabis. It’s a bit of a sedative, may help with restless feelings, is great for pain and anxiety, and can induce euphoria. For some people, that’s exactly what their body and mind need to get into the moment. Other consumers will pass the fuck out before they even get a chance to get busy.

Terpenes each have unique scents. Some are quite citrusy, woody, or floral. When College was working on High LOVR, she says the scent was definitely at the forefront of her mind. “After sweating and everything, I didn’t want someone’s kitty to smell like weed!”

it’s not all fun and games

There’s some evidence that daily habitual use of cannabis can cause erectile function issues. This can often be linked to the delivery method, as in smoking combustible weed is still inhaling smoke, which can affect circulation. Circulation is the number one function associated with erection strength.

Jo’Z recommends that penis owners reduce daily use if they’re having ED issues. “A lot of habitual users use it to reduce mental or physical pain, so maybe there isn’t much time or benefit to reduce use. Go in and talk to your budtender to discuss the strains, what you’re looking for, and change things up from your usual use.”

Hinsz says overuse has several challenging side effects. Her first question for clients is whether they use the plant to tune in or tune out. “Depression can also follow high THC use, so balancing THB & CBD is an integral part of my approach to coaching.”

She also recommends that they try a tolerance break to reset their system. “They can switch up the ingestion method, as it can change how the receptors respond, and they can look at their use intent. The smallest perceivable dose for medical benefit is going to have a negligible effect where being phased most of the day can send the whole body into lethargy and low blood pressure,” Hinsz says.

From multiple sources, there’s clear pushback from some dispensaries who are scared of anything to do with sex and intimacy. Customers have enough of their own stigmas to overcome, such as believing they are less of a woman, their pussy is broken, or they are a failure if they can’t get their partner wet—all of which are completely untrue—before they even walk through the doors of a dispensary to ask if there’s anything that can help them.

If we want people to leave Big Pharma behind, the cannabis industry will need to adjust its attitude regarding sex, which is arguably a topic that is equally as taboo to discuss as weed for many people. CannaDani says to remember that “humans are made for pleasure,” and cannabis products can help you.

In the meantime, educate yourself. Read the terpene posters in the dispensary or find one at TheAmazingFlower.com. Start a journal and take pictures of labels when you find a strain that works well for you. Take a course from trichomeinstitute.com.

Say this mantra with me: Sexual health is whole person health. The cannabis industry has a role to play in improving many consumers’ sex lives, that is, if they can get over their own biases first.

You can find Kristen @OpenTheDoorsKC on Instagram or openthedoorscoaching com. Check out her podcast Keep Them Coming.

Photo by Nicole Bissey. Illustrations by Shelby Phelps

Mending Battles Scars One Laugh at a Time

By Beth Lipoff

The Comedy Vets make a habit of using something funny to deal with a serious issue. These professional comedians do gigs all over, either for veteran audiences or to raise money to combat veteran suicide.

When they’re performing for fellow veterans, it’s often in a veterans’ home or hospital, where it’s easy for the people living there to get isolated, especially if they have no friends or family visiting them.

“After we do our show, we’ve heard back that what’ll happen is the people who hear our show, they’ll start telling jokes to each other,” Comedy Vets national commander Jeff Onyx says. “Neighbors who would never talk to each other start sharing jokes with each other. Then they start playing chess or checkers together, and hanging out together. And they have somebody to walk the long dark road with.”

The sudden change in circumstances when leaving the military leaves a lot of veterans feeling as if they don’t have support.

“When you’re in the military, you have a battle buddy you’re assigned to, somebody you go through things with. When you get out of the military, you don’t have a battle buddy anymore, and this is our way of trying to connect people together so they have a battle buddy,” Onyx says.

Onyx served as a U.S. Army Chaplain, handling suicide watch for soldiers at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.

In addition to performing at clinical settings, the Comedy Vets stage shows for both non-military audiences, as well as at places that have large veteran populations in the community, such as American Legion and VFW posts.

“The comedians, because they’re all veterans, can tell stories that the audience can relate to specifically. A lot of them talk about their own history and find different ways to put a humorous twist on it. A lot of it’s very relatable to the veteran audience, where they’re poking fun at a situation from when they were in the military,” Rick McKenna, post commander of VFW Post 7397 in Lenexa says.

McKenna says he saw sever al people who attended a Come dy Vets show in November, come back and become members at the post.

“We’re trying to encourage, through the comedy shows and humor, people bringing people out to the events who are alone. They don’t go anywhere. They stay at home; they isolate

themselves,” Onyx says. “Isolation will kill you. That’s the biggest threat to life, in most of the situations where people have committed suicide.”

Although the performers were already comedians, the group got started in 2016 after a friend of Onyx’s died by suicide.

Since then, they’ve been performing shows and collecting donations for suicide prevention charities with some promotional help from the Cosentino’s Price Chopper chain.

Onyx says the group now has 15 comedians, normally with three performing at any given gig, but they’re always looking for more. Usually, all the comedians are veterans, but they will occasionally work with a non-veteran comedian.

One of the comedians is Richie King, who served both in the Marines and the National Guard, and has been a comedian for more than 30 years. He says he loves doing everything from Donald Duck impressions to more adult material.

The humor itself for all the comedians is not necessarily military-focused, but they sometimes do related material upon request.

“We have a normal rotation, like you go to a comedy club and there’s generally the opener, the feature and then the headliner. We try to make a line-up like that to give as close to what a comedy club show would be for people who can’t go to a comedy club,” Onyx says.

They do shows all around the metro, but also in different states, usually from March to October. Comedians do get paid for their time, but they always need volunteers when they go to bigger events to staff their information booth and collect donations while they’re on stage.

When they do events that are open to the public, they post them on their Facebook page.

Onyx has run into some difficulties promoting things on Facebook, because, he says that using the key words “veteran suicide prevention” automatically limit the number of people who see it. He finds ways to work around it because the impact is worth it.

“The favorite memory was when I actually got to see that one guy everyone was saying, ‘He never talks to anyone. He never smiles, never laughs. He’s always angry and always hurt.’ Seeing that guy smile and laugh and talk to other people— that was the highlight of the whole thing,” Onyx says.