TOKEWELL MAGAZINE ISSUE 10

march/april2016

issue

10

loyalty and royalty Meet The World Famous TSL Flavors.

with the magniďŹ cent Wee Man.

house of jane We sit with herbal entrepreneur Jill Amen.

killing the game With photo assassin KillRonin.

$4.20 U.S. $5.20 CAN

march/april2016

36

contents features the original jackass

36

with the magnificent Wee Man.

house of jane

26

We talk with herbal entrepreneur Jill Amen about how she’s changing the way we medicate with her infused libations.

killing the game

70

We meet with photo assassin KillRonin and discuss how he plans on murdering the urban street photography game one shot at a time.

loyalty and royalty

56

We sit with the world famous Seventh Letter crew and rap about how they plan on changing the vape game with TSL Flavors.

columns 5 Editor’s Letter

departments 8 Vapelife: Reaching the Masses 12 Vapelife: Vaping Etiquette Applies to All 14 Vapelife: State of Affairs

16 Vapelife: A Message from CASAA 20 New Products 88 Gastronomics

on the cover PHOTO BY LEAH MORIYAMA The magnificent Wee Man. Page 36.

issue 10 march/april 2016

3

6.2%

issue 10 | mar/apr 2016

Only

of US smokers will quit this year.

(http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/mmwrs/byyear/2011/mm6044a2/intro.htm)

Do we tell the other

43 million

to just keep smoking?

Published by fr3shLAb creative group, llc President, Founding Partner Richard Coyle RICH@TOKEWELL.COM Creative Director, Founding Partner, Ryan Furuya RYAN@TOKEWELL.COM Editor-in-Chief Richard Coyle Co-Founder, Senior V.P., Operations Cindy Galindo CINDY@TOKEWELL.COM Director of Finance Yvonne Morton YVONNE@TOKEWELL.COM

SUPPORT TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION POLICIES

Contributing Writers Leilani Anderson, Alex Clark, Paul Davy, Cindy Galindo, Rene Galindo, Ruben Galindo, John Jenkens, Sheerlie Ryngler, Maximilian Sterling, Billy Wilson Contributing Photographers Dani Curlin, DC Network, Daniel “Panduh” Foster, Kenji Furutani, Vera M, Zane Meyer, Leah Moriyama Tokewell Magazine is published bi-monthly by fr3shLAb creative group, llc. Tokewell Magazine does not condone the illegal use or obtainment of cannabis. All content within this magazine is copyright protected and may not be reproduced in part or in whole without explicit written consent from the publisher. Tokewell Magazine is strictly for entertainment purposes only, and is not to be held liable for any misleading or inaccurate material produced herein.

©2016 Fr3shlab Creative Group LLC. All Rights Reserved. tokewell po box 444, alhambra, ca 91802 www.CASAA.org A public service message from the Consumers Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association

Ad Sales INFO@TOKEWELL.COM tokewell.com tokewell tokewell

4 tokewell magazine

Within both of these paradigms, we have come to a point where good ol’ home innovation and inventiveness is meeting real world design and production.

The black markets have exploded upon the legitimate business world to the tune of billions of dollars.

Regulation and legislation that we have fought long and hard for, are finally coming to fruition. Yet, this is only the beginning...We as a community must remain vigilant and ensure that these fledgling industries continue on the correct path on our way to freedom, health and wellness. We must monitor ourselves as well as our compatriots because we are living on the bleeding edge. There are no established experts but ourselves and as we carry our torches into the darkness, we must keep in mind that we are paving the way for all those who follow.

Information is our most valuable weapon and our most precious ally.

With this in mind, I invite you to join us on a journey of discovery and enlightenment leading to victory and liberty.

It’s a very exciting time that we are living in right now. 2016 has given us the promise of health through innovation and emerging technologies, along with the opportunity for new leadership. For instance, the recent emergence of CBD (cannabidiol) has been an auspicious addition within the vape industry as a health benefit. People are also more cognizant and are doing their due diligence about investigating what they are consuming, from e-Liquid ingredients to the proper dosing of edibles and concentrates. As a result, the FDA has been doing everything in their power to try and quell the positive noise the vape and cannabis industry have been making. I allegorize this to the title of one of my favorite albums of all time - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Millions of our tax dollars have been irresponsibly and systematically misused to deceive the general public with a smokescreen of false propaganda and blanket statements designed to demonize our industries. The use of vaping has become so mainstream that enthusiast Leonardo DiCaprio pulled out his vape and was competing for King of the Clouds at the SAG Awards, which broke the internet. On a political level, California congressman Duncan Hunter famously changed the weather to Cloudy inside Capitol Hill by making a point in saying, “e-Cigarettes are a suitable alternative to cigarettes, and they could very well save my life.” The government is trying hard to suppress the movement as evidenced by their “funded” anti-vape commercials to the nullification and miseducation that cannabis does not have any medical benefits. Try telling that to Charlotte Figi or Dr. Sanjay Gupta who’s famously gone on record to say, “It’s time for a medical marijuana revolution.” One bright light at the end of the tunnel is that former Attorney General Eric Holder and presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have all gone on record concurring that cannabis needs to be rescheduled and downgraded to Schedule II. With that said, it’s important that we unify and support the agencies that fight for our right to heal. Write to your congress and voice your opinions. Remember; “closed mouths don’t get fed.”

welcome

Welcome to Tokewell Magazine.

We strive to bring you to the cutting edge of technology, design, lifestyle, and culture for both MMJ and Vapor.

#TogetherWeRise Stack Paper, Catch Vapors.

Sincerely,

Richard Coyle Editor-in-Chief

issue 10 march/april 2016

5

vapelife

reaching the masses WORDS BY BILLY WILSON, CEO & PAUL ECIG DISTRIBUTORS, INC.

DAVEY, PRESIDENT

up the adoption lifecycle and get to a point where Grandma knows what she likes to Vape?

When we started in the Vape business there were only a handful of shops and eLiquid companies in Southern California. We quickly realized that we would all face significant challenges in navigating this new and exciting alternative to smoking. Our sole mission became painstakingly clear; we had a lot of problems to solve. We needed solutions that would not only solve our own problems but would have a positive effect on all stakeholders in our industry. As a fledgling technology, it is only natural that we would face significant hurdles that are inherent with any technology adoption lifecycle.

No matter how long you have been in the Vape business, the fact of the matter is, this industry is still in its infancy. Each one of us that is a stakeholder of this fast-paced, high-growth industry can be categorized as an innovator or early adopter. The real question is not if Vaping will stand the test of time, but rather how will this technology cross the chasm to reach the mass market. How do we as a collective group, speed

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Keep It Simple Stupid is the answer. As an industry, we have created too much unnecessary complexity. Between the wildly ambiguous flavor names, complicated supply chains, rapidly changing technology, lack of market data and a reliance on antiquated systems, our industry has stunted its own growth potential and has become wrought with inefficiencies. Solving these issues holistically is our shortest path to reaching the mass market and achieving the scale required to truly reduce the global reliance on traditional tobacco products.

We believe that strategic partnerships and implementation of best practices can accelerate our leap across the chasm from early adopters to early majority. There has been an “Every Man for Himself” mentality in this industry, which is creating a destructive undercurrent in our market.

We need to get away from this mindset and focus on getting customers this technology in the most convenient and efficient way possible.

This disruptive technology has already had a profound impact on hundreds of thousand of lives and while momentum continues to build, there are still tens of millions of lives that can be positively affected by this technology. There will continue to be massive legal, financial and regulatory hurdles put in our way, and we need to set egos aside and focus our efforts on building this industry up and not taking each other down.

WEB SI TE:

ejuices.co

vapelife

vaping etiquette applies to all WORDS

JOHN “JJ” JENKINS OWNER/CEO, THE VAPOR SPOT they should apply to the vapor. When the science is actually applied without rhetoric, vaping is clearly a different category than smoking.

We are at a crux in the timeline of vaping. Most everyone is now aware of what vaping is, and all have formed an opinion of it, either positive or negative. We have a lot of haters out there that have years of anti-tobacco rhetoric and imagery to back up their position. While on the ProVaping side, you have over ten million current vapers that are doing their best to educate the uninformed.

Now that celebrities and public figures have taken up vaping, an even tighter level of scrutiny is being used to view vaping. While we love Leonardo DiCaprio, I find myself torn in defending his vaping habits. Vaping in Los Angeles has been banned in public spaces like restaurants, yet due to hard work by the vaping community (Vapor Spot included) we were able to attend the public hearings and fight for our vaping allowance in Vape Shops. Not every city was as active, with smaller towns creating a patchwork of individual and misinformed laws scattered across the state.

People cite clean air indoor smoking laws as if

12 tokewell magazine

So as we move forward into the future, the message of etiquette is paramount. If Leo vapes at a public dinner, even with the consent of his table, there is surely someone at the next table that sees the vapor and is so unfamiliar with it, they assume it is cigarette smoke. And then the debate begins anew. Yes, Leo is exercising his freedom... but he’s also doing it in a battleground where the rules have already been set. So in this particular instance, Leo is actually hard to defend. He’s in a dining establishment vaping around other diners. A little etiquette, a little common sense, and a little awareness of the image problem vaping has currently would be more valuable to our cause then the viral image of Leo vaping. So until common sense laws allow business owners to choose for themselves if vaping is allowed in their establishment, we ask all vapers to be aware of their surroundings, aware of their image issues amongst the haters and take two minutes to step outside with their vape. After all...that’s where the smokers are...and that’s where we should be the loudest. Illustrating our technology to smokers. Getting smokers to switch to vaping.

Not trying to convert the haters. They have made up their minds and are looking for any ammo they can to use against us. So please use a little etiquette when vaping. That simple courtesy may help sway the undecided.

Oh, wait. Leo just got an Oscar? F*ck it. He can Vape wherever he wants now.

WEB SI TE:

thevaporspot.com

the state of affairs vapelife

WORDS SHEERLIE RYNGLER, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND CREATIVE, VAPE ORGANICS

In the early months of 2016, the vape industry finds itself situated atop a mountain peak—elevation through constant innovation and determination to forge a path in uncharted territory. With serious challenges on the horizon, what should be done to ensure that this year we can finally fly?

FRAME THE CONVERSATION

Vaping should always be compared to smoking. SFATA launched a brilliant series of podcasts and recently interviewed Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor at Boston University’s School of Public Health. As a veteran of the tobacco-control movement, Dr. Siegel shared that in recent years it has “completely lost track of the ultimate goal— to protect the public’s health” and minimize harm, not to “eliminate addiction in society.”

He highlights parallels between this phenomenon and the “war on drugs,” whereby we incarcerate youth for possession of a relatively small amount of marijuana because of addiction fears, failing to respond according to the level of harm at hand.

A study recently released by Public Health England concluded that vaping is 95% safer than smoking. Regardless of qualification by

14 tokewell magazine

the powers that be regarding “acceptable” (read: controlled by Big Pharma and Big Tobacco) means of smoking cessation, the vape industry’s raison d’être is to offer smokers a significantly less harmful but equally effective alternative. The unprecedented success of e-cigarettes in helping smokers to quit is supported by literally countless testimonials from ex-smokers themselves—a true public health victory.

CHOOSE WISELY

While vaping is clearly safer than smoking, some responsible players in our industry have risen to the challenge of stringent self-regulation, setting new standards for the benefit of all. Of concern are increasing reports from current vapers of sensitivity or outright allergic reaction to PG—a main ingredient in most e-liquids. It’s unclear how many people try vaping for the first time, experience a negative reaction to PG and assume vaping is toxic.

Store owners should be aware of PG-free options to mitigate the harm of such incidents; beyond gaining customers, they can help safeguard the reputation of our industry.

As for diacetyl and acetyl propionyl, though present in cigarettes in much higher quantities, e-liquid manufacturers should absolutely abstain from these questionable chemical additives.

As consumers demand answers about ingredients, safety testing, and production processes, store-owners must hold their suppliers to high WEB SI TE:

pureorganicvapors.com

standards, stocking only what they can truly stand behind.

FLEX YOUR POWER

Though we face many challenges, the American vape community is now estimated at 10 million individuals.

According to a Washington insider, this community will be very inuential in all upcoming elections; we need to be well-informed and vocal to capitalize on this power.

Vapers should continue sharing their smoking cessation stories; these testimonials cannot be negated.

Consumers should support companies that have a longterm vision—not those in this industry to make a quick buck, but those actually here to serve the cause.

The importance of alternative publications such as Tokewell, which reach open-minded and critical-thinking people from diverse paths, is beyond measure. The vape community must support all efforts that reach, and raise awareness amongst, the mainstream public.

issue 10 march/april 2016

15

a message from casaa WORDS ALEX

CLARK, LEGISLATIVE COORDINATOR, CASAA

vapelife

to smoking. Empowering consumers present a significant opportunity to vastly improve public health without resorting to coercive methods of control such as punitive taxation, comprehensive place bans, and excessively restrictive regulations.

Proposals to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products have been working their way through cities and municipalities for roughly ten years. In 2013, New York City–known for its aggressive tobacco control policies–was the first major US city to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco and vapor products to 21. In 2015, Hawaii became the first state to pass legislation that raises the minimum purchase age to 21.

Proponents of Tobacco 21 (T21) claim these laws will significantly reduce smoking initiation for adolescents and young adults. However, these laws also prohibit adults from purchasing vapor products and other safer alternatives to smoking.

CASAA’s position is that including low-risk alternatives in T21 laws is unwise and likely to hamper the general public health goal of reducing the use of combustible tobacco products.

Consistent with CASAA’s mission, we support the principles of tobacco harm reduction as the most effective and humane means of reducing the harms caused by smoking. We believe if consumers are provided accurate information about the relative health risks of these products, in concert with their individual freedom to choose, many will opt for safer, low-risk alternatives

16 tokewell magazine

In contrast, advocates of T21 legislation have as their guiding principle the eventual elimination tobacco and nicotine products from the marketplace. To this end, they promote the view that all tobacco and vapor products, in spite of considerable evidence to the contrary, are equally harmful. We believe it is never appropriate to mislead consumers about product risks in order to achieve a policy goal.

Accordingly, T21 legislation, which treats all tobacco and vapor products equally under the law, sends the misleading message to consumers that e-cigarettes, snus, and other low-risk products pose risks equivalent to traditional cigarettes.

It treats young adults, who are capable enough to serve in the military, sign contracts, and elect decision-makers to public office, as incapable of making the distinction between risky and less risky behavior. And finally, T21 laws represent a prohibitionist approach, which in the past has often been met with limited success compared to the harmful unintended consequences.

Although CASAA takes no position on regulations regarding combustible tobacco products, we strongly oppose this legislation. We believe this policy will cause far more harm than it prevents, and we urge vapor consumers and harm reduction advocates to oppose it. You can follow our calls to action and local alerts on this issue at www.blog.casaa.org WEB SI TE:

casaa.org

new products 20 tokewell magazine

California’s Central Valley isn’t exactly known for being the epitome of dope streetwear which makes Hellafornia so impressive. Headquartered in the small town of Atwater, CA, creator Levi Ortega has managed to elevate a relatively unknown streetwear brand into one of the hottest apparel items on the market today - Hellafornia. Synonymous with “Cali Pride” and motivation, Hellafornia embodies the hustle and grind mindset

it takes to be successful regardless where you come from. With catchphrases such as “Stake Claims” and “Act Local, Think Global”, Hellafornia is the perfect addition for the young entrepreneur. Hellafornia stays deep-rooted and never forgets where it came from while letting cats know where it’s headed.

WEB SI TE:

hellaforniaclothing.com

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new products 22 tokewell magazine

The e-Liquid OG’s and artisans at the world famous Villain Vapors have done it again with their latest release of savory cloud perfection - Fetti-pop by Confection. As you know, the hardest thing in this industry is to match the actual flavor with what is actually on the packaging and let me tell you, this is spot on. Fetti-pop is a dense and moist funfetti birthday cake concoction coupled with a whipped strawberry finish. Fetti-pop is available in 30ml bottles with nicotine strengths of 0mg, 3mg, and 6mg. What are you waiting for? The party’s just getting started.

W E BS ITE:

vapeconfection.com

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THE

H O U S E T H AT

B U I LT

In today’s world, it’s no secret that women have quickly begun to dominate the medical cannabis industry.

In fact, some even predict it could be the first non-male dominated multi-million dollar industry.

Everywhere you turn, from the legal aspects to the medical and even recreational sector, you find women are at the forefront, running the show and showing everyone how it’s done.

It would seem fitting that the fairer sex, usually associated with caring and nurturing, would excel in an industry based on compassion.

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issue 10 march/april 2016

27

T

oday, we sit with a woman who has found her own special little niche in the world of medical cannabis. A natural business woman, Jill Amen found a gap in the industry and quickly built a thriving business based on showing compassion to those not within the cannabis community. When she saw an untapped market full of potential, she knew that she couldn’t let the opportunity slip away. She, like so many others, found lack of compassion within the compassion industry, and decided to do something about it, bringing her own unique vision to the cannabis world. A entrepreneur, an activist, a mother, a wife (and on a side note, a genius), Jill Amen proves that not all superheroes wear capes.

In an age of unregulated edible products, Jill strives to bring her patient’s medication without the stigma of the marijuana industry. Instead of heavily dosed cookies and candies, she brings a game changer to the world of medicated edibles - infused coffees and teas. What started as just a simple question about her options in an Amsterdam coffee house quickly became the foundation for a business as well as a revolution that has quickly gained nationwide support. Jill has invested time, money, dedication, and even personal well being at times, to ensure that she brings a product worthy of everyone, both in and out of the ostracized world of medical marijuana. She wants the rest of the country to view cannabis as she and the cannabis community does, and strongly believes that it is up to those within the community to make it happen. She wholeheartedly believes that if cannabis is to be accepted, it must be approachable to those who don’t know anything about it besides

28 tokewell magazine

what they see in the media.

Many parts of the country are relatively accepting of cannabis thanks to its role in popular culture, despite it still being illegal at the federal level. Because of its illegal status, many are still wary of it . However, positive media coverage and mainstream associations such as Dr. Sanjay Gupta allow legitimate business owners and entrepreneurs like Jill to emerge and do what they like without the negative stigma traditionally associated with marijuana. She uses the freedom she has in the company’s home state of California to her advantage, not only creating something for the people who’ll use her product, but for the people who may have never given the controversial plant a second thought with its established associations.

Not everyone can ask people to take a pledge of responsibility towards something so controversial and so easy to take advantage of, and gain the support of thousands across the country, many of whom have no access to what she brings to the table. In a short amount of time, what started out as a contract asking patients to ingest her products responsibly has become a nationwide movement pledging to consider all those whose lives may be affected by the use of cannabis. Change the way the world sees cannabis? Check. Make it approachable to the outside eye? Check. Create something medicinal and tasty? Check. Start a revolution and be part of something bigger than one’s self? Double check. As they say, not all superheros wear capes. With her family and business partners by her side, Jill Amen is an unstoppable force who’s making waves and saving us in ways we didn’t even know we needed to be.

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30 tokewell magazine

Tell us about “Jane”.

Well, House of Jane, Mary Jane.

I can’t say Jane is Jill or Jill is Jane, but I really relate to the Jane persona, and the persona is everything that the brand is. So as this moves forward, Jane is going to be speaking out about, and really being out there, asking people to come out and be involved and support change.

Whether you have a personal relationship as a cannabis consumer or not, the fact is that people should have the right to choose what works for them. That’s what I’m about, and that’s where Jane and Jill converge. Once I committed to be out there, I wanted to be vocal. Quite honestly, I am so into my products and care so much about what we do and what we’ve introduced, and I’m just as equally passionate about advocating for people to have the right to choose what’s right for their body. You cannot listen to what people force feed you; you have got to find out for yourself.

You cannot listen to the propa-

ganda that the government tells you - those are the messages that I feel very strongly in putting forth when I talk. That’s what I like to do, being out there and pushing the envelope of what can be and what should be.

So where do your cannabis roots start?

After my dad introduced me to it, I was growing a lot of big plants.

My dad was one of the few veterinarians in town and he had the only incinerator. It was the ‘70s, and although it was a pretty liberal time, the local police would use it to get rid of any weed they happened to confiscate. One day my dad came home with these seedlings, which apparently had popped out of the incinerator and germinated somehow. I never really understand how this happened, and still don’t, but he brought home these little tiny seedlings and planted them in the backyard for me and just took me out there to see them. I read High Times and learned to grow, and grew for a few seasons, learned to grow Sensimilla, which, let’s be honest: nobody really knew what we were doing. You had just had

your seeds and your weed. Then I moved for the summer and supported myself by selling weed.

I went to Pepperdine in Malibu, but I was too busy smoking weed and having fun and forgot to go to school. (laughs) But eventually I graduated college, and after I did, it was time to get serious. I went to work for Intel and did the corporate thing, met my husband, and eventually started my own company. I realized I couldn’t do gray walls and cubicles. I just couldn’t, I couldn’t!

Talk about purgatory.

How did you get started with Jane’s Brew?

At the time, branding flower wasn’t something that was paramount. We started growing, I invested in a growing operation, so I figured I gotta really go back to my grass roots and totally understand the new ways of growing. I had to really reinvent my process because things had changed so much in terms of cultivation the last thirty years.

Then we started experimenting in my kitchen with our own weed.

We didn’t know how to make hash oil, CO2 extractions were just emerging…Rick Simpson oil and we didn’t know how we were gonna infuse our coffees. I’m not a domestic person, I’ve never spent time in my kitchen if I’m being really honest. I spent more time in my kitchen night after night, day after day, trying everything, every possible situation, because we had no idea what we were doing! We would test it ourselves; I remember I got so, so high - I

issue 10 march/april 2016

31

must’ve consumed a gram of oil and I woke up all night screaming. I thought I was in hell. And this was all R&D for my product! (laughs) My husband kept trying to calm me down and I would go screaming again. It was a weird experience, and we went through all of that, including my doing this to other people, slowly but surely.

Yikes. How did you get beyond that rough testing phase?

I have to credit Dr. Rev. Kymron of Steep Hill Labs. We went to him and it was like we were “going to see the wizard”, so to speak, and he really does look like a wizard! (laughs) He got us on the right path. Then we had to figure out what was our base–we had to figure out how to take the oil and make it suspend in water, or in a beverage; so that you wouldn’t see or feel the oil–it would just be there. That’s where I knew I’d need additional funding. That’s when I met my partner, Ben Sheppard. He wanted to get into the industry, and he liked the lifestyle contract.

Ben was able to raise some funds, and we were able to hire some really good food scientists down here in LA–people who worked for Nestlé and International Delight. Really mainstream people, who were willing to take on our project but wished to remain anonymous. They helped us further evolve our bases and what we use in all our products.

Tell us a little more about the concept of Jane’s Brew and the lifestyle contract.

32 tokewell magazine

I wanted something I would consume, that I could see my conservative friends consuming.

Something for those who’d never consider smoking. We’re creating a dialogue–Jane is creating a dialogue with patients that create a really accepting environment. The lifestyle contract is this oath on our website that says “If you’re going to consume cannabis, take the pledge to do it responsibly, and consider those it impacts.” This is what we ask of our patients because as an industry, if we want this right, we can’t be talking out both sides of our mouths about it. Jane’s Brew to me is a result of that–it’s a lifestyle choice that people should be able to make responsibly when they want, where they want.

What was the inspiration behind Jane’s Brew?

Well my inspiration started a long time ago. I’ve always been an entrepreneur, ever since I was a little girl, couldn’t help it. When I became a teenager, I really developed a strong and positive relationship with cannabis that followed me through college and beyond. So when my kids were about 16, 17 years old, they came out to me, saying they’d smoked cannabis. So I, in turn, came out to them, and then we went to my husband, sat him down, and came out to him.

Imagine, his kids and his wife!

Some time after that, we went to Amsterdam. We went into a coffee house and, obviously, you can buy and smoke weed, which is really kinda cool. But then I

started to wonder, why can’t you get cannabis coffee? Because in truth, the older I got the less I really wanted to smoke it. The problem is, at the time, edibles weren’t really… progressive, by any means. So we came back and got I got into cannabis again and I really, really wanted to create a brand. And really my kids were what got it started. It was us - we worked diligently on this; my son even took a quarter off of school to help launch this company.

Tell us about that big event you held in D.C. this past June!

We the first event of its kind, a

private party where we invited policy makers, politicians, law enforcement, the media, business owners and other significant notables. We notified law enforcement that we’d be there for a cannabis consumption party, and that we were not serving alcohol. We had a gorgeous spread of food, people came, and our guest list was amazing. All night long, I was there because I wanted to make sure the dosing was right. We had to procure our oil in D.C., because you can’t transport it over state lines. So I brought my coffee and everything and we mixed it there and

kinda made it on the spot. I was actually making and serving the coffee and tea to everybody all night! People stayed all evening.

Obviously we were serving very low doses; we were letting people try it. We had cocktail hostesses taking orders and asking people if they’d tried cannabis or edibles before, if they wanted a low or moderate dose, and people would tell us, and in an hour they could come back and want to try some more. We were written about in The Atlantic and NPR and The Washington Post - just on and on and on about that we had the balls to go out there and do this

the same day there was a flash flood. We had all these messages from nature that were coming down on us! (laughs) We even had to change venues at the last minute, but it was just hilarious!

It still happened!

You mentioned conservative friends. How does your family feel about your work?

Well, my dad brought home my first plants for me, so I think he knew exactly what was going to happen, where my life would lead with that, and I wish he were alive to see this.

My husband didn’t really like

issue 10 march/april 2016

33

it, so I was real low key about smoking to him. He knew about what I’d done in the past, but it took him a long time to be okay with me smoking in front of him. He’s come a long way. As for my kids, we have a real close relationship, and one day they came to me and said, “Mom, we smoked pot.” And I said, “Okay, well, I’m gonna come out to you.”

I explained to them I had a real strong relationship with cannabis, that it really worked for me, and it was something I preferred over alcohol. I want to say that my son, my niece, my nephew, and my daughter are all such big parts of the brand. My son is going to be graduating from Cal Poly this year, and he’s got his own business now, but he is still a stockholder at our company.

Do you think that even those more conservative towards marijuana might be more comfortable with being associated with it once it becomes legal on a federal level?

I absolutely do. I mean, on a smaller scale, think about the people in Colorado who are more accepting of it; California even.

I was just in Virginia recently, and you can’t just walk around

34 tokewell magazine

with it. But you’re not afraid to be yourself in Colorado, you’re not afraid to vape at a table in San Francisco. It’s about people’s mindset of it. People start to say, “Oh well, I heard you can use it as medicine here.” A lot of people are just so far removed from it.

The more media attention it has, the more legal acceptance there is of it, then people become more comfortable with it. The more people become comfortable with it, the more dialogue there’ll be about it. That’s my goal, my sheer job, with House of Jane, as “Jane” - to convey a comfortable level of dialogue with patients and prospective patients. I always say that 90% of our market doesn’t even know they’re our market for Jane’s Brew, because they’re just now becoming acclimated to seeing people like Sanjay Gupta and realizing “Oh, why have we been told for so long that this was bad?” We’ve created something called Jane’s Army - and to date we have nearly 1,000 people who’ve signed up from all over the country, in states that cannot consume our product. And they know we’ve got no way to bring them our product, but they sign up anyway. They want to be part

of the movement, they want to be part of being responsible. It’s really cool to see these people that are finding us out there, just finding us and joining us, to help move this forward.

What’s in the future for Jane’s Brew?

To infinity and beyond! (laughs) We’re rolling out to other states, just launching in Nevada, Arizona. Next in Colorado, then we’ll go to Washington and Oregon.

We’ll probably be in Maryland and Michigan, and then we’ll continue to other states. There are 24 medicinal states right now, all with varying degrees of what’s possible. Some of them only have a couple a medical dispensaries, but there’s no way to get the cannabis to it. Some states don’t allow edibles. Some states don’t allow smoking, but as time goes through, we’ll push to be there when the time is right. That’s one thing regarding our products: we’re introducing more bottled coffees, cold brews, so those will be coming out in the next three months. Keep an eye out for those!

WEB SI TE:

houseofjane.com

WORDS

RENE GALINDO

SNAPS

LEAH MORIYAMA

There’s no doubt that in today’s society reality television and viral videos rule the media. We take a few moments to catch up with one of the founding fathers of this movement to see how it started and how life has been since taking a hiatus from the spotlight.

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W

ith the rise of the internet and access to media more readily available, the late 90’s paved way for a new form of entertainment and fame - the reality tv star. No other show garnered more attention or gained more traction during that time than “Jackass” and with social media becoming more prevalent, it doesn’t seem like this form of “Insta-fame” is slowing down anytime soon.

Meet Jason Acuna, better known as “Wee Man”, one of the driving forces and talents behind this mashup of hilariousness. Born of Mexican and German descent, Jason made his way from his place of birth in Pisa, Italy to Torrance, California. It was here that he found a passion for skateboarding and desire to do more within that community. He started his path to superstardom as a subscription manager for a controversial skateboarding magazine called “Big Brother”. The networking and relationships that were formed while employed with the magazine would prove to be invaluable. It was there that

he started making Big Brother skateboarding videos like Shit no 2, Crap and Boob, with some of the cast that would later develop into Jackass. “Jackass started off because of skateboarding, and then became more”, says Acuna.

The videos gained popularity among the younger generation not because of the skateboarding, but because of the jackass elements in them. The desire to do bigger things and capitalize on the fame lead Jason and the crew to collaborate with Bam Margera, who was doing CKY videos at the time which had similar content as theirs. With the right people and formula for success “Wee Man” and Jackass made its debut on October 1, 2000, and had 3 seasons of success before ending the show. With its worldwide appeal and popularity, Jason continued as “Wee Man” through four “Jackass” films.

With a variety of other television shows and movies under his belt, he has found time to pursue other business ventures.”I can’t sit still, I only sleep like 4 to 5 hours a day and wake up every morning asking, what

you can’t have something without nothing

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are we going to do today, we have to do something”, says Jason.

Rather than becoming another statistic of the here today gone tomorrow fame many reality tv stars have experienced, Jason has managed to stay relevant by keeping his hands in a number of things from the food industry to the clothing industry. So let’s take a moment and hear from the man himself on how he went from Oompa Loompas and head kicks to tacos and Skivvies.

I will probably use that unless you say otherwise.

Well, you were going from the beginning and that’s usually when it happens (laughs). We were over here on the west coast working on a magazine called Big Brother. It pretty much was skateboarding with Jackass articles in it and then we did Big Brother videos Shit no 2, Crap and Boob. Those videos were also skateboarding with Jackass and them.

So basically, Jackass started off because of skateboarding and then became more.

Once you had everyone on board with Jackass, how did the first episode come about?

Well, I was doing my pro spotlight shoot for Big Brother as a pro skater and we were doing this shot where I was dressed as an Oompa Loompa skating a mini ramp for the cover. So as I was doing this Jeffs all, “go out and film you skating in your Oompa Loompa outfit”. I was all for it but that meant me going out in my Oompa Loompa outfit for 4 days trying to get this footage. As I was doing this, I remember laughing and thinking to myself, “This is only going to last maybe 5 episodes tops and they’re going to pull it”. Luckily it blew up big and we didn’t get the plug. It got so big that celebrities like Brad Pitt and Shaquille O’Neal started calling us asking to be on the show.

When did you know you guys really had something big here?

We realized that when our videos starting selling really big. The skating wasn’t like too crazy so there had to be another reason why they were selling. We then realized well they must be buying our videos for the jackass elements. So we decided that these were the kind of videos we should be making. It wasn’t until we collaborated with Bam and his crew, who were doing CKY videos at the time, that Jackass really gained steam.

Do you feel in some ways that the whole Jackass movement contributed to what viral media marketing is today?

Oh totally! 100 percent of course. Then you have these old timers saying, “Oh me and my buddies were doing that shit before cameras were out!” Well, too bad. You should have had a camera, doesn’t count (laughs). Footage is forever so if you didn’t catch it on camera, it didn’t happen.

It’s funny because you see some really insane footage on the internet now and

Jason, let’s talk about everything from the beginning, like how you guys got involved with Jackass.

Oh, I thought you meant the beginning, like when my dad put his wiener in my mom and then I was inseminated and then it took nine months (laughs)

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then there’re some half ass ones, like come on? Step it up a little.

Skating has come such a long way from when you first started, how has Jackass contributed to the sport if any?

Oh, it’s definitely helped bring it to the spotlight. My buddies that I grew up with when we first started skating love what the

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popularity of Jackass has done because we used to go to places to skate and get kicked out all the time. Now we get to go places and skate by ourselves and people are totally fine with it. They’re even inviting us to continue skating when we’re there.

Do you still keep in touch with the Jackass crew?

Oh yeah, we keep in touch all the time. We catch up with each other and see what each other is doing. For instance, Steve-O and Preston are big comedians now so they’re on the road a lot. Knoxville is trying to do his own thing making movies. After 20 years we just released the Big Brother book which is all the covers of Big Brother magazine and little

bits of the good parts of each of those issues. It’s like a coffee table book. A few of us hung out at the release of the book, so there’s stuff like that we still do.

Is there any chance of new Jackass material like movies or reunions?

I don’t know, maybe reunion stuff but nothing that’s going to

be on a film like a next movie.

The reason being is that right now as it is, Knoxville has done what he wanted to do with it and now he’s furthering his career and we’re all doing different things now. We’re all business people in some sort of way.

You know a lot of people may not know this, but you’re actual-

ly an entrepreneur that has his hands in a few things. Tell us a little about that.

Yes, I’m involved in a few things.

One of them is a Mexican restaurant called Chronic Tacos.

I was introduced to this by a buddy of mine that wanted to bring it to the south bay area.

He set up a meeting with the founder Randy and after a

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night of partying we just decided we were going to do this. I made it clear to Randy that I didn’t just want to open one store if I was going to be involved I wanted to be involved with the whole production. That was back in 2008. There are now 7 corporate owners of Chronic Tacos including me. Another business venture of mine involves partners Colin Morrison aka Scummy from Metal Mulisha, and Byron from Pennywise. Rick Thorne is also involved. We own an

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underwear line named Skivvies. We’re changing the world with people having fresh new underwear on because you can’t leave the house with dirty skivvies (laughs).

You also have a skateboard brand called Nullity. What’s the inspiration behind the name?

Well, I was reading a book “Why the World Exists” by John Holt and in the book he kept referring to a concept of “you can’t have something

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without nothing”. That little line of nothing is something clicked with me and I was like that’s what I want as my skateboard company. I’m not trying to be anything just make skateboards. I researched words that meant zero or nothing and came across the word nullity, which means no importance and no worth. That was the perfect name for my company, no importance, no worth, just skateboarding. Keeping it to its roots just make boards and have fun.

What are your thoughts on cannabis legalization and usage?

I’m totally pro-cannabis legalization and we have plans for it in the future. We’re like the cigarette company that already has it’s feet in the door ready to go when it happens, we’re right there too. I also believe in it because I’m all about going natural. I’ve seen the benefits in medicinal use where people take prescrip-

tion drugs that don’t help but cannabis does.

Mother nature put this here for a reason.

Mother nature will always be above and beyond the human race and always finds a way to survive.

Do you feel that there’s some kind of negative stigma with cannabis use among athletes and action sports individuals?

The way I feel about it is to each his own.

I’ve never been a weed smoker or anything, I used to be a crazy drunk and I fixed myself.

One thing I did notice after being sober was at every bar, drunks were the ones destroying and getting into fights while the potheads were always chilled and relaxed talking about “whoa that dudes fucking crazy!” You know I’m in no position to tell someone what they can and cannot do so that’s why it’s to each their own.

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What’s next for Jason Acuna, what do you have in the pipeline?

Um, I have some things that I’m working on taking to the next level but I never like to let the cat out of the bag until it’s done. I like the shock value instead of the “oh I can’t wait for you to do that!” value you know what I mean? I’ve

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always been known as a person who can’t sit still. I always have to be doing something, even if I’m sick and I’m in bed half the day I’ll feel like “oh my god I’ve wasted half the day I have to get up and do something!”. I get up every day feeling that I have to accomplish something for that day.

Thanks for your time Jason, we can’t wait to see what’s next for you and I really hope that we haven’t seen the last of Wee Man and the Jackass crew.

TT H HE E W WO OR R LL D D F FA AM MO OU U SS

tsl flavors RICHARD COYLE

SNAPS

LEAH MORIYAMA /// SUBMITTED BY THE SEVENTH LETTER

Overachieving coupled with Loyalty and Royalty has been the palette of success of The World Famous Seventh Letter.

We sit with the brainchildren of TSL Flavors and talk about what prompted the legends of the graffiti art movement and streetwear fashion to stake their claim in the vape game.

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DANI CURLIN

WORDS

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T

he vaping industry has produced some of the most innovative technology and creative geniuses amongst young entrepreneurs from electronically controlled devices to e-Liquids. While the ascension to becoming a multi-billion dollar industry has been unprecedented, the creativity that brought them there didn't necessarily follow suit. I liken the lack of creativity as reminiscent of a monotonous dilapidated canvas that it almost seems like a stagnant regurgitation of repetitiveness. As with any industry that has experienced exponential growth, we must take the positive with the negative. The latter being consumers exposed to unimaginative and predictable flavors, coupled with the audacious biting of intellectual property. Enter the vape artisans and renegades - TSL Flavors.

TSL Flavors is the collaborative effort of Casey Zoltan the Commander in Chief of the World Famous Seventh Letter and Major League Vapors e-Liquid artiste and entrepreneur, David Lee. Much like waiting til’ the wee hours of morning for the most opportune moment to bomb that flawless train or freeway spot in the heavens, the TSL crew have been standing on the sidelines observing the vape industry while preparing for the right time to get in the game. “Nobody was doing what we were doing in the vape industry. I feel there was a lack of creativity and

it was stagnant. There was no graffiti or art influence and I felt we could absolutely do something to improve on that.”, says Casey. Infamous for going against the grain and being one of the world's authoritative collectives on graffiti art and influencers on modern streetwear, The Seventh Letter isn’t known for sitting on ideas and shelving projects, so when a meeting occurred between Casey and Trevelen from Superco regarding an entirely different project, the universe opened up and greatness transpired. “David and I got introduced to each other by a mutual friend, Trevelen from Superco Customs. David was introduced to me as a master juice maker and I thought that was interesting. We clicked, and it just happened. We share the same vision and ideas, and we wanted to do something different and approach the vape industry as we’ve done in the art and fashion word.” reveals Casey.

We’re grateful they did. It almost seemed inevitable that the globes most respected overachievers are on a collision course to write a new chapter in their library of piecebooks while staking their claim on the vape industry. If TSL Flavors achieves what they have in the art and fashion world, the vape game is in for a much needed aesthetic shift, which is a creative breath of fresh air. When it comes to the Seventh Letter, you know what they say, old habits die hard.

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How did the concept come about for TSL Flavors?

We wanted to have graffiti influence, yet not pigeonhole ourselves, so we did it discreetly by using old school Krylon colors as the name of our first three juices. This way people would know it was officially produced by The Seventh Letter and we were truly behind it.

When you guys first launched, what was that like?

There was a lot of learning, but of course, we’re up for the challenge. We did our first trade show at Vape Summit and that was amazing. We had a crazy car built by PAGE ONE and Ghost Motorsports, a fully custom-built vending trailer, live painting by Aloy, Norm, Manny Sayes and Huero, engraving by Hernan of Engrave-It and a photo show and so on. It was just nuts. People were like what the fuck?! Who are you guys?

We’ve been here the entire time. We were just in the corner watching. The response has been phenomenal.

When did you realize TSL Flavors became a vape industry mainstay?

Nobody was doing things the way we do, so we took the TSL formula and applied to the vape industry. I feel like art and graffiti influence was absent and we needed to fill that void. Things just changed rapidly for us in a positive way as a result of that mindset. We just approached it like we do with our art and fashion. Overachieving.

We put 100% into this.

Where do you see the vape industry in the midst of all the impending regulations?

Focusing on what’s going to happen is a waste of time I feel. For us, we focus on what we can do and not what might happen. We don’t know what is going to happen so, we will just move forward with what we can do and are capable of.

At the end of the day, the government is trying to classify vape as a tobacco product so obviously, it’s crooked to begin with. We can’t afford to waste time guessing what’s going to happen. All we can do is produce the cleanest and healthiest product possible and regulate ourselves to protect the people that vaping TSL Flavors.

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DANI CURLIN

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DANI CURLIN; DANIEL “PANDUH” FOSTER (OPPOSITE PAGE)

ZANE MEYER

Do you see TSL being received as a global brand?

We’ve traveled and painted in every country. The world knows who we are and we are well received all over especially over in Europe and Asia. We had a showroom for The Seventh Letter in Japan before we did in America. In the beginning, we had a slogan that was “Internationally respected, locally rejected” because the rest of the world embraced us before The States did.

Do feel there is a lack of education in regards to vaping?

Absolutely. There’s always someone who’s like, “whoa, what’s this?” “Wow, you make vape juice? Is that weed? Is that drugs? Its just as bad as cigarettes!” We feel the most important thing is that we are

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influencers and have a huge following that we can use to educate people about how vaping can save lives. The vaping industry is new and people aren’t educated on it yet.

Before we decided to create TSL Flavors we did our homework or we would have never got involved. Sit back relax and let’s talk about this again in 2 years when we’ve saved hundreds of thousands of lives. We went through this miseducation in the 80’s with graffiti in Los Angeles.

“Are you a gang member? Do you kill people?” It’s all about educating people.

Do you see any parallels between graffiti and vaping?

I love the purity of vaping and the fact that it’s a brandnew industry and the people involved are paving the roads

and writing history. It reminds me of what graffiti used to be in the beginning. Everybody played a role and had an influence on what we now know as modern-day graffiti.

What’s in store in 2016 for TSL Flavors?

Last year was the introduction, this year is the takeover.

Everybody is going to put their foot on the gas pedal. All gas, no brakes. 2015, we tapped on the brakes a little. But now it’s like fuck it and go all out. We’re going to kick down the doors instead of waiting for them to open. Whatever happens, happens. that’s our approach.

WEB SI TE: tslflavors.com SOCI A L: @ tslflavors

A R T I S A N A L

C O L L E C T I V E

One Shot, One Kill WORDS

MAXIMILLIAN STERLING

SNAPS KILLRONIN

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B

y definition, a r nin is a samurai warrior without a lord or master prevalent during Japan's feudal era. Without masters and reporting to no one, r nin are essentially rogue warriors that are trained to execute everything in their path.That characterization has long been the influence behind the moniker of one of the most talented photographers we’ve had gracing our pages - KillRonin.

Like his namesake implies, he kills every shot he takes with lethal precision through his lens. KillRonin shot to fame thanks to social media which was the platform he utilized to propel his ascension to the ruling elite of vape photography. Never wanting to be pigeonholed as a “vape” photographer, KillRonin has stepped outside the proverbial box that had garnered him fame and acclaim from the vape industry and expanded his repertoire to what he calls, “urban street” photography. We sit with Philadelphia’s own son to talk about the vape game, his unique photography and how we could be rocking his apparel in the near future.

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How did you come up with the name KillRonin?

I was always into samurais and the feudal era of Japan. KillRonin was a clothing line I started originally and I ended up using it as an alias for my photography and it blew up from there.

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How long have you been shooting for?

I’ve been shooting since right after high school.

I did one wedding back in the day and I did not want to shoot anymore after that. It was just an insane amount of work. 8 years later, I got back into shooting heavy.

What do you call your type of photography?

I honestly wouldn't know what to call my photography. There's so much involved from vape to urban and street photography. When I'm out shooting, I'm submerged in the moment. It’s really impromptu.

How did you start getting into shooting vape subjects?

I started off doing product photography at a shop in Philadelphia called Vapordelphia. I used to take pictures of hand checks all the time. Companies started taking notice and hired me for their photography.

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What are your thoughts of being known as a "vape" photographer?

I’m trying to ease off it a bit and entertain other avenues. I'm really into street and urban style shooting. I don’t want to be known a just a “vape” photographer.

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Who are some of your influences?

LastSuspect on Instagram is definitely an influence. OrganicJunky and RenegadeRevival got me into vape photography.

Do you vape?

Absolutely. I used to be a 2 pack a day smoker. Vaping totally made me quit entirely.

What are your current favorite e-Liquid flavors?

Savory flavors are it for me. I need that donut type custard, savory flavor.

What's next for KillRonin?

I want to build my brand and expand my repertoire to a KillRonin streetwear line. Be on the lookout!

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gastronomics

chronic tacos 88 tokewell magazine

WORDS SNAPS

TOKEWELL STAFF LEAH MORIYAMA

Everyone knows that the best place to get authentic Mexican food are the taco trucks you see on the corner of the street in the hard to find locations. Nestled in the heart of Redondo Beach, California is a Mexican food joint that’s bringing that taco truck taste to the masses–Chronic Tacos!

Don’t let the name fool you though, the only buds you’ll find here are the ones on your tongue clamoring for more of their delectable food. Started out of necessity for a lack of good quality Mexican cuisine, Randall L. Wyner and Daniel A. Bielo opened up their first store in Newport Beach on July of 2002. Word of mouth quickly spread and by 2005 they were opening up another store in Huntington Beach. Franchising was far from their mind when Randall and Daniel first start-

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gastronomics 90 tokewell magazine

E-Liquids • Mods • RDA • Tips • & More

For wholesale inquiries, please contact us at (657)666-3299 or ismwholesale@gmail.com

Visit www.ismvape.com for more info.

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gastronomics

ed but as demand grew they knew it made sense to go that route. In April of 2006 their first franchised Chronic Tacos opened up in San Clemente to a huge line of hungry people. Currently, there are over 30 locations now throughout California, Nevada, and Canada but the most notable one is Redondo Beach for its celebrity owner “Wee Man” from Jackass. If Wee Man is getting in on the action you know this place has to have some good eats. So, if you ever find yourself lucky enough to be in a city that has a Chronic Taco eatery, I suggest you make like a burrito and roll on into that parking lot, I guarantee you will not want to leave.

multiple locations eatchronictacos.com

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