Issuu

POT IN PANS

A history of eating cannabis

WEED MAN

The activist’s origin story

C O LO R A D O JULY 2021

THE ART OF CONSUMPTION A sensual photo experience from Bingham X

ROLL A BUNT

MLB fans and cannabis

Discover something out of this world. NEW WANA TARTS

wanabrands.com

TURN HEADS WITH SAPPHIRE AND AMBER Mix it up this summer with a fresh look for PAX ERA PROTM and PAX 3TM devices, while limited supplies last. Plus, get complete personalization and transparency with the PAX App – now available on iPhone, Android, and Web. Connect now at pax.com/app

PAX DOES NOT PRODUCE, MANUFACTURE OR DISTRIBUTE CANNABIS. NOT FOR SALE TO MINORS. © 2021 PAX Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PAX, X, ERA, ERA LIFE and ERA PRO are all trademarks of PAX Labs, Inc. US and International Patents Pending. Complete list of Patents and Trademarks: www.pax.com/intellectual-property-list

COLORADO SENSI MAGAZINE JULY 2021

sensimediagroup @sensimagazine @sensimag

FEATURES

Consumed by Desire

The discerning content creators at Bingham X capture the seductive side of consumption.

The Weed Man

The story of how cannabis superhero Landon Bartley found his power.

DEPARTMENTS

15 EDITOR’S NOTE 56 THE SCENE Hot happenings and hip hangouts around town 16 THE BUZZ HIGH FLY Major League News, tips, and tidbits to keep you in the loop HIGH ANXIETY Cliff˜ camping in Colorado takes the staycation to the extreme. VAN GO … NOW The experiential impressionist exhibit hits Denver. MAXIMALISM ARRIVES

The Londubh Studio x Circa Wallcovering collab goes big. DRINK UP Why water is the key to happiness.

Baseball should embrace responsible cannabis consumption.

62 THE END One of the brightest stars of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes wrote this melodic, powerful poem of reaffirmation in 1922. It still rings true today

ON THE COVER

Bingham X takes a long gaze into the sensual side of cannabis. PHOTO BY BINGHAM X

20 THE LIFE Contributing to your

health and happiness POT IN PANS Why the history of eating cannabis matters HOROSCOPE What the stars hold for you

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ADVISORY BOARD

NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD NCRMA Risk Management COLORADO Agricor Laboratories Testing Lab Aspen Cannabis Insurance Insurance Services Canyon Cultivation Microdosing Cartology Corporation Cartridge Filling Equipment + Hardware Colorado Cannabis Company THC Coffee Concentrate Supply Co. Recreational Concentrates Emerald Construction Construction Green Edge Trimmers Trimmers Higher Grade Boutique Cannabis Hybrid Payroll Staffing & HR Benefits Jupiter Research Inhalation Hardware Lab Society Extraction Expert + Lab Supplies marQaha Sublinguals + Beverages Monte Fiore Farms Recreational Cultivation Northern Standard History of Cannabis PotGuide Cannabis Culture Source CO Wholesale Consulting Terrapin Care Station Recreational Dispensary Toast Mindful Consumption Uleva Hemp Products Wana Brands Edibles Witlon Inc. Payroll Processing SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Accucanna LLC Desert Hot Springs: Dispensary EventHI Events Flourish Software Distribution Management Helmand Valley Growers Company Medical Infrastructure Specialist HUB International Insurance Hybrid Payroll / Ms. Mary Staffing Staffing & HR Benefits Ikänik Farms Cannabis Distribution Red Rock Fertility Fertility Doctor Wana Brands Edible Gummies Witlon Payroll

NEVADA Eden Water Technologies Water System Technologies Green Leaf Money Canna Business Finanacing GreenHouse Payment Solutions Payment Processing Ideal Business Partners Corporate Law & Finance Jupiter Research Inhalatation Hardware Matrix NV Premium Live Resin Red Rock Fertility Fertility Doctor Rokin Vapes Vape Technology This Stuff Is Good For You CBD Bath and Body NEW ENGLAND Corners Packaging Packaging Curaleaf Veterans Cannabis Project Flourish Software Seed to Sale Green Goddess Supply Personal Homegrown Biochamber GreenHouse Payment Solutions Payment Processing The Holistic Center Medical Marijuana Evaluations PotGuide Travel & Tourism Revolutionary Clinics Medical Dispensary Royal Gold Soil Tess Woods Public Relations Public Relations

MICHIGAN Aronoff Law (Craig Aronoff) Licensing Law Firm Cannabis Counsel Cannabis Law Firm Etz Chaim Attestations Grapp Lerash Michigan PLLC Accounting/CPA Services Great Lakes Natural Remedies Lakeshore: Provisioning Center Kush Design Studio Cannabis Facility Design & Build MRB Solutions Human Resources Northern Specialty Health Upper Peninsula: Provisioning Center Oh, Hello Branding Promotional Marketing Perry & Drummy Inc. Commercial Insurance Pure West Compassion Club Caregiver Connection & Network Rair Medical Flower Solutions by Dr. Dave West Michigan: Hemp CBD Helping Friendly Hemp Company Hemp Topicals NORTHERN CALIFORNIA 365 Recreational Cannabis Dispensary: Recreational, Santa Rosa Green Unicorn Farms CBD Hemp Flower Humboldt CCTV Smart Ag Tech Humboldt Patient Resource Center Dispensary: Humboldt Kushla Life Sciences Cannabis Formulation and Products Red Door Remedies Dispensary: Cloverdale Southern Humboldt Royal Cannabis Company Mixed Light Farming Sonoma Patient Group Dispensary: Santa Rosa Strictly Topical Inc./Sweet ReLeaf Pain Relief Topicals Superbad inc. Premium California Cannabis Uleva Hemp Products Vaper Tip Vape Supply & Consulting Wana Brands Edible Gummies

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EDITORIAL

Stephanie Wilson Co-Founder + Editor in Chief stephanie.wilson@sensimag.com Doug Schnitzspahn Executive Editor Tracy Ross Managing Editor, Michigan Emilie-Noelle Provost Managing Editor, New England Debbie Hall Managing Editor, Nevada Jenny Willden Managing Editor, NorCal Dawn Garcia Managing Editor, Southern California Robyn Griggs Lawrence Editor at Large Mona Van Joseph Contributor, Horoscopes Radha Marcum Copy Editor Bevin Wallace Copy Editor DESIGN

Jamie Ezra Mark Creative Director jamie@emagency.com Rheya Tanner Art Director Wendy Mak Designer Josh Clark Designer

EXECUTIVE

Ron Kolb Founder ron@sensimag.com Stephanie Graziano CEO stephanie.graziano@sensimag.com Lou Ferris Vice President of Global Revenue Chris Foltz Vice President of Global Reach Jade Kolb Director of Project Management ADVERTISING

Nancy Reid Director, Team Building, Sensi East PUBLISHING

Jamie Cooper Market Director, Michigan Abi Wright Market Director, Nevada Richard Guerra Market Director, New England Nancy Birnbaum Market Director, NorCal Diana Ramos Market Director, Oklahoma Rob Ball Market Director, S. California Angelique Kiss Market Director, S. California

BRAND DEVELOPMENT

Richard Guerra Director of Global Reach Amanda Patrizi Deputy Director of Global Reach Neil Willis Production Director MEDIA PARTNERS

Marijuana Business Daily Minority Cannabis Business Association National Cannabis Industry Association Students for Sensible Drug Policy

MEDIA SALES

COLORADO Liana Cameris Media Sales Executive Amanda Patrizi Media Sales Executive Tyler Tarr Media Sales Executive NEVADA Pam Hewitt Media Sales Executive NEW ENGLAND Jake Boynton Media Sales Executive Peter Dunlap Media Sales Executive Bryant Mahony Media Sales Executive MICHIGAN Kyle Miller Media Sales Executive Leah Stephens Media Sales Executive

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Magazine published monthly by Sensi Media Group LLC.

My advice to you this month: go sleep under

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

FAC E B O O K Like Sensi Media Group to infuse your newsfeed with more of our great cannabis lifestyle content.

TWITTER Follow @sensimag for need-to-know news and views from Sensi headquarters.

I N S TAG R A M Pretty things, pretty places, pretty awesome people: find it all on @sensimagazine

the stars—simply because you can. Late last year, I was browsing the free stock photo site Unsplash like it was Instagram, scrolling through collections looking for visual inspiration for this magazine and adding photos exuding an undefinable “Sensi vibe” to a collection I’ve amassed under that same heading that struck me as something that I’d like to see on our pages. At some point, I came across the most stunning image by @joshgordon taken at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The shot was taken on the dunes on a moonless night in the certified dark sky zone where the lack of artificial light pollution allows for the Milky Way to shine as bright as day when captured with a long exposure. It’s a striking scene, and I had to have it in the magazine so I could share it with you all. I just needed the right story angle to make it relevant. It came to me a few nights later while I was working on the February edition: the stunning photograph could serve as a visual reminder to our readers that, although it may still have been winter, but it was time to book summer camping spots. Recreation.gov opens up booking for spots in its campgrounds six months in advance. And the night of I happened to be working on the piece was January 3, six months in advance to this month’s July 4 weekend. I took my own advice that night and snatched up one of the 40-something spots in Piñon Flats campground in the park—loop 1, site 22. Make a note of that detail if you plan on ever pitching a tent in the national park, because I can now confirm what I had hoped to be the case when I was picking out a spot on that night back in January. From that site, you’re afforded the very best views of the dunes and of the spectacle nature provides every night at sunset—a kaleidoscopic scene of changing colors in brilliant hues that made the whole excursion so very worth every day of the sixmonth wait. Which is my long, anecdotal way of reminding you (and reminding me) that even though we are in the peak of summer right now, the Earth is already swinging back around the sun. The days are getting shorter, winter is getting closer, and the dog days of summer are only a month or so away. If you’ve been meaning to plan a getaway to someplace where you can sleep under the stars, do it now. It’s July; it’s hot; the world is open and waiting for you so get out there and enjoy it.

If you’ve been meaning to plan a getaway to someplace where you can sleep under the stars, do it now.

Stephanie Wilson @stephwilll

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Crash Pad Have you ever stayed in an Airbnb that was an experience? Like, this one time Sensi had a group of people out in Oakland for a conference, and we booked a place a few towns over that looked so baller in the photos but in real life was just … unsettling. What was described as a plunge pool with natural foliage was in fact a rubber bucket in which mosquitos spawned and algae grew. As I said, an experience, and I only said it to make it clear that what I am about to describe is not that kind of lower-case experience. This is an official Airbnb Experience, part of the brand’s Airbnb Adventures 16

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collection—and it just may be the most adventurous experience Airbnb has to offer. It’s called “Camp on a Cliff in Colorado”, and it involves just what the name implies: camping on a cliff in Colorado’s Estes Park. The overnight trip begins at 11 a.m. with an orientation and gear runthrough, then you’re off to the trailhead for a quick hike to the base of the cliff that you can either climb up or hike up and rappel down. Once you arrive at the mid-air campsite, you’ll have a few hours to do what you like—climb, bird watch, learn vertical skills, shoot pictures, or just sit there reminding

yourself to breathe while taking it all in. Then you’ll make dinner and stare at the stars and maybe get some sleep before your host brews coffee in the morning. The organizers promise that complete rock-climbing novices are just as welcome as the more advanced types. “All you need is some stoke and to be in relatively good physical shape (nothing special though),” says the booking page on airbnb.com, where prices for the experience are listed starting at $940 per person, which seems pretty special to us. You should book it and let us know how it goes.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AIRBNB ADVENTURES

Cliff camping in Colorado takes the whole staycation thing to the extreme.

CONTRIBUTOR

Stephanie Wilson

BY THE NUMBERS

$4 MILLION Envelop Yourself in Art

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENVER IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH

Denver hosts immersive Van Gogh experience at former Regency Hotel. Art lovers rejoice: it’s gonna be safe to Gogh ... go see the Original Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit that is. With Colorado fully reopened, it’s time to book your tickets to safely experience the premiere of this digital art experience. Opening September 30, the exhibit brings to life Vincent Van Gogh’s post-Impressionist masterpieces, portraits, and still lifes on 500,000 cubic feet of animated projection walls. Dazzle your senses as you amble from room to room past vivid, brilliant images of Starry Night, Sunflowers, and the Potato Eaters paired with music. Tickets are selling fast—and sold out in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco—but you can book Denver dates online now. Enhance your experience by adding on a 35-minute yoga class held in this all-encompassing event space. Workouts are open to all fitness levels. Exhibit and yoga classes held inside Lighthouse Denver in the former Regency Hotel, just west of RiNo.

The initial funding of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade’s new program to support entrepreneurs in Colorado’s cannabis industry, which will primarily assist social equity licensees

995K DOLLARS How much more an acre of cannabis crop grown in California’s top wine regions yields ($1 to $2 million per harvest) compared to an acre of grapes ($5k to $20k per harvest)*

MAXIMALIST STYLE

Londubh Studio x Circa Wallcovering debut wallcover collection. Minimalists: this is not your year. After a year spent dreaming of the days we could safely reconvene to celebrate life and let loose in high style, we have some pent-up energy we need to release all over everything. The time is upon us, and our walls want to get dressed up for the party. Lucky for us, then, Londubh Studio and Circa Wallcovering recently released an apt teaser for their maximalist debut wallcovering collection, which features Londubh’s signature style with bold graphics, gold, and color. The two designs—“High Style” featuring cannabis symbology and “Enlightenment” playing with magic mushrooms—both make for a shimmering dope drop of glamour and psychedelia swathed in gold and color. With more people across the world recognizing the healing capacities and need to legalize these ancient medicines, Londubh’s designs aim to indulge those who love to imbibe. “Our best visions never come when we sit down with a cup of coffee and a pencil at nine in the morning,” says the designer. “They’re birthed from a spirit we share of wanting to celebrate life, our mutual abandonment of societal expectations if they don’t help us manifest our dreams, and our shared conviction that more is indeed more when it comes to the decorative canvas and its ability to fuel us to live our best lives.” circawallcovering.com

*Prediction: A significant number of California vineyards become cannabis grows, reducing the region’s annual grape harvest. This fresh scarcity causes the price of grapes to rise, leveling out the playing/planting fields between the crops, and everyone’s happy and buzzed on the post-Prohibition intoxicant of their choice.

denvervangogh.com

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THE BUZZ

BILITIES BY STEPHANIE WILSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF

terest Predicts, the brand’s “not-yet-trending report” prognosticates that in 2021, cars will become the new “third space” for everything from date nights to man caves—which I can totally see happening ... for people who drive something larger than a Fiat.

2 FIFI THE FIAT: My car didn’t come with an owner’s manual; she came with an app. And the first time I opened it up, it greeted me with this statement/question combo: 85% of Fiat owners name their cars. What’s your Fiat’s name? 3 FIFI. Her name is Fifi. 4 I BROUGHT HER HOME ONE DAY IN AUGUST ALMOST EIGHT YEARS AGO, and she still makes me smile when I see her. She’s just cute, and her name fits her.

5 NOT MUCH ELSE FITS IN HER THOUGH, WHICH BRINGS ME BACK TO THE ORIGINAL POINT: Fifi doesn’t offer much space inside, but she can get me to places where space abounds. I am forever grateful for her tiny little engine that struggles a whole helluva lot trying to get up Colorado’s mountains. (Fifi’s more of a Florida girl at heart—#same. And also #soon!

6 AS IN: As soon as cannabis becomes legal for recreational use in the Sunshine State, expect to see Fifi cruising back to the tropics. If you tag or send us an Insta of your and your (named) car (@stephwilll), we’ll be sure to wave if we see you when we’re out there on the road again.

“You don’t need missionaries in Colorado; you got Colorado.” —Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon co-creator

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FEELING DRAINED? DRINK UP! Water is a key to your health and happiness. Just one glass of good ol’ H20 can boost your wellbeing and help you do all sorts of things: focus, ward off headaches, look glowy, feel energized, and so much more. Not that staying hydrated in Colorado is easy for us transplants. Not only is the air up here way drier than in the coastal states from which many of us hail, there is also less oxygen in it, causing us to breathe more rapidly and expel more precious liquid from our bodies with each passing breath. So say the experts at Eldorado Natural Spring Water Company. (Yes, they are in the business of selling people more water, but we checked the science and it’s golden, not be be confused with Golden, Colorado, which is about a half hour away from Eldorado’s artesian spring source in—you’ll never guess it—Eldorado Springs, Colorado, just outside of Boulder.) Back to the matter at hand: Colorado is a thirst trap IRL, and the whole “drink eight glasses a day to keep dehydration away” thing we’ve been told our whole lives should have come with a disclaimer that it only applies at sea level. A mere eight glasses a day is a jumping-off point from which Mile High denizens must begin our hydration journeys. If you’re constantly intaking fluids but still feeling parched AF, your body may not be retaining the liquid at a cellular level. Add some electrolytes to help your system absorb it quickly, but don’t worry: Gatorade and Pedialite are not your only options. Coconut water is called “nature’s sports drink” for good reason, or you can pick up fizzy electrolyte tabs at your local grocery store (typically in the same aisle as the Kind bars—not the granola bar kind of Kind but the hiking kind. You know which ones I mean.) Or you can go the DIY route with this recipe from WebMD: water, agave nectar, sea salt, and a pinch of baking soda.

PHOTO BY BY ERDA ESTREMERA, UNSPLASH

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Pot In Pans

Why the history of eating cannabis matters. From ancient India and Persia to today’s explosive new market, cannabis, the hottest new global food trend, has been providing humans with nutrition, medicine, and solace— against all odds—since the earliest cavepeople discovered its powers. We write history books, in part, so we don’t repeat our mistakes. The history of cannabis food, rich and deep, is marred with the stains of prohibition, propaganda, and persecution— abysmal mistakes we’ve only just begun to rectify. This history is a long way from being written— though many like to say we’re now on the right side of it as centuries of fearmongering finally start to unravel. Finally, but still painfully slowly, cannabis is taking its rightful place as a unique culinary ingredient that has proven through the centuries that food is medicine.

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Locally, nationally, and globally, we’ve reached a pivotal moment in the history of a plant that has been beloved by the masses, reviled by the elite, and shrouded in conflict and secrecy for centuries. Cannabis has been outlawed and demonized since the powers-that-be first realized they could control the commoners by prohibiting a plant that they relied on for food, fiber, medicine, and mind and mood alteration. For the hard-working classes, who often lived in hopeless poverty, cannabis was magical for its ability to act as both stimulant and soporific and its promise of gentle relief from the drudgery and humiliations of daily life—a far cry from the sinister reputation foisted upon it by centuries of propaganda. We are reaching the end of a centuries-long story, born in the Mazanderan mountains in ancient Persia

in the 12th century and used throughout history in racist campaigns to prove that cannabis makes people violent, insane, and uncontrollably horny (parents, hold onto your white daughters!). The legend of Hassan-ibn-Sabbah, the Old Man of the Mountain who plied his disciples with splendid food, fine women, and a hashish confection so they would assassinate his enemies— popularized in the West by explorer Marco Polo— would forever associate hashish with assassins and sinister business. In the 1930s, during his successful drive toward cannabis prohibition, US Federal Bureau of Narcotics chairman Harry J. Anslinger masterfully fomented Americans’ racist and increasingly moralistic national mentality with a propaganda blitzkrieg that included a book and motion picture titled

Marihuana: Assassin of Youth—based upon his discovery of the Old Man of the Mountain legend. In testimony before Congress and in newspaper interviews, Anslinger said marijuana, a frightening “new” drug used primarily by Mexicans and African Americans, could turn upstanding, middle-class kids into helpless victims and raging monsters. His campaign resulted in cannabis being effectively outlawed through draconian taxes and regulations in the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Down through the ages—through multiple prohibitions on every continent, imposed by sultans, colonialists, and a pope—cannabis had managed to somehow survive, and even thrive. But never had it faced an enemy so formidable or iron-fisted as the United States in the mid-20th century. When

ILLUSTRATION BY ECATERINA SCIUCHINA, ADOBE STOCK / OTHER PHOTOS VIA ADOBE STOCK

TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE EXCERPTED FROM POT IN PANS: A HISTORY OF EATING CANNABIS FOOD

J U LY 2021

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Growin g the Industr y.

Upcoming shows are: Detroit, MI June 25-26 Chicago, IL August 6-7 New York, NY January 7-8 2022 Oklahoma City, OK March 31-April 1 2022

Shop, Learn, and Network at the Nations Leading Cannabis Conference and Expo. Tickets at CannaCon.org

THE LIFE

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Pot in Pans: A History of Eating Cannabis Food Rowman & Littlefield / $34

US Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon appointed Anslinger and tasked him, for whatever reason—and speculation is rampant—to wipe out cannabis, he intended the war to be global. Throughout the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st, the United States used its considerable influence to force cannabis prohibition around the world, leaving people in countries where it had been used and enjoyed for centuries scratching their heads in confusion—and finding ways around the laws. In Canada in the 1930s, when Royal Mounted Police officers told an elderly woman they had to eradicate the hemp plants she grew to feed her canaries, she chased them away with a broom. In Indonesia, cannabis continued to be a key ingredient in the traditional “happy” soup served at weddings and celebrations, just as it always had. India managed to keep on the right side of the United States while quietly allowing people to drink bhang, a traditional holy drink made from cannabis. By the 1970s, the Netherlands had adopted a policy of tolerance toward retailers and users while making cannabis cultivation and production

illegal, creating a “back door” problem that no one wanted to replicate. It was more than clear by the 1970s that the global war on drugs was a failure. Violent cartels were ravaging South and Central America, and heroin, cocaine, and cannabis remained readily available to those who wanted them. In the early and mid-1970s, several countries and US states decriminalized cannabis, but this attitude change was short-lived, squelched by marijuana’s association with dirty hippies and the counterculture. The Nixon administration doubled down, sending military helicopters to scorch cannabis farms from Orange Hill, Jamaica, to the mountains of Colombia’s Cauca region and declaring cannabis a Schedule I drug with no medicinal value, alongside heroin and LSD. For a century now, cannabis has existed in most parts of the world only because humans’ love for it is so great that they’re willing to sacrifice being persecuted, imprisoned, having their teeth pulled out, and even being put to death for cultivating and nurturing it. The irony of prohibition, of course, is that the lucrative black market made it worth

For a century now, cannabis has existed in most parts of the world only because humans’ love for it is so great that they’re willing to sacrifice themselves to cultivate it.

the risk and only drove breeders to develop ever-mightier plants delivering whopping amounts of psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. In the face of adversity, cannabis was no shrinking violet. The plant grew stronger, better, faster, and more potent—unstoppable, no matter how much paraquat the DEA threw at it. If the history of cannabis proves anything, it is that you can’t keep a good plant down. A cabal of global elites is no match for this one, which in its cunning evolved to provide humans with nutrition, fiber, medicine, and, if you believe many ethnobotanists, the ability to make huge mental and spiritual leaps as a species. Had it not been for the latter—all due to the presence of that THC molecule—this would be a boring tale about a multifaceted, utilitarian plant that served humans in many different capacities for centuries. This is not that. This is a story with many layers, spanning many continents, held together by the thread of an Islamic confection created to inspire a band of 12th-century fedayeen, which was ported throughout the Middle East, Central Asia, and beyond, invoking hilarJ U LY 2021

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THE LIFE

ity and hostility wherever it went. Inspired by this legend, Western intellectuals and literati, and then the masses, discovered and enjoyed cannabis, hashish, and majoun (a Moroccan candy mixed with cannabis) for much of the mid19th century and into the 1930s, when Anslinger shut that down. This is the story of how Brion Gysin, an ex-patriot artist and writer in Tangier, discovered majoun, typed up a recipe, and sent it to Alice B. Toklas, an ex-pat writer in Paris, to include in a cookbook published in New York and London, causing a minor scandal in the mid-20th century and leading to a major mix-up in a major motion picture that morphed majoun into the pot brownie, and turned the pot brownie into a Western icon forevermore. It’s the story of the rowdy band of artists, rebels, and intellectuals who partook of majoun’s charms and an activist who made the pot brownie a symbol of compassion. Down through the ages, the cannabis plant has gathered about it a charismatic and eclectic assortment of protectors and advocates, from the Hindu lord Shiva, who was said to sustain himself for long periods

by eating cannabis, to Brownie Mary, whose insistence on baking cannabis-laced brownies as medicine for AIDS patients in San Francisco, despite several arrests, drew huge public sympathy in the 1990s and eased the way for California to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. And that, really, may have been the beginning of the end of the pot brownie. Several states and countries followed California in approving cannabis for medical use, and in 2012, Colorado and Washington voters took the game-changing step of legalizing all adult use. More states followed, then Uruguay, then Canada. Cannabis-infused edibles grew into a robust and well-regulated industry with no room for crumbly chocolate cakes that had miserable shelf lives and were impossible to imprint with the new THC warning stamp some states began requiring. In most cases, pot brownies have evolved into shelf-stable, easier-to-dose chocolate bars, one skew in a wildly popular category of cannabis-infused products that no one saw coming in the early 2010s. In addition to a range of chocolate products from gourmet truffles

to peanut butter cups, today’s cannabis consumers can enjoy infused potato chips, gummies, hard candies, raw cacao butter, soda pop, caramel corn, coffee, tea, cookies, pies, and nuts—all readily available at cannabis stores in legal states. They can buy water-soluble cannabis-infused liquids and powders to stir into beverages or add to any recipe for immediate gratification. With such a wide range of culinary opportunities and resources literally at their fingertips, only the laziest or most unimaginative eaters are choosing the brownie. We stand on a precipice. Once criminalized, cannabis is now being rapidly commodified, and there’s no putting that genie back in the bottle. Analysts predict cannabis will be a global industry worth $57 billion by 2027—investment fi rm Cowen and Company suggests that will reach $75 billion by 2030—numbers that are respectful enough to prevent cannabis haters like US Attorney General Jeff Sessions (the 21st-century’s answer to Anslinger with legislative power) from prosecuting companies working within legal state infrastructures. Money talks.

Money’s talking. Scotts Miracle-Gro and Monsanto are circling. Food conglomerates are dipping toes, preparing to jump in when—and everyone now agrees it’s a matter of when— federal cannabis prohibition ends in the United States. Hemp is legal, and a bill has been submitted to Congress to legalize psychoactive cannabis. Cannabis is now the second most valuable crop in the United States after corn. Chefs, foodies, and nutritionists are playing with this new functional food ingredient, finding creative uses for every part of the plant, as the world’s attitude toward cannabis normalizes. This may sound farfetched, particularly to people who live in places where cannabis remains illegal, where citizens— inordinately, people of color—are rotting in jail because of a plant. It will never be okay that (mostly) white men in suits rake in millions of dollars on cannabis and cannabis products while others go to jail over the very same plant. As we celebrate the strides we’ve made toward liberating cannabis, we must never forget that this progress has been made on the backs of those willing to pay the price before us. J U LY 2021

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THE LIFE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mona Van Joseph is a professionally licensed intuitive reader in Las Vegas since 2002. Author, radio host, and columnist, she created the Dice Wisdom app and is available for phone and in-person sessions. mona.vegas

HOROSCOPE

JULY HOROSCOPE What do the stars hold for you? TEXT MONA VAN JOSEPH

very aware of coincidence. Ac- NOV. 22-DEC. 21 CANCER cept all random invitations, es- SAGITTARIUS The truth is that you cannot pecially if you’re placed in the Not all decisions have to be sustain toxic relationships. spotlight to help in some way. yours, and you don’t have It’s time to step back from to have all the answers. You people who are so self-abare not responsible for the SEPT. 23-OCT. 22 sorbed that they will sacri- LIBRA world, only your world. Defice their relationship with It’s time to claim expertise fer choice to the person it you to succeed. most affects, and enjoy the in your craft this month. A deep dive into your creativ- release and peace. JULY 23-AUG. 22 ity is the path to personLEO al happiness. The mantel of DEC. 22-JAN. 19 Move away from emotionthis new identity leads you CAPRICORN al investment in people who to important relationships. You will be set free this month but not necessarily in the way have deserted you. Instead, you want. You’ll want to stay focus on what you know you OCT. 23-NOV. 21 where you are with “the devils do well. Allow the people SCORPIO who really care about you to You don’t want to be where you know.” Please consider the devils you have yet to meet— step forward. you are anymore—bored, it’s a better arrangement. stressed, out-of-sorts. The AUG. 23-SEPT. 22 challenge is that you’re goVIRGO ing to have to be willing to JAN. 20-FEB. 18 Stay centered this month, con- move if you want something AQUARIUS Take care of the people who trol impulsiveness, and be better or different. JUNE 21-JULY 22

CANCER, IT’S TIME TO STEP BACK FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE SO SELFABSORBED THAT THEY WILL SACRIFICE THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU TO SUCCEED.

have taken care of you. Express gratitude to those who have encouraged you and kept you focused. It’s pragmatic and appropriate to reward to those who’ve helped you shine.

parisons of others (their jealous energy) will undermine your efforts, especially those that don’t serve them. Enjoy your secrets.

FEB. 19-MAR. 20

Watch out for the cheap people this month. A man in your circle has the nerve to think you’re supposed to keep serving him. Just stop and see what (if anything) comes back to you.

PISCES

APR. 20-MAY 20

TAURUS

Now that you’ve realized your potential, it’s time to act on situations you’ve earned. List five things that you want in your life and relax into vibrational attraction. You now have the ener- MAY 21-JUNE 20 gy and the credentials: act GEMINI on your wants. Your talents are more diverse than you typically adMAR. 21-APR. 19 mit. Invest in those talents ARIES for yourself this month. ReBe quiet about your success- start a project that should es. The small-minded comhave been yours all along. J U LY 2021

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Once upon a time, Landon Bartley worked as the city planner for Grand Rapids, Michigan. When the cannabis industry came to town, he tried to help working within the system. But he learned that to really make a difference, he had to go out on his own. This is the story of how a cannabis superhero found his power. TEXT TRACY ROSS

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PHOTO CREDIT

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n the days before he became Weed Man, Landon Bartley’s job was policy researcher for the state of Michigan. In that role, he focused on creating innovative ways for cities to better their economies in order to keep people from leaving. That was pre-2008, when Michigan legalized medical marijuana and the opportunity for Michigan residents to become caregivers for those in need. When it did, Bartley recognized an opportunity. At the City of Grand Rapids Planning Department, he told his bosses, “Hey, we should allow this in some form or at least make sure the caregivers can grow at home without getting nailed,” he says. The 2008 legislation—the

Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, which was passed by voters statewide through a ballot initiative— legalized caregivers and patients, but not commercial growers (or processors or retailers or safety testing labs or transporters). The commercial industry didn’t become legal in the Wolverine State until 2016 with the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, which was passed by the legislature and not voters. Medical grows were now legal in the state and in cities, but the language of the bill did not address zoning. An amendment allowing caregiving to be a home occupation was in the ordinance for several years, and Bartley wanted to get zoning off the ground. But a series of court challenges determined that a city couldn’t regulate such a thing.

A TOUGH PROCESS Fast forward to 2018 when Michigan legalized adult recreational use. Legalization passed by a wide margin on a ballot initiative, and state government began to create a framework within which the cannabis industry could operate. Individual cities had the opportunity to opt in or out. By then, Bartley had been planner for the city of Grand Rapids for over a decade. “Among staff we raised the question,” he says. “Should we be introducing land uses for the commercial cannabis industry? At the time, the city council said, ‘no thanks.’” There are approximately 1,773 municipalities in Michigan, and currently, only about 150 have opted to allow the medical industry, and about 80–90 allow the adult use (recreational) industry. In 2018, Grand Rapids opted

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in for medical marijuana and, in 2020, for adult use. But, similar to other cities, Bartley says, it created its own rules for zoning. The West Michigan Cannabis Guild, a lobbying group for cannabis-interested individuals, approached the City looking to coordinate. The city was concerned that the ballot language would be overly permissive and wanted to have some reasonable land-use controls—like keeping retail stores in commercial areas and grows in industrial areas. Some at the city seemed to take it as a threat, but Bartley says the staff thought a zoning amendment would be a good compromise position. “In retrospect, I think that was probably true, but I think the rules are pretty onerous,” he says. Bartley remembers hearing conversations about what was in the guild’s proposal, and his sense was that they thought it was too open. Zoning is meant to protect public health, safety, and welfare, so Bartley understood the council’s reaction. The city drafted its own language after a few months of community engagement and discussions with Commissioners. The outcome was opting in for medical. Ultimately, the city opted in to allow adult use in 2020. “I wouldn’t say I was an advocate when I started working with marijuana operators, but I became one as I began to understand the industry better,” Bartley says. “We did what we thought was best for everyone—including operators, customers, and the general public—when we wrote the zoning language allowing the medical cannabis industry. When we went 50

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through the application process, we identified some items that seemed to be problematic, at least for applicants. Although the adult use zoning language was adopted after I left, I think staff did a similarly good job trying to balance things for everyone involved. Some later changes to the code, though, made it harder on the industry and I think worked against some of the City’s social equity goals.” Bartley went to work getting to know many of the players who

“I WOULD REMIND MUNICIPALITIES, THOUGH, THAT

CANNABIS ISIT’S BEEN HERE; HERE; AND IT’S GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE HERE.” —Landon Bartley

wished to be part of the local industry; there were no people of color or locals. However, outsiders were flocking to town. Grand Rapids is a big-market city in a big-market state. Michigan has the second-biggest cannabis market in the U.S., so people were watching it closely and announcing, “I want to be there.” Bartley’s issue with the ordinance was that it was quite restrictive, and resulted in 25 to 30 stores being approved across the

whole city. There was very high demand for property but very limited supply because of the ordinance, which resulted in significant increases in land costs. That shut out a lot of locals—regardless of skin color—because they simply weren’t as well capitalized as some of the other players. Certain properties increased in value tenfold overnight. For some enterprises, bringing a local on provided incentives, by giving application priority to groups that

had a higher percentage of ownership by city residents. The entrepreneurs would involve them through various means, and make them part owner, and the city “had to be very careful—is this actually meeting the intent of the law?” Bartley says. That was a tough process. He and some other staffers privately wondered why regulators were making cannabis business development so hard on themselves. “What it usually came down to

was fear,” says Bartley. Government officials are elected, of course, and there’s a lot of misinformation about cannabis in the world. But the industry wanted to keep coming in, and, it turned out, Bartley became the man to help it. SUPERHERO ON THE SCENE Then something unexpected happened: Bartley became known around town as the “Weed Man.” He’d walk down the street and get two kinds of reactions: People

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who supported his work would say he was looking out for them, and that they didn’t feel that too much from government. Those who didn’t would make passive-aggressive quips, like the man he passed on the street who pulled his mask down to say, “You were supposed to protect us.” Bartley says he was still a planner, though, still covering all aspects of land use, still looking at the best ways to “make a city work from a systems approach.” But he found cannabis industry planning so interesting that in July of 2020, he stepped out from his 14-yearlong role as city planner and became a planning consultant—working with, among others, cannabis operators, most of which are based in Grand Rapids. Since he made that move, Bartley says his career has been in constant flux. He’s now a board member for the West Michigan Cannabis Guild and is trying to help bridge the gaps between the local industry, the government, and the general public. “There are groups in the City who have fought against the cannabis industry, but there are also a lot of people who are open and willing to consider that the cannabis industry is just like any other,” he says. “I’m very excited about some conversations that we’re just getting started between myself, a couple of cannabis operators, and some members of the local religious community, facilitated by some elected officials.” One silver lining when it comes to tough cannabis regulations is that cannabis operators have to be really good neighbors if they’re going to succeed. The ones in Grand Rapids are motivated to

“I DON’T BLAME ANYONE FOR BEING WORRIED ABOUT CANNABIS…THE PROBLEM IS WHEN

GOOD OPERATORS ARE VILIFIED SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE INDUSTRY IN WHICH THEY’RE TRYING TO OPERATE.” —Landon Bartley

work with neighborhoods, keep their buildings and properties looking good, and do what they can to support the surrounding community. “Many of them are moving to the city, and they’re certainly hiring from the surrounding neighborhoods. Many of them have also made significant commitments in regards to social equity, whether it’s paying a living wage or supporting their employees with education, good benefits, et cetera,” Bartley says. Over his years in the industry, Bartley has seen a “sea change” from where it was just a few years ago. “Heck, the Governor of Alabama just signed a medical cannabis bill into law today, with overwhelming support,” he says. “I didn’t see that coming for a while. But, change is incremental, and this is really uncharted territory for a lot of governments. I don’t blame anyone for being worried about cannabis. There’s been so much disinformation, and so little research, and there’s so far to go. The problem is more when good operators are vilified simply because of the industry in which they’re trying to operate.” “There’s nothing inherently evil about this plant; I think we just need to respect it. It’s a legitimate medicine that can be good for some people and bad for others. I would remind municipalities, though, that cannabis is here; it’s been here; and it’s going to continue to be here,” Bartley says. “The question we’re really dealing with is, do we want to allow a legal industry to produce, process, test, and sell it? And do we want our laws to make it harder for that industry to succeed, or easier?” J U LY 2021

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High Fly Major League Baseball should embrace cannabis. TEXT DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

The people who run Major League Baseball do not like baseball. Find me a fan who disagrees with that statement. The people who run baseball want it to be the NBA or some type of arena sport (and I say that as someone who loves the flow and beauty and raw power of the NBA; it’s just a different game). They want to end games in a hurry with the gimmick of putting a runner on second base in extra innings. They want to upend the strategy of the game by keeping pitchers who are getting lit up on the mound. These are old guys who think they know what the kids want. These are marketers who are neglecting the very essence of what makes their product so damn good. Baseball is a long, slow, then suddenly thrilling, intensely complicated love affair. It’s lyric

poetry. It’s action movies before CGI (Think: Raiders of the Lost Arc or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). It’s an old-time game that persists in a world of stats and deep analysis. It endures. But don’t think it’s boring or out of synch with the digital age. It is international and inclusive; the biggest sensation in the game is Japanese, and most clubhouses chatter as much in Spanish as English. It’s a game that can be broken down by new geeky analytics like barrel rate and xFIP (expected fielding independent pitching). At the same time, it gives the finger to stats over the short term—while we can place a percentage on every outcome, we can’t predict what will happen in any one at bat. There’s always the chance a light-hitting utility infielder can go deep against a Cy Young

winner. Baseball is full of seats. One of the reasons responsible cannabis passion and the dreams use is so popular is that and bat flips of a new it gives us the chance generation of players to slow down, to take making it where giants the edge off. As does once tread. But the people who run baseball baseball: sit down in that want to change the game seat, feel the breeze of a summer evening, find in ways that break its the rhythms, observe the natural flow because subtleties of how fielders they think baseball position according to needs to appeal to low a hitter’s tendencies or attention spans. I say, how a runner digs in a expand our attention. Embrace what’s beautiful heel before stealing a about the game. Give the base. Relax. And it’s a little easier to ease into this fans weed. vibe with a 5mg gummy. Baseball could use I’m not saying the responsible cannabis. And after the rant above, players should be stoned. Though as legalization I hope you believe that continues to sweep the when I say that, I do US, many of them are it as a fan of the game. Getting high might actu- seeking relief in CBD and THC from the aches and ally help some fans slow injuries of a 162-game down, see more, relax season in a sport that into simple rhythms requires tricky bursts of punctuated by intense surges of emotion. And it athleticism. For all my might bring the newcom- griping about the people who run the sport, since ers that those base2020, Major League Baseball-hating bigwigs so ball has allowed players desperately want in the J U LY 2021

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to use cannabis as long as they are not under the influence during a game (and they cannot be sponsored by or endorse cannabis brands). Furthermore, cannabis is no longer listed as a banned substance by MLB, where it used to be considered in the same category as opioids and cocaine. Many baseball players are addicted to dangerous painkillers (including Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs who died of an overdose of drugs including oxycodone), and the league realized that legal cannabis could be a safe option for those seeking relief.

So why not let the fans enjoy it? Consuming cannabis during games would only add to spectators’ enjoyment of the sport—and it’s not as if baseball has shied away from alcohol. It’s a fine thing to enjoy a cold beer in the cheap seats, so why not a gummy? The teams would profit on the concession (and lord knows owners who seem more interested in money than winning—think the Colorado Rockies—would like that). It would bring in new fans and maybe enhance their ability to sit and enjoy the game. Sure, the stoner stigma stands in the way of main-

One of the reasons responsible cannabis use is so popular is that it gives us the chance to slow down, to take the edge off. As does baseball.

stream appreciation of cannabis, and this is supposed to be a family game—but stoned spectators don’t usually shout obscenities and spill beer on your kid. No matter if you agree with me on controlled, responsible, legal cannabis at baseball games or not, I do hope you go to the ballpark this year and think about it. Enjoy the passing moment of a lazy fly ball, the joy of the hero-shot home run, and learn a new stat. Think about how baseball can become a game that continues into the future, without changing what’s great about the game.

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Risk Management What you don’t know can hurt you.

very business owner knows about risk; it is a constant presence in their lives. The specter of risk drives critical business decisions, from funding and hiring to liability coverage. Nowhere is this more evident than in the fast-changing and continually evolving cannabis industry. Cannabis is one of the most highly scrutinized industries in the country, so operators owe it to themselves to ensure that they have properly protected their investment. That’s where the National Cannabis Risk Management Association (NCRMA) comes in. As the nation’s only dedicated risk management association focused solely on cannabis, NCRMA brings a level of expertise to its members that enables long-term sustainability and success. It provides the education, support, and ex-

pertise necessary to mitigate potential threats and help cannabis industry professionals keep their businesses safe, compliant, and thriving. NCRMA lives its mission statement: Making our members better through education, support, and expertise. “Our level of expertise spans from seed to the consumer with a team of consultants bringing a combined 75 years of experience in property and liability, risk, cannabis operations, occupational safety, compliance, and agriculture,” says NCRMA Chief Risk Management Officer Alex Hearding. “This culmination of experience and expertise allows us to offer one-ofa-kind tools and cannabis-specific solutions designed to improve overall business results, optimize daily operational efficiencies, decrease unnecessary expenses, and increase

the bottom line.” Through the use of the NCRMA’s proprietary cloud-based platform, CRP2TM (Cannabis Risk Prevention PlatformTM), its consultants are equipped to quickly identify potential threats through a scorecard and detailed report. These results allow the NCRMA to address risks in a holistic manner and create customized solutions that minimize the potential for business interruptions. Recognizing the explosive growth in the cannabis industry, NCRMA has regional offices and vetted service partners across the country, which work directly with NCRMA members to provide knowledge, proficiency, and “A common support—and much more. NCRMA’s Chronic Risk podcast cannabis offers detailed insights from cannabis industry industry leaders. Through its innovamyth is that tive association-owned captive model, by having NCRMA has a network of Appointed Brokers who offer insurance products insurance, you are and coverages. Then, there is NCRM Academy—an online learning platform properly that provides members access to over managing 30 different courses on all aspects your risks, of cannabis operations. All of this when in combined ensures that your business reality, is prepared and your risks addressed. “A common cannabis industry myth insurance is only a is that by having insurance, you are properly managing your risks, when small part in reality, insurance is only a small of the risk part of the risk management framemanagement work,” says NCRMA Chairman Rocco framework.” Petrilli. “Having a firm grasp over risk management is vital to the success of —NCRMA Chairman any business.” Rocco Petrilli

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THE END

One of the brightest stars of the Harlem Renaissance, which brought the work of Black writers to the forefront of American culture, Langston Hughes wrote this melodic, powerful poem of reaffirmation in 1922. It is just as relevant today as marginalized people across the United States still seek to be heard and recognized and seen for their beauty inside and out on the national stage. 62

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The night is beautiful, So the faces of my people. The stars are beautiful, So the eyes of my people. Beautiful, also, is the sun. Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people. —Langston Hughes

PHOTO BY JESSICA FELICIO, UNSPLASH

My People

“My People”