Treating Yourself Magazine #29

CHAPTER

6 • Treating Yourself, Issue 29 - 2011

Publisher/ Editor in ChiefMarco [email protected]

Publishers assistantSandra Petite

Art/Layout DesignerIvan [email protected]

Copy EditorDaniel Lindley

Sales RepresentativesGreg KosakowMichael Levitt

Web Site EditorAndrew Shaw

Text & photography ContributorsMarco Renda, Ivan Art, Shantibaba,Mary Lou Smart, Georgia Peschel, Al Graham, Jeremy Norrie, Soma,Morgan Fox, Lexx, S. Brooks, C. Willis, Franco, Arjan, Mark, HarryResin, Reverend Jef Tek, Joshua Boulet,Skunkmad & family & Ball family, MattThornton, Old Hippie, Davide Stallone,D.Graf, Gregorio “Goyo” Fernandez,AmericaForSafeAccess.org

Cover shot:Strain Hunter Arjan in Moroccoby GreenHouse Seeds

Submit your articles to:[email protected]

Treating Yourself250 The East Mall,P.O. Box 36531Etobicoke, OntarioM9B 3Y8 CanadaT: + 416 620 1951F: +416 620 0698

Printed in Canada

Marco Renda - Federal Exemptee - Publisher & Editor in Chief Treating Yourself, The Alternative Medicine Journal - [email protected]

Treating Yourself, Issue 29 - 2011 • 7

Canadian Activists Forming a United Front!

I write this with only four days to go until the second Treating Yourself Expo which hastaken about ten months to execute. This year promises to be a fantastic event and we havepeople coming from as far as Japan, which is an enormous compliment.

Following the recent set back of a majority Conservative Government being voted in, headedby Stephen Harper, people in the cannabis movement are waiting in fear and anticipation.Harper promised to move forward with his introduction of mandatory minimum sentenceswithin the first one hundred days which would affect cannabis users and growers. This threathas bought positive changes in a once fragmented movement and we are closing ranks andforming a unified front. There is now positive, open communication between the West coastactivists and those of us in Toronto. Jodie Emery, Jeremiah Vandermeer and otherprominent activists are attending the Treating Yourself Expo and promoting therelease of Marc Emery. This marks a new era of solidarity which should allow us to put forth astronger voice on a political level. The next stage would be to branch out and recruit peoplefrom outside the movement to support the medical benefits for using medical cannabis.Examples of these ambassadors can be heard at the Treating Yourself Exposuch as Mary Lynn Mathre and Dr. Robert Melamede.

Upon reflection, it is with enormous sadness that I mention Michelle Rainey. Those of you whoattended the Expo last year or who have watched the DVD of the show will remember howshe hosted the events and interviewed a vast range of people. Michelle was also my soundingblock and good friend. She died shortly after the show from cancer and to those who knewher, remember her as someone who showed professionalism, diplomacy and love. I have decid-ed to create a Michelle Rainey award for an activist who personifies the essence of Michelle whooften took on the role of unsung hero.

I find it disheartening that I have to continually battle with various government agencies as aresult of my outspokenness against Health Canada. It makes me consider that it is time to relo-cate Treating Yourself out of Canada and out of the reach of the Harper Government. It’s iron-ic that a successful Canadian business is being sabotaged by the Canadian Government. Theyclearly only support companies that are supportive towards prohibition.

On lighter note, I hope that you enjoy this latest issue of the mag-azine and continue to support those who need it such as Marc

Emery and other prisoners of the drug war.

Take Care and PeaceMarco Renda


Advertising Policy StatementTreatingYourself is not responsible for the actions, service or quality of the products and businessesadvertised in our publication. We will not knowingly support unethical practices of any advertiser. If youchoose to purchase a product from one of our advertisers, please let them know that you saw their adin Treating Yourself Magazine

AdsFormat: JPG, TIFF or EPS in (CMYK) Resolution: 300dpi at 1/1 (actual print size)Ad sizes: • 1/4 page: 95mm x 132mm (wxh) / 3.74in x 5.2in

• 1/2 horizontal: 195mm x 132mm (wxh) / 7.7in x 5.2• 1/2 vertical: 95mm x 267mm (wxh) / 3.74in x 10.5in• Full page: 203 x 276 (wxh) + 3mm bleed on all edges. / 8in x 10.9in + 1/8in bleed

Articles Text: submitted in a Word document with photo files attached separately as JPG’s, captions to be written in place of name on the photo filePhoto format: JPG, 300dpi at actual print size. The more pixels the better!

Note Please take photos of objects or buds with a nuetral background (preferably white).

Submission info

Treating Yourself wishes to remind readers to be aware that the sale, possession and transportof viable cannabis seeds is illegal in many countries, particularly in the USA. We do not wishto induce anyone to act in conflict with the law. We do not promote the germination andgrowth of these seeds where prohibited by law. Treating Yourself assumes no responsibility forany claims or representations contained in this publication or in any advertisement. All mate-rial is for entertainment and educational purposes only! Treating Yourself does not encour-age the illegal use of any of the products or advertisements within. All opinions are those ofthe writer and do not necessarily reflect those of Treating Yourself. Nothing in this publica-tion may be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part without the expressed writ-ten consent of the publisher. All rights reserved. All advertised products and offers voidwhere prohibited. Occasionally we may use material we believe to be placed in the publicdomain. Sometimes it is not possible to identify or contact the copyright holder. If you claimownership of something we have published we will be pleased to make a proper acknowl-edgement. All letters and pictures sent are assumed to be for publication unless stated other-wise. Treating Yourself can not be held responsible for unsolicited contributions. No portionof this publication can be reproduced for profit without the written consent of the publisher.

Disclaimer

1of a Kind GlassAd Astra SeedsAttitude SeedbankBC Bud DepotBuddha SeedsContest: Herbal Aire Give AwayContest: TYROOR packageCrosstown TrafficDolce Vita MagazineFMS SeedsGreen House Seeds Greenlife SeedsGrowHD.TVHarborsideIvanArtKarma GeneticsKDK DistributorsLA ContainerMaple ReefMedcannAccessMedical Cannabis JournalMMAMedicalMarijuana.caMM Seeds WholesalerMichelle Rainey FoundationMr.Nice SeedbankNirvanaParadise SeedsPeaceful PipePlanetary PridePure GlassRooRRoyal Queen SeedsSerious SeedsSoma SeedsTHC FarmerTHSeedsTime 4 hempTrimproTYMM&HExpo DVDTY SubscribeVaporizers.caWeedWorld

449

IFCover, 31315236

13628

100103

BCover12110765

10, 771877534935533553

82-851291

113IRCover

4928

138137

51059318971837

1186

71112

HIGHLIGHTS

Issue 29 - Advertisers Index CONTESTS

Cartoons/ IllustrationsIvan Art

11, 21, 24, 25

Georgiatoons14,47, 48, 57, 125

Joshua Boulet70,128

ROOR Winnersp.136

Herbal Aire GiveAway and Winners

pg.36

Win a custom TYRooR package

complete with carrying casepg.136

INSIDE ISSUE 29


7

13

151619202933

3850

5458626668

727476

Storm’s Storyp.38

7880

86929498100104106

108

114119122126129132134

Kannabia Seed Co.BCN Dieselp.100

Strain Report Evaluations of:Mr. Magoo’s Hash OilSkywalker

CultivationHow to Grow Your Own Medicinal Grade PlantCats and CannabisTerpene BluesAirpruning with Superoot Air-potsIntroducing a Spanish Seed Comany, KannabiaKushagePress Release:Round DripCap® by CubeCap®

TravelStrain Hunters Morocco Expedition

EventsDeep Green Fest, CaliforniaCCLC Open House, CanadaKeeping PACE Everywhere, CanadaNational Home Show, CanadaTotal Health Show, CanadaCannabis Liberation Day, HollandTY Open House, Canada

How To Make Your OwnCanna-Caps

p.68

...Cannabis Lotionp. 62

Post Traumatic Stress:A Natural Response

p.54

p. 108

Marco’s Editorial

NewsGrowing ConcernPress Release:Kingston Compassion Club Society Opens it’s DoorsMM Advocates Sue Federal Government...Delaware Passe MM LawMM Tax Plan & State StructuringOn Any Anniversary, CelebrateMitzvah

Hemp ChroniclesStorm’s StoryPost Military Solutions

HealthPost Traumatic Stress: a natural responseCannabis for Seniors, their Doctors & CaregiversFor Surface Issues, Cannabis Lotion...What the Ding Dong is Decarboxylation?How to Make Your Own Canna-Caps

Spotlight TY Interviews:A Colorado Medical Grow

The Man Behind The Glass GripperMichael of CCLC

UNIQUE GIFT IDEA!

Spread the message.


t was, has been, and alwayswill be my intention to teachas many people to grow theirown medicine as I possiblycan: the simple act of nurtur-

ing a seed, watching it sprout andgrow into a seedling, watering andfeeding that seedling until it is aplant, watching it outgrow its con-tainer like a hermit crab outgrows itsshell. Going from literally a fewdrops of water that it takes to germi-nate one single seed all the way up tothe gallons of water it takes to finishflushing a full-bodied plant during itsfinal stage. The progression is asmesmerizing and as therapeutic asthe actual medicine is.

The medicine I am referring to is alsoknown as grass, weed, pot, marijua-na, marihuana, ganja, etc.... I call it alife saver.

I’ve suffered from arthritis for aslong as i care to remember. (The

lower case i was intended!) Manypeople suffer from many ailmentsthat can be treated with cannabis.For some it is simply a life enhancer,but for many it is life.

My wife, Michelle Rainey, lost herbattle with cancer in October lastyear, and I know for a fact thatmedicinal-grade cannabis greatlyextended not only her life but herquality of life as well. So much infor-mation about this miraculous planthas been and continues to berepressed that it should make theaverage person mad. Her whole lifewas dedicated to enlightening every-one she touched, that marijuanahelped ease her Crohn’s symptoms aswell as let her eat, live, and workwith minimal difficulty.

We are all dealt a set of cards, andwhat we do with them is entirely upto us. Some folks are dealt a nicehand, like Howard Hughes or

Charlie Sheen, and muck it all up.Some are dealt lousy cards, butmaybe a wild card will pop up laterin life. I know that cannabis is mywild card, and let me tell you, reader,this has been one hell of a ride, theups, the downs, the daily grinder. Iwouldn’t trade it for the wholeworld.

I miss Michelle and I had to take afew months off from writing becauseI was afraid I’d short-out my key-board with all the salt water spewingfrom somewhere behind my ocularmembers, making it difficult to seeand write. I’m still in the process ofstarting The Michelle RaineyFoundation, and the Web site is com-ing together nicely.

On St. Patrick’s Day (March 17,2011), I had the honor and privilegeto go on Vancouver’s classic rockradio station Rock101 with BrotherJake. I was on air with Mike Reno,

Greetings, and welcome back to Jef Tek’s

Growing concern....

IBy Reverend Jef Tek


famous frontman of Loverboy, aswell as Al Harlow of Prism, promot-ing medicinal marijuana and dis-cussing Michelle’s life’s work, and inwalks B.C.’s brand new PremierChristy Clark. I can’t believe I got tobe on the radio and meet our babeli-cious Premier. Word has it shebelieves in medicinal cannabis, too— woo hoo! One down and onlyabout a million more politicians togo. I also dropped a shout-out toTreating Yourself magazine, saying,“TY is the only journal for patientsdone by patients.” Like I also said onthe air, I do still need to drop an over-the-counter pain remedy when thepain in my back gets to be too much,but for most of the last 12 years,cannabis has been my main medicinein my arsenal against arthritis.

If you live in Canada and you have adoctor’s diagnosis of one of the manyailments cannabis is known to treat,you can get a specialist to sign andthen you send off about 30 pages offorms to Health Canada. In a year orless, you will be licensed to grow,possess, and use cannabis to healyou. Now, in keeping with my origi-nal goal of teaching everyone possi-ble to grow pot, I am also adding thedesire for everyone with anything

from simple dermatitis to intraoculareye pressure (which is something that80% of us all have) to go get signed.Get their license, force HealthCanada to expand their MedicalMarijuana Access Division, or what-ever they’re calling it now, force thewhole bureaucratic member to swelllike buds in bloom, crashing the sys-tem and freeing the thousands ofpeople forced to live in fear ofreprisal. Everyone from the doctorswho are bullied not to sign marijua-na patients’ forms, all the way up toand including the fact that cannabishemp has been removed from colle-giate doctors’ curriculums for morethan three decades, leaving fledglingdoctors literally in the dark about aplant, a plant that does have healingpowers. I don’t get it.

I’ve personally educated my chiro-practor, his staff, and many friendsor their significant others who neverpuffed, ever. Some still don’t person-ally partake in the medicinal bene-fits, but at least they have a viableunderstanding of what IT is, andwhat it isn’t. I feel good when I dis-pel a myth or two, or when a pre-menstrual cramp is alleviated with asingle puff of potent pot, and I seetheir eyes soften up, and breathe a

NEWS

sigh of relief. That makes me happy.To know that we are doing good.

Growing your own medicine shouldbe as simple as growing your ownvegetables or fruit. Man has donethis for centuries, but in the last halfof the last century, more and morethings keep coming from stores thataren’t using any more ingredients.We have become a society of shop-pers, and if we cannot find it at theshopping center, we give up. Cheerup, you will still need to shop forsome staples, like pots, lights, timers,soil, etc., but you will not have toshop for swag any more. No moretentative, waiting-for-my-so-and-soto get back from wherever-the-hell.No, you will be the one who is in thedriver’s seat, calling the shots, andproviding for you and your lovedones.

Making a difference in someone's lifewill make a difference in your life. Itsurely has in mine. There are asmany varied ways to grow marijua-na as there are as many varied per-sonalities. There’s no real secret, justpersistence; knowledge will come intime. Every journey begins with thefirst step. Good luck and stayinformed....

Cartoon

Kingston, Ontario, Canada,21/05/2011– The KCCS is raisingthe bar. We are the first and onlyunionized medical cannabis dispensa-ry in Canada, with the IndustrialWorker's of the World Health andSocial Services Workers 610. We arealso nonprofit and a worker's co-operative. We are the first and onlyone in Kingston. The KCCS is also acannabis research centre, conductingcannabinoid profiles on our strainsand clinical studies.

We are located in a doctors office inthe doctor-run Medical Arts Buildingin Kingston, Ontario. We have 100%support from the local medical com-munity, as well as the Queen's

University School of Medicine andregistered member of ICRS, ICAM,MCA and other medical associations,as well as the Canadian Institute ofHealth Researchers.

The Kingston Whig-Standard hasdone a article on our official opening,here is the link:http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3134604

Our website is running and has muchmore information on the KCCS andhow we are raising the bar for themedical cannabis industry.

The KCCS was founded and is run bythe sick, half of our staff are on the

Kingston Compassion ClubSociety Opens it's doors.

Matt ThorntonKingston Compassion Club [email protected]

A new Canadian medicalcannabis dispensary is raisingthe bar for medical cannabisindustry.

Federal MMAR program. We haveover 100 years of collective cannabisexperience, and some of the best cul-tivators in Canada on contract. Atthe KCCS we are bringing amuch needed clinical environmentand science to medical cannabis dis-pensaries.

Contact Information:Matt Thornton#409 800 Princess Street Kingston On K7L 1G3T: 1-613-547-2459F: 1-613-280-1341www.kingstoncompassion.org



WASHINGTON - May 23 - ACoalition of advocacy groups andpatients filed suit in the DC CircuitCourt today to compel the Obamaadministration to answer a 9-year-oldpetition to reclassify medical marijua-na. The Coalition for ReschedulingCannabis (CRC) has never receivedan answer to its 2002 petition,despite a formal recommendation in2006 from the Department of Healthand Human Services (HHS) to theDrug Enforcement Administration(DEA), the final arbiter in therescheduling process. As recently asJuly 2010, the DEA issued a 54-page"Position on Marijuana," but failedto even mention the pending CRCpetition. Plaintiffs in the case includethe CRC, Americans for Safe Access(ASA), Patients Out of Time, as wellas individually named patients, oneof whom is listed on the CRC peti-tion but died in 2005.

"The federal government's strategyhas been delay, delay, delay," said JoeElford, Chief Counsel of ASA andlead counsel on the writ. "It is farpast time for the government to

answer our rescheduling petition, butunfortunately we've been forced togo to court in order to get resolu-tion." The writ of mandamus filedtoday accuses the government ofunreasonable delay in violation of theAdministrative Procedures Act. Aprevious cannabis (marijuana)rescheduling petition filed in 1972went unanswered for 22 years beforebeing denied.

The writ argues that cannabis is not adangerous drug and that ample evi-dence of its therapeutic value existsbased on scientific studies in the USand around the world. "Despitenumerous peer-reviewed scientificstudies establishing that marijuana iseffective" in treating numerous med-ical conditions, the government "con-tinues to deprive seriously ill personsof this needed, and often life-savingtherapy by maintaining marijuana asa Schedule I substance." The writcalls out the government for unlaw-fully failing to answer the petitiondespite an Inter-Agency Advisoryissued by the Food and DrugAdministration in 2006 and "almost

NEWS

five years after receiving a 41-pagememorandum from HHS stating itsscientific evaluation and recommen-dations."

The two largest physician groups inthe country -- the American MedicalAssociation and the AmericanCollege of Physicians -- have bothcalled on the federal government toreview marijuana's status as aSchedule I substance with no accept-ed medical use and a high potentialfor abuse. The National CancerInstitute, a part of the NationalInstitutes of Health, added cannabisto its website earlier this year as aComplementary AlternativeMedicine (CAM) and recognizedthat, "Cannabis has been used formedicinal purposes for thousands ofyears prior to its current status as anillegal substance."

Medical marijuana has now beendecriminalized in 16 states and theDistrict of Columbia, and has an80% approval rating amongAmericans according to several polls.In a 1988 ruling on a prior reschedul-

Medical Marijuana AdvocatesSue Federal Government overRescheduling DelayWrit filed today in DC Circuit Court for unreasonable delay in answering 9-year-old petition

americansforsafeaccess.org

Further information:Writ filed today:http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/down-loads/CRC_Writ.pdfASA backgrounder on rescheduling:http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/down-loads/Rescheduling_Backgrounder.pdfCRC rescheduling petition:http://www.drugscience.org/PDF/Petition_Final_2002.pdf2006 HHS recommendation:http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/down-loads/HHS_Rescheduling_Recommendation.pdf2010 DEA Position on Marijuana:http://www.justice.gov/dea/marijuana_position_july10.pdf

Americans for Safe Access is thenation's largest organization ofpatients, medical professionals,scientists and concerned citizenspromoting safe and legal access tocannabis for therapeutic use andresearch.


ing petition, the DEA's ownAdministrative Law Judge FrancisYoung recommended in favor ofreclassification stating that,"Marijuana, in its natural form, isone of the safest therapeuticallyactive substances known to man."

A formal rejection of the CRC peti-tion would enable the group to chal-lenge in court the government's asser-tion that marijuana has no medicalvalue. "Adhering to outdated publicpolicy that ignores science has creat-ed a war zone for doctors and theirpatients who are seeking usecannabis therapeutics," said StephSherer, Executive Director of ASAand a plaintiff in the writ. JonGettman, who filed the reschedulingpetition on behalf of the CRC addedthat, "The Obama Administration'srefusal to act on this petition is an

irresponsible stalling tactic."

A synthetic form of THC, the mainchemical ingredient in the cannabisplant, is currently classified ScheduleIII for its use in a prescribed pilltrademarked as Marinol®. The pillgoes off-patent this year and compa-nies vying to sell generic versions arepetitioning the government to alsoreclassify the more economical, natu-rally-derived THC (from the plant) toSchedule III. The reschedulingprocess involves federal agencies suchas the National Institute on DrugAbuse, HHS, and DEA. On average,it takes 6 months from HHS reviewto final action, whereas it's beennearly 5 years since HHS issued itsrecommendation on the CRC peti-tion, more than twice as long as anyother rescheduling petition reviewedsince 2002.

TY Press Release


News

DOVER, DELAWARE - Today, Gov.Jack Markell signed SB 17 into law,making it legal for Delaware resi-dents with certain serious medicalconditions to use medical marijuanawith a doctor’s recommendation. Thebill had bipartisan sponsors and sup-port in the legislature. This makesDelaware the 16th state, along withthe District of Columbia, to pass aneffective medical marijuana law.

The law goes into effect on July 1 andwill permit people diagnosed withcancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis,decompensated cirrhosis, amy-otrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), agita-tion of Alzheimer's disease, PTSD,intractable nausea, severe seizures,severe and persistent muscle spasms,wasting syndrome, and severe debili-tating pain that has not responded toother treatments or for which othertreatments produced serious sideeffects to possess up to six ounces ofmarijuana without fear of arrest.Qualified patients will not be able tocultivate their own medicine, but theywill be able to obtain medical mari-juana from state-licensed compassioncenters regulated by the DelawareDepartment of Health and Social

Services, which will also issue med-ical marijuana ID cards to patientswho receive a recommendation fromtheir doctor. Public use of marijuanaand driving under the influence areprohibited.

“There are so many people inDelaware who are suffering unimag-inable pain that this will help, and wewant to be able to do what we can toprovide much-needed relief for thosecitizens,” said Senate Majority WhipMargaret Rose Henry, D-WilmingtonEast, who sponsored the legislation.“I am very grateful that so many ofmy colleagues were able to look pastthe myths surrounding marijuanaand into the eyes and hearts of thosewho were crying out for our help.Needless to say, I am profoundlygrateful to Gov. Markell for his sup-port of this important legislation.”

“Today is an amazing victory for seri-ously ill Delaware patients, who have

Delaware Passes Medical Marijuana LawGov. Markell Makes Delaware 16th State to Allow Medical Use of Marijuana

been waiting a very long time for thechance to use the medicine they needwithout fear,” said Noah Mamber,legislative analyst for the MarijuanaPolicy Project, who lobbied andmobilized patients, professionals, andgrassroots activists in support of thebill. “SB17 is the most comprehen-sive, tightly-written medical marijua-na bill in the country, and with thisvote, the Delaware Legislatureproved that compassion is not a redor a blue issue. It’s a human issue.”

Chris McNeely, a Dagsboro NationalGuard veteran and chronic painpatient with severe wasting syn-drome, said, “Until this law waspassed, I was afraid to use medicalmarijuana, even though it helped mein the past, because if I was arrestedand put in jail, they could not proper-ly care for me, and I could actuallydie. I am so happy I will be able to getlegal relief soon.”

With more than 124,000 members and supportersnationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largestmarijuana policy reform organization in the UnitedStates. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

Contact for MPP:Morgan Fox, MPP communications manager 202-905-2031 or [email protected]


ave you ever heardsomeone say, “They(the government)should just legalizeand tax marijuana!”

Well, I have. So I started to look at thetax plans in the states that have med-ical marijuana laws to see what theyhad. For the most part, there is notone solid plan among them. Some saythat “It’s medicine and you can’t taxmedicine.” This is true. However, apharmacist is not distributing medicalmarijuana; it is being treated as a con-trolled, over-the-counter medication.Therefore, it can be taxed on the med-ication aspect just like aspirin, not tomention the plant’s origin is consid-ered an herb, and herbs can be a taxedproduct also.

Hello. Allow me to introduce myself.My name is Mark. I am a carpenter bytrade and I have been following themedical marijuana laws since 1996.When California passed Proposition215, it was ground-breaking legisla-tion. Now in 2011, we have 15 statesthat have legislation on medical mari-juana and a handful of states with leg-islation in the works. All of them haveone thing in common: not one hasbeen able to figure out the best way toset up the business end of medicalmarijuana! Well, I have taken the timeto write a detailed plan of how, Ithink, to properly run this industryand produce the most tax revenue tothe benefit of everyone.

This document started as an idea dis-cussed over a game of cribbage. Then20 people put in their input and sug-

gestions, and most suggestions wereimplemented in this idea because eachone addressed a past, current, orfuture concern. The use of medicalmarijuana should be a constitutionalright because it directly coincides withthe pursuit of happiness.

This idea outlines the safest, most eco-nomical way for patients to acquire aquality product that has met mini-mum standards and guidelines at themost competitive price available. Thisway, patients will know that the med-icine that they are putting into theiralready illness-struck bodies has metguidelines to guarantee effectivenessand safety. The following plan willoutline my thoughts on how any statecan make the next groundbreakinglegislation. I have taken ideas from allover and put them into what hasbecome a sensible and simple way toregulate the business of medical mari-juana, by explaining every aspect,from licensing to inspections, lawenforcement, commercial growers,patients, dispensaries, the relief on thejudicial system, and, most important,to create a whole new tax base.This idea is not going to be all that dif-ficult to accomplish if the structure ofthe outline is followed. I feel that thetotal expense, including all licensingcosts, insurance costs, employmentcosts, income and sales taxes, businessexpenses, and growing costs, will allbe able to be achieved for approxi-mately $10 per gram or less. Rightnow, market prices are dictated by theblack market, and patients are payingbetween $14.29 and $17.15 per gram.The immediate drop in the price will

NEWS

ease pressure on the pocketbooks ofthe ill.

This program may only have 10,000patients in its first year. However, astime goes on, more people are going toget ill and will be able to benefit frommedical marijuana. In 10 years, theremay be 200,000 patients in a state thatbenefit from medical marijuana. Thisis all the more reason to implementthis idea from the beginning and set itup with a good, solid foundation tobuild from.

In this outline, the dispensaries andcommercial growers, who together areconsidered the caregivers, are expectedto go above and beyond just theirbusinesses. They should have to pro-vide pro-bono work, just like lawyers,to help the seriously ill. This could beshowing patients how to grow theirown; however, if patients are seriouslyill, then odds are that they will needthe usable product right now and notin four months. This could also be assimple as delivering patients’ medicinedirectly to them and possibly helpingwith administering the medicine, orcharitably donating product to thecounty, to help provide to the individ-uals that are on a fixed income a wayto get the medicine they need withouthaving to find money they don’t have.This will instill a sense of integrity inthis industry. This pro-bono clauseshould be part of the licensing require-ments. If applicants refuse to partici-pate with this clause, they will notqualify for the licensing.

These dispensaries will allow greater

H“They (the government) should just legalize and tax marijuana!”

Finally Someone Wrote It Down!

Medical Marijuana Tax Plan and State Structuringby Mark


control of product quality, cost con-trol, and ultimately taxation of theproduct. In every industry, there arequality standards that have to be met.This industry should be no different.Some states designate a caregiver togrow the medical marijuana for thepatients. The problem with this idea isthat each caregiver can only take careof a few patients. Now, you may ask,what’s wrong with that? The problemwith the designated caregiver laws isthat, for example, in the state ofMichigan, where there are 200,004people who have been issued medicalmarijuana cards, the state will need33,334 growers to take care of thatmany people. That is a lot of people tocreate quality medical marijuana.Another problem is that patients arestuck with caregivers; if they don’tknow how to grow medical marijua-na, patients are not getting what theyneed. Patients can’t shop around forthe best product or price. Not to men-tion, where is the sales tax?

What if a caregiver is two weeks fromharvest and a mold issue wipes out thewhole crop? All of the patients who

need this medicine, and have beenwaiting for three and a half monthsfor the medicine, are now left with noalternative but to break the law to gettheir medicine. At the dispensary,patients can find what they need. Thatcould be medical marijuana, pre-baked goods, cooking oils, or plantclones. The sales can be tracked andtaxed at the dispensaries. They cannotbe tracked with the caregiver legisla-tion. Another major downfall to thecaregiver legislation is that the com-plete lack of competition allows thecaregiver to price-gouge the patient.Patients can’t do anything about itbecause they have to designate thecaregiver or do it themselves, althoughin some cases doing it themselves isnext to impossible.

These dispensaries should be able topurchase from outside sources. Thiswill allow the dispensaries the abilityto obtain illness-specific strains fromdifferent sources. This will also allowthe patients the chance to find themedicine that works the best for them.This will raise the quality control ofsomething that is supposed to be of

Medical Marijuana Tax Plan

medicinal grade; this means that itshould hold a minimum THC or CBDcount, and the product should not befull of growth chemicals. These crite-ria should be included in the lawbecause medical has to hold somestandards.

The purchasing by dispensaries fromlicensed commercial growers will alsoallow for the income paid to the com-mercial growers to be tracked andtaxed as income, whereas the caregiv-er legislation has no possible way totrack or tax medical marijuana.

In this idea, a revolutionary new splittax payment is used. The trickle-downeffect has proven to only work for thetop of the pyramid. With the split tax,the money that is intended for a specif-ic destination is sent directly to thatdestination, without a delay or inter-ruption from the state. This split tax isdesigned to help immediately with theshortfalls that the trickle-down effecthas created. This split tax will alsogreatly reduce the amount of time itwill take to realize if someone is get-ting delinquent on taxes.

ivan

art.

net


C: The government won’t legalize medical marijuanabecause it can’t tax it.A: Medical marijuana can be taxed if a business pyramid struc-ture is established from the inception of this industry. The fol-lowing outline describes how to track production and taxablesales.

C: If the law gets changed, “they” will have to apologize.A: No one who is seeking reform of marijuana laws in this coun-try is looking for an apology. The whole idea behind changingthe marijuana laws in this country is that the people of thiscountry should have access to safe, natural medication thatgrows as a finished product. (It does not have to be alteredchemically in any way to be ready for human consumption.)

C: It will never pass in the state of Wisconsin!A: So far, this comment is true. The reason that it baffles me isthat this state has an 80.3% approval rating, and rising, formedical marijuana. That leads me to believe that it is our faultthat people are suffering needlessly. We need to utilize our civilrights and tell our state representatives to vote for this societalchange.I was sitting on the sidelines waiting just like you, watching aseverything around us falls apart. We need to change this pathwe’re on. This idea is more than legalizing medical marijuana;it’s about serious social reform.

S: If it is legalized (medically), everyone will grow theirown.A: Yes, some people will grow their own medicine. But let’s lookat the number of people who grow their own vegetables. Theactual number is low in comparison to the total population.Then you have to take into account that crop damage does hap-pen, and most people will give up when they find out howmuch work it actually takes to produce medical marijuana. Mostpeople after failure will opt to purchase the medicine from thedispensary, not to mention the startup costs that can range from$1,000 and up. If I were on a fixed income and seriously ill, Idon’t think that growing my own would actually be a viableoption.

NEWS

Q: What if patients grow their own and don’t growenough to get through to the next harvest?A: Patients will be allowed to buy from the dispensary to offsettheir shortage. Patients who grow their own will have the rightto utilize all goods and services provided by the dispensaries.

C: It won’t get legalized because it makes the justice sys-tem too much money.A: Illegal marijuana use does net the justice system a lot ofmoney; however, the justice system could bring in a lot moremoney if it received tax dollars instead of restitution money.Unfortunately, legalizing medical marijuana is not going to solveall of the crime in this world. But it will stop people who arefighting illnesses from being prosecuted and going to jail orprison for trying to get well. The beds in the prisons are notgoing to suddenly become empty either. They will just be filledwith more people who truly should be in jail and not out on thestreets.

C: A bill (Jackie Rickert Medical Marijuana Act) will neverpass on its first time through.A: This is not the first time this type of bill has tried to make itthrough the capitol of Wisconsin. Lobbyists have been trying toget this legislation passed since 1996. However, due to the lackof support, most bills died before they were ever launched.

C: This bill is just a circus and a bunch of hippies who wantto get high!A: This statement is derived from sheer ignorance. The fact isthese bills are designed to help your neighbor going throughchemotherapy, your grandmother with MS, your son or daugh-ter who returned from war and now suffers from post-traumat-ic stress disorder. Please talk to people with these conditions andask them how the medications are treating them. There are somany things that medical marijuana can treat that if you are anti-medical marijuana, please educate yourself on the subject. Thenext person that could benefit from it could be you. If after edu-cating yourself you still don’t believe in it, you can still benefitfrom the break on your personal taxes.

Here are a few different questions (Q:), comments (C:), and statements (S:) about medical marijuana, along with theanswers to them. (If you, the reader, have specific questions or have something to add or dispute, please write itdown on the back of any page).

Properly regulating medical marijuanacould potentially balance out ourhealth care costs, or at least slow theincrease of our premiums, by usingless of the outrageously priced pre-scription medications, and if you havedone any research you know thatthere are preventative benefits thatcannabis provides to the human body.Because of this fact alone, the pharma-ceutical companies stand to lose a lotof money if this idea is passed.

However, there is nothing in this ideathat states that the pharmaceuticalcompanies are excluded from apply-ing for the licensing.

This is an industry, and it should betreated as such. We need to tax andregulate this industry, from its incep-tion into the mainstream culture.There also need to be quality stan-dards for medical marijuana. It shouldhave a minimum percentage of the

active ingredients THC or CBD. Theplant should be flushed of all chemicalfertilizers before it is harvested andconsumed. The growers should haveto have some knowledge of howplants grow. It’s not as easy as juststicking a seed in the ground and youend up with medical marijuana. Likeany medical prescriptions, medicalmarijuana needs care and knowledgein order for the product to turn outproperly.


You are always going to have peoplewho break the law. Look at the cur-rent pharmaceutical pill abuse. Thatindustry is regulated and there is stillcrime involved with it. But the indus-try is still allowed to operate withoutmuch opposition because it is theright thing to do for the people whoneed those types of medications. Justlike in the pharmaceutical industry, ifmedical marijuana laws are beingbroken, then criminal charges shouldbe brought forth and prosecuted.

In July 2010, the local, state, andfederal government launched a raidin the forests in northeast Wisconsin.They found 50,000 plants that werebeing grown by the Mexican drugcartel. If you were to be conservativeon the number, you are still lookingat 12,000 pounds of cannabis. Butthe question that no one has asked is,“Why?” The answer to that isbecause there is a demand for it here.Let’s stop acting like it does not hap-pen here and properly address thissituation; then we can stop funnelingmoney to the cartel when we, as acountry, need it more!

StateThe government needs to create anoffice in the Department of HealthServices to oversee commercial med-ical marijuana growers and medicalmarijuana dispensaries. For lack of abetter name, I will call this depart-ment the Department of MedicalMarijuana. This department will alsooversee the operations of its countyoffices and will select the final reviewboard. This office will be in charge ofthe licensing of dispensaries and com-mercial growers, budgeting its countybranches, data recovery, and dataanalysis. The data recovered shouldbe used to fine-tune this idea.

Data RecoveryIt all starts with the central controlcomputer that is controlled by theDepartment of Medical Marijuana.This computer will be linked to all ofthe licensed dispensaries. The centralcomputer system will be designed totrack information. Here’s how itworks. On the back of the medicalmarijuana card* is a magnetic stripjust like there is on a credit card. Thedispensary counter will have a cardscanner. Patients will swipe theirissued medical card; their picture andtheir information (that is in theDepartment of Medical Marijuana’scomputer) will come up on the dis-pensary’s computer screen. This willallow the dispensary clerk to verifythat the patient has a valid medicalmarijuana card. The Department ofMedical Marijuana will be able tomonitor if patients are overbuyingand possibly reselling illegally byusing the data collected. It will alsoallow the Department of MedicalMarijuana to monitor the marijuanapurchases by the dispensaries, per-gram sales, plant sales, and all otherrelated sales at each licensed dispen-sary. With proper guidelines, thisshould allow the Department ofMedical Marijuana the ability tomonitor the activity of all legal med-ical marijuana sales.

Commercial growers will also beissued a data card to track sales to thedispensaries. This will ensure that theproper income taxes will be paid,quality standards are met, and thatthe dispensaries are only purchasingfrom licensed commercial growers,eliminating the cartel’s ability to mar-ket their product here.

Patients will be issued a medical mar-ijuana card. The medical marijuanacard will have photo identification,name, issuing county, and a magneticstrip on the back. The magnetic stripis for computer verification that thepatient’s card is valid. This strip canalso hold information as to a patient’sseller’s license*.


LicensingThe licensing fees should easily beable to pay for the creation and oper-ation of the Department of MedicalMarijuana. All licenses will carry afee, which per county will pay for theset-up and operation of theDepartment of Medical Marijuana.These fees will have no other finan-cial destination; if there is a fee sur-plus, save it. In the future, changesmay have to happen. All commercialgrowers and dispensaries are to fol-low all building codes. All dispen-saries and commercial growersapplying for a license will have to filetheir certificate of business liabilityinsurance, provide an FEIN number,and agree to a pro-bono clause toqualify (2.5% of gross business forthe previous year). All licenses are tobe posted in plain sight, hanging in aframe. An individual’s criminalrecord should be evaluated by omit-ting all marijuana charges. I don’t feelthat it is right to exclude individualsfrom getting the licensing if they areconvicted felons only for growingmarijuana or possession of parapher-nalia.

There should be a license limit perowner (two dispensary licenses perperson). This is to prevent monopo-lizing of the industry. However, if theDepartment of Medical Marijuanadoes not receive enough applicationsto fill the allotted amount for the dis-pensary licenses, and it has addition-al licenses left, it can open the unfilledlicenses up to the current licenseholders.

Dispensary licensingThe license will state the businessname, address, license holder’s name,the local inspector’s name, and con-tact information. The dispensary willpay a straight $1,000 licensing fee peryear per location. As a requirementof licensing, all dispensaries will haveto provide pro-bono work. TheDepartment of Medical Marijuanashould set a limit on the number of


dispensaries in one area; one dispen-sary per 1,000 people should beenough. The dispensary will have tohave a point of sales computer that islinked to a central computer at theDepartment of Medical Marijuana.The licensing requires that when pur-chasing from commercial growers,the dispensary provide all informa-tion required (i.e. quantity pur-chased, active ingredient percentages,amount of money per gram paid tothe grower, and grower identificationcard number) to the Department ofMedical Marijuana database.Dispensaries will be able to cross-ref-erence the grower with the centraldatabase to prevent accidentally pur-chasing illegal medical marijuana.

Commercial GrowersThe license will state the businessname, address, license holder’s name,the local inspector’s name and con-tact information, the square footageof the garden, and the maximumnumber of plants. The licensingdepartment has the right to inspectan operation at any time when pro-viding proper identification. It willhave the right to terminate the licens-ing if any laws are broken. All deci-sions will be final after a reviewboard hears the case of the termina-tion of licensing. If the decision madeby the county inspector to suspendlicensing is overturned by the reviewboard, it will be the responsibility ofthat county’s Department of Medical

NEWS

Marijuana to reimburse the groweror dispensary for lost earnings duringthe down time. This will keep theinspectors honest, and will ensurethat a solid case is to be presented tothe review board. If a commercialgrower wants to own a dispensary, itwill have to apply for both licenses.The licensing of a commercial grow-er will be based off of the squarefootage that is used for growing med-ical marijuana* (planting stations,trimming, and drying areas are notincluded in the licensing squarefootage). Outdoor crops will requirespecial licensing. All growing areaswill have to have the ability to belocked and secured. Multiple licensesshould be allowed on one parcel ofland as long as they are in separate,secure structures, there are properlicenses to cover the square footage,the plant numbers are correct, and allof the other licensing requirementsare met. The growers’ license numberwill also be the medical marijuanatax reference number. The growerwill be issued a sales card with amagnetic strip on the back, photoidentification, and all other licensinginformation necessary. This card is tobe swiped in the dispensary’s cardreader before any sales take place.*Example: If a grower has a 600-square-foot vegetative room and a600-square-foot flowering room, thetotal of this garden is 1,200 squarefeet. Therefore, the licensing for oneyear will be $1,200.

Seller’s Licenseonly applies to patient gardens. Ifpatients grow more than they need,they should be able to apply for apatient seller’s license. This will allowthem to sell their extra to the dispen-sary. The quality standards will haveto be met in order to be purchased bythe dispensary. The seller’s licenseinformation can be added to thepatient medical marijuana card’smagnetic strip. The limits of thislicense are that the patient cannot sellmore than 1.5 pounds per year or681 grams. If patients want to sellmore, they will have to apply for acommercial grower’s license.

ivan

art.

net


The counties will all have their ownsub-branches of the Department ofMedical Marijuana. These officeswill oversee inspections, processpatient applications, issue medicalmarijuana cards to the patients, andact as a liaison to law enforcementand Department of MedicalMarijuana license holders.

County InspectorsThe inspectors will be located in thecounty offices; that way, the local lawenforcement, commercial growers,and dispensaries have an inspectorthey can call on if there are any issuesthat need to be resolved.

Commercial GrowersHave to allow inspectors into theiroperation when the agent providesproper identification. Law enforce-ment can enter without a warrant aslong as accompanied by the localinspector. Growers must have thelicensing posted visibly and in plainsight. If any laws are broken (i.e. toomany plants, too many square feet,EPA violations, illegal sales, tax eva-sion…), the inspector has the right tofollow whatever action is deemednecessary to correct the problem,such as issuing warnings, issuing cita-tions, or license termination. Nomore than three warnings per year, orthe licensing can be terminated.

*Example: If a grower is using moresquare footage than the licenseallows, a fine and license upgradewould be fitting for the offense; how-ever, this offense will not happen inthat order again, or the licensing canbe terminated. The proper procedure

would be to increase the squarefootage on the license and then thegrowing area.

*Example: If a grower is dumpingchemicals: immediate license termi-nation, EPA called in, and possiblecriminal charges.

*Example: If a grower has a few toomany plants, cut down the extraplants and issue a warning.

DispensariesInspectors have the right to inspectthe operation at any time; the agentsmust provide proper identificationbefore entry. This is to ensure the dis-pensaries are selling medical marijua-na that meets or exceeds the medicalminimum guidelines, and to makesure all other department regulationsare being met.

Law EnforcementLaw enforcement will benefit fromthe creation of this department. Itwill allow law enforcement to knowwho is a legitimate operation andwho is not. In other states, lawenforcement is unintentionally clog-ging up the courts with cases againstpeople who are operating to the letterof the law. Meanwhile, it tears down


the operation and stops the patientsfrom getting their medicine. Now thelaw enforcement office can contactthe local inspector’s office. Theinspector can verify any informationnecessary and/or go to the facility toinspect it.

Law enforcement won’t have to comeup with a warrant, waste taxpayerdollars dismantling a legal growingoperation, the courts’ time, the lawenforcement department’s time, andas a result stop the patients who needthe medicine from being able toreceive it. It does take approximatelyfour months to have a usable prod-uct. This time is critical to the patient.Law enforcement should also be heldaccountable for its actions andshould treat these future patients andbusiness owners with respect. Smashand grab tactics that have been usedin other states should not be tolerat-ed by our local law enforcement.

JudicialThe judicial system and law enforce-ment will be able to stop using lessthan desirable tactics to generate rev-enue. The current prosecution ofmarijuana users is costing the taxpay-ers in this state millions of dollars peryear. Currently, the court system willprosecute a citizen for possession ofmarijuana.

ivan

art.

net


*Example: I know of a very recentcase where the individual was arrest-ed for possession of 2 grams of mari-juana. The sentencing options thatwere presented to the individual were:

• 30 days in jail- taxpayers pay $1,500. (The cost to house an inmate is approximately $50 per day; that’s $1,500 for every 30 days.)• 30 days in Huber- taxpayers pay $ 950; individual is charged $550 fee.• 30 days on house arrest but cannot work; charged $550 fee.• And $80 in court costs.

All of these options result in the lossof this individual’s employment, resi-dence, and now the taxpayers will payfor the incarceration. Why wastemoney on this any longer? We needour laws to be reformed also. If thestate wasn’t strapped for cash, thiswouldn’t be happening. The state,counties, townships, schools, and thetaxpayers would all be able to take abreath and not have to worry aboutthe next round of job cuts.

Commercial GrowersCommercial growers will have toobtain the proper licensing to begincultivation. All building codes mustbe met to qualify. Certificate of liabil-ity insurance and FEIN number mustbe submitted with the license applica-tion. The grower also accepts havingto do pro-bono work as part of thelicense requirements when the appli-cation is accepted. The grower will beissued a license number/grower num-ber on the dispensary data card anddisplay the license. This number willbe used on tax forms and for trackingsales to dispensaries. Commercialgrowers must abide by all laws setforth by the state Department ofMedical Marijuana.

DispensariesDispensaries will have the ability toobtain licensing through the stateDepartment of Medical Marijuana.This licensing application will requirea certificate of liability insurance and

a FEIN number. The dispensaryaccepts having to do pro-bono workas part of the licensing requirements.The dispensary shall be able to pur-chase and sell medical marijuana andall other related goods and services.Dispensaries must abide by all lawsset forth by the Department ofMedical Marijuana.

PatientsPatients will have to get their recom-mendation from a doctor. The med-ical card will be issued by the countyin which the patient resides, branch ofthe Department of MedicalMarijuana. Patients will have to pay a$150 processing fee or $50 if theyqualify for the pro-bono assistance forthe medical marijuana card. Patientsshall be allowed to grow 12 plants fortheir own personal use. Patients withfixed incomes should also be grantedthe same discount as they receive else-where. If patients grow too muchproduct, they will have to obtain aseller’s license from the Department ofMedical Marijuana before they canlegally sell the product. The productwill have to meet all minimum stan-dards in order to be purchased by thedispensaries. All patients must swipethe card to verify that the card isvalid. Dispensaries will provide theamount sold to each patient whenprocessing the information.Dispensaries will beallowed to provide allgoods and servicesrelated to patientsreceiving medical mar-ijuana.

TaxesThe creation of a newtax base is the ultimategoal. There will benew tax forms thatwill have to be createdto direct the tax moneyaccording to this out-line. All of the taxesgenerated at the dis-pensary level will bepaid directly to thedesignated institution

NEWS

on a monthly basis. Payments are tobe received no later than the 15th ofthe following month, or an additionallate fee will be imposed; no more thantwo months behind on the taxes, orthe licensing can be terminated. Thiswill allow immediate relief where it isneeded the most. And this is the basisfor what I call the trickle-up: itensures that the tax revenue goesdirectly back where it came from, intothe community. Hopefully, with thisdirect surge of tax dollars into thecommunity, cities and towns might bemore accepting of the idea of medicalmarijuana and the potential of realtax relief that it can bring!

Commercial Grower’sTaxesWill be subject to all business taxesrelated to their business, and allincome taxes that apply.

Patient’s Seller LicenseTaxes- Income taxes apply.

Dispensaries’ TaxesI feel that a $2 per gram tax (or 5%sales tax and a 20% sin tax) should beimposed at the dispensary level. Thistax is to be added to the per-gramsale, just as gasoline is taxed per gal-lon, and is to be divided in the follow-ing breakdown:

ivan

art.

net


1.State- $1 per gram•First expense to be covered by this dollar is the school districts that need additional funding to cover any budgetshortfall.•$0.10 of each dollar should be used to help retired citizens of the state offset the shortage from Social Security.•$0.20 of each dollar should be put into savings. Each year that passes, put $0.02 less away. Stop this decline when$0.04 is all that is being set aside.

The rest of the dollar should be spent on the state deficit. 2.County- $0.10 per gram sold in its county.3.County Sheriff- $0.10 per gram sold in its county.4.Municipality- $0.20 per gram sold at dispensaries in the municipality’s limits.5.Public school district-$0.35 per gram sold at dispensaries that are located in the school district’s limits.6.Veterans Affairs Hospital- $0.25 per gram sold in the state.

All plant clones sold should have a $4-per-plant tax to be divided in the same manner as the per-gram per-centages. All processed goods will have a standard sales tax.

All soldiers that are admitted into the VA hospitals shall be tax exempt. Any grower or dispensary thatdonates to the VA, county human services, or any hospital that can use the benefits of medical marijuana shouldreceive a pro-bono donation voucher. (If the pro-bono guidelines are exceeded, a tax donation voucher may beissued by the donation recipient.)


If there are 20,000 patients in the state, each patientuses on average about 1 gram per day, which meansin 45 days that 2,000 pounds is used.

Every 45 days2,000 lbs. = 908,000 grams (eight 45-day cycles annually).

20,000 patients paying taxes every 45 days willgenerate:1.State- $908,0002.County-$ 90,8003.County Sheriff- $90,8004.Municipality- $181,6005.Public School Districts-$317,8006.VA Hospitals-$227,000

Annually20,000 patients will generate 1.State-$7,264,0002.County-$ 726,4003.County Sheriff- $726,4004.Municipality-$1,452,800.005.Public School Districts-$2,542,4006.VA Hospitals-$1,816,000.00

If there are 200,000 patients in the state, each patientuses on average 1 gram per day, which means in 4.5days that 2,000 pounds is used.

Every 4.5 days1.State- $908,000.002.County- $ 90,800.003.County Sheriff- $90,800.004.Municipality- $181,600.005.Public School Districts $317,800.006.VA Hospitals-$227,000.00

Annually1.State- $73,548,0002.County-$ 7,354,8003.County Sheriff- $7,354,8004.Municipality-$14,709,6005.Public School Districts-$25,741,8006.VA Hospitals-$18,387,000.00

That makes $1,816,000.00 in 4.5 days ($379,096,000annually) with a $2-per-gram tax at the dispensaries.That’s not including income taxes, processed goods, andlive plant clones.

20,000 patients 200,000 patients

*Example: If 2,000 pounds of medical marijuana are sold at the dispensaries,

it will generate the following taxes.


NEWS

JobsNow, here we go with job creation. A2,000-square-foot operation willneed at least six full-time workersand six to eight people for security.The construction of this industry willincrease the work in the buildingtrades. By having to follow buildingcodes, the likelihood that places willbe burning down declines. Thegrowth of this industry in any statewill put a surge into the economy.One retail location could employ 20-plus people. The regulation of thisindustry will create hundreds of stateand county jobs in the Department ofMedical Marijuana, not to mentionthe numerous technical jobs at thedispensaries testing the quality of themedical marijuana.

To sum up this idea: if the state takesthe reins and structures this industryin this fashion, it will take what iscurrently a black-market industryand make it produce real tax dollars.The sheer number of people that willbenefit from this medication will eas-ily support the numbers that I haveused in my examples. With the abili-ty to monitor all of the transactions,there will be no problems trackingthe tax dollars from production tosale.

This draft has been read and cri-tiqued by many people. This is a con-glomeration of everyone’s ideas andquestions. If you, the reader, have anyquestions or comments, please writethem on this document and return it

to your friend who gave this to you.Thank you for your time and yourinput.

Contact your local state representa-tives and tell them to support theJacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Actand this tax plan. Let’s do this right!This idea is will benefit us all for along time.

This idea is not affiliated with theJacki Rickert Medical MarijuanaAct. But we do strongly support it,and urge your support also. We needas much support as we can get tochange the future. Meanwhile,patients will continue to go to jail fortheir medicine. Please help stop thishorrible cycle.


ueled by mixed messages,the United States govern-ment’s marijuana prohibi-tion creates the kind ofnumbers game that would

make any sports writer ecstatic.

Attorney General Eric Holderannounces the federal governmentwill respect states’ rights; DrugEnforcement Administration (DEA)raids on cannabis businesses immedi-ately jump 80 percent. The federalgovernment that categorizes marijua-na as a Schedule I drug with no med-ical benefit holds patents ravingabout the neuroprotectant andantioxidant value of the same plant.It busts growers and dispensaries run-ning medical marijuana businesses instates with medical marijuana pro-grams, confiscating supposedly confi-dential records at the same time. Itcourts tincture shops, extolling thevirtues of “pharmaceutical-grade”weed. The National Cancer Institute(NCI), a federal agency, lines up withthe American Medical Association,the American College of Physicians,and the American Nurses Association

in its recent recognition of cannabisas a Complementary AlternativeMedicine. Its cousin, the U.S.Department of Health and HumanServices, cherry-picks respondents forbogus surveys and continues to insistthat marijuana is a dangerous drugwith no medical value.

Within the DEA, craziness trumpsreason. In 1988, the DEA’s ownJudge Francis L. Young finds, “Theevidence in this record clearly showsthat marijuana has been accepted ascapable of relieving the distress ofgreat numbers of very ill people.”Much like rescheduling petitionsgalore, his judicial recommendationis ignored.

Every year brings fresh anniversaries.

The National Organization for theReform of Marijuana Laws(NORML) incorporated 40 yearsago. Its founder, Keith Stroup, actual-ly got the ball rolling with a meetingin October 1970, not long after legis-lators signed off on the ControlledSubstances Act, which categorized

On Any Anniversary, Celebrate!

the weed that’s never killed anyone asmore harmful than syntheticmethamphetamines. NORML sub-mitted the first petition for reschedul-ing to be ignored when it applied in1972 to move cannabis fromSchedule I, based on medical use.

When they signed off on theControlled Substances Act, legisla-tors were assured that the reschedul-ing would occur if a study, theNational Report on Marihuana andDrug Abuse, was favorable. That1972 study concluded that “neitherthe marijuana user nor the drug itselfcan be said to constitute a danger topublic safety.” As that document,known as the Shafer Commission’sreport, and NORML’s petition appli-cation approach their 40-yearanniversaries, the Coalition forRescheduling Cannabis (CRC) isready to celebrate a10-year anniver-sary of its federal petition to resched-ule. No surprise, but no responsefrom the feds on any of this stuff!

Yet more milestones can be found inthe realm of the patient movement,

F

On Any Anniversary,

Celebrate!

Bob with cigsThe five legal smokers

© 2011 Mary Lou Smartwww.medicalcannabisart.com


where those in need of therapeuticbenefit have altered the playing fieldby raising awareness.

It’s been 10 years since the passing ofBob Randall, whose influence on themedical marijuana movement is sig-nificant.

Suffering from glaucoma, he realizedin the 1970s that the plant he’d beenusing for recreation actually helpedhis condition by reducing ocular pres-sure. Told in his 20s that he’d be blindin two years, he became a strongadvocate for medicinal marijuana andalso retained his vision for the rest ofhis life. His anger over the denial of asimple medical solution, his compas-sion toward those in need, and hiscommunication finesse made him anideal advocate. With a master’s degreein rhetoric from the University ofSouth Florida and his speaking acu-men, Randall was well equipped forthe battles to come.

He and Alice O’Leary, his wife, werearrested in 1975 for growing his med-ical marijuana on their balcony in

Washington, D.C. Within days,Randall was conducting his owninvestigation. He was shocked tolearn that individuals within theNational Institute of Drug Abuse(NIDA) and the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) understoodthat marijuana could help individualswith glaucoma.

“That just made him madder thanhell,” said O’Leary. “I don’t know ofany other way to put it. It irritatedhim that we were arrested for some-thing that federal agents knew couldbe helpful. So we decided to fight thecharges, which we did, and we won,and it was huge news.”

Concurrent with the legal fight, they’dpetitioned the federal governmentthrough the FDA for legal access tofederal supplies of marijuana fortreatment of glaucoma, which hereceived in November 1976. Anotheranniversary: 35 years have passedsince the first federal patient receivedhis government-supplied weed.Randall was the first patient in thegovernment’s CompassionateInvestigational New Drug (IND)Program.

Over the years, Randall was encour-aged by the federal government toremain silent. His now-famous reply,“Having won, why go mum?” is the

NEWS

guiding principle that keeps patientsabove water. He clearly understoodthat without patient stories, the move-ment would slip back into the federalrealm of myth and lies.

Wanting to help others, Randall creat-ed protocols for prospective patientsfor glaucoma, multiple sclerosis,chronic pain, and AIDS. With hishelp, several patients were acceptedinto the program. Together, Randalland O’Leary founded the Alliance forCannabis Therapeutics in 1981 (30years!) to educate patients.

Despite the federal strategy of keepinga lid on positive news, word of thefederal patients found its way into themainstream. In 1990, at NORML’sannual convention, a panel discussionamong five patients was filmed by C-Span. Randall moderated, and all fivediscussed their medical conditionsand experiences with marijuana. Thetwo-hour video, which included otherspeakers, was a hit among peoplewho had no idea that cannabis coulddo more than get them high.NORML’s phones were ringing offthe hook for quite some time. Peoplewanted to know how to get into theprogram.

“This really was the first time that thepatients had a chance to meet andbond, and for us to realize the power

Alice O'Leary & MaryLynn Mathre - George McMahon, Irvin Rosenfeld & Elvy Musikka

photos by Michael Aldrich, Patients Out of Time 2006

O’Leary faults the federal government for keeping medical marijuana out of reach


of the patient,” said Mary LynnMathre, cofounder of Patients Out ofTime. “We knew that it was an his-toric moment.”

After the conference, the patients con-tinued their discussion in a private set-ting. The resulting video, Marijuanaas Medicine, was released two yearslater and also created a media sensa-tion. Both can be viewed viawww.medicalcannabis.com.

By 1992, faced with growing evidencethat cannabis was helping an awfullot of folks and a surge in peopleapplying to get into the IND, the firstBush Administration shut the pro-gram down. While the numbers vary,the federal government states thatthere were 15 patients in the programat that time. The government strategyhas been to continue supplying thechosen few with a monthly supply ofcannabis until they die.

“The federal government played itstrump card, and they played it verywell, when they shut down the com-passionate IND program, because,ultimately, what they did was theytotally shut down research” saidO’Leary. “They absolutely cut off atthe knees any opportunity to use thefederal government as a platform formoving medical marijuana forward.”

In 1995, after watching two of thefederal patients die and alarmed bywhat they viewed as urgency on themedical front, Mathre and her hus-band, Al Byrne, left NORML, wherethey had been board members andheld various other positions. Theystarted Patients Out of Time alongwith several of the federal patients.

“Al and I were just looking at eachother and looking at the patients, andwe were saying, ‘You know, the feder-al government is just hoping that youguys will die and nobody knows theirdirty little secret, which is that they’regrowing marijuana and giving it toyou, and nobody else is getting itbecause they want to continue claim-ing it has no medical value.’”

Carrying on the work begun byRandall and O’Leary’s Alliance forCannabis Therapeutics, Patients Outof Time’s fresh focus has been to pulltogether doctors, nurses, and clini-cians, in addition to patients.Promoting the science of the plant hasbeen a key motivator of Mathre dur-ing most of her career as a nurse. Theemphasis on the science behind themedicine led to the organization’sprofessional conferences, which areapproved by the American MedicalAssociation (AMA) and the AmericanNurses Association (ANA) for contin-uing education credits.

“That’s where Mary Lynn and Alhave been so effective and so impor-tant to this movement,” said O’Leary.“They’ve organized these conferenceswhere clinicians come together. Theyhave advanced the movement tremen-dously, and my hat is off to them.”

Irv Rosenfeld is a walking, talkingfederal cannabis patient who is notbeing studied in any in-depth scientif-ic fashion. Since 1983, he has benefit-ed from a can of 300 marijuana ciga-rettes every 25 days, care of the INDprogram. His rare bone condition,multiple congenital cartilaginousexostoses, is characterized by bonyprotrusions or tumors constantlypopping up at the ends of long bones.Diagnosed when he was 10 years old,the condition prevented him fromattending public school, left him inconstant pain, and necessitated sever-al surgeries. During a late-night col-lege poker game in the 1970s, smok-ing on a rare occasion, he realized thatcannabis alleviated his pain. Overtime, cannabis use allowed him towean himself off the addictive levelsof prescription drugs, like Dilaudid,Quaaludes, and morphine, that hehad been taking for years.

Randall guided him through the com-plicated process necessary to beaccepted into the program. Rosenfeld,a Patients Out of Time board mem-ber, is one of four remaining patientsin the federal program that refuses totest results or admit new patients.

On Any Anniversary, Celebrate

Discouraged when Bush I shut thedoor on its compassionate care, hehad high hopes that a Democrat inthe White House would reopen theprogram to others in need.

“We did have assurances from theClinton Administration that theywere going to reopen theCompassionate Care protocols,” hesaid. “We were very disappointedwhen that didn’t happen.”

Follow the message of the media for awhile and you’ll realize that the num-bers game and stories about busts andstoners are sound bites that keep thetrain wreck at dysfunction junction.For the comprehensive medical story,visit Patients Out of Time’s Web site,www.medicalcannabis.com, which ischock full of videos from its medicalprofessionals.

“When we started Patients Out ofTime, we decided that we shouldalways stay focused on patients,” saidMathre. “Because we’re volunteers,we can always say that we’re doing itbecause we believe in it. Nobody cansay that we’re doing it for themoney.”

Randall, who contracted AIDS, con-tinued to advocate for patients untilhis death in 2001.

O’Leary faults the federal governmentfor keeping medical marijuana out ofreach of patients. “What the federalgovernment is doing is morallywrong,” she said.

After her husband died, she decidedto move on. A nurse, she specializes inhospice care and is a grief counselor.

“I will be forever grateful for Robertthat he did not extract from me adeathbed promise to carry on thegood fight,” she said. “I did for 25years. What is happening throughoutthe United States is not the way toprovide or receive medical care. It’shalf-assed, and you can quote me onthat. Cannabis is a gift, and we arenot using it properly.”

of patients. “What the federal government is doing is morally wrong,” she said.

MitzvahFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The primary meaning of Mitzvah refers to precepts andcommandments as commanded by God. It is a word usedin Judaism to refer to the 613 commandments given inthe Torah and the seven rabbinic commandments insti-tuted later, for a total of 620. According to the teachingsof Judaism, all moral laws are, or are derived from,divine commandments.

The secondary meaning of Mitzvah refers to a moraldeed performed as a religious duty. As such, theterm mitzvah has also come to express an act ofhuman kindness. The tertiary meaning of Mitzvahalso refers to the fulfillment of a mitzvah.

It can also refer to any Jewish religious obliga-tion, or more generally to any good deed.


NEWS

n our collective movement,there are millions of us, allworking to free ourselvesfrom the jackboot of lawenforcement pressing down

upon all of our throats.

Whenever any of us gets arrested, thecosts of litigation are staggering.With the investigators, forensicexperts, and the ever-present tickingof the per-hour charge from everyoneinvolved, the money needed to winthese cases grows exponentially.

For many of us within this greatercommunity of activists, reporters, andthose risking it all to supply the herb,these dangers of a lack of funding arewhat have put many of us in jail.

What I want to share is a few storiesof Mitzvah: giving without expectinganything in return, or even for it being

known who did these good deeds.

Several of this country’s top attorneysgave in the fashion of Mitzvah to helpme with my cases. I may not havepersonally deserved it, but the casesmost certainly did merit the help.

Jeff Steinborn is a well-known attor-ney in Seattle, Washington, havingwritten Avoiding and Defending PotBusts,http://www.potbust.org/publications/avoiding%20&%20defending%20potbusts.pd,which is freely offered on the Internetand is widely used by lawyers, prose-cutors, and activists alike. I hearmany complaints that while he is verygood, he charges too much. His firmdoes have a very high level of winsagainst the prosecutors in the Seattlearea, while he has changed manystatutes with these precedent-settingcases. Regularly speaking at SeattleHempfest, Jeff is also a board member

IBy Lexx 1.bp.blogspot.com

allthingschristmas.com


Mitzvah

of Washington NORML and serves inmore capacities volunteering andhelping Seattle than this article hasroom for. In my own case, he cameand spoke in front of the CanadianRefugee board, costing me only theplane fare and hotel costs. He is atrue friend in Seattle.

Then there is Bruce Margolin, whowas considered the number-one crim-inal defense attorney in the U.S. in1999. The firm he leads is called theSuper Lawyers of LA. Bruce wrote The Margolin Guide toMarijuana Laws,http://www.1800420laws.com/CM/Custom/TOCMargolinGuide.asp, again freelyoffered on the Internet. He is anoth-er lawyer who has given in manyways that the general public neverhears about. For me, Bruce acceptedcollect calls from LocTel, the world’smost expensive phone service, from

SeaTac Federal Detention Centerwhile I was there, to help me with mycase. This was many, many hours ofhelp while he was not even my attor-ney.

Locally where I live, here in Portland,Oregon, there is Leland Berger, whocomes from the neighboring commu-nity where I grew up, literally blocks

ClockwiseAllyson MargolinSteve D’AngeloJim Grieg & Howard Woldridge Jack Herer Seattle Hemp Fest 2007


away from me, Cheltenham,Pennsylvania. Leland has helped towrite legal briefs with this country’stop attorneys, worked for next tonothing defending cannabis patients’rights, such as cases of patients beingdenied their right to concealedweapons permits. Leland has a verylong history of standing with patientsin Salem, Oregon, at numerous con-ferences, and at many, many events,including his annually speaking atSeattle Hempfest. Lee is my constantvoice of reason when it comes to law,answering questions and providingguidance for creating sane responsesto our detractors: someone I considera Freedom Fighter, quietly doing thework of searching for legal arguments,while brainstorming the next step inthe ascent from the darkness of thesecannabis laws and their contributionto the devastation of our society.

He helped me when I was in need,with a way to provide assistancewhen I had no money, and allowedme to work off the costs, helping usboth.

Don E. Wirtshafter(http://www.robertdespain.com/node/48) really needs a shout out of thanksfrom an entire tribe of ours! He is theRainbow Family attorney, represent-ing the unfortunate family memberswho have run-ins with local law

enforcement and Homeland Securitythugs, who annually harass the July 4gathering of the tribes, the NationalGathering. He has each year roundedup lawyers from the local area to rep-resent and help this tribe of ours thatis almost entirely cultural creatives,with very little money and a profilethat has them stopped everywhere thefamily goes. He was the attorneyhelping those busted in Costa Rica forgrowing hemp. He represented thehemp seeds seized at the US/Canadianborder and so many more cases forour freedom. Don has come to mydefense in more ways than I can men-tion and is a friend who, like all theseattorneys, has lived this proud tradi-tion of Mitzvah in quiet ways, know-ing it is and was the right thing to do!

I want to acknowledge another couplethat has been teaching, testifying asactivists, and helping in so many ways:

Chris Conrad (http://www.chrisconrad.com) and hislife partner Mikki Norris(http://www.equalrights4all.org/mikki/mikki_home.htm) have been vigilant in help-ing patients and those who have run afoul of law enforcement.

Dr. Frank Lucido has been literallystanding on the line while being at thenuclear test site in Nevada, whilehelping other doctors prescribe thissacramental herb, plus testifying and

NEWS

teaching other doctors to come topatients’ aid.

I can personally thank them all forbeing my friends, helping me when Ineeded help (and had no money), aswell as having helped so many, manyothers.

They, like all these folks who practiceMitzvah, never had to help me, oranyone; it just comes naturally fromtheir hearts.

To all of those attorneys, friends, andassociates who have helped over theyears, I say thank you, knowing thatall of you have earned a far greatergift of merit for these selfless acts,joining the many blessings that havecome from having compassionatehearts (their true wealth) than I or anyof those they have helped could haveever given any of them in return.

Never look at giving as a loss; neverexpect anything of material value inreturn. My teacher taught us that asone of the main principles of our wayof life. This is a path to build merit;what cannot be bought is far morevaluable to bring true happiness toone’s life, to honor one’s ancestors,and extend that karma to one’s ownchildren.

Blessings be!

Two more herbalAireVaporizers given away!Our latest 2 winners are Jason and Aaron

Each and every issue of TY Magazine, HerbalAire and KDK Distributorswill each donate a HerbalAire Vaporizer to deserving med patients.

Thanks to all those who have responded to our contest. We havereceived many letters from eligible people around the world.

Judging the entries is never easy, but we believe we have chosen twomore winners who are truly deserving of a HerbalAire.


NEWS

Hello TY Members. I have got some great news!

Each and every issue I will be

Giving away 2 Herbal Aire Vaporizer to some needy medical patient!

The rules are very simple : 1) You must be a member in good standing with TY or your local compassion club. 2) Financially impossible for you to purchase on your own3) You must be 21 years of age or older4) Legitimate Medicinal users only5) Write or email a short 100 word story detailing why you should be a recipient6) Provide a photo and any documentation neccesary to support your request 7) If chosen you may have your photo and a short reason why you were selected printed

Please note I expect a lot of inquiries so only the most in need please apply. Through Treating Yourself KDK Distributors and HerbalAire we wish you well !

Kelly KDK DistributorsFree Vaporisor22 Anaheim Bay N.E.Calgary , AlbertaCanada, T1Y [email protected]

HERBAL AIRE WINNERS

Aaron Foster

Jason Becker


HEMP CHRONICLES

Storm 5 years old rubbing hishands from the chronic pain


HEW! Delivering thiskid was like deliveringa hurricane!” Whenour son was born,those were our doc-

tor’s words! Storm was an emergencybreech C-section. It was the best dayof my (our) life!

From the very beginning, we had aspecial bond. Looking back, I believeI know why now. Moms know.Storm was an amazing baby! He wasthe cutest baby ever! Clever andadvanced — well advanced, happy,curious, and loving, but some-thing was just not right. Stormcried every night. Yes, many babiescry a lot, and it lasts a while — withStorm it lasted until he was 14. Thatwas how old he was when I intro-duced him to cannabis.

Gasp! A mother giving her childcannabis at 14!? The horror!! I am

sure many people did and will contin-ue to think that way. Horror? NO.

Horror is watching your baby, yourchild, scream in agony day after day,week after week, year after year, andknow that there is nothing that canbe done. Ask any mother. From thetime our son was born, he wouldscream. Not cry — SCREAM. Itwould continue for hours, usuallyuntil he would pass out from exhaus-

tion, and nothing was able to soothehim — we tried everything! It was sofierce, the screaming, many times myhusband and I would panic andundress Storm, thinking he must havebeen bit by a bug or jabbed with apin. Something physically stickinghim to cause him to scream like that!Several trips to the emergency room,only to be told, “There is nothingwrong that we can see.” Only to turnaround and come home to have ithappen over and over again.

There were also many other littlethings that Storm did. He wouldconstantly rub his hands and feet,even in the infant stage. He wasnot happy when he could not see me.I remember crying to my doctor,telling him, “I swear I can’t even leavethe room... and every night.SCREAMING.” I was exhausted.

I was blessed that I was able to stay

Storm’s StoryBy Georgia Peschel

W


HEMP CHRONICLES


home with Storm — my husbandworked and supported us financially,so Storm and I were very close. I wor-ried about what was going on, but Iwas toldtime and time again — it’sprobably growing – there was al-ways a reason. Unless you witness itfirsthand, you might think the same.Part of the problem was that Stormdid not speak. Many people sharedtheir opinions on this also. The factwas that Storm could not hear. Stormwas such an amazing, little, alertbaby who was advanced in mostways that doctors thought nothing ofit, not realizing he was deaf, only thathe was just going to speak late. It wasnot until he was almost three, when afire alarm went off in his room, thatwe realized he was hearing impaired.

How could we not know!? Trust me,no one did — again, because he wasso smart. He knew how to ask me forthings and his dad and grandma anda few others. After many tests and x-rays (thank God for those x-rays),Storm was diagnosed as being mod-erately to severely hearing impaired.Every time a parent finds out thatthere is something wrong with achild, it is devastating.

Heartbreaking. We only want thebest for our children. No one wantsto hear there is anything wrong witha child.

Hearing impaired; we can deal withthis! I remember at the time someoneclose to me saying, “It could beworse....” I have come to the conclu-sion that you should not say that,ever. Storm got his first hearing aids,went to a special school earlier thanmost children, and I bought all Icould find on sign language, place-mats, books, toys, etc. We were readyto adjust to a life with hearing aids.Storm took to them instantly! Hecould hear!! He started to learn andspeak words! I still laugh at his fasci-nation, as many little boys have, withtrucks! The ‘T” could not be sound-ed out, and when he saw a big truckgo by, he would yell out, “FUCK!!”“FUCK!” The looks we would get!It still makes me giggle. We learnedearly — hearing aids are not alwaysnoticed, and people makeASSumptions. So be it. There is somuch to learn when someone youlove can’t hear. Mostly patience. Wewere never ashamed that our sonwore hearing aids and we wanted to

Storm’s Story

teach him the same.

From the start, I let him make deci-sions — he was the one, after all,wearing them! He usually liked tochoose blue or green ear molds andoften took them out and handedthem to people to try when theyasked about them! I remember amom saying to me, “You should beashamed of yourself letting your kidstick candy in his ears! What exampleis he setting to the other children?”REALLY!! It was at a Boy Scoutfunction. A friend of mine also heardthe comment and quickly put thismom in place before I had thechance. People would also stare. Notmuch you can do about it. I wouldask them if they had any questions orsometimes, I admit it, I would justGLARE.

Soon I could spell in sign and wasteaching Storm and my husband. Weknew many words and were going tobe OK.

The pain and screaming neverstopped, though. Night and day. All Icould do was hold Storm and try tocalm him down. Sometimes I would

Left: Storm 5 years old, a typical happy little boy.Above: Mom and Storm (11 months) at the zoo

before he was diagnosedRight: Storm always curious


be so tired, Norm and I would taketurns, rotate nights, but Storm usual-ly wanted me, and I always went.Many nights it would start around 10and then again at 3. Always the same:Storm screaming. He could hardlytalk and usually did NOT want toeven be touched. He did not knowthe words to describe what was hap-pening to him. He did not have to.We could see the physical anguish inhis face and body language withevery episode of pain he endured.

This is when I was introduced tocannabis again — I had smoked fromtime to time over the years, but wasnever really big on it. I usually pre-ferred to consume alcohol. I had avery close and good friend that wasalways telling me — you have to getsome sleep or you’re going to getsick. Easier said than done. Howcould I sleep through it — sleepingpills were NOT an option. I had to bethere for Storm. Long before thescreaming, he would become restless.I could hear him toss and turn and

start to moan inhis sleep and knewwhat was soon tofollow.My friend (some-one I never wouldhave ever expect-ed to usecannabis) offeredme a joint to helpme sleep. Itworked. Thenext day, I wokeup alert andrefreshed to theday ahead. Iused cannabison and off tohelp me sleepand sometimesjust to unwind.My life was notabout gettinghigh. It wasabout my son

and husband. At the time I was free-lancing — painting murals in schoolsand offices, and teaching kids car-tooning from time to time to helpwith the bills. I was on Cityline (apopular television show here inCanada) with a few murals and wasgetting busy. We considered puttingStorm into daycare with a neighborwho lived a few doors away. I tookhim to see how he would like it, andhe wanted some juice. I explained tothe woman, “He wants juice.” Sheturned and said, “Well, when he’shere, unless he asks for it properly —he’s not getting it.” I took Stormhome and never returned. The muralsand all else could wait.

The pain was not just in the evening.Storm wanted to be carried every-where. I thought it was normal andnever minded, so I just did it. As hegot bigger and heavier, it becameharder. Whenever we went anywhere,the visits were always cut short fromStorm expressing that he could notwalk anymore as his feet hurt. Feetand hands mostly. This was at themall, Wonderland, parks, every-where. Followed by screaming andcrying and passing out to sleep. I

HEMP CHRONICLES

knew there was something wrongand had to find out what.

As time went on, at night we couldnot even touch Storm. He wouldscream even louder if we tried tocomfort him. It was like his bodywould react with pain to touch. Wewere afraid to hold him; we reallythought that we were hurting him. Icannot tell you how many times hefell asleep in my arms after crying. Iwould lie there and cry too. Normalso. We could not stand it! We couldnot understand it. All we were toldwas to give him Tylenol. We gave himTylenol daily. For years. I still praythat we did not cause him any inter-nal damage. This too was a chore asHE HATED medicine, as most kidsdo, unless it was bubblegum flavor,and even that was a task getting himto take. It became such a battle, wedecided we were hurting him more byforcing him to take medicine thatnever seemed to help much anyway.

I took Storm to his doctor again, butthis time I was not my usual friendlyself. I told the doctor, “There isSOMETHING wrong. I want testsdone. This is NOT normal.” Ourdoctor has always been patient andcaring. Looking back now, I under-stand. Storm did LOOK normal.Nothing that could be seen, andunless you witnessed firsthand thescreaming, you just figured I was asensitive mom, I guess. My doctorsaid OK, I’ll book some tests. Wewere soon at the Hospital for SickChildren in Toronto, and the testsstarted. Weeks. I still do not like toremember all the tests and Stormhaving to go through it all on top ofeverything he dealt with. One time, ittook four adults to hold him down,him begging me not to let them hurthim anymore. After a few days, I hadone doctor ask me if I knew what“Munchausen by proxy” was. I didnot, but when I found out, IFREAKED! I was so angry, it stillraises the hackles on the back of myneck. All just part of the lesson, look-ing back now. A couple of weeks laterand the results were in. This is when

Storm already in school at an early ageto try to catch up with his speech


“...it could be worse...” gotworse. Thank GOD for the x-raystaken when he was two! It wasone of the first clues. Doctorscould see how the bones hadfused since the last x-ray! Theyhad something to compare. Iwas not crazy! It just kept get-ting worse the following days. Iremember telling my husband Idid not want to hear any more.Every appointment was accom-panied with more bad news.

Storm‘s hearing loss wouldprogress. He was losing his vision and hadto get his first pair or glasses.

All his bones in his body were slowlyfusing together, starting with thesmallest, which included his handsand feet and spine.

He would continue to suffer withchronic pain every day of his life.

Progressive to terminal. No treat-ment; no cure.

At the time, the doctors told us theyexpected he would be completelydeaf around the age of 10 and possi-bly in a wheelchair at 12 and notexpected to live long after that. Notreatment; no cure.

Sitting here now, the tears pour frommy eyes. It still hurts as if it was yes-terday. I remember coming home andbeing physically ill. It was the worstthing they could have said. My headspinning, my heart breaking. Howare we to continue to watch our sonsuffer like this every day?? Not tomention what we were learningabout multiple synostosis syndrome.NOT MUCH! At the time, it wasconsidered an ORPHAN diseasebecause it was so rare. There were noknown cases in Canada or the U.S.A.

We met with more doctors. Someexplained and some just talked; ofcourse, a child psychiatrist, geneticdoctors, and more. This was also one

of my first rude awakenings. Thegenetic doctor explained a life lessonto my husband and me. Our son’sdisease was “so rare, no one wouldbe putting any money into researchfor a disease that only one kid has.”REALITY. It was like a final slap.

We also met with the pain clinic anddiscussed a future of prescribed drugsto help ease our son’s pain. Thefuture was not looking very bright atthe time. Doctors suggested somemore tests “to learn,” but we saidNo. Storm had been through enoughtests and pain and would continue todo so. I was not going to put himthrough anything else unless they saidit would help him — but of course, itcouldn’t.

I went into a sort of shock, I think,after all that. I cried a lot and I wasangry. I was angry with the hospital,the doctors..., myself, my husband,and GOD. I had one thing that keptme going — Storm. He was andalways will be the love of my life, andalong with all the pain and suffering,he was our little GIFT from God!When not in pain, he was a happy,normal little boy! He made us laughall the time, and the one thing thatinstantly happened — as with anyone— when you are faced with a factthat you could lose someone youcherish — you LOVE him even more!

Storm’s Story

I cherish every second to this day.What does not kill us makes usstronger. Many parents separatewhen they have a child with suchserious medical issues. My husbandand I grew closer over the years. Wewere the only ones that could com-pletely understand what each wasgoing through. To this day, my hus-band has a difficult time talkingabout Storm’s pain.

I started to search online and foundnothing. Today, I still do not findmore than I knew then. I becameobsessed, looking for a cure! Makingmyself crazy. I wrote to doctors inCanada and the U.S.A No one couldhelp. I did not stop there, of course.We did go to the Shriners Hospital inMontreal to do it all over again, onlyto come out with the same conclu-sions. Storm’s fingers started to fuse,so sign language was no longer anoption. Again looking back, I was soangry. I know now that it was not thehospital’s fault or any of the doctors’(don’t shoot the messenger) that theycould not do anything. I guess theyhave to prepare you for the worst-case scenario. No treatment; no cure.No hope.

What did I do? What would you do?I learned to PRAY. We had beenattending mass every Sunday sincewe moved to our small town. Storm

Some symptoms of multiple synostosis syndrome:Fusion of nasal bone andfrontal process of the maxilla,Short philtrum. Multiplefusion of midphalangealjoints. Fusion of elbow bones.Fusion of carpal bones.Fusion of tarsal bones.Clinodactyly. Brachydactyly.Distal phalangeal bonehypoplasia. Aplasia of distalbone phalanges. Aplasia offingernails. Aplasia of toe-nails. Limited forearm prona-tion. Limited forearm supina-tion. Limited rotation of hips.Abduction of shoulders. Vertebral anomalies. Fusion of middle ear ossicles.Conductive deafness. Sunken chest. Prominent costochondral junction.

img.

med

scap

e.co

m/p

i/em

ed/c

kb/p

edia

tric

s_ge

neti

cs/9

4108

8-94

1723

-480

.jpg


was just one year old when wemoved here. I love the communityand was blessed to live here with somany wonderful people that havebecome our friends over the years.There was a fundraiser for Storm,and he was granted his wish from theStarlight Foundation. It was all sobittersweet. We had an amazing timeand were able to provide Storm witha few things that financially wewould not have been able to do oth-erwise, including new hearing aids! Iam thankful for such organizationsthat provide sunshine insuch times for familieswho already are dealingwith so much. I wishthere were more.

What were our options?I prayed all the time. Stilldo. I’m not sure if youwould call it praying orbegging. I did a lot ofboth. Still do. To date,God has answered myprayers. Storm is here withus. He is the love of my lifeand our inspiration. Hiscondition is slower thandoctors guessed it wouldbe. Thank God! I still praythat they were wrong. Ipray for a miracle everyday.

Over the years, we get x-rays, and they continue toconfirm what we alreadyknow. Storm’s disease is pro-gressing. We don’t need thex-rays to tell us this. As the years con-tinued, so did the pain. I can tell youit became worse as Storm got older.He learned to express with morewords, words that no parent wants tohear. He started to understand whatwas happening to him. The pain con-tinued and became stronger. Nightand day. We could not go anywherewithout planning and medication,but eventually the pain would kick inand our life was ruled by it. As Stormgot older, we had many conversationsabout all of this. Most of them verysad.

What do you say? What do you sayto your child when he is screamingwith pain night after night and begsyou to take it away? Asks youWHY??? To make it stop! WHAT doyou say or DO?? The problems withprescribed medications were many.They took too long to work. Theycaused upset stomach, constipationor diarrhea, sleepiness, and depres-sion. Often he would vomit up whatwe gave him right after. Storm hatedtaking medicine.

He did not like how it made him feel,and it was a battle. One I did notwant to push because I had lookedinto the side effects of a life on med-ication, and they were as grim as thebone disease. This was not some-thing he would be taking occasional-ly. He needed to control his pain, andin order to do that, he had to take itall the time. Every day, every fewhours, for the rest of his life. Thetalks that Storm and I have had overthe years are very personal and heart-wrenching. Too much to even share.Talks that I pray parents do not have

HEMP CHRONICLES

to have with their children ever.

At the age of 12, Storm had men-tioned how he did not know how wewere going to live this life of pain andpharmaceuticals. Suffer or bedrugged out and sit on the sofa.Storm has always been so interestedin everything. He did not want to siton the sofa and play video games allday. We encouraged Storm to dowhatever he wanted!! Knowing alltoo well life is short and we wanted

him to experience all that lifehad to offer — that we wereable to provide. The problemwas that whenever he did doanything fun, he paid for itlater. A day at Wonderlandusually meant two days ofsevere pain. Imagine watch-ing your child walk, and eachstep looks like he is walkingon glass. It hurts that muchto put his feet on the ground.See his fingers fusing togeth-er, knowing as time goes on,it will only get worse. Timefor something drastic.

Although I have told peopleover the years how bad itwas — it was never reallyanything you could see. Stillcannot. If he was in pain,he was at home, and wewould try to make himcomfortable. A few timeswhen family or friendshave slept over, they havewitnessed it firsthand. I

remember my cousinalmost in tears when he stayed withus, after seeing Storm night af-ternight and how we were dealing sowell.

What were our options? My parentswere the only ones I would trust withStorm for a long period of time, andthey have shed a few tears themselvesover the years with what their grand-son has had to endure. I never trust-ed anyone with sleepovers. It was dif-ficult enough for us to help himthrough it. I have shared with a fewpeople what it is really like, but they

Storm and his favorite dog Tequila. She got a little too curioius about the hamster ball!


find it very sad, and I have even losta few friends because they have ahard time dealing with it. I used tostress over such things, but I don’tanymore. My concern for my soncomes above all else — especiallyothers’ feelings.I started to do some research online.Pain control. Cannabis kept comingup. I had smoked it myself and knewthat I had not seen dragons or hadany strange hallucinations or any-thing else, for that matter. I did notsee the munchies,giggling, or want-ing to take a nap asserious side effects.I knew you did nothave a hangoverthe next day or didanything so stupidlike when youconsume toomuch alcohol.What I was read-ing seemedalmost too goodto be true. I con-tinually read thatno one had everdied fromcannabis use —unlike what Iwas readingabout some ofour other medi-cine options. Ispoke with myhusband. Wetalked a longtime about it,going over allthe what if’s. Therewere many! Weeks later and we bothagreed we should let him trycannabis.

A few days later, we had purchased abong (I read it was one of the betterways to use cannabis — not as harm-ful as smoking). I’ll admit I had noclue then about edibles (I wish I did!)and I’m not much of a cook or baker!WE are also a family of NON-smok-ers. Never have.

I called Storm upstairs and told him I

wanted to talk to him and show himsomething. When I showed him thecannabis and bong and told him wewanted him to try it, he immediatelyasked us, “IS this a TEST??! I don’tsmoke drugs!” Clearly, while he wasgrowing up, we had asked him not totry drugs, and he had not. PROOFthat Norman and I had been doing agreat job raising our son.

I explained all I had found out abouthelping people with pain and justthought it was a more natural reme-

dy and we thought he should at leasttry it. He did. Keep in mind wemade sure he had nothing else in hissystem for a few days — this waseasy. As I’ve said a million timesbefore, he hated medicine! Theresults were almost INSTANT. Hesaid he felt great. That night again, hetried a bit more and slept the nightthrough!!! DO you understand themeaning of that!? I still am amazedmyself when I think about it. For thenext couple of weeks, he would comeand ask when he said he was sore and

Storm’s Story

again usually at bedtime. Within min-utes he would feel better. No oneknew; no one could tell. My son wasnot stoned; he was medicated.

His attitude started to change. Hismood was better — as was ours! Doyou know what it is like to watchyour child suffer such agonizing painfor hours on end and you have nocontrol whatsoever!? I pray younever do. We could not get over it.Several symptoms stopped complete-ly! Now what? Storm knew he

could not tell anyone because wecould all getinto serioustrouble. At thatpoint, I alreadydid not care. Itwas a miraclemedicine. Iteased our son’spain, and we didnot have towatch him suf-fer, so it easedour pain also. Inmy mind, therewas no turningback. Legally orillegally, cannabiswas his medicine.

The next step wasto approach thedoctor. I had noidea what the doc-tor would say. Hehas known ofStorm’s conditionsince he was diag-nosed and has wit-

nessed firsthand some of the thingswe have had to deal with over theyears. He told Storm, “Prove to mewhy you think this would di-rectlyhelp your condition.” I thought thatwas great! Don’t forget: Storm wasonly 14.

He did exactly that. The next week,we went back with all the researchStorm himself had done. After goingover it, the doctor agreed. He alsotold us Storm was his first patientthat he was granting medicinal mari-

Storm and Hunny, mom Georgia and dad Norman the summer Storm became a legal cannabis patient.


juana to and might be the only one,but he was willing to see how ithelped Storm.

At 15, his papers came back in themail from Health Canada, and Stormwas legal to smoke cannabis! Thehard part over — so we thought!Well, the hard part was over. Fromthe first puff, we saw the results, andthat is what mattered most to US!Results we had not ever seen withany other medication. Not to men-tion we did not have a fear of over-doses or liver damage or organs shut-ting down! From a PLANT! Again,God had answered my prayers.Believe in God or not, that is up toyou. When I pray to God for a mira-cle every day, I figure the least I cando is show my respect and share withothers what we know to be true. Seeit to BELIEVE IT. I say many times Iam amazed where this path has takenus, but I am not one to question it.My son is here and he is pain free…well, NOT pain free, but pain con-trolled.

Storm being only 15, we kept it hush-

hush. The first two compassion clubsI contacted did not take me seriously.One could not believe a 15 year oldhad his license, and the other neverreturned my calls. One finally did:C.A.L.M. I believe everything andeveryone happens for a reason.C.A.L.M. took the time, taught us somuch, explained the different strains,and more. I will be forever grateful tothem for helping us on this journey.They made a difficult time easier andfun!

It has been just four years. Storm isnow 18! We see how cannabis haschanged our lives for the better. Westarted to feel an obligation to others.TELL them how cannabis hashelped. I tell every doctor I meet thatStorm uses cannabis with fantasticresults for his pain. We are NOTashamed of our son’s medicine.Would I be ashamed if he was usingmorphine to help him? NO. Why?Because morphine is socially accept-able in this society — cannabis isnot!? The more I learn every day, themore passionate I become. STORMis living PROOF. Like MANY others.

HEMP CHRONICLES

I want other parents to knowcannabis is an option. HAD I knownwhat I know now, I would have beenbaking brownies when he was four!!!

When you see your child suffer, youwill do whatever it takes to stop thepain. If you doubt this, wait until thenext time your baby cries because hehurt himself. Then think about oursituation.HOW amazing will it be for parentswho want to try cannabis for serious-ly ill children to have doctors supportthem and perhaps even educate themso they know where to start!

If we can ease some child's pain, espe-cially children with terminal illness —and not just that! I pay close atten-tion to cannabis in the news. Thereare children all over now benefitingfrom cannabis! A 2 1/2 year old witha brain tumor, children with OCD,autism, and more! Not to mentioncountless adults who have finallyfound relief. More moms like myselfare standing up and demandingresearch, having courage in a timewhen cannabis is NOT yet fully

Mom and son at 1st Treating Yourself Expo 2010! Our education to a better day. Storm and his dream Volcano! ha ha hanext page:A cartoon by Goergia each drawn and inspired by LOVE.


appreciated for what it is and still hasa silly negative stigma attached to it.

I do feel the truth can only be kepthidden for so long before all realizehow we have been misled and lied toabout cannabis. I don’t want you totrust me on that — I want you toEDUCATE yourself. Once you dolook into it, it is hard to deny.Research from all around the worldis coming in. I am not a scholar ordoctor, and my grammar sucks. I ama mother who loves her child withevery breath I take. We did not ask tobe on this path but we are and wewill not lie or keep quiet. That wouldbe a sin. I have no intentions of pur-posely pissing off the Big Guy! Heplaced the plant here. God makesNO mistakes.

Cartooning. I have always wanted tobe a cartoonist for as long as I canremember. I went to Sheridan Collegefor animation. I drew and painted tokeep my mind elsewhere. To keep mysanity. My favorite distraction. Forour son, a side effect of cannabis hadbeen laughter! What a FANTASTIC

side effect to have! Inspired, the ideasstarted to come. I got a phone callone night from Mike Peters (creatorof Mother Goose & Grimm). Hecalled to tell me to keep it up!During our conversation, I men-tioned I was thinking about drawingsome strips about medicinal marijua-na. He said GO FOR IT! Draw whatyou know! It was what we knew!

Before I knew it, The Happy Hippiewas published in a medicinal maga-zine called Treating Yourself!Another blessing! I did not contactTreating Yourself directly. I contactedanother artist who was featured inthe magazine to tell him how inspiredI was by his drawings. As fate wouldhave it, he liked my cartoons too. TheHappy Hippie appeared in the maga-zine soon after our initial e-mail.Before the strip was in the magazine,we had purchased several issues. Itwas soon our favorite, educating uson several levels. So when I saw mystrip in it, I could not believe it! I amhonored to this date.I did not tell people right away that itis based on a true story. As I continue

Storm’s Story

to learn, my strip has become some-what more serious. I have realized theproblem surrounding cannabis andthe terrible way patients are beingtreated. Like criminals. I have nointentions of stopping my cartooningand want cannabis legalized so that Ido not have to worry about a futurewhere my son might have difficultygetting what he needs: MEDICINE tocontrol his pain.

I still have many days where I worry.I still see the pain and am well awareof the diagnoses and prognoses. Iwish I could forget the years of painand not worry about what the futuremight bring. I am a MOM. Momsworry. Some days are easier thanothers. Some days I don’t feel likedrawing, but God soon gives me a lit-tle push... the next thing I know, I’mat my desk. Hopefully with a smile, Ijust might make someone curiousenough to research for himself! I amnow currently in six different publi-cations, all of them great, and all I amproud to be a part of.

My son at 18 is an amazing young


HEMP CHRONICLES

man. He is much more educated on the subjectof cannabis than I am. He continues to teach medaily. He works very hard. Never sleeps in. Heworks out with his body and pushes himselfbeyond his pain. He became an honor studentshortly after starting cannabis! Free to focus oneducation and not pain! Determined not to lethis bone disease rob him of one moment of thisprecious life. People are always commenting onhow well spoken he is and how he seems mucholder than he is. What he has endured has madehim more mature for his years. Should you getto know him, you can’t help but be impressed!He is also very funny and handsome, if I do sayso myself! (HUGE pride grin.)

I truly believe Storm is here for a reason! Toteach us all about cannabis. Living proof. Hewants to work with plants, horticulture,botany. Whatever he does, he does it well, andhis dad and I are confident he will not only con-tribute to this world but make it a better placein the process. When I get down, he reminds meof how much he loves me, and everything seemsbetter. Not one day has gone by where we haveneglected to say I LOVE you.

So time to speak up! I do it best with my car-toons, my son with his words. This is not astory to us, but our life. As parents, we stillstruggle and worry. For now, we take it one day

at a time. With love, we cannot fail. Even mycomic book! I never thought four years ago I’dhave a comic book! It is so much more to me thanthat. It is my way of spreading the word! Evenafter several proofreaders, it has a few typos, butI figure people will see the LOVE and get past thefew mistakes. God keeping me humble. Pleaseshare this story with others, Be the change youwant to see. It should be about CHOICE.

The problems with cannabis have been going onfor far too long, from what I have been learn-ing.

I still do not like to talk about our son’s bonedisease. I tear up instantly. I hope I can changeminds and hearts with my drawing. I thank allwho have supported me to date and the amaz-ing people I have met along this journey. Forthe record: they are not criminals; they aresome of the most compassionate people Ihave had the pleasure of knowing. Time towork together. We all make mistakes. I donot judge anyone. I have not walked in their

shoes. I am grateful that God has me on this path. I feelblessed to have been educated, finally!

The Happy Hippie bookfor more info check out:www.georgiatoons.com

Mom and Storm, promnight. A proud moment!


hat’s that oldadage — all’sfair in love andwar?

Former US Air Force Sergeant RonMorris adamantly disagrees. WithAmerica in chaos on behalf of anotably uncertain Vietnam War in1969, Morris remained Stateside —presumably at an arm’s length fromthe blood, chemical warfare, andcerebral aftermath of the destructionabroad. Sadly, the missile techni-cian’s Tucson, Arizona, base wouldprove equally volatile.

Involved in a covert nuclear armsproject, Morris underwent federallyinduced affliction. The technicalsergeant’s exposure to noxious car-tridge gases, interchanging AgentOrange and napalm, was a bestialattack on internal and surface cellulartissues. Treated solely for the latter,Morris was persecuted by National

Guard physicians and superiors. Hisresolve would be independent.Damaged physically and subjectively,his one diversion was illicit cannabis.

Back home in Ten Thousand Islands,Florida, in ’85, a then middle-agedMorris stumbled into more adversi-ty. While operating a large Cat inEverglades National Park, he over-turned the mighty earth-mover inevasion of a mangrove swamp fire.In addition to his own contusionsand broken bones, he witnessed thegrim death of a friend/coworker. Hisemployer provided no compensationinsurance.

Having developed synthetic drugallergies, a result of the ’69 militarychemical overload, Morris wasforced to medicate “herbally” —again, unlawfully.

While cruising the lustrous summermarshes in his riverboat in 2005,Morris made a healthful decision. As

HEMP CHRONICLES

he drew deeply from his pipe, observ-ing two airborne dolphins glisteningmomentarily in the sun, he commit-ted to an Oregon medical marijuanaprospect. Plagued by his unsettlingpast, he intended to alleviate his bod-ily and neurological symptoms justifi-ably. He’d been gnawed up and spatout by defective systemic administra-tion. No one would direct the retiredsergeant/laborer if he failed to guidehimself.

The present day observes Morrisliving happily in Eagle Point,Oregon — and medicating constitu-tionally. Utilizing the contempo-rary aspects of medical cannabis,Morris supplements questionablehealth benefits, tangible ailment,and post-traumatic stress disordervia the once notorious seedling.Therapeutic grass now surpasses amere Vietnam-era, LSD-congruentcounterculture staple; it provideslife-supporting balance for anundermined human being.

POST-MILITARY SOLUTIONSBy S. Brook & C. Willis

“Ron Morris, an unassuming man, has made an ethical change in his life.”

W


TREATING YOURSELF: You initiallyrecognized cannabis as medicineupon your exposure to lethal mis-sile propellant while in the service.Why marijuana over “betterestablished,” FDA-approved pre-scription remedies?MORRIS: The first time I experiencedcannabis, I obtained higher levels ofphysical and clairvoyant peace thanwith the pills the doctors had pre-scribed. The chemical exposure over-loaded my system, inducing allergiesto conventional pharmaceutical sub-stances. There were certainly no med-ical marijuana liberties in Arizona orFlorida at the time — and but scarcelynow — so it wasn’t easy. Butabsolutely, I knew cannabis was forme from the onset.

Q: Positioning yourself betweenthe leak and a volatile aspirant,you safeguarded the entire base.Can you disclose details?A: I was 110 feet below the groundsurface in the inner tube of a Titan IImissile — the last of the liquid-burningprojectiles prior to solid-fuelMinuteman missiles.

I was simply doing routine mainte-nance when a leak developedbetween the gaskets, separating thenitric and trioxide gases. The combina-tion creates hydrazine. If an oxidizercomes in contact with hydrazine, itbecomes a major explosive. As I stoodin the corner deflecting the hissinggases from the elements, it burnedquickly through my protective suit,instantly penetrating my flesh. I feltinconceivable pain everywhere — myskin, lungs, eyes, teeth, gums. An ERchopper saved my life.

Forced to use traditional drugs prior to

my cannabis breakthrough, shortlythereafter I became allergic to chemi-cal medications.

Q: The military doctors and offi-cers slighted you. Why couldn’tthey see beyond the externaldamage?A: They lacked competence, thereforedenied what they failed to see. Allthey did is change skin grafts on myarm. The old ones sheared off likeropes! I lost respect for the Army divi-sion of the American MedicalAssociation, and later all mainstreamdoctors.

I was left 100 percent undiagnosed byany medical professional for my post-exposure lung and abdominal prob-lems. The internal and cerebralburns/scars far exceeded the obvious,yet went undetected. I was reducedfrom sergeant to a laborer, theninferred a neurotic by the higherranked. I don’t believe any of themwere bright enough to take intoaccount that the poison released inthe Titan II silo went into my lungs andstomach, contaminating my system. Itwas a no-brainer!

I was destined for self-treatment. Themedical world is a cash-cow fraud.Millions internationally suffer point-lessly. The AMA exploits the sick, rak-ing in billions annually, then criminal-izes a failsafe medicine like cannabis.Behold pending legalization.

Q: You also sustained injuries andlife-jarring desolation apart fromthe U. S. Army. What happened atthe gator-infested waters near theFlorida Gulf?A: I was operating a large Cat, cuttinga line in the old canal during a marshfire. Still chemically sensitive via mycrushing experience in the missile silo,I became disoriented, as I’d inhaleddense black diesel and wood smokefor several hours. In my incoherentstate, I hit a bank wrong, rolling thegigantic machine. Stuck in the waterfor over an hour, the chill numbed myinjuries. By the time I escaped,attempting to hot-foot it to the road, I

Post Military Solutions

realized my back and leg were hurt. The worst of it, nonetheless, was mypal and fellow employee Marco haddied in the flames of another swampfire accident, much like mine, earlierthat day.

Q: What physical pain does med-ical cannabis diminish currently?A: I still experience back pain, theresult of a cracked vertebra when Irolled the Cat in Florida. I also havesciatic nerve problems from my hipsdown my legs, arthritis, and fatigue. Istill have lung and abdominal distur-bances from the chemical exposure.The green, earth-given treatmentlends me a hand on every front —sans the hideous side effects of stan-dard pill-popping.

Q: You lived with post-traumaticstress disorder for years beforeyou realized you had it. How doesmedical cannabis aid in managingthe innermost anxieties?A: Though I never went to Vietnam,I’ve been living my own private war,post-service. Ironically, the liquid-fueled missiles were replaced by thesolid firing material of the Minutemanversion for the dangers of Titan IIrepair — yet I was basically left to suf-fer for that exact reason! I wasn’teven the assailant! That in itself isanother trauma — the frustration. Iwas ridiculed by the servicemen. It,too, hurt me badly.

Front-line survivors of Vietnam and theGulf War were also denied propertreatment for chemical/bacterial war-fare tainting, which provoked immunedysfunction, central nervous systemdamage, post-traumatic stress disor-der, and often death.

After the service, I became a recluse. Ipulled the blinds down, didn’t watchTV. I hated crowds. I challenge any-one to face what I did and walk away.

The medical cannabis keeps me muchmore stable. It calms my anxieties andhelps me focus. It allows me to relaxand enjoy life’s perfections: moun-tains, horses, oranges….


hile the walking wounded sufferingfrom life’s traumatic episodes are every-where, military veterans experiencepost-traumatic stress in higher numbersand therefore receive more press.

Viewing it as a natural response to unnatural events,Mary Lynn Mathre, RN, CSN and CARN, a Vietnam-era Navy nurse and president and co-founder of PatientsOut of Time, says that she’d be more curious aboutcombat veterans who return from war without post-traumatic stress syndrome. Patients Out of Time is theleading educator for health care professionals and thepublic on the therapeutic use of cannabis.

“Frankly, if you talk to a lot of the vets, if they go tocannabis, they do so much better,” she said. “A lot of thevets coming back are committing suicide. This is a hugestory that needs to be told.”

Drugs Aplenty for the TraumatizedIn February, The New York Times published a storywritten by James Dao about the United States Veterans

Administration (VA) dispensing a cornucopia of pre-scription drugs to soldiers returning from Iraq andAfghanistan with PTSD diagnoses. Many are also onpain medications, and many are mixing, matching andself-medicating. With easy access to the likes of Ativan,Adderall Ambien, Celexa, Effexor, Elavil, Haldol,Klonopin, Lunesta, Prozac, Paxil, Restoril, Risperdal,Ritalin, Seroquel, Trazodone, Valium, Wellbutrin,Xanax and Zoloft, many who are trying so hard to copeend up dying. These deaths are often labeled as acciden-tal. None are being treated by the VA with cannabis, theonly medication that’s never killed anyone and has longbeen associated with weaning patients off of strong nar-cotics.

The VA’s been sending returning vets out on the streetswith loads of prescription medications for decades. Itsown personnel report a shortage of counselors to treatveterans and a lack of resources to track the multiplemedications. Although in recent directives it acknowl-edges that veterans in states with medical marijuanaprograms will be permitted to use cannabis in tandemwith medical treatment offered through the VA, for the

HEALTH

© 2011 Mary Lou Smartwww.medicalcannabisart.com

Post-Traumatic A Natural Response to Trauma

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by theAmerican Psychiatric Association, defines post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) asthe development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to an extremetraumatic stressor. Reactions include helplessness, fear and horror. Persistentmemories of the event, or events, lead to dreams, nightmares, obsessive thoughtsand flashbacks (actual recreations of an event).

W


most part this federal entity refuses to acknowledge themedicinal benefit of cannabis.

Despite decades of clinical studies overseas that haveconvinced authorities in other countries to treat wound-ed soldiers with cannabis, the federal government con-tinues to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug with nomedical benefit under the Controlled Substances Act.

“Israel and Czechoslovakia are using it for their soldiersright now,” said Al Byrne, co-founder of Patient’s Out ofTime, past executive director of NORML, Vietnam vet-eran and retired Navy officer. “They’ve decided that thetherapeutic value is so great that their soldiers can haveit. These are the same guys that our guys are fightingnext to in Afghanistan. They get hurt; they get cannabis.Our guys get hurt; they don’t get cannabis.”

Michael Krawitz, founding director of Veterans forMedical Cannabis Access, is a 100-percent disabled AirForce vet injured in the1980s who experiences consider-able pain. Over the years, his knowledge of standardpain treatment has grown along with the pain medica-tions he has been prescribed. He hated Ultram, a syn-thetic, narcotic pain killer whose negative side effectswere “so horrible that they made taking the medication

unbearable.” After his Ultram experience, he insisted onresearching each new drug before agreeing to take it,which he did when Amitriptyline was offered. He toldhis doctor that the negative side effects that he’d readabout - seizures, dizziness, drowsiness, impaired think-ing, sexual complications, suicidal thoughts and fatalreactions when combined with other drugs – made himreluctant to use it. With Ultram, the warnings he’d readstated that up to 40 percent of the patients taking itexperience the same side effects. A series of other med-ications came with similar warnings. He also refused totake Vioxx, Celebrex and Lyrica.

To counter the depressing aspects of pain medications,he was given antidepressants. “When I first started beingtreated as a disabled vet at the VA in Omaha, they rou-tinely gave me huge jars of Zoloft, antidepressants, withmy pain killers,” he said. “They just automatically giveyou Zoloft; they just automatically do, probably a lot ofhospitals do, to counter the depressive effects of the nar-cotics.”

Krawitz read about Zoloft and decided not to use it. “Ilooked them up in the book and the effects seemed to beless than the cannabis could provide, so I never tookthem up. I just used cannabis.”

With easy access to the likes of Ativan, Adderall Ambien, Celexa, Effexor,Elavil, Haldol, Klonopin, Lunesta, Prozac, Paxil, Restoril, Risperdal, Ritalin,Seroquel, Trazodone, Valium, Wellbutrin, Xanax and Zoloft, many who aretrying so hard to cope end up dying.

Stress:


The Land of EnchantmentNumerous studies point to the endocannabinoid system’sstrong role in regulating emotions. Such studies, along withconsiderable patient testimony, convinced lawmakers toinclude PTSD as the only psychiatric indication qualifying fora recommendation in New Mexico’s medical cannabis pro-gram.

Bryan Krumm, psychiatric nurse practitioner, is on PatientOut of Time’s advisory board and has spoken at its biennialconferences. He has petitioned the federal government in aneffort to have cannabis moved from Schedule I to protectpatients as well as medical professionals. Krumm helped draftNew Mexico’s medical cannabis legislation, pushing for theaddition of PTSD as an approved condition. New Mexico’s isthe only medical cannabis program in the United States recog-nizing PTSD as a qualifying condition.

“In terms of safety, there is nothing that we have to offer phar-maceutically that can match the safety of cannabis,” he said.“In my own practice as a clinician, I have never come acrossa single pharmaceutical agent that is as well tolerated, andlacking in significant side effects, as cannabis.”

Many of Krumm’s patients suffer from post-traumatic stress.The greatest number of people applying for a recommenda-tion in New Mexico receive it for post-traumatic stress. As ofFebruary 16, PTSD was the qualifying condition for 1,105 ofNew Mexico’s 3,218 medical cannabis patients.

“I’ve seen some very significant benefits in helping with that,which go above and beyond what I’ve been able to do withjust traditional pharmaceuticals,” he said. “Probably the vastmajority of patients that I have in the program still requirepharmaceutical treatment. But quite often the traditionalpharmaceuticals are not able to manage the anxiety, not ableto stop the nightmares, the flashbacks, the constant, recurringthoughts that people get, and that’s where cannabis is veryhelpful.”

Animal studies point to hyperactivation of the amygdala, thepart of the brain involved in emotional regulation. Shown inresearch to perform a primary role in the processing andmemory of emotional reactions, the amygdalae have a largenumber of cannabinoid receptors, as do other areas of thebrain feeding into them.

“Activating those receptors helps turn off or slow down thehyperactivity,” Krumm said. “So we see things like a decreasein anxiety, a lessening of depression. With patients withchronic suicidal behavior, we’ve seen it take away suicidalitywhen they would not remit with traditional pharmaceuticals.Another big thing, with PTSD we see mood swings with irri-tability and anger. Cannabis really helps to control that. It hasthe advantage of working very quickly when working with theinhaled route in being able to suppress those types of emotionsand allow people to function better.”

HEALTH

Cartoon


work for a little while and then they don’t.”

While Dargan is quick to distinguish between the severityof war and his experiences, he feels that the end result oftrauma can be similar.

“The vets definitely deserve to have their post-traumaticstress up there, up front, but there definitely are othersthat deal with the effects of built-up stress,” he said.

For Dargan, 54, cannabis is the only treatment he’s triedthat has provided lasting benefit. While occasionallysmoking heavily-seeded, low-grade marijuana in the 70sand 80s, he noticed that it seemed to help his speech. Inthe late 1990s, visiting friends who consistently smokedstrong weed, he realized the full benefit of high-quality,seedless, sinsimellia product, which did the trick. He’sstuck with it ever since.

“If I give it up for awhile, I notice after about a week thatmy tension starts to rise again and I start to stutter more,”he said.

Dargan’s experience instilled a desire to advocate forpatients and medical cannabis. A videographer by trade,he combines his skill with patient / writer, Mark Pedersen,in documenting personal profiles on www.cannabispa-tientnetwork.com. He also films and provides websitesupport for Patients Out of Time, www.medical-cannabis.com.

“I tell people that I’m thankful that I was a stuttererbecause it helped me to communicate,” he said. “I lookahead in a conversation to think of words. When youstutter, the desire to communicate is overwhelmingbecause that’s the one thing that you can’t do. It can beextremely frustrating, but I think the overall experiencehelped me to communicate better.”

Post-Traumatic Stress

Therapeutic BenefitPushing to have the D taken out of PTSD, Patients Out ofTime would rather see it called post-traumatic stress syn-drome.

“This is a natural response to an abnormal stress, so whydo you call it a disorder?,” Mary Lynn Mathre asks. “It’spost-traumatic stress. It’s a syndrome. To call it a disorderadds insult to injury. This is what happens when you real-ly are stressed with something above and beyond normalday-to-day stressors.”

For extreme emotional trauma, Mathre says thatcannabis therapy is a safe solution.

“The basic science is showing that cannabis helps with theforgetting,” she said. “It helps patients to calm down.”

Ervin Dargan’s seen the connection between his stutteringand post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Less than one percent of stutterers carry the conditioninto adulthood. Dargan’s anxiety over past and futurespeech was great, which only exacerbated his torment.

“If you’re traumatized by an embarrassing episode ofstuttering, you tend to dread it,” he said. “It becomes acumulative stress that stays. I was one of the ones thatdidn’t grow out of it.”

There is no known cure for stuttering. Its impact can besevere, causing ongoing feelings of shame, embarrassmentand frustration.

“Stuttering is a tough nut to crack,” he said. “I went tospeech therapy when I was a teenager, and that didn’tseem to work. You can wear headphones, and that seemsto work, but it also seems that most things for stuttering


While this article is entitled Cannabis for Seniors, itsintent is to inform and reassure new patients of anyage or background who have no history or experienceof using cannabis, and who will have a great manyquestions. Also, with many jurisdictions now consid-ering medical marijuana programs, there will be manydoctors and other health professionals with questionsas well.

So You Want to Use MedicalMarijuanaCongratulations! With all the hype, outright lies, anddisinformation about this simple plant concocted bygovernments and spread by the mainstream media,you deserve a great deal of credit for being able tothink and make decisions for yourself. Even thoughthat sounds easy, many people never really progress tothat point.

Cannabis, properly used, will alleviate or even out-right cure many conditions... hopefully includingyours. But there are a few basic things you shouldknow before you get started:

• It's not a dangerous drug. Cannabis is actually one ofthe safest substances in the world. Fewer people havedied from using cannabis than from drinking too muchclean water. This is a safe statement to make, becausenobody has ever died from it.

• You won't become a drug addict. Cannabis itself is lessphysically addictive — if at all — than common drinks likecoffee and tea. The only reason you might become habit-uated, or used to using cannabis, is that you would pre-fer to live with less pain, depression, anxiety, nausea, orwhatever medical reason you'll be using it for.

• The goal is not to get high. So please don't pay atten-tion to the dosage and delivery advice given by (general-ly well-meaning) people who smoke marijuana for fun,or what we call recreational users. Depending on yourparticular physical condition, following some of thatadvice could lead to an uncomfortable experience. As anew patient, you'll want to start slowly, and too muchtoo soon might give you the entirely wrong idea aboutcannabis as medicine.

• You don't even have to smoke cannabis. As you nodoubt know, smoking cigarettes is very bad for yourhealth. Most of that is because tobacco smoke containsover a dozen known carcinogens, many unique to tobac-co itself. However, some of these — as well as otherunhealthy compounds, such as carbon monoxide — maybe found when any organic substance is smoked, evencannabis. So smoking cannabis is not recommended forlong-term use, although it still has a place in cannabismedicine, because inhaling is the fastest method ofdelivery.

HEALTH

Cannabis for Seniors, theirDoctors, and CaregiversBy Old Hippie © 2011BeyondChronic.com

blog

.bio

ethi

cs.n

et


How to Take Your First DosesCarefully.Whether your first time ends up being a few puffs on ajoint or a few bites of a magic brownie, the most impor-tant concept is "few"...and the other one is "slowly."

Because cannabis doesn't work quite the way many otherdrugs do, only experience will, in the end, teach you howmuch you should take, and what method works best foryou. Some people can't inhale smoke, or even vapor,without excessive coughing or lung irritation. Some peo-ple have problems eating anything, even cookies orbrownies. Fortunately, cannabis works well using a num-ber of different delivery systems, which I'll cover in moredetail later. In any case, this section will teach you howto get your experience as carefully as possible.

If you have no experience with cannabis whatsoever, andno way of knowing if it will work for you or not, thenthe safest, easiest way of trying it is to inhale it (assum-ing your medical condition so permits).

This does not necessarily mean smoking it, however,because in recent years products called vaporizers havebeen developed. Vaporizers heat the cannabis up to justthe right temperature so that the beneficial substancesturn to vapor — rather than burning them until they turnto smoke — and the result is far healthier and easier onyour lungs than smoking. Vaporizers also are very effi-cient and frugal in the amount of cannabis they use. Vaporizers are expensive, though, so you won't want tobuy one until you find out for sure whether inhalingcannabis will work for you. Some compassion centers,dispensaries, and collectives have vaporizers available forpatients to use, and that would be an ideal way to trybefore you buy.

If you do end up smoking, there's a safest way there too,and that's to use a simple glass pipe, which lets you seeexactly what you're putting in and doesn't add any of itsown chemicals to the mix. Joints and blunts (which areoften made using tobacco) are the last resorts, as arebongs, which are favored by recreational users for thesame reason they're bad for medical users: they get youtoo high too fast. These will also make you cough yourhead off (well, not literally, but it's not pleasant either).So let's assume you're trying a glass pipe or vaporizer. Itwill help if a more experienced user shows you how to dothings like grind the cannabis, heat and hold the device,and so on. But the first thing to remember is, don't fill upthe whole bowl! Following this rule helps you avoid tak-ing too much accidentally, or wasting it, for that matter.A large pinch (perhaps 0.1 gram) is plenty.

Much has been said about the proper way to inhale, butthe most effective way is to inhale slowly, in such a way

that it feels like the vapor or smoke is going deep intoyour belly. That will ensure that it actually gets into yourlungs. Take one good inhalation, hold it for a count offive seconds, and then release it.

And now you'll have to wait a bit, because although themolecules are already working in your body, you willnot feel the full effects of that inhalation for ten minutesor so. Some of the smoke or vapor is also absorbed bythe inside of your mouth and nose, and it takes longerto feel that portion of it.

After the ten minutes have passed, see how you feel.Now stand up and see if you feel any differently.Standing up will lower your blood pressure a bit, and ifyou're approaching too high, that will be the best wayto find out. If you don't feel too high or dizzy, and theeffects of the cannabis have not helped you sufficiently,then it's time for another inhalation. Repeat as desired,but remember to wait the ten minutes between inhala-tions, at least the first few times.

Basically, that's all there is to it. At some point, you maywell feel high, dizzy, giddy, or even a bit silly, butdepending on your medical condition, odds are that firstyou'll feel some relief. And that's what you're lookingfor. Inhaling your medicine gives you very quick results,and it's easy to learn when you've had just enough.

When Inhaling Just Won't DoGenerally, people who can't inhale cannabis use edibles,tinctures, or capsules (all of which you can learn tomake yourself). The main thing to remember aboutthese oral methods of delivery is that they take a lotlonger to take effect, but they generally last a lot longertoo.

A tincture is sometimes called an extract... and yes, it'sexactly like vanilla extract. All it means is that the herbin question — in this case, cannabis — is soaked in alco-hol until the active compounds dissolve; then the mix-ture is filtered to remove the solids.

Cannabis for Seniors,...

slas

hfoo

d.co

m


If tinctures are made properly, you'llonly need a dropperful or two tofeel the effects. There are twoways of using these. If youneed fast relief, you cansquirt the dropper rightunder your tongue, hold itthere as long as you canstand the burning sensa-tion, and then swallow.This will take effect in fiveto ten minutes. You can alsoadd it to virtually any drink(coffee usually works well forthis, at least as far as taste is con-cerned) and discreetly take your medica-tion in almost any social situation. Because tinctures are made with alcohol, they can causeproblems for alcoholics or people who refuse to usealcohol for moral or religious reasons. They can alsocause problems for otherwise legal patients who maynot be impaired from their cannabis medicine, but couldpotentially be charged for driving with detectable alco-hol on their breath! For these reasons, some people useglycerin-based tinctures, although these have to be madecarefully if they're going to work well.

The active compounds in cannabis can be extracteddirectly into alcohol (as above) or any food substancewith a high fat or oil content, and then used for cookingor baking. In theory, this means that any dish made fromwhole milk, cream, butter, cheese, lard, or oil could bemade to work. In practice, it takes some experience andimagination to come up with foods that actually tastegood with cannabis in them. Some that seem to beperennial favorites include brownies, cookies, cake, andeven ice cream and pizza!

Edibles that are available in dispensaries or compassionclubs are made by a wide variety of suppliers. Until somekind of consistent labeling is introduced, the actualamount of a dose used by one baker may be two, three,or five times as much as that used by another. It's espe-cially important for you to take it slowly with edibles,since there's a variable time delay between when youtake it and when you start feeling it. So you can easilyingest too much without realizing it.

The safest way, unless you've eaten exactly the samething before, is to try an eighth of a serving and wait aminimum of two hours before trying more. Thisassumes you're not eating on an empty stomach; if youhappen to take too small of a piece with no other food,there may be a longer delay than usual before your bodycompletes the digestive process. I learned of this effectwhen I took a cannabis capsule by itself and nothinghappened for four hours, when suddenly it all hit me at

once and I couldn't stand up foranother 45 minutes.

If you feel nothing after twohours, it's safe to take anoth-er piece the same size, waittwo hours, and so on. Butas soon as you feel any-thing, you should stoptaking more, because thefull effects might take

another 45 minutes or sofrom there.

While the effects of inhaledcannabis might last two to three

hours, ingested cannabis often lastsfrom four to eight hours, and sometimes

more. That's another good reason not to eat too muchtoo quickly; if you eat too much, it won't kill you, butyou may be surprised to learn that you can easily ingestenough to get you to the level of an LSD trip. Somefriends of mine baked cookies that do that if I eat morethan one-quarter of a cookie... and remember, you willbe up there for at least six hours, so please be careful. Ifyou do take too much, the best thing is to lie down andtry to go to sleep.

Repeatable Doses, RepeatableResultsBy now, you're probably wondering if there's any con-sistent way of using cannabis at all! Certainly, althoughit makes a lot of sense to go through the process of try-ing different delivery methods, types of cannabis, andfinding the right dosage range for you, because everyoneis different. This is how pharmacies worked in the olddays, where your physician and pharmacist would dis-cuss the correct medication and dosage for you, and thepharmacist would make exactly what you required.

You should consider keeping a log of your cannabisintake, including things like dosage, type, time of day,how you felt before and after, how long it took to feeleffects, and so on. All this information can help you oryour caregiver figure out how you're responding to themedication. When you're more or less settled on whatactually works for you, it's time to think about stan-dardizing on a true medical dosage.

There are several factors involved in a medical dose ofcannabis. There's the exact nature of the medication; theactual amount and delivery method of the dose; and thepatient's physical and mental state when receiving thedose. Let's discuss these one by one.

By exact nature of the medication, I'm referring to thefact that there are various strengths and species of

HEALTH

hempnewstv.wordpress.com/tag/green-dragon-tincture/

cannabis available, and literally hundreds of differentstrains — even different parts of the plant have differentqualities. There's also a large variation in quality andconcentration, from Mexican ditch weed to primo BCBud, and from leaves to flowers to hash (concentratedresin)... far more than can be covered in this article.

Instead of being bewildered by all this, simplydecide to look at it as an opportunity: youwill always have an alternative choice ofmedication, if necessary. But once youfind some medicine that works wellfor you, you should take steps to geta good supply of that exact kind...the same strain from the same sup-plier, harvested at the same time,and cured in the same way, if possi-ble. That way, you won't be forcedinto constantly experimenting just toget the same relief you had with "thatgreat stuff, that one time."

We've discussed determining theamount and delivery methodalready in general, but there aremore details you shouldknow. If you'll be smokingor vaporizing, rememberthat three inhalations(or whatever yourdose is) will onlygive you the sameamount of medi-cine every time if youactually take the samesize breaths the same wayevery time, all otherthings being equal. Thisis why health-care pro-fessionals teach peoplewith asthma to use theirinhalers consistently as well.

When it comes to bakedgoods, unfortunately, there'sno real consistency. Even ifyou make brownies inidentical molds, or cutthings exactly, the mix-ture itself is never per-fectly homogeneous, soone piece can be muchstronger than a seem-ingly identical piece rightnext to it.

The best way to work with

edibles is to remember that liquids can always be meas-ured. So when you want to repeat doses exactly, thingslike tinctures, cannabis-infused cooking oil, and buttercan be your best friends. The ultimate in convenienceand repeatability is taking your medicine in the form ofcapsules. These can be made from either activated drycannabis, or cannabis-infused coconut oil.

Finally, it's important to remember that cannabis canhelp you in a number of ways, especially when

some days are worse than others. Once you'refamiliar with its effects, you'll see that ondays when you have more pain or symp-toms, you'll need more medicine to dealwith the problem. Your own experiencewill tell you when to stop, if you have to do

something that requires that you not getloopy temporarily from taking too much.

Similarly, sometimes you feel you won'tneed it, and it's perfectly all right to skip

a dose too. Being more aware ofhow your body and mind feel

is the first step towardfeeling better, and feel-

ing better aboutyourself too!


Cannabis for Seniors,...


In the late 1800s and early 1900s, topicals and extractscontaining cannabis were all the rage. The catalogs ofpharmaceutical giants of the day, including Eli Lilly, E.R.Squibb & Sons, and Park-Davis, were filled with medica-tions containing cannabis. Extracts from the plant, whichwas grown all over the United States, were used in ton-ics, lotions, tinctures, and ointments to treat everythingfrom inflammation and eczema to corns, cuts, andmigraines. Druggist-supply catalogs were filled with bot-tles and cans, and apothecaries made their own concoc-tions to keep costs down. It was widely accepted thatage-old remedies containing cannabis worked.

The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was legislation thattook a sensible medical benefit away from the generalpopulation. In the only hearing prior to the late Fridayafternoon, late August, pre-air conditioning House floorvote, the American Medical Association’s legal represen-tative testified that the professional organization wasdead-set against the tax act. He insisted that there hadbeen no data collected to justify the need for a tax andthat the scare tactics piecing the legislation together wereunfounded.

His testimony was ignored and legislators were duped.They did not connect the relatively unknown slang termmarihuana with the well-known scientific name

cannabis. After the act was approved, any druggist want-ing to use cannabis was required to apply for a licenseand pay the tax. At a time when faster and more conven-ient delivery methods such as hypodermic needles werepreferred anyway, the legislation effectively shut downthe medical use of cannabis. In 1942, cannabis was takenout of the U.S. Pharmacopeia and the prohibition was inplace. Medical cannabis — marihuana had never beenassociated with the medicine — drifted into the realm offolklore.

Seven decades later, with medical marijuana programs in15 states, cannabis is once again finding its way intomedicine cabinets via the topical preparations of yester-year. This time around, there is no shortage of scientificresearch to explain why the plant works so well.

In healthy bodies, endocannabinoids have a role in regu-lating inflammation. In 1992, scientists RaphaelMechoulam and William Devane identified anandamide,Sanskrit for “eternal bliss,” as a natural brain molecule

that binds to the brain’s cannabinoid receptor.Endocannabinoids, which are able to pass through theblood / brain barrier (endorphins are not), are likely to becreating the desirable natural high that kicks in afterexercise.

United States Patent # 6,630,507 B1, owned by theUnited States of America as represented by theDepartment of Health and Human Services, WashingtonD.C., entitled Cannabinoids as Antioxidants andNeuroprotectants, is a federal rhapsody of the usefulnessof cannabinoids in treating myriad oxidation-associateddiseases, including inflammatory and autoimmune dis-eases, and as neuroprotectants, which could mean any-thing from stroke to head injury, Altzheimer’s,Parkinson’s, or dementia.

From head to toe, the human body is chock full of endo-cannabinoid receptors. When cannabis is applied in thelocation of these receptors, beaucoup studies show thatit is well received.

HEALTH

For Surface Issues, Cann © 2011 Mary Lou Smartwww.medicalcannabisart.com


No surprise, then, that when it comes to surface issues,cannabis is a perfect, natural fit, bringing fast relief thatcan last for hours.

Onna, who requested anonymity, is a California residentwith lupus, fibromyalgia, and Sjogren’s syndrome.Sjogren’s is an autoimmune, inflammatory disease. Amedical cannabis patient, she discovered the benefits oflotions and creams while visiting a dispensary near PalmSprings. After trying a sample of Doc Green’sTherapeutic Healing Cream, she was surprised to findthat the pain in her lower back, directly at the spot ofapplication, disappeared immediately.

“I’m constantly in pain, so I’m having to find alternativeways to medicate myself where I’m not just constantlytaking narcotic pain medication,” she said. “Lotionshave really helped.”

Doc Green’s combines cannabis extracts with deep pene-trating shea butter lotion infused with essential oils con-

tributing the scent of either lavender or vanilla. In busi-ness for two years, Doc Green’s uses a proprietary formu-la that it maintains cooks longer and at lower tempera-tures than other cannabis lotions, thus avoiding the strongcooked-marijuana scent of, say, a pot brownie. A 4-ouncebottle sells in dispensaries for approximately $25.

“The beauty of the lotion as designed is that it penetratesinto the skin, down into the muscles and deeper tissue,”said Daniel Kosmal, president. “People are using it for mus-cle spasms, cramped muscles, tendonitis, and arthritis.”

Testing patients medicating solely with lotions, the com-pany found that urinalysis did not turn up THC or othercannabis elements in the blood. The creams are reportedto work well locally without a psychoactive effect.

“People like to smoke it and use marijuana recreational-ly, which is fine by us, but when they need to go to workand they want to get through the day, topicals seem to bethe way to do that,” Kosmal said. “From what I can see,this really is the future. This is an amazing application ofcannabis because it gives benefit right in the locationwhere it’s most needed.”

Constantly in pain, Onna is unable to wean herself fromnarcotics. She’s also suffering from spinal calcification,

which might require surgery. When her lupus is active,she needs cortesteroids for inflammation and pain. Shesaid that cortesteroids eat a hole in her stomach andmake her too hyper to sleep.

“Your body takes such a beating from being on the hardmedicine,” she said. “There are times when I’ve had painthat it can’t even touch; when that happens, I take pre-scription drugs and have even had epidural pain blocksto get back around to the normal and out of the painzone.”

When her pain is at manageable levels, she relies on DocGreen’s.

“The lotions have helped me a lot,” she said. “They’vehelped many people I know too.”

Onna, who said that she does not like strong fragrances,prefers the milder scent of vanilla to lavender and wouldrather have a completely unscented product.

For Surface Issues

abis Lotions Hit the Spot


“I think you’ll find that people with complicated health issues usuallyhave problems with odors and smells,” she said.

In Colorado, James Kennedy, founded Apothecanna, which features afull line of topical preparations, including Pain Crème, Lip Buzz, BodyBudder, and Super Salve. Using lab-tested, C02-extracted oils infusedinto formulas containing fragrant herbs, he’s gaining market share.Seventy-five wellness centers currently carry Apothecanna’s products.

Apothecanna works to keep the scent of cannabis out of lotions and usespure plant essences of peppermint, wintergreen, ravensara, juniper,clove, and lavender for their soothing and aromatic properties.Kennedy’s background is the beauty industry; he’s held creative designpositions at Aveda and Johnson & Johnson.

“The big difference between our products and other topicals on the mar-ket is the fact that ours are made to feel like professional cosmetic prod-ucts,” he said. “Most of what I see out there are made of greasy wax andolive oil. I call them hippie balms.”

Because patients visiting dispensaries for the first time are either used tosmoking or expect to be smoking or using a vaporizer, learning about theage-old topical applications is a process. To introduce patients into themedicinal ways of yesteryear, many offer sample sizes. Apothecanna’s 8-ounce bottle of pain cream sells for approximately $30; trial sizes areavailable for $5.

“At first, people are hesitant to spend money on topicals,” he said.“When they realize how well the infused products work, they return formore.”

HEALTH


Little-known fact: there's little orno THC in raw marijuana.

That's right. It's only when people process it ―general-ly by smoking, vaporizing, or cooking it ― that theTHC becomes usable by the body. And that chemicalprocess is called decarboxylation.

There's an awful lot of misinformation floating aroundabout decarboxylation. Some of it stems from the factthat the main precursor to the THC molecule has abouthalf a dozen names, all of them perfectly valid. So, forinstance, the Wikipedia article on Decarboxylation says(in different places) that 11-nor-9-Carboxy-THC and Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid both decarboxylate to THCupon heating. Other sources refer separately to THCA,tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid, and THC-COOH(which is how we'll refer to it from here on).

Not only are all these exactly the same molecule, but tomake matters worse, it also happens to be the mainmetabolite of THC as well! So the way it works is THC-COOH + heat = THC, which in your body metabolizes

right back to THC-COOH again (and that's what theylook for in drug testing for marijuana, by the way).Think of it as recycling.

Tale of the TailThe reason I recommend calling it simply THC-COOHis because that name makes it easier to visualize theprocess of decarboxylation itself, which literally consistsof the extra carboxylic acid "tail" being "snipped off"the molecule to leave the THC we all know and love.This usually happens by adding heat, but the process ofcuring converts THC-COOH to pure THC as well.

That's why uncured bud not only doesn't taste goodwhen you smoke it, but doesn't really give you a properhigh or the right medicinal effect: you're not getting thenormal mix of cannabinoids you'd expect. The flip sideof that is why eating raw cannabis or putting it into foodis often quite a good idea for many patients, preciselybecause you don't get the psychoactive effects of THC.Without THC, the relative level of CBD is higher, andthis new mix can give people more pain relief with lesseffect on the brain.

HEALTH

What the Ding-Dong IsDecarboxylation?

Decarboxylation: why you never heard of it, why you should understand it, and how to do it.

by Old HippieBeyondChronic.com


And that's why generations of pot smokers never evenheard of decarboxylation. When you smoke or vaporize,it's done automatically by the heat. Decarboxylationbegan to come to people's attention when serious workstarted on using cannabis medicinally. But there werehints all along, if you know where to look, and thatwould be in The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook.Tokeless BrowniesAlice B. Toklas was infamous for her “canibus” brown-ie recipe, which was also infamous for being extremelyvague on how much of the crucial material to use. Sopeople have been throwing random handfuls of weed inbrownie mix for decades, cooking at different tempera-tures, and getting wildly different results. There are threemain reasons for this problem:

• Incorrect dosing.Many people just use way too much or too little. A gramper dose is usually a good starting point for manypatients.• Cooking at too high a temperature.This essentially vaporizes out the THC before it gets toyou (look for recipes that cook at 325°F (160°C) or lessto prevent this).• Green marijuana just can't decarboxylate fully inthe short time it takes to cook brownies.

The end result is that brownies often have the reputationof putting people on the floor with heavy body effects.That's because the last two factors artificially lower theamount of THC in the finished product, letting theeffects of the other cannabinoids take over. And it's notjust brownies; many people know stories about friendswasting large amounts of expensive cannabis trying tomake edibles that didn't perform up to expectations.

The Secret RecipeSo, in the interest of creating better medicine, here is aneffective procedure for decarboxylating cannabis in youroven, whether the final result is intended for use in mak-ing edibles, tinctures, or capsules. You should use a ther-

mometer to check that the oven is actually at the tem-perature you set it to, before you use it for such a heat-sensitive operation.

Many people simply put their marijuana on a cookiesheet, but if you do that, you'll be pouring crispycannabis off a hot, flat surface, and I can almost guaran-tee you'll be spilling some. Instead, I recommend usingaluminum foil to make a kind of flat bowl with a fold-ed spout, and putting that on a cookie sheet.

Decarboxylation Bowl: Not fancy, but functionalNow preheat your oven to 225°F (105°C). You can nowjust heat your cannabis for 60 minutes, or use the slight-ly more complex and effective (and patented!) method of225°F (105°C) for 15 minutes, followed by 250°F(120°C) for 60 minutes. Either way, be prepared, becauseyour kitchen will smell like a pot party.

Take it out of the oven, let it cool for five minutes or so,and now it will be brown and brittle and very easy togrind to small particle size (more like oregano, ratherthan powder). You can use a regular weed or spicegrinder, a mortar and pestle, or even a coffee grinder orsmall blender.

The result is fully activated cannabis, which can be putdirectly in gelatin capsules, added to recipes (preferablynext to ingredients with a high fat content), or used tomake cannabutter or canna oil. And because it retains allthe THC of the original material as well as all the othercannabinoids, it is quite powerful.

If you use a vaporizer on a regular basis, you can use theABV (Already Been Vaped remains, sometimes calledduff) in the same manner, because vaporizing also decar-boxylates. But you'll have to use between 25% and 33%more of it to make up for the THC that's already beenvaporized. The good news is that it will now help youtwice!

What the DIng-Dong is Decarboxylation?

is done automatically when you smoke or vaporize it,which is why many people have never heard of it. Theother is to bind the cannabinoids to fat or oil so it willbe absorbed easily through the digestive system.

You can use the first process to easily make "dry" cap-sules (also known as TruCannaCaps), or both process-es together to make "wet" capsules, using vegetableoil. These oil-based capsules can be made with smallercapsules (#0) and are easier for some people to take;and finely ground plant matter (as used in dry cap-sules) may cause stomach upset or nausea in somepatients. Just grinding up cannabis buds and stuffingthem into capsules is a waste of time and money,though.... it won't work at all.

Math ManagementI calculated that a manageable dose for myself would be0.1 gram, which corresponds to about a bowl’s worth. Iknew I wanted to extract to coconut oil: it works well forthis purpose, being almost 100% fat; and it’s very stable,not subject to going rancid. What you're looking for isorganic virgin coconut oil, which is non-hydrogenated.You can actually use almost any vegetable oil (ironically,not hemp oil: it doesn't like heat), if you like. Then I didsome research on fillable capsules and did some math:#00 capsule = 0.95 ml capacity (I figured this to be 0.75ml for calculation convenience and because you can’t fillit up all the way.)

1 tsp = 5 ml1 TBSP = 15 ml1 fl oz = 30 ml2 TBSP of oil = 30 ml = 40 capsulesSo if each dose is 0.1 gram, we need 4 grams ofcannabis for 40 capsules.

I guesstimated that 2 tablespoons of coconut oil was theminimum I could reasonably deal with in my mini 16ounce Crock-Pot (a.k.a. Little Dipper), and I had previ-ously bought 50 empty #00 gelatin capsules (do not usethe vegetarian starch kind, as they will disintegrate), so itall seemed good. If you have a full-size Crock-Pot, youwill not even be able to see this tiny quantity of oil on thebottom, so use it as a water bath as detailed below.


hat do you do when you need cannabis med-icine and you can’t or don’t want to smokeor vaporize? The usual answers are edibles or

tinctures, but even these don’t work for everyone.

Most tinctures are made from alcohol, which is a problemfor alcoholics. Glycerin tinctures are sometimes availableat compassion clubs, but many people have reported thatthey often don’t work in reasonable doses.

Edibles — assuming you’re not allergic to something inthem — often work a bit too well, leaving you couch-locked or too high to function. So wouldn’t it be great ifthere was a simple pill you could take that could give youthe relief you need at the dose you want?

Some medical marijuana dispensaries sell Canna-Caps,which has quickly become almost a generic name for anycapsule filled with cannabis since its association with thegroundbreaking work of Dr. Paul Hornby. Dr. Hornby’soriginal idea was for standardized doses of THC, and tohave all ingredients tested for pesticides, heavy metals,and other contaminants.

Most of the Canna-Caps made and sold at dispensariesvary a great deal in potency, although products from thesame supplier are often consistent. I obtained and testedsome that seemed quite strong to me, but it turns out theywere actually discontinued by the dispensary becausemost people complained they didn’t do anything!

So the ultimate answer is to make your own, to what-ever dose helps you best. My philosophy on desiredstrength is that with ingredients (such as cannabutteror canna oil), you want to make them very strong,because then you have the option to use just a little, oreven dilute it for taste, if you like. But with capsules,you can’t take any less than a single dose, so if it’s toostrong, you’re kind of stuck.

When you ingest cannabis, it’s generally recommendedto do two things to it, so that the body can process itmost efficiently. The first is to decarboxylate thecannabis, which converts the THC-COOH found inthe plant to psychoactive and pain-relieving THC. This

HEALTH

How to Make Your Own

Canna-Capsby Old HippieBeyondChronic.com

W


The procedure went as follows:

Weigh the cannabis. If you don’t have access to anaccurate scale, 1/3 cup of ground cannabis powderweighs about 7 grams. It’s actually easier to grind thecannabis after Step 3, though.

Make a little bowl or basket out of aluminum foil,and put the cannabis in it. This will help keep it from burn-ing or sticking to the baking sheet. Put the foil basket onthe baking sheet and put it in your oven.

Decarboxylate the cannabis by baking it. I used 250°Ffor 22 minutes because it’s worked for me in the past, butmore recent information suggests that 250°F for a fullhour is even better. This step will make your kitchen smellquite weedy, by the way.

Now is a good time to grind the cannabis; it’s more brit-tle after decarboxylation, and the more surface areaexposed, the more efficiently it will bind to the fat in thecoconut oil. I grind to “small particle” size for this step;some people like to go to fine powder.

Measure out the oil. Coconut oil is solid at less than76°F, but a tablespoon is still a tablespoon.

Now put the oil and ground cannabis into an uncov-ered mason jar (which can withstand heat) in the top ofa double boiler; in water inside a full-size Crock-Pot set onwarm (it's lower heat than low); or in a water bath (jar inabout 2 inches of boiling water in a cooking pot). Theidea is to safely heat the mixture to between 180°F and220°F so that the cannabinoids will chemically bind to theoil. The longer you heat the mixture, the better, which iswhy a Crock-Pot is ideal for this. Two to six hours is rec-ommended; I happened to use three hours. Be sure tocheck the water regularly so that it doesn’t boil out,breaking your jar and ruining all your work and material.Stir the mixture around every 15 minutes, if you can.

How to Make your Own Canna-Caps

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

When you’re done, or otherwise bored with this,you’ll have some lovely green fluid. Let it cool downto 100°F or so (the idea is not to burn yourself!), andthen you can filter out the plant material (using apaper coffee filter and a garlic press or potato ricer tosqueeze out every last drop), or not, as you prefer.

Now you fill the “large end” of the capsules byusing an oral syringe. I’ll assume you have access tosomething like a Cap-M-Quik filler to hold the capsulehalves up (you won’t need the optional tamper unlessyou want to experiment with putting powder intocapsules too). Don’t try to fill the capsules all the wayor too fast; let the oil settle so any bubbles go outwhile you work on the next capsule. Then, whenyou’ve got them all, go back if necessary. I ended upwith about 44 capsules, so it all worked pretty well. Besure to push hard enough to feel the “click” whenputting the small end of the capsule on, so you knowit’s sealed properly.

Dry your hands and gently wipe off the capsulesas you take them out and put them away (ideallyinto a standard pill bottle in the refrigerator, where theoil is less likely to go bad even after months). Oh, andrinse everything you used off with hot water now,before the oil re-solidifies!

grind up hash, which is more concentrated to startwith.

How Dry I AmMaking "dry" capsules, on the other hand, is simplicityitself. Just decarboxylate the cannabis (following Steps 1through 4 above), grind to powder size, and use yourCap-M-Quik to fill up the capsules. You're all done!

You might want to try filling up a few different-size cap-sules first, though, before you commit to buying oneparticular size in quantity. And if you happen to use avaporizer, your AVB (Already-Vaped Bud) or "duff"that some people actually throw away can be ground upand put straight into capsules, where they'll help youone last time.

Capsules are neat, discreet, stealthy, and green. Theywork pretty much the same every time. And becausethey’re all the same dose, you can take two or more ifyou need them, and still have a pretty good idea howthey'll affect you.

Discreet and RepeatIt turned out that the 2 tablespoons of oil were exactlyenough to saturate the 4 grams of ground cannabis I wasusing, so with those quantities, it would have beenimpossible to make it any stronger (and #00 capsules areabout the largest most people can comfortably swallowin the first place). When I filtered my oil, I put it into acalibrated shot glass to measure it, and it’s a good thingI did, because I found I had lost 15 ml of oil to the filterpaper and absorption by the plant particles. I addedanother tablespoon of oil to get back to the properdosage. Otherwise, I would have ended up with 20 verystrong capsules! Next time I made capsules, I used threetablespoons of oil at the beginning to compensate, andeverything came out perfectly.

If you’re as sensitive as I am, the quantities I used willprobably be good for you, but lots of people have high-er tolerance and need stronger capsules. Using the threetablespoons of oil and extra cannabis will make itstronger; grinding the cannabis to powder will let youget even more of it in; and after that, you could always


HEALTH

10 The last step is from Space Oddity, by David Bowie:“Now it’s time to try the capsule if you dare…”:-) I found them to be just right for me; a bit of a sur-prisingly sharp peak for about 15 minutes, but afterthat, quite easy to handle. Don't test more than oneat a time the first time, and be sure to wait at leasttwo hours before deciding that a capsule "didn'twork at all."


he medical marijuana scene is growing all over the world, but possibly the place where it is growing the most isin Colorado. I was invited to Denver and got to take a peek at what was described to me as an 85,000 SQ FT600,000 WATT growing warehouse of absolutely massive proportions. I have got to tell you, it was everythingthey said it was. This is one huge pot-growing monstrosity, with all kinds of things going on. We got a deep lookinside the workings of the place and we even have a small interview with one of the owners. First let me tell you

what I experienced.

I came inside of what I thought was going to be a semi-reasonable size place to grow pot, but what I found was a warehouseof such huge size, I felt like a small city could be built inside it. They had a clone list of what looked like a thousand strains,and when I entered the first room, all I could see was babies. I have no idea how many thousands of plants they must havein this place, and they even have a variety of growing techniques. They were using soil in some cases, but in other areas theywere using rock wool and still others they had clay. All kinds of strains and mediums are being used here, and the result isabsolutely heavenly marijuana. Don't take my word for it; let’s talk to one of the guys behind it all.

T

Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today.Can you tell me a little bit about how you got start-ed in the medical marijuana industry and how youended up in Colorado? Pete: I've had a passion for cannabis as a medicine since Iwas 17 because I saw how it helped my uncle with AIDSto sleep and with his appetite. After college, I found myselfin Oakland and made an appointment with Dr. FrankIucido in Berkeley. We discussed treatment for my patellarealignment surgery I had in ’97, and I told him I was acannabis smoker and it had helped with the pain. I was the14,000th card holder in Oakland’s OCBC system in 2002;I’ve had my recommendation ever since and believe in the

healing properties of cannabis. After years of home-grow-ing medical grade cannabis for mmc’s, I saw Colorado asan opportunity to help more people who need medicinalcannabis.

How and why is Colorado such a great place formedical marijuana?Pete: The MMJ law is a part of the Colorado constitutionand is very strong protecting the patients and the growers.The state has a department that is staffed to regulate andcontrol the industry, and to create a model that’s beingadopted by other states. This affords us a unique level ofprotection.

TY SPOTLIGHT

Colorado Medical GrowVisiting a

by Jeremy NorrieTreatingYourself.comFutureofFighting.comRLDDVD.com

new strains debuting in the spring. Last but not least, wehave created a very large DWC hydro bucket to suit ourvery large space requirements called the Brutus Maximus.

Thanks again for talking with us; it was really great of youto take the time out of your busy schedule. I think all ofour readers are going to be blown away by what you aredoing out there in Colorado. I wish you well and look for-ward to my next visit. Lastly, congratulations also on win-ning the second place prize for flower (Blue Dream26%THC) and the first place for concentrates (Purple ErnieOil 79% Cannibinoids) at the Kush Con.

Make sure you all catch up with us again next time. I hopeyou will be able to use this article to educate yourself a littlemore about the scene in Colorado and what is going on outthere. Maybe you have been thinking about moving andmaybe getting involved in the medical marijuana scene thatis erupting out there. Think about it, but enjoy it if you can;next issue, we will talk about more cannabis-related news.Don’t forget to check out www.FutureofFighting.com to beton fights and get the latest news about UFC and MixedMartial Arts, also www.RLDDVD.com for the very best DVDabout Amsterdam’s Red Light District. Take it easy, have fun,don’t believe the hype, and find what works for you. Goodluck.


Can you tell me the story about how BroadwayWellness was started and how you ended up work-ing in this massive warehouse? Pete: Having many years of growing experience, I set outto grow a variety of top-quality flowers. Keeping a microapproach but applying it to a commercial-sized warehouseis a huge task. While we were hunting for a grow space,we lucked into this one, but having experienced managersand detail-oriented staff members is key. It hasn’t all beeneasy, and we have had our share of drama. People in thecompany share a passion for the amazing properties ofcannabis and understand its value. Surround yourself withgood people and good things will happen. People feel themomentum and want to be a part of it.

What amazing things have you experiencedworking with the warehouse facility? Pete: To be honest, just to be involved in such an enter-prise is amazing. Using forklifts to move flood tablesacross a warehouse bigger than Costco never gets boring.The crew makes it what it is. Organization and prepara-tion are your friends, and keeping a firm grasp on priori-ties each and every day is critical. Creating a team whereeveryone can be counted on keeps things manageable.Being surrounded by family and friends who all contributeto the success of our company is the most amazing thingabout it.

Do you have anything coming up in the future thatyou can tell our readers about? Pete: Since we opened, we have won five different awardsfor our concentrate company, Essential Extracts, and hopeto continue with the High Times cannabis awards in April.Our seed division, Missing Link Genetics, has a full line of

Colorado Medical Grow


here are many different aspects to the cultureand personalities involved in the cannabisindustry. Traveling the world, we get to meetpeople from all over, and recently we met theman behind the Glass Gripper, Mr. Philly Blunts.

His product is simple but very useful; as such, it has takenoff like wildfire. He was recently the host of a huge partyduring the CHAMPS 2011 event in Las Vegas. We tried toget some time to do the interview then, but it was too wild,so it had to wait till now.

His party was at the Palms Casino, but it wasn’t in a club ora bar. No, this party was at the private Hugh HefnerPenthouse Suite. That is right, and it was all decorated withclassy Playboy memorabilia and what have you. Somehow,there were Vortex Glass & Gravity Vortex pieces all over. Myfriend Isaac from Dub Glass was giving guests dabs upstairs,and White Deer from Essential Vape came by and made agenerous donation. This place was absolutely epic andtotally amazing.

The suite had its own elevator, for starters. There were a fewbedrooms; one had a bed that automatically rotated, whileanother had a TV that came out of the bottom bedpost.There were pictures of playmates and Playboy logos all overthe place, with the most unreal pool outside that had glasswalls revealing the hottest view of the Las Vegas Strip. Atthe edge, it was a straight drop down 30-plus floors. Therewas one room with a wall of windows that had big-screenTVs mounted so you could see the incredible view rightbehind the TVs. There was also a huge performance fromsome great hip hop stars; it was hot. That place was at alevel not many people will ever reach in life, and thanks toGlass Gripper, we were able to party like cannabis rock starsthat night. When the smoke was clear, we were finally ableto sit down and talk with Phil from Glass Gripper and findout a little more about his story and his great ideas.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us for our readersthis issue. I am sure there are a number of them using yourproduct already. Tell us first about how you entered intothe cannabis industry. I understand you used to own ahead shop? Philly: It’s my pleasure to have the opportunity to speak withyou guys and share my story. It all started when I moved downfrom New Jersey to Sarasota, Florida, in 2004. A few yearslater, my brother and I opened a pizzeria on Siesta Key calledSolorzano Brothers Pizzeria. I then noticed a smoke shopgoing out of business and realized I had to capitalize on thisopportunity. We then opened a smoke shop selling finecigars, tobacco, beer, wine, glass pipes, and other tobaccoaccessories. After interacting with customers, I realized thatthere was a high demand for some kind of protection for yourglass pieces of art. One night, when I was extremely high chill-in’ at the crib, I came up with a genius idea. I found some softfoam material in my kitchen, cut it to size, and glued it to thebottom of my bong. After putting the material on the bot-tom, I couldn’t believe the difference: no more clinking, chip-ping, or breaking my bong ever again! And that's how GlassGripper all started.

Do you have any strange or interesting stories from thosedays? Anything weird happen at the shop or any incredi-ble customers? Philly: LOL! I could write a book with all the stories I have frommy smoke shop, and soon will. It just so happens that mysmoke shop was located on this little island called Siesta Key,

Treating Yourself Interviews the man behind

The Glass Gripper

TY SPOTLIGHT

T

by Jeremy NorrieTreatingYourself.comFutureofFighting.comRLDDVD.com


where tons of beautiful people come to party and get wild forspring break. Luckily for the ladies, Glass Grippers are greatbikini tops and leave no tan lines, wink wink.

Was the product a success right away? What things didyou do that worked to grow your company? And howpopular is the Glass Gripper now? Philly: The product was an instant success with customers.Everyone that walked in wanted a Glass Gripper. What reallylaunched my product was when I came out in two differentmagazines in the same month, High Times and SkunkMagazine. This all happened while I was at the Champs tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2008 promoting my productGlass Gripper for the very first time. After returning from thetrade show, orders just kept coming, in and that's when I real-ized this was going to be something big. Now I travel toshows all around the world, to places such as Vegas, Cali,Amsterdam, Spain, Toronto, and many more to come. GlassGripper is now known worldwide.

The party at the Hugh Hefner Villa Suite at the Palms wasincredible! There were free food and drinks with live per-formers and tons of smokers, but no problems! How didyou pull that off? Philly: I’m glad you guys at Treating Yourself magazine had anincredible time at my penthouse party. I’m so happy every-thing went so smooth, considering the amount of time andeffort that was put into this event. I wouldn’t have been ableto pull it off without the help of all my wonderful sponsors

The Glass Gripper

and friends, including Treating Yourself magazine, GreenGlass Clean, Vortex, Tokeez, Hemp Beach TV, The Digger OneHitter, Mike’s Worldwide Imports, Smoke Clear, AlternativeLifesystems, Skunk Magazine, Henry Hemp, Geno’sWholesale, Big Magazine, Zong, Blue Dot, Magnum Detox, INetwork, Los Marijuanos, Swisher Streets, Skywriter, Sota,and everyone else who showed love for Philly Blunts and theGlass Gripper party.

Should we be expecting more big things like this fromyour company? Can you tell us about any projects youhave coming up in the future? And lastly, what’s the bestway for an interested reader to get more info about howto buy one of your products? Philly: That was my first Glass Gripper party and certainly notmy last. One of my newest projects is an up-and-coming rap-per that goes by the name of Sota. I had him perform at myVegas Hugh Hefner Penthouse party and he killed it! You canlisten to his music, book him for events, and support themovement by going to glassgripper.net. Readers can find outmore information and also buy my product atglassgripper.net.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We all lookforward to what Glass Gripper is going to do in the future!

Make sure you all catch up with us again next time. I hopeyou will be able to use this article to find yourself a GlassGripper. Maybe you have been thinking about some way toprotect your water pipes, and this will help you find whatyou needed. Next issue, we will talk about more cannabis-related news.

If you enjoy these articles, follow me @Professor420 onTwitter for more personal stories and behind-the-scenesdetails and pictures from my articles, including things thatdon’t make it into the magazine, and get them as they hap-pen live.

Also, don’t forget to check out www.FutureofFighting.comto bet on fights and get the latest news about UFC andother mixed martial arts. Also, go to www.RLDDVD.com forthe very best DVD about Amsterdam’s Red Light District.Take it easy, have fun, don’t believe the hype! Find successand make it work for you. Good luck.


After the successful opening of the Canadian CannabisLearning Centre, Michael and I were able to talk aboutthe open house and its accessibility.

Q: How did the CCLC open house go?A: We feel that the open house went well. Our goal wasto introduce ourselves to the cannabis community in aninformal setting and let everyone know who we are andwhat our goals are. We were very well received and havemade some invaluable friendships that will help us inspreading our message of Educate to Medicate! Ourthanks go out to the exhibitors who took the time to comeout and help educate people along with us. Just the factthat we got TY's attention makes it an unequivocal suc-cess!

How many attended the CCLC open house?A : We had about 100 people come through the openhouse. We are very proud of the fact that we had at least40 MMAR patients all hanging out together, renewing oldfriendships and creating new ones! A very valuableexchange of information was spread through these wiseminds to people new to the culture. We are pleased toannounce that we have signed our first growers and areon our way to our first grower-patient partnering!

How has the response been since you opened?A: The response has been extremely positive. People arevery curious as to what we do, and when informed of ourgoal, which is to educate, license, and partner them, theircuriosity turns to desire to learn with us. We currently havefive growers going through our program and are lookingfor MMAR patients to partner them with!

Is CCLC operating as a compassion center as well asa learning center?A: No, we are compassionate in our teaching and supportbut have no intention of getting in the compassion centerindustry.

Is the CCLC going to open to the general public inorder to help spread the education? Or is it a mem-bers-only venue?A: The CCLC is and always has been open to the public,and we are always on the lookout for people in need ofcannabis education and medication information. We alsoneed MMAR patients to partner with our certified grow-ers. People are always welcome to contact us at any timewith any questions or thoughts that they might have! Weare people for people!

Is the CCLC working with other cannabis businessesin the community, such as stores or compassion cen-ters?A: We work with every honest and like-minded aspect ofthe industry to help educate; there is no such thing as toomuch knowledge! We are aligned with a number of storesand suppliers for educational material and growing sup-plies. There is a list of friends of the CCLC on our brochure.

Is anything that you’d like to add?A: We'd like to thank you in advance for this. We’d also

like to thank the many friends of the CCLC. Some of thesepeople are P.A.C.E., Purity Hemp Products, TreatingYourself, Clandestiny, L.E.A.P. , Sha Sha Organic Foods,Hempola, and Canada Number1seedbank, as well as TheGreen Party of Canada.

By Al Graham

Michael of the CCLCTreating Yourself Interviews

TY SPOTLIGHT

You can reach the CCLC or Michael at [email protected].

Michael and Marco Rendarecording an interview for CCLC


Physical Test

Strain: Mr. Magoo’s Hash OilBreeder: Mr. Magoo

Grower: 420 Grower

Judge: Skunk.mad & family

Date: February 2, 2011

1. Visual Appeal: 9/10 Visual appeal of the buds from 1-10 unappealing-excellent.

2. Visible Trichomes: 10 Visible trichome content from 1-10 none-totally covered.

3. Colors that are present in the trichome heads under magnification:

Clear 10% Cloudy 70% Amber 20% Dark −

4. Colors present in the buds and/or on a scale 1-9 light-dark:

Brown 2, Black 9

5. Bud density: − Bud density from 1-10 airy-dense.

6. Aroma descriptors: scale from 1-9 upon freshly broken bud where a one indicates a subtle presence and 9 indicates a pronounced presence.

Earthy 2, Hash 7,

7. Aroma: 7 Aroma from 1-10 repulsive-delightful.

8. Seed content: 0 Seed content from 0-10 none-fully seeded.

9. Weeks cured: − If know the number of weeks your sample has been cured.

Comment −This is some excellent alcohol−extracted hashoil. Very black and very sticky, like it should be. Madefrom sugar trim from a great high trichome producingstrain.

Mr. Magoo’s Hash Oil




Smoke Test

1. Utensils: Small glass pipe, Headquarter papers, Hot knives smoked up a RooR down tube with14.5mm cone attachment2. Taste descriptors: Use numbers 1-9 that apply to the taste where 1 indicates a subtle presence and 9 indicates a very pronounced presenceEarthy 2, Licorice 1, Petroleum 2, Hash 9, Spice 23. Taste: 8 Impression of the taste from 1-10 unpleasant-delicious.

4. State of dryness: − 1-10 wet-dry where 5 is ideal.

5. Smoke ability: 10 smoke ability of the sample from 1-10 harsh-smooth.

6. Smoke expansion: 3 smoke expantion in the lungs from 1-10 stable-explodes.Smoke Test Comments: − We tried this hash oil, but in a few different ways. But we found itbest smoked pure with hot knives or a skillet attachment for a bong. The smoke is extreme−ly thick, which is very kind on the lungs and throat. We found this hash oil very good formild/moderate pain relief, but it worked best for me at night as a sleep aid.

FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS1. Dosage: − 3−4 small drops on a hot knife or skillet/1 joint mixed with bud to reach desired effects.

2. Effect onset: 1 Rate of how quickly the effect hit from 1-10 immediate-major creeper.

3. Sativa influence: 80% Sativa influence (best described as a clear and energetic mental effect) detected from 0-10 none-extreme.

4. Indica influence: 20% indica influence (best described as a sedative, lethargic or numbing effect) detected from 0-10 none-extreme.

5. Potency: 9 Rate the potency of the sample from 0-10 none-devastating.

6. Duration of effect: − 2 hrs7. Tolerance build up: 3 Rate of how quickly tolerance builds from 0-10 none-rapid.

8. Usability: − from 1-9, a one indicates the worst time of day to consume this strain and a nine represents the ideal time of day.

Morning/wake up 1 Day/work 3 Evening/relax 6 Night/sleep 99. Overall satisfaction: 8 Rate your overall satisfaction from 1-10 poor-Holy Grail.

10. Ability and conditions: 3 Rate your overall ability to judge from 1-10 low-high.

11. Do you personally consider this strain a keeper for long term use? Yes12. Effect: What effect did the strain have write P if the you got a POSITIVE effect and N if you had a NEGATIVE effect

P Ability to rest or sit still P Anxiety relief− Appetite− Audio perceptionP Humor perception− Imagination/creativityP Pain relief

Extended Medical Survey:

FINAL COMMENTS: −Being a long−term insomniac, I am always on the lookout for different methods to consumethe beneficial elements, and this hash oil is by far the best extracted oil condiment Ihave tried. If sleep issues are a problem, then this may be your answer. It not only workswell for sleep problems, but for anxiety relief, and it will help with mild/moderate pain.Thank you, Mr Magoo, for introducing me to this great hash oil.

− Paranoia relief− Sex driveP Sleep− Speech process− Taste perception − Thought process− Visual perception

− ADD/ADHD − Allergic rhinitis − Amphetamine Dependence− Anorexia − Arthritis/Musculoskeletar pain − Asthma/Cough − Bipolar disorder − Cancer/Chemotherapy− Chronic fatigue − Crohn's/IBS

P Depression− Diarrhea − Epilepsy − Glaucoma− Hepatitis− High blood pressure/RacingpulseP Insomnia − Itching− Migraine/vascular headache − Muscle Spasm

− Muscular movement disorders − Nausea − Panic Attack − Peripheral nerve pain− Post traumatic Stress Disorder − Sedative/Opiate Dependence − Schizophrenia − Spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis


Physical Exam

Strain: Skywalker f2 l3Breeder: Artisan du bonheur

Grower: Skunk−mad

Judge: Skunk−mad & ball family

Date: November 30, 2010

1. Visual Appeal: 10/10 Visual appeal of the buds from 1-10 unappealing-excellent.

2. Visible Trichomes: 9/10 Visible trichome content from 1-10 none-totally covered.

3. Colors that are present in the trichome heads under magnification:

Clear − Cloudy 50% Amber 50% Dark −

4. Colors present in the buds and/or on a scale 1-9 light-dark:

Green 7, Blue 5, White 7, Rust 7, Purple 5

5. Bud density: 10 Bud density from 1-10 airy-dense.

6. Aroma descriptors: scale from 1-9 upon freshly broken bud where a one indicates a subtle presence and 9 indicates a pronounced presence.

Berry 6, Pepper 5, Blueberry 9, Fruit 7, Hash 7, Skunk 8

7. Aroma: 10 Aroma from 1-10 repulsive-delightful.

8. Seed content: 0 Seed content from 0-10 none-fully seeded.

9. Weeks cured: 8−12 If know the number of weeks your sample has been cured.

Comment −This is by far the one of the best−looking buds I’ve hadthe pleasure to both grow and smoke. The buds areextremely dense and the crystal content is amazing. Underthe scope the thrichomes were very long stemmed withvery big heads and harvested when 50 percent had a niceamber color to them.

Skywalker

Skywalker

Skywalker


Smoke Test1. Utensils: Top−Vapor Vaporizer, Headquarter papers2. Taste descriptors: Use numbers 1-9 that apply to the taste where 1 indicates a subtle presence and 9 indicates a very pronounced presenceBerry 6, Blueberry 7, Fruit 7, Hash 7, Skunk 8, Musk 6, Spice 43. Taste: 10 Impression of the taste from 1-10 unpleasant-delicious.

4. State of dryness: 5 1-10 wet-dry where 5 is ideal.

5. Smoke ability: 10 smoke ability of the sample from 1-10 harsh-smooth.

6. Smoke expansion: 9 smoke expantion in the lungs from 1-10 stable-explodes.Smoke Test Comments: − This bud was cured for two months before this smoke test. I can saythat this strain, once cured, has great medicinal properties. By far the densest bud I’ve hadthe pleasure to grow and smoke. The Skywalker produces some of the thickest smoke I’ve tried, and you can feel it explode inyour lungs like a bomb. It is a very smooth smoke both on the inhale and exhale. I’m veryimpressed with this strain. The effect is immediate and devastatingly strong; excellent forpain issues and insomnia. This strain has excellent medicinal properties, with a very pleas−ing aftertaste of ripe blueberries.

FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS1. Dosage: − 2 joints, 1 vaporizer bowl to reach desired effects.

2. Effect onset: 1 Rate of how quickly the effect hit from 1-10 immediate-major creeper.

3. Sativa influence: 3 Sativa influence (best described as a clear and energetic mental effect) detected from 0-10 none-extreme.

4. Indica influence: 7 indica influence (best described as a sedative, lethargic or numbing effect) detected from 0-10 none-extreme.

5. Potency: 10 Rate the potency of the sample from 0-10 none-devastating.

6. Duration of effect: − 2−3 hrs7. Tolerance build up: − 0 Rate of how quickly tolerance builds from 0-10 none-rapid.

8. Usability: − from 1-9, a one indicates the worst time of day to consume this strain and a nine represents the ideal time of day.

Morning/wake up 2 Day/work 3 Evening/relax 8 Night/sleep 109. Overall satisfaction: 9 Rate your overall satisfaction from 1-10 poor-Holy Grail.

10. Ability and conditions: 8 Rate your overall ability to judge from 1-10 low-high.

11. Do you personally consider this strain a keeper for long term use? no12. Effect: What effect did the strain have write P if the you got a POSITIVE effect and N if you had a NEGATIVE effect

P Ability to rest or sit still P Anxiety relief− Appetite− Audio perceptionP Humor perceptionP Imagination/creativity− Pain relief

Extended Medical Survey:

FINAL COMMENTS: − I have been a medical marijuana smoker for the last 15 years and thisis the first strain I’ve come across that has helped my panic attacks and insomnia. I wouldnot recommend this strain for during the day, as you won’t get any work done as it is very,very strong. This is a very high−grade medical strain that I recommend to anyone that comesacross it. Thank you, artisan, for creating a devastatingly strong strain. Your hard work hasdefinitely paid off.

− Paranoia reliefP Sex driveP Sleep− Speech process− Taste perception P Thought process− Visual perception

P ADD/ADHD − Allergic rhinitis − Amphetamine Dependence− Anorexia − Arthritis/Musculoskeletar pain − Asthma/Cough − Bipolar disorder − Cancer/ChemotherapyP Crohn's/IBS

P Depression− Diarrhea − Epilepsy − Glaucoma− Hepatitis− High blood pressure/RacingpulseP Insomnia N Itching− Migraine/vascular headache

− Muscle Spasm − Muscular movement disorders − Nausea P Panic Attack − Peripheral nerve painP Post traumatic Stress Disorder − Sedative/Opiate Dependence − Schizophrenia − Spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis

Sensi Star - Paradise Seeds

DNA/ RESERVA PRIVADAFEMINIZED PACKS OF 6

60 Day Wonder Autoflower$83.00C13 Haze $60.00Cannadential $75.00Chocolope $90.00Connie Chung $83.00Hashplant Haze $60.00Kushberry $75.00LA Confidential $90.00LA Woman $90.00Lemon Skunk $60.00ReCon $83.00Rocklock $60.00Sharksbreath ‘09 $60.00Sleestack $90.00Sour Cream $60.00Sweet Haze $60.00Cole Train $75.00Confidential Cheese $75.00Kandy Kush $90.00OG Kush $105.00R.K.S. $60.00Silver Bubble $60.00Sour Kush $105.00The OG #18 $105.00Tora Bora $90.00

FINEST MEDICINAL SEEDSFEMINIZED INDICA PACKS OF 5

Citrus Skunk $75.00Medifemss $75.00Medi Kush $75.00Peace Maker $75.00Skunk NL $75.00White Rhino $75.00White Widow $75.00

FEMINIZED SATIVA PACKS OF 5

Amnesia Haze $95.00G13 $95.00NL 5 Haze $95.00

CASH CROP KENREGULAR PACKS OF 10

Kenny's Mix Mostly Indica $30.00 Jas Bud Kish x Burmese $45.00 Kish x Juicy Fruit $45.00 OG Nukush $45.00 Posh Kish x Honey Pot Kush $45.00 Purple Nukush $45.00Nuken x Purple Kush $45.00 Rene x Nuken $45.00 Watermelon x Nuken $45.00 White Widow x Nuken$45.00 Bubba Kush X Nuken $45.00Mental Floss X Nuken $45.00Kish $75.00Nuken $75.00

DINAFEM SEEDSFEMINIZED PACKS OF 5

White Widow $75.00Shark Attack $50.00Moby Dick $83.00Blue Widow $60.00Blue Hash $66.00California Hash Plant $72.00Moby Hash $74.00Power Kush $53.00Critical+ $68.00Diesel $48.00Blue Fruit $53.00Industrial Plant $74.00Original Amnesia NEW $65.00Cheese $53.00White Siberian $50.00Moby Dick #2 $71.00Critical Jack $56.00Cloud #9 $45.00Sweet Deep Grapefruit $48.00

AUTOFLOWERING FEMINIZED PACKS of 5

Fruit $45.00Haze $60.00Critical+ $60.00Roadrunner $60.00Roadrunner#2 $54.00Critical Jack NEW $56.00

BARNEYS FARMREGULAR PACKS OF 10

Sweet Tooth $69.00Violator Kush $78.00Morning Glory $62.00Laughing Buddha $78.00

AUTOFLOWERING FEMINIZED PACKS of 5

Little Cheese $39.00Pineapple Express $41.00

FEMINIZED PACKS of 5

Tangerine Dream $59.00Pineapple Chunk $51.00Vanilla Kush $54.00Acapulco Gold $51.00Dr. Grinspoon $59.00Phatt Fruity $42.00Red Diesel $59.00Sweet Tooth $57.00Violator Kush $57.00L.S.D. $56.00Red Dragon $56.00Amnesia Lemon $56.00Utopia $63.00Morning Glory $57.00Laughing Buddha $57.00Night Shade $56.00G13 Haze $59.00Honey B $48.00Crimea Blue $41.00Red Cherry Berry $42.00Blue Cheese $51.00Top Dawg $44.008 Ball Kush $44.00

BC BUD DEPOTREGULAR PACKS OF 12

BC God Bud $105The Purps $105BC Mango $90BC Blueberry $90BC Sweet Tooth $90BC Sweet God $90The Black $90Texada Timewarp $90BC Pine Warp $90Purple Buddha $75Burmese $75Jack Herer Feminized $150

BUDDHA SEEDSFEMINIZED PACKS OF 5

White Dwarf $60.00Red Dwarf $45.00Deimos $60.00Syrup $55.00Quasar $70.00Pulsar $70.00


Peacemaker- FMS Seeds

Industrial Plant - Dinafem Seeds

LA Confidential - DNA seedbank

GREEN HOUSE SEED CO.FEMINIZED PACKS OF 5

Big Bang $30.00The Church $35.00A.M.S $35.00Kalashnikova $35.00Super Bud $35.00Excodus Cheese $35.00Lady Burn 1974 $38.00Arjan's Haze #3 $38.00Lemon Skunk $38.00Greenhouse Thai $38.00Diamond Girl $38.00Cheese $42.00Pure Kush $42.00Himalaya Gold $48.00Moby Dick $48.00Trainwreck $48.00NL5 $48.00Alaskan Ice $48.00King's Kush $48.00Chemdog $48.00Jack Herer $48.00Super Critical $48.00K-Train $52.00Bubba Kush $52.00Kaia Kush $52.00Damns Sour $52.00White Widow $55.00White Rhino $55.00Great White Shark $55.00El Nino $55.00Super Silver Haze $62.00Nevill's Haze $62.00Hawaiian Snow $62.00Arjan's Haze #1 $62.00Arjan's Haze #2 $62.00Arjan's Ultra Haze #1 $62.00Arjan's Ultra Haze #2 $62.00Arjan's Strawberry Haze$62.00Super Lemon Haze $68.00autoflowering strains

Big Bang Autoflowering$48.00Green-o-Matic $48.00Super Critical Auto $60.00mix packs

Sat/Ind mix A $48.00Sat/Ind mix B $48.00Sat/Ind mix C $48.00Sat/Ind mix D $48.00Indica mix E $48.00Indica mix F $48.00Indica mix G $48.00Indica mix H $48.00Indica mix I $48.00Black & White $48.00Rasta K $48.00Sativa Mix $52.00

Wholesale enquiries welcome [email protected] or call: (403) 265 6674

Catering to the needs of licensed growers across Canada.

KANNABIAFEMINIZED PACKS OF 5

Afrodite $44.00Big band $44.00Citrus $44.00Kannabia special $44.00 La blanca $44.00La reina de africa $44.00Mataro blue $44.00Original berry $44.00Power skunk $44.00Smile $44.00Thai fantasy $44.00White domina $44.00Queso $44.00 Afrodite auto $44.00Big band auto $44.00Bcn diesel auto $44.00Kannabia special auto $44.00La blanca auto $44.00Mataro blue auto $44.00Power skunk auto $44.00Smile auto $44.00Thai fantasy auto $44.00White domina auto $44.00Flash auto $44.00Gnomo auto $44.00

MR NICEREGULAR PACKS OF 15

Afghan Haze $102.00ASH Afghan Skunk x Afghan Haze $86.00Black Widow $102.00Critical Haze $120.00Critical Mass $102.00Critical Skunk $86.00Devil $86.00Dreamtime $53.00Early Queen $68.00Early Queen x Afghan Haze$102.00Early Skunk Haze $120.00Early Skunk $86.00G13 x Haze $120.00G13 x Skunk $86.00G13 x Widow $102.00La Nina $120.00Angel Heart $102.00MangoHazex Afghan Skunk

Mango Haze $173.00Angel`s Breathe $120.00Mango Haze x Afghan Haze

Mango x Widow $102.00M.Kush x Afghan Haze$102.00M.Kush x Skunk $86.00Medicine Man $120.00Neville’s Haze $173.00Neville’s Haze x Mango $102.00Neville`s Skunk) $102.00Neville's Haze x Afghan Skunk

NL5 x Haze $120.00NL5 xAfghan $86.00NL5x Skunk $86.00N.H.S NLx Haze/ Skunk $102.00Ortega $102.00Shark Shock $86.00Shit $53.00Skunk Haze $120.00Spice $86.00Super silver Haze $173.00Walkabout $35.00pink Flyod $102.00U2 $102.00The Stones $102.00The Cure $102.00The Doors $102.00

NEXT GENERATIONREGULAR PACKS OF 10

Diablo $80.00Grape Fruit Haze $80.00 Medicine $80.00Romulan Diesel $80.00 Romulan Haze $80.00 Avalon $80.00 Blue Dynamite $80.00 Bonkers $80.00 Dynamite $80.00 Grape Fruit Kush $80.00 Island Sweet Skunk $80.00 Romulan $80.00Romulan Max $80.00 Romulan x Hash Plant$80.00 Romulan x Time Warp$80.00 Time Warp $80.00FEMINIZED PACKS OF 10

Grapefruit Diesel $140.00

NIRVANARegular Packs Contain 10 Seeds Feminized Packs Contain 5 Seeds

Aurora Indica R$30/ F$38Bubblelicious R$30/ F$38Chrystal R$30/ F$38ICE R$30/ F$38Indoor Mix R$30/ F$38Medusa R$30/ F$38Papaya R$30/ F$38Snow White R$30/ F$38White Castle R$30/ F$38White Rhino R$30/ F$38White Widow R$30/ F$38

PARADISEFEMINIZED PACKS OF 5

Dutch Dragon $60.00Sensi Star $90.00Nebula $75.00Magic Bud $45.00Opium $75.00Sweet Purpleoetnik#1$60.00Wappa $45.00Ice Cream $75.00Jacky White $75.00White Berry $75.00Delahaze $75.00Automaria $60.00Acid $75.00Pandora $60.00Lucid Bolt $75.00Vertigo $60.00Alikush $75.00Atomical Haze $90.00Automaria II $60.00COLLECTION PACKS OF 6

Sativa Pack $87.00Indica Pack $87.00

Treating Yourself, Issue 29 - 2011 • 83Photo of seeds: www.stallonedavide.com

Super Lemon Haze - Greenhouse Seeds

Super Silver Haze - Mr. NiceAvalon - Next Generation


THSEEDSREGULAR PACKS OF 10

S.A.G.E $105.00Chocolate Chunk $82.00Mendocino Madness $60.00Heavy Duty Fruity $105.00Bubblegum $135.00Skunk XXX $30.00The Hog $150.00MK-Ultra $140.00Sage 'n Sour $120.00Kushage $105.00Burmese Kush $110.00Da Purps $90.00A-Train $105.00Wreckage $90.00Lambo $120.00Darkstar $125.00Skunkage $45.00Cold Creed Kush $120.00**Mkage $120.00

FEMINIZED PACKS OF 5

S.A.G.E $60.00BuKu $60.00MK Ultra $75.00A-Train $60.00Kushage $60.00Sage'n Sour $67.00**Mkage $65.00

TGAREGULAR PACKS OF 10

Agent Orange $105.00Apollo-13 BX $105.00Cheese Quake $105.00Chernobyl $105.00Dairy Queen $105.00Deep Purple $105.00Jack The Ripper $105.00Jack Cleaner 2 $105.00Jilly Bean $105.00Pandora`s Box $105.00Qleaner $105.00Qrazy Train $105.00Querkle $105.00Space Bomb $105.00Space Jill $105.00The 3rd Dimension $105.00The Void $105.00Vortex $105.00The Flav $105.00

THE CALI CONNECTIONREGULAR PACKS OF 10

Tahoe OG $110.00Larry OG $110.00Deadhead OG $110.00Sour OG $110.00Chem3 OG $110.00Chem 4 OG $110.00Chem Valley Kush $110.00Ogiesel $110.00Corleone Kush $110.00Julius Cesar $110.00Blackwater $110.00Jamaican Me Crazy $110.00Jamaican OG $110.00Jamaican D $110.00Chem 4 $110.00Hazey OG $110.00Purple Diesel $110.00Regulator Kush $110.00

RESIN SEEDSFEMINIZED PACKS OF 5

Cannatonic $85.00Sour P $85.00Critical Haze $60.00

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDSFEMINIZED PACKS OF 5

Ice $52.00White Widow $45.00Fruit Spirit $52.00Power Flower $52.00Shining SIlver Haze $52.00Amnesia Haze $60.00Blue Mistic $45.00Northern Light $52.00Skunk #1 $45.00Critical $52.00Indoor Mix $45.00Outdoor Mix $45.00Special Kush #1 $20.00Special Queen #1 $21.00Royal Cheese $52.00Royal Moby $79.00

AUTOFLOWERING FEMINIZED PACKS OF 5

Royal Dwarf $38.00Easy Bud $41.00Quick One $45.00Royal Automatic $49.00

SERIOUS SEEDSREGULAR PACKS OF 11

AK47 $120.00Bubble Gum $105.00Chronic $105.00Kali Mist $120.00White Russian $105.00

FEMINIZED PACKS OF 5

AK47 $120.00Chronic $105.00White Russian $105.00

SOMAREGULAR PACKS OF 10

Amnesia Haze Regular $195.00 Buddha’s Sister $120.00Sogouda $150.00Lavender $120.00Kushadelic $150.00NYC Diesel $195.00 Somantra $150.00FEMINIZED PACKS OF 10

Hash Heaven $195.00 NYC Diesel $210.00Lavender $150.00

Cannatonic- Resin Seeds

Lavender - Soma Seeds

Chronic - Serious Seeds

MK Ultrawreck - THSeeds

Querkle - TGA

Wholesale enquiries [email protected] or call: (403) 265 6674

AlbertaHemp Roots2827 14 Street S.W.Calgary, AlbertaT2T 3V3T: (403) 313−7939

Two Guys With PipesWest Edmonton Mall#1400, 8882 − 170 StreetEdmonton, AlbertaT5T 4M2T: (780) 716−6420

B.C.The Lemonade Stand268 Tranquille RoadKamloops, B.C.V2B 3G3T: 1−877−420 −1116

Vancouver Seed Bank872 East Hastings St,Vancouver B.C.V6A 4A4T: (778) 329−1930

West Coast Hemp3473 − 3rd AvenuePort Albernie, BC V9Y 4E4Tel: (250) 287−5086

QuebecDuc of Amsterdam2080 B St−DenisMontreal, QuebecH2X 3K7T: (514)842−9562

High Times1044 Blvd. Deslaurntides Laval, QuebecH7G 2W1T: (450)975−2666

1387 St−Catherine WestMontreal, QuebecH3G 1R1T: (514)849−4446

Psychonaut154 Prince Arthur E.Montreal, QuebecH2X 1B7T: (514) 844−8998

SaskatchewanVintage Vinyl2335 11th AvenueRegina , SaskatchewanS4P 0 K2T: 306 347 3111

Head to Head Novelties2923 Dewdney AvenueRegina , SaskatchewanS4T 0Y1T:(306)525−6937Toll Free: 1−877−H2H−4646 /(424−4646)

Ontario420 Kingston728 Princess St.Kingston, ONK7L 1G2(613) 766−8184

Chiba Hut9699 Jane St. Unit 18Vaughan, Ontario L6A 0A4Tel: (416) 272−1314

Crosstown Traffic593 C Bank StOttawa, OntarioK1S 3T4T: (613) 234−1210

396 Athlone Ave.Ottawa, OntarioK1Z 5M5T: (613) 728−4800

GTA Seed Bank4675 Steeles Avenue East, Unit 2A21Scarborough, OntarioM1V 0B7T: (416) 609−9559

Happy Girl Hydroponics219 Augusta AveToronto, OntarioM5T 2L4T: (416) 833−8325

Hemp Country 475 Dundas StreetWoodstock , OntarioN4S 1C2 T: 519 913 1153

Kushh3768 Bathurst Street, Suite 202North York, OntarioM3H 3M7(416) 633 KUSH (5874)www.kushh.ca

Niagara Seed Bank6065 Main StreetNiagara FallsOntarioL2G 6A1T: 289 214 3240

Planetary Pride372 Queen Street EastSault Ste. Marie , OntarioP6A 1Z1T: 888 215 8970

Sacred Seed2A Dundonald StreetToronto, Ontario M4Y1K2T: (416) 928−6811

Smoke Signals1751A Bath Road, Kingston, ON, K7M4Y1 T: (613) 384−3232

346A Princess Street, Kingston, ON, K7L1B6T: (613) 549−3669

155 Montreal Road, Cornwall, ON, K6H1B2 T: (613) 932−8469

600 Rideau Street,Ottawa, ON, K1N6A2 T: (613) 241−6491

990 Wellington Street West, Ottawa, ON, K1Y2X8 T: (613) 722−4361

The Altered Native172 BroadwayUnit 1Orangeville, OntarioT: (519) 942−2828

134 Guelph StreetUnit 1Georgetown, OntarioT: (905) 877−7884

The Different Strokes Company95 King Street NorthUptown Waterloo, OntarioT: (519) 746−1500

Where Heads Meet .ca162 Ottawa ST NHamilton, OntarioL8H 3Z3T:(905)548 6338

Medical Marijuana Seed Wholesaler Distributors


ately the most notable question Iam asked on my website is frommedicinal growers and patients.The questions range from how togrow a plant so it is acceptablefor sick people to use, and how tocontrol the flowering of cannabisso the product is without harmful

substances? These are the sorts of questions comingfrom people who 5 years ago did not consider usingCannabis to relieve their medical conditions. So I feelit is the time to outline some general guidelines tohelp those who are curious to minimize contamina-tions on their plants and the subsequent products.

Realizing everything you do can influence the out-come of a product should be motivational to thosewho wish to control as many things in their lives asthey physically can. From eating foods that havebeen grown with good quality products and naturalsun, to recycling the waste by-products of your culti-vations.

Hippocrates advised, "Let your food be your medi-cine, and your medicine be your food," humans havegrown medicinal plants alongside, or overlappingwith, food crops for hundreds of years with excellentresults.

Dr Xiaorui Zhang (Coordinator TraditionalMedicine (TRM), Departmentof Essential Drugs andMedicines Policy(EDM), World HealthOrganization) said,

Traditional medicines, particu-larly herbal medicines, havebeen increasingly used Worldwideduring the last two decades.Unfortunately, the number of reportsof patients experiencing negativehealth consequences caused bythe use of herbal medicines hasalso been increasing. Analysis andstudies have revealed a variety of rea-sons for such problems. One of themajor causes of reported adverseevents is directly linked to the poorquality of herbal medicines, includ-ing raw medicinal plant materials. Ithas therefore been recognized thatinsufficient attention has been paidto the quality assurance and controlof herbal medicines.

L

By Shantibaba


Site selection for cultivation; water source, soiltype, climate, average rainfall, prevailing winds anddirections, slope or gradient of the land, closeness toindustry…are all things to consider if growing out-side not indoors.

Climate; length of day, seasonal rainfall, fieldtemperature day and night, sunlight intensityand hours, shading.

Soil; best to take several samples and get it tested to knowwhat is missing or in excess. But nutrients, organic matter,sandy or clay or limestone type of ground, drainage limits incase of excessive water or drought, moisture retention, fer-tility, ph and EC, use of fertilizers the type and how often itis necessary…are important attributes to get correct beforeplanting. Sterilized potting mix in bags is the only way toprotect against unwanted weeds and pests for indoor andto start clean.

How do you grow a

Medicinal grade plantat home?

theg

razi

ngm

ind.

com

astro

-tom

.com

1

2

3

cann

abis

-pic

ture

s.co

m

If you want to regulate yourself based on WHO (World Health Organization) suggestions forgrowing Medicinal herbs then follow these points and treat each stage equally as important.

astr

o-to

m.c

om

4


CULTIVATION

Irrigation/Drainage; where is the water sourceand is it affected by any other people or indus-try before it gets to the site? A lab test on thewater is essential to adapt water base nutrientfertilizers to the needs of the plants in cultiva-tion. Quickness to drain large rains, and howeffected by leeching is the ground…so you canprepare for slow release fertilizers or liquid feed-ing regimes.

Harvest; should be done at theoptimal time ,time of harvestdepends upon the plant part inquestion for harvest, time of har-vest should be determined byquality and quantity of the biolog-ically active constituents ratherthan vegetative yield, harvestafter the morning dew or rains toreduce the risk of microbial fer-mentation and moulds, avoid har-vesting any material decomposingto reduce mould risks and keep-ing air moving as the dryingprocess goes on will reduce airborn moulds risks and keep theproduct clean and fresh.

5

6

Foto: D.Graf-gypsystudio.com

mar

ijuan

amar

ijuan

a.ne

t

kind

gree

nbud

s.co

m

Plant Maintenance and Protection; prun-ing, cleaning lower branches, tipping, budnipping, shading to maximize the best prod-uct and highest quality of the substance,whether pesticides or herbicides are to beused then it should be documented and theproducts used are done sparingly to do theirjob, follow guidelines of maximum doses andhow to use the product, general plant healthmaintenance and preventative pest and herbcontrol as organically as possible.

fire

how

.com


How to Grow a Medicinal Grade Plant at home

Storage; air sealed and storedinside a refrigerator to maintain thefreshness and weight, moisturecontent is the most important fac-tor to gauge in drying and storing,preferably keeping the final productin a humidor situation is the mostcorrect and clean store for potentialmedicine.

7

Miscellaneous

Hand washingcleanliness is godlinessfor young plants, cloningand health of mothers andfathers.

Disinfect facilitiesweekly regime of cleaning allwell used areas or surfaces withH2O2 (peroxide) is a great pre-ventative action to hygiene andplant health.

Lightingsupplemental lamps for allyear growing climate meanscleaning lamps with alcoholafter each crop to reduceany unwanted influences.

ehow

.com

foru

m.g

rass

city

.com

Storage of all newproducts-is a must.Things should bekept dry and cleanaway from all influ-ences or water orchemical residues,dry and cool underkey and lock is safestand surest.

amst

erda

mm

ariju

anas

eeds

.net

wee

dgur

u.co

m

topn

ews.

ae


CULTIVATION

Ventilationcleaning the ventila-tors and filters andblades are a necessityevery few weeks tostop unwanted parti-cles from circulatingin the air.

Correct labelingnoting the exactdates of germinationand change of lightor treatments, so nochance of mess upwith staff.

Documentation ofall facets dates andchemicals used- allchemical treatmentsshould be written in abook for all to see aswell as all details ofthe grow…kind of adiary filled out withfactual info by thosewho do the jobs anddated so all facets ofthe grow can be pre-

cisely calculated and scrutinized. Like a car has a serv-ice book it is imperative this exists for each crop frombeginning to end, so the years after similar difficultiesor increases in yields etc…can be understood by any-one reading at the history of cultivations. This is prob-ably the most important document in the end of acrop for the purchaser of the medicine and its applica-tions.

Good Agricultural Practices is a general rule for anyproduct used in human consumption. Most contamina-tion comes on to the products in handling if not packedhermetically or stored in cool dry places in sealed con-tainers. Taking a cue from the way pharmacies keeptheir products cool and dry and stored out of sunlight inwell ventilated rooms is obviously the model to stan-dardize for the end user/patient.

Until a set of guidelines is drawn up and agreed upon bythe various departments in charge of these importantthings, it may be best to follow good sense. As a gener-al rule, if you would use the product after growing itthen it should be good enough for others. If there is anydoubt or you know of some possible contaminationthen it is better to directly test for this or make the buyeraware of this, as knowing is already better than notknowing!

We will inevitable mess up from time to time, that is thehistory of manmade events, but doing our best andbeing open and honest about all the processes and histo-ry of the plants will already be far more therapeutic thanwalking blind or leaving it up to companies with eyesonly for profit and efficiency. To avoid messing up andto make a standard product that can be on a market asa consistent reliable product, one needs to make a selec-tion of a plant and clone it. Cloning a selected mother issimple, but selection is where the real work lays.

If you want to make something special and good foryourself and others then take every step of the way thor-oughly and with knowledge of all that can cause dra-mas, since in the end Natural grown medicines are at themercy of many elements in Nature. Only by using green-house structures or tunnels can we attempt to controlsome elements of Climate, which in turn allow a plantto grow to its potential.

Personal cleanliness and cleanliness of the areas of workreduce all nasty contaminants and pests entering in thefirst place. There are no real secret to making a goodproduct except to be vigilant at all times of the crop andtry to be as consistent in all facets that constitute grow-ing and processing the medicinal plant.

stor

e.kn

filt

ers.

com

astr

o.ca

ltec

h.ed

u


I Love cannabis and I love cats, and cats love cannabis too.

In the animal kingdom there are many animals, which like to eat cannabis, Deer, rabbits, goats,horses, cows, and bats just to name a few. Cats however are the domesticated animals of choicefor relishing this Sacred plant. As a breeder of cannabis I am always working with new strainsof this delicious plant. From time to time I have new clones of varieties I am doing experimentswith, and I cannot leave them unprotected for a moment without one of my cats trying tochomp on some.

On my outdoor roof garden I have 3 plants. My cats think that they are theirs. They are cat-nip lovers so eating plants is a common occurrence for them. Now that it’s spring and thereare 3 outside plants they are thrilled they can get some nibbles. This year I will let my cats shapemy plants, and the plants will end up being for them and me in a symbiotic relationship. Lateron in the summer when the plants are bigger I will remember to thank my cats for the haircutthey got. I have been breeding cannabis for 31 years. I started breeding Siberian Forest cats in2006. It only figures that my cats would end up being cannabis connoisseurs, finding my weedto be so delicious. I started with a female named Sativa and a male named Indica. They hadmany cats, Ganja Girl and Peridot are but 2 of them. They all eat marijuana leaves.

The first thing that I noticed from my cat super cropping technique is that the cats eating thetop shoots made the lower shoots grow faster to make up for the loss. The main stalk got muchthicker as the cat’s actions challenged the plant growing upwards.

The way they go after it with such enthusiasm tells me that besides how good I know that itis, other creatures feel the same way, and they don’t even smoke it.

Growing seeds taught me how to be a nurturing being, and I just applied that to my cats alongwith everything else around me.

The 3 plants on my roof are Soma-licious and it’s as if the cats know the name and think it’sdelicious.

Soma-licious is my upcoming strain and is starting to make its way into some great coffeeshops in Amsterdam. Being a cross of Lavender and L.A. Confidential it is a great mainlyIndica strain. In the last part of flowering this plant turns a deep purple, with violet calyxes. Ithas a great hashy-earthy aroma and taste and has a very deeply felt high. On the seed packageits written, so delicious it tastes nutritious. I know my cats think so.

CULTIVATION

Cats and CannabisBy Somawww.somaseeds.nl

Clockwise from topGanja Girl eating some fresh shootsThe bottom branches get forced to grow outChewed leavesPeridot after a few leavesAll starts with a seed


CULTIVATION

Terpene BluesBy Subcooltgagenetics.com

have spent a good majority of my cannabis breed-ing life chasing the smells and flavors of the fin-ished flowers. I only started understanding ter-penes’ true role and their connection with thetype of high over the last five years. Ed Rosenthaland I disagree on many things, but the one thingwe do agree on is the link to terpenes and ourunderstanding of the plant.

As a breeder, I manipulate the aroma and cannabis by selec-tive breeding. I believe that specific terpenes modulate thephysiological and psychoactive effects of cannabis. This iswhy even though two strains that are tested using moderngas chromagraphy test extremely close on paper, they mayhave a completely different effect from each other.

Terpenes most likely play a role in the plant kingdom indeterring pests and possible environmental stress. Terpenesare made by many types of plants and are often the buildingblocks of the essential oils. Other terpenes, such aslimonene, seem to induce relaxation. This maybe why Jackthe Ripper seems to reduce nerve pain. It is known to havean almost analgesic effect. Because of this diversity, I feelthat it’s imperative we fight for the right to use raw cannabisand not synthetics like Marinol, which seems to have amuch lesser degree of therapeutic effect. There are morethan 120 kinds of terpenes in cannabis, and one day I hopeto be able to measure these and open up endless opportuni-ties for developing new flavors and effects.

Now that I have dazzled you with some science, let mebreak this down in plain talk. I love fruity-smellingcannabis, so my simple goal when I started selective breed-ing was to collect and create every fruit flavor that I enjoyed.Lemon, orange, grape, cherry, berry, melon, and even hope-fully one day banana, my goal was to be able to make fruitloop hashish. That was many years ago, but over twodecades I was actually able to do just that.

It wasn’t till recently, after talking with Ed, that I startednoticing the profound difference in effect in each of the ter-pene profiles. We noticed that the lemon-smelling strainslike Jack Herer and Jack’s Cleaner had a really strong capac-ity to lessen nerve pain. The orange strains seemed toimprove the mood of a patient, and most seasoned growersare familiar with the almost euphoric buzz of CaliforniaOrange. The grape strains always seem to have a higherratio of CBDs and help with sleep and pain relief, especiallywhen used in medibles and tinctures. The most interestingaspect to me as a breeder is when we use plants that displaythese terpene profiles in breeding, the hybrids that are dom-inant in the parents’ smell also carry the same type of highor effect. We can even combine the effects of two differentstrains, creating not only a different terpene profile but acompletely new type of effect.

When I met MzJill, she had a cutting called Melvin that werenamed together as Orange Velvet. I am sure it's a close rel-ative of the Cali Orange, based on growth patterns, taste,and high type. The high is really upbeat and works well as


Terpene Blues

I


CULTIVATION

an antidepressant, but it lacks real lasting potency. TheSpace Queen that we found in the old BCGA seeds fromVic High gave us a super-potent cherry-tasting strain witha high resin production. I was using it to create Jack theRipper, and MzJill suggested we combine the orange andcherry at the same time to create Jillybean. While takingon her mother’s mood, elevating high type combined withthe Space Queen, the antidepressant cannabis now camewith blistering potency and a long-lasting effect. Theorange-candy-mango tasting hash is no joke either, butthat’s another article. :)

There are certainly terpene profiles that do not carry afruity flavor. Bubba Kush has a very distinct smell andtaste that I associate with Kush hybrids, one that I don'tparticularly enjoy the flavor of. However, I know thatwhen I smell those specific terpenes in a strain, it will havea heavy sedation effect. Extracts like hash or BHO extractmade from these strains are almost opiate-like in the abil-ity to provide pain relief and help with insomnia. Trackingthese terpene profiles can tell a grower or breeder a greatdeal about the way a strain or hybrid will interact withmedical marijuana users.

Some of the most interesting data came from one of ournew creations, Cheese Quake, an Exodus Cheese andPurple Urkle hybrid. We fell in love with this strain assoon as it was cured. The flavor is of a cheese Danish cov-ered with grapes; the smoke is very smooth, and a sea-soned smoker will enjoy several bowls just based on fla-vor alone. The high is upbeat and happy, with some addedpain relief and also a calming effect from the Urkle. I'drate the high profile as high as a 9. When we had many ofthe TGA strains tested at Steep Hill Lab in Oakland,California, many of the hybrids tested in the 18% range,with one strain, Chernobyl , coming in at a staggering22% THC. Cheese Quake tested at a very low numbercompared to our other strains, coming in at 9.5% THC.I knew at that point that this new procedure of testingmedicinal cannabis would only tell us so much. It can onlyindicate raw potency and not the terpene profile. I need toadd that we also test for CBN and CBD, but again, thenumbers can be really close between two strains and havea completely different effect.

I would also like to talk about hops just a moment, as it’sin the same botanical family, Cannabaceae, which alsoproduces terpenes. These resins are used for manipulatingthe flavor of beer, so for you home brewers out there, thenext time you make a batch of your favorite ale, consideradding a few nice Skunk or Jillybean buds to the mix.

I will continue to explore terpene profiles in cannabis, andI hope other growers and breeders will use this knowledgeand do their own research so that we can continue tolearn about the secrets locked inside this wonderful plantcannabis.

You can read my detailed notes on over 40 strains inmy new book Dank 2.0, released on 3/17/11

Certain smells in cannabis can be agreat indicator to the type of high.

Air Pruning with

Superoot Air-Pots


Air PruningAir pruning is a much misused term and refers basically toany method of propagating a plant where you kill the roottips using dry air. Now why would you want to kill yourroot tips, I hear you say? Because when the roots go out ofthe holes in the Air-Pots, they are dried off and killed, or“air-pruned,” which releases their dominance. This releaseof dominance creates more secondary roots, and we allknow that a healthy root zone produces healthy, productiveplants.

Air-PotsAir-Pots get the best out of all plants because they develop aremarkable root system, and vigorous roots support healthyand prolific plants.Like many clever tools, the concept behind Air-Pots is actu-ally very simple: the Air-Pot “air-prunes” roots, and thisconstant pruning prevents any root circling and promotesthe growth of more and more feeder roots. It is these fine,fibrous roots that use all the available water and food veryefficiently to help develop great top growth and excellentfruit/bud. But good roots can only develop in healthysoil/compost — soil that is alive. Air-Pots also allow moreair and better drainage than in any other container, anothervital element that makes Air-Pot-grown plants much health-ier and happier.

The Superoots Air-Pot is a recyclable, reusable plastic con-tainer that actively enhances the quality of the root systemsof plants. This revolutionary approach to containerizing treestock produces fabulous, non-spiraling root systems that areimpossible to develop in any other available container.

Made of recycled HDPE, the Superoots Air-Pot is circular inshape, with a perforated sidewall, which is textured like anegg carton. There are no flat surfaces to deflect roots and

start the spiraling process.

The inward-pointing cones direct the root toward the holesin the outward-pointing cones, where the air density in thesoil is too great and therefore the apical cells at the very tipof the root dehydrate, or are air-pruned.

The response of the plant to this air pruning is to send outmore roots to compensate for the loss, which leads to thebuild-up of a dense and fibrous radial root system in a dra-matically short time.

Superoots Air-Pots can be made to any diameter in a varietyof heights and can be used as pots complete with base orwithout a base.

How Do Air-Pots Work?Superoots Air-Pots have unusual cuspated walls made up ofclosed, inward-pointing cones and open-ended, outward-pointing cones. There are no flat surfaces on the inside of thecontainer to deflect roots and start the spiraling process.

The inward-pointing cones direct the roots farther outwardto the open-ended cones where, because the air density inthe soil is too great, the roots dehydrate and are effectivelypruned.The plant responds to this air pruning by sending out moreroots to compensate for the loss, which leads to a dense rootsystem with a vast number of active, white-tipped roots.

The porosity of the Air-Pot also creates better conditions forbacterial activity and thus increases the amount of nutrientsavailable to the plant. With so much root right back to thestem, the root system is very efficient in its use of all theavailable water and nutrients. Plant vigor and health aretherefore guaranteed.

CULTIVATION

The real benefits of using Superoots Air-Pots are that they:1. Eliminate root circling.2. Reduce growing time in the nursery.3. Simplify production.4. Double — at least — the shelf life of stock.5. Reduce losses dramatically.6. Ensure superior performance in extremes of weather.7. Are made of recycled HDPE.


Benefits of Using Air-PotsEliminate root circling.The three-dimensional cone shape of the Air-Pot

wall and continuous air pruning eliminateroot circling.Reduce growing time in the nursery.

The rapid build-up of new white roots fillsthe root ball, resulting in plants being availablefor harvest much more quickly.

Double – at least – the shelf life of stock.This is proving a crucial benefit not only to nurs-eries, but also to garden centers, where stocksometimes is held for a full extra season, and alsoto landscape customers whose planting scheduleis often delayed. As long as the water and nutri-ent requirement are taken into account, the rootstructure in the Air-Pot just keeps getting better.

Ensure superior performance in extremesof weather.With continuous air pruning, new root is alwaysbeing generated, particularly from the base ofthe stem. Not only is the system therefore moreefficient in its use of all the available water andnutrients, it is significantly less vulnerable toextremes of cold and heat, which so badly affectthe mass of root at the outer edge of a tradition-al container.

Reduce losses dramatically.Immediate re-establishment after transplantmeans that losses are greatly reduced and makesthe guarantee of nursery stock a realistic possibil-ity and a positive selling point.

Simplify production.Small stock can be planted direct into 30/50/80liter containers, making several pottings unnec-essary. In the US, stock is grown for four years inthe same container. In Australia, production timefor some species is reduced by nearly half. In theUK, current trials also indicate a significantreduction.

Using the Air-PotsSuperoots Air-Pots can come as pots complete with base, orbe used without a base. When used without a base, root-pruning fabric should be used, ideally, but alternatives areconcrete, plastic, or a chemically treated ground cover fab-ric.

The Air-Pot containers must be assembled so that the coneswith holes are pointing outward. Thus, the closed inward-pointing cones direct the roots out to the open-ended cones,where they are pruned by the air at the outer edge.

The containers can be made to any diameter in a variety ofheights, which makes it easy for the grower to produce arootball of varied dimensions to suit the tree or the client.

With the great majority of roots growing laterally andbeing pruned, rooting down is never a problem. The rootsystems of plants grown in the Superoots Air-Pot normallylock up the potting mix in about two months to allow thelifting of the plant without the loss of the mix out of thebottom.

Air-Pots come in various sizes, ranging from 1 liter (0.27gallon) to 1,800 liters (479 gallons). The Air-Pots come flatpacked for easy storage, are very simple to assemble, andmake repotting so much easier.

Air Pruning with Superoot Air-pots

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

he story of Kannabia starts in the late 90s. Inthe beginning, Kannabia had a very completecatalog of diferent regular strains from a lot ofdifferent places in the world. It was one of thefirst seed banks in Spain that includes femi-

nized varieties. The bank was really well known in Spain,but it didn't have any success in other countries.

But in the year 2008, Kannabia started a new project, withnew owners and breeders taking away all the regular seedsfrom our catalog and working only with feminized seeds.We have remixed the old Kannabia genetics to make themeasier to grow indoors. We are doing hundreds of testseveryday to be innovating continuously, to keep the qualitylevel of the seeds as high as we can, and to make our vari-eties even better. We have made a very complete and indica-predominant catalog. Our plants are fast, very productive,and contain very high THC levels. We have a team withmany professional growers with many years of experiencetaking care of the project and working for the correct devel-opment of our genetics. We have an exhaustive breedingprogram, which includes more than 40 stabilized genetics,and we are studying new crosses and selecting new geneticsto make new strains. Today, Kannabia is better known out-side Spain. Varieties like Mataró Blue, BCN Diesel,Kannabia Special, or White Domina are really well knownby growers all over the world.

At Kannabia Seeds Company, we are quite clear that ourefforts are oriented toward growers. Taking their concernsand suggestions into account, we have decided to launchseveral new proposals to continue to make the growing andoptimal development of our varieties even easier.

With this aim, we have 16 standard feminized varieties and12 auto-flowering feminized varieties. We have also extend-ed our range of mix packs from three to eight new ways foryou to enjoy several of our genetic developments at the sametime. Our seeds are the result of an intensive selection ofvarieties involving countless hours of work in order to sta-bilize the genetics and try to adapt them to growers’ needs.On our Web site www.kannabia.es you will find the bestway to optimize the growing of our varieties.

Kannabia keeps growing — and so does out catalog. We arepleased to present a new variety for 2011: Queso (Cheese xMazar). This completes a selection of varieties recommend-ed for growing indoors and outdoors.

We really want to invite you to enjoy our passion for plants.We firmly believe that plants can change the world and peo-ple´s lives in a better way. We want everyone to plant, evenfor one time. Just to try.

Introducing Spanish Seed Company

T


BCN DIESELThis is our cross between an NY Diesel XXX from the United States that waspassed on to us by a good grower from Barcelona (hence its name, in homage tothe strain’s city of birth) and a very indica-rich Afghan plant from Dutch growers.The resulting cross flowers early and is quite a lot more productive than the orig-inal Diesel. To keep the cross stable, we crossed the variety again with our BlackDomina. After a long selection process of the resulting varieties, we opted for theone with the most noticeable Diesel characteristics that met our parameters foryield and speed of growth. The resulting hybrid combines all the vigorous growthand yield of an indica with the structure, smell, and flavor of the original Diesel.

When growing your first BCN crop,you should bear in mind that it canreach a considerable size in next to notime, and growing, you should alsoremember that the vigor of the hybridmeans that the plant will grow quitea few centimeters more once it hasstarted flowering. We recommendabout 15 to 20 days’ growth (fromseed) before switching to flowering.*

*All growing times should be adapt-ed to the size of the plant pot and theavailable growing area.When flowering, the plant demandslarge amounts of fertilizer, althoughthe lemon-green color of the leavesmay mislead you into thinking that itneeds more. This is not usually thecase. Try to keep the EC levels duringflowering between 1.8 and 2.2 so asnot to overfertilize the plant and sat-urate the roots.

From the beginning, the plant givesoff a penetrating odor, whichbecomes a stench throughout theflowering cycle.

The best results with this variety areobtained outdoors using a chemical(mineral compound) fertilizer. Thatway you will bring out all the Dieselflavor while making the most of all ofthe indica component’s yield poten-tial. Indoors, the plant is notable forbeing well suited genetically for SOGgrowing.

BCN Diesel will be ready in eightweeks, although certain seeds mayneed another week to reinforce theflavor and ripen properly. We there-fore recommend using carbohydratesfrom the second week of floweringonward.

The effects of this plant are quite psy-chedelic but very smooth, lively, andenergetic. Ideal for creative types.

Your harvest will consist of budsheavily laden with trichomes that willgive you an insatiable appetite. Aftera short burst of activity, a sense ofrelaxation will wash over your wholebody. Owing to its high THC levels,it is recommended for medicinal use.

Introducing Kannabia


WHITE DOMINAOne of the jewels in the crown, a much-improved varietywith the features of the indica plants it originated from.

This is without a doubt the most indica of all our crosses —a prodigy of nature whose genetics have been improved gen-eration after generation. As it is a plant that is nearly 100%indica, it will need 20 days’ vegetative growth to reach theideal height and form stems that, while not very long, haveonly a short gap between the nodes. Combine this with anexcellent calyx-leaf ratio and you have a plant that forms adense, compact central bud bursting with flowers. Theplant’s vigorous growth is evident from the first shoots. Alarge central bud with the other “arms” up high, fromwhich several rock-hard buds will sprout. Outdoors, theplant never exceeds 2 m tall, and indoors, once it reaches 35-40 cm, you can move on to flowering for optimal results.Ideal for “sea of green” and SCROG.

It withstands both an excess and a lack of fertilizer (recov-ering within a few days, with the typical strength of indicavarieties) as well as periods of drought.

For optimal ripening, make sure that you use only P-K com-ponents and carbohydrates in the final weeks of flowering.Ideal for hydroponic systems, thanks to the stability of its

CULTIVATION

structure and its flowering times.

Keep the pH between 5.8 and 6.2, and increase the EC from1.2 in the first few weeks up to 2.2 in the final weeks. Theflowering cycle when grown indoors is 50 to 55 days, whileoutdoors, the plants will be ready to be harvested by mid-September.

Its resin production is spectacular, and the THC levels thatyou can obtain will turn you into a fan of this variety. Thesmell is reminiscent of linseed air freshener mixed with tangyfruits during flowering. When smoked, the favor is of limeand lemon, with a hint of piquancy, leaving your mouth dryafter a couple of tokes. The high is mild but constant, witha very gradual, pleasant come-down.

One effect of smoking is the incredible appetite it gives you.It will take you little more than seven weeks to get the bestresults from this variety, with a medium-to-high yield reach-ing 500 g/m2 and 400 grams per plant outdoors.

Thanks to its genetics that have been specially adapted toMediterranean climates, you can expect to harvest betweenearly and mid-September, avoiding mold or any other issueslater on.


KushageThe above photos you’re witnessing areKushage plants grown unrestricted in southernEurope.

The Kushage is a combination of two of the bestmedical strains: the OG Kush from LA and theSAGE from Big Sur/Santa Cruz.

OG Kush is one of the strongest indica strains,which is good for serious medical conditions.But it can tend to make you a bit of a couchpotato as well. This is balanced out with themostly sativa S.A.G.E. The S.A.G.E. plant con-sistently tests with an average THC level of21%+, but gives a very clean and functionalhigh. The combination of these two Cali med-ical strains has brought us into the Kushage.

CULTIVATION


CULTIVATION


he Strain Hunters are back! In 2008, weexplored the jungles of Malawi to retrieve thegenetics of the original Malawi Gold; in 2009,

we climbed the steep valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India,to document the production of the finest black hashishin the world. And in 2010, we decided to continue onour quest to find the best hashish and the landraces itcomes from, this time in Morocco.

The large majority of the hashish produced worldwide(up to 70% of the total annual world production) comesfrom a relatively small mountain region in the north ofMorocco, called Rif. In Dutch coffee shops, the sale ofMoroccan hashish has been one of the backbones of theindustry since the 1970s. And from London to Rome toMadrid to Cape Town, Moroccan hashish is consumeddaily by huge numbers of people. Moroccan hashishwas first produced after Asian and Arab merchantsintroduced the cannabis plant to the region, between1,000 and 1,200 years ago. But it wasn’t until recently(1960s) that hashish production reached export levels,becoming the number-one commercial output in theregion of the Rif, and representing a significant propor-tion of Morocco’s GDP (unofficial sources estimate it atroughly 30%).

There are social and historical reasons for this: theBerbers, inhabitants of the Rif, always maintained theirindependence from the Arab dynasties ruling the coun-try. But they were crucial in fighting European colonialpowers for the formation of modern Morocco. Inexchange for the help offered fighting French and

Spanish troops, King Muhammad V granted the Berbersfreedom to administer their land. This freedom allowedthem to rapidly convert the local agricultural production(olives, figs) into cannabis production, and to producehashish. To this day, the document granting the Berbersfreedom over the Rif region is exposed in the NationalMuseum in Marrakesh.

Since the independence of Morocco from colonial pow-ers in the 1950s, hashish has become a very sought-aftercommodity, especially in Europe. This demand spruceda rapid process of organization and restructuring oflocal society in function of hashish production on alarge, almost industrial scale.

Considering this background, we devoted ourselves tocollect information and connect with local contacts inthe spring of 2010. Strain Hunters Morocco wasn’t justan idea. It now was an ongoing project and the contin-uation of a great adventure.

By March, I managed to reconnect with an old friend, aEuropean working in the Rif for more than10 years,actively involved in the production of hashish. He invit-ed me to have a look around the farms where he wasworking, and I did not hesitate: in the following threemonths, I visited him several times, alone or with Arjan,and soon after the first trip, we both agreed this wouldbe a great chance to document the production ofMoroccan hashish and to retrieve original Moroccangenetics as well. By June, we had prepared the logisticsnecessary to support two filming trips, to be realized in

TRAVEL

Tby Franco


ivan

art.

net

beaten on top of a set of fine screens, using sticks, so thatthe resin glands detach and form a brown-yellowishpowder. This is called “pollen,” and once pressed intobricks, it becomes hashish, ready for transport andexport.

Moroccan hashish available around the world is ofmany qualities, all different mixtures of local landraceand imported genetics. When it is made from local lan-draces, the hashish is light brown or yellow in color,with a dry, sandy texture; the flavor tends to be sweetand flowery, very smooth; the effect is usually mild andbody-like. When hashish is made from Pakistani orAfghan genetics, it gains a dark brown color, with redhues. The aroma and flavor are intense, sweet, pungent;and the effect is usually strong, long-lasting, and verystoned. Quality also determines market price, and dur-ing the last years there has been a steady increase in themarket price for stronger, more aromatic hashish.Market factors like this are pushing Moroccan farmersto cultivate imported genetics, rather than the local ones.

During our travels in Morocco, and particularly in theRif region, we witnessed how the farming cycle linked to


July and then in September. We decided todouble up on the filming trips because ofthe sheer amount of material to be cov-ered, and because in Morocco thecannabis harvest spans an unusually largenumber of months, from June all the wayto October. This is due to the different cannabis geneticsthat are cultivated in the Rif: some valleys produce orig-inal Moroccan landraces, which are semi-auto-flower-ing and are harvested in June-July; other valleys producegenetics imported from Pakistan or Afghanistan in the1990s that are harvested later, in September or October(these strains produce larger harvests, more resin, andultimately a higher quality and quantity of hashish).

During both filming trips, we visited two very differentvalleys to be able to document different landscapes,genetics, and philosophies of production. First, weapproached the more organized, industrial-like farmers,growing Pakistani and Afghan genetics mixed with locallandraces. Then we moved on to a more remote area,where farmers are still producing local landraces.During the first filming trip, in July, we had the chanceto see the Pakistani and Afghan genetics in full growth,while the Moroccan landrace was already being harvest-ed. When we came back in September, we witnessed thefinishing of flowering of the imported genetics, as wellas the manufacturing process of hashish production.In Morocco, plants are harvested, then stored to dry,slowly, for up to one month. Once dry, the plants are

TRAVEL


hashish production is to integrate part of the rural lifestyle of theBerbers, and how it dictates the rhythm of life and the rhythm ofwork. In the Rif, children are sent to school with money from thehashish trade, and most of the population directly or indirectly bene-fits from it. In Morocco, hashish is not a drug in the hands of crimi-nal cartels or organized crime; it is an agricultural product that drivesthe local economy at all levels. Maybe this is the reason why theMoroccan government struggles between the demands of the interna-tional community (to stop the hashish production and eradicate plan-tations) and the demands of its own people (whose lives depend most-

ly on the hashish trade). It is a very delicate political andsocial situation, and there is no easy solution in sight.The most likely outcome is that eradication programs,already in place and sponsored by international money,will continue. At the same time, it is clear that theMoroccan government has no real intention to stop theflow of hashish toward Europe and the rest of theworld.

After completing our documentary, we realized oncemore that cannabis is a crop that helps the poorest peo-ple of the planet in their quest to survive and to improvetheir quality of life.

We would like to thank our guides, and all the people ofthe Rif, for the help they gave realizing Strain HuntersMorocco. Without them, it would have never happened.

Check out www.strainhunters.com for updateson the release date!

Strain Hunters Morocco Expedition


Deep Green Fest Richmond, California4/23/11

“What a long strange trip it’s been,” to quote theGrateful Dead.

There has been much said about this 4/20 date, with its sig-nificance to an entire counterculture, representing thecannabis movement as a whole, with the celebrations ’roundthe world growing larger every year on that date.

For more years than I care to think of, the environmentalmovement, the peace movement, as well as the many move-ments organized around civil rights and justice, have shiedaway from associating with our cannabis movement.

This has always been a hard point for the cannabis commu-nity, as almost every activist has a fondness for cannabis forrelaxing, for brainstorming, and for partying, as their con-scious choice of a safe intoxicant.

This is all a bit too hypocritical for me, having called manyon their lack of support, but more importantly, their igno-rance of how this one issue has been the dividing force with-in our community for more than 40 years, since Nixonlaunched the War on Drugs, directly targeting our communi-ty and culture.

We cannot associate with a substance that is illegal, when lit-erally it is that substance that has brought everyone here,awakened us all from our stupor, started us making informeddecisions, with us calling on our lawmakers for change.

This one plant’s use by our culture has been allowing us tosee through this brainwashing that has permeated theAmerican landscape.

What this plant’s use has done is to enable us to make deci-sions either based upon the TV life, aka the corporate viewof what our lives should be, or by breaking that brainwash-ing, enabling us to look back at how our ancestors hadtaught us to treat our land, reflecting our integrity in ourstewardship of the land and resources as the precious com-modities they are, by basing our actions on the principles ofseven generations and how what we do today affects sevengenerations to come.

As a counterculture, we have the responsibility to leave thislegacy, as well as leaving little to no footprint where we havebeen, in regard to impact on our planet.

This is the basis of this gathering, Deep Green, seeking tobring back the roots of our medical cannabis culture into the

EVENTS

By Lexx


Left top and bottomDeepGreen posterCraneway Pavilion

Clockwise from topMedia on CannabisUnionDisplay areaClean GreenTeahouse CollectiveJerry and TonyRalph MetznerSSDPBuddha


heart of the awakened, consciously active people’s move-ment.

With the aggression of the far right wing, their new spew ishow much energy it takes to grow our cannabis inside withlights. They have a point, and they have no place to speakfrom, both being valid as starting points.

In the case of our use of electricity to grow our cannabisindoors, this high-side figure that they use is actually abouttwice what it really takes; add savings on their basic equa-tion, like using no pumps —they are not needed with dirt —as well as filtering, cooling the air, and much more —againnot needed with dirt — with the equation costing now abouta third of what they are professing with dirt-based growing.

Consider that the majority of those decrying our electricityuse do not mention their own use, abuse, and inconsidera-tion in all their actions, from their McMansions to theirHummers, yachts to trips around the world; abuse is theirfirst name.

However, the idea of leaving a carbon footprint where thereshould be none, with growing in the sun, is our new startingpoint, like the miles per gallon figure, constantly gettinghigher mileage with each improvement to our transporta-tion’s fuel economy.

More efficient lighting, with movers, reflecting surfaces onthe walls, gravity-designed irrigation systems, venting withpassive conveyance for this heat energy — all of thesetweaks combined will make our indoor scene cleaner. Thetime is coming soon when electric and clean vehicles willhave become the norm, cannabis in all its forms will be legal,“Out of the Shadows,” fueled by the sun based on thedynamics of sustainability, and the practice for all uses ofenergy.

Recycling to green engineering, all were birthed from insideour movement, nurtured within our culture, raised up withour values, instilled with the commitment to do what is theright thing to do, leaving the world a better place with eachpassing generation.

This has always been the Hippie mantra, being passed onnow to the next generation, who, judging by their fire, thisDeep Green Fest’s influence is going to be a hard force tostop.

Stealthfully sneaking in amongst the crowd was WavyGravy, Tony Serra, Mountain Girl, and Jerry Beisler, repre-senting the pioneers of our culture. Add that ToddMcCormick, Dr. Frank Lucido, Dr. Detroit, SwamiBeyondananda, Don E. Wirtshafter, The Clean Green Team,Angel Raich, Los Marijuanos, super DJs of Hip Hop to TripHop, Drum and Bass, and, of course, Treating Yourself werethere partying till dawn with energy efficiency showcasedwith every beat! Chosen because of its green profile was theCraneway Pavilion in Richmond California, home of Rosiethe Riveter, now a favorite spot for North Bay events.

This is the legacy of the producer Michael Gosney ofEarthdance, Dynamic presenters like Steve DeAngelo ofHarborside Health Center, Ed “Ask Ed” Rosenthal, DavidBronner of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Mike Whitty,University of San Francisco, Chris Conrad, Mikki Norris,West Coast Leaf, Ngaio Bealum, West Coast Cannabis, plusexperts in cultivation, testing for contaminants, products forimproving efficiency of energy use, proving all the work thatwent into the “Clean Green” medicine.

This is the destination for our entire community of forward-thinking entrepreneurs — efficiency, integration — all whilebuilding the community as a whole inclusively and not fromexclusivity.

Harborside’s motto and Steve DeAngelo’s vision: “Out of the Shadows and Into the Light.”The mantra of this event:

EVENTS


From left to right- top to bottom:Jerry Beisler", Successful author of theCounter Culture Classic "Bandit ofKabul", Legendary Record Producer ofGlobe records; "Wavy Gravy", Underthe Counter Culture Clown, founder ofSEVA, Camp Winarainbow for children,days away from his 75th BirthdayCelebration; "Mountain Girl" KeseyFamily, founder of the REX Foundation, allstealthily navigating the Deep Green Fest.Richard Lee and Todd McCormickAngel and ToddNgaio BealumSwami Wavy Gravy

Canadian Cannabis Learning Centre

Open House

he Ministry of Education’s grade six curriculum herein Ontario, Canada, mentions that during the healthpart of the program, the teachers must talk to the chil-dren about medical marijuana, but it ends there.While there are some high schools that have extended

this teaching into grade nine, it seems they don’t teach them every-thing about cannabis but what they want them to believe.

If you were involved in one of those classes, you know that youweren’t taught about the science behind cannabis, never mindlearning how to grow it.

To help people with this, Michael and Dnise Azaria opened up theCanadian Cannabis Learning Centre, which is dedicated to theadvancement of medical cannabis in Canada as an establishedIndustry. Its primary goal is to partner certified CCLC patients withCCLC-certified cannabis growers.

Certification Programs for GrowersThe certification program for growers is specifically designated toprovide growers everything they need to know about producingmedical cannabis. It offers classes that include a garden introducto-ry course for certified production. This has been designed to pro-vide students with the history of medical licensing in Canada anddi erent methods of production available, including an overview ofeach one.

Once you have passed the beginner’s course, you will have theopportunity to participate in the advanced production class. Uponcompletion of the advanced course, the students have four morelevels of courses available to them.

The CCLC also offers patient-grower partnering, physician sup-port, and baking, as well as different methods of medical cannabisingestion courses. The courses available and their costs can be seenat the Web site http://www.cannabiscentre.ca.

Open HouseWhen we arrived at the open house, the first thingwe did was unload and find ourselves a parkingspot. While we were unloading, we noticed a policecar sitting across the street from us, which madepeople wonder why it was there. Upon furtherinvestigation, Michael reported that the police setup across the street every Saturday as part of theirtraffic control program.

Upon entering the hall, we spotted several tables setup in the middle of the hall and display tables setup around the outer walls of the room. While up

Al GrahamP.A.C.E.www.peopleadvocatingcannabiseducation.org

T


CCLC Open House

From top to bottomSome who attended the Open HouseKelly of NORML, Stefan & Stephen of the Green PartyStefan & Robert Neron discussing the lawsHemp display


EVENTS

front, there was a CCLC display and raffle table set up for people to cometo talk to them about their courses or to enter a drawing. We picked outan area near the corner, which allowed us to angle our table and provideus with some extra room.

After getting everything set up, I was able to take a walk around the placeto see what else was happening. I found out that some of the tables wereset up to display a history of hemp as well as a couple of tables that con-tained food for those attending. Over in the far corner from us wasGeorgia Peschel, the Cultivating Compassion artist. Down the wall fromus was Dale of Canada Number 1 Seedbank

Throughout the day, people came into the hall and mingled with others.It was a day to allow for many people to catch up with some old friendswhile making new ones. It was good to see Kelly Coulter from NORMLCanada and Erin Mahoney. Both of these ladies spoke to the gatheringabout the laws or shared an experience that they had gone through whiledealing with Health Canada. Even the local Green Party candidateStephan showed up and spoke about the financial benefits for Canada ifcannabis became a taxed and regulated item.

Treating Yourself editor and publisher Marco Renda and his friendScrumptious made a stop into the center to see how things were going.While there, Marco taped an interview with Michael and visited with anold friend, Laurence Cherniak. Ben Fudge, founder of Oshawa CannabisDay, also dropped in with a few friends, including Bongman. Ben and Italked about his coming meeting with his local city council over accessi-bility for medical consumers to consume their medication in public peace-fully.

Midway through the day, P.A.C.E. participant Scott showed up to help outat the booth. While working the booth, the two of us agreed that it wasgood to see several familiar faces come to the open house. While attend-ing shows, where people don’t expect to see us, we’re not surprised thatthey have never heard of Treating Yourself. But I was surprised whensome people attending a cannabis event hadn’t heard of it yet. I passedthem a free copy of TY, as we did with everyone else throughout the day.They thanked us for the magazine and then they told us that they wouldbe attending the Treating Yourself Expo in June. Along with the free mag-azines that we handed out, we also supplied everyone with a P.A.C.E. edu-cational brochure as well as the Treating Yourself Expo Show guide.

At 4:20 p.m., all activities came to a stop. This time was used to remem-ber others as well to hold the open house raffle draw. Everyone whoentered the hall had a chance to fill out a raffle form and enter into thedraw drum located at the CCLC table. Prizes were donated from theCCLC, Number 1 Seedbank, Laurence Cherniak, and the CompassionCultivator artist Georgia.

As the day slowly wound down, people packed their things away and head-ed out the door. From my location in the room, it appears that the CanadianCannabis Learning Centre’s open house was a success. You can find outmore by going to its Web site, located at www.cannabiscentre.ca.

Until the next time, Canadian Cannabis Learning Centre is keeping PeopleAdvocating Cannabis Education.

From top to bottomErin speaks to those in attendanceHarmonica music by LawrenceGeorgia of Cultivating CompassionTrying to ligh up Bongman

hroughout my lifetime, I’ve heard many peopletalking about the February blahs. Some say it’sthe time that causes this, as the human bodyabsorbs the least amount of daylight then thanat any time of year. This year, P.A.C.E. people

didn’t suffer from any February blahs, as we were too busyto even take a break. In our last article, I touched on thestart of this year as being busy; today, I still agree with that.

The events and our activities that we have been doing havegrabbed media attention. Our actions over the last fewmonths have produced several articles on cannabis and ouractivities in the local media. This would include everythingfrom showing our movies to the general public or participat-ing in local political events. In doing so, the local media arenow People Advocating Cannabis Education.

P.A.C.E. Social@Hippy Chick’sThe P.A.C.E. Social allows those who make P.A.C.E. happena time to get together and have a good, relaxing time withlike-minded people. While they are like minded, it doesn’tmean you’re preaching to the choir. For us, that choir canalways use information about cannabis.

These socials are always centered on the Grow Op boardgame. This game lets you to rent a house or a commercialbuilding to grow your medication while also trying to outdothe police car that travels around the game board. There islots of good and bad karma in this game, as there are karmacards that give you money or cards that make you take yourgarden down.

After sending out the invites, the names of those wanting toplay got larger and we ran into a problem. The problem wasthat Hippy Chick’s place would only hold three tables, andwe ended up with more wanting to play than there wasspace available. To fix this, we made our social day into asocial weekend.

On Saturday, Hippy Chick had her friends Kerri, Gord, Jeff,and Gail attend their first-ever tournament. All four of themhad never heard of this game until now, but that wouldn’tstop them from being competitive. These four were joinedby Fourtwenty Deb, Suzuki Bob, Hippy Chick, and myself,all of us Grow Op game experienced.

Normally we get things started in the morning, but HippyChick needed some time to do some running around, so wegot things going after lunch. This would allow us to play forabout three hours before wrapping things up for a potluckdinner.

The two tables had shared some good stories as the daywent along. You’d hear the table opposite cheer as someonewas able to sell off a garden to the moaning and despairingsounds of being busted by the police car. The experiencedplayers always help out the inexperienced so that everyoneis ensured a good game and not one of frustration becausethey don’t know how to play the game.

The stories and the situations that happen to people changefrom game to game, but one thing that has stayed the sameis that no experienced person has ever won the day; this has


EVENTS

T


Keeping

Everywhere

always gone to the rookies. Ofcourse, this day was no different, asGord had the green thumb awardgiven to him for being the topgrower. This allowed Gord to winthe coveted P.A.C.E. Salad Bowl, asmall green bowl shaped like a tro-phy bowl.

After the game, we all enjoyed agreat potluck meal, which included

some pineapple chicken, cabbage casserole, roasted chicken,salads, and many other foods. Before everyone departed, weheld a raffle draw, which saw people head home with prizesdonated to us by BMA Hydroponics of Belleville, TreatingYourself magazine, and P.A.C.E.

The following day brought us back to Hippy Chick’s forround two. This time around, we put people at all threetables. Hippy Chick, Fourtwenty Deb, and I were the onlyreturning competitors as another dozen people collectedtogether to do this once again. Back in October, we had oneof these social days, which Dan won. Dan liked that gameso much he returned along with Wally and Sharon, Pete,Lynda, Hydro Deb, Nathan, my son Adam, and a few oth-ers.

People gathered at Hippy’s place around 11 a.m., and wegot going by 11:30. Instead of playing two separate gamesand combining the scores, we chose to do what we did theday before: play one three-plus hour game. Before we gotstarted, we decided to make two rule changes. These twochanges would allow the players to auction off the benefitsof the game square that they had landed on. This created afrenzy of auctions throughout the day as players battled forthe right to buy equipment or sell off their garden.

Part-way through the game, we all stopped for a potlucklunch. Like the day before, we all gathered up for a big mealbefore we got back to the game.

Saturday’s game saw four rookies play, while on this day weonly had one. With only one rookie present, would therookie winning streak come to an end?

Throughout the day, you could once again hear those moansof agony as people got busted by the police or if they had toremove their crop to satisfy a karma card. But over on onetable, there was a pile of cheering going on. We found out aweek after the game why they got to cheer so often. Itappears that they had mistaken our rule change. This canhappen, but next time around, we’ll make sure everyone fol-lows the same rules.

When it comes to the rookie winning streak, you know thesaying, “all good things must come to an end,” and so didthis streak. Adam broke this streak with a high score of over600,000, leaving the only rookie present in the dust. Adamwent home with his Salad Bowl trophy and cannabis-labeledseed bag for his growing efforts.


Keeping P.A.C.E. Everywhere

Cannabis EducationalMoviesThe cold winter months canmake one hibernate, butP.A.C.E. works to bring thesepeople out of the cold andinto a nice warm cafe. Oncewe get them to this warmlocation, we then fire up themovie projector so that theycan become better educatedon cannabis.

This winter, we were able to present the movies The Union,What If Cannabis Cured Cancer, Emperor of Hemp, andWaiting to Inhale at the Grind House Cafe in Campbellfordand The Studio, located in Belleville, Canada. We presentthese movies free of charge to the open public in order tohelp educate them on cannabis. We have four themes thatwe touch on. These would be science, patient testimonial,history, and prohibition.

Our movies are attended by young people, but they aremainly attended by those that some call “older people,”which is what I assume young people call those over 40.This I discovered after reading an article that includedP.A.C.E. in it. This article appeared in a local alternativemagazine called The Link, where the article writer calls mean “older person,” while I like to think of it as middle-aged.Our attendance numbers have been staying pretty steady,

but what we like about it is that it’s not the same people allthe time. We usually get about 35 to 40 people per weekend,and of those, sometimes almost half are new attendees,while other weekends it will be less.

During our patient testimonial movies in March, we choseto show the movie Waiting to Inhale, about WAMM andother compassion groups fighting for the right to consumecannabis for medical purposes. Throughout the movie, youget to hear from several patients. Before each movie, peopleget to hear parts of my story, so with this being patient relat-ed, we wanted to get the patients involved. We did this bygiving patients some time to come up to the front of theroom to talk about their situation and why they usecannabis medically.

Mike places info on the seats with Chief in the background


EVENTS

This experience proved to be a big eye opener for those wholistened. While those in attendance may already be cannabisusers, it doesn’t mean that they know everything. So forthem to hear the stories from these people would allow themto take this experience and share it with others. The volun-teer speakers were people who suffered with chronic pain:MS, fibro, as well as hep C. One spoke about her addictionissues and how she used cannabis to get herself off ofmethadone. Of the five people who spoke, three were for-mer methadone users. Two of them used it for pain relief,while the other was using it to combat a heroin addiction.The person with MS talked about waking up in the middleof the night with his legs and body in a lot of pain. He wenton to say it was easier and much quicker for him to take afew inhales of cannabis to get things to settle down than totake a pill. All those in attendance are now able to talk topeople about what they learned from these people, thusmaking them better informed. The speakers themselves alsocommented that it was a great experience for them as well.For them to get up and speak publicly about their conditionsmade them feel upbeat from the experience, and they all saidthat they’d do it again.

Our April movie brought a documentary on Jack Herer tothe screen. Jack was a force in our movement, and with itbeing the anniversary of his death, P.A.C.E. chose to cele-brate this man with a showing of this movie. The documen-tary highlighted the activities of this man and how he gotstarted in the movement. It was a touching situation forsome in the room, as one lady commented to me that itbrought tears to her eyes watching it. Since Jack was intopolitics, and Canada was into an election, we chose to fin-ish off the day with some political talk. Leading up to themovie day, P.A.C.E. surveyed the federal parties on theirviews of cannabis. We then shared with everyone in atten-dance the responses that we got back in order to help makethem more informed voters.

National Home ShowIn early March, Treating Yourself, MedCannAccess, andP.A.C.E. attended the National Home Show. The best wayto describe this is to say that The National Home Show isone big mother of a show. This ten-day show would be thelongest that we have ever attended. The middle of the weekproved to be a bit slower than what we are used to doing,but the weekends sure produced crowds. To look after someof the education, P.A.C.E. gathered up seven people thatwould take turns attending the show. Our volunteers wouldthen work the Treating Yourself booth with those who par-ticipated from MedCannAccess. All week long, we were notonly able to promote TY magazine, the Treating YourselfExpo, P.A.C.E., and MedCannAccess, but we gave awaythousands of TY show guides stuffed with information tothose who stopped by.

Bill S-10 Information SessionAs a voter, I would like to know that my politicians are notonly looking after my safety but also over my wallet. TheCanadian government controlled by Stephen Harper seemsto like giving out policies and having them voted on withoutinforming the opposition what it’s going to cost. As of this

writing, Mr. Harper has lost the confidence of the housebecause he won’t reveal the costs for some of his policies,such as Bill S-10. This is the government’s bill to lock uppeople with mandatory minimum penalties for growing justsix cannabis plants. As a medicinal user of cannabis, thisscares the hell out of me. I know that around 1 millionCanadians medicate with cannabis, while only 6,000 of ushave a license to do so. This will leave the rest of the peopleopen to prosecution and will get them time sharing a spacewith a person with a violent record.

To help educate the public on this bill, P.A.C.E andNORML Canada teamed up to put on a Bill S-10 informa-tion session. Kelly Coulter had contacted us to see if wecould help her and NORML Executive Director Marc-BorisSt-Maurice find a location in Belleville as well give a handwith putting a speaker panel together. Even though P.A.C.E.was about to attend the ten-day-long National Home Showas well as preparing for another movie, we knew we had tomake time to help Kelly out.

I directed Kelly toward our movie location in downtownBelleville called The Studio, knowing that the owner,Patricia, could possibly accommodate them. After muchrunning around, phone calls, and e-mails, everything was setto go for the first of March.

When we arrived, Boris had the projector set up and readyto go, with Kelly greeting us at the door. The chairs were setup and some people had already started to fill them.Something told me that this was going to be an interestingnight.

Boris got things rolling with some footage on the economicsof prohibition, with the panel getting involved afterward.This panel consisted of Gary Magwood, a local activist,Matt Gearhead , Compassion Center operator, and me.Matt brought up the effects of prohibition and how it hasaffected the hemp industry. He talked about the lost jobsand lost revenue for farmers and that these jobs are sent toother parts of the world. The cost of the new prison systemwas discussed and reviewed, and many were surprised tohear the numbers never dropped below the billions.

From there, we made our way into the medical part of theprogram. The panel talked about the effects that Bill S-10would have on the million Canadians without a license andwhat they will be subject to. Knowing that a million peoplecould possibly go to jail for treating their conditions washard for many to understand. Why would the governmentwant to mandatorily lock up sick and ill people?

Just as we were entering into the social justice aspect part ofthe night, three Belleville city police officers walked in. Ifound out afterward that the business owner was outsidewhen the police walked up, so they were invited in. Whenthey entered, Boris invited them to sit down and join in, butthey refused. Instead, they stood over us and watched. Thediscussion changed some at that point, but people didn’tclam up, so it was good to see that their intimidation didn’tstop everyone from speaking.


P.A.C.E. Everywhere

The final segmentwas on how toimprove thingsfor cannabisusers, whethermedical or recre-ation oriented.One that got a lotof talk was a sug-gestion by Gary.

His suggestion wassimple: just come out of the closet, as the gay communitydid. He does have a plan there.

When we departed for home, we spotted two more officersacross the road. We have been informed that they were overthere taking pictures of people as they were leaving the place.I have since been informed by one group of people that theywere in fact followed by one officer to their vehicle.

The following day, the information session made its wayinto the local papers, complete with a picture of the policein attendance. The whole experience made many peoplequestion what the police were doing at an information ses-sion. Were we doing anything illegal? Is it illegal to discusslaws with people? We’re not the only ones that were curious,as the Belleville Intelligencer newspaper published an articleabout this. It also wondered what harm was happening tosociety at a political information meeting and what did itcost taxpayers of Belleville to have a total of five police offi-cers attending a public meeting discussing laws. While theywere doing this, it makes one wonder what laws were bro-ken while they tried to intimidate us.

Despite the issue with the police, more than 40 peopleattended the information session. Many of them went homewith knowledge of Bill S-10 that they didn’t have beforeattending. Many of them left wondering where StephenHarper is leading Canada, and they didn’t like it.

Thank you to Kelly and Boris, who drove from Montreal toattend this event, and to all who attended.

Canadian Cannabis Learning CentreThe education never stops at P.A.C.E., as it feels like we areat an event somewhere every two weeks or sooner.

This particular weekend, P.A.C.E. and Treating Yourselfattended the grand opening of the Canadian CannabisLearning Centre.

This event was held in a hall at a located on Bloor Street Westin Toronto. This location provided plenty of public parkingas well as the subway system and bus routes close by.

When we entered the hall, it was set up with tables along theouter walls for us to display our information and education.These tables were occupied by Dale of Canada’s NumberOne Seedbank, Treating Yourself-P.A.C.E, Georgia of theCompassionate Cultivator cartoons, as well as a table set upwith hemp products. Spread throughout the place were sev-eral tables for those attending to sit at, as well as an excel-lent-looking table of food placed off to the side.

Throughout the day, many people came to see what theopening was about. Some stayed and some left, dependingon what they had planned for the day, but at least those whocouldn’t stay all day still made an attempt to come out tohave a look.

Marco even made a visit to the CCLC open house, as weneeded some more magazines to hand out. While he wasthere, he joined in with everyone else who was saying hi topeople that they hadn’t seen for some time.

The day was sort of like a gathering of people who hadn’tseen each other for some time or had never met each otherin person but only on a social network. As I sat back in thebooth, people were seen hugging and shaking hands everytime I looked around. Something tells me CCLC would haveliked the karma that was floating around most of this day tokeep flowing.

Hats off go to Michael and Denise for their great hospitali-ty and open house. The CLCC are people advocatingcannabis education.

Cartoon

Al and Matt listening to Kelly

or several years now I have been helping TreatingYourself magazine at various shows throughoutthe greater Toronto area. But never before havewe had to deal with a ten day show.

The National Home Show comes but once a yearand this massive ten day event attracts over 700 differentvendors from every kind of business. There was aisle afteraisle of home furnishings to outdoor furniture to even fakegrass. Want a hot tub with an actual waterfalls or one thatyou could practice swimming against the current in it. Takea test drive in a car or buy your favourite movie DVD’s at abargain price. You could even meet TV celebrities as theyparticipated in many demonstrations and greeting sessionsthroughout the week. If you wanted a new house, this placehad them as well. Every morning, without delay, these hous-es had line ups at them as people waited their turn to do awalkthrough.

When I was informed that Treating Yourself was participat-ing in this show I told Marco that we would have to call inreinforcements for this one.

The emails went out seeking help and I must say that it did-n’t take long for the answers to come in as everyone I askedsaid yes. While some had to check on a few things there wasno hesitation in anyone’s decision. While my friend Mikecouldn’t make it, due to unplanned surgery, I was able torecruit several people. Knowing that MedCannAccess wasalso joining Treating Yourself and P.A.C.E. at the booth letus know that they would be supplying half of the volunteers.

The first three days brought P.A.C.E. participantsHydroDeb and Char to the booth. Deb has done this beforebut Char was getting her first crack at it. I met the two ofthem at the booth on the opening door and the two of themwere awestruck at the massive size of the show. Even thoughDeb and I were in the day before, setting up the booth, shewas still surprised at its size once everyone was setup andready to go.

Marco had requested a hard wall booth with a nice faciaacross the front. This facia came with MedCannAccess andTreating Yourself emblazed right into it. We hang up four

TY Expo posters on the walls as well as hanging up the TYand MedCannAccess banners. With it being a corner boothwe had two tables in front of us that allowed for our displayof show guides, TY magazines, P.A.C.E. brochures andMedCannAccess information. I spent some time with theladies as they got prepared for the weekend ahead of them.A check under the table before I left showed that they wouldhave plenty of magazines, TY Expo Show Guides and Expoflyers to get them on their way.

Throughout the weekend the ladies and I were in constantcontact. The two of them found themselves extra busybecause the MedCannAccess volunteer became sick. Thetwo ladies told me that they would be fine looking after thebooth themselves but if there was a problem, help was onlya call away.

When Monday arrived the trip into the city was light due toit being “Family Day”, a provincial holiday in the middle oflongest darkest part of the year. A quick look around thebooth showed that the ladies where busy handing out thefree magazines so a call was placed to the distributor toplease bring us some more.

Shortly afterwards my assistant for the day, Jo Anne arrived.Before this day Jo Anne and I had never met. She hademailed Marco about helping out with Treating Yourself atsome of these shows so he passed the letter onto me and Icontacted Jo Anne. Before she knew it we had talked on thephone and she was willing to help out whenever I neededher. Our friend Mike from MedCannAccess arrived on timeand was super eager to get at things. He informed me abouthow he had missed a shift over the weekend due to a severecold and had hoped that Char and Hydro Deb did alrightwithout the help.

During Jo Anne’s time in the booth she hardly ever satdown. When she did she was busy putting brochures, showguides and MedCannAccess information together into onenice package for us to hand out. If she wasn’t doing that shewas talking with people or tidying up around the booth.

The next day brought our friend Jim into the booth to workwith JoAnne. Jim had sent me a text message early in the


EVENTS



day asking about handing out the paperwork. The rules atthese shows only allow you to stay in your booth to handout stuff. But Jim wanted more as he wanted to walk aroundthis massive show and hand out the information but unfor-tunately while I admire his eagerness we didn’t want tobreak the rules.

Jim attended this day even though he had just had someresent surgery. While he reported some discomfort having totalk to people after dental surgery he wasn’t about to give upthe chance to help educate people at this show. Jim reportedto me that the traffic was light on this day but it was midweek but with people at work it was expected.

Wednesday brought Jen to the booth. Jen has worked at acouple of TY shows to date and loves participating in them.She loves reaching out to those that are in medical need andto those who need more education in order to make a prop-er informed decision on medical cannabis. When she arrivedshe called me on the cell to send out a SOS as she was lostwithin the show. After some looking around I was able tolocate her amongst all the displays and bring her to thebooth.

Our friend Sheena also returned to help out. Sheena pluggedaway helping and sharing the information with many peo-ple. Having people like Sheena and Mike fromMedCannAccess allows people to learn how compassioncentres operate. With them there they can also let peopleknow that they do verify with your doctor that you are anill person and not just someone looking to get stoned. Thiswas the first time that Jen and Sheena had meet but you’dnever know it as the two of them acted and talked like oldfriends.

The following day Jen returned with Jo Anne. With it get-ting closer to the weekend Jen reported that the day wasbusier than Wednesday. The two of them were joined bysome help from MedCannAccess as Sandra showed up tohelp out for the day. The three of them reported that theyhad a good informative day educating everyone whostopped by.

The final days of the show brought Sharon, Gayle and me

to the booth. This would be Sharon’s first time appearing atthese shows and with her just finishing up a public relationscourse at college she would be able to put some of her train-ing to work.

Gayle has attended these shows many times over the years.She enjoys talking to the people and informing them on thewonderful benefits of cannabis. While she isn’t a patient,being the spouse of one, puts her in a position of seeing andwatching cannabis therapeutic benefits. This allows her toexplain what she experiences which allows others, in thesame position, to learn from her experience.

We weren’t alone though as Sandra once again joined uswith Sheena making a return on Sunday. What we foundover the years is that people attitudes are changing. Peopleare still surprised to see us but people are acknowledgingthat they are aware of Treating Yourself magazine. At onetime I couldn’t write that as there would be whole showswhere no one had even heard of TY.

We had one lady who came to our booth sitting in a wheelchair. She explained her condition and that she had a largelist of painkillers that she had been on. She informed us thatshe was tired of these pills and was wondering aboutcannabis. BUT there was a problem. She wanted to trycannabis but she had read and heard about the psychosisconcerns about the plant. I say it is a far question due to allthe publicity but this is where education comes in. This iswhere people, like this person, should do all the researchthat they can do before trying any drug not just cannabis.While there are many studies that point people in bothdirects there is one that really stands out for me. This wouldbe the UK study that showed cannabis consumption wentup by four hundred percent over a twenty year period. Ifcannabis did cause psychosis then the psychosis rates shouldhave gone up by twenty nine percent. What they did findthough is that the rates actually went down.

There was one couple that stopped by the booth that wereinto baking. They saw our baked cookies on our stand andasked us who baked them and if they were cannabis loaded.We informed them that they were just display cookies andthat they were just regular cookies. This discussion quickly

National Home Show, Toronto

turned into a baked conversation as our new friend and hispartner were bakers in Wasaga Beach. As the conversationwent along we found out that our baker friend was at onetime an ambulance attendant who is now suffering from abad back injury. The injury was so bad that he had to quithis job and start doing something else, which turned into thebakery. After talking with us for some time the two of themproceeded to check out the rest of the show but I bet thebaking he does for himself has changed forever.

When things wrapped up I contacted some of the volunteersto see what they thought about the show. Hydro Deb wroteme to say that “I found the experience at the Home Show tobe a very positive one. To be able to forward the progressof bringing cannabis to the mainstream as a serious alterna-tive to pharma meds without the "stoner stigma" is trulymemorable. I found that once you started to talk to peopleabout alternative means of ingestion of cannabis as medi-cine, perceptions started to change. Several people statedthat their support groups for Fibromyalgia and MS wererecommending medical cannabis as an alternative to "tradi-tional" medications. Thanks to you and Marco for theopportunity to participate to this very worthwhile cause.”

Sharon wrote to say that “At first, I was nervous to do the

Home Show in Toronto because I knew that it would be ashow with lots of people, and many who don’t share myviews on cannabis. I was so scared that I was going to gettarred and feathered by an angry, anti-cannabis mob. But, Iwent and worked at the Treating Yourself, P.A.C.E.,MedCanAccess booth anyway. And it ended up being prob-ably the best experiences of my life. I was able to meet lotsof people, many of whom already used cannabis previously,but didn’t understand or didn’t know the medicinal benefitsfrom it. When they heard that there was an entire Expo ded-icated to alternative medicine, it made their day!

Yes, there were people who weren’t pleased that there was acannabis-related booth, but the ones who had enoughpatience to stop and talk, and express their opinions reallymade the difference for me. There were some people whowere shy to approach the booth, but would quietly say “Iappreciate what you’re doing”, those people made my timethere worthwhile.

Thank you for having me behind the booth and I would doit again in a heartbeat!”

Treating Yourself is helping People Advocating CannbisEducation at the National Home Show


EVENTS


Total Health Show, Toronto

can remember a moment in time when I talked toTreating Yourself Editor and Publisher MarcoRenda about the events and shows thatTreatingYourself would be participating in. Atthat time we were participating in two events but

it was really just one show location per year. I can tell youtimes have changed.

It now seems that every couple of weeks Marco is calling tolet us know that we’ll be required at yet another show. Thisissue alone is a good example of this as TY has participat-ed in three public events since the last publication.

This time around TY appeared at the Total Health Show atthe Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtownToronto. Treating Yourself wasn’t alone asMedCannAccess and P.A.C.E. participants joined in to helpout.

When Wally and I arrived we hauled our weekend suppliesup to our booth location before setting them up. Once wehad our display up Wally and I started to prepare for theshow when Blaine from MedCannAccess arrived. Blainetook one look around and informed us that his table wassmaller than ours and thought the set up should be changedto accommodate the smaller table. Once things were repo-sitioned we realized that the new table didn’t have a clothcovering the storage underneath it. We once again madeanother change to our set up as we moved the large blan-ket with the cannabis leaf on it from the TY table over tothe MedCannAccess one.

When we do these shows it’s amazing how people approachus and some of them don’t even allow you to get set upbefore wanting to talk to you about TY. They also talk tous about their latest adventure with cannabis but you justkeep plugging along while trying to get things up or out ondisplay.

Even after being in publication for over 5 years TY is stillbeing found by many people that have never heard of it. Itjust goes to show that no matter what you do to promoteyour business such as running ads on the radio, give awayfree magazines, make the front page of several local papersand hold the only cannabis Expo in the country, doesn’tmean that everyone will hear about you. Attending theseshows allows TY to reach out to those who may not watchmuch TV, read the papers or even magazines but it doesreach out directly to the person in a personal way.


Our booth was located near one of the many stages thatwere set up around the large hall that we were in. This stagefeatured music as well as speakers that talked about theaffects of cell phones on our health to medical mushrooms.When we spotted the mushrooms on the sign we couldhardly wait to hear this seminar. While we had the stage onone side of us across from us was the MS Society of Canadabooth and on the other side was a financial adviser. All ofthem were very nice people but people we thought wewouldn’t hear from but we did.

The first day of the show was only five hours long whichmade for a bit of a short day but Saturdays eleven hourmarathon would make up for that. When Saturday arrivedMarco made his usual stop in to see how things were going.For the first time in the years Marco wanted us to makesome adjustments to the booth set up. Sure it may happenhere or there with an item or two but this time around hewas looking for the tables to be moved as well as a reloca-tion of the new P.A.C.E. banners. After a quick review ofthings we quickly reset the booth into its third configura-tion within twenty four hours.

Our table display consisted of TY Expo brochures, the lat-est issue of TY, MedCannAccess information as well as theP.A.C.E. alternative consumption display and medicalinformation pamphlets. While the back wall was covered

with the MedCannAccess and Treating Yourself banners.One of the two P.A.C.E. stand up banners was placed in alocation that would attract people from another aisle asthey walked near us. This banner features a colour photo ofa Humber Valley Kush blown up with all of its crystal andpurple colours being shown proudly. While it wasn’t a realplant it did attract people with some of them even takingphotos of it. The second banner, which looks like ourbrochure was placed along the back wall beside the otherbanners.

Throughout the weekend MedCannAccess workers such asJustin and Sheena joined Blaine, Isata, Wally and I at thebooth to help spread the truth of the cannabis plant. All ofus but Wally and Isata were experienced at doing this.Wally never stopped talking with the people, whether theywere for cannabis or against it, it didn’t matter to him as hejust kept going with the education that he knew. If we need-ed some papers folded he was there. If it was helping oth-ers along the way, he was there as well. Meanwhile Isata’sfirst time out on Sunday she appeared a bit nervous at firstbut she quickly found her place in the booth as she lookedafter stocking the magazines and talking with the people.


EVENTS

As with all the other shows we do people are surprised tosee us but then some have told us that they had hoped thatwe would be here. Does this mean that people are hearingmore and more about TY at these shows? Does it mean thatwe are making a difference? Does it mean that the word isspreading? We would like to hope so. Even though we findpeople who have never heard of TY, having more peopleacknowledge TY’s presence tells me that we are making adifference. There is no other way that you can look at itwhen people come to these shows hoping that we’ll be pres-ent.

What we also find is that many people believe that olderpeople do not consume cannabis. If you spent a day in thebooth you would never think that again as a majority of thepeople who approach us are well over fifty years of age.While this is a surprise to some it’s no longer one that thebooth workers hold as they have seen the truth for them-selves. The people that are now sixty or seventy years of agewere around twenty - thirty years of age at the height of thedrug movement in the late sixties early seventies. Because ofthis we feel older people do consume cannabis. The age ofthe people coming to the booth was one of the things Wallytalked to me about on the way home afterwards. I told himit’s something that we have seen since we started doingthese shows and I explained to him why. He agreed it madesince. I think he has been converted from stereo typingolder people as none consumers of our medication.

Many of these older people tell us about old times as wellas the situation at home where a loved one is taking med-ical heroin. That’s right medical heroin is something that isout there but we don’t all know that. In order to keep peo-ple calm they call it something else such as oxy-cotin or per-coets so that no one knows. People that are taking medicalheroin always talk about the dopey, fogged feeling that theygo through while taking these pills and they want that tostop. If people are getting dopy fogging feelings from phar-maceuticals then why is the euphoric feeling of consumingcannabis wrong and used as an excuse for it not to be usedas a medication?

Throughout the weekend but closer to the closing, thebooths around us did open up. The MS people were spot-ted taken some of our information from our display andone of their workers, a man in a wheel chair, did make hisway over to see us. Wally spent some time with the man asthey discussed everything from cannabinoid receptors tothe two of them consuming cannabis in their younger daysof life. Meanwhile the financial people that were beside ustook home some information for a loved one whether itwas a friend of family member didn’t matter to us. Just thefact that they were regular people wanting to help outsomeone that they know is suffering, is letting us know theeducation is getting to the people. Someday let’s hope thesepeople speak up and say its time, it’s time to do this right.

Treating Yourself is helping People AdvocatingCannabis Education everywhere. Are you?


EVENTS

o coincide with the worldwide mari-juana march and cannabis freedomday, the Cannabis Bevrijdingsdag waslaunched three years ago by the VOC.This organization was set up to lobby

the Dutch government in favor of an improveddrug policy in the Netherlands and has beenresponsible for such events as the CannabisTribunal and the Cannabis Liberation Day, whichis usually the first Sunday in May. This year, wewere very lucky, as Amsterdam had been enjoyingsome unseasonably warm temperatures, so it waslike a warm, sunny summer day. Later in the day,some clouds rolled in, but the rain stayed away.

This year seemed like it was the biggest event yet.It was held in the same park the last few years,Westerpark. This year there were three areas, withone main stage and one of the coolest yurt tentsI've seen. There was also a hemp market set upnext to the main stage where people were sellingall kinds of goods.

In the yurt was the day-long cannabis film festivalfeaturing films like Grass, Run from the Cure:The Rick Simpson Story, and a documentaryabout Dutch weed that was just featured onDutch television. There were also tents set up,with the usual pipes and T-shirts on sale. A fewlocal seed companies were also represented,including one from the coffee shop Rokerij, SensiSeeds, and Basic Seeds. The Cannabis College alsohad a big presence with their stand, which waslocated next to the main stage. They had a load ofinformation about hemp and cannabis on hand,including a piece of a Mercedes-Benz car that wasmade of hemp. The legendary Evert fromVerdamper Vaporizers was vaping people away,and Mila from the Pollinator Company also hada stand at the hemp market. It was a very laid-back atmosphere next to the tents, with peoplehanging out and sharing information. Everyonewas enjoying the ganja, the sun, and the greatmusic.

At the zenith of the day, it was quite busy, withmost people chillin’ in front of the main stage, butthere were also people spread out throughout theterrain. On the far side of the park was anotherarea set up that looked like a woodshed with bigspeakers outside of it. This was the Dub-tent by

Cannabis Liberation Dayby Harry Resin www.harryresin.com


King Shiloh Sound System. Here they were mostly playing reggae and dubstep. People weredancing in the grass and cooking up some barbecues nearby. It was a real festival atmos-phere. Next to the dub tent was the Hunter's Bar tent, which was busy throughout the dayas people stopped in for drinks.

On the main stage, there were various bands like Rootical Transformation, Def P & theHowling Coyotes, and EinsteinBarbie. The music was really good, ranging from someDutch rap and hip hop to some rock and roll. In between the music were some speakers likeJackie Woerlee, a Dutch medical advocate, Joep Oomen from Encod, an organization thatfights European drug policy, and Myranda Bruin, a coffee shop owner and a member of theVOC.

It was amazing to see the diverse groups of people that were there that day. It really showshow cannabis is really a community-based plant that brings people together. I was also sur-prised by how many families were present. It really demonstrated how a peaceful, fun-lov-ing group of people could come together to celebrate something that they all love. It wasreally a great cannabis liberation day. It makes me feel grateful for the improvements wehave already made and hopeful that governmental policies will continue to change. Hopeyou enjoyed your local cannabis freedom day.

Cannabis Liberation Day, Amsterdam

Open House!


hen most businesses start up, they alsoopen up an office, but TreatingYourself is not like every business.Over the last six years, TY editor andpublisher Marco Renda hasn’t fol-

lowed the regular routines of setting up a business, as hedidn’t open an office to get TY off of the ground. Instead,Marco ran TY from his living room, kitchen table, or aspare room at home.Over the years that I have known Marco, I have beenable to visit him at his home and I have seen how a homecan be taken over when it thinks it’s become an office. Aperfect example would be last year as he prepared for theTY Expo. When I was visiting him just before last year’sexpo, his residence resembled more of a storage areathan a place to live. His living room, kitchen, spare room,and one other area was filled with box after box of itemsfor last year’s Expo. This year, that will all change.

For approximately a year now, I have heard Marco talkabout setting up an office. I know he’s looked at severaldifferent options, such as a storefront or getting othersinvolved, but in the end Marco chose to set up one thatdidn’t have a storefront and he decided to keep it simple.

On April 20, the cannabis community’s day for celebrat-ing our herb, Marco held the grand opening of the newTreating Yourself office. While he doesn’t have that store-front he once looked for, he is located near his home.He’s so close that one day he joked with me that he coulddrive to work without going outside. When we arrivedfor his open house, we found out he wasn’t kidding.When we entered his office, we couldn’t believe the view,as it can only be described as nothing short of breathtak-ing. In every direction that you look, you are amazed asto what you can see. When you look out his windows,you see one of three things: the marina that sits at thebase of the building, you see clear across the city skyline,

or you’re looking out into the wide open skies that coverLake Ontario.

The TY open house was more of a meet and greet sessionthan a celebration party. People appeared throughout theday to come in and take a look around, enter into adrawing, and enjoy some lunch. There were no speakersarranged or bands that were to perform. It was more ofa day to come out and see the new home of TY and gath-er with friends while enjoying a bite to eat.

Throughout the day, the open house attracted many peo-ple. Some of these people have been with TY since Marcofirst started the TY Web site. This would include peoplesuch as Lady Di, Mamahawk, Clayton, and PotheadPete. There were also his long-time friends, such as thetwo Jims, Hashimotto, Naomi, and Fourtwenty Deb thatattended. There were also people in attendance that areinvolved in the movement but are not connected to TY,such as Amy Anonymous, Gary, as well as Davin and hisfriends. While I walked around speaking to people, mywife, Gayle, spent some time talking with the CultivatingCompassion artist Georgia and her son Storm. Otherpeople, such as Bongman and the owners of theCanadian Cannabis Learning Centre, Michael andDenise, also stopped in for a visit.

People enjoyed a lunch of sandwiches, wraps, fruit, andbaked goods from the local bakery, while music from asmall radio played steadily in the background. Due to awater problem at his office, Marco had to move the mainevent to a banquet hall nearby. Because of this, Marco

EVENTS


Marco with his first tour group to the new office

TY Open House, Toronto


had to set up site tours to his office. As people fin-ished up their lunch, Marco was always standingwaiting and eager to do another tour.

Everyone I talked to after their tours was really impressed with hissetup. His office isn’t something that is lavishly covered in fine art, butthe walls do hold a few awards that TY has won over the years. Hedoes have a couch and a large desk there for himself, while his assis-tant, Sandra, also has a desk to work from. Along one wall sits a TVand stereo, but there is nothing that is covered in gold plate, and nofancy expenditures are on display.

Everyone who attended the open house was given a free TreatingYourself magazine, the just-released issue 28, as well as a door-prizeballot. I heard lots of good comments on the newest issue, and manyin attendance were very happy to get a copy of it.

When the day ended, those that were remaining turned their attentionto the door prize draw. One by one, Marco called out the names of theprize winners. He started with the smaller prizes, such as a free one-year subscription, and made his way up to the three vaporizers thatwere to be given away. At this point, no winners had been present, butthat was soon to come to an end. When he got to vaporizers, the placewent quiet as he was about to read out the first winner. When he saidthe name Sarah, a small scream was heard, but when the last name wasread, that small scream turned into a loud one as Sarah was present tohear her name called. She told me afterward that she was really excit-ed to win the Vapir NO2 because it was mobile and she could take itwith her wherever she went.

While the day may have come to a close shortly afterward, it was real-ly the beginning of the next step in the continuous growth of TreatingYourself magazine.

Congratulations, Marco, on your open house!!!!!!!

Open House DOOR PRIZE WINNERS

Tamara LVolcano VaporizerDonated by Treating Yourself

SkullyHerbal AirDonated by KDK Distributors

Sarah N.No 2 VapDonated by Vaporizer.ca

Davin COne VIP Pass Donated by Treating Yourself

Craig TOne VIP Pass Donated by Treating Yourself

Sabrina DCultivating Compassion Georgia Picture Donated by Georgia Peschel

David MHappy Hippie Comic Book Donated by Georgia Peschel

Darren M One-year subscription Treating Yourself journalDonated by Treating Yourself

Richard COne-year subscription Treating Yourself journalDonated by Treating Yourself

ChrisOne-year subscription Treating Yourself journal Donated by Treating Yourself

Red Cap DanThree-day pass Treating Yourself ExpoDonated by Treating Yourself

Amy BThree-day pass Treating Yourself ExpoDonated by Treating Yourself

Pete MThree-day pass Treating Yourself ExpoDonated by Treating Yourself

One of the views from the TY officeTY award hanging on the wallMarco at his desk in the new office

Name:

Address:

City: Province / State :

Postal / Zip Code: Country:

Home Phone # : Best time to call?

Email Address :

Please mail completed entry form to: Treating Yourself, Attn: RooR contest, 250 The East Mall, P.O. Box 36531, Etobicoke, Ontario.M9B 3Y8 Canada

Just answer the question and complete the following entry form and send it to TY! One lucky winner will be chosen for each prize. GOOD LUCK!!! Deadline for contest entry is August 1/11

Contest

Deadline for contest entry is August 1/11

Answer the following TY QUESTION :

complete with carrying case!

Win a complete custom

package!

Only 1 entry per person. If more than 1 entry is received then

you will be disqualified from the contest. Deadline for contest entry is

August 1/11Winners name will be announced in Treating Yourself issue # 31

Winner will be contacted by phone / mail / email so please be sure to provide your contact information in full.

ALL INFORMATION WILL BE DISTROYED IMMEDIATELY AFTER A WINNER HAS BEEN PICKED AND CONTACTED

WINNOW

Who is the founder of RooR and where is he from?

Contest WINNER

Please keep those entries coming.

We know there are manymore lucky winners.

TY 28DF

Calgary Alberta

Treating Yourself Magazine #29

Documents

Transcript of Treating Yourself Magazine #29