CannaBuff Issue 01

June 2019

The Inaugural Issue

Cannabis

June 2019

Community

Business Profile NY Medical Cannabis

Legislative Update and more!

What Side Effects to Expect Product Ratings

FREE

CANNABUFFMAG.COM • JUNE 2019 1

In this Issue 1

Cover

2

Table of Contents

3

Intro to CannaBuff

4

GoT Tribute

5

Cannabis Community

6

Business Profile

7

Sativa Remedy

8

WNY NORML Photos

9

MEND Retail Shop

10 Flora Buffalo 11 Canna Critic 12 Releaf Side Effects

THE TEAM Printer: Jamestown Post Journal Photos By: Kim Buchner KMBuchnerPhotography Magazine Design: Samantha Jean Design Ad Design: Whitney Gordon Editor: Geoff Brown Writers: Melissa Fayson & Jack Porcari

ADVISORY BOARD: Terrance Bellnier, RPh, MPA Michael Infranco, PhD Maria Janda, PharmD Michael Monzillo, MS Jake Schecter, RN Website: CannaBuffMag.com Twitter: @CannaBuffNY Facebook: @CannaBuffNY Instagram: @CannaBuffMag

13 Releaf Products 14 Legislative Update 15 CannaBuff Crossword

Special Thanks to: WNY NORML, Sativa Remedy, Vitality CBD, Buffalo Botanicals Inc., Canna-House and the Releaf app.

Disclaimer: The information and documents herein (the content) are intended for personal, noncommercial, general informational purposes, do not constitute medical advice, and are not a substitute for the advice of a medical provider or other licensed professional. CannaBuff makes no warranty, express or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability, timeliness, correctness, suitability, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose of the content, and in no event shall CannaBuff or its employees be liable for damages resulting from reading or use of the content. References to specific commercial products, or services by tradename, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, do not constitute or imply an endorsement or recommendation by CannaBuff.

CANNABUFF IS PROUD TO BE PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 2 CANNABUFFMAG.COM • JUNE 2019

CannaBuff Founders tabling at the 4:20 Freedom Festival, inside the Imagine Events Center.

Introducing: CannaBuff Magazine Welcome to Buffalo’s first and only magazine dedicated to destigmatizing responsible cannabis use and bringing a non-biased and intelligent conversation to all thing’s cannabis.

Cannabis has become a fad for news agencies and media outlets. You’ve probably read the misleading headlines and excerpts. Reliable and accurate information is hard to find. When topics about cannabis are presented by the local media the narrative is overwhelmingly one-sided and oversimplified.

With a breadth of knowledge on cannabis-related topics and a ton of enthusiasm, CannaBuff was born.

We are starting off quarterly. With new issues coming every Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.

We hope you enjoy what we’ve created, for you, and the rest of the Western New York Community. If you enjoy our magazine please follow us on social media, visit us online, or come to one of our events where we host a broad range of conversations that reflect the flourishing cannabis industry in Buffalo and the rest of WNY.

Editor

We are healthcare professionals, medical patients, passionate consumers, photographers, designers, artists, and entrepreneurs.

CANNABUFFMAG.COM • JUNE 2019 3

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CANNABIS COMMUNITY

Interview with Jack Porcari: The Cannabis Advocate, and Patient, Determined to Break the Stigma Associated with Cannabis About the Interview: Jack Porcari is the Executive Director of WNY NORML, he is also a medical cannabis patient. I first met Jack after attending the Western New York NORML meeting in January. NORML stands for National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. This was my first time in attendance, and I was there in search of collaborators for this magazine. Jack greeted me with a smile, shook my hand, and uttered something along the lines of “welcome aboard.”

We live in a world where alcohol use is revered.

Everyone is encouraged to go grab a beer or go out for a drink with their boss and coworkers, but you can be denied a job because you use cannabis. I think we should have more freedom than that, so my ultimate goal is to impact laws.

I was surprised at the turnout of the meeting. There were about twenty people to start with more trickling in as the meeting went on. Seating quickly became crowded at the table inside the Bootleg Kombucha store on Niagara St.

I’m shooting for an atmosphere of acceptance and transparency here in Buffalo. Whether I accomplish my goals by changing peoples’ minds with my medical story or through my activism with NORML, I’m determined to do it.

I learned about the goals of the organization, its advocacy efforts, and future plans for the club. The atmosphere was easy going and communicative. Everyone was invited to speak freely about ideas, recommendations, and plans for the future of cannabis in WNY.

How can someone get involved with WNY NORML? We hold monthly meetings and additional events. We usually announce these via email and on our social media pages. You can find us on facebook, twitter, Instagram, everything. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

I felt completely accepted at my first meeting. While discussions sometimes wandered off topic, the focus was quickly redirected by Jack to the upcoming lobbying efforts in Albany. I spoke with Jack after the meeting and learned that he was a medical cannabis patient.

I am thankful he was willing to share his story with me.

Tell me a little bit about yourself?

My name is Jack Porcari, I’m 19 years old, and I’m originally from Amherst, New York. I study political science at the University at Buffalo and I’m the Executive Director of WNY NORML. When did you get involved with NORML? I’ve been involved for a couple years, but I became the Executive Director in June of 2018. Being Executive Director definitely added a lot more responsibilities, but I’m getting used to it and it’s a very exciting time to be a cannabis activist!

I understand you use medical cannabis do you mind sharing a little bit about that with us?

I’ve used medical cannabis for about a year and a half. I use medical cannabis to help with my epilepsy. I have seizures that occur circumstantially and I’ve been on a lot of different medications for it. All the medications I take have a lot of really negative side effects that are annoying and can negatively affect the way I feel. I’ve found that medical cannabis helps alleviate some of those side effects, reduces my pill burden, and just gives me a general calmness that no other medication has been able to.

What are your goals as an activist and for WNY NORML as an organization?

My vision is to live in a world where cannabis use isn’t judged with sweeping generalizations and unfair labels. I don’t think people should be ashamed if they use cannabis.

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Business Profile: Sativa Remedy Company Profile:

Kha and John Frazier.

Company Name: Sativa Remedy

Nhi, originally from

Tagline: “Hemp Made Easy”

Vietnam, moved to

Website: https://sativaremedy.com/

Buffalo

Social: @SativaRemedy

was 5 years old and

when

she

eventually graduated About the Company:

from

UB

with

a

Sativa Remedy sells industrial hemp CBD products.

Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Health

Wow Factor:

& Human Services.

Sativa Remedy searches for and vets CBD manufacturers

John, originally from

throughout the country. This means they stock and sell

Washington

only premium products from the best suppliers in the

landed

country.

and worked as a

in

state, Buffalo

corporate investigator before leaving to work on Sativa About the founders: Founded in 2018, Sativa Remedy is the brain child of Nhi

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Remedy full-time.

The Interview How did Sativa Remedy come to be?

We were originally interested in medical cannabis and we entered a business competition through UB’s Blackstone Launchpad. We placed in the finals of that competition. I think after that competition we both realized that this idea was really worth pursuing.

After doing a lot of research we found a lot of barriers to entry in the medical cannabis industry, so we decided to shift our sights to hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) products.

What does Sativa Remedy do differently than other Hemp CBD companies out there?

There are a ton of hemp CBD products being sold that we wouldn’t trust or put in our own bodies, so we decided to create a store that only uses suppliers and sells products that we personally research, review, test and vet ourselves.

We focus on quality from seed to sale. We search for farmers here in the U.S. that grow strains rich in cannabinoid and terpene content. All of the brands we carry are full plant derived and use hemp genetics which results in overall superior products.

We personally review the laboratory Certificates of Analysis for every product we carry and make sure that information is available for our customers.

Another thing that really sets us apart is our presence in the community. We regularly attend events (usually on the weekends) in Buffalo. We sell our products at these events, we speak with people, and help educate them on cannabidiol supplementation.

Where are you guys located?

We’re currently located at 19 Main St. North Tonawanda. You can also make a purchase online or check out our event schedule and meet us at an event.

What is the future for Sativa Remedy?

Throughout 2019 we plan to further expand our product line. We’re always keeping an eye out for the best new hemp products that come to market. We’ve also secured a new store front in North Tonawanda and we’d like to make this a meeting place for the local cannabis community. We want to provide education and create a space for all to visit, learn, shop and purchase hemp.

“We want our store to be a meeting place for the local cannabis community.”

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ADVOCACY IN ACTION

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CBD Retail Shop

Opens Inside Dent Tower On June 3rd a cannabidiol (CBD) retail store opened inside of Dent Tower on Sheridan Road. The store is operated by Jushi Inc., a vertically integrated cannabis company with an international reach. The products are formulated by Dr. Laszlo Metchler and are sold under the brand name MEND, an acronym for Medical Excellence in Neurologic Disorders. Jushi acquired MEND in 2018 and announced that Sound Wellness, its hemp subsidiary, received its license to process hemp shortly after. The company plans to develop a $5 million extraction facility inside an old USPS office located on Buffalo’s east side. The project is estimated to create 30-65 jobs in the region. Steven Przybyla, a former Dent executive, is President of Jushi’s medical division.

The store is located on the second floor of Dent Tower and features an open layout complete with product displays, branded pillows, and neatly arranged color-coded products. The dosage forms available range from lotions to gel caps and tinctures.

According to the store’s staff, many CBD products have experienced problems with wide variability in product potency, MEND offers products that people can trust.

The move may raise concerns over whether CBD and other supplements, should be promoted by physicians, which can be seen as a conflict of interest. To be clear Metchler is not involved directly with the new retail store, but he serves as Medical Director of both Dent and Jushi.

Jushi and Dent will likely collaborate in the future. What this will look like remains unclear. Jushi may aim to leverage Dent’s experience in drug development and access to patients to help create novel cannabinoid formulations for the treatment of neurologic diseases.

In March Dent announced a study they conducted in older adults found that medical cannabis alleviated symptoms of chronic disease ranging from Parkinson’s to ALS. The study included over 200 patients and followed them over an average of 4 months.

The study was presented at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in May. For more visit Jushico.com or DentInstitute.com

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Flora Buffalo Flora – California Prime, a California based company has its sights on Buffalo for the location of a 1.25 million square foot cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution facility. It will be located at Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park, a newlydeveloped ‘smart growth’ urban commerce park located on reclaimed waterfront land. The land is owned by the Buffalo Urban Development Corporation, a not-for-profit development agency that reclaims distressed land for future developments. The board of the agency voted unanimously to sell the land to Flora for $1.9 million. Construction of the $200 million facility is expected to begin once adult use of cannabis is approved by the state.

The facility is expected to bring 500 – 1000 jobs to the region with a focus on local and minority participation. Flora Buffalo, as the campus will be called, plans to partner with Roswell Park Cancer Institute to conduct research and Erie Community College to develop a curriculum that will help educate the workforce needed to operate the facility. Though there are no formal agreements in place, representatives from Roswell and ECC have voiced their support of the company’s plans. According to Flora Buffalo’s twitter page, “The median salary for cannabis workers is 10.7% higher than the overall median salary in the U.S.” Flora also hopes to support local cannabis entrepreneurs by providing incubator space and small business assistance at the site. The campus will also house a non-profit that will focus on restorative services from the negative impact of the War on Drugs.

Flora was founded by Jim Caccavo and developer Brad Termini.

Caccavo has a strong background in health and wellness products, he’s been involved with companies such as Naked Juice and EAS. Termini, originally from Buffalo, is the son of developer Rocco Termini and is CEO of Zephyr Partners, a California real estate company.

Flora owns three dispensaries in California and will soon be opening their own grow operation in Greenfield California. The company has also enlisted the help of former Mayor, Anthony Masiello, by hiring his lobbying firm. Masiello, can be seen at the start of a video on Flora’s website speaking about the people of Buffalo and Hanna Furnace, the factory that once stood at the commerce park.

Flora has named Dasheeda Dawson, a global cannabis advocate, award-winning executive strategist, and author, the president of the Buffalo operation. Dawson speaks on topics related to social justice and minority participation in the company’s promotional videos and at their events.

Flora has hosted numerous community conversations about their plans. These talks have given residents the opportunity to voice their concerns and ask questions. At the most recent conversation, at Southside Elementary in March, concerns were raised about traffic issues during construction, odor produced by the plants, and environmental consequences. The facility would be in close proximity to Tift nature preserve.

More information is available online at FloraBuffalo.com

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Canna-Critic About this column: The purpose of this column is to highlight important and sometimes challenging issues regarding cannabis.

While we remain bullish on the industry, we hope to bring adequate attention to and spark discussion about these important issues.

The benefits of cannabis are often touted from rooftops by passionate consumers, medical patients, and industrialists. On the other hand, negative cannabis news is given very little attention. In this section we aim to play devil’s advocate or in this case cannabis critic.

The articles found in this section will cover important news that may not be easy to hear.

Cognitive Effects of Cannabis: Does Cannabis negatively impact our brain’s ability to reason?

Cognition refers to the brain’s ability to think, reason, or plan.

Studies show that acute and chronic cannabis use can negatively impact cognition. To further understand what this means, let’s take a deeper dive into understanding cognition.

Cognition can be divided into six categories: (1) Memory and Recall, (2) Attention, (3) Executive Function and Planning, (4) Language and Naming, (5) Motor Function, and (6) Social Function. Each category can be further divided down into specific cognitive tasks. For example, attention can be divided into sustained attention, selective attention, and processing speed.

As for the other cognitive domains, the effects of cannabis remain unclear. Some studies find that cannabis impairs cognitive function in every domain, but other studies refute these findings or have mixed results. Some doctors believe treatment with medical cannabis may improve cognition by alleviating symptoms of pain or anxiety that interfere with it.

To summarize, there is plenty of evidence that cannabis use impairs memory and attention in the short term and that chronic heavy use impairs memory. However, it is unclear whether these effects persist with abstinence from cannabis.

For an in-depth review of scientific evidence on this topic see the article published in the journal of Biological Psychiatry titled: “Acute and Chronic Effects of Cannabinoids on Human Cognition—A Systematic Review.”

Scientists have developed tests that measure performance on these tasks. Then, they can conduct experiments by comparing the performance of patients that use cannabis to patients that don’t use cannabis.

There is strong and consistent evidence that both short- and long-term cannabis use impairs verbal learning and memory.

Effects on other types of memory such as working memory are less clear. Some studies suggest this is due to THC, and at least one study suggests CBD may protect against this side effect.

There is also strong evidence that cannabis impairs attention.

Studies show that the younger an individual is when he or she begins consuming cannabis the poorer they will perform on attention-related tasks. Motor function may also be impaired by cannabis, but only in the short-term.

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Legislative Update: Will 2019 Bring an End to Cannabis Prohibition in New York?

By Jack Porcari Legal cannabis in New York State has been a hot topic politically in light of the state budget proposal back in January. The governor’s proposed Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act was introduced, and confusion remains over whether or not the Empire State could soon be known as the Hempire State. In 2017, Andrew Cuomo said: “It’s a gateway drug, and marijuana leads to other drugs.” However, in December of 2018, Cuomo flipped proclaiming, “Let’s legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all.”

While disenfranchised communities, medical patients and those convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses demand change now, there is still strong opposition from various anti-legalization police and education groups. Officials from Nassau, Putnam, and Suffolk County, all claim their districts will opt out if legalization is passed.

Greg Wickett, the chief of police in the Town of Hamburg and current president of the Erie County Chiefs of Police Association, offered his personal belief on legalization happening in 2019: “It does sound like that’s the trend, the politicians have the mindset that they are going to do it … I would say that it is probably likely to happen this year.” Wickett believes that this new law poses more harm than good to Erie County. He expressed much concern in the area of public safety and driving under the influence and cited a Colorado report, highlighting that fatalities, where drivers tested positive for cannabinoids, increased drastically after legalization.

Among the prevailing supporters of pro-cannabis change is Majority Leader, Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes. She represents Assembly District 141 which covers some of the Buffalo area. Peoples-Stokes is a co-sponsor of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. This bill, if enacted, would allow “the growing of and use of marihuana by persons twenty-one years of age or older” among other things. Mark Boyd, her chief of staff, gave some insight on the timeframe for this legislation: “Based upon regulatory framework … estimations look anywhere from probably a year to possibly up to two years” Looking back at the history of cannabis laws in New York State, medical marijuana was legalized in July of 2014, but patients did not start to see dispensaries until roughly eighteen months after the bill was passed. Boyd also illustrates some challenges facing legalization: “We’re just looking to make sure that the bill is strong in the sense of having the necessary social and criminal justice aspects attached to it: community reinvestment, research, education, and awareness … not only that, but it’s also going to be regulated in a way that doesn’t make it unaffordable for residents.”

Peoples-Stokes is fighting for these tenants to be present in a separate bill, but Boyd highlights that “Hopefully everything will come together by April 1st, we technically still have until June 19th to get something passed.” It turns out that legalization did not come to fruition in time for the April 1st budget deadline. On an excerpt from WAMC radio, Cuomo shared his insight: “We will get marijuana done, it’s not a question of political desire, it’s a question of the practical reality of how you put the new system in place.”

While Lawmakers have until June 19th to decide on adult use cannabis, we may be more likely to see amendments that expand 14 CANNABUFFMAG.COM • JUNE 2019

the existing medical program. This is the aim of a new bill proposed by state Senator Diane Savin. The bill expands eligible conditions to include Autism, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. It also adds smokeable dosage forms and increases the number of dispensaries allowed in the state, from 4 per company to 8. Hopefully, this change will increase competition and drive the price of medical cannabis products down.

Another change that patients will see, if the bill is signed, is the limit on the amount of product that patients can purchase. The current limit is a 30-day supply, the proposed law would double this amount. Other changes include the addition of facility caregivers and medical marijuana research licenses. The former would allow medical cannabis to be acquired, possessed, and administered at a number of facilities, while medical marijuana research licenses would permit more firms to legally conduct research using medical marijuana.

Cannabuff Crossword: Buffalo Love By: Maria Janda

ACROSS 1. Be in cahoots with 5. Son of Odin 11. 4x4 12. Giggle 13. Salmon spawn 15. Single unit 16. Our great one?

17. Wheat noodles 19. B isects Knox and Burchfield 21. Indifferent response 22. Not Uber XL, but Uber __ 23. Bills Mafia Outcry 28. Roth 29. In ____ of 30. Y ou pose for them (for short) 31. Supplement 33. Not baritone 37. Pride week garment 38. “ Let the bodies hit the ____” tune

39. F.L. Wright’s mentor 43. “You ____ what?!”

44. Key lime 45. Suffix for stamp 46. State Park near Buffalo 51. Bert’s counterpart 52. Garden tools 53. For breakfast or smoking 56. Alien 57. S cien. course, chem., physio.

58. Unit of matter 59. Harsh cleaning agent 60. Dorothy’s dog 61. Serves Sahlen’s DOWN 1. L ead-in to sine, cosine, or tangent 2. Beyoncé is to Jay-Z 3. Out there 4. P oe’s “The ____ Tale Heart”

5. British band 6. E nrique Iglesias’s 2001 song 7. Buckeye State 8. Instrument type 9. Art ______ 10. Spanish for soon 14. Culpability or blame 18. The Art of the ____ 20. Huge 23. Small dog resting place 24. Class of grads 25. Arm bones 26. Online payment add on 27. Caffeine for example 31. Purple Haze Brewer 32. Negative outcries 33. Rope-a-dope boxer 34. Buffalonian’s relationship with the weather 35. Mario Kart character 36. River in NW France

38. Type of collar 39. Mr. Richie to friends 40. Bowie’s “Space _____” 41. Cheerful 42. W hat a trickster does to his victim (with to) 43. P alme ____; Cannes award 46. Slang for cannabis 47. French article 48. Question starter 49. “ That’s a ______” (2 words) 50. W hat’s done on the phone 54. Turf 55. B eagle, Britannia, or Endeavour

Follow us on Instagram for answer key @CannaBuffMag CANNABUFFMAG.COM • JUNE 2019 15