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THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE

#79 | NOV. 2026

CAL I F O R N I A

The Harvest Issue MOST WANTED B Y HO G WA S H P H A R M S HUMBOLDT COUNTY

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INDEPENDENT CANNABIS JOURNALISM SINCE 2010

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CRYSTAL NUGS

IN THE GENES Born on May 25, 1959, in a small Gaelic-speaking town in western Ireland, Brett seemed almost destined to become a master breeder. Raised on a farm by a botanist mother and a father who grafted fruit trees, Brett was first exposed to Cannabis around age 11, when some of his dad’s younger brothers — who had traveled the infamous Hippie Hash Trail during the 1960s — came to visit. “They would come back from trips to India, live at my dad’s farm, and grow marijuana seeds they brought back,” Brett explained. “And of course, I was a very impressionable young boy, so I got kind of hooked up in all of that.” Brett helped his uncles tend their plants, but never considered smoking any of the weed they grew at that age. It wasn’t until he was 16, during an encounter on the way to the local village, that he decided to give marijuana a try. “One day I was walking into town … and a police car was passing by. The trunk was open, and sticking out were these huge marijuana bushes that they’d cut down. And because my uncles were known for growing weed, and I had a reputation as a bit of a rebel, they thought it was mine,” he recalled. “That was when I started smoking weed.” Derry and his pals had befriended a gravedigger who lived on the grounds of the local church and liked to blaze. It was with him that he first got high. “We’d hang out there on the graveyard smoking weed at night when we shouldn’t be,” Brett snickered. “That was my first experience of that.”

CANNTHROPOLOGY

NOV. 2026

nov. 2026

REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO

FIRE FOLLOWER

XLB GLASS

REHASHED

A PASSAGE TO INDIA After working his way through college, Brett was offered a lucrative engineering job by Shell Oil in, of all places, Amsterdam. “Shell … gave me a house and a car and put me up in the center of Amsterdam. It was amazing,” he reminisced. “They paid me so much money that I only had to work six months a year, and I could just go away for the other six months.” So, in 1982, Brett decided to follow in his uncles’ footsteps and set out for India. Along the way, he befriended some like-minded stoners who joined his quest. The group established base camps in Manali and Himachal Pradesh from which they’d set out by bus, train or motorcycle in search of landrace Cannabis. “We spread out on genetic expeditions. We brought back cuttings and sometimes seeds, and we did some crossings,” he recounted. “We weren’t interested in selling anything; we were just experimenting.” Over the next few years, Brett and his companions explored every major Cannabis region they could, including Afghanistan, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Burma, Cambodia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Vietnam and China — collecting data and genetics, then bringing them back to

Barney’s owner Derry Brett at the Barney’s Farm shop in Amsterdam in 2009.

THE BIRTH OF BARNEY’S In the mid 1980s, Brett was swept up in an immigration raid along with a fellow Irishman named Nick Mathews. They spent two days in a cell together, then handcuffed to each other, boarded onto a plane and deported to Ireland — an experience that bonded them for life. In 1986, Mathews partnered with a friend named Paul Gould to take over an old Hells Angels bar called Gary’s Place on Haarlemmerstraat and turn it into a coffeeshop catering to non-Dutch speakers with warmer customer service, English newspapers and comfort foods

>> continued on next page

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EDITOR’S NOTE ED ROSENTHAL FIRE FOLLOWER PERSPECTIVE SHOP REVIEW BUDTENDER Q&A CONCENTRATE REVIEW STRAIN OF THE MONTH MOST WANTED EMERALD QUEEN FARMS 710 LABS CLOSE FRIENDS PUFFCON REHASHED COOKING WITH CANNABIS GLASS ART SPOTLIGHT STUDIO SESSIONS CANNTHROPOLOGY

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COURTESY PHILEMERSON

the harvest issue

NOV. 2026

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CAL I F O R N I A

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T H E E N L I G H T E N E D VO I C E N O RT H W E ST LEA F / O R EG O N LEA F / M ARY LAN D LEA F / CAL I F O R N I A LEA F /

A B O U T T H E C OV E R Harvest time on Hogwash Pharms carries more color than the average Cannabis grow. Aside from roughly 40 strains in their Most Wanted brand, Eric Martin and Jill McClure bring on the bounty, cultivating an astounding amount of gourds, pumpkins, squash and other veggies and flowers. This year’s cover features Whitethorn Rose x Biscotti Lantern on the left and Miracle Mochi from Purple City Genetics in the background, accompanied by a gaggle of gourds. We also explore the fields of Emerald Queen Farms and NorCal Seeds & Genetics inside. Check out all these trichome-covered stories and share your faves on social, tagging @californialeafmag. PHOTO BY FULL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY @FULLLIFEPHOTOGRAPHY

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BOBBY BLACK LEAF BOWL DIRECTOR & HISTORIAN bobbyblack@leafmagazines.com MATT JACKSON CA CONTENT DIRECTOR + SOCIAL mattjackson@leafmagazines.com

Editor’s Note Thanks for picking up The Harvest Issue of California Leaf! Growing Cannabis using nature’s gifts of sun and soil is hard work, so we honor that with the annual return of this special issue. Today’s dispensaries are so full of beautifully packaged vapes and candies and tins full of infused joints that it’s easy to forget it all comes from a humble plant.

Before the Leaf started in 2010, I had never seen a Cannabis plant in real life. Drugs were bad, and I thought of pot as an illegal substance, not a beautiful garden-filling plant. After all, the government, in its infinite wisdom, said weed caused cancer, which is pretty blasphemous considering the government’s own patent on THC, U.S. Patent No. 6630507, titled “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants.”

CONTRIBUTORS WES ABNEY, FEATURES BOBBY BLACK, DESIGN + FEATURES TOM BOWERS, FEATURES + PHOTOS JACKIE BRYANT, FEATURES JIMI DEVINE, REVIEWS DAVID DOWNS, FEATURES + PHOTOS REX HILSINGER, FEATURES + PHOTOS ELLEN HOLLAND, FEATURES + PHOTOS MATT JACKSON, FEATURES + PHOTOS ROGER KISBY, PHOTOS FULL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY, PHOTOS TERPODACTYL MEDIA, PHOTOS JOSH MONTHEI, PHOTOS JOSH PORTER, PHOTOS MIKE RICKER, FEATURES + PHOTOS CHRIS ROMAINE, PHOTOS MIKE ROSATI, PHOTOS

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How ironic that science has led to confirmation that humans were designed to exist with this plant, a gift from God for our bodies via the endocannabinoid system, which is larger than our central nervous system! We were made to live with this plant, and for millennia we did, and not just with Cannabis, but with the plants that fed humans and livestock. Today’s hyperprocessed diets and digital lifestyles have disconnected our species from the Earth that still provides food, shelter, medicine and healing.

“WE MUST CELEBRATE AND HONOR THIS SPECIAL TIME OF YEAR, AND THE FARMERS WHO DEDICATE THEIR YEARS AND LIVES TO OUR MOST SPECIAL PLANT. “

That’s why the plant matters. It isn’t a drug processed in a lab. It’s not addictive or harmful. It’s extremely unique that Cannabis, and especially hemp, bioremediate the soil, meaning the plants build soil health, unlike commercial crops like soy or corn that deplete soils and rely heavily on synthetic fertilizers. From hemp can come rope, clothing, paper, food, oils, fuel and even biodegradable plastics. From Cannabis we today enjoy topicals, tinctures, drinks and edibles, joints and flower, dabs and disposables in every flavor imaginable. What a wonderful gift it is from the Most High!

While harvest now means pumpkins and decorations, holiday travel plans and shopping lists, our species has spent many more years celebrating harvests (or lamenting bad ones and going hungry) than we have building Instacarts, which is why we must celebrate and honor this special time of year and the farmers who dedicate their years and lives to our most special plant. Ask your favorite budtender for their favorite outdoor Cannabis brands, and experience the full-spectrum buzz of sun-grown bud as you read this special issue of the Leaf. CALIFORNIA LEAF MAGAZINE

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NOV. 2026

PHOTO BY ROGER KISBY @ROGERKISBY

WES ABNEY C E O & F O U N D E R wes@leafmagazines.com

N O RT HEAST LEA F

Ellen Holland is a San Francisco Bay Area-based freelance writer, the former editor of High Times

perspective

and the author of multiple books, including "Weed: Smoke It, Eat It, Grow It, Love It" (2024).

One of the tropes in Cannabis culture is that there’s nothing like growing your own flowers. Well, this isn’t true for me.

ED ROSENTHAL’S LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

LOW-MAINTENANCE GROW To be honest, although I’ve grown a few plants, I never

got hooked on growing weed. Making Cannabis journalism my career has meant that oftentimes great Cannabis comes my way, and because I roll in a group of master cultivators, their weed is often exceptional, while mine is always so-so. Because of this, I didn’t grow my own crop this year, or at least I thought I wasn’t going to … until now.

NOV. 2026

MY MAIN MENTOR in the weed game is horticulture expert and author Ed Rosenthal. I’ve known Rosenthal for years and worked on several books with him. Beyond that, we are neighbors and see each other socially quite often. Rosenthal is always experimenting in his home grows, trying to see what techniques work best for growing Cannabis. One year, he turned his plants on their sides to see if he could get more lateral branches stretching toward the sun rather than grow big top colas. Last year, he was working on growing plants with single stems. These plants had almost no branches and produced one main line of buds. The idea is that the single-stem plants are easier to harvest and have a faster turnaround time because they spend less time in the vegetative stage.

This year, Rosenthal popped some autoflower seeds and started experimenting with how minimally he could work with them so they would produce flowers. His home greenhouse setup includes five hours of supplemental LED lighting, an aerated plastic trash can filled with water and nutrients, 3-gallon pots filled with clay pebbles on the bottom and soil on top and a heated water reservoir beneath the pots that lets the plants draw water as needed. The plants are covered in panda plastic white side up to prevent insects, keep the containers cool and stop water from evaporating. There was one snag in his plan this year, though. Rosenthal has been on a quest to relegalize Cannabis in India, a place where he has formative memories from his younger days, and set off on a long trip “... Plants have been around for hundreds of at the beginning of October. That’s where I come in; I’m millions of years, and set to give the plants 2 quarts they did pretty well of water a week and watch without humans.” them for about a month to see when they are ready to harvest. Then, I’ll have to harvest, dry, cure and trim them. In exchange, Rosenthal said I can keep most of the buds. “The plants take care of themselves,” Rosenthal said while giving me the instructions for the setup. “The lights go on every day, and I give them about five hours of extra light, and then they do the rest themselves. It’s up to them.” This low-maintenance setup is designed to minimize daily human involvement. The seeds were started in Rockwool cubes around late August or early September. The clay pebbles act like a wick, drawing water up from the reservoir below through capillary action, like a tissue pulls water from a glass. “A lot of people like to take care of their plants every day and think that plants need their help, but plants have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and they did pretty well without humans,” Rosenthal said. “And so, as long as they get the requirements met — enough light, enough nutrients, enough water, enough air for the roots — they can take care of themselves. This shows that they don't really need human love and, you know, caresses.” Rosenthal told me that next year he might replace my role watering the plants once a week by using the force of gravity. It feels like a blow to have my labor replaced by a natural phenomenon, but I understand. It’s all part of making growing Cannabis easier for all of us. By next year, I’m sure Rosenthal will be trying other methods of growing as part of his never-ending project to grow pot in the simplest way. And, this year, that involves recruiting me as a somewhat reluctant Cannabis cultivator. In the end, Rosenthal and I will probably have some weed to smoke. And, who knows, maybe the simplicity of the setup will help me finally fall in line with one of his most famous quotes: “Marijuana may not be addictive, but growing it is.” EDROSENTHAL.COM @EDROSENTHAL420

STORY & PHOTO by ELLEN HOLLAND @HOLLANDBUDS for LEAF NATION

HUMBOLDT SEED COMPANY’S NEW PEACH EMOJI HAS US DROOLING THE YEAR OF THE PEACH-SMELLING TERPENES RAMPS TO A FINALE

WE’VE ALWAYS been fans of stone fruit — the riper, the better! As we near the end of 2026 and review the year’s trends, it’s clear we’ve been having an era of the peach. The fresh-freezing and solventless processing of flowers into hash unlocked huge, fresh, new fruit flavors that otherwise die in the drying room. Virtually every fruit flavor can be found on a good hash shelf, and, shocker, hash heads drool for peach candy. Rounding out this year of peach genetics is the latest from the industry-leading Humboldt Seed Company: Peach Emoji. You can see the team driving at mucho peach terpenes that also yield tons of hash. They got there with CHA Genetics’ Grilled Peach, magnified by the hashers Papaya, TallyMon and Honey Banana crossed with UK Cheese. This wasn’t a one-and-done project. HSC founder and CEO Nat Pennington bred the Peach Emoji to itself twice, which is called “selfing.” They also selfed their strain Honey Bear three times in this project. “It took us a while to feel like we could confidently say that this strain is just peach candy,” Pennington said. The result is weed that smells like peach ring candy and peach pie on the branch. Make hash from it and expect this expansive, artificial peach taste PEACH EMOJI with hints of schnapps and vanilla. “It doesn’t taste like a real peach. When Cannabis imitates something, it’s often the flavoring version of it. It smells like a bottle of cheap peach schnapps or Dollar Tree peach rings,” Pennington said. The 70% sativa revs smokers up, HASH PLATTER while the strain itself doesn’t take that long to finish. HSC doesn’t add problem MORE PEACH BUZZ HSC'S children to its lengthy roster. Peach HSC’s Peach Emoji helps close out an NAT PENNINGTON Emoji is a vigorous plant that deTAKES A PHENO epic year of tight peach terps all around. HUNT BREAK IN velops tall, frosty, green Over in Oakland, California, “It took us a while Purple City Genetics pumped THE SHADE. spears with purple freckles and big bracts. to feel like we could out Moroccan Peaches crosses confidently say It finishes as fast as anything else despite the in its El Krem hasher line. The that this strain is sativa profile — about 50-60 days indoors and standouts included Habibi (Z x between Sept. 25 and Oct. 5 outdoors. just peach candy.” Moroccan Peaches), released For the cash croppers, the company states at Clonetopia in May. that Peach Emoji hits 34%-40% THC, performs Staefli Genetics’ Mewell indoors and outdoors and is a dual-use plant capable ga-Peaches, grown by Neukom Family of producing flower or hash. Farm and washed by Fire King, had We saw the hash obsession from the brand at the Oct. dabbers making the goon face during San 3-4 Puffcon Block Party in downtown Los Angeles. AlongFrancisco Hash Week in July. side their seeds, the HSC crew was dabbing people out Down in Compton, California, Masonic from a custom six-pack of hash flavors they had processed Seed Company released Mase and the from their own material. Giant Peach (Peach Limeade x Tropicanna Look out for three more cultivars from HSC in the fourth F2). quarter of 2026: Cloud Candy, based on its 2025 star, Colorado’s Bloom Seed Co. really owns Candy Hustle, as well as Hawaiian Papayaz, also bred with the peach hash game with Peach Guava hash in mind. Lastly, expect a third Bob Marley Family strain (Peach OZ x Pure Guava) and Peach Pinein the lineup — they’re locking in the name as of press time. apple (Peach OZ x Pomelo Punch 5).

HSC'S HALLE PENNINGTON SMELLS THE FLOWERS

HUMBOLDT SEED COMPANY

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FIRE FOLLOWER

Award-winning journalist/author and former Leafly Senior Editor David Downs’ monthly genetics intelligence dispatch.

NOV. 2026

THE HSC CREW DURING A 2025 PHENO HUNT

International brand name Doja also showed its Peach Tree (Gelonade x P41) crop going straight to fresh-frozen. As we noted last month, Grounded Genetics of Amsterdam has Maracuya (Zwisher x Peach Guava) and its own Peach Guava (Peach Limeade x Key Lime Guava). Online, Aficionado Seeds dared to list a $20,000 Peach Tree clone this year that was super loud in the bag and featured unabashedly green buds. And at Puffcon 2026, we chatted with Terphogz’ Tony Mendo, who is excited to be working on a project that crosses Pineapple Lemon Superboof with Peach OZ. NOV. 2026 POT FARMER’S ALMANAC Finish drying, and begin curing and trimming the outdoor crop. Make bubble hash. Press rosin. Plan a harvest party. Plant a cover crop. Full Beaver Moon: Nov. 24, 2026.

HUMBOLDTSEEDCOMPANY.COM @THEHUMBOLDTSEEDCOMPANY

STORY & PHOTOS by DAVID DOWNS @DAVIDDOWNS for LEAF NATION

Quick Hit

perspective

Former San Diego Magazine Managing Editor Jackie Bryant joins Leaf Nation to imagine the future of the Cannabis industry.

41% more items per bag on Green Wednesday compared to Ordinary Wednesday (OW) 12% higher ticket per customer on GW vs. OW 21% lower price per item paid on GW vs. OW 84% of GW customers were months-long returning customers 8% of GW customers were new shoppers

A familiar dispensary has its advantages when you’re trying to get through a shopping list. You can spend an absurd amount of time comparing menus, especially when every flower description seems to promise a life-changing experience. Knowing where to find something you like saves some homework. And there’s a small, specific pleasure in spotting a discount on a product you were already prepared to pay full price for. Plenty of the shopping happened early. Activity during the 8 a.m. hour nearly tripled compared with an ordinary Wednesday, according to Sweed’s analysis. Pickup accounted for just over half of Green Wednesday orders, up from about 44%. The holiday was well underway before the after-work crowd arrived. Those numbers suggest a place for the dis“You can spend an pensary in the Thanksgiving WHO’S BUYING WHAT, ACCORDING TO SWEED absurd amount of time errand run, with an order waiting to be collected becomparing menus, tween other obligations. especially when every REEN WEDNESDAY gives buying weed the I find that fairly endearworks out to an average price per item about flower description respectable air of getting ready for coming. Buying weed can occu21% lower, reflecting both prices and the mix seems to promise pany. The long weekend is coming, and py the same mundane corof products people bought. Shoppers took a life-changing restocking the stash gets to share a to-do ner of life as remembering home substantially more without increasing list with buying potatoes. This year, the coffee for the next morning. their spending by nearly as much. experience.” dispensary shopping holiday falls on Nov. 25, the The pleasure comes later; I’d happily use that kind of purchasing day before Thanksgiving. I would happily volunteer right now, you’re checking power to buy more flower I already love. to handle that errand. something off a list. Getting a good price A discount also makes an unfamiliar grower a little A sale on something you already enjoy has obvimakes the stop a little more satisfying, easier to take a chance on. ous appeal during a week when the grocery bill can especially with a long weekend ahead. There’s room for some curiosity here. The trouble starts get obscene. Of course, a dispensary promotion can My ideal Green Wednesday would end when the offer does all the choosing: buying several also send you home with several things you had no with something I’m excited to smoke and products you barely want to qualify for a deal on the one intention of buying. Suddenly, getting a deal involves enough left in the budget for everything you came for. At some point, you’re paying to help clear spending more money than you planned, and you’re else. I’d like to get home feeling pleased a shelf. explaining the purchase to yourself with arithmetic with the purchase, without having to The people filling those carts had some history with the that would embarrass you under other circumstances. explain to myself why I needed four extra stores. Sweed found that 84% of Green Wednesday shopSome transaction data from dispensary software things to save money on the first one. pers had first purchased there more than 100 days earlier. company Sweed offers a glimpse of what actually There are still potatoes to buy. New customers made up about 8% of shoppers. happens at checkout. In the stores the company The holiday crowd was largely made up of people analyzed, 2025 Green Wednesday orders contained returning to a business they had already tried, which is 41% more items than on an ordinary Wednesday, unsurprising to me, but I think it may surprise industry SWEEDPOS.COM while average spending per order rose 12%. That marketers who bank on new consumers constantly. @GETSWEED

THE THANKSGIVING WEED RUN

leafmagazines.com

nov. 2026

STORY by JACKIE BRYANT @JACQBRY | ILLUSTRATIONS by ADOBE STOCK

shop review

CRYSTAL NUGS This month, Hall of Flowers launched its first event in Sacramento, so it’s a perfect time to tell you about one of the city’s most ambitious, engaging dispensaries: Crystal Nugs. The Leaf stopped into the store to talk with CEO and co-founder Maisha Bahati about what has made them so successful since opening in 2023.

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OWNERS & STAFF

nov. 2026

... CRYSTAL NUGS IS PROUD TO OFFER ONE OF SACRAMENTO’S LARGEST INDOOR FLOWER MENUS, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON NEARBY PRODUCERS.

CRYSTAL NUGS

2300 J ST., SACRAMENTO, CA CRYSTALNUGS.COM @CRYSTALNUGS.916 OPEN 9 A.M.-9 P.M. DAILY (916) 507-1099

SACRAMENTO’S FIRST Black womanowned dispensary, which started as a delivery service, opened three years ago as the fourth store in the city’s Cannabis Opportunity Reinvestment and Equity program. According to the CORE website, the program is “dedicated to assisting individuals and communities who are facing barriers in starting Cannabis businesses due to the historical disparate enforcement of Cannabis crimes” by providing “training, technical and financial assistance and other guidance.” Since transitioning to retail, the store now employs 22 staff members, has started construction of an on-site consumption lounge and is one of at least 24 businesses CORE lists on its website. A multistory building on a busy intersection in Midtown Sacramento, Bahati said she worked hard to get a very visible location. “We didn’t want to be one of those dispensaries off in the corner,” she said. “This space is for everybody. I wanted to present that in every aspect of Crystal Nugs — that this is a normal thing, and we’re just normal people, you know? I like to see people bringing their moms in here.” Walking in, you’ll start in the first-floor lobby, where you can preorder through a kiosk or, if you’re not sure what you want, take the elevator to the secondfloor showroom. There, you’ll find digital

tabletop displays with product menus and a counter lined with their High Roller section of premium flower. This dispensary has a deep roster of strains to choose from. Bahati told the Leaf that Crystal Nugs is proud to offer one of Sacramento’s largest indoor flower menus, with a particular focus on nearby producers. The shop even has two in-house flower brands: Uncle Jerry and Bahati. A few things you’ll notice when you walk around are the giveback program for recycling Cannabis jars and the community bulletin board, where you can leave flyers. Not just a throwback to a less digital time, the board also serves as a vital way to promote Cannabis events without the issues faced when promoting on social media. “Every day I come in, someone is putting something new on there,” Bahati said. The recycling program offers a 5% discount to anyone who brings in three cleaned glass jars from previous orders to be repurposed into glass for candles. Along with focusing on flower, community and sustainability, Crystal Nugs caters to a large topical and vape crowd and has its own in-house edibles brand, Gummie Grannie, which Bahati said uses a staff member as the basis for its mascot. At this dispensary, you can clearly see the attention to detail, as well as the influence from Bahati’s background.

“Prior to Cannabis, I had been in fashion design for 20-some years, and my husband and I were both entrepreneurs,” she told the Leaf. “So, when we got into this industry, we were already creators and visionaries, so we just applied those skill sets.” Vibrant and eye-catching without feeling overly accessorized, there’s something to see everywhere you look. “When we opened, we wanted something open that flowed, that felt a little upscale but also welcoming. We also wanted it to have a feminine touch, and I wanted you to know when you walked in here that there was Black ownership,” Bahati said. “I wanted to bring all those aspects together, and every time I walk in here, I’m happy and satisfied.”

CEO & COFOUNDER MAISHA BAHATI

BAHATI BRAND FLOWER

STORY by MATT JACKSON @ACTIONMATTJACKSON/@CALIFORNIALEAFMAG Photos by Nik Zvolensky @nik_z_photo | See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

budtender of the month

nted b

Prese

COOKIES LA MESA

MEKAYLA HOGAN

7935 EL CAJON BLVD., LA MESA, CA COOKIESDISPENSARY.COM 9 A.M.-9 P.M. MON-THURS 7 A.M.-9 P.M. FRI-SUN (619) 737-1920

Your shop is next to San Diego State University. Have you ever had a student ask which strain would be good for keeping them awake during a classic European pottery lecture? I wouldn’t be surprised if that actually happened! I would recommend a good sativa that will keep them alert and focused. If we have Green Crack or Durban Poison, I’ll suggest those. Everyone can benefit from a little boost in energy. Those strains are hard to find, though. Why do you think it’s tough to find some of the old-school strains now? I’d prefer to see more old-school strains. I personally like garlic, onion, skunky, diesel, dirty and Chemdog. I wish there were more of these. Right now, everything seems to be candy flavors like Lemon Cherry Gelato, and it seems that the old genetics have been crossbred too much. You love the color pink, but Cookies rocks the notorious baby blue aesthetic. Is that a conflict of interest when you’re behind the counter? Not at all; it’s a union. Baby blue is my second favorite color. It’s all about cotton candy vibes, so it’s perfect.

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

Your dad brought the family to San Diego through his service in the military. How does he feel about you making a living in the Cannabis industry? My dad is out of the military now and is recovering from brain cancer, so he’s very appreciative that I’m able to suggest medicine to help him through this difficult time.

“I’D LIKE TO SEE CONSUMERS FOCUS LESS ON THC PERCENTAGES AND FOCUS MORE ON TERPENES.”

What would you like to see in the industry in the near future? I’d like to see consumers focus less on THC percentages and focus more on terpenes. All the different flavors and the growing methods — these all make a big difference in your experience.

You’ll always see her wearing pink! Mekayla Hogan loves exploring Cannabis products that feature her favorite color: pink. Bongs, packaging, etc. — if it’s pink, she’s on it. Follow her on Instagram @Mkmekayla.

nov. 2026

If you could sesh with a famous musician, who would it be? I’d be down to smoke with my favorite rapper, NBA YoungBoy.

If you see Mekayla during your next visit to Cookies, congratulate her; she just got engaged and will be planning a wedding soon.

STORY & PHOTOS by MIKE RICKER @RICKERDJ/CALIFORNIA LEAF @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG Who’s your favorite budtender? Tell us why! Email nominations to mattjackson@leafmagazines.com

concentrate THE harvest of the month ISSUE

SOLFUL

GROWN BY TERRAPIN FARMS | WASHED BY HARRY ROSE

STELLA’S CHEM

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Every gram of rosin is a portal. Look through it with the right kind of eye, and you can see an entire world of characters, scenes, flavors and sensations. Let’s jump through one. DABBERS AND VAPERS can enjoy a fresh Chem cross from Solful’s four different Northern California locations. Legacy growers Terrapin Farms teamed up with top hash maker Harry Rose and Northern California retailer Solful to bring a contemporary twist to classic Chemdawg just in time for the holiday season. The flower for this hash comes from Terrapin’s bucolic spot on the remote Klamath River in northern Humboldt County, where owner Michael Korejko has been growing weed for 30 years. Now helped by his son Sky, SOLFUL.COM Korejko follows an organic, regenerative @SOLFULNORCAL @TERRAPINFARMS707 style that perfectly fits Solful’s mission to elevate small, legacy outdoor grows. @HELPFULL_HARRY

nov. 2026

HASH ROSIN

Stella’s Chem rosin is skull-bone white, translucent and twinkles like a star. It’s got a soft, gooey consistency that works best with an electronic dab tool that heats up and helps the glob slide off. If you’re looking to worm it up for a hash hole, pop it in the freezer for a bit and work quickly. The initial smell evokes biting lime, Windex and sulfur. Vaporization elicits the sweeter side of the Chem, and it hits clean, smooth and strong. At 75% THC and 6% terpenes, the hybrid effects support work, creativity, playing the new “GTA 6” or hanging out with the crew. Named for their farm dog, a kelpie named Stella Blue, Stella’s Chem is a follow-up to Terrapin Farms’ 2025 release Chem #4 x Northern Lights, which debuted at the Grateful Dead 60th Anniversary show with Dead & Company in Golden Gate Park. This time, Terrapin crossed Chem #4 with Cannarado’s Grape Pie to give the rosin a slightly sweeter profile. Chemdawg famously comes from a 1991 Grateful Dead show parking lot score by Greg “Chemdog” Krzanowski in Noblesville, Indiana. So it’s like Terrapin brought Chem back to the Dead, dude! “Everyone absolutely loved it,” Korejko said to the Leaf. “I hadn’t grown Chemdawg in like 15 years and was stoked to have that unmistakable pungent, gassy funk again and decided to grow a batch the following year for fresh frozen.” Hash maker Harry Rose processed the fresh-frozen flower into 90-micron and 120-micron ice water hash, freeze-dried it and pressed it into rosin. Rose has been hashin’ since 1985 and making water hash since 1999. Together, he’s helping propel Solful deeper into new extract dimensions. Solful also released Stella’s Chem in vape pens, providing this flavorful experience to those who don’t use e-rigs or have a stack of slurpers on their desk. Dab up Stella’s Chem and jump through your own portal this Thanksgiving break.

STORY by DAVID DOWNS @DAVIDDOWNS for @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG | PHOTO by TERPODACTYL MEDIA @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA

CAL I F O R N I A

strain of the month

Pacific Gas Reserve

leafmagazines.com

nov. 2026

was just how much I loved smelling them. I love the flavor of it, the effects of it, and I wasn’t seeing a ton of it on the marketplace.”

GREENSHOCKFARMS.COM @GREENSHOCK.GENETICS

From there, he added the Long Valley Royal Kush into the mix, and that, he claimed, is when he started getting selections with a lot more gassier notes. The breeding work has led to great results. The OG Kush and gassier strains of the past were never known for yield and vigor. However, the lines that Greyshock has worked on have proven the opposite, making them that much more commercially viable in a time when the hills of Northern California have seen many farmers struggle after the transition to the recreational marketplace. “It performs amazingly well against mildews and molds, and it’s even very bug resistant,” Greyshock said. “So it’s turned out to be a great flavor, great effect for me, and grows very, very well in both our climates here in Grass Valley and over in Mendo.” If you’re looking for heavy-hitting sungrown Cannabis this season, Pacific Gas Reserve should be at the top of your list. Greyshock called it a great way to wind down at the end of a long day.

HAVE A LEAD ON SOME SERIOUS FIRE? EMAIL MATTJACKSON@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

STORY by JIMI DEVINE @JIMIDEVINE2.0 for @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG | PHOTO by JOSH MONTHEI @CAPTURECANNABIS

Cultivated by Greenshock Farms

Greenshock Farms traces its roots back to before California’s medical era started with the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996. Recently, California Leaf had a chance to talk with Greyshock about the two-year journey of bringing Pacific Gas Reserve to the market. “Pacific Gas Reserve is a Double Lantern crossed with a male Double OG Chem x Vanilla Kush x Double OG Chem,” Greyshock stated via text message. The Double Lantern — Green Lantern crossed with Double OG Chem and Long Valley Kush — is a two-time California State Fair gold medalist in the Caryophyllene category. Originally bred in 2024, Greyshock conducted a 350-seed pheno hunt of various strains at his Nevada County nursery facility a year later. The Pacific Gas Reserve selection he made there proved to be one of the stars of that 2025 hunt. This season, Pacific Gas Reserve moved into full production at Greenshock Farms’ main production facilities in Mendocino County. Pacific Gas Reserve is a direct result of an effort to hunt down the kinds of gassier strains the market has been lacking in recent years. “The main reason I was going after these heavy gases was just how much I loved smelling them. I love the flavor of it, the effects of it, and I wasn’t seeing a ton of it on the marketplace,” Greyshock said. “Everybody was kind of talking about how they felt gas should make a comeback. So, I guess starting about like five years ago, I started really going after it.” For this quest, Greyshock noted that he focused on Rebel Grown’s Double OG Chem Line and Ridgeline Farms’ Green “The main reason Lantern. Both strains had previously taken I was going after top honors at The Emerald Cup, and he these heavy gases went on to pair the two himself.

FOUNDED BY AWARD-WINNING BREEDER MARK GREYSHOCK,

Greenshock Farms.

Pacific Gas Reserve from

will certainly be the

among its finest offerings

Cannabis harvest, and

October’s massive outdoor

access to the bounty of

consumers will have

California

This month,

THE harvest ISSUE

HUMBOLDT’S MOST WANTED

The early October sun illuminated the cloud billowing around Eric Martin’s tanned face, making it hard to tell the difference between the smoke and the wisps of hair sticking out from underneath his Most Wanted hat.

TOM BOWERS @MEGABOMBTOM2.0

leafmagazines.com

nov. 2026

ERIC & JILL

TOM BOWERS @MEGABOMBTOM2.0

A SPROUT

“HEY, HERE WE GO,” Martin said, pausing in place and sharpening his senses. First, there was nothing. Then came the faint “thup, thup, thup” of the most hated birdsong in Northern California. We all froze, craning to listen. After a moment, his shoulders relaxed, and he took another pull from the joint. “That's the Coast Guard, though,” he said. It was a sequence that unfurled multiple times on that fall afternoon at Hogwash Pharms, on the property where Martin has lived and cultivated for more than 30 years with his partner, Jill McClure. Now in their 50s and seeing the erosion of integrity in the industry, Martin and McClure have created the Most Wanted brand to preserve and celebrate the heritage, history and craft of more than half a century in Southern Humboldt and the Emerald Triangle. Theirs is the story of Humboldt Cannabis, of bootstrapping, homesteading renegades and outlaws. It’s the story of hiding from helicopters and fighting for a way of life.

Martin moved up to Humboldt County from Huntington Beach with his parents when he was 11 months old. “They wanted to move us out of what they saw coming, as far as the city culture, and took us up to the country where there was about 200 inches of rain a year,” Martin said. “It all started with my mom selling 3 pounds of weed in a rainstorm and starting the family enterprise, back in 1973.” He points into the distance. “We lived literally right on the other side of that next ridge,” he said. “We had several properties around that area where we were actually cultivating plants, pretty large volumes of plants. And that's where my dad started the bulk soil business. We were selling bulk soil at the top of our driveway, and we were growing lots of weed all over the property, too, which seemed like it drew a little bit of attention. And then by ‘80, ‘81, he started the garden supply on the Sylvadales Gardens property, which became a lot more work for me and my brother because we were indentured to making the family homesteads work, and that dream of living in the country come true.” // STORY CONTINUES NEXT PAGE

STORY by TOM BOWERS @MEGABOMBTOM2.0 @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG | PHOTOS by MOST WANTED/@FULLLIFEPHOTOGRAPHY & TOM BOWERS See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

MOST WANTED

THE harvest ISSUE

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

TOM BOWERS @MEGABOMBTOM2.0

By the early 1980s, Martin and his brother were basically handling all major labor on the grow. “My dad would drop us off with our little hip sack, and we'd have a little jar of peanut butter and our clamp tool and some couplers and some different things to be able to fix broken water lines,” he said. It was an American pastoral upbringing, if you don’t count the gunships. “This was ground zero for the fucking war on drugs when they first came in,” Martin said. “The first military gunships by Vietnam air pilots in the early ‘80s that came across the farm … here they come with a belt-fed machine gun hanging out the window, all dressed in camo, and you're just a little kid. What in the fuck is that?” Martin gestured in front of us at the close airspace just over where one of the Martins’ fields sits now. “It was right here, right here, not way over there flying by,” he said, emphasizing the extreme close proximity of the airborne war machine. “Looking at you with the fucking machine gun. You’d more

nov. 2026

than feel it. Back in the day we used to grow big plants, and we'd throw the hay on them, and we'd take all the cut straw, and we'd throw straw over the top of them, and they'd just look like these big straw piles, and then we'd hide in them, and the helicopters would come over, and fucking start blowing the straw off and they'd fly away. We'd get back up and throw more straw over the fucking weed to kind of cover it up and break it up so it wasn't just so bright green, and we'd hide back under the plants in the hay piles, under the helicopters.” Hiding from militarized law enforcement came with a side of constant guarding against THE HOMESTEAD trespassers of all kinds. “You're setting booby traps as a young kid because that's just how the culture was kind of metamorphosing in the early ‘80s. … Guard your shit and don't talk about your shit. We weren't allowed to have friends over unless they

were the direct next-door neighbor that lived a mile away on their own properties. … My dad would have those Vietnamese military ground sensor probes, so they pick up acoustic vibration, like raindrops or quail walking. And he'd set those, and they'd come to a shortband radio at the house from the garden sites around the properties. And you'd hear deer, and it would be this little ‘beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep,’ and it would come through the radio. And every patch had a different sequence of beeps that it would have. And we'd have a graph where we'd listen to the beeps and be like, ‘Oh no, that sounds like rain.’ You would learn how deer walk. They take a few steps and then they pause, they listen, and they take a few more steps. Humans: step, step, step, listen, step, step, step. They're kind of a little bit like deer, but they have two less feet. So there's a little less ‘beep, beep, beep.’” COURTESY

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RESILIENT TEENS

PHOTOS BY MOST WANTED/@FULLLIFEPHOTOGRAPHY

IN FULL FLOWER

TOM BOWERS @MEGABOMBTOM2.0

IN THE YEARS SINCE, THE TWO HAVE LEARNED EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT BUILDING AND MAINTAINING THEIR FARM, FROM CONSTRUCTION TO ELECTRICAL, TO MAINTAINING THE ROADWAYS LEADING TO THE REMOTE, HARD-TO-REACH PROPERTY.

Looking around Hogwash Pharms, you wouldn’t guess that it all grew from such adversity. The property is a labor of love, sprouted from Martin connecting with McClure, who moved in with him during the 1993-94 season and started building a life powered by the plant. Coming from a liberal arts education peppered with political protests, McClure offered a counterpoint to Martin’s history on the farm. She graduated high school in 1985, and after a year in Santa Cruz, decided to come back to Humboldt to grow weed. “My goal was just to get my own homestead,” she said. “And then eventually, yes, a couple years later I met Eric, and he was like, ‘Oh, I'm building a house. I have property here. You can have this patch over here. You can grow, and you can grow on this other patch with my land partner's girlfriend.’ So that first year in ‘94, I had my own patch.” In the years since, the two have learned everything there is to know about building and maintaining their farm, from construction to electrical, to maintaining the roadways leading to the remote, hard-to-reach property. They spent two years collecting the river rock to construct their hardscaping, stairway and patio fireplace outside their main house. Their three primary grow sites comprise the majority of 22,000 square feet of grow canopy, where they recently harvested around 40 strains to take to market from the 2026 season. It’s a far cry from the harsh landscape of the overt drug war. Now they battle market realities and industry regulators who could fine them, or worse, for a misplaced slip of paper. Though on that harvest-time afternoon in early October, it’s easy to tell they don’t plan on going anywhere. Martin took a beat, surveying the entire valley from the front deck of one of the many houses he built with his own hands. “This is what I call the million-dollar view of the billiondollar industry,” he said. “These are the hills of Southern Humboldt.”

@MOSTWANTEDHUMBOLDT @HOGWASHPHARMS

STORY by TOM BOWERS @MEGABOMBTOM2.0 @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG | PHOTOS by MOST WANTED/@FULLLIFEPHOTOGRAPHY & TOM BOWERS See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

THE harvest ISSUE

RAMPINGUP EMERALD QUEEN FARMS

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RILEY & HANNAH

The first thing you notice when you roll up on a big old pot farm is usually, well, the pot. At Emerald Queen Farms, the first thing you notice is the skate ramp. “We bought the spot, and in the center of the field, there’s this huge green building they use for horses,” said Riley Morrison, who co-owns Emerald Queen with his partner, Hannah Whyte.

nov. 2026

JOHN DEERE MODEL 420

TOM BOWERS

“THE PREVIOUS OWNER would dry in there, and we had the ramp built inside with a bowl pocket, and it was covered. At that point, we were really nervous the county was going to make us rip it out. But for two or three years, it was a covered skate ramp. We would just throw ragers. The Halloween parties were wild. … No one died. I didn’t get sued. The stories are out there.” They informally dubbed it the Emerald Queen Recreation Center, and as Riley tells its history while shredding on his board on the (now open-air) ramp, the spirit of the farm begins to reveal itself. Emerald Queen runs on community. The concept continues to unfold as we walk the rows of towering full-term sungrown plants, and Morrison talks about how Whyte is searching for a new executive director for the Humboldt County Growers’ Association, for which she serves as the board chair and acting director. “Trying to keep it intact means a lot to her,” Morrison said. “It’s with hopes to hold a trade organization through this that is cultivator-led. It’s not consultants. It’s roots. They work with Origins Council, they work with Mendocino Cannabis Alliance, all the orgs, Nevada County. We’re all homies. We all do the work together, but HCGA is a fucking powerhouse, and it always has been.”

The pride with which Morrison and Whyte discuss the cultivator community carries over to their crop. As we pass between columns of cultivars, he rattles off the origins of each flavor we pass. He points out a number of cultivars from frequent collaborator Kristian Andreassen, the founder and owner of Kounter Kulture. He names an up-and-coming breeder out of Michigan he BLACK recently started working with. MAPLE It’s a who’s who of cultivation and genetics. “The Berry Fizz, the Red Lemons, the Piegasm, the Juicy Cubez all come from this breeder in Michigan who we’ve been working with called Terp Fountain,” Morrison said. “All his genetics are fuego. I connected with him through a crew from Maine.”

Out in the field, Morrison smiles through his beard like a jolly elf in a candy shop, encouraging us to “get in there” and experience the cornucopia of aromas. “Here’s the Banana Punch,” he said. “This is a clone we got from 710 Labs when we did a grow with them, and we’ve been blessed enough to be able to keep it. This is like the GOAT of banana resin and the coolest thing.” // STORY CONTINUES NEXT PAGE

STORY by TOM BOWERS @MEGABOMBTOM2.0 @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG | PHOTOS by CHRIS ROMAINE @KANDIDKUSH See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

TOM BOWERS

THE harvest ISSUE

EMERALD QUEEN FARMS CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

nov. 2026

Morrison said they look for a combination of consistency and ingenuity when it comes to genetics. “In the nursery, there’s over 200 individual cultivars that most of them we don’t even run, but we just have them kept either for breeding or to rotate,” he says, naming Phinest and Pacific Roots as a couple of breeders in their library. “We’ve been running the same kind of hash genetics for three seasons, and this year we basically did all new-hunt varietals for the market, and all the folks we got contracts with are super stoked just to get something fresh and new in there.” This year, they’ll pull down about 1,500 pounds of A-grade for flower and fresh frozen from 33,000 square feet of canopy. But in true Emerald Queen form, it’s not all about work. Morrison gestures toward the drone flying around the compound, being piloted by Keith. “He lives on-site, and he does productions,” Morrison said. “They’re filming some kind of trance-techno thing here tomorrow. … We’re still having fun. I feel really fortunate.” EMERALDQUEENFARMS.COM @EMERALDQUEENFARMS

“THE MAJORITY OF THIS NATIVE SOIL WILL ALL GO TO HASH. THE MAJORITY OF THESE STEEL FRAMES ARE FOR FLOWER. LIKE A 60-40 OF HASH TO FLOWER IS WHAT WE DO HERE.”

TOM BOWERS

Emerald Queen decided to go for 100% full term this year because of shifting market realities and increased overhead of maintaining light-dep houses. There’s also Morrison’s predisposition to growing huge, towering trees. “He’s like, ‘They’re not big enough,’” Whyte said. “And then he’s like, ‘Well, now they’re out of the greenhouse. They’re taller than the greenhouse.’” The plants are indeed tall — well past the limits of where the greenhouse covers would drape. “Each greenhouse is like a half varietal,” Morrison said, gesturing to the different sections. “The majority of this native soil will all go to hash. The majority of these steel frames are for flower. Like a 60-40 of hash to flower is what we do here.” They work with a few different hash makers, among them the Bryantist, as well as a long-time collaborator, Punch Extracts. Emerald Queen also recently joined fellow Humboldt cultivators Huckleberry Hill Farms and Mattole Valley Sungrown in a three-flavor collab hash drop called Taste of Humboldt, featuring Queen’s Chem alongside Huckleberry’s Whitethorn Rose and Mattole-cultivated Paradise Rose. You can catch our August 2026 review of the collab at leafmagazines.com

TOM BOWERS

leafmagazines.com

STORY by TOM BOWERS @MEGABOMBTOM2.0 @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG | PHOTOS by TOM BOWERS & CHRIS ROMAINE @KANDIDKUSH See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

company profile

710 Labs Loves Their Close Friends

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Released in small, exclusive batches, 710 Labs’ Close Friends tier represents the brand’s most exclusive offerings. Always packed with a healthy dose of trippy visuals, memes and sight gags, these eye-catching jars score above their already top-level “persy” rosin. When a batch exceeds the team’s expectations on every front except for yield, it receives this heady distinction. PREVIEWED AT their Puffcon activation, the new Close Friends packaging is a step ahead of anything you’ve seen on the shelf. We spoke with Adam Jacobs, vice president of sales at 710 Labs, who gave us an early preview before heading to their multistate launch event. We can report that what 710 Labs Cofounder Skelly has dreamed up is a Pokémon evolution on the scale of Feebas to Milotic. Futuristically retro and layered with hidden extras, the neon blue box with its yellow top is slightly opaque, giving a glimpse at the seemingly plain black jar inside. Pop off the magnetic lid to discover a whole

nov. 2026

dimension hidden on the top and side wrap thanks to a specially sourced UV ink. The box also features info on how many jars are in each limited run and a special emblem which doubles as a magnetic collector’s pin. Jacobs said these pins will change each month but will be the same in multiple states as the brand attempts to synchronize flavor drops across markets — as long as it all meets the criteria for Close Friends. Eventually, he says the plan is to reward superfans who secure every pin throughout the year in

what he called a “collect ‘em all” situation. 710 Labs set a design standard This new box feels like a perfect when it launched update going into 2027, one suited its iconic to the aesthetic of the time. magnetic jewelry boxes and created its own lane with the Close Friends packaging. This new box feels like a perfect update going into 2027, one suited to the aesthetic of the time. Despite this timely feeling, sourcing all the pieces for this project took the company well over a year. “With us,” Jacobs said, “nothing is fast. Everything is a very methodical step.” He went on to describe the long process of finding the perfect magnets, and how the ink they finally landed on is the same used for passports. “Imagine having to explain that you need all this ink for printing hash labels,” he joked. We asked the best way to track down these pins and make sure you collect them all, and Jacobs told us joining their List is the safest bet, but they will provide dedicated retailers across the state with limited allotments. He did hint, though, that November’s list will be “a collector’s dream,” so don’t blink. 710LABS.COM | @710LABS

STORY by MATT JACKSON @ACTIONMATTJACKSON/@CALIFORNIALEAFMAG | PHOTOS by 710 LABS See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

SKIP THE LINES. STOCK UP EARLY. Get ahead of the holiday crowd!

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rehashed

CAN DABS RAISE THE TEMPERATURE? | LOS ANGELES FEELS THE HEAT

PUFFCON Despite a record-breaking heat wave in Los Angeles, the annual celebration known as Puffcon brought over 10,000 people together for hash. Held Oct. 3-4, hash fans, content creators, musicians and artists came from across the globe to get face-to-face with some of the most recognizable names in the space. Even with ComplexCon happening, the official head count from Puffco shows an impressive

leafmagazines.com

10,000 attendees on the first day and 7,000 on the second day.

AS ALWAYS, we saw a slew of killer hash on display. High Seas premiered a must-have box set for their new Hash Club. Yapo Farms did a Piattella collaboration with Barcelona legend Uncle’s Farm. Humboldt Seed Company came out swinging with a six-flavor box set. Hash Club LA unveiled a whole collection of Sour and OG flavors, and fresh off of Network Show, Ganjah Guru premiered his line with Dammit Bobby. Inside the air-conditioned Creator’s Lounge, you could meet up and enjoy flavors at the dab bar, while Alice Reis of Girls in Green showcased a temple ball workshop with special guests, The Sisters of the Valley. We want to thank Puffco for having coffee service available in the lounge into the afternoon. Along with coffee, the Leaf had a couple of “stop everything” moments at the dab bar while sampling Feeling Frosty’s Mont Blanc, Banana Zikigai from Happy Hash Cat and the Trilogy 710 collab from High Seas’ Hash Club set. Out in the sun, people lined up to take a run at the Mountain Man Melts climbing wall, enjoy a dab on the Bear Labs Ferris wheel, stop by The Ten Co. and Starters gummy sushi bar or take the Bear Mountain Studios Gauntlet Challenge. If anyone needed a break, 710 Labs pulled up with an air-conditioned sesh van for anyone feeling the heat.

S T OR Y C ON T IN UES N E XT PA GE >>

nov. 2026

STORY by MATT JACKSON @ACTIONMATTJACKSON @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG | PHOTOS by PUFFCON See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

The All-In-One eRig. No atomizer. Completely customizable heat modes.

We created an eRig that has no atomizer to replace every few months. Our apologies to companies before us that rely on their customers continuing to spend money on their devices based off a failing part.

No Atomizer Ever Completely Customizable Heat Modes Quartz Insert Out of the Box Drop Heated Loading Tool Included Built to Last

it to us LEAFMAGAZINES .COM

NEWS

REVIEWS

ENTERTAINMENT

CULTURE

Exclusive Cannabis Journalism Since 2010 Now Available in 16 States and Online Everywhere FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @NWLEAF @OREGONLEAF @MARYLANDLEAF @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG @NORTHEASTLEAFMAG Leaf-Mag-Ad-Fall-2025-HP-9.5x5.25-FNL.indd 1

9/17/25 1:12 AM

PUFFCON

rehashed

C O NTI NUED FR O M P RE VI O U S PA GE

Now, let’s talk about some of the top items we saw this year...

PUFFCON 2026 BANDANA

Designed by Aloha Project, this colorful and fashionable accessory was everywhere by the end of day one and caused long lines at the merch booth before it sold out. Stylish, fun and necessary in the triple-digit heat, by the end of day two, it looked like there was a whole gang of pirates walking around the event. @alohaproject SUPER CHILL CLARIFIED GUMMIES

These are defined on the brand’s website as “a plant-based expression of fruit candy, made with 45% clarified fruit juice.” Super Chill clarified gummies taste like someone turned a square of pure fruit juice into gel. It’s no wonder both flavor collections — Stoned Fruit and Mixed Berries — only lasted about an hour after hitting the booth. www.superchill.me @superchillaf LEGO PIVOT BY ELBO & STONEY BVLONEY

Now the victim of a cease and desist by a popular brick company, artists Stoney Bvloney and Elbo teamed up to release a 28-piece brick version of the Puffco Pivot. The custom packaging and delivery on this parody item were a chef’s kiss. @elboglass @stoneybvloney THE TEN CO. AND CHIMMY TECH COLLAB

First, there was grinding, then milling and now, there’s sifting your joints. Chimmy Tech, from Jimmy Nguyen, is a technique that sifts flower through a fine screen before rolling. This way, the pieces are far more uniform, but you lose around half of the biomass as you sift it down. These 3-gram monsters provide an even-burning, high-level experience. @chimmywin @theten.co

SMOKEN PROMISES HASH ROULETTE CASE

It’s always such a process deciding what jar to grab when a friend offers you a dab from their stash. Pop those options into the eight spots in this storage case, and let the spinner of fate decide your flavor. smokenpromises.com @smoken.promises

leafmagazines.com

FEELING FROSTY WHITE STRAWBERRY EDIBLES

The importance of providing an experience for attendees has become a larger focus of Puffcon, exemplified by CBX’s carnival water shooter, Kenny Chamber’s Penny Arcade, Frick Frack Blackjack in the Creator’s area and Simply Mary, who built an entire Japanese convenience store filled with custom merch, free waters and the headiest snack collection in LA. Another change has been the ongoing shift to bringing in more outside content creators and online personalities. Zbron, Natasha Zhatko of @natashahasthemunchies and Computah were among the faces you could meet alongside Cannabis players Professor Sift, Ted Lidie from Alien Labs and Lorenzo D’alo from Terps Army.

nov. 2026

After watching the recap videos and speaking with vendors, it's clear Puffcon pushes the hash community out into the blinding ring light of day, and for a scene that’s traditionally pretty closed off, that can feel uncomfortable. But this event also provides brands with a level of exposure, both online and in person, that’s helping to change the game. Plus, seeing a crowd of people like this brought together under the banner of hash feels pretty goddamn good. PUFFCON.COM @PUFFCON_LA

We first got a hold of these last Puffcon. Not only do these edibles have an incredible texture, but the taste is also super on point. You had to get there right at the drop or face missing out, though we grabbed other flavors, like the delicious blackberry, for the table. @notthefrostysfr @frostynuglady @_frostynugman ALKEMIST ORGANICS JUICE

Alkemist Organics partnered with a ton of brands and hash makers to drop their own juice blends for Puffcon, including a head-to-head flavor battle between Alien Labs and Smoken Promises. Our favorite was the Wook Juice, which contains strawberries, pomegranate and apples picked by Wooksauce Winery. alkemistorganics.com @alkemistorganics … Hash fans, content creators, musicians and artists came from across the globe to get face-to-face with some of the most recognizable names in the space.

STORY by MATT JACKSON @ACTIONMATTJACKSON @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG | PHOTOS by PUFFCON See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

cooking with Cannabis

g i s v i k n n g a

D leafmagazines.com

lig

ht s

MAC TO THE FUTURE Serves 1 1/2 cup elbow macaroni 2 slices bacon, chopped, with 1 teaspoon reserved for topping 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon flour 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon canna-butter 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder Salt and black pepper, to taste 1 scallion, trimmed and thinly sliced

Extra shredded cheddar and Parmesan cheese, for topping Pinch smoked paprika, optional 1. Cook the macaroni until tender. Drain. 2. Add butter to the skillet, then whisk in flour. Slowly whisk in milk, and cook until slightly thickened. 3. Lower the heat. Stir in the cheddar, Parmesan, canna-butter and Dijon. 4. Stir in the macaroni, most of the bacon and scallion. Season with salt and pepper. 5. Top with reserved bacon and smoked paprika, if desired.

Time to gather with friends, share gratitude and love thy neighbor. This Thanksgiving spread takes a unique turn: butternut squash soup, creamy mac and cheese with bacon and Cannabis and an apple tart perfect for a weekend breakfast at my place. Infused with Prodigy #10 from Pruf Cultivar, it brings bright flavor and an adventurous edge. With THC often testing around 30%, this is for experienced adults. Enjoy responsibly: Start low, go slow and never drive or operate heavy machinery.

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laurie@laurieandmaryjane.com

APPLE OF MY HIGH Serves 8 1 prepared pie crust 5 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced Juice of 1/2 lemon 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg Pinch of salt 2 teaspoons melted canna-butter 1 tablespoon flour 1 egg, beaten Coarse sugar, optional 1. Heat the oven to 340 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Toss the apples with lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, canna-butter and flour. 3. Roll the pie crust into a 12-inch circle on the baking sheet. Arrange the apples in the center, leaving a 2-inch border. 4. Fold the edges over the apples, pleating as needed. Brush the crust with egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. 5. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. 6. Cool for 30 minutes, then cut into 8 equal slices.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP Serves 6 2 tablespoons canna-butter 2 tablespoons regular butter 2/3 cup chopped yellow onion 1/2 cup carrot, peeled and chopped 1 large butternut squash, peeled and seeded 5 cups low-sodium chicken stock Salt and pepper to taste 10 smoked almonds, coarsely chopped Chunks of avocado tossed with a squeeze of lemon 1. Place the butters in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and carrot, and saute for 9-11 minutes. 2. Add the squash and stock, and simmer until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes. 3. Place all the ingredients — except the almonds and avocado — in a blender, and puree until smooth. 4. Pour the soup into a bowl, and top with the almonds and avocado.

RECIPES by LAURIE WOLF @LAURIEANDMARYJANE | PHOTOS by BRUCE WOLF @BRUCE_WOLF #DontFearTheEdible #BeKind #EatYourCannabis

glass art spotlight

DAVID EXELBY

XLB GLASS David Exelby is one of the most down-toearth people you’ll ever meet. Funny thing is, when he’s not on the torch, his job takes him way off the ground. Come along and learn more about this professional arborist, also known as XLB Glass.

42 WHEN DID YOU GET STARTED ON THE TORCH? The first time I started working on the torch, I was 21 years old. At the time, I was staying in a 1968 Gillig Brothers school bus. There was a lampworking studio on the other side of the driveway. I was still working full time for a glass artist in Mukilteo making garden art. I would come home from the hot studio and get on the torch and work until I couldn’t see straight. I did this for about one year before I switched to working on the torch full time.

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WHAT AND WHO INSPIRED YOU? I would say the what of my inspiration would be nature. I have always been inspired by the colors of shapes found naturally in our environment. As far as who has been an inspiration to me, I would have to say it would be my friend Sam Alderson. WE KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT OF DEDICATION TO YOUR FAMILY AND HOME LIFE; TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT. Yes, family is very important to me. My wife and I have five children total. We just welcomed our newest addition this September. Heidi did work on the torch with me during the first year I had my business running. She was a huge help in getting my product on the shelves and social marketing for me. In the early years, when I was still peddling, my oldest son would often ask if he could carry my case filled with pendants and nonfunctional glass. It was a way for him to feel involved in the family business.

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Award Winning

ORANGE TREE Every Way You Like It!

WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO TORCH SETUP? Right now, my go-to torch is a GTT Phantom two-stage with a foot pedal. I also run a Smith mini torch, and I believe it is a Hornet Tip on that guy. I am ready for an upgrade to something with a little more firepower, maybe a GTT Mirage. WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND YOUR PIECES OR CONTACT YOU FOR CUSTOM/MEMORIAL ARTWORK? I have an Instagram and a Facebook. That is the best way for people to reach out to commission any custom work. @XLBGLASS FB.COM/XLBGLASS

COURTESY

YOUR FUNCTIONAL WORK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE MEMORIAL PIECES YOU’VE BEEN WORKING ON? As much as I love and enjoy making functional glass art, I found a much deeper satisfaction in providing memorial pieces for people who have lost loved ones. When I was 18, my older brother passed away unexpectedly. I held onto his ashes for quite a few years before I felt confident enough to try. I still remember the emotional charge and electricity running through my body the first time I worked with ashes.

“As much as I love and enjoy making functional glass

Bright flavor. Indoor flower. Full-family lineup. LEARN MORE AT GOGREENLINE.COM @GOGREENLINE

art, I found a much deeper satisfaction in providing memorial pieces for people who have lost loved ones.” -David Exelby

STORY & PHOTOS by REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO for LEAF NATION

*A spent cannabis cartridge shall be properly disposed of as hazardous waste at a household hazardous waste facility or other approved facility. ROKO INC • C11-0002069-LIC • 21+

studio sessions

PHILEMERSON Philemerson describes himself as a photographer, documentary filmmaker and creative director, but these descriptions barely seem to scratch the surface.

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H E E Y E b eh i n d st u n n i n g v i su a l s f or b rands like P r e f e r red Ga rd en s, F ra n ci s F ord C op p ola wine, E - 40 ’s sp i ri t l i n e a n d Derb y of Sa n F ranc isc o has been p u s h i ng p i x el s a n d h a u l i n g ca mera gear sinc e the ‘90s .

Growing up as a young skateboarder in the Bay Area, his brothers would bring around weed, and that’s how he discovered a passion for the plant. “I went from enjoying it to genuinely respecting it: the different strains, the craft, the business. I would go out to find and meet actual growers; they were rare gems to know back then,” Philemerson told the Leaf. His journey as an artist started during those days after he bought a camera and some equipment to film the crew’s skate videos. He said that period inspired a lot of the visual style that would carry into his future work. Around 2005, he said he noticed artists making “incredible composites of photos and graphics mashed together like movie poster art.” He continued, “I was hooked. That kicked off my photography era.” In 2010, he got his first Cannabis project after a friend won a High Times award and asked him to make an image showing something bigger than just weed sitting on a table. Already deep into album covers and dynamic compositions, he quickly accepted the job and got to work. This very first piece became a full-page spread in High Times magazine. “No pressure for your first Cannabis job,” he said with a grin. “That’s when I realized weed deserved the same artistry as big product launches and movie campaigns, and I’ve been chasing that goal ever since. Once you care how an image feels, you start caring about the culture around it.”

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“Once you care how an image feels, you start caring about the culture around it.”

PHOTO BY MSLEE

Now the art director for Preferred Gardens, Philemerson is helping the brand craft one of the most professional and premier portfolios in the industry, with a style that brings together his background in video, graphics and composition to encode a sense of grit and edge. “If there’s any energy happening in front of the camera,” he said, “I’ll push for more of it. Calm just seems boring.” Inside the studio, he said you’ll find movies and documentaries he’s seen a million times playing on a loop. “I already know how they end, but they keep the room alive,” he explained. More important to him, though, is the choice of music. “It pulls emotions out, and I put it to work,” he shared. “The right track at the right moment can flip the whole direction of a piece.” When working on a piece, he treats weed just like an editing tool. “A lot of my work is long studio sessions,” he revealed, "hours of tiny details, usually on a deadline of yesterday. Herb keeps me locked in on the task in front of me with my phone off. It’s the great escape, and that’s when the best work happens.”

PHILEMERSON

WAFFLEHOWSE.COM @PHILEMERSON

STORY by MATT JACKSON @ACTIONMATTJACKSON for LEAF NATION | ARTWORK by PHILEMERSON See more of their work at LeafMagazines.com

cannthropology leafmagazines.com

PRESENTS

B reeding S uccess Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Barney’s is not only one of the most renowned coffeeshops in Amsterdam, it’s also one of the world’s most award-winning seed companies — all thanks to the vision, dedication and hustle of its legendary owner, Derry Brett. IN THE GENES Born on May 25, 1959, in a small Gaelic-speaking town in western Ireland, Brett seemed almost destined to become a master breeder. Raised on a farm by a botanist mother and a father who grafted fruit trees, Brett was first exposed to Cannabis around age 11, when some of his dad’s younger brothers — who had traveled the infamous Hippie Hash Trail during the 1960s — came to visit. “They would come back from trips to India, live at my dad’s farm, and grow marijuana seeds they brought back,” Brett explained. “And of course, I was a very impressionable young boy, so I got kind of hooked up in all of that.” Brett helped his uncles tend their plants, but never considered smoking any of the weed they grew at that age. It wasn’t until he was 16, during an encounter on the way to the local village, that he decided to give marijuana a try. “One day I was walking into town … and a police car was passing by. The trunk was open, and sticking out were these huge marijuana bushes that they’d cut down. And because my uncles were known for growing weed, and I had a reputation as a bit of a rebel, they thought it was mine,” he recalled. “That was when I started smoking weed.” Derry and his pals had befriended a gravedigger who lived on the grounds of the local church and liked to blaze. It was with him that he first got high. “We’d hang out there on the graveyard smoking weed at night when we shouldn’t be,” Brett snickered. “That was my first experience of that.”

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Barney’s owner Derry Brett at the Barney’s Farm shop in Amsterdam in 2009.

India to crossbreed and catalog. From 19831989, Brett spent between 50%-80% of each year in Asia. But by the end of that stretch, he realized he needed to begin “extracting” himself from that lifestyle. “I was spending so much time there that I was alienating myself from Western society,” he explained. “Plus, all these huge expeditions, they were quite risky. I mean, we got shot at, arrested, you name it,” he added. “Looking back on it, it was pretty dangerous in so many ways.” And so, Brett ended his expeditions in the East and moved back to Holland full time to begin the next chapter in his Cannabis career. THE BIRTH OF BARNEY’S In the mid 1980s, Brett was swept up in an immigration raid along with a fellow Irishman named Nick Mathews. They spent two days in a cell together, then handcuffed to each other, boarded onto a plane and deported to Ireland — an experience that bonded them for life. In 1986, Mathews partnered with a friend named Paul Gould to take over an old Hells Angels bar called Gary’s Place on Haarlemmerstraat and turn it into a coffeeshop catering to non-Dutch speakers with warmer customer service, English newspapers and comfort foods

“Brett created one of the most extensive and diverse Cannabis genetic libraries in the world,

like English breakfast and Sunday roast dinners. They named the shop Barney’s Breakfast Bar, after the fat orange street cat they’d inherited with the place. Whenever Derry would return from one of his sojourns, he’d hang out there and supply them with hash and weed to sell. Soon, Brett’s buds made Barney’s a pot hot spot — drawing cultivators and connoisseurs from around the world to trade cuttings, seeds and stories. “Nick started getting a lot of attention, especially from American tourists who were blown away by the quality,” he recalled to Honeysuckle last year. “We started offering five or six strains, which was unheard of at the time.” Brett became so integral to Barney’s success that in 1992, when Mathews decided to sell the shop due to health issues, Brett impulsively bought it. BUILDING THE BRAND After purchasing Barney’s from his friend Nicky, Derry kept the name and the breakfast but changed the logo (to a smiling sun, allegedly based on his face) and started renovating the place. “When I took it over in ’92, it was a shack,” he remembered. “There were all kinds of grungy places, creaking floorboards, things falling apart, broken glass … but I knew when I took it over I was going to build something special.” Over the next few years, Brett continued to crossbreed and stabilize the strains he’d collected — creating one of the most extensive and diverse Cannabis genetic libraries in the world. He eventually used that library to establish his own seed company, Barney’s Farm. When the Dutch government began issuing licenses to shops to sell weed legally, Brett was among the first in line … but being one of the only outsiders applying for a license wasn’t easy. “I was an Irish guy, a foreigner, and the only other people who really owned coffeeshops were Dutch natives or Dutch Moroccans,” he said. “I got kind of dismissed for a while … until I started winning all the Cannabis Cups, then they had to pay attention.” CANNABIS CUP CHAMPIONS Though Derry had been a High Times fan for years, he was initially apprehensive about entering the Cannabis Cup.

EXPANDING THE EMPIRE Thanks to the notoriety from its many Cannabis Cups, Barney’s became one of the city’s most successful coffeeshops. In 2003, Brett opened a second location two doors down called Barney’s Brasserie (later renamed Barney’s Farm). Next, in 2005, he opened Barney’s Lounge — a smaller location in a quieter section of the city (later closed in 2020). Then in 2007, he opened a nightclub-style restaurant right across from the original location called Barney’s Uptown, which became an instant hit with tourists and locals alike. In January 2009, Brett gutted the original location, rebuilt the infrastructure and redesigned the interior in the style of an apothecary. In 2011, Barney’s opened a breeding lab in San Sebastian, Spain. In 2012, they embarked on another two-year hunting expedition through Africa, Indonesia and Hawaii — expanding their seed bank to over 200 cultivars. In 2013, they leased 12 hectares of land in South Africa to test, hunt and stabilize their phenos. More recently, Barney’s has begun its invasion of the USA — opening a huge breeding facility in Salinas, California, in 2022, then a distribution center in nearby Watsonville last year.

In December 2024, Barney’s announced it would join forces with two other industry powerhouses: Sensi Seed Bank and I Love Growing Marijuana. That merger didn’t end up going through, but several other high-profile partnerships have, including seed collabs with Backpack Boyz and Doja Pak in 2024, and in 2025 with Dr. Greenthumb, owned by his old friend B-Real of Cypress Hill. “This is the most exciting project I’ve ever done with a celebrity,” Brett gushed to Honeysuckle. “B-Real isn’t a name we slapped on packaging. He’s in the room. He’s in the grow. He’s been in this longer than most licensed companies have existed.” After debuting their partnership at Mary Jane Berlin in June 2025, they’ve released three strain collabs: Insane OG, Cherry Bomb and LFG. Their fourth, El Miro, just hit the market last month. Derry & B-Real at the Barney’s booth at MJ

Berlin 2025. THEN AND NOW This year has been one of the biggest yet for Barney’s. Firts, in February, they opened another distribution hub — this time in Germany, to serve the European market. In April, Brett and his team traveled to New York to celebrate 4:20 on 4/20 with huge Barney’s billboards in Times Square. Then, at the 10th annual MJ Berlin event in June, they hosted a huge party to celebrate their milestone 40th anniversary. And so, what began as a young man’s pilgrimage of passion high in the Himalayas nearly half a century ago has today evolved into one of the most recognized, respected Cannabis brands on the planet. “I never thought at the beginning we would be here. It’s been 40 years on the front lines, manning the barricades. ... Even today, we’re still battling away. But yeah, we’ve achieved a hell of a lot,” Brett reflected. “I wanted something different in life — that was my ambition, and I’ve made my dreams come true.” Bobby Black is a former senior editor and 21-year veteran of High Times magazine, executive director of the World of Cannabis Museum Project, and host of the Cannthropology podcast. For more Cannabis history visit cannthropology.com.

STO RY & M AI N P HOTO b y B O B BY B LAC K @ CAN N T H RO PO LO G Y for LEA F NAT IO N

HISTORICAL PHOTOS COURTESY OF GREEN ACRES FOODS

Clockwise from left: Nicky Mathews in front of the original Barney’s in 1986; partner/cook Paul Gould next to the window cartoon based on him; the original Barney’s in full color.

“One of the reasons I didn’t join the (Cannabis Cup) in the first few years was, I was still in awe of High Times to a certain extent,” he confessed. “I thought, ‘I’m not ready. … If I’m going to do this, I don’t want to just be a oneshot wonder — I need to be prepared.’” When Brett finally entered in 1999, his zesty Sunburst strain won the People’s Cup (later renamed simply “The Cannabis Cup”). The following year, a Sunburst pheno dubbed Sweet Tooth took second place in the Overall Cup, then first place in 2001. Thus began one of the most epic winning streaks in Cannabis history: first place for Morning Glory in 2002, Amnesia Haze in 2004, Willie Nelson in 2005, G-13 Haze in 2007, Tangerine Dream in 2010 and Liberty Haze in 2011. And that’s not counting all of the second- and third-place medals and hash awards. Barney’s eventually amassed over 40 Cannabis Cups — more than any other coffeeshop (except perhaps their main rival, the Green House, who’ve also won over 40 awards).

COURTESY OF BARNEY’S

then used that library to establish his own seed company, Barney’s Farm.”

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