MarylandLeaf_Nov2026 by Northwest Leaf / Oregon Leaf / Alaska Leaf / Maryland Leaf / California Leaf / Northeast Leaf

THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE

#95 | NOV. 2026

FARM COAST ANTHONY DARBY, CODY SALERNO & CHRIS BAQIR

THE HARVEST ISSUE F RE E / L E A F M AGA Z I N E S . COM

INDEPENDENT CANNABIS JOURNALISM SINCE 2010

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the harvest issue

#95

[

NOV. 2026

issue

MARYLAND HERB CO.

BUDTENDER OF THE MONTH

PATIENT OF THE MONTH

P RE SE N T S

SHOP REVIEW

40 YEARS 18 OF BREEDING leafmagazines.com

THE EDGE

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

GREG MALCOLM @MARYLAND.CONNOISSEUR

JOEY PEEBLES

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

WORLD OF CANNABIS MUSEUM

FIRE FOLLOWER

XAVIER SMITH

HAYLEY EWING @HAYLEYSHOOTS.U

HUMBOLDT SEED COMPANY

cannthropology

COURTESY HAYLEY EWING @HAYLEYSHOOTS.U

leafmagazines.com

HALLE PENNINGTON

HIGHTECH RECS' PRODUCT REVIEWS

09 10 12 16 18 20 22 24 26 30 34 38 40 42 44

EDITOR’S NOTE FIRE FOLLOWER ED ROSENTHAL BUDTENDER Q&A SHOP REVIEW PATIENT PROFILE CONCENTRATE REVIEW STRAIN OF THE MONTH MARYLAND HERB CO. FARM COAST HIGH TECH RECS ELEVATE YOUR FATE DANKSGIVING RECIPES STUDIO SESSIONS CANNTHROPOLOGY

COURTESY

FEATURE | P. 26

E S TA B L I S H E D 2 0 1 0

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 /

Maryland Leaf is honored to explore Farm Coast's newly launched grow facility, specializing in sun-grown Cannabis. Getting to see beautiful outdoor grows such as this were the inspiration behind launching the Harvest Issue. Something about being out in nature and seeing just how expressive the Cannabis plants can be is intriguing every time. On the cover are partners Anthony Darby and Cody Salerno along with Chris Baqir, Director of Cultivation for Farm Coast. PHOTO BY HAYLEY EWING @HAYLEYSHOOTS.U

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

MIKE RICKER O P E R AT I N G PA R T N E R ricker@leafmagazines.com

TOM BOWERS C H I E F O P E R AT I N G O F F I C E R tom@leafmagazines.com DANIEL BERMAN C H I E F C R E AT I V E O F F I C E R daniel@leafmagazines.com EARLY M A RY L A N D L E A F P U B L I S H E R early@leafmagazines.com WYATT EARLY STAT E D I R E C T O R wyatt@leafmagazines.com (410) 961-8779

BOBBY BLACK LEAF BOWL DIRECTOR & HISTORIAN bobbyblack@leafmagazines.com MICHELLE NARANJO, CARA WIETSTOCK COPYDESK michelle@leafmagazines.com | cara@leafmagazines.com

CONTRIBUTORS WES ABNEY, FEATURES DANIEL BERMAN, DESIGN BOBBY BLACK, DESIGN + FEATURES TOM BOWERS, FEATURES JACKIE BRYANT, FEATURES DAVID DOWNS, FEATURES WYATT EARLY, FEATURES + PHOTOS HAYLEY EWING, PHOTOS REX HILSINGER, FEATURES + PHOTOS ELLEN HOLLAND, FEATURES MATT JACKSON, FEATURES JESSE JOHNSON, FEATURES GREG MALCOLM, PHOTOS TAYLOR MARTIN, FEATURES TERPODACTYL MEDIA, FEATURES BAXSEN PAINE, FEATURES BRUCE WOLF, PHOTOS KATHERINE WOLF, FEATURES LAURIE WOLF, RECIPES

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Editor’s Note Thanks for picking up The Harvest Issue of Maryland Leaf! Harvest is a season of bounty, a reward for a long spring and summer of faith, work and long days. Today, we’re used to hitting the grocery store and seeing bananas, apples and oranges year-round, but that’s not how life was only a few generations ago. Humans lived seasonally for hundreds of thousands of years, ebbing and flowing with nature, and enjoying the bounty provided depending on the time of year.

While our food is available 24/7, thanks to a global supply chain, those of us old enough to have bought weed illegally remember the flow of fire around November and the late-summer drought, as all of last year's weed was gone. Today’s stoners know nothing of the shortages or a dealer being out of weed. Neighborhood dispensaries are open seven days "THOSE OF US a week and bursting with amazing ways to get high, delivering OLD ENOUGH TO medicinal and recreational relief on demand. HAVE BOUGHT

WEED ILLEGALLY

REMEMBER The reason we have vapes, edibles, concentrates and topicals THE FLOW OF galore — along with delicious, terpy sun-kissed flowers — is FIRE AROUND hardworking farmers whose hands are in the dirt for nine months NOVEMBER." a year. Our industry runs on sun-grown Cannabis, whether it’s light deps, greenhouse or full-term flower. From native soil to raised beds of living soil, or a broad field full of auto-flowering phenos that slap, there’s a farmer in the sun, rain and mud to thank for your next hit. That’s why our Harvest Issue has been running since 2011. We at the Leaf recognize and celebrate the farm, where our roots begin and end, with people who work hard, smoke hard and have grown Cannabis since the medical-only and prelegal days and for generations. The knowledge, passion and cost of isolation are all part of a culture and legacy that means so much more than a price per pound.We must thank and protect our outdoor farmers who serve the entire Cannabis ecosystem. They keep the machines of industry flowing and fill more shelves directly and indirectly than any other segment of the market. They’re responsible for the sweet honey of THC in the same way God is a provider of our abundance, the plant and our natural world. Cannabis is a gift that keeps giving, harvest after harvest, and that overflowing bowl is a promise kept that we should be grateful for this season.

MARYLAND LEAF MAGAZINE

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

-Wes Abney

NOV. 2026

PHOTO BY ROGER KISBY @ROGERKISBY

A B O U T T H E C OV E R

N O RT HEAST LEA F

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

perspective leafmagazines.com

FIRE FOLLOWER

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

nov. 2026 NOV.

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

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

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 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

budtender of the month

XAVIER SMITH

HOW DID YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON CANNABIS TRANSITION FROM RECREATIONAL ENJOYMENT TO A WELLNESS-BASED APPROACH? At the start, it was just a tool to be social and another thing to do when hanging out with friends. The first time I smoked, I was definitely anxious. I knew where my mom’s stash was; I was watching and waiting until she went out, and that was the time for me to try it. I grabbed her little one-hitter and a pinch of her Blue Dream and took a hit that was followed by immediate paranoia. Moving forward to a little closer to today, in 2019, I wasn’t smoking as much at the time when I moved to Dundalk. I was having some issues with my sleep schedule and general everyday anxiety. I started smoking again and realized I was sleeping better and wasn’t as anxious or nervous as when I wasn’t smoking. HOW HAS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF CANNABIS CHANGED OVER TIME? When I first started working at Storehouse, all I knew was “indica in the couch,” and sativa was something to use that wouldn't make you tired. I didn’t know much about terpenes at the time, but now I use them as a tool to combat specific things and have learned a lot about them. I found my favorite terpene for pain and anxiety, and it was beta-myrcene. I have patients here that are going through specific struggles medically, and I recommend products based off of the knowledge of terpenes that I gained since working in the Cannabis industry.

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WHAT EARLY FAMILY MEMORIES OR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES INFLUENCED YOUR CURIOSITY ABOUT THE PLANT? It was my late uncle Russell and then my mom; they used to go out and smoke weed on the back porch all the time. I didn’t know much about what they were doing, but I knew the smell and could see the glistening in their eyes. After they came inside, we would watch movies together and have the best time playing PS2. Those early 2000s movies were a big part of my household growing up. Also, the culture and influence Cannabis had in music played a big part in my curiosity.

“WHAT KEEPS ME HERE IS THE COMMUNITY. SOME CUSTOMERS WAIT FOR ME BECAUSE WE HAVE A RELATIONSHIP, AND THAT IS SOMETHING YOU JUST CAN’T BEAT.”

STOREHOUSE CANNABIS

5730 FALLS ROAD BALTIMORE, MD STOREHOUSEMD.COM @STOREHOUSEMTWASH OPEN 8 A.M.-9 P.M. DAILY (443) 335-6624

AT JUST 24 YEARS OLD, Xavier “Zay” Smith started like a lot of us in the Cannabis industry: Consuming on a casual level transformed into diving into the world’s ever-expanding knowledge of the plant. Splitting his time working at Storehouse and doing stagehand work in the music industry, his worlds have collided in a meaningful, rewarding way that serves his passions. Smith forms deep relationships with customers and co-workers, making every day in the industry something he feels blessed to be a part of. Follow him on Instagram @baeze.02

nov. 2026

WHAT INITIALLY DREW YOU TO STOREHOUSE? I used to be a customer here, and I really liked the vibes, plus I have always worked in retail, so it felt like an obvious choice. Retail with weed is a different story. As a customer, the staff always treated me right, either getting me in and out quickly or having a conversation with me about something we both love. What keeps me here is the community. Some customers wait for me because we have a relationship, and that is something you just can’t beat. WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY? I know this is a rapidly growing industry on the East Coast, and I had no idea how expansive it was until I got into the industry. I attended the Maryland Leaf Bowl and some other Cannabis events, and it opened my eyes. I love budtending, and I’m really happy with where I’m at. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME? I stream video games online and pursue content creation, in addition to stagehand work for music production. Being able to meet musicians and celebrities in a working environment brings me so much joy. It’s really rewarding to be a part of putting something together that brings happiness to so many people.

STORY by WYATT EARLY @ERRLYWYATT/MARYLAND LEAF | PHOTO by HAYLEY EWING @HAYLEYSHOOTS.U SEND NOMINATIONS FOR BUDTENDER OF THE MONTH TO WYATT@LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

VISITING THE FAM? WE’VE GOT THE GOODS. Stock up for the holidays.

ONLY INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE 21 YEARS OR OLDER OR ARE A QUALIFYING PATIENT WHO IS 18 YEARS OR OLDER MAY VIEW THIS CONTENT.

SHOP REVIEW

THEEDGE

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A COLLABORATION WITH GREEN POINT

Owned by social equity license holder Lane Bruns, co-founder Natalie Thibeault and Green Point Wellness, The Edge is the newest of their four stores in Maryland. The interior of this location is similar to the Millersville store, with walls lined full of products, green lighting illuminating the room and vibrant brand installations perfect for photo ops. Their drive-thru makes this a perfect place to stop before heading over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Green Point Wellness has extended its roots further into Maryland while creating a new bridge for a social equity license holder with The Edge.

nov. 2026

“THE EDGE PACKS A DEEP MENU FULL OF EVERYTHING NEW ON THE MARKET AS WELL AS THE MAINSTAYS WE EXPECT TO FIND.” SETTING AND VIBE The boating community in Edgewater runs deep, and the dispensary giving away foam floating keychains with their branding speaks to that. The employees seem genuinely excited to be working in the Cannabis industry and share their expanding knowledge with their customers. The vibe feels like the perfect blend of beautiful interior design that looks great but still feels like you’re in a dispensary. The vibes are high, and the smiles on everyone’s faces transfer onto the customers and patients who shop here. FLOWER Shopping for flower at The Edge is made easy by its online menu selection filtering, allowing you to shop by weight, terpene profile, desired effects, potency, brand, price and more. Of course, the best way to get a good recommendation is to start a conversation with one of the budtenders. Let them know exactly what you’re seeking to achieve by consuming. Having Cannabis in common forms a strong connection and helps a budtender give you the best possible product selection. They regularly have huge discounts on eighths and ounces of flower. C O N C E N T R AT E S Seeing a ton of rosin and solventless hash on the menu is always a good sign there is promising concentrate variety to come. The wide array of live resins on the menu is enough to make any stoner feel like a kid in a candy store. You can also shop by consistency if you’re someone who likes their concentrate in a budder, badder, shatter, sauce, diamonds, etc. They have infused flower on the menu too, offering a sort of cross between concentrates and bud while packing a substantial amount of THC and terpene content. EDIBLES Having unique offerings and the staples we keep in our inventory are essential for a well-rounded edible selection. The Edge packs a deep menu full of everything new on the market as well as the mainstays we expect to find. One thing that stuck out was microdose mints from Curio Wellness with just 2.5 milligrams of THC and CBD per mint and 40 in each pack. Sometimes we need a little something to keep us going throughout the day, and these seem like they would do the trick.

85 STEWART DRIVE, EDGEWATER, MD GPWELLNESS.COM @THEEDGE_MD 9 A.M.-8:30 P.M. MON-SAT., 8 A.M.-7:30 P.M. SUN. (443) 901-0303

HELLAVATED GRAPE STOMPER FAST-ACTING GUMMIEZ I go to these types of fast-acting gummies when I am in pain and want the power of an edible to hit quickly. It is worth noting that even though effects come on quickly, they can still increase for up to a few hours. These are vegan, meaning instead of using traditional gelatin from animal products, they make use of plant-based alternatives. Texturally, they are not tough or chewy; you can bite right through them, and the flavor is a smooth grape that masks the Cannabis nicely. I took one gummy and felt slight effects within 25 minutes, with a full-on relaxation of the body and mind at one hour and 30 minutes. 10 MG THC PER PIECE / 100 MG PER PACKAGE HELLAVATED.COM | @HELLAVATEDOFFICIAL

STORY by WYATT EARLY @ERRLYWYATT @MARYLANDLEAF | PHOTOS by HAYLEY EWING @HAYLEYSHOOTS.U See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

PATIENT OF THE MONTH

JOEY PEEBLES Music and Cannabis have long been complementary to each other in a few different ways. Whether you create it or just listen to and appreciate it, you learn to like even the most peculiar of things about it, even the instruments that make the music. For Joey Peebles, music and Cannabis have been pillars in his life for a long time. Even though his time to create is currently limited due to his work, he still gets inspired to play open mics and dive bar gigs from time to time with some family friends, one of whom led him to explore how it all works together. “I’VE FIXED ACCORDIONS with her, and I’ve messed around with the weirdest instruments,” he said. She also sold his mom his first drum kit and helped him learn to appreciate being resourceful with different types of instruments. “One side is you just collect too much gear. The shiny side of that coin is you can just chunk up some old beaters and build lamps with it,” he added. Growing up in Arnold, Peebles often bounced around to the neighboring communities like Annapolis and Severna Park to hang out and play shows when he was younger. He attended Broadneck High School and went to Anne Arundel Community College afterward, earning his associate degree with an interest in business and marketing. He said his first jobs included mostly general sales like phones and cable boxes — some requiring field work and going around knocking on doors — and credits these jobs for helping to introduce him to some of the skills and technology he still uses in his work today. Peebles said he was introduced to Cannabis at a young age and recalled that when he decided to start working in the industry in 2016, he was a bicycle courier delivering Cannabis around Washington before eventually moving over to working in Maryland around 2021 at Mana Supply Co. in Edgewater. He added that he took a few online budtender training courses curated by former High Times Magazine columnist Ed Rosenthal to prepare to work in a different role and in a new market.

“I remember being among the people in the first 10 or so rounds for the Maryland medical cards,” he said, adding that Cannabis has helped him with insomnia. “Before I knew I was using it to treat that, that’s what I was treating that with.” After a few years at Mana, Peebles decided to step away from budtending and into a brand ambassador role with Alchemist earlier this year, a refreshing change but with some familiar traits from what he’s done prior to settling into this job, he said. Having the product knowledge and experience was helpful in the transition, but he was curious about the wholesale and marketing sides of things. “I’ve never had something like this that I’ve enjoyed so much, and I’ve never represented this awesome of a product,” he said. The job is less stressful in comparison to having to send workers to someone’s house to try and make a sale in his prior jobs. “I get to talk to my kind of people all day, everyone’s pretty direct and chill … we all want to eat, but we also want to smoke,” shared Peebles. Much like working on and learning the different musical instruments he’s encountered, Peebles visits the company’s lab every chance he gets to learn more about the different products and the process behind how they’re made. As someone who also has experience with pressing his own dabs and a fan of the company since they began producing concentrates, he said it’s easy to be comfortable answering direct questions from customers with a solid team to assist him all the way up the company chain. “It’s also cool that I can go around and talk to very knowledgeable people about it and try to bring some more people into it at the same time,” Peebles added. As a heavy dabber, his go-to rig has been a Dr. Dabber Switch Go, saying he doesn’t have many glass pieces and only brings them out on certain occasions.

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After a few years at Mana, Joey decided to step away from budtending and into a brand ambassador role with Alchemist earlier this year

nov. 2026

STORY by JESSE JOHNSON @JESSETHEVIBESMAN for MARYLAND LEAF | PHOTOS by GREG MALCOLM @MARYLAND.CONNOISSEUR

CANNABIS FOR A BETTER LIFE

While he said there’s certain things he likes to smoke on different occasions as well as a nice indica to help combat his insomnia, he tends to favor a strain’s more general flavor profile when looking for something to consume. “Pretty much anything my nose likes; I’m going to smoke it or dab it,” he stated. Between collecting gear and visiting new dispensaries around the area, Peebles said one of his current goals is to expand somewhere he’s been slacking in: the digital space. Reels are just one way he said he wants to get into content creation, but in terms of actual content, he hopes to carve out a space that touches on all his interests while keeping things clever for the algorithm. “I’m going to send it, I’m going to try and chop it up myself,” he said. “But if not, I’ll send it to somebody else. I want to market Cannabis like: ‘It was this way in the 1990s or 2000s.’” @LEMMEHASHYOUSOMETHIN

concentrate of the month THE harvest ISSUE

PURE PUFFS

LEMON DROP + SUNSET PEACH DUAL DISTILLATE DISPOSABLE

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There is a new vaping system on the block, and it is this issue’s featured Concentrate of the Month. The Pure Puffs 2-gram Lemon Drop + Sunset Peach Dual Distillate Disposable is a unique all-in-one that is surely going to catch the eye of vape lovers across Maryland.

THC: 82.6% TOTAL TERPENES: 3.89% LIMONENE: 1.37% CARYOPHYLLENE: 0.48% MYRCENE: 0.4% PINENE: 0.4 % LINALOOL: 0.28%

nov. 2026

"WHEN YOU FIRE UP BOTH CHAMBERS SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE TERPENES MELD INTO A COMPLEX FRUIT COCKTAIL."

THIS DISTINCTIVE vape system allows you to max out your efficiencies and mix and match vapes to your heart’s content. The Pure Puffs Dual Disposable lets you curate your own high without the pocket clutter, packing two separate 1-gram chambers into a single, rechargeable device. Whether you want to lean into a daily sativa driver, wind down with an evening indica or blend both for a custom entourage effect, switching or combining strains takes just a slide of your finger. Plus, the built-in digital display keeps you fully dialed in, tracking your battery life, puff count and active chamber at a glance. Providing ultimate customization, it is perfectly pocket-sized and opens up the doors to blending terpene profiles into new and unique effects. To understand the breadth that the system had to offer, I had to try each chamber individually, as well as a couple of dual blended blasts. The Lemon Drop leans heavily on limonene as its dominant terpene, driving an unmistakable burst of fresh lemon peel at the top of the profile. That citrus moment is then tempered by supporting beta-pinene and alpha-pinene notes that deliver a crisp, piney edge, which sharpens the profile. It provides an uplifting, mentally stimulating snap that screams daytime vibes. In contrast, Sunset Peach brings a softer, rounded profile to the device. It leans into heavy tree fruit notes that balance secondary terpenes to evoke juicy, nectar-rich summer peaches with subtle floral and earthy undertones. It adds a more relaxed dimension to the hardware, smoothing out the sharp citrus bite with a soothing exhale. When you fire up both chambers simultaneously, the terpenes meld into a complex fruit cocktail. The high-energy limonene from the Lemon Drop cuts through the syrupy, sweet stone fruit notes of the Sunset Peach, creating a balanced hybrid experience that tastes like a tart yet sweet lemonade infused with fresh peach puree. CULTA.COM | @CULTAIG

REVIEW by TAYLOR MARTIN for MARYLAND LEAF | PHOTO by GREG MALCOLM @MARYLAND.CONNOISSEUR

THE harvest ISSUE STRAIN OF THE MONTH

THCA: 30.83% TOTAL TERPENES: 3.08% TERPINOLENE: 0.93% CARYOPHYLLENE: 0.42% MYRCENE: 0.33% OCIMENE: 0.32% LIMONENE: 0.3% PINENE: 0.27%

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golden pinea nov. 2026

Rythm’s Golden Pineapple OG is a tropical powerhouse that pairs bright, citrusy terpenes with an uplifting, functional buzz. When cracking open a fresh jar, you’re immediately hit with a burst of terpinolene-driven sunshine that cuts straight through the noise of the day.

It clears out brain fog without inducing racing thoughts, making it an ideal companion for creative projects, social outings or midday outdoor activities around the Free State.

Cultivated by Rythm

eapple og

VISUALLY, these buds are a sight to behold. Golden Pineapple OG boasts dense, chunky nugs coated in a frosty layer of glistening trichomes. Emerald greens are stitched together with fiery orange pistils, giving the flower a vibrant, golden hue that lives up to its regal name. Squeezing a nug reveals a springy cure with just the right amount of stickiness, leaving a tacky resin on your fingertips. The aroma is where the Rythm grow team’s talent truly shines. Opening the container fills the room with an unmistakable wave of freshly cut tropical tree fruits, providing pineapple as well as mango notes with just a slight, sharp diesel undertone. Sparking up a joint reveals subtle pinene and caryophyllene notes that round out the tropical sweetness with a pleasant, earthy spice. The inhale delivers an unmistakable wave of sweet candied fruit and tangy citrus, followed by an earthy, pine-tinged exhale that coats the palate. The onset comes fast, delivering a wave of mental clarity and euphoric focus. It clears out brain fog without inducing racing thoughts, making it an ideal companion for creative projects, social outings or midday outdoor activities around the Free State. As time wears on, a warm body hum settles in, melting away tension without pinning you to the couch. Rythm’s grow team continues to elevate Maryland’s flower market, and this iteration of Golden Pineapple OG is a prime example of top-tier genetics matched with expert cultivation. If you’re looking to add a burst of tropical brightness and balanced energy to your stash box, Golden Pineapple OG deserves a front-row spot. RYTHM.COM RYTHM_OFFICIAL

REVIEW by TAYLOR MARTIN for MARYLAND LEAF | PHOTO by GREG MALCOLM @MARYLAND.CONNOISSEUR

THE harvest ISSUE

MARYLAND HERB CO. After exploding onto the Maryland market just before April 20, 2026, Maryland Herb Co. has consistently pumped out batches of top-tier Cannabis. Spending years developing their genetic library through good relationships with breeders and their operations in California has been essential to dialing in their Maryland flower lineup. Getting an inside look at the facility during a harvest cycle with Chheang Chhem, director of cultivation systems, gave the Leaf some insight into the way they grow — from seed to sale.

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CHHEM BRINGS a wealth of knowledge from the California Cannabis industry to the Maryland Herb Co. team. Making sure things run smoothly and to the best of their ability just scratches the surface of his responsibilities at the Maryland grow. Implementing new lighting systems, like LEDs from FOHSE, in their whole facility is currently underway. These specific lights have been known to drive heavier yields compared to high-pressure sodium lighting. They also make it possible to dial in the lighting to the specific needs of plants in various stages of life.

nov. 2026

Getting light deep under the canopies into every facet of a Cannabis plant is not easy, but lighting from FOHSE is certainly one of the best ways to do it. Each of Maryland Herb Co.’s nine flower rooms houses around 375 plants, with the intention of having more control over each plant when compared to larger flower rooms in the state. Letting subpar finished material out the door is out of the question, and maintaining that standard with every batch that goes to the public is something that is rooted in the culture of this company.

That sentiment translates into the finished product the Leaf has seen, producing bright buds potent in aroma and cannabinoid content. Diving into some of the strain selection currently on the market, Guava Lava, Ravens Runtz, Deep Breath and Paloma Spritz are among the Maryland Cannabis market’s favorites from Maryland Herb Co.

S T A N D O U T C U LT I VA R S

GUAVA LAVA / RAVENS RUNTZ

DEEP BREATH / PALOMA SPRITZ

Guava Lava is a cross between Sunset Sherbet and Kauai Mints #77, creating a delicious blend of enticingly fruity tropical terpenes. Ravens Runtz is a classic Runtz profile, leaning into the heavy gas aroma while falling back on a candy-like taste that lingers after smoking. Deep Breath combines (Mendo Breath x Gorilla Glue #4) and Alien Breath, which translates to a smell reminiscent of deep red fruits, with a sour funk somewhere in the mix. One of my personal favorites in their lineup is Paloma Spritz: a cross between Spritzer and Grape Gas. Entering the late-stage flower form, notes of grape sodas and candies flooded my nostrils and uplifted my senses. The Grape Gas in the cross brings a certain underlying gassy element to the nose. Seeing the full harvest cycle from seeds to finished products, Tommy Black, post harvest manager, was another breath of fresh air at this grow facility. The enthusiasm he brings to the team seemed to shine from within, bringing light to the rest of the staff he oversees. Without a certain level of attention to detail from Black and his team, all the hard work of getting the plants to their final stage would be for nothing.

“Getting a solid defoliation during harvest is key for the drying process. Leaving those (leaves) on can negatively affect the smell of the product during the curing process,” Black said. “Ideally, you want the final product to be buds with sugar leaves on the stem.” It’s only with this level of care that plants are able to truly express themselves and their nuances compared to other genetic lineages. As a grow in its first full year in production, Maryland Herb Co. has already gained quite a few fans in Maryland. It’s great to see a passionate team come together and generate such incredible results so early on. From everyone in the grow facility to the marketers and field reps making the name so well known, no detail is being skipped in their process. Thank you to the entire team at Maryland Herb Co. for the transparency and attention to detail expressed by everyone who works for this grow.

MDHERBCO.COM @MARYLAND_HERB_CO

"IT’S ONLY WITH THIS LEVEL OF CARE THAT PLANTS ARE ABLE TO TRULY

EXPRESS THEMSELVES AND THEIR NUANCES COMPARED TO OTHER GENETIC LINEAGES."

STORY by WYATT EARLY @ERRLYWYATT @MARYLANDLEAF | PHOTOS by HAYLEY EWING @HAYLEYSHOOTS.U See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

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THE harvest ISSUE

FARM COAST A group of friends who consider each other family are the brains behind Farm Coast, with each member bringing their own set of values to the table. Partners Anthony Darby, Tim Dennis, Matt Hedger, Cody Salerno and James Russ Jr., along with director of cultivation Chris Baqir, make up the brains behind this operation.

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"THE BIG GUYS JUST DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY

FOR 400-SQUARE-FOOT RUNS OF SUPER CRAFT CANNABIS. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO DO."

nov. 2026

ANTHONY DARBY, CODY SALERNO AND CHRIS BAQIR

GROW TEAM

AS LICENSE NO. 001, they are the first micro-grow license to get approved in the state of Maryland. In their first year of production, they relied on about 95% autoflower plants to get products on the market. They plan to switch to photoperiod plants, dialing in “heavy washers specifically selected for rosin production,” according to Darby. Traditionally, a grow license serves a single purpose: to grow their flower and release it under a single brand or family of brands. The Farm Coast team is doing things a little differently by growing their own flower as well as sharing canopy space with other licensees, giving them a place to cultivate their plants. This is huge for people who have a license but might lack some of the resources, such as land, to bring their vision to life. A big issue faced by many of the new social equity processing licensees is a lack of their own starting material. Farm Coast’s model helps those companies gain more control over their inputs in hopes that they can increase the potential quality of their finished product. The property houses storage containers that the Farm Coast crew fabricated and built out themselves, sourcing them from the Port of Baltimore through Darby’s friend. These containers serve as a space for drying plants, a controlled environment for the vegetative stage as well as mom plants and pretty much anything else besides a flowering stage plant room.

The versatility of a storage container can help a grow dial in their processes in so many ways in the pursuit of the best products possible for the end user. Around 1,600 plants live on their outdoor plot right now, with enough space for a total of 2,000 outdoor plants. "The big guys just don't have the capacity for 400-square-foot runs of super craft Cannabis. That's what we want to do," Darby said. Farm Coast has a strong commitment to outdoor and greenhouse growing, holding the belief that full-spectrum sunlight produces superior terpene profiles. This is essential for growing heavy washers capable of producing highly expressive profiles and a high output for washing hash that will be turned into hash rosin. With a few companies producing rosin on the Maryland market, Farm Coast would like to establish itself as a member of this underserved segment of the industry. A lot of their plants right now are going toward fresh-frozen material as a part of their partnership with Element MD. Farm Coast provides the starting material so Element MD can extract and fill their live resin, single-strain vapes, which are expected to hit the shelves of Maryland dispensaries on Nov. 7.

Their flower is expected to be on shelves by the time you’re reading this article. "Modern flavors are good. ... But for me personally, what I reach for and smoke is an OG or a Chem Dog most of the time," Salerno said. They are working on developing a strain called First Responders OG, which will donate a portion of proceeds to the local fire department in Wicomico following the Oct. 1 legalization of consumption for both firefighters and paramedics. It takes a village to bring a dream like this to life without cutting corners. The team at Farm Coast shows passion, dedication and a wealth of knowledge that is needed to elevate their company to the next level. They truly care about the customers they are going to serve and wouldn’t release anything to the market that they wouldn’t be proud to consume themselves. Between those elements and a strong desire to continue their community engagement in Wicomico County, they are on the right track to reach their goals. @FARMCOASTMD

STORY by WYATT EARLY @ERRLYWYATT @MARYLANDLEAF | PHOTOS by HAYLEY EWING @HAYLEYSHOOTS.U See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

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November Specials Limited Availability - Strain

Summit $8 Big Dogwalker Preroll (.75g) Mini Dogwalker Preroll (5x.35g) Wellness $16 $18 Showdog Infused Preroll (1g)

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Selection Subject to Change

$15 &Shine Cartridge (.5g) $30 &Shine Cartridge (1g)

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Must be 21+ to view this content. Cannabis is for use by adults 21+ or certified Maryland medical patients.

product reviews

HIGH-TECH RECS Ario Vape Dopeamine Dual Finally, a vape battery that comes loaded with games and is built for major clouds. The Leaf team has seen Ario’s newest release around, and we were impressed with the specs. The Dopeamine Dual can hold two 2-gram cartridges, which you can switch between or combine. The voltage regulator automatically tests the resistance of the cartridge you plug in and adjusts the power to your setting. Ario includes a 14-millimeter adapter with this unit so that you can plug it into your favorite water pipe. Available in four colors, this vape features a preheat mode, a child lock and, most importantly, five games: Paper Planes, Brick Stacks, Dab Man, Tank and Race Car. $50 | ariovape.com | @ariovape

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Focus V CARTA 3

Myster Puff Muffs

Focus V is back with the highly anticipated CARTA 3, bringing a fresh round of upgrades to its popular e-rig. The most noticeable change is a redesigned glass top, while the base remains compatible with all previous CARTA glass iterations. One of this device’s standout features has always been its screen, and the new OLED display takes it up a notch to clearly show your battery life, temperature setting and heat time at a glance. There’s even a built-in speaker that provides audible alerts when you power on or reach your desired temp. An improved Intelli-Core 3 atomizer comes with a 30% larger chamber and a rounded bottom, and a higher-voltage battery delivers more dabs per charge. The addition of the removable and swappable C3 Connect airpath, first seen on the SPORT model, makes cleaning a breeze and keeps the session going. Five built-in temperature and LED presets offer plenty of customization, with a 365-635 degrees Fahrenheit temperature range and 20-120-second heat times. With smarter controls and easier maintenance, the CARTA 3 feels like a familiar favorite with plenty of fun new features. Price TBD | focusv.com | @focus.v

nov. 2026

This is the ultimate gaming accessory for the 710 crowd. These wireless Bluetooth headphones feature a foldaway microphone that also has a 510 threaded input. Now, you can hook up your vape right to the mic arm and puff, even when the headphones are off. The headset can pair via the included adapter or Bluetooth, giving you the option to switch back and forth between your gaming device and your phone. Go old school with the tethered connection via the audio jack, which doesn’t require power. The battery boasts an impressive 83 hours of Bluetooth connection, but it also has pass-through charging. For dabbers, Myster has an oil chamber accessory that you can use to load your rosin as well. $128 | getmyster.com | @mysterhighend

REVIEWS by KATHERINE WOLF @KATADELLIC for LEAF NATION | PHOTOS courtesy

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UP IN SMOKE

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WHEN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OUTRUNS ECOLOGICAL WISDOM Berkeley Lab estimated THE FOOTPRINT OF AI is anything but U.S. data centers directly There is something virtual. Data centers require enormous elecconsumed roughly tricity, cooling and infrastructure. Lawrence human about our 66 billion liters of Berkeley National Laboratory estimates U.S. water in 2023 … hunger to create. We data centers consumed about 176 terbuild, invent, connect awatt-hours of electricity in 2023, or 4.4% and imagine the next frontier before of total U.S. electricity use. Its 2025 update estimates data centers could consume 9.5% to 15.3% of U.S. understanding the last. Now, that frontier electricity by 2030, with a reference case of 11.8%. is artificial intelligence. But somewhere That demand is colliding with a grid that is not between the glowing screens and the designed for a concentrated, rapidly expanding load. A 2026 Harvard Belfer Center analysis describes promises of a smarter future, we need to data-center growth as a challenge for grid reliabilpause, breathe and ask an old Indigenous ity, infrastructure planning and consumer costs. In question: Are we creating in balance with northern Virginia, a 2024 event involving roughly 60 the Earth — or simply taking more from data centers removed 1.5 gigawatts of demand within minutes, requiring emergency grid adjustments. her because we can?

nov. 2026

Then, there is water, the sacred substance every living system on Earth depends upon. Environmental math is complex. Not every data center uses the same cooling technology, and estimates vary widely. Still, Berkeley Lab estimated U.S. data centers directly consumed roughly 66 billion liters of water in 2023, with higher consumption projected under some 2028 scenarios. Water use also occurs indirectly through electricity generation. Meanwhile, the American West is already confronting a climate reality of hotter temperatures, prolonged drought and increasing wildfire risk. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration identifies heat, drought and atmospheric dryness as important drivers of rising wildfire risk across the West. This is where my concern lives. What happens when ambition outruns ecological wisdom? We do not have to look far to understand what is already at stake. Across California, Oregon and Washington, the West has endured wildfire devastation that has made smoke-filled skies, evacuations and burned landscapes increasingly familiar. As forests, watersheds and communities face hotter, drier conditions, the AI boom is eyeing the region for massive new infrastructure. Amazon Web Services has acquired 1,300 acres near Boardman, Oregon, where plans could support a potential 1-gigawatt campus. Google is expanding in Oregon.

In a region where water is becoming an Grandmother Earth does not recogecological currency, asking how much more nize a quarterly report — nor does a we can extract is not a rejection of progress; healthy watershed. it is our responsibility. As AI developers search for land, But questions of water and energy lead us energy and cooling capacity, I propose somewhere deeper. Whose land, water and this question: Is history repeating itself in future are we willing to sacrifice for the next a digital costume? tech gold rush? Progress cannot mean the sacrifice of Across the West, AI expansion is moving Indigenous ancestral grounds. into places that are not simply parcels on a How much is too much? map, but ancestral homelands woven into As a living organism, a species of Indigenous identity, ceremony, Earth, are we approaching But questions of food systems and treaty rights. the point where convenience, water and energy Amazon’s purchase in Boardman, computation and corporate lead us somewhere Oregon, sits within the ancestral deeper. Whose land, competition begin consuming landscape of the Confederated the very systems that sustain us? water and future Tribes of the Umatilla Indian ResCould continued AI infraare we willing to ervation, while proposed energy structure expansion create sacrifice for the infrastructure near Goldendale, impacts that are extraordinarinext tech gold rush? Washington, has drawn opposily difficult to reverse? Is it postion from the Yakama Nation over impacts to sible for innovation to advance without culturally significant lands, salmon and First asking drought-stricken communities to Foods. surrender more water and power? Calling this simply a battle over “developIndigenous teachings have long ment” feels painfully incomplete. reminded us, OGs, that we are not For Indigenous peoples, this is a struggle separate from the natural world; we over sovereignty, the right to determine what are relatives within it. Perhaps the next happens to homelands that have endured technological breakthrough is not simply generations of extraction, displacement and building smarter machines. Maybe it is broken promises. What is being measured an opportunity to innovate with respect in megawatts and dollars is also habitat for to our Grandmother Earth, who has living wildlife, salmon, medicinal plants, always provided so graciously, because insects, fungi, trees and living groundwater intelligence without wisdom is just ansystems. other way to go up in smoke.

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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.

nov. 2026

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 | Laurie@Laurieandmaryjane.com

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.”

nov. 2026

“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

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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

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“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.

NOV. 2026

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 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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