NorthwestLeaf_Nov2025

THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE

#185 | NOV. 2025

the

harvest

issue F RE E / L E A F M AGA Z I N E S . COM

LAZY BEE GARDENS’ POWDER HOUND WINTHROP, WA INDEPENDENT CANNABIS JOURNALISM SINCE 2010

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It’s high time for change in how Cannabis buyers and budtenders connect with brands.

TO COMING TON, WA S H I N G D AN OREGON IA CALIFORN IN EARLY 2026!

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The Leaf Buyer’s Club is a business networking event that will deliver new connections, experiences and value for the entire Cannabis ecosystem of producers, processors, retailers and ancillary brands.

For free access to this exclusive event, scan the code above or visit leafmagazines.com/leafbowl/leaf-buyers-club

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OREOZ

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REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO

LAZY BEE GARDENS

HUMBOLDT SEED COMPANY’S HELLA JELLY

PEANUT BUTTER BREATH

GROW TOUR

AUTO FLOWER

FIRE FOLLOWER

RUSS GRESS

BUDTENDER OF THE MONTH

nov. 2025

SHOP REVIEW | PROSSER

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GLASS ART SPOTLIGHT

KEENAN SHUR STUDIO SESSIONS

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62

REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO

REHASHED

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MAC WHITE

COURTESY KEENAN SHUR

HALLOWEIRD

REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO

ALEEN CAELI @ALEENCAEL REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO

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THE GOSPEL OF SOMA

CANNTHROPOLOGY

11 12 16 20 24 26 28 32 36 40 46 52 58 60 62

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EDITOR’S NOTE HALLOWEIRD BUDTENDER OF THE MONTH SHOP REVIEW HARVEST/ADAPT ALL THINGS CHANGE FIRE FOLLOWER GLASS ART SPOTLIGHT STRAIN OF THE MONTH LAZY BEE GARDENS CANNASOL FARMS PAINTED ROOSTER CANNABIS COMPANY ELEVATE YOUR FATE CANNTHROPOLOGY STUDIO SESSIONS

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PERSPECTIVE

8 MORETA FIONA @MFJANE

HARVEST /ADAPT

COURTESY MARC ROSSMAN

REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO

TOKE, READ & ENJOY!

the harvest issue

#185

[

NOV. 2025

issue

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

LEAF

/

OREGON

LEAF

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MARYLAND

A B O U T T H E C OV E R Northwest Leaf is proud to present our annual celebration of the art of sun-grown Cannabis by some of the state’s finest cultivators. Landing on the cover this month was a stunning close-up shot of Powder Hound, grown

by Lazy Bee Gardens in the small Okanogan County town of Winthrop in eastern Washington. The Leaf’s Mike Ricker interviewed owner Matthew Frigone Bernhard, the farm’s owner, about pheno hunting their newest strains and what’s behind their relentless drive for innovation, harvest after harvest. pg. 40-42 PHOTO BY MORETA FIONA @MFJANE

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 | advertising sales 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 BOBBY BLACK LEAF BOWL DIRECTOR & HISTORIAN bobbyblack@leafmagazines.com MICHELLE NARANJO C O PY E D I T O R michelle@leafmagazines.com MATT JACKSON S O C I A L M E D I A L E A D mattjackson@leafmagazines.com

CONTRIBUTORS WES ABNEY, FEATURES ANGELA-JORDAN AGUILAR, FEATURES DANIEL BERMAN, PHOTOS + DESIGNS RYAN JOHNSON BITAR, PHOTOS BOBBY BLACK, FEATURES + DESIGN NEIL BRAYBROOK, PHOTOS JACKIE BRYANT, FEATURES ALEEN CAELI, PHOTOS DAVID DOWNS, FEATURES MORETA FIONA, PHOTOS REX HILSINGER, FEATURES + PHOTOS ELLEN HOLLAND, FEATURES MATT JACKSON, FEATURES LENA B. MONAGHAN, AD S ALES + PRODUCTION BENJAMIN NEFF, PHOTOS MIKE RICKER, FEATURES CHRIS ROMAINE, PHOTOS MARC ROSSMAN, PHOTOS KEENAN SHUR, ILLUSTRATION TERPENE TRANSIT, DISTRIBUTION TERPODACTYL MEDIA, FEATURES + PHOTOS NATE WILLIAMS, PHOTOS

We are creators of targeted, independent Cannabis journalism. Please email us to discuss advertising in the next issue of Northwest Leaf Magazine. We do not sell stories or coverage. Email ricker@leafmagazines.com to start advertising!

CO N N E C T W I T H

/

CALIFORNIA

WES

LEAF

/

NORTHEAST

LEAF

ABNEY

Editor’s Note Thanks for picking up The Harvest Issue of the 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.

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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 a week and bursting “TODAY’S with amazing ways to get high, delivering medicinal and recreational STONERS KNOW relief on demand.

NOTHING OF

THE SHORTAGES

OR A DEALER The reason we have vapes, edibles, concentrates and topicals galore — BEING OUT along with delicious, terpy sun-kissed flowers — is hardworking farmers OF WEED.” whose hands are in the dirt for nine months 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 autoflowering 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

NORTHWEST LEAF!

Exclusive Cannabis Journalism @NWLEAF

LEAF

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.

NORTHWEST LEAF MAGAZINE

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

-Wes Abney

NOV. 2025

PHOTO BY REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO

NORTHWEST

REHASHED

OCTOBER 25, 2025 | JOINT RIVERS | AUBURN, WA

HALLOWEIRD OVER 2,000 adults gathered at Joint Rivers for the first Washington edition of Halloweird, where tricks, treats and free tattoos greeted guests who registered for their free tickets.

With classic Halloween tunes spinning in the background, guests explored brand booths and visited our experience sponsors, including free tattoos at the PRC booth, caricatures at the Agro Couture booth and a beautiful lounge setup by House of Cultivar.

The photo booth was a big hit, with OCB providing this service, allowing guests to commemorate their costumes and grins with a custom photo strip.

Joint Rivers hosted the event, and we thank the entire team for making this a memorable time!

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@NWLEAF @LEAFMAGAZINES

PRESENTED BY BUDDIES

NOV. 2025

BEST BRANDED BOOTH AWARD EVERGREEN HERBAL

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PHOTOS by ALEEN CAELI @ALEENCAELI for NORTHWEST LEAF @NWLEAF See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

Fresh Harvests for the

HIGHEST Enjoyment

This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming.

Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children.

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budtender of the month

RUSS GRESS Russ Gress, store lead at The Slow Burn, lives in the Yakima Valley and spends a lot of his days helping locals decide on their preferred Cannabis products. His professional Cannabis journey has taken him to a wide range of areas: from the beautiful community of Boulder Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California to the historic and rustic city of Monroe in Green County, Wisconsin, before finally finding his way back to his hometown, the hop fields of Moxee.

THE SLOW BURN MOXEE THESLOWBURN.COM 304 W. SEATTLE AVE. SUITE F, MOXEE, WA (509) 654-9700 8 A.M. - 9 P.M.

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IN HIS FREE TIME, RUSS IS AN ACCOMPLISHED CANNAPHOTOG AND ENROLLED AT GONZAGA UNIVERSITY ...

A RELAXED DEMEANOR, positive vibe and constant smile make Russ easily approachable.

After spending almost six years in the industry, his level of knowledge is apparent when it comes to the wide array of products at The Slow Burn.

Yakima Valley residents are very focused on agriculture and local businesses. The Slow Burn location Northwest Leaf visited embodies that focus, as it is a little more of a boutique store that attracts clients who are seeking out particular terpene experiences and small-batch/craft brands as opposed to larger producers. A local favorite Russ really RUSS’ believes in is Sungaze Cannabis RECS Company, a brand that provides an entry-level product produced Flower by local farm Painted Rooster Dank Czar Honey Cannabis Company.

Banana Bread When Russ isn’t fulfilling his Edible responsibilities across The Slow Pioneer Squares Burn’s four retail locations, he Watermelon Kiwi spends his time wisely. He’s had Vapes a hard concentration on CanTrichome Extracts nabis photography for about 12 Lemon Meringue years, and it shows.

NOV. 2025

Russ is also big on physical fitness and can be found on a hike or in the gym daily.

And if that’s not enough extracurricular activities for you, he is also enrolled in Gonzaga University’s Cannabis Compliance and Risk Management program. This educational pursuit allows him to constantly grow his scientific knowledge about the plant down to the molecular level. One day, he hopes to take this knowledge and help our state’s governmental departments better understand not only the benefits but the market as a whole.

“I think the LCB needs people that have actual feet-on-the-ground knowledge to help inform them and understand what a lot of these products are and their actual intentions for the end user,” Russ said.

He hopes that, in the future, the reclassification of Cannabis will make way for the evolution of medical research involving the plant, education on the benefits and utilization of insurance and other resources to include Cannabis-based medical solutions.

If you’re near one of The Slow Burn locations, pop in and meet our friend Russ. He’ll guide you to something delicious that has the benefits you’re looking for.

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STORY & PORTRAIT by REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO @NWLEAF | PRODUCT PHOTOS by RUSS GRESS @ITS.RUSTY.G Who’s your favorite budtender? Tell us why! Email nominations to rex@leafmagazines.com

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1525 EAST OLIVE WAY - THEREEFSTORES.COM

shop review LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

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HAPPY TREES STORE MANAGER PAUL DALEY, LEFT, & OWNER PAUL BRICE

Happy Trees is a different kind of store, where imagination meets the physical world. Beyond the amazing facade created for the mind’s eye, the attention to detail is far beyond the typical retail store. Founder Paul Brice has been in the industry since the medical days and knows that providing an experience matched with quality products and customer care is what keeps people coming back to find “their happy.”

NOV. 2025

FOUNDER PAUL BRICE has been in the industry since the medical days and knows that providing an experience matched with quality products and customer care is what keeps people coming back to find “their happy.”

Paul Daley, the store manager, was on hand, and he also has a lot of experience in the industry. This is a passion project for him. He considers being a part of the community a gift and wants to help patients and consumers alike find the best products available on the market, all while doing it in a safe and serene environment.

I really enjoy the energy as you first walk through the door, as well as the curated sections for different types of products. The “Hall of J’z” and constantly running projections on every available wall space really stand out.

The entire shop was decorated for Halloween when the Northwest Leaf visited, but the team changes it up for every season and holiday. The huge center column display of vapes, the wall of edibles and the wide array of concentrates are second to none.

At the Happy Trees store, I definitely didn’t feel like I was in a small farm town in southeast Washington. Wes Abney, founder of the Northwest Leaf, describes it as a “weed Meow Wolf.” On top of the available selections, Happy Trees is also known for its impressive vendor days that usually feature two to three producers at a time in a nice open side area just outside the main store.

Now, let’s talk about the vending machines that Brice refers to as his “crash ’n’ grab displays.” The vending machine system — a popular topic among Washington’s retailers for years — is executed proficiently by the Happy Trees team. Vending machines add another layer of security between would-be thieves and these stores’ valuable inventories. Additionally, these machines allow customers to view a larger selection of products in a familiar and easily accessible manner. It’s not the only way to shop at Happy Trees, but this system adds another dimension to what’s out there.

If you find yourself in the Yakima Valley or Cle Elum areas, don’t miss this stop — it’s like stepping into another world!

top sellers FLOWER Artizen Dutchberry C O N C E N T R AT E S 111 Ranch Ghost Train Haze VA P E S Fire Bros. Yellow Gold EDIBLES Pioneer Squares Pineapple Crush PREROLLS Ooowee Seattle Strawberry Cough

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HAPPY TREES

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STORY & PHOTOS by REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO for NORTHWEST LEAF @NWLEAF See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

RENTON! DANK’S is NOW OPEN!

RENTON

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dankswarehouse.com | @dankswarehouse.co Marijuana products may be purchased or possessed only by persons 21 and older. This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults 21 and older. Keep out of reach of children.

edmonds

7207 212th St. SW Edmonds, WA (425) 670-0690

HARVEST/ADAPT

October hums in Northern California. Diesel engines on backroads, scissors clicking in barns, the air thick with the smell of cedar and cut flower. The light goes gold around 4 p.m. and stays that way

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until the ridge disappears. This is the season everyone waits for and the one that breaks them a little more each year. Across Humboldt, Trinity and Mendocino, harvest is smaller now but sharper. The crews are lean. The fields are tighter, planted with cultivars that can handle heat, fog and the sudden rains that roll in off the Pacific. The farmers who stayed learned to match the rhythm instead of fighting it.

NOV. 2025

SCOTT VASTERLING HUMBOLDT FAMILY FARMS

AT NEUKOM FAMILY FARM on the banks of the Trinity River, Cannabis sits beside tomatoes, melons and peaches in the summer, part of the same rotation that’s kept the soil alive for decades. Amy and Jacques Neukom move through the rows like it’s any other crop: water, cut, cure, repeat. They sell vegetables, eggs and joints at the same market stand. Nobody whispers anymore.

“People come for food and ask about the flower,” Amy Neukom said. “It’s just farming now.”

In the Mattole Valley, Dylan Mattole has "They’ve shifted to washers suited for concentrates, built smaller, specifically hash and rosin. “Sun-grown is smarter, rising to the top in those markets,” he said. steadier lives “The hash makers appreciate the quality on land and in that comes from organically sun-grown a market that flower with unique genetics.” keeps asking In Mendocino, Joseph Haggard and his for everything." mom, Katie, who helm Emerald Spirit Botanicals, breed for flavor and function, not percentages. Their multiple-award-winning cultivar Pink Boost Goddess gleams under the late light, the scent closer to strawberry jam and flowers than gas.

Joseph Haggard said the demand is real.

“People want to feel good again. They don’t want to get wrecked,” he said.

Their farm feels closer to a vineyard than a grow site, with sun, soil and intention dictating everything.

DYLAN MATTOLE MATTOLE VALLEY SUNGROWN

BEN NEFF @BNEFF420

AMY NEUKOM & SCOTT VASTERLING NEUKOM FAMILY FARMS

KATIE & JOSEPH HAGGARD EMERALD SPIRIT BOTANICALS

NATE WILLIAMS @NATEW415

RYAN JOHNSON BITAR

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And in Humboldt, the Humboldt Family Farms collective pulls the pieces together, jar by jar, farmer by farmer.

They share transport, packaging and stories — the connective tissue of a region learning how to stay alive inside a system that barely sees it.

Founder Scott Vasterling calls it “logistics with heart.”

The collective’s latest campaign lifted sun-grown sales at Embarc stores into double digits for the first time. Proof, however small, that education works when the weed is good enough.

Harvest is a habit first and a headline second. Regardless of the attention it gets or doesn’t, the farm activity still swells before dawn, and the generators still buzz all night. The people doing it don’t talk about resilience; they’re long past all of that. They’ve built smaller, smarter, steadier lives on land and in a market that keeps asking for everything.

By dusk, the hills glow. The smell carries for miles: terpenes, rain and work.

On some ridges, lights stay on all night, and on others, the barns are already full.

The season ends the way it always has: tired hands, quiet pride and smoke rising from the valley like a promise that next year will come around again.

COURTESY

perspective

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

STORY by JACKIE BRYANT @JACQBRY for LEAF NATION | AUTHOR PORTRAIT by IYDEEN YOUNIS

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perspective

Harvest time offers a lesson that all things change HUMBOLDT SEED COMPANY

CHRIS ROMAINE @KANDIDKUSH

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I’m looking up toward a sky dappled with clouds and feeling the vibrations emanating from the life-form beside me. It’s a towering Blueberry Pancakes plant, and I’m pushing away from the energy of the group to stand in stillness with the silent hum of its life force.

The Cannabis flowers are a deep emerald green, huge and frosty, and they smell like blueberries at peak ripeness.

Held in minimal trellising, the plant’s branches confidently stretch out into the air. Watching it sway in the wind over the valley of oaks below makes me smile. When I touch the flowers, they leave a lingering perfume on my fingertips.

This plant is statuesque, natural, beautiful and alive.

NOV. 2025

I’M ON a Humboldt Seed Company farm in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near Grass Valley, California, as a part of the company’s 2025 quest to find the world’s best weed. Alongside me on this odyssey are Leaf’s chief operating officer, Tom Bowers, and fellow Leaf contributor David Downs.

This festive occasion in late September brings together a group to de-leaf and buck the flowers for steam distilling into terpenes for their aroma and flavor. Later, I’ll joyously dance in a fog machine that’s wafting the Blueberry Pancakes scent.

I’ll eat whipped cream infused with the plant’s essential essence.

I’ll inhale other Cannabis flowers into my lungs as a soft, warm rain begins to fall and a lightning storm sends wavy electric jolts across the HSC PHENO HUNTING horizon.

CHRIS ROMAINE @KANDIDKUSH

LEAFMAGAZINES.COM

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE

MOON MADE FARMS

I think the reason this But when I watch the plant resonates so clearly flowers I’ve “big-leafed” with so many different fall into the bin, I feel a people has to do with the bit of heartache at the fact that our bodies are impermanence of it all. built with an endocanIt’s the type of melancholy nabinoid system, which that can come when we has receptors that bind mortals think about what to the chemical elements comes in the end for us Moon Made Farms Queen Colas Cannabis provides and for every living thing. when we ingest it. The And I’ll tell my friends: endocannabinoid system “There could have been “In the days regulates critical bodily another way.” with the least functions. It’s the key to In my home grow on sunlight ahead, our health and vitality. my rooftop balcony in Sure, other plants Oakland, California, I these flowers contain cannabinoids. feel a similar sense of loss will provide Who can deny the when harvest time comes. warmth in the sharp appeal of freshly The Cannabis plants on my front porch provide a darkest days.” ground black pepper or the soothing effects of welcoming display of lush cacao? But cannabinoids are most greenery that I enjoy looking at as prevalent in the Cannabis plant. And they grow and mature. But once the while we know a lot about this plant, fall comes, they’re gone, and I miss there are still undiscovered cannabithem, even just for their decoration. noids. We’re also continually learning A 2022 study published in the more about how the other chemical International Journal of Environelements in Cannabis affect our mental Research and Public Health well-being. shows that even a small amount of greenery in an urban environment A TIME OF REFLECTION can be beneficial for reducing stress, The Cannabis plant is our comas elements of nature provide a “soft panion that helps us as we navigate charm” that allows people to achieve through life and guides us toward more efficient concentration. asking the big questions, like “Why are we here?” Harvest brings a moA FLOWER WITH THREE LIVES ment of reflection, even though it’s an I think Cannabis flowers (and all intense time for growers. It’s a mad flowers) are here to teach us about rush against the rain, a battle against impermanence. With flowers — which hungry caterpillars, a phase when grow, blossom and fade — the only a few missteps in drying can ruin a real moments are in the now. I smell year’s worth of effort. But at a certain and smoke Cannabis flowers and repoint, it’s all over. member that their time, and my time, “To harvest or render the plant, it’s here on Earth will not go on forever. the culmination of everything that has I’m probably in the minority group gone into the plant,” Gordon said. “I of people when it comes to thinking mean, it happened. Here she is.” about harvest as an ending for the The seasons help mark the passage Cannabis plant and not a beginof time and offer rhythmic resets ning to its ultimate purpose: all the that are in line with the Earth and weed we’re going to smoke when nature around us. It’s best to think of wintertime arrives. But I know I’m far everything, all of life, as an infinite from the only one to fall in love with loop. In the same way that there is no a Cannabis plant. beginning, there is no end. Cannabis Tina Gordon, the cultivator at flowers are meant for smoking. Their Moon Made Farms in Humboldt ultimate destiny is helping us fulfill County, believes the Cannabis plant our destiny. has three lives. The first life, she said, We’re getting close to reaping is when it’s growing in the ground, the benefits of the 2025 sun-grown “and that’s when the cultivator is Cannabis harvest. It’s almost time to stewarding the plant.” The second open the jars, pull out the flowers and life begins when the flower is cut, and set them on fire. In the days with the that life continues all the way up to least sunlight ahead, these flowers will when it’s smoked. The third life starts provide warmth in the darkest days. within the resonance of a person We’ll settle into winter’s reset, and when they smoke that flower. when spring comes, we’ll plant seeds This third life of Cannabis that Gorand start over again. don speaks of alludes to our deeply @THEHUMBOLDTSEEDCOMPANY personal connections with this plant @MOONMADEFARMS because of the way it makes us feel.

STORY by ELLEN HOLLAND @HOLLANDBUDS for LEAF NATION See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

Fresh Harvests for the

HIGHEST Enjoyment

This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming.

Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment.

Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children.

FIND A RETAILER

perspective

FIRE FOLLOWER RED HOT AUTOS!

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

NIGHT OWL SSV

HUMBOLDT SEED COMPANY OG TRIPLOID

COURTESY

PHOTO BY KANDID KUSH

DO YOU EVER WISH HERB WAS MORE “SET IT AND FORGET IT”?

THE HARVEST ISSUE you’re holding celebrates the end of one annual, full-sun cultivation cycle, but another begins.

Some growers are just getting set up for their winter indoor run, and we’re seeing more newbies, as well as pros, grow with “automatic” seeds.

Cannabis that flowers “automatically” does not need the strict lighting schedule of standard weed strains. Like early LEDs, auto seeds have gone from punch line to punching above their weight. Autos used to contain a little THC, with low terpenes and yield, but not anymore.

Modern autos smack. Chances are you have smoked or dabbed an automatic plant and didn’t even know it.

NIGHT OWL SEEDS

Maine cult star Night Owl Seeds — a 6-year-old company and a leader in the automatic seed game — does midnight seed drops, like Strawberry Milk and Qookies, that sell out in minutes. What is company founder/operator Daz’s strategy? Automating classics like Marathon OG, AJ’s Sour D and (soon) Banana OG. Daz learned how to make auto versions of strains in Europe, which is ahead of the Americas in the automatic weed game. Then Daz worked under Mephisto Genetics until he started his own thing. “I’ve been isolating with plants for 10 to 15 years,” he said.

Daz said automatic weed growers are usually hobbyists working indoors in tents. When Daz finally got the wherewithal to run a large indoor warehouse, he populated it with 40 tents instead of one big grow.

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H U M B O L D T S E E D C O M PA N Y

Experts say it’s getting almost impossible to tell the difference between automatic flowers and regulars. All automatics contain genes from a subspecies of weed called “ruderalis.” These rude girls flower automatically on the roadsides of rural Russia. Modern autos lack any telltale ruderalis aroma or taste.

Humboldt Seed Company, the 24-year-old top photoperiod brand, is working on HELLA autoing a vast chunk of its JELLY 80-strain commercial catalog. Among them, we’ve seen a new fruity auto Hella Jelly F5 with sizzling sativa effects, but it grows short and flowers quickly.

The December 2025 Auto Hella Jelly solves the two major issues commercial growers have with sativas: They get too tall and take too long. Time and space cost money. This squat, pink-flowered strain should take around 90 days from seed to harvest.

When dabbing Auto Hella Jelly, you’d never know it’s the distant grandchild of Russian ditch weed. The live rosin is very blond, fruity and delicate, like a sugary confection.

It hits light, clean, fruity, loud, strong and bomb, easing tension and energizing work.

NOV. 2025

A U T O P O TA M U S

One home grower in Quebec, Canada, who’s killing it with automatics is gardening influencer Linh Nguyen, aka “Autopotamus.”

Sponsored by a raft of genetics and hardware brands, Autopotamus grows bountiful bushels of dank, icy colas that showcase the potential of autos in the 2020s.

Daz said autos grow a bit differently than regular, so-called “photoperiod” strains, which need timed lighting. For one, they don’t like getting transplanted or repotted.

Don’t stress autos out.

Autos are harder to grow than photos, Daz said, but once you see the speed, flavor and potency, “it’s hard to go back.”

AMERICAN AUTOFLOWER CUP 2026

CANNABIS THAT FLOWERS “AUTOMATICALLY” DOES NOT NEED THE STRICT LIGHTING SCHEDULE OF STANDARD WEED STRAINS.

NOTEWORTHY AUTOMATIC SEED BREEDERS

HUMBOLDT SEED COMPANY HELLA JELLY PHOTO BY NEIL BRAYBROOK HIGHIGAN ON YOUTUBE

The American Autoflower Cup, NIGHT OWL SEEDS one big sign of autos’ arrival, returns MEPHISTO GENETICS in early 2026 and just announced HUMBOLDT SEED COMPANY its seven categories. Registration is MULTIVERSE BEANS currently open. Judging is conducted GNOME AUTOMATICS by industry experts, lab analysis and SPEEDRUN SEEDS popular vote.

The awards ceremony is Jan. 31, 2026, at beTRUE Los Angeles.

I’m running some autos this winter in San NIGHT OWL Francisco that were gifted to me in July by CHEMMY Cora Genetics founder Hardy Nieto, who POWERS just passed away.

COURTESY NOV. 2025 POT FARMER’S ALMANAC I popped a full pack and selected four of Here’s what North America is doing in the garden this month: Cure dried the feminized Dr. Grinspoon S1 autos for a buds in a cold, dark place. Trim as needed for smoking, gifting and display. big fabric pot. I don’t need the bud, but the Make hash. Press rosin. Pop seeds for a winter indoor pheno hunt or flower fresh terps and joyful bouquet are a living run. Prepare the home for winter, and deep-clean the kitchen. There’s a Full Beaver Supermoon on Nov. 5, and Thanksgiving is on Nov. 28. Weather memento mori for the new year. Time flies, outlook: Chillier and wetter than average in the West and Northeast. Warm so be quick and excellent — automatically. in the South and Southwest.

STORY by DAVID DOWNS @DAVIDDOWNS for LEAF NATION See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

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GLASS ART SPOTLIGHT

MAC WHITE

Mac White is a different breed. When the going gets tough, he just crushes through and perseveres.

When he gets a vision, he doesn’t know the word “stop.” “I always looked up to Elbo and Coyle when I was first getting into glass, the way they could make it look like another medium always drew me in,” Mac said.

HIS JOURNEY on the torch started in 2012. When he relocated to Bellingham, Washington, in 2014, Whitney Harmon and I were fortunate enough to have him land at our studio, the Honeycomb Hideout, where he continued to create for another seven years or so before heading off to Albuquerque, New Mexico. In that time, I watched his talents grow to great lengths.

Mac also has a background in freehand art with a lot of different mediums. The mixture of that skill and glass art has made for some memorable pieces over the years.

You will see a couple of examples here where Mac either collaborated with others or made pieces himself.

He then went on to freehand etch with graphics of another caliber, making these truly one-of-akind pieces of art.

His most recent drops were at Prism Smoke Shop in New York and Zee Vapor in Illinois.

He usually has a piece or two available on his Instagram, so check him out there as well.

I also want to give Mac and his new fiancee, Emma Palmerton, a huge congratulations on their recent engagement, where he got down on bended knee during their trip to Greece! @ MA CEL EV ENG L A S S

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NOV. 2025

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o d n e f f o

canna organix

cultivated by

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strain of the month

nov. 2025

CANNA ORGANIX is situated in Sequim near Olympic National Park in an area known locally as the “Blue Hole.”

This nickname comes from the rain shadow effect of the Olympic Mountains, which means that Sequim has a fraction of the rain at only 12 to 16 inches per year.

Consider that nearby Forks — hometown of the vampire “Twilight” saga — receives 120 or more inches of rain per year!

Apart from the interesting PNW facts, the weather is relevant because Canna Organix grows using supplementally lit greenhouses, taking advantage of the 300 days of rain-free weather to grow using natural sunlight. The farm also utilizes living soil practices and grows with organic methods that produce clean, tasty flowers that power the lineup of jars, joints, concentrates (like live resin and RSO) and cartridges that can be found all over the state.

With beautiful and chunky nugs, a light green color and a heavy coating of frosty trichomes and red hairs, this flower looks as beautiful in bud as it does in the garden. The first notes from the bag are bright and ripe, with rich red berries, chocolate, coffee and heavy GMO notes dominating the senses.

Breaking open a dense but fluffy nug releases a creamy Gelato funk that brings orange zest and a fuel-mint zing that teases the senses. This strain lives up to the name Offendo, with a dank and robust bag appeal that would turn up the nose of a nonstoner, but gets our mouth watering as we break up the bud.

grow just a few days before harvest.

and funky, the Offendo is shown here in the

kick off a season of change. Offensively loud

Bigfoot, with a buzz that’s the perfect way to

smelly enough to be mistaken for a ripe

Washington comes a strain that is

Straight out of the woods of western

REVIEW by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX @NWLEAF | PHOTO by CANNA ORGANIX

CANNAORGANIX.COM @CANNAORGANIXWA

The first bowl slows time and thought, and the second and third bowls add layers of stickiness to the fingers and load the mind and body like a triple-decker cake of baked. With a superbly easy smoke, we ripped through bowls, savoring the flavor and the feeling of our minds melting into a puddled body below.

Despite the name, we found the Offendo to be the ultimate stress reliever, as it calms muscles and mental tension, relieving us of all ancillary thoughts until only weed, food and music remain. In a time when people are so easily offended and sensitive, perhaps getting baked to the point where those thoughts slip away is truly the ultimate medicine.

Ripping a bowl releases a smooth and sweet smoke that burns quickly to a white ash, sending a rush of heady, chillaxed euphoria straight to the frontal lobes. The flower tastes amazing when smoked, as notes of citrus, chocolate and the ever-present GMO coat the palate with tingly terpenes while the effects build up.

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THE HARVEST ISSUE

lazy bee gardens In 2008, a personal mission to make Rick Simpson Oil for a father battling Stage 4 thyroid cancer sparked what would become Lazy Bee Gardens — a living-soil, light-deprivation greenhouse farm known for meticulous pheno hunts and terpene-rich flower. Licensed in 2015, Lazy Bee has been refining its soil and selections ever since.

Northwest Leaf sat down with Matthew Frigone Bernhard, the farm’s owner, to discuss origin stories, cultivation philosophy, genetics and a few big-picture hypotheticals.

WHEN DID YOU START GROWING, AND HOW DID THAT BECOME LAZY BEE?

40

I started growing in 2008 to make Rick Simpson Oil for my dad, who had Stage 4 thyroid cancer.

That’s where the passion for this plant began. I grew medically for six years, and when recreational legalization happened, an opportunity presented itself. I took it. I began building the farm in the summer of 2014, was licensed in February 2015, and our first commercial harvest came that summer. We’ve been cultivating the plant we love ever since.

APPLE FRITTER

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WHAT’S YOUR GROWING METHOD?

Water-only, no-till living soil beds — our native soil, heavily amended over years to get it right. I’m a big fan of practical permaculture. All Lazy Bee flowers are grown in light-dep greenhouses with raised beds.

It took a few seasons to build the soil to true no-till; it’s been seven years now, and it keeps getting better. We never use bottled nutrients — ever. We focus on microbiology and true living-soil practices.

HOW MUCH DOES THE WEATHER PLAY INTO YOUR HARVEST?

Not a lot. The greenhouses and light deprivation let us pull flower before the weather turns. Late hoop-house crops typically go to our other brand, Ra Cannabis, or into concentrates. My favorite runs come in June/July; the light spectrum and temps are ideal for most genetics. >> CONTINUES PG. 42

NOV. 2025

OWNER MATTHEW FRIGONE BERNHARD

SLURRICANE

STORY by MIKE RICKER @RICKERDJ @NWLEAF | PHOTOS by MORETA FIONA @MFJANE See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

THE HARVEST ISSUE

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

lazy bee gardens WHAT’S NEW IN THE GARDEN?

New genetics this season: Tropical Runts and Rainbow Beltz — both turned out amazing. Reworks: Makeup Sax and Almond Brittle — also great. We had a terrific year. This winter, we’re working breeding projects with Where’s My Bike, aiming to bring that into our Aethernet line in search of the terp profile our old Tesla Tower used to have. I’ve been chasing that profile for over half a decade — we’re getting closer.

WHAT HELPS TO MAKE LAZY BEE STAND OUT FROM OTHER FARMS?

It’s a mix of method and genetics, but genetics probably edge it out.

A novice with the right genetics can grow fantastic flower; a pro with bad genetics will top out at mid.

Method still matters — for terp and cannabinoid diversity, cleanliness, smoothness and yield — but you must start with good genetics. I’ve hunted thousands of seeds from various breeders and our own work, and trialed hundreds of clones. Selection is everything. It’s a lot of work, but 42 when you find a keeper, the juice is worth the squeeze. Pair that with organic, sustainable practices and amazing retail partners — that’s been key to our “WE NEVER success.

USE BOTTLED

NUTRIENTS — EVER. WE FOCUS ON MICROBIOLOGY AND TRUE LIVING-SOIL PRACTICES.”

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE ON SHELVES: LEGACY STRAINS OR THE LATEST HYBRIDS?

Location Winthrop, WA Methow Valley Signature Strains Powder Hound (S) DJ Short Blueberry (I) Grape Gasoline (I) Kiwi Daquiri (S)

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A healthy balance. We still run legacy classics like DJ Short Blueberry and Blue Dream, and we also cycle in fresh winners from ongoing hunts.

There’s room for both. I also love playing with old-world genetics — less commercial sometimes, but really fun.

TIME MACHINE QUESTION: PAST OR FUTURE? The past. You can learn

a lot about the future by studying it; cycles repeat. Plus, you’d get to meet people we know existed from history.

The future would be fascinating, but with less context, it might be harder to digest.

DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD YOU MOST WANT TO SPARK A JOINT WITH?

Enoch.

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NOV. 2025

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46

CANNASOL

Just north of Omak, you will find a particularly special Tier 3 Cannabis farm called CannaSol. It’s surrounded by vast amounts of other agricultural endeavors. From apples, pears and cherries to peaches, apricots and nectarines, this hallowed ground has produced some of the best fruits in the world for centuries.

PAPAYA GMO

NOV. 2025

TO UTILIZE THIS SOIL, you have to know more than a thing or two about botany, and that’s where CannaSol Farms’ proprietors Jeremy Moberg and Sabina Boehm, come in. They’ve spent more than a decade perfecting what others have spent a lifetime on: creating living soil that doesn’t require salt-based nutrients to grow prolific Cannabis plants.

What are terpenes? It’s a really good question because for a lot of us, that’s all we’re after. Terpenes are the taste on your palate, and they make marijuana one of our favorite things to ingest.

Sure, the medical benefits and cerebral feelings also help drive purchasing

decisions. But for me, first and foremost is the flavor, and that all comes back to the terpenes.

But there’s a certain way to get the most terpenes out of a plant, and CannaSol follows these ideals precisely by providing a natural stress to the plant with perfect lighting and timing. Now, light deprivation might not sound like the highest tech thing. A lot of people might think it’s just an outdoor grow with a tarp, but it’s more than that. Out in the elements, the blazing sun and blowing winds give plants optimum space to breed both terpenes and cannabinoids. > > C O N T I N U E S P G . 4 8

FARMS

Location Okanogan County Signature Strains Acapulco Gold Jack Herer Durban Poison

AWARDWINNING CULTIVATORS

SABINA BOEHM & JEREMY MOBERG

PEANUT BUTTER BREATH

STORY & PHOTOS by REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO for NORTHWEST LEAF @NWLEAF See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

THE HARVEST ISSUE

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

cannasol farms

BOTTOMLESS MIMOSA

48 “ONE OF THE MOST NOTABLE THINGS I SAW ON THIS TOUR WAS THE DEDICATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.“

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AMNESIA COOKIE

HASH BURGER DRY SIFT

NOW, TO GO BACK AND SIMPLIFY THINGS, cannabinoids are what get you high. They’re produced by a certain mechanism of photosynthesis that occurs within the Cannabis plant. Potency is based on an hourly light schedule, a certain amount of nutrients that the plant absorbs through the soil (or substrate) and a monoculture that allows you to procure the best plants for particular benefits.

But terpenes are different; they’re what you taste and what makes Cannabis enjoyable.

Without stress in the environment, terpenes aren’t as readily available. Sure, you might grow the perfect indoor crop and get a batch that really spits when you put it on the press, but the best flavor comes out of a plant that has experienced actual natural homeostatic stress.

CannaSol focuses on this mantra and takes it to the next level. One of the most notable things I saw on this tour was the dedication to environmental sustainability. For example, CannaSol uses organic, handmade compost tea to feed the plants, and they also design and source packaging that limits the amount and types of plastics used. Everything at this farm is well thought out and focused on intentions. These practices garnered CannaSol the coveted Dr. Bronner’s Sun+Earth Certification.

Next time you visit your favorite retailer, give CannaSol a try. Flower, prerolls, rosin, edibles and a full line of RSOs are just some of the products they produce in-house. CannaSol Farms also produces Cannabis for its two other brands, Lish Organics and Columbia Natural Cannabis, so make sure to check out those products, too.

CANNASOL.COM | @CANNASOLFARMS

NOV. 2025

STORY & PHOTOS by REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO for NORTHWEST LEAF @NWLEAF See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

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PAINTED ROOSTER

NOV. 2025

THE HARVEST ISSUE

CANNABIS COMPANY

Painted Rooster Cannabis Company is the culmination of over 90 years of farming hops in the Yakima Valley, where about 75% of the hops in the United States are produced.

So, in an effort to better understand the relationship between hops and Cannabis, I did some basic research.

PURE KUSH

OWNER DOUGLAS HENDERSON, LEFT, AND CREW MEMBER DIEGO GIL-ROBLES

CANAL STREET RUNTZ

I LEARNED that the Cannabaceae family of plants has 11 genera and around 170 species. The two most popular genera are Humulus lupulus (hops) and Cannabis sativa (hemp), which both require almost identical growing conditions. I really went down the rabbit hole here, and I suggest you get online and do the same.

Basically, ideal growing conditions for hops and hemp consist of lots of long, sunny days, nutrient-rich and good-draining soil, and not too much moisture in the air. So, that means that the Yakima Valley is probably the most optimal place in our country to grow Cannabis outdoors.

“We focus on treating our sky-lit flower like we would if we

were growing under lights, not skipping steps or taking shortcuts,” Douglas “DH” Henderson, Painted Rooster CEO, stated. “The best way to ensure quality is to stick to the basics and focus on what the consumer deserves from us; and that’s the best cured and preserved full-term flower the state can produce.”

Northwest Leaf saw this ethos in action on the tour: immaculate working conditions, a superbly clean processing facility and fields that are cared for by hand.

Each team member I met had a genuine smile and a specific task, which shows efficiency, something that this legacy farm has built over its years of operation. >> CONTINUES PG. 54

STORY & PHOTOS by REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO for NORTHWEST LEAF @NWLEAF See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

THE HARVEST ISSUE

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

painted rooster cannabis company

OREOZ

54 “PAINTED ROOSTER PROVIDES SOME OF THE HIGHEST-RATED CANNABIS AND CONCENTRATES ON THE MARKET ...“

DOUG IS ALSO THE BOARD VICE PRESIDENT OF THE

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CANNABIS ALLIANCE. As stated on the group’s

ARCTIC GUMMIEZ

LEAF EDITOR WES ABNEY TAKES A SNIFF

NOV. 2025

website, “The Cannabis Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of a vital, ethical, equitable, and sustainable Cannabis industry in Washington state.”

Through this industry-founded and -operated entity, his leadership and the team have helped march forward the ethics involving farms and are working toward a future with farm-to-table aspects of this craft.

As Doug clearly conveyed during our interview, “Washington growers are frustrated with their allowable access to consumers due to current limitations on advertising and marketing put in place by the LCB.” With plenty of Leaf Bowl awards to prove it, Painted Rooster provides some of the highest-rated Cannabis and concentrates on the market. And, on top of that, it also produces arguably the most-consumed, highest-quality infused beverage on the market.

All made on site, from seed to processing, it’s called Sungaze, and this probably isn’t the first time you’ve heard the name. This amazing seltzer is a delicious beverage as well as a great entry-level introduction to Cannabis consumption.

The mellow flavors and moderate strength keep it at the top of the list for many enthusiasts, new and old.

I’ve found that it’s a great late-afternoon libation and a perfect addition to a cocktail or mocktail.

At the end of the day, this team strives for perfection on every level. Do yourself (and your friends) a favor: Grab a sixer of Sungaze and some G-Stiks prerolls for your next sesh.

Because, as stated on the Painted Rooster website, “nothing but the utmost quality will be presented in your jar, glass, or joint. If we wouldn’t smoke it, we wouldn’t sell it.”

PAINTED-ROOSTER.COM DRINKSUNGAZE.COM @DRINKSUNGAZE THECANNABISALLIANCE.US @THECANNABISALLIANCE

STORY & PHOTOS by REX HILSINGER @BOROPHOTO for NORTHWEST LEAF @NWLEAF See more photos at LeafMagazines.com

COURTESY

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elevate your fate

A Makahiki state of mind

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58

High Vibrations + Harvest Blessings STORY & PHOTOS by ANGELA-JORDAN AGUILAR @AJ.OG @ELEVATE_YOUR_FATE

It’s easy to get lost in the static of modern society: the constant scrolling, the 24-hour news cycle, the endless hum of distraction that leaves our souls hungry for meaning. In these noisy times, there’s a quiet revolution waiting right outside our doors.

The simple act of touching the By putting down the remote, turning soil and watching something grow off the endless stream of social feeds, nurtures our spirit as much as it feeds picking up a pair of gardening gloves our bodies. Studies show that the and visiting your local farmers during microbes in soil can boost serotonin gleaming season, you can take a levels, lifting your mood naturally, gentle yet radical stance against chaos. while the rhythmic, repetitive motions Tuning into the rhythm of the harvest of planting and pruning promote a season isn’t just about gathering food; meditative state that eases anxiety it’s about remembering who we are as and stress. beings deeply rooted in Earth’s sacred When you harvest what you’ve cycles. grown, the reward isn’t just in flavor; Across the Pacific, the Hawaiian it’s also in feeling. There’s a deep tradition of Makahiki invites us to return ancestral joy that bubbles up when to this remembrance. Stretching from you pull a carrot from the ground, late October through early February, clip a sprig of mint for your tea or Makahiki marks the Hawaiian harvest roll up some good ol' home-grown season and New Year, a time of peace, pakalolo. You’re not just collecting rest and gratitude for the abundance of produce; you’re participating in a the land and sea. sacred exchange with the Earth. As This season was dedicated to the the ancestors knew, to god Lono, the divine eat from the land is to spirit of fertility, agriculbe fed by spirit. ture, rainfall and peace.

If you’re ready to Ancient Hawaiians cultivate peace in your celebrated Makahiki by own corner of paradise, halting all wars and hard start small. A few potted labor, offering tributes — herbs on a sunny wincrops, fish and handmade dowsill can become a goods — to the temples daily ritual of reconnecand coming together for tion. Let gardening be games, feasts, chants your meditation. Focus and dance. It was a on the feeling of soil sacred pause in the year, between your fingers, a collective deep breath the sunlight on your skin that honored both the “In today’s fast-paced world, and the sound of water land’s generosity and the Makahiki reminds us to slow trickling through roots. community’s unity. down, share our harvests Embrace imperfections, The cultural signifiand celebrate the simple joy as gardens teach resilcance of Makahiki runs of being alive together.” ience and acceptance deeper than ceremony. It through their natural cycles of growth embodies the Hawaiian value of pono: and decay. Create your own sanctuary living in balance and righteousness space. Breathe deeply, release the with all things. In today’s fast-paced noise and simply be present with the world, Makahiki reminds us to slow mana aloha of the land. down, share our harvests and celebrate And don’t forget to share the the simple joy of being alive together. harvest. Invite your neighbors over for The festival games, laughter and a fresh salad, trade ‘ulu (breadfruit) music symbolized more than leisure; for kalo (taro) or gift bundles of freshly they represented harmony between harvested herbs wrapped in twine. people, nature and the divine. Imagine Community is at the heart of every a season where everyone collectively harvest. Just as Makahiki once unified agrees to rest, reflect and give thanks entire islands through collective gratwithout conflicts or competition — just itude and celebration, so, too, can gratitude and play. That’s the spirit of we weave joy and belonging into our Makahiki: joy as resistance, peace as local ecosystems, one seed, one smile abundance. and one shared meal at a time.

Bringing that same energy into our So, as the season shifts, remember, own gardens can be a form of modern OGs, the Earth doesn’t scroll — she resistance, a personal ceremony of cycles. She grows, decays, rests, gratitude and grounding. Whether renews and remerges, and so can we. you’re tending kale in your backyard May the spirit of Makahiki inspire or basil on your balcony, cultivating you to celebrate life wherever you are, your own food reconnects you to the and may your harvest be plentiful in natural cycles of life. Gardening invites food, friendship and the peace that stillness, mindfulness and patience, comes from living pono: in righteous qualities that are rare jewels in today’s harmony with the Earth. hurried culture.

NOV. 2025

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PRESENTS

The Gospel of Soma With his long, colorful dreadlocks, braided beard, hemp clothing and exquisite crystals, Marc Rossman — better known as Soma — comes across more like an Eastern guru than a Dutch seed merchant. That’s because this Amsterdam-based American expat has devoted his entire life to the hippie ideal, new age spirituality and the sacrament of Cannabis — earning himself a reputation as one of the world’s most beloved breeders.

BIRTH OF A HIPPIE Marc Rossman was born on August 22, 1949, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to middle-class Jewish parents of Slavic descent. When he was just a year old, his mother and father divorced. Two years later, she moved him to Queens, New York, and remarried. After graduating high school at age 17, he tried to join the Air Force but was rejected due to a kidney condition called orthostatic albuminuria. Instead, he spent the Summer of Love sorting mail for IBM on Madison Avenue. Fate, however, had other plans for him.

“One day, a mail carrier from another office came in and asked me if I’d ever smoked marijuana,” Rossman recalled. “I said, ‘No, but I’d like to!’ The next day, he brought me 15 pin joints for $5! So, right after work, I walked down the East River and lit one up. By the time I finished smoking it, I thought, ‘Wow — I really like this stuff!’”

Rossman started smoking regularly, growing his hair long and wearing pastel-colored shirts, eliciting a reprimand from his boss.

“He said, ‘You gotta get a haircut, and this is a white-shirt-only place.’ And right then and there, I said, ‘I quit.’”

FROM MADISON AVENUE TO MADISON, WISCONSIN Rossman spent the summer of 1969 in Haight Ashbury, where he lived in a commune, dropped acid and smoked tons of weed. When the commune disbanded that fall, he headed back to New York and drove a yellow cab for about a year. But after finding the city inhospitable toward hippies, however, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1970.

Once there, he went vegetarian, became a “Jesus freak” (his words), gave up weed and learned how to bake organic bread. For months, he lived sober and celibate on an all-male Christian commune, studying the Bible and proselytizing on the streets. That is, until one night, when he was preaching to a topless dancer and ended up breaking his vow of chastity, after which he was cast out.

NOV. 2025

BAKED & BAKING Rossman decided to utilize his newly acquired breadmaking skills to open a bakery. After purchasing some used equipment in New York, he and his best friend moved up to Putney, Vermont, and opened a bake shop/vegetarian restaurant called Salt of the Earth.

After work, Rossman would sit in his second-story boarding room, roll joints and toss seeds out the window. Then, one spring day in 1971, he noticed that around 20 little pot plants had sprung up under his window. He uprooted them and replanted them near a friend’s cabin in a secluded knoll up on Putney Mountain. But that August, just before harvest, park rangers discovered the plants and chopped them down. Rossman and his friend were both arrested and sentenced to a year of probation.

MUSHROOM MARC It was also while in Vermont that Rossman first tripped on psychedelic mushrooms. Shrooming had such a huge influence on him that he decided to abandon his bakery and go find Rossman (left) camped out somewhere to pick them. during his mushroom picking He read a book called “A Key to the American days in Florida.

Psilocybin Mushroom,” which apparently stated that the best place to find them in the wild was Alachua County, Florida. And so, Rossman and his friend drove down to Florida in search of free shrooms.

Once there, they asked a random hippie where they might find some wild mushrooms. The hippie directed them to a specific farm, where they climbed over some barbed wire and started looking for cow pies. But within minutes, a

ARRESTS & ADDICTION While in Florida, he was also able to begin growing his own weed using seeds he’d saved, including Colombian, Southeast Asian Thai, Ruderalis Afghani and even an all-American local variety called Gainesville Green.

Unfortunately, in 1980, poSoma and Jack Herer lice raided his outdoor grow, at a rally outside the seizing around 200 kilos of Gainesville courthouse. weed. What’s worse, he also got into cocaine and heroin during this time, and ended up serving 25 months of a four-year sentence for drug trafficking. The only silver lining to his incarceration was that he went cold turkey and never looked back.

GROWING IN OREGON After his release from prison in 1985, Rossman wanted to get as far away from Florida as possible. So, as soon as his probation ended in 1991, he hopped in his camper and headed to Oregon (where Cannabis was only a misdemeanor). There, he stayed with a buddy in the mountains, who taught him how to grow organically and gifted him with some starter strains, including Big Skunk Korean.

With his new knowledge and genetics, he moved down to Eugene and started his first organic indoor grow in his attic with his daughter Willow’s boyfriend, Anthony. Just before harvest, they shot some photos of the garden. When he sent Anthony to get the film developed, he made sure to specify not to give a name. But Anthony foolishly gave them the house’s phone number, and the developer called the cops on them. The garden was raided, and Rossman took responsibility to protect his kids. As a result, in 1994, he spent six months in Eugene County jail before being released on another three-year probation.

In 1993, Rossman also opened Sow Much Hemp — one of the first few hemp stores in America. The shop only lasted for two years, but at least one aspect of it had a far more lasting legacy.

“That’s actually where I came up with the name ‘Soma,’” Rossman explained, “from the name of the shop — ‘Soh-Muh’-ch Hemp.”

“I was given 14 different kinds of Cannabis to judge, and every single strain in those days had seeds, so I ended up with like 200 seeds.” or rather on “Amos Washington,” THE CANNABIS CUP a new alias created specifically In 1994, Soma invited Jack for the magazine (“Amos” being Herer to speak at his hemp “Soma” backward). Soon, he was shop. During that visit, Herer writing articles for them, as well told him that he was traveling as for 15 other international Canto Amsterdam in November nabis publications and websites. to serve as a celebrity judge In 1999, he gave his first grow at the Cannabis Cup and Soma with Eagle Bill and Sensi seminar at the Cannabis Cup asked if he’d like to come.

Seed Bank’s Alan Dronkers at the and won third place Indica for his Defying his probation, he Cannabis Castle in 1994.

Reclining Buddha accepted the invitation and — the first in a long string of Cup was also made a judge by High Times. wins over the next several years.

“I was given 14 different kinds of Cannabis to Since rebranding his company judge, and every single strain in those days had from Seeds of Courage to Soma’s seeds, so I ended up with like 200 seeds,” Soma told HT in 2014. “I labeled them, smuggled them Sacred Seeds in 2001, Soma’s genetics have won many more awards, and he has back to America and planted them all. I started judged numerous other competitions. mixing the Amsterdam genetics with my own and ended up with all of these new crosses.”

FEELING THE LOVE Among the many new varieties he later develThis past May, Soma oped were Afghani x Hawaiian, Buddha’s Sister, had a stroke at age Amnesia Haze and Hash Plant. Soma turned this 76, causing him to impressive library of genetics into his own under“lose his mind for a ground seed bank, Seeds of Courage. little while.”

Needless to say, he had the time of his life in “All of a sudden, I Amsterdam. “We got so inspired by the Cannabis couldn’t communifreedom that existed there that when we got back Soma poses with a few cate,” he confessed. “I to America, we said, ‘Let’s move there.’” of his many awards. stopped being able to speak. (My granddaughter Lexis) was asking me GOING DUTCH a question, and my reply was total gibberish. I By the end of 1995, Soma had also lost a lot of my memory.” fulfilled his dream of expatriating In addition to cognitive issues, he also began to Amsterdam — moving into a experiencing up to a hundred seizures a day. warehouse space recommended When news broke about Soma’s condition, there to him by Gene from Serious was a massive international outpouring of love Seeds. Since he’d jumped proand support on social media. bation back in Oregon, he put “I felt it all,” Soma beamed. “I felt more good everything in his girlfriend’s name Soma in 1994. wishes from around the world than I ever did in so it couldn’t be linked to him.

Nevertheless, his home grow was raided within his my whole life. It helped me heal.”

After 13 days in the hospital’s stroke ward, first year there; apparently, Serious had previously he was released with some medication as well grown at the space, so the “politie” were hip to it. as a renewed commitment to Cannabis and the Soma had around 750 plants, all of which spiritual mindset he’s famous for. were chopped down — including his 51 mother “Cannabis and the eight pills a day that I’m plants. Luckily for him, since they’d left a few taking are keeping me alive now,” he reflected. bottom branches, he was able to revive half of “The main thing that I try to integrate with, at this them. And despite the large number of plants, he point in my life, is love and kindness and how I says he only spent six hours in jail, thanks to a can share those energies … through Cannabis, friendly pot-smoking officer who declined to file mushrooms, crystals or other ways. Because for charges after appropriating one of Soma’s plants me, those are the most important things in this for himself. existence, and existence is such a gift.”

HIGH TIMES Over the next few years, Soma’s relationship with Hear Bobby’s extended interview with Soma at HT continued to grow. In 1996, HT’s cultivation worldofcannabis.museum/podcast or search for editor Chris Simunek wrote two articles on him — “Cannthropology” wherever you get your podcasts.

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

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARC ROSSMAN

pack of bloodhounds and a shotgun-toting farmer were chasing after them. Needless to say, they hightailed it out of there … but not before the farmer unloaded a barrel full of buckshot into the side of the car.

Luckily, they later found a location that was less dangerous and more fruitful.

“We found a magic field with no problem from farmers,” Rossman recalled. “It had so many mushrooms that every time we went picking there, we’d fill up our straw baskets to the brim, and we did that every day for a while.”

Eventually, his friend decided to head home, but Rossman stayed — pitching a tent in the woods next to the “goldmine” field and continuing to gather shrooms, which he then dried and traded for his necessities in Gainesville. “For a whole month I went without any physical money — I only had the mushrooms I’d picked to trade for all my needs,” he boasted. “I became known as Mushroom Marc.”

studio sessions

HOW CANNABIS INSPIRES ART

KEENAN SHUR This acclaimed designer, illustrator and graphic artist creates dynamic, eye-popping work for huge names in both the music and Cannabis scenes.

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A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA KID, Shur got his Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking at California State University, Long Beach. In 2018, at a studio on campus, Shur said he encountered an airbrush paint gun, went home, ordered a cheap set online and started teaching himself.

Seven years later, airbrushing is the most requested medium by his graphic design clients, though he mostly produces digitally now, as it requires less space and is most often used for apparel.

With a portfolio that includes work for Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, Green Day, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Grateful Dead, many of Shur’s illustrations and paintings carry a vibe that evokes classic rock and the lava lamp era.

He describes his art — which often looks like it belongs on black velvet — as “vintage head shop through a fun house mirror.”

Growing up in Los Angeles as part of the skate and punk music scenes, Cannabis is “just part of something you're going to run into when you're a part of those subcultures,” Shur said.

As far as his artistic process goes, he said weed helps him calm down and focus on the task at hand.

“I feel like I'm a really fastpaced person to begin with,” Shur said.

“Weed helps even that out, so I can calm down and really get into it as long as I don’t have anything important to do afterwards. Plus, listening to music’s always more fun when you’re stoned.”

The Leaf asked him: What’s currently on repeat in the studio? Shur said he often goes on heavy kicks of certain music styles, and right now, the classic rock bug hit during a trip to South Korea a month ago.

“I was in the hotel in the middle of the night blasting Hendrix and Motorhead.

That’s how the tear started.

Now I’m stuck on Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland.”

Shur told the Leaf he began working with Cannabis clients, like Jelly Wizard and Dammit Bobby, around 2019, shortly after he started airbrushing. He said people in the Cannabis space are good about collaborating on a solid jump-off point or letting him run with the vision he has in his head.

When asked what he thought first drew people from the Cannabis industry to his art, he said, “Everyone loves a blacklight poster.”

KSHUR.BIGCARTEL.COM @ N O T. S H U R

“I FEEL LIKE I'M A REALLY FAST-PACED PERSON TO BEGIN WITH. WEED HELPS EVEN THAT OUT …" nov. 2025

STORY by MATT JACKSON @ACTIONMATTJACKSON | ILLUSTRATIONS by KEENAN SHUR See more of their work at LeafMagazines.com